Motors Motorcycle Mayhem

pulled up at Birch services on M62 last weekend.. Irish chap stood in parking having a coffee and a bite to eat.(know he was irish as we spoke and he said he was riding from Dublin, oh and his accent was a dead givaway too)... next to a Kwaka in a fantastic green metalic paint (it was the one they developed to match / out match the Busa, that I couldnt have cos I have little stumpy legs ffs) .. made me instantly a) want longer legs.. b) want to get back riding .. (which would entail loosing weight to get back into leathers again ffs) I may well have to start avoiding such chance meetings ..or stop eating / drinking so much and get riding again ..

 

Watching back footage from my helmet cam from filtering down the M5 today, couldn't believe how many people were blatantly on their phones. Makes my blood boil.

 

Indeed - he's signed a two year deal, but he'll have to prove himself in year 1, race , lap 1 - I think

 

Was so hoping Crutchlow was going to get that seat. I hope Crutchlow does not sign for them as its only Stoner that can tame that beast

 

Well, Hayden is a deffo for Ducati - he brings US sales with him.

Ducati have also been looking at some Moto2 riders

Cal wants a full factory ride - and to be fair - both him and Dovi have proven they deserve one - although Dovi has had one previously on the Honda, and was outclassed by Dani and Casey

I too don't want to see Cal on the Duc - if Rossi can't even improve the thing - it's clearly a garbage bike which only one man in the world can ride (well)

It's great at this point in the season - speculation speculation speculation

 

A friend of mine is Danny Kent's (Moto3) manager. According to him the offer from Ducati to Cal has pretty much disappeared, so it's likely that Cal wil now stay at Tech3 which I'm sure we'd all agree is no bad thing.

Common opinion is that Dovi will leave to WSBK as he's asserted that he's not interested in staying with Tech3 (where as Cal has said he'd like to stay, excepting a Yamaha Factory ride, which will now not happen) and wants a factory ride (or no ride at all). He's also dissed Ducati in the past, and with Rossi's vote of no confidence, I can't see him going to Ducati as that's a career-finishing move for the foreseeable future. It's clear Ducati have no idea how to fix the bike, they even asked Fusiwara (the dude who "fixed" the Yamaha from 2003 onwards) to join them as a last ditch attempt to get Rossi to stay!

I take issue with this Casey is an insanely amazing rider, no one can doubt that, but the Yamaha and Hondas took a quantum leap between 2010-2012 and I doubt Casey would do much (if any!) better than Rossi/Hayden have managed on that dog of a Ducati It's such a pile of crap even Pramac aren't going to continue leasing them!

 

Question for you good folks of bike knowledge.

My missus wants to get a 50cc scooter for commuting to work as the public transport is woeful.
What's the best path? I would prefer her to get a 125cc just for that extra bit of speed, but she will never go beyond 250cc. I also want her to learn on a manual as you never know what can happen. I'll also join her in learning even though I won't be buying/riding a M/C :->

So what is the usual order of doing things, she has just applied for her provisional.

many thanks peeps.
S.

 

Manual 125, two years (or instant access if you're up to it) then progress to a 650.

If she's commuting, she's better off on something like an SV650 rather than a scooter. She'd be more visible, better treated by other road users and have the power to dash should something go wrong.

Or she could go with a 50cc step through and play dodge the buses. I wouldn't recommend it.

 

How about a Gilera DNA ? Best of both worlds

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/search/used/bikes/gilera/dna

(and the 125 is reportedly a rocketship)

 

LOL Never use rocketship and 125 in the same sentence, unless its a full fat Aprilia RS 125, or the Honda RS125

 

What are those BMW covered scooters like for safety? I realise they'll be slower than a normal scooter/bike, but as a commuting tool they've always looked like they might be half decent to me. You'll never get any street cred of course, but possibly being able to survive a proper accident and arrive with almost unruffled hair always sounded reasonable.

 

Firstly, I'll just say that I've never ridden one myself - so whatever I say is second hand.

But, I've heard they're a little difficult to get used to beause of the extra weight high up and the extra wind resistance.

You also have to wear a helmet with one in the UK (and I would anyway) - so it defeats the "I don't want helmet hair while at work" idea.

 

My advice is skip the 50cc. Now I'm on a big bike, I realise how dangerous the two years on a 50cc moped I did was. You've virtually no stopping power, coupled with barely enough engine power to make you road safe. Also, the small wheels mean you feel every bump like a nail into your coccyx.

Start on a 125 and get her onto a 250 in the long run. The bigger the bike, the more road presence and respect from other road users you get.

 

Aye, but you gain a hell of a lot of road knowledge / craft staying alive on a smaller bike.

I started on a Pug Speed fight 100 for a couple of years (no bigger physically than a 50), used it to basically learn road positioning and judge car drivers speeds / positioning / attitudes etc then moved up to a Honda 125CM to teach myself a bit more about speed / gears etc before going direct access.

It's long winded but a route I'm glad I took and one I'd recommend to any novice rider.

 

Finally got round to fitting the exhaust this weekend -->

 

This is the first time I've ever been in this thread... I had no idea there were MotoGP fans on bit-tech! A friend of mine works for the company that produces the BBC MotoGP coverage

 

Tickets !!!??!!!

 

Massive motogp fan here. Although myself and my better half also follow wsb, bsb, btcc and the dtm.

Cant believe johnny rae is getting a spin on caseys repsol honda!!!

 

I know - I don't think he can believe it either

Top opportunity - hope he does well - hope it doesn't bite him

 

Dare I ask... baffle in or out?