Motors Motorcycle Mayhem

Anyone seen this little beaut?



Suzuki Inazuma 250.

250cc little thing but jesus, it looks stunning. I'm seriously tempted at the 250 for about £3.5k but if they bring a 5/600 out it's not even a consideration, it's getting bought!

 

I have two pairs of draggin jeans that I sometimes use around town (I'd not trust them in a high speed crash) with separate knox armour. I find them to be quite comfortable and use them a lot off the bike as well although they are do get quite warm in the summer when walking around.

 

I didn't think it was particularly hard. I found my driving test harder. Do it, you'll be fine. Good instructor is important obviously but that's true of any training.

 

I have Red Route fabric thingies with knee pads that I never use. All I can say is - size them very carefully. Try them sitting down, squatting, standing up, jogging. Try to test how they'll fit on and off the bike, because mine are remarkable for doing neither. When I'm on the bike the kneepads are too high, constantly sliding up due to the combination of them being too small and the trousers not being secured at the ankles the way full gear is by one's boots. When I'm off the bike they're too long; the knee pads sit right but the cuffs drag.

Basically I sized them standing up in a store, which was a mistake. Ideally you want to try sitting on your bike in them.

As a more general observation, the kneepads in light dual-purpose trousers tend to be small and the trousers are not in so much of a fixed position on your body, being looser and thinner. For these reasons I suspect the pads would do very little in a crash, sliding up, down or around and failing to protect your knees at all.

TL;DR: I don't feel safe in them, and having reliably heard how easily knees are injured and how excruciatingly painful it is, I'm just ATGATT now. My knees are worth a bit of sweat and mild discomfort.

 

Looking to get my DAS done after my holiday in June, the good thing is my wife fully supports me, i cannot complain with that

 

Noted! I agree 100% with ATGATT but unfortunately I tend to heat up a little more than average folks so am looking into other options really. I've got a pair of kevlar jeans on the way so if they don't sit right or the pads feel a bit lacklustre they're going straight back to the store. The pads are adjustable in mine though, so hopefully I won't get the same issues you encountered with yours.

If all else fails, I may resort to wearing normal jeans under a textile mesh trousers w/armour.

 

Stick some fairing on it and I'm there too. After riding my Honda CG long distance (I mean, really long distance - 540 miles in a weekend sometimes) I am absolutely set on getting a bike with some sort of wind protection. It's the one thing keeping me away from Bandits...

That sounds like a good idea. Fortunately my regular trousers have removable linings, so when it's getting warmer I can take the linings out and do the same thing, just wearing them over jeans.

The other problem with the fabrics was that they were really cold, it sounds silly but they're so thin and breathable that with the wind chill they got uncomfortably cold, even in summer - I'd be too hot standing still, and too cold on the bike.

I imagine the jeans ones would be better in this regard, denim is a bit thicker and warmer. Mine feel like they're made of cotton or some ****, it's ridiculous.

 

So I'm going up north on a long journey tomorrow. 300 miles in one go. Going to be fun, especially with all these numpties buying petrol everywhere... But I was wondering if you guys had tips/advice/cautions on lashing a bag to the back seat. I need to take about a weeks stuff and want to know what you guys have done in the past.

Thanks!

 

I actually find it easier to use a very big rucksack that can strap across your chest and around your waist. Then slacken the normal shoulder straps enough so the weight of it sits on the bike, if you see what I mean.

The only thing adding weight behind you will do is change the handling ever so slightly as your CoG will be different. Best way to practice is get a pillon involved for an hour around town and you'll be fine!

 

Annoyingly I don't have my big rucksack with me otherwise I'd have used that, and I can't take pillion as it's not covered by my insurance. It's not going to be a hugely heavy bag, so I can't imagine it'll alter it too much. Besides, most of my journey is motorway so I don't think I'll have to worry too much about slow speed manoeuvres! I've got a smaller rucksack I use already so I'll put some stuff in there as well.

