Gas up - Let's Go!

Don't people introduce themselves any more ?

Thats a significant number........ Everytime you have a 'near miss' you should be thinking about what you did wrong, and how you can avoid being in that possition next time. Car drivers aren't evil, they just don't look, we can't make them look so we have to make sure we do all we can to be seen. Next time you have a near miss, stop and think about what happened. Decide what you are going to do to avoid it next time, if a similar thing happens again then you need to think about it again. This is where experience comes from, you live, you learn.

The question you should be asking isn't if anyone thinks you will get a tug from the law, it's whether you can afford the fine..... On the other had, consider this, you are riding down a country road on a wet winter night, and some tw@t comes around the bend with illegal lights, you get dazzled and run your bike into the hedge. How would you feel? is that any different if you were the one responsible for putting another motorcyclist in hospital? Headlight regulations are there for a very good reason. If you want one of these types of headlights, then Acerbis do a road legal version. For it to be used on an Enduro bike it still has to be DOT approved.

I had to get my shade to look at these, waaaaaaayyyyyy to shiney for me....

Yep, this was the gist of the conversation I had last weekend. it's all about using the width of the road to your advantage. A final point, when the car (as they will sometimes) pulles out, remember that he is moving forward (from left to right) so aim for the increasing gap. the natural reaction is to swerve away from the hedge/gutter, but you need to move towards it. I did some rallycross training years ago, and one thing sticks in my mind. the instructor told me, if a car is out of controll in front of you, aim for it, by the time you get there, it won't be! works on bikes with moving hazards too.

THere is a potential hazard with every turn of the wheel. The trick, well it's not realy a trick, it's just experience and education, is to spot this well in advance and not to be there when the hazard becomes real. It's real easy, nothing difficult about it at all. Look ahead at the road you are riding, take in <all> the information Use the information Give out information Ride to a plan; Observation, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration Read, learn and re-read at least once a year -> Motorcycle Roadcraft Any idiot can ride a bike, any moron can ride a bike fast, any fool can ride faster than you. It takes skill to ride safely, It takes a good skilled rider to ride fast and safe. As for other road users, there aren't many diliberatly bad ones, most just don't look and they see what they expect to see. Through Roadcraft you can do things that make you stand out (I'm not talking about bright clothing, lights etc) such as using the whole width of the road, changing position etc. Take this as an example; Often I find when overtaking in traffic, cars don't see you 'sneak' in behind them. I've found that covering the whole width of the road, in other words going into the gap then move to the inside, then back to the offside creates a moving object in thier mirrors, suddenly they see you! Be aware that other vehicle have blind spots, learn what these are and stay out of them. I only recently appriciated how little a truck driver can see what is directly in front of him, never thought about a front blind spot! Now I know and ride accordingly. Think, if you can't see the driver, he can't see you - even if he is looking. At road junctions, blind crests, even just going down the road, ride in the safest part, equal distance from the hazards. At junctions (on your side) move out to the center (or as close as is safe) to create a 'safety' zone should a car push it's nose out into the road from the junction. At crests, corners and anywhere else you can't see, think to youself "what if", what iff there is a stationary truck taking up the whole road....... You should always be able to stop within the distance you can see to be safe. 80mph around a blind bend is taking a risk. Look around you, what can you see? fresh grass cuttings on the road? fresh animal droppings? oil? all of these give you a clue what could be ahead. Riding a bike safely is all about using every scrap of information available to give you some idea of what is happening. Anticipation, so you know what to expect Observation so you expect what you see Really, staying safe on a bike is easy, it's all in the mind.

I have a car, it's done 4K miles in a year, total waste of money, but I get a wad from work to have it, and I need to have it just-in-case..... Three bikes and I covered about 30,000 last year between them all. Unless it's shopping (the sort I can't do on the bike), family trips, or seeing customers (avoided like the plague) then it's the bike for me.

Welcome, nice to see folk introducing themselves.

I resisted this for so long........ Dodgy prawn curry, bottom end with some top end issues too!

After 10 inaccuracies in that article, I gave up!

The Tenernurds all live on the HUBB, try asking there.

Of course it is possible. Are you sure? every single one, without being over cautious ? Of course, you can take the test without any training at all - passing is a different matter..... You cannot train for the test by yourself, as you are riding you are incapable of checking your own mistakes, so how would you know where to correct yourself? You are riding a 125 on L-Plates, so you can go out on the road without a DSA instructor, one option would be to find an IAM observer who can give you some constructive advice, but IAM observers are not qualified to instruct. DSA approved instructors offer fixed price tuition as it includes the whole thing, bike, insurance, and a wealth of knowledge. If you ask them I'm sure they will give you an assesment, or you could just pay to take your test. I know it's a biter pill, but the best thing to do, if you want to learn how to pass your test is to talk to a riding instructor. You may well end up having to pay for one anyway, so it could be false econamy trying to DIY it, but it mostly depends on your own skill and ability.

Surely he's a McDonald ?

