Any Motörbike riders here?

octatonic

snakemanStoo said:

Mid August

Nice- will still have a couple of months of good riding.

BenSirAmos

Fusionista said:

Didn't know whether to start a new thread, but I'm off to a track day end of the month and have to find a set of zippable leathers or waterproofs to wear on the track. Gave the last set away, doh!  There was I thinking a pair of kevlar jeans and a GP leather jacket would be OK!  

Not madly keen on textiles, but going to be away 4 days in all with no support, so need something all-weather.  Fancy a BMW Rallye or Tuareg 'adventure suit', but would cost more than the holiday! 

Suggestions welcome - I'm 5'10", 42" chest, 36" waist, 30 inside leg, 13st.

http://londonbikers.com/forums/1083102/decluttering--donations-to-london-air-ambulance#bm1083269 No connection - but I think these are the right size???

Fusionista

BenSirAmos said:

http://londonbikers.com/forums/1083102/decluttering--donations-to-london-air-ambulance#bm1083269 No connection - but I think these are the right size???

Good one. I'm a 52, but you never know.  What I have found is you have to try them on. Sadly not in London again until I get back or I would have chased up. Thanks

midiglitch

snakemanStoo said:

I just booked my DAS.

Awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, and I'm sure you will too.  Got to be a lot nicer doing it in august than in February!

On a completely unrelated note, what're people's views on breakdown cover?  

I've never bothered personally, and it's not been a problem in the last fifteen years.  On occasions when I did break down I had my wife with me, who has coverage, or was able to call my dad and get his help.  This is no longer an option, and if I'm on the bike I won't be able to use my mrs' aa cover!

I'm thinking aa cover that covers me, no matter what I'm driving/riding would be ideal.  Anyone do this?  Thoughts on which companies are best?  Or is it unnecessary?

Cheers!

octatonic

midiglitch said:

I'm thinking aa cover that covers me, no matter what I'm driving/riding would be ideal.  Anyone do this?  Thoughts on which companies are best?  Or is it unnecessary?

Cheers!

I have AA cover for me personally- so I can be in any vehicle and they come out.

They have been great but if you call out for a motorbike they might not know much about them.

Last time I called them I fixed it (had to be jump started) using their battery pack.

Tone71

snakemanStoo said:

I just booked my DAS.

Nice one, great time to do it, have fun and enjoy yourself.

midiglitch said:

snakemanStoo said:

I just booked my DAS.

Awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed doing it, and I'm sure you will too.  Got to be a lot nicer doing it in august than in February!

On a completely unrelated note, what're people's views on breakdown cover?  

I've never bothered personally, and it's not been a problem in the last fifteen years.  On occasions when I did break down I had my wife with me, who has coverage, or was able to call my dad and get his help.  This is no longer an option, and if I'm on the bike I won't be able to use my mrs' aa cover!

I'm thinking aa cover that covers me, no matter what I'm driving/riding would be ideal.  Anyone do this?  Thoughts on which companies are best?  Or is it unnecessary?

Cheers!

I have rescue my bike, just in case, can think of nothing worse than being stuck at the side of the road.

snakemanStoo

Just passed my theory test. Mod 1 and 2 to come.

octatonic

snakemanStoo said:

Just passed my theory test. Mod 1 and 2 to come.

Bitchin.

Good luck.

So, when we doing a tFB ride out?

snakemanStoo

When you move to a more civilised locale.  

Away from that there London!

Tone71

I rode down to Poole on Tuesday for the bike night, it was really good, hundreds of bikes, packed and baking hot.

Funny how a long ride goes quick where as in the car yaaaaaaawn

Spider

I know it's the wrong time of year for biking but I thought I'd revive this old thread for a NBD well I only got it a couple of months ago an it needed a bit of a tidy up (it's nearly finished).

xmrchi

Thats lovely! Great engines are the lc's, very fun bikes to ride.

Tone71

That`s nice, bet its fun to ride.

