Discussions (October 2001 onwards)

Note: Later contributions now at the top...

If anyone is intrested John Russell has offered to do a DV servicing day, to show people who are not sure how or what to do when it comes to servicing the DV what to do. If anyone is interested then drop me a message and I will get something set up up with John. I will be attending so we can also use this day as a DV meeting. So I hope many of you will attend. More info when I get some idea of numbers.

Ride safely,
John

Now that the weather is turning colder I've thought about fitting a thermometer to warn of ice. Does anyone know if there is such a thing available specifically for bikes? I have got a Thermometer on mine, Maplin do a selection of theremometers quite reasonably priced. However they are not designed specifically for motorbikes. The one I have got is Aquarium Thermommter and it costs £9.99. It has two sensors one actually on the body of the unit the other is on the end of a lead. The lead is wired directly two the unit and I have placed just under the head light in the little black grill section.

Cheers Brian

Did you folks manage to get your ride in last weekend?Unfortunatly My bike decided that it did not want to leave the garage after 4hrs work I found that the side stand switch was stuck and did not want to move. It is amazing what half a can of WD40 can do.
We've been having fun, my local Honda dealer and I. The right hand pannier lid on my Deauville suddenly refused to click shut and lock so I went back to my local dealer for him to fix it under warrenty. He hadn't come across this problem before and the Honda workshop manual gives little advice. He took it all to bits to find out how it worked and to look to see if anything was broken. Couldn't find anything so put it all back together and it still wouldn't lock. Now that he knew how the (complicated) mechanism worked he figured what to do -- adjust the metal loops on the lid so that they both engaged their respective hooks at the same time. Bingo! the lid closes perfectly again. These hooks are fitted on oversize/slotted holes so they're obviously meant to be adjusted. No information at all about this in the shop manual. I hope this might be of help to some of you some day.

Like you I am a recently new Deauville rider although a lot older and have been riding a lot longer.Question I have is I intend to ride this bike all year round and will been fitting wind deflectors and a higher screen.On the market there are several other screens available other than the Honda one,has anyone fitted other makes of screen if so any comments / problems encountered in the fitting or usage of aftermarket items. This is a good question and one I would like to know the answer to. I have heard mixed reports about the different screens, and from what I gather height is a main factor. If anyone has any info then please write and tell me and it will appear on the site.

So far I am enjoying the bike although not to sure about the Michelin tyres in the wet. I am currently running Michelins but like you I am not sure on the wet. Bridgestone BT020's seem to be a good choice.

Await replies

Peter Fiske

Thanks for taking on the DV website - it's quite a commitment!
Only comment is - please keep it simple.

I do not intend on changing the format of the site. I will be adding a few items that I thought might be of use to everyone like the Product Review page, (If anyone finds a review that they think may be of interest, then mail me the address and I will put a link to it).

Cheers,
Andy

Hi Matt,

As for the fog light I am currently trying to find a rear water proof red light. Because the other wiring required two rear tail lights and the DV has only one. Hope that helps and I will update you all if I ever find a waterproof rear light.

Nick Wiseman

Hi folks,

Its now ordered......... Delivery is saturday 6th October. Bike is met. beige. New style reg plate as well - P015 something or other, don't understand this new system yet. Only £4999 on the road ! Good price - was that an official bike ? If so you've done well (or perhaps this is the selloff of current models before next years improved version) Not ordered any extras yet, my wife says "bikes not more bikes" as chunks of hair start flying and the kids start chuckling. "This is it" I said, "this is the one" (I hope it is for a few years, or I'll be for the high jump!).

I'm 5ft 6in ish tall, do you think I'll need taller screen or does anyone out there think I may be OK with std screen for decent weather protection. Also, are the hand deflectors worth it, do they deflect more of the weather from the handies? You might be OK with the standard screen. The hand deflectors do seem to keep the wind off the hands (but not heavy rain).

Saturday is a long way a way for this 40yr old kid, but I'll be patient. I used to have a handle Davirago when I had the 535 maybe I should change now to Daville!!!!!!

John Pettifor wrote "... while they were at it (whether its because I was watching) they greased up all my caliper/shaft/wheel bolts ..."

I'd just like to add that when my local dealer fitted a new rear tyre to my Deauville (Metzler MEZ4) they had a great time extracting the rear caliper retaining stud. Apparently the enthusiastic Spanish assembly workers are renowned for using "loctite" (or similar) in all sorts of places they shouldn't, including this caliper stud. It took them nearly an hour of levereing, grunting and swearing to get it out. All went back with copperease so should be OK next time. Bye the way, the Meztler is bedding down nicely and is MUCH better than the OEM Michelins

Regards, John Warner

30/9/2001 From John Russell (jrussell@tesco.net)

Just had the 16000 mile service. It was done straight away with no notice (on a Saturday too) ready by 5pm. Everything was done and done properly, and the brakes were stripped and cleaned as well. Cost £41.13 Yes! Oh! the joys of DIY. Now what shall I do with the £240 I've saved? I think I need to attend a basic motorcycle maintenance evening class…

Happy riding all.

