Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

ABS does take the fun out of it but also the grab the break reflex and hit the deck is decreased.

http://vimeo.com/m/33535331

They must have got up fucking early in the morning to film that.
Not much point making a film about a nice twin and then leaving the exhaust noise off the soundtrack though. Just saying.

I know what you meam, it's still quite nice though....soporific

Any time I see anything remotely cafe/bobber/brat/tracker - ish in style I kinda regret buying the KTM but then I either ride mine or remember that my mate who knows a lot more about motorbikes than I do told me that the KTM will piss all over bikes like that while getting twice the mpg and I feel better again.

#boastpost

Church. Old bikes look great, but are mostly disappointing to ride in comparison with today's. There are exceptions, but I'm sure most of mine are driven more by nostaliga than reality...

Anyone got a good recommendation for an MOT place in Dalston / East?

Dalston motorcycles are great

Er I use Burwins on the Essex Road

Depends on the bike IMO

Yep. Nostalgia is old people, with money, buying the bikes that they lusted after as kids or had as a kid and those rose tinted spectacles go on.

Last few days have been riding a few custom built bikes, some are comfortable some really are not.

bosh - done in an hour. nice one.

Hello all
I'm having a bit of trouble with my bike insurance, anyone got any tips?

I'm 17 years old , I've got my CBT and I drive a 1981 Honda CG125

I have been quoted ridiculous prices (i.e £1300 a year minimum !)

any companies or ways to get around this , or is driving my bike before I'm 18 and got my full license an unobtainable dream?

many thanks in advance

I think you just need to grit your teeth, buy a good lock/alarm and just get third party only. Build up the no claims and pass your test.

You've got 3 problems: 1, you're young, 2, you've not passed your test, and 3, you've got a 125.
All 125s have horrific theft problems, which is why your premiums are high.
Can't do much about 1, but if you do 2, and buy a 400 or something afterwards you should see your premiums plummet. Also, don't crash or have it pinched. With 2 years no claims your premiums will drop like a stone, because nobody has 2 years no claims on a motorcycle policy.

Hard to know how many options you've already tried. I had a problem getting insured for a reasonable price recently but found a way around it because I'm insured on three vehicles. Aviva came through in the end but they are not big on bike insurance. As an example I had quotes from £400-£2000 on van insurance, so it's possible you've not found the lowest yet.

Lie.

Phone one place for a quote, phone another, tell them your last quote was for half of what it was actually for.

A lot of places will tell you to jog on but you might get lucky.

Take commuting (and maybe passengers) off your policy if possible. Commuting doesn't always seem to make a big difference but it did for me last year.

What @M_A_X says about third party might help but I've been finding TPO and TPFT quotes can actually be higher than fully comp.

I don't know if it applies to motorbikes (never tried) but my van insurance dropped £100 when I added my dad to the policy.

Oh M&P are doing dulop qualifiers for 99quid a pair plus delivery.

Got back to my scooter after work today and someone had hit the engine cover and broken the pin at the back which locates into the hole. Cue a careful ride 12 miles home across London, with one biker stopping me at a red light to tell me my "lid" was coming loose. I've just fitted a stainless nut and bolt for now.

Passed my Mod2 on tuesday, nae dramas.
Now licenced to ride something exciting.

Looking at getting a BMW F700gs,b ut they are a little costly.

Yay!

I'm really thinking about shopping in my NC700s for a Deauville.

I know they're perceived as really boring bikes (hence the Dullville nickname) but I'd love to have something the missus and I could cruise around on a little easier, especially as we're keen to do a couple more trips around the UK and into France etc.

Anyone owned / ridden one? Thoughts?

i have the same thoughts about a TDM - dull nickname, but they just look so usable, and no doubt fast enough.

Exactly. The NC700 is great and plenty of fun to ride (despite not being very fast at all) but it's not particularly comfortable for rider or passenger on any journey over 45 minutes.

As i've only got a topbox, the amount of stuff i can carry is limited.

The NT700V has built in panniers and most used ones come with the rear topbox with back pad which would make it a nicer rider for the other half.

My NC700s is probably worth about £3,500 and an NT700V with ~10k miles on and all the kit is only around £4k.

Tempting.