Leatherat

As the others have said, you can only ride a max of 125cc producing no more than 11Kw (14.751 bhp) on a CBT, so as your 650cc Dragstar produces 40bhp it will have to be left in the garage until you've got your full licence I'm afraid. It'll provide a great incentive to pull your finger out and pass your test though.

Hellooooooo.......did you know your username is an anagram of 'Moan as rule' amongst others too rude to mention?

Imagine that! A Brummie in Cornwall! You'll fit in well! Remember, the locals don't High 5...they yell 'Gmmie 6 Bro'! Get your test done ASAP, you don't want to be fannying about on a 125 for too much longer do you! Especially if you're going to be in the land that education forgot, theys some big hills there you.

Right then people, things in the Leatherat world have somewhat conspired against me and mean I no longer have the opertunity to attend the Torbay meet. I will however still be at the Minehead festival somewhere around the RBLR stand if anyone wishes to stop by and say hello.

Yeah, I'll be on me Harley

I'm in Minehead all day, so as it's only a short hop down to Torbay post some times and places and I'll see y'all there.

Be careful what you wish for, my bike does less to the gallon than my car! The Road fund licence as it used to be was, as the name suggested 'meant' to fund the roads of course it was never ring fenced but I didn't notice when they changed the title to Vechicle Exicise Duty whiich is kinda ambiguous. Just let them leave us alone to do what we do, sticking your head above the parapit often leads to getting shot at.

16 - 17yrs Honda SS50Sports Moped 17- 45yrs BSA M20 (500cc Side valve) Harley Davidson XLH1200 Sportster (current love) Honda CM125 Honda 250RS Honda 250 Dream Honda 250 Super Dream Honda 400 Super Dream Lambretta TV175 Suzuki GT125 Suzuki GT380 Suzuki GSX250 X7 Suzuki GS550ES Suzuki GS550M (Katana) Suzuki GS850 Triumph 21 3TA 350 Triumph T140 Bonneville x2 Triumph TR6R tiger Yamaha XVS 125 Yamaha XVS 650 Yamaha XJ900S Diversion

Girls! Cute girls hung around with the guys on bikes. Simples!

That's Great News! Well done, ride safe!

No, Sharn't, so there!

and that illustrates my point about figures being meaningless. 0-60 figures etc maybe a way for Jeremy Clarkson to impress 10yr old boys but out here in the real world..........................

So, the rot has seeped its way in eh Neversaydie!!!! You're in agreement with the antichrist again!!!! Get some training in, riding a motorcycle on todays roads and passing your motorcycle test are two completely different things. A mervin said, the training guys know what the DSA guys want to see. Spending a little money now (well, quite a lot really) will save you time, money and heartache in the long run, but you knew that really didn't you? You were just hoping we'd make it easier for you to save some cash, eh!

http://www.thevirago.co.uk/viragoViragos/xv750/xv750h81.asp No so difficult? that site says the 1981 XV750H does 0-60 in 6.5 secs, has a max 62 BHP, and will top out at 111mph. http://motoprofi.com/motospecspictures/yamaha/xv_750_se-1982.html This site says 5.8 secs with only 50bhp But as stated before in other posts, you're thinking like a car driver. 0-60 is irrelevent unless you plan on drag racing perhaps? and if that's the case....good luck with an old Virago!

There ya go! Now that's what it's all about!

and practice your emergency stops!

Bad luck, but their reasoning is probably that it rains after you've passed your test so you need to be able to stop without skidding. Infact a skid is fine if you regain control and bring the bike to a controlled halt, but if you stop in a skid you fail. Anyway look on the bright side, at least this is the cheap part, the Mod 2 test is £75.00! When you pass next time make sure you get some proper training before you tackle the Mod 2 test. Oh and remember POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE! This sort of thinking ain't gonna help! Have some confidence man! Right, that's you told!

When you get the right size grips, try fitting them using Hairspray (No, I'm not joking, the strongest hold stuff you can get is what you want) When you spray the Hairspray onto the bars it lubricates the surface and makes the rubber easier to slip on, don't hang about though, it dries quite quickly and if you're not finished you'll have to re-do it. it's easy enough to remove if you get it wrong first time, certainly easier than convertional glues. Once it dries, it provides an effective glue to prevent the grips moving around on the bars.