Fusionista

Love that Duke, but a tad rad for me.  

Need a motorway machine that will do dirt tracks and potholes, so looking for a 1200GS. Not fussy about mileage as I will sort. Prefer MU (without the brake servo), spokes and luggage, but will consider otherwise for the right discount. 

midiglitch

Lovely! That looks like a shedload of fun. Enjoy!

Spider

midiglitch said:

Lovely! That looks like a shedload of fun. Enjoy!

Cheers, it is. I've only been out on it a couple of times but it's great fun to ride, I got it to slow me down a bit (too many speed vans round here) it's great round the twisty bits and barks like a bulldog on acid with the race cans on it. Looking forward to some dry roads an a bit of warm weather, hopefully soon !

Might even sell the VTR in the spring if I get on with this in the long term.

underdog

Had to pick up a friend last night because his son had been hit off his bike by a car, feared the worse but thankfully just a dislocated bone and some cuts.

Lost my temper when they guy driving the car told the copper he didn't see him. It was 7pm, the boy had his lights on, hi viz jacket and helmet and was beeping at the car as it was pulling out on him but he still kept pulling out, dick. That's not "not seeing him" that's driving without care or attention.

Fusionista

SMIDSY

It's partly to do with the way eyes operate in 'scanning' mode (they essentially switch off and leave you with the last stable image), but as you say mainly about not paying due care and attention (most of the driving public).

midiglitch

I'm glad to hear the lad was alright.

Its a very interesting topic, smidsy.  When i did the bike safe course earlier in the year i had the honour of being placed with the police bikers instructor for dorset, ie the big dog.  I asked him if we should be wearing hi-viz and his answer was that while it obviously won't do any harm, the only way to survive long term on the bike is to expect people not to see you, and ride accordingly.  He was not therefore actually an advocate of hi-viz.

He said that even riding a big police bike with yellow and blue flourescence, and even flashing lights and sirens, people will still pull out in front of him from time to time.  To survive you have to ensure that your road position and speed allows you to take avoiding action if the other driver does make a mistake and have your attention in the right place to spot the early signs of that mistake (i.e looking at a cars wheels on a junction, or forward observation on normal roads etc).

Essentially, with the exception of freak accidents (eg a crane randomly breaking free and swinging out from a tracker as you pass it on the opposite side of the road) all incidents are avoidable.  

There is no doubt at all that the driver of the car that hit him was driving without due care and attention, that is self evident.  Thing is, that is no consolation at all when they are scraping the motorcyclist off the tarmac into a body bag.

The boy was on the right track by being aware of the car, and beeping or flashing to warn of his presence.  However a lesson for the future is to extend that thought process to "what will i do next if this idiot continues to pull out into my path?". 

I really don't want this to come across as me saying that its his fault, or he deserved to be knocked off or something like that.  Its not that at all.  On the contrary, i just hope he learns that as bikers we have to compensate for other peoples mistakes in order to survive and gets back on the bike and enjoys many years of safe riding to come.  The bikesafe course is a weekend well spent too, so might be worth him looking into that if he hasn't already.

midiglitch

Spider said:

midiglitch said:

Lovely! That looks like a shedload of fun. Enjoy!

Cheers, it is. I've only been out on it a couple of times but it's great fun to ride, I got it to slow me down a bit (too many speed vans round here) it's great round the twisty bits and barks like a bulldog on acid with the race cans on it. Looking forward to some dry roads an a bit of warm weather, hopefully soon !

Might even sell the VTR in the spring if I get on with this in the long term.

Is the VTR the same thing as the rc51? If so I'd be very interested to know your thoughts on how it compares to a fireblade (or similar), and compare and contrast to a duke or other big v-twin.  So much talk about v-twin torque, but then how much of it is just design purpose and engine tune?  

I'm loosely looking for an 08 or 09 blade at the moment, but can't help checking for rc8r's and 1098's although i know they won't be as good for what I want to do.  They just look so damn good!