What are you riding?

[Oaktech]

at the moment a soon to be for sale Honda NC23 cbr400rrj it's not getting used and since ive owned it for the besta part of 20 years im torn between letting it go and keeping it

 

One of my friends bought a 400rr, scared herself witless with it for 2 months and went back to an ER5!

 

I thought it was great, but i'll admit it was a bit unnerving to begin with as it was on dunlop sp sport and those tyres are basically V shaped! As as soon as you came off the centre of the tyre you had to commit to a 30 degree lean otherwise there was no grip.

[woodham]

I love that Honda,

 

basically its a small missile and for random trivia its the same frame and running gear as the original fireblade but for some reason Honda chose to fit a 16 wheel to the first blade. I did contemplate getting a blade engine and putting it in but having owned the first blade 20 years ago im not that brave anymore

[Mark182]

My new bike Scott speedster 20 2016!

[mikkydoos]

I passed my bike test in the summer. Looking at a first big bike come spring.

 

Yahama XJ Diversion

Honda CBR

Kawasaki ER 650

 

Did the test on the Yammy. Was nice.

[frazzlesgrant]

I passed my bike test in the summer. Looking at a first big bike come spring.

 

Yahama XJ Diversion

Honda CBR

Kawasaki ER 650

 

Did the test on the Yammy. Was nice.

 

i like the CBR choice, Im looking at getting the CBR650f

[mikkydoos]

i like the CBR choice, Im looking at getting the CBR650f

 

Want a 4 cyl rather than a twin tho. Might have the Yammy. Hhhhmmmmm

[frazzlesgrant]

Want a 4 cyl rather than a twin tho. Might have the Yammy. Hhhhmmmmm

 

The CBR is 4 cylinder

[mikkydoos]

The CBR is 4 cylinder

 

Oh yeah. I know. I think the Kwakky is the twin

[bald_pig]

I got bored of IL4, went to a single and now V2, much more fun

[mikkydoos]

I got bored of IL4, went to a single and now V2, much more fun

 

Why m8 ? Twins are too busy aren't they. Gear changes etc

[bald_pig]

Why m8 ? Twins are too busy aren't they. Gear changes etc

 

Not really, plenty of low-down torque means you can ride from ~30mph to ~130mph in 5th on my firestorm.

[Oaktech]

Why m8 ? Twins are too busy aren't they. Gear changes etc

 

Well... I can't speak for @bald_pig, but I find IL4 to be a bit clinical and turbine like, all the power just arrives, it does it smoothly and with no effort, but more importantly, it does it with absolutely no soul! V2 on the other hand are raucous, need to be worked and power delivery is like being shoved down the road by your backside! Fun times!

 

If I was going to buy a bike to ride to work on through traffic, that Diversion would be my choice every time, but if I wanted to ride b roads on a Sunday morning, v2 all the way!

[Andrew_C]

You can have mine! B****** thing let me down yesterday after work. Dead battery, wouldn't jump start. Stuck it on a charger for 1/2 hour, that got it going, but now running lumpy at low revs.

 

Will sort battery out first, then probably a re-map (if anyone local has the kit; Guzzi garages are like hen's teeth.)

[Oaktech]

You can have mine! B****** thing let me down yesterday after work. Dead battery, wouldn't jump start. Stuck it on a charger for 1/2 hour, that got it going, but now running lumpy at low revs.

 

Will sort battery out first, then probably a re-map (if anyone local has the kit; Guzzi garages are like hen's teeth.)

 

Ah, a Guzzi, yes! I had one of them, lovely when I was riding it, but spending an hour in the garage fixing something for each 45 minutes of riding got pretty old, pretty quick! I am however lucky and had 2 Guzzi specialists within 10 miles. One of whom would come and pick the bike up for free if I spent £150 with them. Which wasn't hard.

[mikkydoos]

Ah, a Guzzi, yes! I had one of them, lovely when I was riding it, but spending an hour in the garage fixing something for each 45 minutes of riding got pretty old, pretty quick! I am however lucky and had 2 Guzzi specialists within 10 miles. One of whom would come and pick the bike up for free if I spent £150 with them. Which wasn't hard.

 

lol. Dont you love Italian machinery

[Andrew_C]

To be fair to it, I've had it 4 years, and have had little trouble that I can really blame on Guzzi themselves. A cracked disk was the only other problem before the Japanese battery died.

[pcstru]

Why m8 ? Twins are too busy aren't they. Gear changes etc

I used to make better progress in traffic on my (then) GF's GPZ 500 than on my CBR600. The GPZ had better torque lower in the rev range - the CBR you need to keep it over 9K rpm to really get things moving so it was easier to get a nice "flow" (more forward anticipation) on the GPZ.

[Joanne]

Motorcyclists!

 

I've come to realise that life is WELL SHORT. I figure while I'm young I should do things and take risks and all that bullsh. I've been thinking about this for a while but always wrote it off... I wanna learn to ride a motor cycle.

 

What order do you have to do stuff in? My dad in law is trained as an instructor, but he doesn't do it as a career. Is it like learning to drive a car? Can you have lessons with parents and then do a test?

 

Anyone know approximate costs? Dependant on cost might do it over summer or next.

[frazzlesgrant]

You need to do a CBT, theory test, Mod 1 and Mod 2, my advice would be go to a proper riding school because then if you drop the bike it wont be the end of the world, i paid about £4-500 for mine and that was all my lessons and my test.

[Steve21]

I need to get mine too, done my Bike theory already as wanted to get that out the way. Just need to find time for CBT and Full license etc

 

Want to do my full license asap as a 50/125cc gonna get killed lugging me about haha

 

Want to get up and running before Summer

 

Steve

Edited March 7, 2016 by Steve21

[frazzlesgrant]

You will need a full day for your CBT, but after that you will only need to find a couple of hours a week, i done my CBT, then 3 lessons then my mod one, then 1 more lesson then went in for my mod 2, from start to finish took me about 4 weeks, but your mileage may differ, but i would get it done well before summer, because thats when it all gets busy.

[Joanne]

Ah OK. Just the money holding me back! What's the dealio with the 125CC jobs? Can you just do the CBT and ride about with L plates?

[frazzlesgrant]

Yeah, that wont be a bad idea, the CBT last 2 years, but i think it will be getting changed so it only lasts 1 year, but I'm not 100% sure on that.

[foofighterjim]

Ah OK. Just the money holding me back! What's the dealio with the 125CC jobs? Can you just do the CBT and ride about with L plates?

 

You may find this useful; they constantly change the rules (particularly around direct access), so it is very different from when I passed: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-routes-to-your-motorcycle-licence

[crc-ict]

I'm doing this very thing now!

 

Did CBT June last year and been riding about on a 125 since then. Just for leisure, no commuting as my 15 miles on NSL dual carriageway isn't much fun on a 125. Still done about 2k miles though.

 

Doing Theory on Saturday. Had an assessment hour with local school and they are giving me 1 day Mod 1 prep, and a half-day for test start of next month, and then a Mod 2 day, and half-day for test at beginning of May. Cost £500 all in, including tests.

 

Fingers crossed all goes smoothly.

@Joanne, get your CBT done first - you need to try it to see if you like it. It's not for everyone. You've got to do it anyway, and CBT gives you the option of getting a cheap 125 to bimble around on if you feel you need to build a bit more confidence or experience a bit more of biking to make up your mind.

 

Good Luck! It's a lot of fun. But remember it is a risky pursuit, so learn as much as you can, be the best you can, and always buy the best gear you can.