Tallulah's Diary

[Lee337]

Will post ther video when it's up on Youtube.

[Lee337]

Video from Tallulah's dashcam.

[Lee337]

Took Tallulah out this morning, just a 15 mile commute to work, via the fuel station. Can't remember the last time I rode her but it was real fun. I'd forgotten just how good these bikes are. She now has 68140 miles on the clock (109660km), has averaged 53mpg, pulls like a train & fully laden has the carrying capacity of a camel... well a small camel anyway.

Didn't miss a beat on the way in but oddly on the way home, the 15 mile trip turned out to be just shy of 50 miles.

No idea how that happened.   

[Tallbloke]

I'm very late to this party but I bought my 886i Girly a few months ago with a similar mileage (72k) and have been having loadsa fun romping around the Yorks/Lancs moors on it. Great bike! Enjoyed reading some of your posts on this thread, Let's keep these old girls going!

Here's a pic I took last week trying to get up out of the freezing clag smothering the valley. Next I need some heated trousers to plug into one of those nice 12V outlets on the dash!

[Lee337]

They just keep on going...   

[Lee337]

Despite having a new (to me) Tiger 800 tucked nicely away in the garage, Tallulah is still very much in use although I'm starting to remove some of the bits I've added during my ownership.

This last week I thought it time to remove the satnav that was hard wired in. I thought I might be able to slide the wires out without lifting the tank, easy. Except I forgot I'd used cable ties to secure the one wire to the frame.

So, indicator pods off, tank infil pannels off, side body pannels off, not because I needed to remove them to get the tank off, but becasue I'd tucked the excess wiring behind them, Battery out, battery box removed, fuel line, drain tubes, fuel sender connector and lift.

OK, forgot the tank was full  . LIIIIFFFFFFFTTTTTT, put it down quickly.

After that removing the hard wire kit was relativel painless, a few cuts to the cable ties and away it all came.

While the tank wwas off, I thought it wise to also remove the dashcam system. Again not difficult and it took far less time than fitting it in the first place.

Aside from heaving the tank back on, it all went back together again pretty quickly. Battery refitted & it was time to just check everything was working... except it wasnt.

Engine turned over once then everything died. Swith the ignition off, then back on again, only one headlight, no main beam,no indicators and no brake light, pressing the starter button didn't even generate a click & no telltale fuel pump whine.

OK, Lee, think    What could cause all this? 

Then it hit me, Tallulah had been in the garage since before Christmas, untouched. the few times I'd been out I'd used Talyn. Checked the battery voltage, 9.3v. An hour on charge and it was back up to 13.4v. Switched on the ignition, all lights working, fuel pump whirred and while she seemed a little sluggish, she started after a couple of turns of the engine, but the engine management light stayed on.

Out comes the laptop, plug in TuneECU and it showed 6 different error codes, all related to under voltage. Cleared them and all seemed well. Time would tell as Sunday was looking good and I really needed to get out on a bike, any bike.

Sunday morning came & I needed to drop a birthday card off at my brothers, pop in to Halfords and it seemed an ideal time to take Tallulah out. She started with her usual ease.

A short 50 mile ride later & she still does not disapoint. I know I have to sell her at some point but I'm in no hurry.

[Lee337]

I think the time has come for Tallulah to find a new home 

Looking back, she's provided some great rides, barely missed a beat when out and about and has had the good race to only cause me problems when I've either ignored her for too long, or on the very odd occasion, just before I've been out on a joy ride.

For the most part of my almost 5 year ownership, she's been one of the most reliable bikes I've owned.

But, she does need to be used. I can no longer justify keeping her locked up on the off chance I'll take her out when I have Talyn J sitting next to her, Tabitha Trophy tucked under cover awaiting some warm weather and Daysie Daytona waiting on the bench for more TLC.

I'll be sad to see her go, but the longer I leave her, the more chance there is of tucking her away in the back of the garage unused & unloved when she needs the thrill of the open road.

It's time to let someone else have the joy of those long summer days out. The advert is written, I just need to get the camera out.

[ghulst]

It is always that bitter sweet time when you know a new owner is going to appreciate your bike more than you will from this point onwards... Still, it's the right thing to do and all that.

[Lee337]

Some of you may be wondering what happend to Tallulah?

