Briski Bikers Come Forward!

[fabiamk2SE]

Cars here :( I have nothing against riding in the snow, but last time I did so was on the Z1000SX when it was still less than 6 months old :( Roads here are bad enough in the dry let alone snow for bikes, so absolute no no! 

 

I try to avoid grit full stop tbh. Bikes immaculate for its age, so cant bring myself to ride it in grit. I'm a fussy bugger when it comes to condition  

[diveslob]

Yep. Still riding my road and off road bikes.

[fabiamk2SE]

Yep. Still riding my road and off road bikes.

 

ZX10r still on the road yeah? hows it coping? 

[FUBAR]

I try to avoid grit full stop tbh. Bikes immaculate for its age, so cant bring myself to ride it in grit. I'm a fussy bugger when it comes to condition

 

I have said the same last winter, but strangely I am more fussed about my average condition old 636 than I was a brand spanker with regards to salt etc. I think it's more of a 'it's an old bike it will rott in a week' sore of mentality. Doubt I will even get the bike to start at moment and I have no way to charge the lithium battery in the fecker 

[diveslob]

ZX10r still on the road yeah? hows it coping?

no. Sold the zx10r as my back was getting to sore to ride. Picked up an MT09 tracer. Awesome machine. Toured France twice last year on it, commute 80% of the time on it and take it out for 125mile breakfast runs at the weekend! Edited 16 January, 2016 by diveslob

[Madrunner]

Yop still on the bike. Although one morning last week had a good old front end slide on a patch of black ice. That woke me up pretty quickly.

With the heated grips and heated jacket its no bother, certainly plenty warm enough.

Edited 16 January, 2016 by Madrunner

[fabiamk2SE]

Yop still on the bike. Although one morning last week had a good old front end slide on a patch of black ice. That woke me up pretty quickly.

With the heated grips and heated jacket its no bother, certainly plenty warm enough.

still enjoying it then? 175bhp and black ice. what a recipe lol 

 

oh dear. nothing worse than a front end slide. 

 

i've had a few... my heart also stops . Had a bad one on the SV once, no idea how it found grip again. i was really lucky. 

Edited 16 January, 2016 by fabiamk2SE

[fabiamk2SE]

no. Sold the zx10r as my back was getting to sore to ride. Picked up an MT09 tracer. Awesome machine. Toured France twice last year on it, commute 80% of the time on it and take it out for 125mile breakfast runs at the weekend!

ah sorry, saw your thingy under the picture n it still says zx10r haha. 

 

Nothing like abit of pain to take the fun out of things is there! 

 

Everybody seems to rave about the Tracer. Not heard a bad thing about it yet? 

[Madrunner]

Yeah its got a tad chilly and the road grime is now properly sticky on the visor but I feel great after each ride to be honest.

It looked like running water but there clearly black ice under the wet stuff. Made the bump hole tighten a bit I can tell you lol

Your stomach drops doesn't it ?!!! When it happens skill doesn't come into it,m it's all luck.

[fabiamk2SE]

Yeah its got a tad chilly and the road grime is now properly sticky on the visor but I feel great after each ride to be honest.

It looked like running water but there clearly black ice under the wet stuff. Made the bump hole tighten a bit I can tell you lol

Your stomach drops doesn't it ?!!! When it happens skill doesn't come into it,m it's all luck.

Urgh the roads are really dirty arent they! Screen wash in the car is being used alot. More of a pain with a visor though isnt it!

Thats even worse.. Ice with water on top. Properly slippy.

It does drop yeah. You think youre going to be off for a second or so dont you. It is luck yeah. Theres bugger all you can do. My foot came off the peg n everything, i was into 'crash position' haha.

[StevesTruck]

Well, I made the New Year's Resolution that I'm getting back on. Other than the scooter, it's been the best part of ten years. I've decided I'm going to do it different this time and actually have a licence.

 

Did my CBT yesterday, there was meant to be two of us, but I scored lucky and the other guy dropped out, so it was one-to-one instruction all day. Really good instructor, kept it simple, told it like it was, but at the same time didn't mind having a laugh with it and doing the quick version of bits I already knew.

