Just a thought.........

[Thmsshaun]

I just wish part of the car driving test included a brief ride on a motorcycle if only to make the new driver aware of the hazards and vunerability of a motorcyclist.

Motorists just need educating in all aspects of respect and understanding of other road users.


Did my CBT a few years back and let it run out I wish I had got my licence now but one day just depends if the mrs lets me

 

[Satch]

Talking of born-again bikers a friend of mine came to moderate grief in June. He has a full old style Motorcycle licence dating back from the days of his reckless youth but had not ridden a bike for over 14 years.

So, mid life crisis looms and off he goes and against all wifely wishes buys something very unwise, timed splendidly to coincide with family excursion to Cornwall. The big plan: she would take the car, he would ride from Guildford to Rock.

Picks bike up on Thursday morning, pootles about and then scares himself stupid on Thursday afternoon. Decides that he will take it easy on the way down on Friday morning.

Come the day wife departs early for relatives house. Hubby still pottering around but will catch up. While later she gets a call.

"Not going to be able to join you"

"Why! Are you hurt? Bike broken down?"

"No. But I am back home now. Got as far as Basingstoke then had to turn around as my back was hurting too much"

 

[Sp!ke]

Bikes are great.... really great but in the wrong hands are little more than a superhighway to the grave.

My advice, take the CBT and then the full test. Then buy good quality protective clothing and wear it at all times. Work gradually up the scale starting on a 250, upgrading to a 500 after 6 months. Do track days, do an advanced riding course and maybe even some off roading to hone your skills and after a while you will begin to get what I can only describe as a sort of sixth sense. Only once armed with this defence should you ever consider getting a modern sports bike.

I've been riding for 20 years now. My commute this morning was only 25 miles but even in that distance, the back end broke free about half a dozen times, I had to smoke both front and back wheels under braking twice and the last corner before turning into my company HQ caught the suspension out so badly that I was winded from the impact and thrown completely clear of the seat mid corner.... This was a good ride, on a bad morning, someone would have tried to kill me.

 

[R2D2]

Threatening to get a bike seems to have the effect of making all my family shout at me! I think they'd rather me keep snakes than ride a motorbike. I shall of course cave into the pressure but i shall of course not let on that I have

BTW. Great Bike Spike!!!! :bannana:

 

[Thmsshaun]

 

[pammy]

I had a very short, sweet but painful time of owning a motorbike when I was 22. Lasted about 3 weeks and ended with me hitting a lampost square on, folding the bike in half and smashing my left arm. Ruined my gorgeous Lewis leather jacket too

Not been on one since - although I do like them Yours looks great Spike.

Maybe we should have a gtg where our biker members can bring their two wheels for us 4 wheel wusses to drool over

 

[NMSL500]

Bikes are great.... really great but in the wrong hands are little more than a superhighway to the grave.

My advice, take the CBT and then the full test. Then buy good quality protective clothing and wear it at all times. Work gradually up the scale starting on a 250, upgrading to a 500 after 6 months. Do track days, do an advanced riding course and maybe even some off roading to hone your skills and after a while you will begin to get what I can only describe as a sort of sixth sense. Only once armed with this defence should you ever consider getting a modern sports bike.

I've been riding for 20 years now. My commute this morning was only 25 miles but even in that distance, the back end broke free about half a dozen times, I had to smoke both front and back wheels under braking twice and the last corner before turning into my company HQ caught the suspension out so badly that I was winded from the impact and thrown completely clear of the seat mid corner.... This was a good ride, on a bad morning, someone would have tried to kill me.

Nice bike Spike.
Have you looked in on
200mph club

Also been riding for the best part of 25 years and cant recomend it enough.
Wife was converted too which helps

Problem with bikes is they have to share the roads with cars!!

 

[Sp!ke]

Nice bike Spike.
Have you looked in on
200mph club

errrr.....yes, fully paid up and participating member

 

[Thmsshaun]

Problem with bikes is they have to share the roads with cars!!

