j0hn

I'll have to double check the front brake light switch to see if it works, I just assumed it was standard for a WRF. The other issues listed (plate, speedo etc.) seems to be easy and cheap fixes but the exhaust is more worrying now. If it does end up being a race only exhaust then is it possible to legalise that by inserting a baffle in? Not even sure if that's possible, kinda clueless lol.

I went to see it today and for a 10 year old bike, it was in pretty good shape. However, I have a few questions about road legality. It comes with front/rear lights, a horn and an odometer. Which is in the list of requirements to make a bike road legal. 1) The bike does not come with a speedometer. It's not required to pass an MOT but you must have one to be road legal. I read that cheap push-bike speedometers are acceptable, any truth in this? Also, any recommendations for cheap speedometers? 2) It has one of those small flexible number plates fitted. I think it might be a 6 x 4, not too sure. Would this still be illegal on the road for an enduro? I saw a video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bwPvd4G8Qk) where the rider was stopped and VDRS'd by the police. He later commented that his small plate was still legal on road due to the following reasons: Anyone able to clarify that or am I just going to get into a lot of bother with the cops? I think it's 3 points + fine for illegal plates now? 3) The rear tyre does not say it's for competition or race use only. So by virtue, it should be road legal, right? One thing I forgot to check was if the rear tail light was on when the bike was running, I know that's a requirement for a full MOT. Anyone know if this is standard with the WR250Fs so I don't have to worry about it until I check again. Bear in mind that this bike passed its previous MOTs before in the current conditions, but passing an MOT these days doesn't exactly make it road legal . I'll probably have a lot more questions but can't think of any at the moment .

I'm just glad one of them isn't wearing a helmet, would have been better if the other two didn't either.

Yea, I'm with busyeddie, chest mount seems to take up most of the view. Nice controlled breaking there, could have ended badly if you had panic braked.

Spacer.

Here is another video showing the physics of countersteering:

Looks like I'm the latest victim of this curse. If you leave your bike for some hours and come back to it, does switching the ignition on cause the dashboard to flash and go off again? That's what mine is doing at the moment, won't turn on at all after that flash. //Edit: Turns out it wasn't actually the dashboard but a connector that connects the wiring loom to the ignition barrel was corroded. As you can see from the picture above, the bottom far right connector slot is heavily corroded. I used electrical contact cleaner and cleaned off the corrosion. Plugged it back in and the bike started working again ! That "kick-start" solution I posted before probably caused the connectors to regain contact temporarily due to the bike shaking while kick-starting, but only to fail later for good. This probably won't make any difference to you since you said yours had fried but anyone else having a similar issue might find it useful. The picture below shows the connector (circled red) that was corroded.

This seemed really good and thought they had a pretty good chance of being picked up by a kids channel, wasn't expecting the ending though lol.

I was asked if I was going to carry a pillion when I notified my insurer after getting my full licence last year. I just said yes under the principle "better with than without" and because of that, my premium went up by £30. I didn't carry a single pillion that year so you could say it was a loss on my part. At renewal this year, the pillion cover was excluded. I know I don't need it because I don't plan on carrying a pillion but just on the off chance that I do, I felt bad for not having it included. I made this thread just to double check what the cover meant because I was worried my premium was going to go up again. Just gave them a call today and adding the cover had no effect on the premium . I assume the obvious reason is because they aren't powerful enough to carry a pillion? I've always thought that myself, but, it's funny seeing how powerful a 125 is in some Asian countries where seeing a family of four is pretty common .

Thanks, but I managed to get my XT covered for just under £250 with my current insurer. I doubt Bikesure could/would top that so I won't waste any more time on it.

Would this invalidate my insurance? I've searched online and a lot of people are saying that pillion cover is not compulsory and it will only cover against injury to pillions. Would something like this be subject to insurers policy on whether your insurance is invalidated if you carry a pillion?

I was having problems using Meerkat because they pre-calculate date margins so I wasn't able to set my one year's NCB (on the day my current insurance ends). Getting a quote without that NCB meant I'll be paying over a grand. Used Admiral just now and I seem to be getting a lot more companies offering much cheaper quotes. Specially Bikesure with £612.19 premium for full comp and £593.68 for third party only... from the people that said £1000 was the cheapest for me. I'm starting to think there is some information these comparison sites aren't sending or sending information I haven't specified to make these premiums lower.