 

Wrapping up, the instructor basically said the same thing as I was thinking; my roadsense is fine from being in the car and on the scooter, but I'm rusty on the actual motor skills of operating a bike (so apparently, it's not "like riding a bike" after all). I'll get the excuses out of the way and say I didn't get on well with the bike I was riding, I felt like I was on a monkey bike and got in last night with a sore back from being hunched up all day. Bottom line though is I didn't do a smooth ride, I was thinking about the controls rather than doing that subconciously and concentrating on the roadcraft

 

I'm old and stupid enough that I can do DAS, going straight to a full A . I'm just having the debate with myself as to whether I carry on straight up or get a of my own 125 for a bit. The instructor gave me the idea of hiring one of their 125s for a couple of days, go out and have a ride about by myself. I'm not adverse to the idea, but they haven't got any other 125's apart from what I was riding on CBT, and I don't think I'll learn anything on those.

 

Anyway, theory and hazard perception next, I've got them booked for Tuesday night. I'm totally happy on the theory, I've done a few practices and had a flip through the instructors test questions book while I was having lunch and can't see any problems other than my first aid procedures are a bit old school. What I haven't done before, apart from some grainy online sample tests, is hazard perception.

[Chriswright03]

Good luck with that then Steve.  If you can manage it I would go for the DAS as you will soon become boed with a 125.

 

Are you doing it in Lincoln?

[fabiamk2SE]

Good luck steve!

A 125's a 125. Theyre all around the same power, most of em have budget everything.

I dont think trying it out for a few days is a bad idea, but if you're used to cruising at anything over 50mph, a 125 gets boring on bigger roads.

DAS if you can, just take it easy. If you do the restricted route, its a complete ballache for new riders. Having to take the test multiple times.

You only really learn to ride after the test, of course.

[serafumi]

Any one riding this time of year should apply acf50 to there bike . Amazing stuff

[fluffmeister]

My RT is ACF50'd. Up, used it last week for work in Cardiff, so a nice little 400 mile round trip in rain and snow sluice it down with my garden sprayer before putting it away, but it won't get a proper wash now until March. The ACF50 will keep it corrosion free, just a dab to touch up here and there.

Glad I dug the heated gear out [emoji3] was somewhat nippy, and filtering was fun with snow starting to freeze on the screen.... Still, if I'd have been in the vRS, It would have taken me another 2 to 3 hours to get back to Warrington, and I was still toasty and listening to some "banging choonz" (I believe the youngsters say [emoji3])

Inverness tonight for the week, but may bottle it and hop on a FlyBe flight, there's proper snow in that Scotland place [emoji3]

Edited 17 January, 2016 by fluffmeister

[Chriswright03]

Had mine done in December.  It is so easy to clean after it has got mucky plus it protects it against all that salt because like many others on here riding is for all year not just when the sun shines.

[fluffmeister]

Did mine myself, Nippy's had some deals on over summer so I bought a few tins, warm it in a jug of water and it "atomises" fine, I stick a plastic sheet under the bike and mop up the surplus with a few applicator pads, stick them in a resealable placcy bag and there's my touch ups sorted.

Want to get this finished off today as a shiny box has arrived from Italy

[emoji3]

[Madrunner]

Urgh the roads are really dirty arent they! Screen wash in the car is being used alot. More of a pain with a visor though isnt it!

Thats even worse.. Ice with water on top. Properly slippy.

It does drop yeah. You think youre going to be off for a second or so dont you. It is luck yeah. Theres bugger all you can do. My foot came off the peg n everything, i was into 'crash position' haha.

You so know it mate, moody weather right now and so changeable !

Foot off the peg is properly scary, you have absolutely no say on regaining control when that happens !

[StevesTruck]

Good luck with that then Steve.  If you can manage it I would go for the DAS as you will soon become boed with a 125.

 

Are you doing it in Lincoln?

Thanks Chris. I'll be doing it in Peterborough, I live in Spalding but spend most of my time at work around Peterborough, so know the roads.

I'm not necessarily adversed to a 125, I tried a cg a while back and liked it, it's just the one I learnt on wasn't me-shaped. Lack of speed doesn't bother me, apart from where it stops me feeling safe on a fast road like it does on the scooter.