John

30/9/2001 From Chas (chas@sweeney-todd.freeserve.co.uk)

Hello

Well I've only gone and done it! Took delivery of my machine last Saturday (22nd Sept) and the grin hasn't left my face since. I ordered it with the large panniers, inner bags, hand deflector kit, heated grips and 12V accessory socket. This last item, infuriatingly, is discontinued. As I intend on buying a heated suit for the winter, this is bloody annoying (any recommendations for fitting an alternative?). My first thought was praying that I didn't drop the damn thing on the first corner (I didn't). The first weekend I clocked over 220 miles just tooling around. Most of it was two-up as well - took a little time to get the pre-load set properly. I started out with it far too soft and it went leaping around like a demented dervish. Whacked a few turns on it and the back end settled right down.

One nice incident happened on the first day: my better half wanted to go and visit a local stone circle and we got a bit lost. While I was looking at the map (and trying to work out the best way of doing a U-turn in a narrow country lane) another Deauville trots by with Dutch plates. He grinned and waved, I grinned and waved and that was that - a moment of cameraderie in a little Somerset backwater. By Thursday I'd put over 500 miles on it so I got the first service in sharpish. Everything was as tight as a drum except for the fact that I occasionally find the clutch-starter interlock doesn't work - minor problem.

Likes:

For a heavy bike, it handles extremely well. Cornering is positive and it's also remarkably agile for its weight. Acceleration is not gut-wrenching like the FireBlade (how could it be?) but even running-in, there's more than enough to satisfy my needs and put a big grin on my face. I love the shaft drive - no more fiddling about with the chain. Once you get used to the sensation of the back rising up, one rapidly appreciates the smooth power delivery inherent in a shaft. It gets a bit grumpy if you crank too much throttle at low revs but that's to be expected. The torque spread is also impressive - I've found I change gear far less than on my old VT250. The fairing with the hand deflectors does a great job of keeping the wind and rain off. The feet get a tad exposed but I'm loathe to fit the fairing lowers, especially as it could crack the middle fairing if it gets dropped. I also love the heated grips - this was definitely a Good Idea to get fitted. Expensive, I know, but anything that keeps my hands warm is welcome.

Dislikes:

The instrument panel - what idiot designed this? The facia curves away from the rider and as a consequence, a great deal of the sky get reflected back into the visor thus rendering the indicator tallies virtually invisible under a bright sky. I've frequently found that I thought I'd cleared the indicator only to find that it's still blinking merrily away. There's little in the way of tactile feedback in the indicator switch to tell you you've cleared them, so you have to look several times at the tallies when you should be looking at the road. I also hate the cargo straps in the panniers: the clips are cheap and nasty (I've already broken one): Honda should be taken to task for this silly piece of false economy. I'm seriously thinking of finding somewhere that can make up a similar configuration but with decent heavy-duty clips. I haven't heard either of those complaints before - I know what you mean about the fascia though.

All in all, I'm thoroughly delighted with Ronnie (that's what she's called) and I look forward to many happy hours driving. I've attached a few photos for your delectation including a couple of arty shots of the bike in Cheddar Gorge and up Glastonbury Tor. Lovely pictures - I've put them on the photos page.

Happy riding

Chas =:-)

30/9/2001 From Paul Ankers (annieankers@onetel.net.uk)

Can any Deauvilliers out there give me, as a new boy on the block, the definitive answer to the questions I'm sure many new owners require. Hand deflectors Is it £25 a pair (this seems very reasonable for Honda parts) Do they just affix to the fairing fittings. Yes and Yes.

Fairing lowers Honda official parts:

Do they affix to the bike without any modification to the original fittings (easily) Yes.

Do they really crack the original fairing if the bike is dropped Well, John Warner's did.

Do they afford good weather protection Pretty good, people have reported.

Skidmarx and others Fairing lowers Any experience?

Screens That old can of worms!:

How about the M&P flip screen Is the Givi worth the extra money over the M&P Any experience of other makes. Is the Honda high screen as noisy as everyone suggests. Look in the FAQ section for collected wisdom on screens, basically, it's a very personal choice, really depends on how tall you are.

Heated Grips. Apart from the overpriced Honda ones any experience. Everything I've read says that typical aftermarket grips are utter rubbish (hard to fit, burn out your electrics, and fail after a year). The Honda ones are expensive by comparison, but work fantastically well, and the infinitely variable control is a blessing.