A word of warning... Cheap, is just that - Cheap! I've tried a good number of combinations for bike-to-bike and if you buy cheap you will buy more than once, unless you are very lucky! It doesn't realy matter what you use for the wireless conectivity, the problem comes down to the mic and speaker in your lid. You will get wind noise, so you need a mike that is noise cancelling, and not all 'noise cancelling' mikes work well. Not all speakers will get the sound clarity to your ear either.... Consider some earplugs that have in-built speakers, these aren't cheap (yes you can use your iPod ones, but they won't clear out the wind noise). There are some good in-ear ones, but these retail in the upper price range too, or you can have earplugs made to fit - I have some and although they are very good at what they do, I find them a litle uncomfortable over long distances and usually resort to the usual SNR35 expanding foam type. StartCom1 do about the best sets of mike & speakers to suit most radios, the noise cancelling on the mike is superb, all the way upto 100mph! At legal speeds the person you are talking to won't even know you are on a bike. Another option is the new Scada Ride sets, these run bluetooth over extended distances, though I'm not sure what they are! cheap radios will give you a bit better range over level ground (and will be useless in cities!), the more expensive will give you between 5 and 10kms (terrain dependant), I use a set of Midlan G7E's in the Lakes and they work pretty well over rouger ground. A full CB radio will give you much improved cover. Just a word on the use of Mobile Phones, if they are hard wired then the law is a little grey, some consider that you are using the phone. and do you really want to have a mobile phone running all the time in your pocket ? It may well be the cause of some questions if you are involved in an acident too. People who use bike to bike all the time normally go for an Autocom / Starcom1 setup with high quality radios. The reason ? Think about it.... Go sounds very like No over a bad link. Consider this, you are riding along the road and over take a truck, the road is winding about and you see your dad looking to take the truck too, but you can see a car coming the other way and say 'No', he thinks you've said 'go'......... It's just one possible situation, so you also need to think about the words you use, choose ones (and agree) that don't sound the same and stick to them. In the group stuff I've done with the IAM we used a short selection of words, usually repeated. ' road clear xxx meters ' - ' Danger Danger ' - speaks for itself ' left left left ' ' right right right ' There is no right or wrong, just what you agree to use. Another consideration is PTT or VOX. Vox is voice opperated, so the mike 'opens' when you speak, PTT is Push-to-talk where you push a botton (usually located on your bars) to talk. Both have thier supporters and critics. I preffer PTT as there is nothing more frustrating than wind noise on the guy with a crappy mike, whos radio has gone live because of the wind in his mike. And I'm not keen on listening to other guys singing as they ride! VOX works great if you are constantly talking, giving instructions or commenting. Anyway, one or two things to think about while you are making your descision.

Time to burn your underpants, chain yourself to the fence and seek some equality. Perhaps, and this is only a suggestion, can newbies be restricted to a 'Let me introduce myself' forum, then when they have a post in there they can post elseware ? Yes, it's a bit of work for Alex, but he's nothing else better to do with his time I'm sure Anyway - Bikes packed, so I'm off for some off road/on road niles for the weekend, some campings and beers with like minded fok. Catch ya Monday.

Someone didn't get thier shar of lov'in last night...... Fair point, put in your usual touchy solftly feely way........

Tractor

Are you talking about the new one ? if yes, then, yes it's a great bike to start with. Fast enough to get you into trouble, but easy to ride so you're not worrying about the bike, but you can concentrate on your riding. Great riding position so you get great visability (until you grow the second set of eyes in the bak of your head!) and that makes it comfortable. Good handling so you can scratch the country roads, relax on the A roads and still filter with lots of confidence. It's not going to break any performance records, but it is considerably cheaper to buy, run and insure than a sportsbike - and the look good too. I had a go on one a while back when one of my bikes was in for service, and I was impressed with the XJ6. The suspension feels a little overworked at times, but going from a XJR1300 with properly setup Ohlins to an entry level bike - is always going to feel that way. Then again there is a significant difference in price between the two!

flying

Get yourself into a carpark, get off the bike and turn it on full lock - then do it riding the bike. Being able to turn the bike in a tight spot is one f the most underestimated things to do on a bike. When you eventually get on a ferry and everyone else is faffing around pushing the bike back and forth you can just ride round and be on your way. Same goes for a carpark, turning in the road, and other manouvres. It's a great skill to have and it looks way cooler than pedaling it backwards when you need to turn round! Think about how tight you get a left turn, you should be able to hold that tightness for a full circle!

Lesley Ash

Lesley Ash

OldGitonaBike

or a diffeent wicket ?

I had a BMW once, just once, a 330d lasted for just over a year and I found it very hard geting out of road junctions and for some reason they attract supermarket trollies in car parks. Bought it for £30k, traded it a year later for £20..... never again. Bloody thing wouldn't track the road right with anything less than 3mm tread, Had an argument with a Fox and wrapped the radiators (yes they mount the oil cooler on the same frame as the engine coolant)around the front pully's and totalled £3k to fix it! The fox knew nothing, but I always maintain it won. So, I think the reason BMUU driver are the way they are is because everyone hates them....... Personally though, I would give a wide berth to any German car......... they are all <mostly> tw@s