Motors Motorcycle Mayhem

Cleaning it today, so I'll have a look and see what I can find out

 

What did you find dude?

In other news, went for a ride with my mate who's just bought a Ducati 999S, and I had a good hour or so ride on the thing.

Oh. My. God. THAT WAS FAST!

I will add that it seemed a totally useless bike to have on the road, could have spent all day in first gear and still break the speed limit constantly, but what a piece of machinery. Those dry clutches racketing around do make me a bit nervous though!!!

Had a great ride today up to boxhill, so many other riders around.

Anyone got any recco's for 2 piece leathers btw? Want to upgrade my gear but it's a bit of a minefield and all the reviews I'm finding seem to be little more than paid adverts....

 

For the price of a decent 2 piece leather suit you might as well get one custom made as it isn't much more expensive and the fit should be much better (that'll depend on how far you are will to travel to get measured...)

However for off the shelve stuff anything by RS Taichi is awesome if you can afford it...

 

Hey guys, I've been looking at these Bluetooth helmets.

I'm looking for a full face that comes in flat black, but that is the easy part. I want to know if any one has used any of them, and get a sort of review on audio quality. I'm going to be using it primarily for music and was curious as to how they reproduced sound in the helmet.

 

I use a third party add on that has velcro attached speakers inside and the unit clamps to the edge of the helmet. Got it on ebay for about 70 quid I think.

You have to have my thing pretty damn loud to be able to hear it on the motorway at 70mph, and I think that would be the same with a bluetooth helmet as well. I have one on my partners helmet too as it also works as a 2 way intercom but we just don't bother speaking above about 50MPH as it involves shouting our heads off. That could be down to microphone positioning though.

Either way, if I get a phone call when I'm pootling around town, I can quite happily have a decent conversation. I normally stop anyway because it's too much to think about at one time but the quality is certainly good enough.

As for music quality - lets be honest here, these devices are what they are and I wouldn't expect wonders if you're used to Shure or Sennheiser or something, but the music out of my device is more than servicable - enough to make it worth turning on at least. Trust me when I say listening loud enough at 70mph will wreck your ears though. I've literally just come back from a trip on the motorway with the speakers loud enough for me to hear some tunes and my ears are ringing like a church bell on a wedding day!

 

Try them on, it's all about fit.
The fit should be right ON your bike. It may well be uncomfortable while standing.
And getting a brand might help in getting good seams and the like.
I, personally, like the Dainese ones as they have rigid protectors. Once they're in place, they're in place. The entry-level ones aren't very expensive especially if you get a model from an "old" collection.
Then again many people dislike rigid protectors.
My calves don't fit in Alpinestars...they must be cut for stick-men.

 

It's just the rim! It is buckled, which sucks but at least the forks aren't damaged. I may replace the wheel at some point, but it's still perfectly rideable. Problem with that job is that it's going to take so long to do - I've never taken a motorbike tyre off (done plenty of bicycles), and I know it's going to be one of those things that consumes half the day. So I'm putting it off for now.

Also need to buy and fit a replacement handlebar, since they've been getting steadily more bent in a sequence of drops, bumps and theft attempts for ages. Again, though, I don't want to spend an entire saturday changing a handlebar.

On another topic: I'm working myself up to doing the full test, but I'm scared of DAS. Is it possible to get a fairly decent bike under the non-DAS threshold of 33bhp, or whatever it is? I've been told the sv650 can be ridden without a DAS license, but I don't know if that's true.

 

I'm on the hunt for a CBF 125...! Problem is they seem to get snapped up pretty quick grrr

 

Why are you scared of DAS?

Given it looks like licensing seems to be changing quite a lot this year - I'd say go for DAS, surely the best value way to get a full license for a long time coming.

You can get a SV restricted to 33bhp I'm sure. Not convinced that's a good idea personally, but swings and roundabouts.

I immediately found riding 500CC bikes and above was immensely easier than smaller, lighter bikes. The centre of gravity being a lot lower makes a massive difference to slow control which is the only harder bit, IMO.

I'm serious, i was so nervous about my DAS but in hindsight it was bloody easy.

