emdotdee

So who does clutch-less gear changes? Is it something that most bikers do or is just something that you pick up with experience, when I was originally learning to ride I was never told it by the instructor. After I was riding for a couple of years I tried to do it on my 125 but I don't think I had the technique because it felt a bit clunky but now I'm on my Street Triple my gear changing is a lot quicker and smoother because of doing clutch-less changing. What're your opinions on it? Also, what's your experience with installing alarms and the reliability etc. I want one for my Street Triple but I'd have to have an official one fitted at cost of over £300 to keep my warranty. I really want an alarm because my last bike was stolen and I don't know what I would do if this one was taken away from me! Should I just stick with a big lock and an alarmed disc lock? That's what I use now but it doesn't stop me from being paranoid. heh.

turn off the ignition, hold the blue button, turn ignition on, keep the button held for a few seconds and it should reset. I do recommend getting a proper service done if this is the first time it's come on.

Does your bike have a screen or any kind of windshield? Something like that would probably help you out when on motorway journeys but otherwise you should just keep your head down but not tense up too much because you need to react to any strong gusts of wind. What kind of effect is the wind having on your bike? Are you going side to side or does it just feel like it's struggling against the wind? I've found that now i've got a bigger bike everything is more stable because of the weight and the extra power I have. When I had a 125 it always seemed to struggle so you just have to deal with it. Just try and relax and don't try to fight any wobble or power problems, if you fight it too much you'll probably tense up and over compensate which will just get yourself in trouble.

Ok I know no one is replying/reading but I thought I would update again anyway :-) I got the Garage that I am hoping to buy my new bike from to send the insurance company a valuation of my bike for a part exhchange. They said it would be worth £1500 so I hoped the insurance would be a bit more generous with a revised offer. Today I received a letter from the insurance saying that they have got the bike and because of the damage it has been written off as a total loss but they've also decided to increase the offer for the bike up to £1500. So with 400 excess i'm getting £1100 which i'm pretty happy with really. Pretty glad to have this over and done with, just need to get myself a new bike.

Hello again. Got a call off the police today, some scumbag was caught riding my bike in Toxteth, Liverpool (10 miles away) yesterday, he was riding it on the road and the police NPR (i think thats what it's called) caught the registration. He was arrested and apparently had only bought the bike the day before (isn't that what they all say?) for £150 and it looks like the thing is pretty battered. Ignition will be broke, flat rear tyre, broken brake lever, I'd bet it's probably missing all sorts of bodywork as well. I've gotta wait for the insurance to pick it up and give it a look over. If the damage isn't bad then I'll probably do it up before part-exing but I kinda want it to be too far gone because it just won't feel the same now that some bastard has been fucking with it, grrrrrrrrrrrr. Anyway, i'm still trying to get a bit more money out of the insurance, gotta be hopefully, really want a street triple. I'l report back when i get more info.

Hey again, I phoned the insurance company today to tell them that i'm not happy with the offer(It's took me ages cos I feel so nervous on the phone haha) They basically said what you guys said, if I fax them some proof of prices of other bikes for sale then they will get that back to their engineer and possibly increase the offer. Because I couldn't find any bikes in the auto trader i'm thinking i might be best going to some local bike shops. let them know my story and see if they'll give me some good offers. Also, without me even asking the woman on the phone, she said that the interim cheque they sent out could be cashed and it wouldn't effect the claim if they decided to increase the offer. What dya think?

Hey, thanks for the reply. I've just checked auto trader and can only find an 06 bike that's the same as mine (but with over double the miles) going for £1150 so I think I'm gonna get a bit stuck if I ask for more money because of the £400 excess (excess is the biggest load of bullshit ever) I also went on the glass's guide and it says something about not being allowed to use it for insurance purposes. Gah, just feel totally screwed over. I paid £400 for the insurance and just feel like i'm getting nothing back. edit: Just to add, the insurance company today have already sent me a "cheque by way of interim payment." Does it mean that i'm stuck having to accept that?

Hey everyone, As some may have read my bike got stolen a couple of weeks ago. It was a 2005 Yamaha XT125x - red - in perfect condition, full service history, recently had new chain, spark plugs oil, etc, less than 6000 miles on the clock. Anyway, the insurance have got back to me offering a net total of £750 for it (£1150 minus £400 excess) and I think that's a bit shoddy as I think that if I was part exing it I would have got more for it. When I insured it last year the value put on the bike was £1995 (which was probably a bit high) so I kinda thought they would go closer to that? Any advice on what I should do next? Can i decline that offer and they'll reconsider? Should I collect some information together before calling them? (I can't decline the offer on the letter they sent me) or should I just accept and get over it? Any advice would be appreciated, thanks.

I've only been riding since 2005 and before that my only experience of driving was when my dad let me drive down the street in his Audi 80. I've found that I need to have a driving license to follow my career goal so before sorting out lessons I had a drive around a car park in my girlfriends Corsa and as expected it was very strange. I picked everything up pretty easily, no stalls, changing gear, bit of reversing and did some figure of 8's but already had bad habits. The steering doesn't feel connected to the wheels and the clutch is annoying compare to a bike where you just lean to turn and the clutch is easier to manage with the hand. I think that when I finally pass a test and buy a car, I'd probably want something small and light so I can 'throw it around' a bit. I liked my XT125x because I could literally dive into corners and fly around the roundabouts with minimal effort. I feel safer on a bike because I can see everything, in a car it feels like I'm surrounded by walls.

I got a call off the police saying that they've closed the case already because there where no other lines of enquiry. Oh well, hopefully that means the insurance will come through for me quicker. I've just put my name and deposit down for a new Triumph Street Triple in white. I might have to wait til October to get my hands on it though but it'll be worth it.

I didn't have it locked to anything because I knew I wasn't going to be there for long and because I've left it there before, sometimes overnight without any issues whatsoever. Hopefully my insurance won't screw me over and I can put insurance money on a bigger bike that i've been looking at for a while.

My 2005 Yamaha XT125X in red Reg, PO55 CUV was stolen from Hale Village (in between Widnes, Cheshire and Speke, Merseyside) It was parked on the drive of my girlfriends sisters house, right underneath the living room window where I was sat. I was only at the house for under 3 hours and didn't hear a noise or see anything, there isn't even any cctv from the pub across the road. Gutted.

Pyramid parts said they had the the right ones for the make, model and year of my bike but when i received them they where totally the wrong size! grrr, took them 2 weeks to arrive aswell. I found out there is an engineering services place literally down the road from where i live that make all sorts of bearings and gears etc so I got some from there. £10 each without any VAT, nice.

Thanks, I've e-mailed wemoto and checked out pyramid parts, they have them but I have no idea what size I need. Will keep searching....

Hey everyone. Today the bearings for the steering went crunch and now I can't go anywhere with the thing clicking and locking up every time I try and turn. I've tried looking for the bearings on ebay with no luck and the closest I can find elsewhere on the net are for the 82-86 model, can anyone point me in the right direction? Thanks Michael