Regards to all

Paul Ankers

30/9/2001 From Brian Hall (bahbsc@hotmail.com)

Well I have owned my Deauville now for 6 months, and it was definitely the right bike for me, a 62 year old motorcyclist. It is a w reg bike amd has now done 6500 miles. I use it every day to get to work. I get 10 miles/litre. It is so easy to break all speed limits that I find even on country roads I am often doing 90 or 100. No, I'm sure you must be mistaken, your speedo was surely reading exactly 60.

My longest journey has been to Yorkshire and I came home through the Peak district which took 3 1/2 hours in the rain and the bike was extremely comfortable The bike even has the thumbs up from my 27 year old son.

Incidentally with him as a passenger, at "high" speeds I get a strange oscillation effect on me that does not get down to the bike. I had intended to buy the large pannier lids, but now I want to keep the narrow lines, so useful in traffic, so if when I need extra luggage capacity I will use throw over bags, perhaps temporarily removing the lids. Has anyone tried this. Doesn't sound like a great solution. The bike is just over 90cm wide with the big lids, which only restricts filtering "up the middle" in towns, it shouldn't be a problem.

A potentially useful tip for low mileage users is that the rear brake anchor bolt can seize in its housing, as I found when taking the wheel out to get a new tyre fitted. At one point I thought it might become a warranty job.

This bike is a quiet delight compared with the BMW R80 which I rode for 10 years, up to 124000 miles, and possible will keep me riding for another 10 years,

Regards Brian Hall

PS I have for sale a GV wing rack with fittings for the 600cc Yamaha Fazer, with two 35l boxes.

29/9/2001 From Paul Codrinton (Kermitthefrog@btinternet.com)

Just purchasing a new DV today (Registered at Honda dealers 2 months ago for a quick sale, half-a-mile on the clock). Collecting at 1200hrs and yes, it is raining so hard Noah might consider making a comeback. Only one concern: Anybody had any problems with the aluminium parts pitting and if so what preventative measures can I take?

Paul Codrinton

29/9/2001 From Dave Yates (davelin@briarsgreen.freeserve.co.uk)

Hi,

Going to order my Deauville tomorrow. All weather, All year biker now needs better protection from elements than my current old 535 Virago. Hope I'm changing to a gudun! Seems like from your site. You won't regret it, the DV is a better bike in many ways.

regards

Dave Yates from Lancashire.......................

Try this site, it is a Translation but it does mention several changes notably larger panniers capable of taking a laptop in the left hand Pannier.

http://translate.google.com/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www.moto-station.com/article.php%3Fsid%3D327&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dphp%2B%2Bjavasrcipts%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff

Thanks John H Law

Hi all

Just thought I'd let you know that KC motorcycles in Hove, Sussex fitted my new BT020's yesterday, while they were at it (whether its because I was watching) they greased up all my caliper/shaft/wheel bolts even topped up my brake oil reservoir, the guy who did it was a real enthusiast and owned a Pan euro.

As for the tyres even as I'm scrubbing them in the difference is noticeable cornering is even more effortless, they drop into corners slightly quicker probably because they are newer but very secure ride hopefully they will be better than the Macadams in the wet.

Got a nice long ride up to Coventry after work so can test them out more.

It’s now two months since I bought a Triumph Sprint Executive to replace my Deauville and I thought I would let you know how I’m getting on with it and how it compares with the Honda. The 885cc Sprint is now obsolete and has the original three-cylinder engine. The Executive was the last gasp of this model and they added panniers to it to soften the blow regarding its impending demise. In effect it’s a 900cc Trophy (which is about to be discontinued in favour of the 1200) with a smaller half fairing.

I liked the Deauville a lot but the main problem was that I felt it simply did not have enough puff when it came to overtaking on fast open roads. This was first brought home to me during MAC course when the instructor’s Pan went sailing past the traffic and I had the throttle fully open. Secondly, although I had the larger panniers the sculptured shape still restricts their usefulness.

I bought the Sprint because I thought it would be the nearest thing to a beefed-up Deauville and being second-hand the difference in price was minimal. With the DV being a best seller I reckon Triumph have missed an opportunity by discontinuing it. They cut and run too early.

So what are the points in favour of the Sprint? It looks beefy and still weighs less than the Deauville by a couple of kg. The panniers are a lot better by being bigger, narrower than the wide DV ones and detachable. It’s just as comfy as the Deauville and the suspension at the factory setting is even softer. The seat’s about an inch lower which is a help when manoeuvring.

With a terrific engine it goes like the clappers when you want it to and gives oodles of confidence when overtaking. Surprisingly, the fuel consumption is around the 50mpg mark when ridden sanely. It's also a good aural experience, growls when going slowly and sounds good at speed, which I know shows me up as being a bit sad. The gearbox is a lot better and smoother (although there’s six gears, which is about three too many) and I can actually find neutral easily. Brakes are about the same, absolutely fine.

It’s mostly British which encourages me to feel that we can still cut the mustard when it comes to engineering.

