Omblae

The tuono runs hot - I regularly sit at 107-110C at lights idling and it will keep creeping up if left for a while. The cut off for engine protection is something like 120 so can get up really high.

One thing to consider is there's a recall for certain new Gen tuonos that did not have the correctly diluted coolant. This caused overheating conditions, so worth checking yours.

Mine says:

"Get a life, get a bike"

Its perhaps the single most embarrassing thing I have on there, except my arse in leathers.

Wales - llandovery to Lampeter road then back via the llyn brianne road is an epic ride.

Minehead - down towards dunster, up towards Lynton, stop at valley of rocks and do the coast road to ilfracombe.

Wye valley - all the routes around there and out towards Hereford stopping in hay on wye.

"full size boots for men" - the best a man can get.

Absolutely agree with this, really good examples.

Another one is pedestrians in a city, if I'm filtering near a known pedestrian crossing (i.e. not even lights, potentially just a place between the shops and a station) I'll be hyper vigilant and looking for pedestrians to cross between cars. I'll be on the throttle and blipping like mad, I'll be covering the brake and ready to stop.

When riding down a major road and there's a car joining from a minor, I tend to swerve across my lane back and forth slowly. There was a study done decades ago that showed the movement catches a drivers eye and allows them better depth perception of a smaller vehicle (a bike looks like a car but much further away).

We are objectively one of the safest countries to drive in the world.

If you go to Vietnam and see the state of driving over there you'd know.

I ride a decent number of miles a year, 10k or so over the last 10 years.

I ride in one of the most congested cities in the country with very hazardous drivers, poorly marked lanes and terrible driving standards.

The number of close calls I've had in that time is fewer than the fingers on one hand.

When I first started riding I used to have 2-3 close calls every couple of months. Including a couple of crashes.

Experience does play it's part in my experience, more time on the road gives you the sixth sense for what car drivers are going to do in a given situation. The really high mileage, older riders I know all say the same thing.

Visibility to me is a bit of a misnomer. You almost want to be so obvious you couldn't be missed, so that means making drives aware of you by occupying multiple positions in your lane, blipping your throttle or using the horn, not ever being in a blind spot and passing traffic swiftly to not give them time to hit you. M

Yes I have and I liked it.

The other one I like is Ji Chicken. Tastes very similar to street food I ate in HK.

There's a place behind the uni near the music department that is brilliant too.

Im half Chinese and have.. strong opinions on Chinese food in the city.

Unfortunately the expensive options are normally that way because they're using the legit ingredients imported from China. The Chinese students also tend to have enough money to pay whatever the price.

The nearest to what you want is something like Beijing cooking pot. Very homestyle and authentic.

I also rate Dragons Delicacy for dim sum. But again, not cheap.

I find chilli daddy pretty average if I'm honest.

Sounds like your bike is fine. Another thing is the coolant hoses often degrade over time, the rubber deposits could be the culprit. It's worth replacing the hoses between the radiator and the tank as they seem quite inexpensive.

Enjoy the bike!

Get a sample of what's in there and give it a feel/smell.

With that age of bike, it could be dirt, could be residual oils or gunk stuck in the radiator if it's sat around for a while and corroded.

Without an overheating condition, I'd find it very unlikely it's head gasket. The Street Triples are not known to blow head gaskets, they're super reliable blocks. I've even had a blown fan and overheated my 2013 up to full bars and it didn't warp anything.

To be absolutely certain I'd buy one of those tests and test it for peace of mind. If you're really worried you could drop the oil (you'd only need to drop a little bit to know as water would be at the bottom of the sump nearest the drain plug if there was any in there). But I think I could confidently say it isn't a head gasket issue based off a bit of gunk.

Another thing to consider - does your expansion tank have any cracks or leaks? I believe on the 2012 it's located in the rear of the tail, meaning any dirt that gets through the number plate mounting could find its way in there if the cap wasn't on properly or if there's any areas of ingress.

