Mark K

Not sure what its name is, but its a lock that locks the panel firmly in place on the bike, the key to open it is the same key you use in the bikes ignition. Took a few pics for you: The panel with the cover open and keyhole showing: The panel on the bike with the keyhole hidden (cover closed):

Made me laugh, loved it

Yup, the stock tyres are terrible and do give you an uneasy feeling on rough roads, particularly in the wet. The Michelins you're fitting will make it feel like a completely different bike. I change down when the bike wants to go down, and usually roll up to the lights still in 2nd until the last second. My old YBR used to be a bit sticky going from 2nd to 1st or neutral whilst stopped so I'd change to 1st just a second before it completely stopped (08 model). I never get this problem with my 09 model.

never do one of these silly quizzes after you've been drinking... 2 out of 11

awesome!

Loved it, the last minute had me creased up

lucky to get out of that one with so few injuries, ouch!

The second one cracked me up, poor guy

Found this little gem and had to share it! Part one is 10 mins, there is a second part showing the last few minutes of the race. Part One Part Two

Mine is definitely female as it spends most of its time between my legs putting a smile on my face, but it doesn't have a name

Very cool, not awesome, but very very amusing and cool

I scuffed my old YBR's tank a few times as well, it was simply where my foot used to catch it getting off and on every day.

Lots of gear as I commute every day.. HJC CL-ST lid 2 pairs of blue Hood K7 jeans. 1 pair of smart black Hood H2 jeans. Spada Textile jacket, MTech leather jacket. Thin leather bike gloves for summer (unknown make) heavy textile gloves for winter Non biker but very tough leather hiking boots. Couldn't recommend Hood jeans enough, great protection, and comfy and smart enough for office use. I never go out without gear on, not worth the risk.

Today I've received a recorded delivery letter, to come and collect my bike from a recovery centre after it's been abandoned/recovered, if I didn't it would be scrapped in 7 days. This seemed a little odd to me as the bike was stolen a month ago. It was stolen from my driveway, on a quiet cul-de-sac, with a camera on it, and a disc lock on the front wheel. Clearly not enough so it's replacement now has an alarm and anchored chain through the rear wheel as well. The video of the theft, under a minute. Rather than contact the recovery company on getting this letter, I contacted the police first to tell them the recovery company had it. Apparently it was involved in a RTC (road traffic collision) on Monday 19th on a road about 5 miles from here, the rider fled from the scene. They police were aware it was stolen and recovered his flip flop (good biker gear!) that he'd lost when running away. They've sent it off to get DNA from it. They also contacted the recovery company to recover it. The lady on the phone was surprised however that they hadn't contacted me or the insurance company. She asked me to find out the details from the recovery company and then contact my insurance, who gave me my settlement cheque last week. The recovery company informed me the bike had no numberplates, broken steering lock, no ignition, a bald rear tyre, and no side panels... should stick out like a sore thumb if it's been riding around on the public road! Contacted the insurance company, they're going to sort everything out for me (well done Equity Red Star). When the bike itself was stolen a month ago, they removed and replaced the front wheel with one they brought with them so they could steal it!. The front wheel was recovered at the scene, it had fingerprints all over it so the lady that did the fingerprinting was confident they had a good chance of getting the theives. I also have a video of them stealing it so they know roughly what they look like. They also spent a good chunk of that night chasing them riding on it but didn't actually catch them. It's now a month later and nobody has been caught. Sometimes I wonder whether the police really care about these thefts, probably because even if they do catch the criminals they'll just end up getting a slap on the wrists and a few hours community service.

Last year... YBR cost me £150 with motorcycle direct TPF+T, Renewal came through this year, £116. Before the renewal date, bike got stolen, renewal went up to £284! Dumped them and now with Swinton Bikes, £159. They couldn't nick all the bike btw, I've still got the front wheel with lock attached! If you're going to chain it to a lamp post, make sure it's part of the bike that's not easy to remove.

If you're going on a YBR I'd stay off the M5 Motorway and follow the A38 instead. The A38 runs parallel with the M5 for much of its length, you'll get there almost as quick, and have a safer, more enjoyable ride. It also links up directly to the A30 near Exeter, this will take you all the way to Lands end and back.

Impressive!, there are some mad skills on show there, can we see the outtakes now

As Cynic says, they're designed that way, I've done over 200 miles in a single trip without any problems (other than a sore backside!)

The original bulb on my previous YBR started to intermittently fail (go off for a second then come back on), not good on country lanes in the dark, had to switch to full beam to be able to see. But yes, it was also crap even when it did work and was far from safe. Popped the bike up the bike shop, they changed the bulb and realigned the light for me. I don't know what bulb they used but it made a HUGE difference. Makes the bike much much safer at night with proper lighting.

It's far from the quickest bike off the mark and it never gets the adrenaline rushing, but I still love mine... starts first time every time, gets me to work and back far quicker than a car can, beats the traffic queues, and does 110mpg+ Like ya say, different strokes for different people, I'd love to have a screaming 2 stroker, but for fun on the weekends, not for commuting.

I guess many of you hate me then... my main method of transport is a 125cc bike, but for those trips that require a car, yes.. I'll admit it, I have a 14 year old BMW 323i Previous cars include a 1990 M5 (my fun car for playing on the track), and plenty of 1980's bmw's inc 316, and at least 3 323i's (there were a few audis vauxhalls and rovers in the mix too) Never had a collision with anyone in any of them so it can't all be bad!

and here's me trying to get rid of my winter gloves because they're too thick/warm... I've just been out today and bought a nice pair of leather summer gloves for 20 quid, bargain. Biggest problem I've found with the really thick, really warm gloves is your fingers rub together and don't move as easily, you also lose the sense of touch so simple things like turning the indicators off and on become more of a challenge. That said numb frozen fingers aren't much good either!

It may give you some gains in the lower gears but on the 08 and 09 models (injection) it's almost impossible to get the bike up anywhere near the red line rpm wise anyway so I doubt an extra tooth would improve the overall top speed. Typically I'll get 60-65mph in top gear on the flat with a little tail wind and have had 72mph on a hill, still not touching the red line.

Had mine stolen on Tuesday night, it was locked up on the driveway by the front wheel, with camera focused on it. Their solution... They brought their own front wheel, nicked the bike and left me with the locked up wheel!, they weren't aware of the camera though so I've got a few good mugshots. Bought a replacement bike yesterday rather than wait for the insurance to cough up. Now the front wheel, rear wheel and frame are chained to a structural part of the house (front porch pole), sure it'll stop them but it's ridculous how far we have to go to stop these guys, it also adds an extra few minutes to every trip out now. A friend told me that he had a ground anchor on his bike... they dug it up and took it with them!