Bout 40 quid will get you a set plus another 30 odd quid for bobbins.

 

Here's the one's I'll be ordering. Seem a fair price to me.

 

 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/360483543673?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

I have to get some for basic maintenance as my bike has no centre stand.

My only real gripe with it tbh.

The ABBA stands are more expensive, but are a lot better.

 

http://abbastands.co.uk/product-detail.asp?topic=superbike-stand&pid=1

 

They come up on E-Bay and all you need to do is add the correct fitting kit for your bike.

+1 for the ABBA stand, much more stable than any paddock stand I've used. Had mine for years and used on 4/5 different bikes. The only thing you need is a jack or front stand to lift the front wheel. 

They do a front wheel lifter attachment for an ABBA stand now.

Also they do  a set of castors attachment so you can spin the bike on the spot.

I am considering one though, they do look good.

 

 http://www.abbastands.co.uk/

I want to go for a spin but dunno if I can be arsed on my own.

I always come back from solo rides with a LOT more dead buggage on my face

than when I have wifey on the back.

I certainly push the envelope a bit further when I'm alone, but equally I'm not riding

above my ability trying to keep up with more experienced and faster riders/bikes... 

Best time to learn your bike is by yourself IMO. 

I'm off out in the Audi next to drop the wife off at the pub with her mates.  

They do a front wheel lifter attachment for an ABBA stand now.

Also they do  a set of castors attachment so you can spin the bike on the spot.

I am considering one though, they do look good.

 

 http://www.abbastands.co.uk/

Have you seen this

 

http://abbastands.co.uk/product-detail.asp?item=sky-lift&pid=44

 

I've got a lift table, so could not justify one of these too, but have seen them at shows, and they are good and surprisingly stable.

Yeah I know what you mean, I do enjoy a solo ride BUT it's nice to have someone with me for company, silly I know because we cant talk to each other much lol. Going out with my brother we just stay 'near' each other, he can go off ahead if he wants or I can but we just keep tabs on each other. 

I always come back from solo rides with a LOT more dead buggage on my face

than when I have wifey on the back.

I certainly push the envelope a bit further when I'm alone, but equally I'm not riding

above my ability trying to keep up with more experienced and faster riders/bikes... 

Best time to learn your bike is by yourself IMO. 

I'm off out in the Audi next to drop the wife off at the pub with her mates.  

Have a look on here, but be warned, it is habit forming, but it gives you a reason to go out on the bike, you end up with your mates wanting to know where you are heading off to next...

 

http://www.roundbritainrally.co.uk/index1.htm

 

Think of a treasure hunt, but it is set over the whole of mainland UK..

Edited 21 June, 201412 yr by Miz

Yeah I know what you mean, I do enjoy a solo ride BUT it's nice to have someone with me for company, silly I know because we cant talk to each other much lol. Going out with my brother we just stay 'near' each other, he can go off ahead if he wants or I can but we just keep tabs on each other. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/131215040669?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I'm just about to pull the trigger on one of these. 

Just waiting for Mrs G to do her CBT and assuming she gets on with actually riding a bike 

I'll order a set immediately. Don't need 3/4 of a mile range if she will only be pillioning

so they do a cheaper one with much shorter range for driver to passenger comms which

I'll buy instead. It will be great if she gets on with riding a bike, I have room for a couple

more here... I am going to find it hard spending the Audi money on a car when it will 

buy some bikes. Especially as I'll have a new van by then as well.

Me and a couple of mates were eyeing up some kinda intercom for group rides. 

 

I decided to get up early this morning and go for a lone ride. The mrs went out last night so I took the dog out for a walk then went for a spin while she was still sleeping her hangover off. I was out for about 2 hours and done about 60 miles, through some towns then over the downs, mainly along country roads. Beautiful day, nice to get out early before it gets too hot, through a lot of the roads there were large trees giving a nice bit of shade. Started to relax a lot more on the bike, feeling a bit more 'at one' with it, it was nice to have the space and time to ride how I wanted without cars being behind me all the time. 

 

Still loving the bike, I sometimes lose track of the gears a bit, 6th is quite long, only really any good for cruising at 70mph tbh so I tend to sit in 5th on A & B roads. My mate who is waiting for his new Fireblade to be ready for collection called and he might have a bike to borrow for the afternoon so might go back out after F1. 

Lovely Matt, I went out late last night to go and pick my Mrs up 

from the pub and saw a guy out having a ride at 2am. 

Hmm I thought, that might be fun. 

Having a day off riding today, gonna have a couple of burgers and a beer 

in the garden instead.

Oh, and I ordered some clear Stomp grip panels for my bike last night. 