But then if I get a 125, that means I'm already thinking of what I'm having next, and the size will stop me using it at work.

[kevberlin]

There's fun and pleasure to be had riding a cg125. They are comfortable and give great feedback because of their simplicity.

I did a 400 mile round trip to Plymouth a couple of years ago on a cg. It's all about state of mind.

[StevesTruck]

Yeah, I know exactly where you're coming from on that. It's like my Ibiza's a nice car to drive, quick, modern, comfortable, forgiving. But the 1 litre mk2 Polo I have is just more interesting and involving because you have to work within its confines.

 

In all honesty, I really enjoy riding the electric scooter. It's just battery life that stops me enjoying it more. Yeah, it only does 30, but if you're going slow, you see more.

[Chriswright03]

Kev above makes a very good point.  When I say you will soon get bored of a 125 I think that is true but then that depends on so much like how you feel, what sort of riding you will be doing and a whole load of other stuff that we can only guess at.  Fun on two wheels doesn't have to be on anything in particular.  It can be small medium or large and it really does depend on what you intend to do with it.

 

Have a look at a few bikes and see what suits you with regards to comfort and riding position above style.  Webbs of Peterborough have a massive choice and they are very friendly.  Let them know what you are doing and they will be more than happy for you to sit on anything in the showroom provided it isn't sold and then at least you can tell if you feel cramped or comfortable.  Once you have decided what suits your shape think about the sort of riding you will be doing and whether a 125 would cope with it without a problem.  For example a bit of easy commuting it would be fine but it would be limited in any overtaking you want to do and hence a long journey could be longer because you do not have the safe margin for overtaking a lot of modern traffic.

 

One other thing to consider is the finance of it all as DAS is dearer to start with but at least then you can buy one bike and it suit you for years whereas with a smaller bike you will be changing to a larger bike and then maybe larger still all at more expense and possible loss each time.

 

Plenty to think about but I think you have come to the right place for a bit of advice because I think amongst us lot in here w have a wide experience of all sorts.

[serafumi]

Did mine myself, Nippy's had some deals on over summer so I bought a few tins, warm it in a jug of water and it "atomises" fine, I stick a plastic sheet under the bike and mop up the surplus with a few applicator pads, stick them in a resealable placcy bag and there's my touch ups sorted.

Want to get this finished off today as a shiny box has arrived from Italy

[emoji3]

Set up one of theses bmw nine t s at work .. Ohlins front and vs k and a akrapovic system kn and a pcv. Made it an awesome road bike

[fabiamk2SE]

There's fun and pleasure to be had riding a cg125. They are comfortable and give great feedback because of their simplicity.

I did a 400 mile round trip to Plymouth a couple of years ago on a cg. It's all about state of mind.

Good effort!

I never really did more than 100 miles a day on my CG.

Seemed like enough at the time, at 50mph. Looking back though, can now do that before breakfast.

I didnt get bored too badly on the 125 but i didnt know any better, if you know what i mean? Id be bored ****less now, but back then it was fine.

Depends also on the car you drive too i guess. Anything more than a 1.0 litre is going to cruise faster, accelerate faster and overtake better. Getting on a 11bhp bike with nothin else going on (no comfy seats or decent stereo) might make you crave more to keep entertained.

It all comes in time though and its purpose is to get you through the test, so itd be fineeee.

Edited 17 January, 2016 by fabiamk2SE

[fluffmeister]

I've got a UN1T Garage Titanium Can to go on, along with their canvas / leather pannier and rail, Rizoma tail tidy, Oberon mirrors. Got a set of Remus decat headers off my old twin cam GSA away for ceramic coating and a noise control valve delete. Got to save some serious cash for a set of wheels at some point, I want some Kineos as BMW in their infinite wisdom put tubed rims on the R Nine T, which is a bit **** really given the sticker price (which I didn't pay BTW) [emoji3]

This is my keeper though, the RT is the workhorse, the Octavia for the family and this for a sunny weekend thing and summer runs out to wherever I'm working.

I love boxers...... But they are not everyone's cup of tea granted. Strangely, love BMW bikes, but don't think I could ever see the day when I buy a BMW car.

I'm not sure this thing will ever be "finished" yes it's new, but I've got some pretty big plans for it over the long term.