Motors Motorcycle Mayhem

I second getting road experience before taking a test or riding a big bike, until you've been on the road you cant anticipate all the stupid things people do and that's much more important on a bike than it is in a car because you'll come off worse in any accident.

Moriquendi

 

+1. Sound advice indeed.

That goes for all these stupid driving instructors I see doing 5 day pass courses in cars too. How can you learn the ways of the road and the effects of weather etc if you only have 5 days experience? :\

 

The existence of such courses certainly accounts for the behaviour and aptitude of some drivers I've encountered on the roads, I must say.

I've also confirmed through experience that it's a myth about old people being bad drivers - they're usually a lot slower, but their reaction times and concentration aren't down the pan half as often as that of young, first-vehicle drivers. Most of the total eejits I've encountered are (I'm sorry to say this, ladies) young 20-something females. There are non-sexist explanations for the phenomenon, before I get heckled for being a misogynist

 

The truth is that no specific age group can be automatically penned as a bad driver.

Very old people, for example, might have a statistically larger chance of driving "badly" but not necessarily dangerously, and as such, they might not have as many accidents, but many many more moments of causing havoc on the roads by being a complete fool.

Otoh, there are a lot of young people, fresh from passing their test who take far more risks than they should, and are only saved from a bad accident by quick reactions and luck. I certainly took more risks when driving when I was younger, and while I got away with them, they could've been completely different if I tried them now.

Either way, I'm a firm believer in the idea that you should have lessons over a relatively long period, with a certified amount of time on the roads to be sure you've got some good experience under your belt, both of bad weather and other road users. To be a good driver you need to have that ability to predict what people will do, which only comes with experience and practice.

 

road gritters are bad drivers, they dont stop spreading because a bike is coming. on a 60mph limit road, grit hurts

 

Rant

If they stopped gritting every time they saw a bike the next time you were riding down that road on a cold day you'd find a nice welcoming patch of ice to remind you how courteous the gritter driver was, which would you prefer?

What were you wearing to even feel the grit? pyjamas?

/Rant

My personal hate when it comes to other drivers is people on mobile phones, I know it's illegal now but the number of times I've nearly been run off the road by some ****wit whose conversation is more important than my life is astonishing.

Moriquendi

edit: seems I'm in a bad mood tonight, sorry people

 

If you want to ride a bike - these are probably NOT the best choice for impressing teh other sex.

http://www.pinktentacle.com/2008/05/japanese-custom-scooters/

john

 

Most of those are lowered so far, how could they turn? Surely half have become boring concepts?

They are pretty cool though.

 

Yeah, looks like those Suzuki Skywaves are straight-line-only machines.

 

Got a couple more questions for you...

The drain for my petrol tank filler is blocked, the filler cap has a rim inside it to catch any water that would otherwise end up in the tank and redirect it through a tube out the bottom of the tank and down to the road. On my bike this tube is blocked so water collects in the rim and when I open the seal to fill up it goes in the tank, not a good thing. At the moment I have to syphon the water out once a week or so so it doesn't get sucked up by the engine and muck up the filter and injectors but I can never get all of it out and I need a permanent solution. I've tried sticking a wire down the hole to unblock it but because there are hose barbs where it passes through the tank I cant get the wire all the way down. If I blow up the tube from the bottom bubbles come out the top but the water still wont drain away . I've got some Dry Fuel stuff to get the last bit out but there's not much point using that till the problems solved, any ideas? Anyone had a similar problem? How did you solve it?

Does anyone have a link to the headlight regulations for the UK? the most I've been able to find out is to do with the aiming, dipping and that the maximum legal wattage is 60/55w but my bike only has one headlight giving me half as much light as a car. I have replaced the stock bulb with one that's supposed to be 90% brighter but more light is always better, I could go for the "off road only" 100/80w or 130/90w bulbs but I don't want to break the law even if it is less wattage than a car with two 55/60w bulbs. I found a page with the legislation and a summary for those not fluent in legalese but I can't find it any more

Moriquendi

 

Don't know what the rules are but of course you want t ensure the wiring can handle the current without too much heating.

