In these days of tightened belts and new bike sales collapsing and winter approaching fast what is a biker to do ?
If like me you cannot afford the latest kit but still feel the urge to ride something nice there is an answer, get yourself an older bike which is a little tired and breath new life into it.
There are so many forums for just about every bike to help you along the way and cheap sources for parts such as eBay.
I have just finished bringing my 02 Daytona 955i CE back to life having got it with a catalogue of faults mainly due to age and 40k miles of minimal servicing ( ironically by Triumph dealers ) .
Most of the problems I had were electrical but having got it cheap I could not complain too much. I found the Triumph forums fantastic for technical advice and eBay has provided many of the parts I needed. Just don't be daunted unless your engine has gone pop. Find a local mechanic who you can trust not to rip you off for the stuff you can't handle and do the rest yourself.
I have even found a diagnostics program called ' Tune ECU ' ( which is freeware ) along with an OBD cable to connect to the bike, now I can even change engine maps, investigate fault codes and reset the ecu as well as many other things that dealers usually charge a fortune to do. All for the cost of 8 quid for the cable ( I already had a laptop ) !
Love your bike and learn to understand it, so much more rewarding. Don't give in to dealers inflated prices for old tat, bag a bargain from a private source and earn your rewards with your own work !