Was a bit of a sod to find some cut the right shape for my tank, but as I

was about to give up looking it occurred to me that my bike has a different

name in America and once I started looking for stomp grip for a 2012 Ninja 650

I soon found what I was after and got a part number, then punched that into 

ebay and voila, found a UK stockist. Bit dear though, 40 quid for a couple of 

dimpled stickers. 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301211261937?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Hopefully I'll be able to grip the tank better with my thighs as at the moment

its too slippy in my leathers and when I've got a passenger on I daren't brake

firmly or I'll end up sat on the tank with my mrs sat in my seat.

been out on the mighty 7 today. didnt feel quite right so took it easy. got home and had a look and noticed the tyre had been rubbing on the hugger which is unusual as it has a biggish gap, then i noticed green paint on the hugger from the undertray which was even more strange.... pushed down on the rear and i can almost fully compress the rear shock with very little effort..... that will be shagged then!! bidding on a ohlins replacement so hopefully i will get it sorted sooner rather than later

Grr, what do you think of the riding position of the ER6?

I'm looking for a lightish bike with more upright riding position, enough grunt to have fun on and do two up stuff.

It's also got to be suitable for my much less experienced wife to ride. That's the only way she's going to let me do it !!

I'm struggling a bit to find something in budget (£2500)

I think the ER fits the bill?

I think it would be a great choice assuming the earlier ones are

similar to mine. I would recommend an adjustable screen which is standard

kit on mine but not on earlier ones. Mines on the highest setting now and I'm

only 6 foot. I would say they quite a snatchy bike so low speed throttle only

adjustments can be jerky if you don't take loads of care. I use a bit of clutch to feed

in the power gradually and that helps a lot, but I'm not so careful when it's just me

on board though. I find my riding position very slightly cramped on my legs but bearable

its worst under braking and with a passenger.

 

Brakes are good, progressive. Mine has span adjustable levers but not sure older ones do?

Vibration is quite bad at 4k, even after all the efforts to reduce it on the latest model. 

But passes quickly and it sings at 7k and really digs in from there and pulls well.

Pre 08 models have been reported as having  issues with rear suspension.

Quality replacement rear shock is around 250quid plus fitting.

Have to say that mine feels great 1up or 2up so they must have as they claim fixed it

on the latest model. The ride quality is really nice on mine and I can't praise the standard

fit Dunlop Roadsmart 2 tyres enough either.  When it needs some new ones fit them.

They are really confidence inspiring yet hard wearing in the middle of the tread too due

to a dual compound makeup.  Have a read of this  in particular check out the contact patch

diagrams. Really clever stuff.

 

 

 

In other news this arrived today so I'll be busy in the shed later. 

Maybe once that is on when I grip the tank I won't just slide forward anyway anymore. 

Oh and big thanks to R1Davie too, he knows why

I completed the CBT today. Very chuffed as it was my 1st time riding a manual motorbike

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

No problem Garry, always try to help whenever i can.

I completed the CBT today. Very chuffed as it was my 1st time riding a manual motorbike

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

 

Did you enjoy it? 

I completed the CBT today. Very chuffed as it was my 1st time riding a manual motorbike

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

First off WELL DONE!! So how did you find it Matt? 

I know you are a keen cyclist but how did it compare?

You know we all want a write up now... Get typing  

Did you enjoy it? 

Matt, I loved it, I can't wait to start to start looking at bikes.

 

First off WELL DONE!! So how did you find it Matt? 

I know you are a keen cyclist but how did it compare?

You know we all want a write up now... Get typing

 

Gary,

 

The day was very well planned out & the instructors were excelent. 11 people started but only 5 completed & I was the only person who had never ridden a manual motorbike before.

 

Despite it being my 1st time riding a motorbike (have riden 50cc scooters before) I found it quite easy to adapt to. My main concerns were getting used to the controls (gears/clutch), this proved the hardest part of the day but by lunchtime I found I wasn't thinking about it so much and my gear changes were becoming much smoother.

Coming from cycling on the roads I found the road positioning on a motorbike is only slightly different (the main position) & the lifesaver's etc were all the same as I do when cycling, this helped me alot during the day as it meant I could concetrate more on getting the hang of the controls knowing my instinct would take care of the rest.

 

We had a glorious morning but 5mins after my 1st outing on the road the heavens opened, this didn't deter me and I kept going at the front, once we were back to the training pad my instructor said "I wish I could fault you on something, I haven't seen you do anything dangerous or bad all day"

 

The only habit I needed to break when starting out in the day was braking with 1 finger (as I would on my MTB, keeping fingers/thumb free for gear changes) that soon changed when I did the emergency stop and felt the brakes were woeful on my little CG125.

 

My instructor has recommended a 7day DAS course for me, but this will have to wait until next year :(

 

After my CBT experience I think it should be included as part of the process to get your Driving License (even if it is only on a 50ccscooter), the information received (specific to motorcycles) is fantastic and would give more insight to car drivers as to why a cyclist/motorcyclist takes the lines we do when making manouvers, it would also help people understand how vunerable it can feel on the road on a bike/motorbike. I personally felt less vunerable on a motorbike than on my bicycle.

 

What felt strange to me was, 20mph on a motorbike felt faster than 20mph on my bicycle, I can't work out why, yet once above 30mph the motorbike didn't feel like you were doing those speeds (apart from the wind on your front)

 

Matthew

Great write up Matt! 

 

I knew you would get on with it, especially since you have cycled so much.