Has she gone? Well, the answer is no, she's still sitting in the garage next to Talyn J, but it's time to do something with her.

She's been sitting now for almost 12 months so I've decided it's time to do something about this and get her ready for a fresh MOT. I dragged her, literally out of the garage and in to the sunlight yesterday having first freed off the front brakes. At forst, I thought maybe the pads had just stuck to the discs, but no, the usual thing for these bikes, the brake pistons were all covered in brake dust, road grime and who knows what else so weren't retracting.

Off came the calipers and pads and with masses of brake cleaner & a tooth brush all was well again. A quick run up the road & back confirmed they worked although comparing them to Talyn'J's brakes, I'd forgotten how poor the 955i brakes can be. Thety still stop but just need more of a squeeze than the 800's.

The ouil was a little down, so this was topped up, which leads me to my next observation. The 800 gears are so much smoother and more positive than the 955i, which are far more clunky than I remember. Finding neutral is definitely a chjallenge. Now this may be down to her not being used for so long, at least I hope that's what it is.

Once I've got her MOT'd I think I'll tax her until I can sell her & use her for a while, just to loosen her up a bit.

The other thing I noticed (don't ask), is that only one of her heated grips is working. These are R&G grips, not the usueal Oxford ones. I thought perhaps I'd detached one of the connectors when I removed the dashcam to put on Talyn J, last year, but a quick probing with a multi-meter revealed one of the grips had failed. I can't be bothered to replace them, so when she is sold, I'll have to mention this.

So next up is to book her in for an MOT. Probably do this for next week some time, meanwhile, in an attempt to firm up the front brakes, I'm going to pull on the brake lever & tie it. This worked well for both the Daytona and Trophy by forcing any trapped air up into the master cylinder. At least that's my theory as to why it works. 

[Lee337]

Some may be surprised to hear Tallulah is still in the garage unsold after being on eBay at a buy it now of £1700. It seems she doesn't want to leave me!

Well, as she has an MOT, I've now also taxed her & took her for a ride earlier this month. She's certainly a different experience than Talyn J (the 800xc). One thing I did notice immediately was how agricultural the gearbox is, not helped by a stiff clutch, the last service being in May 2022 and 1,700 miles, nearly all of that done priopr to November 2022 when I bought Talyn J. Over 18 months tucked away in the back of the garage has done her no favours. Easy to get into 1st, 2nd was a bit clunky & finding neutral was about as easy as finding your zipper when you're bursting. You even had that kind of awkward shuffling although instead of left/right/left as you face the porcelain it was 1st/2nd/1st as you face the garage door (except you can switch the bike off, not your bladder).

So, on the bench she goes, an oil & filter change kicked off proceedings. I also decided to replace the clutch cable. I didn't think the old (Slinky Glide) cable was that bad until I removed it. While it wasn't seized, it was a bit like pulling a tricycle across sand, with a sumo wrestler sitting on it. Not impossible, but not something you'd want to do. 955i clutches are not the best anyway, so I thought a new cable would aty least ease the strain on my left hand - it did.

While I had the tank off, I gave everything as ggod clean & check over, including the IACV hoses, air filter, fuel hose and all the electrical connections. All good there. So having checked, fettled and replaced stuff, Tallulah got an full service and is, ready for the road.

Finally back together again, with fresh oil, I set off up the road. I managed to get a good 100m before I had to stop & adjusty the clutch, but with a litttle tweaking over a 15 mile ride, all was well.

I'd forgotten how much fun the 955i can be. Still think she's a tractor compared to the 800xc (who I took out to get some fuel & found myself going the long way to the local fuel station) and I doubt very much I'll be doing the miles I do with Talyn J, but I'm in no real hurry to sell her at the moment. I might even keep her for winter riding and put both Talyn J and Tabitha Trophy to bed for the winter.   

Talking of Tabitha Trophy, she's next on the bench. She's overdue an oil change and has her MOT in a few weeks. I also noticed she's popping & banging far more when I shut the throttle off than she used to. When I had her on the Dyno a few years ago, the tech said a couple of the o rings on the carbs were on their way out. Might have to replace them over next winter, assuming I get Daysie's electrics sorted.

So many bikes, so little time...