And the bad points: Although it’s actually lighter it feels heavier and the C of G is quite high and with a five gallon tank, that’s another half a hundred weight on top. You only feel this during those crucial times when parking etc.

Worst of all is the chain drive. Nasty mucky things that you have to fiddle with at regular intervals and then have a bath in Swarfega. Having had a GT550 and a Deauville, I’ve never experienced these things before.

So all in all I’m pleased with it. It’s taken me a while to get used it as I suspect my skeleton had moulded itself into a Deauville shape. How reliable it turns out to be in the long term remains to be seen but they seem to have a good reputation.

PS Must remember to slow down.

26/9/2001 From Stephane Jallat (Stephane.Jallat@Rademacher.co.uk)

I read on a French magazine that the 2002 DV presented at the Paris show next week will have a more powerful engine and I'm surprised it has never been mentioned on the UK media. I might go to this bike-show next WE just to check that this excellent news is true and I will let you know. Interesting -but if it's still a 650, which I assume it must be since they'd definitely have announced such a major change, any power increase is going to be pretty small. This site had a tip-off from someone in Spain a few months ago (see in the April discussion archive), that mentioned all the 2002 changes that have been announced, and no engine change was mentioned there.

I commute every day between London and Oxford and my T-reg DV has now 45K on the clock after 18 months. I only called AA once (for a flat tyre)!

The DV is the best bike for this type of use. The Pan is too wide in traffic-jam, the VFR (low handle-bars) and Varadero (at high speed) are too uncomfy and not shaft-driven and the BMW R1100 RT is too expensive.

I personally always use the reserve tap because my fuel consumption varies a lot (between 47 and 53 mpg) depending upon the way I ride. That allows me to ride more miles between each refuelling. Reaching the reserve tap even in the middle of a roundabout can be easy and safe if you have practised before with the bike stopped.

Stephane

25/9/2001 From Paul Sutcliffe (Paul.Sutcliffe@RebusGroup.Com)

My experience has been I get just under 340 km before hitting reserve (about 210 miles) - what a delicate right wrist, eh! 210 miles ! Do you ride everywhere at 60mph ? The bike stutters as it hits reserve, but I get plenty of time to switch over, it's never cut out on me. I start looking for a garage at about 370km, at which point the tank takes about 17 litres - still a couple to spare.

PS A white DV, hand deflectors and tall screen, top box, travelling up the A2 towards London about 9.15am and turning off just before the South Circular - anyone match this description?

Hi all

Just fancied posting an update on my DV It's now showing very nearly 10k on the clock, I can't believe I didn't opt for a shaft drive bike earlier, no messy oily chains to lube, makes cleaning so much easier and quicker.

Back with the standard screen, have ordered some hand deflectors, and at the end of the getting some BT020's fitted. I'm still finding at 5000rpm or 70mph a slight pinking/hesitation from the engine if you hold it at that speed. As soon as you increase/decrease speed it's all fine again. Still getting 200 miles from a tank so thats great. If anyone's interested P&H motorcycles in Crawley have a T-reg 4k in red , I thought it was new, even the exhaust bolts are shiny, it has hand deflectors and a givi rack for £3900.

Cheers

John in Sussex

24/9/2001 From Andy Beck (andy.beck@wabco-auto.com)

Still reading your site regularly - keep it simple!

Just been reading MCN at http://www.motorcyclenews.com/news/detail?sectionID=67356&documentID=89852 and notice that the 2002 model DV will feature linked brakes, apparently also featured on Pans and Blackbirds.

What do we think about that, then? Can we not chew gum and walk at the same time? Or is that a technophobic attitude? Anyone tried linked brakes? Does it work both ways - ie does the pedal apply some front brake (ooer)? There are different flavours of the system, typically both pedals apply more of their normal brake and a bit of the other one. I've ridden a VFR, Varadero and Pan Euro with linked brakes and didn't find it a problem.

Seems scary to me, but then I still miss my kickstart. . .

Andy

24/9/2001 From Chris Newby-Robson (cnr@themadprofessor.demon.co.uk)

I just had experienced the engine cutting out whilst going round a roundabout. It was the fuel hitting the reserve. What slightly concerns me was that I had no warning (engine spluttering ETC) before it just died half way around the roundabout in the rush hour. I know it is my fault for letting the level get low, but I was surprised not to get any warning. The only thought that I had was that the spluttering had been masked by the braking/deceleration into the roundabout. That's one reason I don't use the reserve tap, rather I leave it on reserve and use the trip meter as a fuel gauge.

What are every body else's experience of how suddenly the engine dies when the tank has hit the reserve?

What do you recommend for keeping the chrome exhaust pipes and silencer clean and protected from the wonderful British weather?? I use Solvol, it's great on the exhausts but less good on the triangular footrest hangers and pretty useless on the utterly crap alleged metal that they make the gear selector out of.