I believe the GTVs and same-generation spiders did. I can personally confirm that the 156 did not 😂 I’d love an old GTV6 one day, but the prices have really shot up lately 😬

The leather Momo seats (from the phase 2 onwards) are very nice, I found them to be very comfortable. I don’t have any experience with the cloth seats but it sounds like a decent upgrade if the price isn’t too high 👍

The GTVs weren’t as bad actually, they galvanised the chassis when they built them. The 156 on the other hand, they really rust…

I’ve been playing around with Stable Diffusion XL, a generative AI model. Takes a bit of tweaking of the prompts to get it to draw Hergé style scenes, but good fun! Worth looking at a GitHub repo called Automatic1111 if you don’t mind setting it up yourself and have access to a computer with a fairly powerful accelerator to run it on

Hi, sorry for the delay. I ordered it from www.cosmo-navi.de in Germany, it's a nice bit of kit

Hi, sorry I missed your other comment. My Dad is Andy, but I don’t know whether you know him I’m afraid!

Thanks! It was for sale until recently -- it's my Dad's bike, but he sold it last weekend.

Hi -- I'm 6'3" and didn't hit the roof, so you'll be fine -- though I did need to lean forward to see when the traffic lights turned green! Avoid GTVs with a sunroof, as these have less headroom. Cheers!

Looking back it was rather fun actually! We did meet some lovely people too :-)

Tbh I’ve not really got started on it just yet - parts are generally quite scarce, but service items like gasket kits etc are easy enough to find. My bike has been stood for a while, so I’ll start by getting the top end off to check the bores/pistons etc. I’m also going to have the frame powder coated, which should help it last longer. I’ll make sure to post videos as they come! Good luck with your restoration 👍

Hi, thanks for the message -- the bike has now sold, with the tobinators included, sorry!

How much did you received? It would help as a reference! I love this bike!

Possibly - the point is more they’re sold as petrol hoses at bike shows, so if you don’t know your hose then it’s worth being careful!

@@TittertonRacing amen

Interesting, thanks for the tip!

I think you’re probably right tbh. What gets my goat is that the people selling these at bike shows tell you that it’s fuel hose, and then they fall apart like this after less than a year 😬

Yeah it’s not great is it! Better it happens like this in the garden than out on the trail though. Cheers 👍

It's tricky isn't it! Big screens look like they'll be the perfect solution, but as you say it's not about the amount of air hitting you, it's the turbulence that causes the problem. My new-to-me Yamaha has a tiny screen but it seems to be just the right shape, so it does a better job than the big screen on my old R1150GSA... strange!

Thanks - I’d definitely connected yellow to lights and green to ground (through the block onto a dedicated ground wire bolted to the frame near the coil). A short while later I fitted an electronic ignition, but I think it just masked other problems the bike had such as aged crank seals. Appreciate the point about trail bikes on the street, but I doubt I ever got it too close to 50mph - it didn’t handle brilliantly on the street with the short wheelbase, but it’s ok just for getting between trails if you take it easy 👍

Thanks! Yeah those Honda 250s were terrific, never missed a beat

Apparently 70mph, but mine felt like it would need another gear to get there!

On the 650 1st was a good technical gear, like a tractor as you say, and then into 2nd for the longer/faster parts -- my R1150GS that I replaced it with was far too high geared, with a dry clutch too! At least on the 650 you can feather the clutch without fear of burning it up...

Hi Ben - thanks for the kind words! Tbh I’d still recommend the BMW F650GS, it’s a good road trip bike that can handle off road pretty well, and the weight is both pretty light and quite low down as the tank is under the seat. I changed to an 1150 partly because I just fancied one, but also because while the 650 is great it does feel a bit out of power when carrying a passenger and luggage etc. You should be able to get a decent 650 for £2.5k, with a good history etc. Definitely change the windscreen from stock if you’re tall though! A slightly older alternative is the Honda Transalp 650 V-twin - well regarded, carbs rather than injection. I’ve not ridden one though…

@@TittertonRacing Hey thanks for the speedy response. Funnily enough my last bike was a 650 transalp it was almost perfect I just couldn’t deal with the grumpy carbs on cold mornings. I love this 350 but it doesn’t like off roads. I’m no Dakar rider but I enjoy having the option. Think that settles it. I’ll go 650 gs would you go f or g? I’m 6’1 so maybe I’ll need a screen change.

@@bencluroe4183 I think the G650GS is the same frame, engine design etc as the F650GS single cylinder (like I had), just made in China and has a slightly newer lights/instrument cluster. You'll probably get a better-condition single-cylinder F650GS for the same money as they're a little older, whereas a later F650GS twin-cylinder will be a bit more money than the G. I think they're all meant to be really good bikes though, so there's not a right or wrong answer as such.

@@TittertonRacing think I’ve found a 2003 f650 for £1700, I’m gonna Try to squeeze a little more out of it hopefully £1500 but it’s looking like the winner. 23k on clock

Good to know, thanks!

Didn’t they! And then you look at some of the awful looking cars they made in the 80s-90s like you see in the X-Files, and wonder where it all went wrong 🤷

It turned out to be a lot better than I'd feared! The horrible scraping noise was just a broken primary chain tensioner, and the pinging was sorted out by playing around with the main jet to richen the mixture slightly. In the end I reverted to the original Amal carb, as I found the pickup to be a bit more crisp. 👍

Good question! I didn't think there was an offset on the CT90 wheels, but I'm struggling to find any information online to support or refute that... I think the newer 12V C90s have a small offset on the left vs right, but not sure about the CT90s. In any case the spokes only come in 2 sizes, for the inside and outside spokes, so I think setting it up central should be fine 👍

Absolutely -- as soon as I could smell it I was very cautious. Got away with it, but I'll stick to faster flowing trails on this bike I think!

Thanks!

It’s not very helpful I’m afraid, but my solution to the seat was to use it as an excuse to upgrade to an R1150GS! 🤷

@@TittertonRacing Thanks, I'll give it a try

Interestingly the noise turned out to just be the primary chain tensioner - new tensioner and it sounds great! Agreed re the timing though, electronic ignition was fitted later and it ran much better 👍

The Alpinas are nice bikes, but as you say not the fastest... I've sold it since, but have a Montesa 349 to play with now!

@@TittertonRacing The Reason I know my Yamaha YZ-100-E is faster is because: We were riding side by side on a RR Bed after a rain . My friend decided to accelerate ahead of me and spray me with Water. The Next 5 water puddles I out accelerated my friend and he got splashed.. He could ride a 1/4 long wheelie on the Alpena .

That’s handy! I think some chainsaw 2-stroke premix here in the UK is ethanol free but it’s very expensive… fortunately some of our super unleaded here is still zero ethanol, but it’s getting harder to find

If you live South of about Nottingham, Esso Premium is Ethanol free. It’s not ethanol free up t’North. Taco’s we’re notorious for splitting the pistons and smashing Conrods when I raced Carts in the early 70’s before Suzuki’s started to take over

Very true, the north and Cornwall don’t get ethanol free petrol anymore ☹️

I used this wired bicycle speedo, connected up to the rear wheel, with the cable going under the engine: www.cateye.com/intl/products/computers/CC-VL520/ It worked pretty well, but you need to program in the tyre diameter to get half decent readings!