Motors Motorcycle Mayhem

I think it's a 50/50 scenario on this could be right or wrong. However I know someone who's an excellent driver who simply couldn't pass a theory until like the 20th time.

Sometimes people struggle testing situations in theory based applications simply reading the questions can become confusing. Put them in the streets with a vehicle and they'll know exactly what to do.

And then you get those who are hopeless on the road but can pass a theory 100%

 

Did the theory test late last year (currently riding on a CBT, will probably do the DAS in the next few months). The knowledge portion is still the normal multiple-guess-test. Read the highway code and know it, and you'll be fine. The Hazard Perception test has greatly improved since I took the car variant. It now uses HD partial-CG footage (you wouldn't know it was CG unless you were paying attention and knew what to look for) which is MASSIVELY easier to view than the old VHS-grade rubbish. Whole frame is in focus, no motion blurring, no camera bouncing, etc. If you can't spot hazards in it now, you probably wouldn't be safe on the road.

 

Given that I haven't ridden a motorcycle since 1989, I just tried the Theory test example paper 1 and scraped a pass. Back in the day, you didn't need to sit a theory test. My instructor was a mortician in the local hospital so he was dead keen (no pun intended) on making sure we all passed our motorcycle test, even if it took us several attempts.

 

Test for everything, can't even scratch someones back without a certificate.

 

In that case shouldn't the theory test come before the CBT? Just seems odd you can ride a motorcycle on the roads to your theory test to fail, then ride on the roads anyway.

That's fantastic to know! I best get learning!


Just did a mock test and scored 40 out of 50, Shouldn't take long

 

BMW had a test day near my place, so I got to ride some.
First I took that unloved, unwanted leftoverbike and ended up on a scooter. An electric scooter.

Must have been quite a sight, in dainese racing leathers and all

Image fro Pistonheads, imagine this with a fat old bloke in black racing leathers....sexxahh!

Anyway the Cevolution as this thing is called is a nice ride, nippy and lots of fun as people just don't hear you coming.
Also dangerous, as people just don't hear you coming.

The only sound it makes is a very faint tram like whine, and all the rest is just tyre sounds, the suspension working and wind around the helmet, very strange.

This thing isn't small, and it's white and high-viz green, still I almost got shoved off the road by a car driver that obviously decided I was a "moped" with no right to ride in "his" lane.

Also, it's £13500 Thank god they hadn't told me that on forehand.

 

The second time I got a bike I thought i might actually like, as it looks like a sportstourer, the BWM F800GT.
One of the few BMW's that looks nice, most are horrible.


Picture Motorradonline.de

And it is, a sportstourer with a very upright seating position, OK suspension and rather comfortable.
Only niggle I had is that the exhaust is where my heel wants to be.

That and the engine seems to come out of a lawnmower, I don't know how they managed to make an 800cc twin sound so bad but they did. No fun at all. Also the buid quality was poor, the entire thing rattled and squeeled, and the gear box emitted noises while shifting that I find okay...for a decades old italian bike.
Not for a new one.

 

So, ride-to-work-day aka ride-to-work-week has passed.
Anyone noticed?

 

Didn't notice any more (or fewer) other riders last week.

 

Came across this lovely looking XJ6 today in Waterford city (apart from the crappy Monster stickers).

 

Didn't quite pass my Mod 1: Everything was fine other than the final Avoidance task, where I only hit 47km/h rather than the minimum 48km/h. Ah well, better luck next time.

 

That's very common, sadly. I took a lot of runs in practice to get up to speed. It's a question of really trusting the bike's tyres. A rule of thumb I read online somewhere about tyre grip and dealing with corners that go wrong was, "there's probably more grip left than you think". Most of the time it's true.

 

It's sadly the part that is hardest to practice on your own: a 125 won't perform the same as the test 650 (longer run-up needed and MUCH more throttle), you won't have the clear area the test centre has handy, nor a speed-measuring device to confirm your actual speed.

 

Just a quick check before I resign myself to the tyre-kickers, anyone know someone in the London area after a decent learner bike? Got to get rid of my old CBR125, but it's currently a non-starter after sitting for 6 months, plus I had to leave it at my parents house which makes getting it sorted a bit of a pain. Prepared to get it working for a buyer though.

 

I often wonder if it's even worth selling old 125s now if they're in anything less than impeccable condition. They get weaseled down and down until you're struggling to fetch £500 for them. I have a saved search on ebay for small commuter bikes below £1k and the same few CBs, YBRs and the like keep coming up again and again - reserve £900, reserve £800, and so on. They just don't sell well.

At that sort of price, I feel you may as well just keep it as a spare, do repairs yourself and ride it till it dies. It's always handy to have a spare. Unless you really need a few hundred desperately.

 

I would, but unfortunately I can't ride anymore because of my eyesight. And while it's sitting in my parents garage, it's not exactly appreciating. CBR should fetch a bit more than a commuter bike as they're 'sporty' (hence desirable to youngsters I guess) but it's a 2004, and showing it.

I'll probably just offer it somewhere for a knock-down price to save all the bother.

 

Bike stops running when I turn the handle bars to the right....I suspect the loom's knackered.
And the Aprilia has an ... excessive... loom.
Replacing that probably costs more than the thing is worth!

 

Check the killswitch contacts on the handlebar end. If the loom has snagged and pulled one of the contacts so it's just making a marginal connection, then the extra stretch from moving the bars could make and break the connection. Other culprit would be the key switch contacts: when the bike dies, do the lights completely turn off, or is it JUST the engine that stops? If the former probably keyswitch, if the latter probably killswitch.

 

Everything stops.

The dash goes black, the fuel pump shuts off, the lights go out and (obviously) the engine stops.
So it's a main shutoff, could be the keyswitch connection if I'm lucky, or the keyswitch loom if i'm not.

 

If the OEM loom is extortionate I'm sure someone can repair it for you. At the end of the day it's a relatively simple loom.