If you get around to fitting an aftermarket dashboard, would be awesome if you could take pictures of the process and maybe post step by step guide on how you managed to do it. It's a very common issue and could save a lot of other XT riders a lot of time . Here is a link to a similar thread about the issue and Grouch's second post contains an ebay link to the aftermarket dashboard that he now has on his XT: Edit: Just a thought. The other day, for the first time since getting the bike, the dashboard didn't light up when I turned the ignition on. The first thing I thought was that the dashboard was gone. I messed around with it a little but it wouldn't turn on so I called my dad to bring some tools to see if the battery was dead. While he was on his way, I tried kick-starting (kicked it maybe twice) and to my surprise, the dashboard came back to life. This happened a couple of days ago and haven't had any issues yet. Might want to give it a try.

I won't be looking to insure a car any time soon lol. One of the many reasons why I'm on a bike . Thanks for the insurance info, I'll check them out too.

According to Bikesure, I do indeed live next door to a crack-house in a shanty town. Through GoCompare, I got five companies offering me quotes under £700 with £300 being the cheapest (offered by my current insurer). You got £250 for your XT? What insurer are you with?

Dude, you're so right. I just used GoCompare and MCE just quoted £300 for the XT, that's £150 quid cheaper than over the phone, WTF lol. Then I tried a quote for the WR250 and got £400. So, if I get two individual polices from the same company, it's cheaper (£700) than the £1500 they quoted me originally for a single policy for both bikes. Edit: Does joining a biking organisation and having any advanced riding qualifications actually help?

No, I would probably have to sell an arm and leg to get fully comp. It has always been TPO (Third Party Only) and that's what I've been trying. It's not just the WR though, I'm getting that £1000 quoted by Bikesure for my XT, that's double the offer made by my current insurer.

I used the special YOC number to give Bikesure a call today and they quoted just over £1000 for my XT alone... ridonkulous! I told the woman on the phone that a Bikesure rep even thought the quotes I was getting were just wrong and all she said was that it's the cheapest she could do. She then passed me on to another insurance company to yet again be quoted a similar premium. I might just have to stick with MCE's £450 quote for my XT and put the second bike on the back burner just now. It's just really annoying that what I do for pleasure is determined by insurance companies and their premiums trying to scrape every single penny from me. @Lee, just want to ask a general multi bike insurance question. Why isn't the premium for multi bike insurance for a single owner (meaning you will be the only rider using the bikes) determined by the bike with the highest premium? For example, if the individual premium for bike A is £400 and bike B is £600, why isn't the overall premium for both bikes under one policy be £600? If you're going to be the only rider, only one bike will be in use at any one time. However, current premiums seems to suggest that both bikes are at risk simultaneously. I really don't understand the logic here. Maybe if the bike is parked on the side of the road, it might make a little sense when you take risk into account, but, for some that is keeping both bikes inside a locked building and for a TPO only policy, it doesn't make sense.

Thanks, I was just thinking of calling BikeSure because of the promotion you guys have on here. Not really fond of giving out me personal information, but is there anything you want me to say on the phone to BikeSure for your commission?

I'm up for renewal and my premium for the XT has gone up by £50 to £450, doesn't seem too bad. When I asked the same insurance company (MCE) for a quote about adding a second bike (WR250F) to the policy, I was quoted just under £1500!!! What the F! When I asked why it was that high, they said it was because of my age and that I shouldn't have two bikes, even though the WR250F is mostly for off-road riding. I'm really disappointed to be honest.

I think it's because this forum originated from the UK. The founder, alexasigno, was from Brighton (UK) when the forum first started back in October 2003. So it's not really a surprise that most of the members here are from Europe, specifically United Kingdom.

Love the sound! Just don't forget about that XT in the background lol .

I think it's something every rider (new or old) does instinctively. Depending on the corner curvature and speed, I don't think it's possible to turn without counter steering. You'd think you're trying out something new (because I certainly did when I first learned about it) but I doubt it's any different from other riders who are simply not aware they are counter steering. Some do like to take the biscuit when it comes to counter steering and that's when shit could really hit the fan.

And this is when it goes all pear-shaped.