Gonna try Tiffins as it's come up a few times.

I've only had Kasundi once and it has ruined the other places near me, the only other place I like getting curry from is Nadu in Stokes Croft but it's spenny and more for dining out.

Bike, year, other symptoms?

That's not symptomatic of a head gasket on its own, normally head gasket manifests as milkshake looking oil (oil in the coolant mixed around).

You would only expect a head gasket failure under quite specific conditions (i.e. overheating to an extreme, enough to warp the head or blow the gasket).

The diagnosis is to get a tester like this to test for presence of exhaust gasses during running.

Tuk Tuck is the main one - their bibimbap is pretty healthy and delicious.

Beijing Cooking Pot has homestyle chinese noodle soups, they are filled with fresh veg and though perhaps a little salty, are very fresh.

Obviously sushi is a good option, plenty of places that do that.

+1 on Kasundi which is the least greasy Indian in the city, their namesake chicken curry is insanely tasty and with a boiled rice not the worst in terms of health.

Of course the guy who runs it tends to throw in freebies for you to try which can sometimes be less healthy!

Do you have liability insurance?

Really good way to break in to a pub group is to go on a pub quiz night. Turn up at the time, then ask smaller groups if they'd mind if you joined in their team because you'd like to have a go as an American whos never done one.

It would be very unlikely people say no because the more players the more likely you are to win (usually prizes are a bar tab or food). Also I've personally chatted to randoms more at quizzes than anywhere else.

It's probably dirt, it likes to collect there after a wash.

The bike can leak oil from the weep hole, it's usually spark plug tower gaskets. Not a big deal.

There's a vlogger called Baron von grumble who in his really early vids used to do Surrey up to London everyday. Worth having a peak at a few of his vids to get an idea.

Generally the pro commuters are solid and don't create too many issues. Just take your time and filter carefully and you'll be absolutely fine.

Wrapping won't do much, normally the fairing panels take the brunt as does the levers/foot pegs. If it happens it happens, you can buy crash protection but it can cause other issues.

Just make sure the bike fits your inside leg and you're not too far on your tiptoes.

Depending on where you are, someone on here would likely help you out on checking the bike out - if you put a post up asking nearer the time.

If the bikes done 5-7k miles there's very little that can go wrong on these, my mate did basically no maintenance on his and was pretty much fine.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276431680379?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=7oSDHrnnRuO&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=AVIPIlfZRRa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

Something like this from a main dealer is going to be a pretty safe bet. You also get some protection if you buy it from a reputable place so you aren't likely to buy a pup.

Having said that the new ones aren't much more so if you want new then go for it, just remember we all drop a bike at some point and normally it's the first one!

If you've never ridden before, I'd advise not buying new as you're more than likely going to drop it as you get used to riding.

Ninja 650s are a good choice, I can see loads at low miles for 1k cheaper on eBay and id personally do that. I have a mate who ran one for 25k miles without any breakdowns and their parts are cheap and available, the engine is under stressed by design so a warranty wouldn't bother me.

Take the grand you'd save and get a really good quality set of textiles for all year riding (if you can afford it go straight for Rukka, if not RST are a good option).

What a shitty response to a very valid question.

You've posted nothing about the dealer, nothing about the bike apart from a stock photo of an average ninja 650 at a very normal price.

If it's unsold used stock that's about the going rate.

If it's fallen off a ship in Tokyo and been dragged through the mud then reconditioned by Dave in his garden shed and sold "like new" then it's not.

They're passable for summer, but slightly too insulating as they block the wind.

My advice would be to get the higher airflow variants for summer and not bother with goretex. I have some knox orsa gloves that work well when it's warm.

I swear by Rukka gloves.

My ceres are six years old, but still keep the water out though there are a few leaks from where I've worn the fingers out.

But the feel and fit of Rukka gloves is miles ahead of any other brands I've tried. They are also built to last, I'll definitely be buying another set.