Thats true and there are a lot of reckless drivers who dont know what mirrors and blind spots are but sorry some and I emphasise. SOME bikers are there own worst enemey.

Take for instance a couple of months back travelling down the A38 to my house at around 80 when a bike flies past me on not 2 but 1 wheel. Got too admit yes it does look But on the outside lane of a main road it is nothing short of suicidal.

Or my mum pulling off a sliproad on the A38 round what is quite a sharp left with a biker overtaking her on the bend and then said rider hurling abuse at my mum cos she wasnt driving up the kerb to let him past.

Have been very impressed with the performance of road bikes and the speed the can go down the 1/4 mile at Santa pod. Street legal 10 sec 1/4 standard bikes on one wheel. Breathtaking.

However I am probably just too much of a wuss lol.

Best thing is take the advice on board dont jump on the biggest thing your money will by start 250 when you pass and work up.

 

[esox]

If this is just a "fad" or something you just fancy doing i`d leave it....

I`ve been riding bikes for 23 years,and even now when i get on my bike life on two wheels is completely different than being in an air-conditioned auto Mercedes Benz.

As Spike says you need to develop a sixth sense which is vitial to being safe,sometimes i think i know what other road users are going to do even before they do!Things like changing lanes,sudden braking,turning right etc-all potentially hazardous to bikers.
Ive done a couple of parachute jumps too--do that,its safer......

 

[Dieselman]

I've been riding for 20 years now. My commute this morning was only 25 miles but even in that distance, the back end broke free about half a dozen times, I had to smoke both front and back wheels under braking twice and the last corner before turning into my company HQ caught the suspension out so badly that I was winded from the impact and thrown completely clear of the seat mid corner.... This was a good ride, on a bad morning, someone would have tried to kill me.

Nice bike Spike but have you ever thought about going just a wee bit slower when you're on it?

 

[Rob77]

Hi, I had bikes for 10 years or so before giving them up for cars. It wasn't that I preferred cars but I got so I wanted to get into work dry and dressed similarly to everyone else.

After giving up the company car, with the job, last year I got a second hand bike but it's hardly been used yet as it's currently undergoing a metamorphasis from trail bike to supermoto.

I did fancy something like a Ducati too but firstly they were going to be way too expensive (far more than £1,500 and remember clothing too) but more to the point I felt I'd be a fool to go chasing power after a long break.

I'd reccomend a supermoto (KTM or similar) to any born again's or newbies. They won't go much over 100mph but will still give you all the fun you'll want and you won't wipe yourself out on a wet bend at 140 plus. Also all bikes are good fun, they don't have to be challengers for this year's WSB.

 

[Spinal]

Weee! I bought a bike today!

I'll post some pics once I get it cleaned up, meanwhile; does anyone know what to use to make the chrome bits shinier? (and possibly protect them from the elements?)

Also, what does darth vader use to shine his nice black helmet? Any ideas?

Thanks,
Michele

 

[andy_k]

does anyone know what to use to make the chrome bits shinier? (and possibly protect them from the elements?)

there isn't much better than Solvol Autosol when it comes to polishing "proper" chrome and other metals

As for polishing helmets (ooo-errr missus) I'd be careful that you don't use any polish that will degrade the resin/composite material it's made from.

I doubt that Darth Vader has ever had to rely on his big shiny one to protect his head in an emergency

Andy

 

[BearFace]

Great thread.

I've been riding since I was 20 and the whole biking scene has changed dramatically in those....ahem.....sixteen years. When I took my test it was fairly easy to get yourself on the road with a powerful machine at a very young age, but in all honesty the roads were significantly quieter than they are now. Now the test process is more comprehensive but as Plodd said, even the sensible among us turn into brainless morons when we get on a fast bike. It's a bloke thing...