 

Tbh, a restricted bike is a stupid idea. The principle is that it'll make you a better rider, but it teaches you absolutely nothing about throttle control; I frequently pin my throttle open without a single fear as there's just no real risk, whereas if my restrictor was removed I'd have some respect of that right grip, but as it is I have no idea of how far I'll be able to push my tyres in the wet. Even worse, on the motorway its top end is almost as bad as my 1.4 Golf, to the point where it's just a danger for overtakes.

Tl;dr don't go for a 33bhp test, if you're going to go for a big bike anyway, just go the whole hog. Big bikes are way more planted, smooth and comfortable than little 125s, the only reasons for getting a 125 are running costs and sheer chuckability.

Oh, and a SV650 will need a restrictor to come in at 33bhp. You'll need to look at 250s or the occasional 400 to stay below the limit. As said though, big bikes are way easier to ride, and providing you get the right kind for you, not intimidating at all.

 

I wouldn't second that.
I was very happy with a 27HP CB450S for two years.
Yes the top end is about 90miles/hour, but you could still outaccellerate every normal cage.

Then again, honda didn't use a restrictor, they used a special cam that gave you the about the same torque as the "open" 44hp CB450S, only a few 1000 revs lower...very nice to ride and very expensive to open up later.

Point is, you don't need a ton of horsepower to have fun riding.
.
..
...
Nor to be fast...try to keep up with a 40hp Supermoto (dr400 or so) uphill on a twisty road...good luck

 

DAS isn't anything to be scared about I don't think. Not from my experience. The skills I'd built up on the 125 quickly transferred to the 500 I passed on. I felt much more confident on the bigger bike as it felt more balanced and responsive, I commanded more road presence and I didn't feel an alien on 60mph roads. Yes, the slow manoeuvres took a little while to get there, and now I'm on my SV650 they still need work but doing DAS was the best choice I made.

Even then when you've passed, you can be sensible and ride to your ability and take your time. No-one is going to think you crazy for wanting to play things safe.

 

Seconding the stuff about 33bhp being a bit of a false economy. Teaches you not a lot, and you'll outgrow it in months if not weeks. If you're that bothered, get a restrictable bike, do the full test and restrict it for a while

 

I probably don't have that need for power like most bikers. When I got my bike (Stock Suzuki DRZ400SM), everybody was saying:

Sure, it hasn't got tons of power on tap and it doesn't even reach 90mph. But I see guys on 150mph 1L bikes every day and I can tell they aren't having as much fun as I am on my little tard. I'd rather ride a slow bike fast, then a fast bike slow.

For me personally, I don't really care for the high top speeds on the higway.. I prefer some twisty little country road where I can go full throttle exiting every corner. It's light, nimble, narrow and very forgiving, even when riding hard.

Offcourse a supermoto is something different then the average street bike, but still I believe that having tons of power isn't needed to have fun on two weels. That sed, you won't be seeing me on a 125cc moped either.

 

I agree that smaller bikes can be just as much fun if not more on legal roads than 500CC+ bikes.

The reason I suggest not going for a 33Bhp kit is, as others have mentioned, they don't teach enough about power control. The power to weight ratio makes me nervous as well, perhaps unnecessarily so though.

 

teach enough about power control means you won't be doing involuntary highsiders while trying to figure out which handle's the clutch an which is the front brake.

 

I know it's last minute, but does anyone from the Portsmouth area fancy meeting up for a ride? I'm free until 5 but would prefer to go this morning or this afternoon.

Let me know folks!

The Ram

 

I don't know if there is any interest in this still, but my dad has a Duchinni helmet with a bluetooth kit that was designed to go with it. I've got no idea what it's like on his end, but when I call him the quality is absolutely brilliant (as in, better than if he was using his mobile at home)! This remains true even on the motorway!

You can still tell that he's on the motorbike most of the time, but the voice quality is great and most people would just assume there was a very gentle breeze where he was.

 

I'm not wary of DAS for safety reasons, but for difficulty reasons. I'm concerned I wouldn't pass it, and it's more money wasted if you don't pass, compared to the regular test.

 

Does anyone here wear those kevlar style jeans with the knee and/or hip protection? Was wondering if I could get some feedback on those if they're any good. I've found that the trousers I wear are fine but aren't breathable at all (I'd come back from a ride with my legs a little moist =/) so I guess I'm thinking they won't be too suitable going forward so I'm considering those jeans or something similar but textile based.