You're right there are a lot of similarities. I'm surprised you got picked up on

1 finger braking though. Believe me when you got two 300mm discs and two twin

piston calipers up front you won't need much more than a two fingers technique

on the front brake lever. Snatch at the lever on a bike with brakes like

mine and you'll be over the handlebars and still travelling at the same speed!! 

You can even buy special mittens which look like flippers with only 3 'fingers'

so it's not bad practice to brake with two fingers, if anything it's easier to brake gently 

and you keep a couple of fingers free for blipping throttle.

 

 

I had a CG a long long long time ago and yes the brakes were rubbish, sounds like 

time hasn't fixed that, but on a bigger bike the brakes are a different league. 

You'll see when you DAS, as you'll be on a much bigger bike for that, but honestly

you'll find a bigger bike easier to ride/manouvre.  Wait til the first time you get a big bike 

on a NSL road and can open the taps a bit. It will blow you away. Kinda reminds me of 

how hyperspace looks on sci fi movies. 

To help you later on, do some reading up on countersteering, a very valuable technique 

and one which you can get into the habit of before you embark on your DAS. 

It certainly makes controlling a bigger bike easier. And try and find your bikes sweet

spot for blipping and downshifting as this helps a lot with smoothness. 

 

Off to go and drop a few quid on a new lid for Mrs Grr today. 

 

Its a  HJC RPHA ST (Hmm Catchy!! )

 

 

 

In plain white as pictured, on the whole a very nice lid for the money. 

 

 

http://www.hjc-helmets.uk.com/news-and-media/NewsItem_22/winner-of-test-helmet-motorrad

 

We got her a cheapy one just to see if she would like it on pillion, and of course she loved it

so I'm just off to order one today (with a little help from a friend ) 

And my free bike cover from Kawasaki UK arrived today, I'd forgotten all about it but clearly

they hadn't. My email must have stuck in someones memory, I was quite 'assertive'.

Mrs G will be pleased, I've skanked a double fitted sheet from the linen cupboard to cover

my bike as a dust sheet after a recent battery acid incident and very lucky escape in the shed.

I agree about all drivers would benefit from CBT, Mrs G is doing hers soonish. Even if she never

actually rides herself, it will make her a better pillion passenger and car driver to boot!

I would also add that the same applies to large vehicles, if car drivers could just have a go at

driving and parking a lorry for instance, it would also benefit them hugely.  

 

Well done Matt! Keep looking over that shoulder mate     

Maybe when on the bigger bikes there will be less focus on using 4fingers for braking due to the increase in braking power.

 

Bikesafe use the Suzuki 650 Gladious  as their choice of large bike, I had a sit on one and it didn't feel too much bigger than the CG125, just wish I had the funds todo the DAS now.

 

Until then, I'm on the lookout for a Yamaha YBR125     to get some practice on.

Well done Matt number 2 )

D'ya know, as an ex instructor and examiner, it's so interesting to read everyone's experiences of the process.

Well done Matt. If you can do your DAS ASAP you wont regret it

 

Picked up my new (to me) Z750R last night and went for a ride. I'm still smiling now. Love being back on a bike even if it is at the expense of a new family wagon

 

If you ever want to meet up and have a chat or a ride out let me know

D'ya know, as an ex instructor and examiner, it's so interesting to read everyone's experiences of the process.

I'm interested to know why?

I think this thread is great, it won't be long before it's seen 3 of us pass.

The same thread on BCF would be a very different story.

They aren't as gentle over there with noobs but I've kept out of the 

spotlight a bit which probably isn't a bad thing. 

 

I read a 95 page thread on there about the POF dating site yesterday

and although the responses were crude to say the least it was some of the funniest 

and downright crass forum banter I have ever read with an intertwined soap opera.

I literally fell about laughing on a good dozen occasions. If you have a spare 5 or 6 

hours I'd recommend it.  :P

Having only been involved in the process from the teaching and testing perspective, never really having the chance to hear true reflections of pupils and candidates, it's good to hear honest opinions.

Although the CBT is a full day and you share tales etc, you don't really get to know the real person. Most students tend to be under stress trying to absorb what they're being taught, even when not actually riding.

As for the tests, the examiner holds the key to your future on his test report and has been trained to control the test from the moment you meet. He may be relaxed and pleasant with you but most of that has a basic script, with his own spin on it.

He is never going to be your friend but is trained to try and put you at ease so you can hopefully perform as well as you have been trained.

Again, you have very little time to interact outside the official relationship.

Strangely, the friendliest relationships are with those that don't pass for many tests.

My most memorable was the wife of an instructor.

She just couldn't do the u turn on test. It wasn't the exercise but the wordings got her in panic mode.

After 10 failed attempts, I told her she had left her handbag behind and she had to go get it. BINGO!

Anyway, now that you've all cracked it, go out and enjoy the ride )

It's cool to hear both perspectives. My examiner was very very blunt, to the point and monotone for my mod 2. Even when I passed he barely said a word, though he did laugh when I said to my examiner he couldn't train anyone fatter than me or the belt for the radio wouldn't fit.

On my Mod 1 the bloke was a bit more friendly but to be honest I am fairly easy either way, as long as they tell me what to do clearly then I can show them I'm capable.