By all means take your test and fast-track yourself to a full licence. My advice however, would be to avoid anything resembling a sports bike and instead find something like a big-engined trailie to find your groove with. I once had a Honda Dominator (650cc single with about 50bhp) and it was superb fun, but relatively safe thanks to a high riding position and easy, predictable handling and performance. You'll still outrun most cars, but you won't outrun yourself...

When (and if) you move to sportsbikes, try a 600 first. The Honda CBR 600 and the Kawasaki ZX6 are both fast (160 MPH, 0-60 in 3.5 secs or less...), reliable, cheap to buy and relatively easy to control. Bikes such as the Yamaha R1, Honda FireBlade and Suzuki GSXR1000 are for trackdays or those with serious levels of self-control and/or skill - anyone else will just kill themselves. I bought a Suzuki GSX1300R Hayabusa and although it was superb fun, it's sheer power (175BHP / 190MPH) was just unusuable in most situations. The acceleration of these things just lures you and cajoles you until one day you slip up and........it hurts (on a good day). Not worth it.

BTW, never buy a used Ducati unless it's newer than three years old and has been serviced religiously by an approved dealer. They're notoriously unreliable and a £1500 example is 95% likely to let you down within weeks of purchase. For that money you could land yourself a clean, big-engined trailie to potter around on, or even a decent used Suzuki Bandit 600. Anyway, whatever you do....be safe.

 

[Sp!ke]

Yeah... wot Bearface said


Oh and Dieselman.... You're right of course but where would the fun be if I did that?

This video below, although a big download and rather long, it is well worth watching. It kind of lets you see both sides of biking - the fun and the danger.

http://www.1320fun.com/pics/barges.wmv (Right Click Save As)

 

[Cronos]

Weee! I bought a bike today!

Come on, tell us... what d'ya get?

 

[Spinal]

there isn't much better than Solvol Autosol when it comes to polishing "proper" chrome and other metals

As for polishing helmets (ooo-errr missus) I'd be careful that you don't use any polish that will degrade the resin/composite material it's made from.

I doubt that Darth Vader has ever had to rely on his big shiny one to protect his head in an emergency

Andy

Where can I find that? (Solvol Autosol that is). I saw some Meguires chrome polish, but it seemed to have some abbrasive components, so I was a little suspicious.

As for the helmet, I guess I'll wait a little to polish it, maybe I can find something specifically made for it...

 

[Sp!ke]

Where can I find that? (Solvol Autosol that is). I saw some Meguires chrome polish, but it seemed to have some abbrasive components, so I was a little suspicious.

As for the helmet, I guess I'll wait a little to polish it, maybe I can find something specifically made for it...

Autosol is abrasive but does polish up stuff nice. You'll need to protect the brightwork afterwards with some wax polish or some kind of protection agent.

As for the Helmet, it depends what it is made of. If its polycarbonate, just use soapy water or better still buy a new crash helmet. If its a fibreglass/kevlar mix with paint over the top then I find the best thing to use is furniture polish like pledge or Mr Sheen. This also helps on the visor with water run off in the rain.

 

[Cronos]

As most people have already said there's a huge difference between the bikes of 15 to 20 years ago and the modern bikes of today. Anyone with a full license thinking of returning to biking after a reasonable gap should really get some 'born again' training to refamiliarise themselves with what's what. The cost of a couple of hours training is significantly less than the lost of repairing even a low speed spill.

As for a first bike, personally I'd recommend the direct access route and then picking a motorcycle powerful enough to grow with you, but sensible enough and forgiving enough to let you learn. There are plenty of choices out there in the 600 / 650cc bracket.. Hornets, SVs, Bandits, Fazers, etc., all of which are more than fast enough for the road and for a new or unfamiliar rider.

One of the often overlooked areas for new, born again and even experienced riders is advanced training. There are numerous options out there, from private schools, RoSPA, Institute of Advanced Motorists to the Police run Bike Safe events. Not only do these improve your skills and awareness they also allow you to benefit from reduced insurance premiums.