Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

HA! Kind of defeats the point.

I passed my test in July just gone.
CBT in Feb 15 (1st one ever)
my experience was:
CBT, no dramas
Bought a 125 about a month later, had to it home about 20 miles. decent learning curve.
changed jobs and needed to commute on it ~15 miles each way on busy A roads, massive learning curve!
failed my Theory Test 1st go (by 1 mark on hazard perception, try and get a practice disc, does help) passed it 2nd time.
started big bike lessons.
1st lesson was 4 hours on the Mod1 test track, so that helped massively.
MOd1 test, passed. I found it pretty easy, but i had spent half a day on it a few days before taking my test.
half day on the road the next weekend with the riding school.
would have put me for my test but i coudn't make it within the next 3 weeks so i had another half day lesson after 3 weeks and then took my Mod2.
MOd2 passed 1st go. Keep talking to yourself, remind yourself to turn the indicators on and off.
Lifesavers, lifesavers, lifesavers.
If you fuck something up on the test, keep going and try to prove it was a one off.

I semi noused up the U turn on Mod1 but the examiner said he thought it was a 1 off idiot moment (i grabbed front brake, didnt put my foot down, ran slightly wide) and passed me.
MOd2 i got stuck at a junction for a spell and thought i might have hesitated too much, but he didnt mention it at the end, but i thought it was terminal, nailed the rest of it apart for my 3 minors (on an A road I overtook a lorry and had to brake into a slower speed, he said i should have pulled in behind the lorry, but it wasn't a dangerous move; ran wide on a corner, stayed in my lane but said it ws lack of control, again not dangerous; on the road of the test centre, going back, I passed a parked van a little too close, could have been dangerous if the door opened)

A the while i was doing 160+ miles a week on the 125, whcih helped.

^ would echo all of that - be confident and make every manoeuvre deliberate - treat it like going for a ride with human sat nav telling you where to go - mirrors and lifesavers all the time, go overboard with them - if joining a dual carriageway give it some beans, match the speed of the traffic, don't be too cautious, and loads and loads of shoulder checks all the way along the slip road - one thing my instructor said that stuck with me was always defend your space turning left at junctions, don't give any room to anyone that could sneak up your inside, really tuck yourself over so it's your left turn - if you can get the arsing about of Mod 1 out of the way Mod 2 is a breeze

Cheers all. Sounds like u should cracking on and book my theory and mod1.

I passed my theory and did a mod1 lesson way back when I was trying to sort out getting my full licence and found the mod1 fine. Debating whether to get another specific lesson, but dethbeard, from what you said it sounds like I could get a long lessons that covers more than just the mod1.

Just need to work out the £s. Kicking myself that I wasted some muxh money on getting half way.

Re: pinlock
Yep, couldn't do without it. They won't seal unless you really bend the visor flat and ensure the lugs are well seated into the pinlock. It can take a bit of fettling to get right.
In this weather though, when I wear glasses they steam up like a bugger so visor is open a lot in town.

my pinlock was already in the lid - no issues, apart from the other week in torrential rain, water got inside between pinlock and visor :/

Mines steaming up in the right hand corner. Taken it out and re fitted it. Seems to be sealed fine.

Dunno, seems a bit fiddly. Bit like magic to make it work. Fitted at per pinlock website/YouTube instructions from them. Will see.

When it works perfect i love it.

Husky's running just been running round back streets. Couldn't stop grinning. Fucking fun. Can't get out of second gear, the levers bent, and there's a load of oil/ gunk on the swing arm that looks like it's leaked off the exhaust? Apart from that amazing!

Wicked! All that oily crap will just be part burnt 2 stroke. They all do it. Take the gear shift off to bend it straight, don't try and do it in situ. Get that sorted and get out there for a good thrash!

Like a total dipshit I got in a conversation while leaving the lights on my already low battery. Result a very hot and grumpy tube journey home.

I tried to jump start from my car. No luck. A running jump-start is impossible due to the flat location.

What's my best option?

Buy a charger that can store charge, take it down and charge it up?

Or should I take the battery out of the bike, take it home and charge?

I was looking at this one:
AccuMate 612

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Accumate-AccuMate-612/dp/B001SFZR7M

Any advice?