I'm more after a way of fixing it to the bike. I'll swap out the seat cowl for the actual seat so I don't ruin the cowl and scratch it with the bag, but as far as I can see I've only got the pillion foot pegs/mounts to attach any form of rope/lashing too. Guessing it'll be sturdy enough if I tie a few good knots?

 

I use the straps on my Kriega tail pack around the seat itself, one is hooked behind the locking mechanism so if the other works itself free it won't go far.

In other news, I'm getting a top box on Monday (as well as a service)

 

@julianmartin, you asked about 2 piece leathers, i would say goto every shop you can to try them on, and "assume the position" (like riding your bike)
personally i find the fit of dainese is perfect for me, abit pricey tho, but safety is number one.
one thing i would recomend is an under layer, they do keep you cooler and it lets leathers move and slide when you move your body. i know leathers have an inner liner, but that can be "sticky" in hot conditions an underlayer will let the leather move and its much comfier

 

Well I've completed my big ride from Chichester to Lancaster. 305.5 miles, 6.5 hours with an hour or so of stops for lunch & fuel. Averaged just under 60mpg whilst cruising at 75! My lovely SV seems to sip petrol at cruising speed in 6th. Reserve (5L) came on at 155 miles and comfortably managed 172 before I filled up just past Birmingham on the M6. I wonder how high I could get it if I went a little slower?

Only downside is how my ass felt after 150 miles... Blimey! Had no room to manoeuvre with my bag strapped to the back, so stretching was difficult! And I'm definitely getting some heated grips when I get the money!

The Ram

 

I know I'm late, but still I'd like to break a lance for strapping things to your pillion instead of using the "loose rucksack".
Most bikes are designed to ride with a pillion passenger, so what can be better than strapping your bag there?
I mean, a passenger weighs....60-70 kg with a center of mass 40cm high...your bag weighs maybe 10-15 and the center of mass is about 15cm high.
Frankly, you'll hardly notice it.

Mow put that weight upside like in a rucksack. your center of mass will be 40-50cm, and swaggering fro side to side(remember, the rucksack is loose.) Not nice.

Just take some flat straps, under your seat (it's removable right?) over your bag, onto the handholds on the back of the bike...Rock solid.

I've done thousands and thousands of miles like that.

 

If it isn't removable and you have each-side pillion grips rather than a rear one (as I do), it's even easier - straps can go right over, it's like using a roof rack. I never have to do that because my top box is about the size of Scotland, but I know that it works.

 

Xir, that's basically what k did but with strong, thin rope. The only strong fixing points I have on my SV are the pillion foot rests and under the rear seat. It's not great but there's enough to make it secure. Having learnt from the trip up, I'll hopefully be able to leave myself more wiggle room so the journey is more comfortable!

On a more fun note, if any of you folks in the north fancy a ride out, just let me know.

The Ram

 

Received my pair of RST kevlar jeans recently and went out for a long(ish) ride yesterday in a mix of rural roads and city traffic. They held up quite well imo, that and I'm glad I can wear something on a ride which my legs can breathe in lol.

The knee pads are quite chunky too, they cover my knee and upper shin and fit me fine out of the box but their height is adjustable if needs be. I think they gave me a bit of wind protection as well because my legs never really got cold. If you plan to use it with hip protectors though, I recommend going a size up. I imagine with hip protectors the jeans would be pretty tight and render the pockets unusable. Thumbs up from me, roll on summer I guess

 

Top box!

 

Well, they sound a zillion times better than my Red Routes, think I know what I'm buying next time

On another topic: do you folk think I'd be able to put side panniers on a CG125, in addition to my top box? Or would the combined wind resistance just totally overcome the engine's bhp

 

Just out of interest, how difficult would it be for me to fit some heated grips? Strongly considering getting some when my next student finance comes through and where possible I'd like to save the cost of fitting. I've had a mosey online and it doesn't seem too difficult.

Also, recommendations? Thanks!