Newbie from England

Rutter · Jan 17, 2014

Hi guys and gals

I'm Mark, from the UK and looking to get my Hyperstrada in March depending on the finance options available. Waiting until March so I can have it with a 14 plate rather than a 63 plate, those 40 or so days are going to drag!

I currently ride a Kawasaki Versys which I've owned for the past two years as my first bike.

I'm 6'5 and 17 stone but after a few test rides last year I found myself very comfy on the little strada, maybe when I grow up a bit I'll consider a multi but for now it seems the right fit.

Looking forward to reading up on some hints and tips for maintaining and improving the little beastie when it arrives.

mentalist · Jan 17, 2014

welcome rutter

duc · Jan 21, 2014

Welcome to the Hyperstrada Forum!

SuperTen · Jan 21, 2014

I think the HS will be a nice upgrade from the Versys. When I am 2up with my wife suspension is good with the preload all on.

We together are about 22 stone.

Rutter · Jan 21, 2014

Thanks for the welcome guys, It should be a good bet, will get Ducati to set it up for my weight, the fiance has little interest in getting on the back so i'm safe there.

Deposit has been paid so now I just have to endure the wait until March for it to arrive despite it sitting in the showroom begging to be ridden!

jamiesk · Jan 21, 2014

Welcome Rutter. I have to wait until August for mine

Or maybe September for the new reg too!

Good luck with you new bike.

R6chase · Jan 21, 2014

Welcome!

OnASpeedTrip · Feb 9, 2014

Welcome Rutter,

whereabouts in the UK you from mate ?

Tim

Rutter · Feb 12, 2014

I'm in Milton Keynes, so fairly central, anyone local?

16 days to go...

Anyone want to buy a Versys?

zippy49 · Feb 12, 2014

Rutter said:
Hi guys and gals

I'm Mark, from the UK and looking to get my Hyperstrada in March depending on the finance options available. Waiting until March so I can have it with a 14 plate rather than a 63 plate, those 40 or so days are going to drag!

I currently ride a Kawasaki Versys which I've owned for the past two years as my first bike.

I'm 6'5 and 17 stone but after a few test rides last year I found myself very comfy on the little strada, maybe when I grow up a bit I'll consider a multi but for now it seems the right fit.

Looking forward to reading up on some hints and tips for maintaining and improving the little beastie when it arrives.

Okay, I'll bite. WTF is a "14 plate" vs "63 plate"? Your licensing system is very different from ours.

At your weight you will bottom the forks way too easily, better budget in some springs. I went from the stock .63 kg/mm to .85, and I only weigh 180 lb. in my gear.

Rutter · Feb 12, 2014

zippy49 said:
Okay, I'll bite. WTF is a "14 plate" vs "63 plate"? Your licensing system is very different from ours.

At your weight you will bottom the forks way too easily, better budget in some springs. I went from the stock .63 kg/mm to .85, and I only weigh 180 lb. in my gear.

UK plates currently work in the format XX ## XXX eg AB14XYZ as i understand it the first two letters relate to where in the country the bike is registered, then the two numbers the year of registration then the final 3 digits are random.

A 63 Plate will be a bike registered between September 1 2013 and February 28 2014
A 14 Plate will be a bike registered between March 1 2014 and August 31 2014
A 63 Plate will be a bike registered between September 1 2014 and February 28 2015

UK folks are pretty snobby about the plate on their car/bike so would rather have a newer plate despite the car/bike being the same model.

Interesting to hear about the forks, I had no issue on the few hours of test rides I did whilst riding quite hard but I shall bear that in mind if it becomes an issue. Of course shedding weight is on the agenda anyway!

zippy49 · Feb 12, 2014

So, it's all about resale value? Reminds me of when my dad bought his last Velocette. The dealer in L.A. registered it as a 1969, even though it left the factory in 1967. It's not like they changed much year to year.

In the USA we don't have permanent license numbers. The plates are issued state-by-state and are not valid if you move to another. And the records are purged after eight years of inactivity here in Cali, which can make getting a license for an old bike difficult.

I've heard of owners selling coveted license numbers in the UK for big bucks - my IOM friend sure treasures his "MN" prefixes!

Rutter · Feb 12, 2014

zippy49 said:
So, it's all about resale value? Reminds me of when my dad bought his last Velocette. The dealer in L.A. registered it as a 1969, even though it left the factory in 1967. It's not like they changed much year to year.

Its resale value to a point but its more so that Mrs Jones down the road can peer out of her curtains and announce to her husband "Ooh Derek I see that Mavis at number 43 has got one of those brand new Ford Focuses"

zippy49 said:
I've heard of owners selling coveted license numbers in the UK for big bucks - my IOM friend sure treasures his "MN" prefixes!

Personalised plates do sell for quite a lot over here, If i wanted to specify what my 14 plate would be I could have paid Â£400+ for the privilege!

A quite popular plate of recent years was a CL10 plate which many people bought to go on their Renault Clio.

zippy49 · Feb 12, 2014

400 sterling? Holy yumping yiminy that's just theft. A 100% personalized plate here is $50 extra a year. You just have to choose something new. I knew a rider who had one that said "FOANDY"....finally I asked and he said it meant f off and die!

Hi Charlie...

R6chase · Feb 13, 2014

I met a guy in Ontario who had the plate on his gixxer say MNMMNMN, could only imagine the cops trying to radio that in. But I'd bet he got stopped quite a bit for it too.

suprphreak · Feb 14, 2014

Rutter said:
Personalised plates do sell for quite a lot over here, If i wanted to specify what my 14 plate would be I could have paid Â£400+ for the privilege!

A quite popular plate of recent years was a CL10 plate which many people bought to go on their Renault Clio.

So you can personalize, but still needs to have the 14? Interesting! Really forces the creativity on plates. Have always been interested on how TopGear got the plates they did on their test cars...

Also, Ontario is a one time $275 fee (plus standard annual registration of $82)

Rutter · Feb 14, 2014

suprphreak said:
So you can personalize, but still needs to have the 14? Interesting! Really forces the creativity on plates. Have always been interested on how TopGear got the plates they did on their test cars...

You can personalise yes, but only to a plate equal or older than your registration.

For example you couldn't put a 14 plate on a bike that was registered in 2013, but you could put a 13 plate on a 2014 bike.

There are plenty of more unique ones, like you could have the number plate A1 or M4RK for example but these cost a fortune, the number plate 10 0 sold in 2010 for Â£93,000! Link here if you don't believe the crazy things us brits do!

I think its pretty crazy considering you get a number plate included with the purchase over here! But people see them as an investment and they are yours to keep as they don't expire and you can keep them on or off a vehicle.

2 weeks tomorrow and my bike arrives!

Newbie from England

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