These are the best ones http://www.amazon.co.uk/TecMate-Optimate-4-battery-charger-x/dp/B001DI09WW

Not jumping from a car, what was the voltage on the battery?

How long did you leave it running before trying to jump it? Was the connection good, clipped on well, it needs a really good connection. Unless it's DEAD it should jump. Might just need a little time before it does, leave it running from the running car for 10-15. Or just use a 12v portable power pack, that will start it.

Bring the battery home and charge using said charger above if you can't do above.

If you're battery was already on it's last legs. Ie low resting voltage, just go by a new one.

Thanks.

Not jumping from a car, what was the voltage on the battery?

Don't know I'm afraid. The car (mini one) or the bike (Derbi Mulhacen 125) ?

How long did you leave it running before trying to jump it? Was the connection good, clipped on well, it needs a really good connection.... leave it running from the running car for 10-15. Or just use a 12v portable power pack, that will start it.

Not that long :(

It's pretty awkward to clip to the bike battery, they are car jump leads.

Also are you sure about starting the car? I'd read that for motorbikes you shouldn't start the car.

go by a new one [battery]

Yeah, I'm trying to keep costs down. Weirdly Jan seems to have cost more than Dec. But that might have to be done eventually.

Just to check a stupid question...

....with the TecMate Optimate 4 battery charger, can I charge it up at home on the mains and then take the charger to where I've left my bike and charge the battery?

It should jump start. As the other battery should provide enough power to get the engine going. The only reason not, is that the connection is bad so it can't pull enough current through.

Maybe, I just had a look into that, jumping bike from car. If you have a volt meter, you can read what the battery is getting from the car. Cars normally put out the same kind of voltage with engine on. Just helps top your battery up a bit, before trying to start.
That said, if you've good connections, then you should be able to jump your bike from the other battery (that's good) without any charge. As if it can start the car, it'll start the bike.

I'd be tempted to try jump it again, and really try get a good connection. It will go. As it doesn't need your battery to start, it'll start it from the good battery.

EDIT: It's the current from the alternator in the car that could be an issue. IF you try start the bike with the car engine running. You can top up the battery form the car, then make sure car engine is off and start it. With a good connection, it will start. Though if the abttery is dead, it might not hold a charge.

It's recommended you take the battery out of the bike to charge it (not many people do) so yes you can bring it home and charge it.
No it's not a portable charger. It will take ~10h to charge up a discharged battery.

Cheers.

I'm not sure about taking the car down on a week night in the dark. Anyway my other half is taking the car away for a bit so that rules it out as a short term option.

The whole thing is a bit of a mission. I guess if I order that charger now, deliver it to my office and charge the battery there over night it'll be running mid week.

Aghh I'm still so fucked off with myself. Half the reason for taking it to work that day was to charge the battery!

On a slightly lighter note what's the cheapest you can get a half decent 125cc twist-and-go secondhand? Any recommendations? Honda I guess?

Did you try bump starting it mate? Run along in neutral, clutch in and pop it into 2nd. Should start even with a flat battery.

A running jump-start is impossible due to the flat location.

What's my best option?

HTFU ;)

Yep :(

Me and my mate managed to do that when I picked the bike up. It took a while and it only worked when the gear peddle was in N, then put into 2nd rather than just being able to hold the cluch down.

We had a small slope so together managed to get it over 10mph.... Basically no way where it is can I run it up to that speed, maintain it, jump on and change gear. And that's ignoring the other logistics like getting run over, my stuff getting nicked, etc.

Basically I've learnt to always make sure your battery dies when you're at home!

Tl;dr charging thingy ordered.

Got stuck in a canyon on Saturday. Started off about car width and got narrower and narrower. The bottom was deep sand and full of large rocks. I was blazing along, feeling every bit the two wheeled Indiana Jones when it got so narrow my bars jammed and brought me to a sudden stop. Fallen debris, meant no way through and it was a good 40 yards of tip toeing and sweary scraping along the walls back until I could turn around. My riding buddy (who usually trails a way behind) was pissing himself. Took me a good 20 minutes to get my puff back and start the bloody thing again.

Christ it is TATERS out there this morning. My lock FROZE. WTF

My mate just had his vespa stolen from outside house - Islington, any advice on what to do, where to look for recovery?
(Obs reported to police for insurance purposes).

Get it posted on local scooter club Facebook pages etc ASAP