My bikes lights are also piss poor at 35w and pointing too far left, must sort that out some day.

 

It's impossible to say what the best solution is without seeing the bike, but if you can blow through it perhaps try some compressed air?

You'll probably find the blockage is old, solidified petrol, so if compressed air doesn't work, try flushing the tube with some carburetor cleaner.

 

Hey guys just though I'd mention this offer I found for insurance from Swinton, might be of use to someone.

Just ran a quote on my non-existent Yamaha YZF-R125 and got back £360 TPF for a new rider, the lowest quote I've received so far so not bad. They are also offering £30 cashback at the moment.

 

I've thought about using compressed air, the problem is that the pipe inside the tank fits on to barbs, the guys at the garage said that with it being submersed in petrol all the time the hose can swell and become loose on the barb, if I blow compressed air into it and it dosn't shift the blockage it might blow the hose off the barb which would then leave me with a fuel tank that leaks petrol all over everything which wouldn't be good. I've just been out and shifted the tank around to get access to the outside barb with is part of the plate that holds the fuel sensor, feed line, return line and tank vent, the plate is steel and it looks like the drain barb is corroded, I tried to clean it up with a piece of wire but couldn't get the wire round the corner so I don,t have much hope of it having helped. I'm going to try and find out how much a new connection plate for the tank would cost but I've got a nasty feeling it's going to be expensive...

Moriquendi

Edit: I was right, it IS expensive... £169 for the piece and then you're supposed to fit a load of other parts at the same time so I doubt I'd get way for less than £250 and that's if I can fit it myself

 

Why don't you try the compressed air, but drain the tank first? That might be the most sensible route, certainly better than spending nearly £250 to rennovate the fuel system.

 

I think that's what I'll have to do, drain the tank and remove the plate so I can get at it properly. If the worst comes to the worst I could try and replace just the barb with a new piece of tube. Failing that I'll keep my eyes open for a whole new tank, reason being that the tank protector that was on there has badly discoloured the paint, it's also the only part of the bike that has any cosmetic damage so it might be worth it for resale value alone.

Moriquendi

 

I started out on a CG125 copy, so the proper Honda was something I always dreamed of!
As she could only manage 55! I'm 6ft and weight 9 stone and she struggled, having a maxiumum of 9 hp.

Its true that all bike handle differently. When I took my dads Honda GB500 TT out, its was very different as its made quite heavily (well thats what I though anyways). I struggled with it for a while as I really wasn't comfortable with the weight. But you get used to it then you find the 125 is actually quite shaky with it having smaller tires.

I've since bought a Suzuki GS500e to restore, shes in working order but needs alot of TLC. The weight difference between the bikes is quite amazing as the GS felt only a little heavier than my 125.

For those (like me) who've passed there test, getting somehing bigger than a 250 is a good idea, even if its only for comfort.

I can't wait until august when my restriction period ends, so far all i've been allowed to do with my bike, as I've not got a restrictor kit (not worth it as i'm so near the end!), is ride up and down the farmers track to make sure all the work i've been doing is working!

Xalek

 

How old are you? I insured my GN125 with bennets when I had just a CBT for £150 third party, fire+theft, but then I am 23 which is old for a 125 rider

 

I bought my insurance from Bennets online via quidco, It was £80 with £20 cashback.

I'm on old git on a 125 though at 35.

Did take over 6 months for them to pay up though.

 

@Shuriken

I'm 23 aswell although I do not own a motorbike so I tried to give as accurate information as possible if I was to own a bike. I'm guessing the factors that contributed to the high cost of insurance were the fact that I'd be newly qualified to ride a bike (Full UK License) and the area I live (Nottingham where I'd be going back to uni soon).

Just put a quote through Bennets which came back £523.30 third party fire and theft. Would I be that high risk? Is it the bike (YZF-R125) or where I live? or am I just doing something wrong...