Morning all well yesterday - great sunny day - one of the first days i have had to enjoy the 899 while the sun has been out, popped along to box hill had a great chat with a chap who is looking to get a 899 panigale. Was a scorcher of a day had a nice cold drink then left. Needed fuel so stopped at the texaco down the rode from box hill and this is when things went from great to down right awlfull for starters the que on the petrol station was just pathetic - there was 2 staff working but only one on the tills, and to make matters worse a family in there buying what seemed to be there weekly shop, no fuel just baskets of food and other produce in front of me, nothing worse that popping to get fuel and find people doing there weekly shop at a petrol station, any way to the Scratch, So i am there waiting to pay and i look out side to Pump 8 where the panigale is sitting and i see a car at a very obscure angle and right away my heart is my throat, surely this person is not attempting what i think they are - a u turn right opposite my bike, i hurry and pay with what seems like the slowest cashier in history, rush out side and a lil old lady about 150 years old in an old beat up car wearing welding goggles for sun glasses is about 5mm from reversing in the bike, There was a couple there on another bike in the pump in front who wear trying to stop her from reversing into it, the lil old lady nearly hit it several times i am told, i was unaware while i was in the shop as was trying not to loose my temper with the poorly staffed shop and the family buying there weeks shop, anyway, as i ran out the shop i was waving like a mad man as one does when his new toy is about to be smashed against a fuel pump, shouting at the old lady to stop, the couple and i cannot thank them enough did there best to no let her hit it, even standing between my bike and the car - anyway, so i quickly moved the bike out of harms way and thanked the couple as i thought all was good, they where trying to see what the old lady was doing there, she had a map and all sorts out so obviously lost, she in my eyes should not be allowed on the road as could hardly drive and was clearly not capable of driving a vehicle safely, by now my heart is racing and i hurry away from the scene get home and there it is a rather large ( in my eyes ) scratch on the LH side of the Panigales Nose, gutted was not the word it could of been a lot worse i know and i do hope the Old lady got to where she was going in one piece S
Wonder if it was the near dead old biddy that gave me the finger when I dared toot her for pulling out on me. I nearly crashed laughing. Good on yer old dear. I hate the 1st scratch. I still see the one i put on the rear of my 916 tank, by the bolt to remove it when my allen key slipped. It stands out in neon to my eyes.
note to self - stay away from that petrol station in future like all new things its bound to get the odd mark here and there
Thought you might have been the red one that had a scratch on the rear right (as you sit on the bike) tail piece. Was a 14 plate with sock fluffy covers over the reservoir tanks. Will it polish out?
Hmmm I have got reservoir socks on the bike, maybe it was mine - maybe i have another scratch i am unaware off its gone thru the clear coat but its barely visible ( well not to me )
That sucks. Someone ought to write a song about how it's the first scratch that hurts the most, maybe disguise it to be about love or something.
Yep your right, have also had to repair and repaint some of mine over the years, this is the first new new bike i have owned but like i said earlier could of been a lot worse if the 2 people where not there, then god knows, it would of been crushed under that car and the elderly women would of prob not even noticed and still carried on
That's great that you've done so much on the bike. We've got a trip to Italy in September and I'm trying to decide whether I want to put 6000+ miles onto the 1199s. I always bought it to ride rather than to polish and would not be shy of tracking it and doing lots of journeys but 6000 miles is still a hell of a lot to stick on a nearly new bike. On the other hand the experience of riding it over the Stelvio pass will likely make it all worthwhile.
Can't imagine buying a bike and then being worried about using it. Flog it when it's got 100k on the clock.
I'm with MrR. Take the 1199. I go to the alps a lot on my 916 or 1198 no problemo. Touring bikes are for the elderly and infirm amongst us. You will see countless GS's etc all farting along like a load of girls. Occasionally though you will see one ridden like a superbike. Oh, never race the locals.
my new to me sport classic now has two gouges through the paint into the plastic on the right side of the tank thanks to a lorry throwing farmers crap up. now touched over and buffed to a shine, but, I know its there.fecking grr.
I'd only had my brand spanking 851 a few short weeks when I tried to park it over a pot hole (that I hadn't noticed, obviously). Foot out holding the flick-up sidestand down and lowering it.... and lowering it.... and then lowering both of us to the floor. I was on the other side of the Alps from home, it was about 10pm and we were looking for something to eat. One scratched red mirror and a broken indicator lens. I bought some superglue from an all-night garage to bodge the indicator. 50'000 kms later, the indicator lens still had a line through it where it was glued, and the scratches to the mirror never did polish out. But I'd forgotten about them all a long time previously.