MOD 1 Test tips: The test starts from the moment you get on the bike, so don't forget observations even before you're on the testing ground. Remember this sequence....Neutral/Ignition/Stand.....when getting off the bike. Enter the first available box to complete the manual handling exercise, push it back out as if you're leaving a parking space at Tesco, use observation techniques constantly, keep going backwards in a U shape so that once you've backed into and come to a stop in the second box you'll be ready to ride out for the slalom/ figure 8. When you've finished manually manouvering your bike, stay close to it, even inadvertantly kicking a cone with your foot is a fail. Don't count the figutre 8's only stop when he calls you over(it has been known for some people to only complete 1.5 circuits) Pull off and round the bend, accelerate pretty hard out of the bend and only back off once your through the speed trap, flick the bike through the avoidance (if they're still doing it) and front wheel stop into the box. The next bit is where alot of people fail, the U-Turn. Observations before you pull off, THEN AGAIN BEFORE you make the turn, don't look down! find a point in the distance towards where you want the bike to go and look at that. Slow ride keeping up with the examiner, as 2 wheels said, drag the rear brake slightlighy keeping the chain 'tight' aids control, look where you want to go and you'll be fine Then back around the bend and through the speed trap again (Same as before) but this time it's an emergency stop. Leave the gears alone and leave the clutch until the very last seconds, stalling is OK (better if you don't) but losing control (without regaining it) is not. Remember the test is not over until the bike is back in the parking space you started from so don't forget observations even once your off the playground. Park and get off! The test is now over. Make sure that the bike you take the test on is between 120 & 125cc and is on the DSA's acceptable list. Some machines are not. Make sure your insurance, MOT and Tax disc are all up to date, unbelievably when we went there was a young lad turned away from his test before it had even begun as his bike was not taxed! I didn't know they tested on a Sunday, you learn something new everyday eh! All the very best of luck, and don't forget to come back and let us know that you passed.

How about some sort of plastic sleeve or wallet (the type you use in a lever arch file or ring binder) fixed some how to the underside of the seat?

Arthur Davidson, the inventor of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle died and went to heaven. At the gates, St. Peter told him 'Since you've been such a good man and your motorcycles have changed the world, you can hang out here with anyone you want to. He thought about it for a minute and then said, 'I want to hang out with God.' St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room, and introduced him to God. God recognized him and said 'Okay, so you were the one who invented the Harley-Davidson motorcycle? Well, what's the big deal in inventing something that's pretty un-stable and makes loads of noise? There are some pretty major design flaws in your invention’. 1. There's too much inconsistency in the front-end suspension 2. It chatters constantly at high speeds 3. Most rear ends are too soft and wobble about too much 4. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust 5. The maintenance costs are outrageous!!!! Arthur was a bit embarrassed, but finally spoke, 'Excuse me’ he said, ‘but aren't you the inventor of woman?' God said, 'Yes, what’s your point.' 'Well,' said Arthur, 'professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention ! 1. There's too much inconsistency in the front-end suspension 2. It chatters constantly at high speeds 3. Most rear ends are too soft and wobble about too much 4. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust 5. The maintenance costs are outrageous!!!! 'Hmmmmm, you may have some good points there,' replied God, 'but more men are riding my invention than yours.

Oh don't! It reminds me I'm getting really old (passed my test in 1983) The governments first attempt at a two part test. As I remember it was very similar to todays, except on part 2 the bloke just watched from a vantage point whilst I when off down the road, not following on a bike as they do now.

and we have a winner! P.S everyone does realise this thread is a piss take in response to an earlier thread, right?! (Which has now been deleted and makes this thread sound weird! )

Hi Folks; Middle aged fatish bloke here.. Just got my '00 Sportster XLH 1200 and I was wondering what kind of top speeds I can expect how long I will be able to sustain them problem free.

It came in April 2009 http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_174478 http://www2.dft.gov.uk/dsa/category_cat_348-.html?cat=348