Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

I fear I have lost my one and only bike key somewhere over the weekend, initial freak out is over, now what do I do?

its for a 1996 Yamaha TDR125

Just get a new barrel - there won't be any fancy electronics in there. See if you can find a breakers yard with a bunch of old Yamaha keys first...they're not exactly one size fits all but not far off.

How does it fair? I was looking at a Vespa GT125 but I've always liked these, whats the 50cc engine like?

Got a lovely LEM helmet surplus to requirements if anyone's interested, white with brown leather padding, and comes with a visor and a bag. Can't remember the size but I take a large, will do some measuring and update.

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Delighted to report that the two most concerning problems with my new RM250 have fixed themselves (sort of...) Most concerningly, the low coolant seems a one off - took it on a slow technical trail loop on sunday for a couple of hours and it didn't loose a drop. Most delightfully, an oil change and a little tweak have more or less fixed the grabby clutch - it's still not Honda perfect but it's absolutely within expectations. Last stop is a bit of jet tinkering, it's still crap on part throttle. Hella fast when it goes though....had a few whisky wrist moments over the bumpy bits.

Here's a pic of the beastie reposing in my living room....

^^^That looks......monstrous...

Anyone here know much about sv650's?

It's a very naughty piece of kit. Too naughty for me really but nevertheless....

My sis had a second generation SV650 for ages and absolutely loved it. I wasn't the biggest fan (not as torquey as I'd expected and perhaps a bit bland as stock.) That said they have a huge following, an almost inexhaustible array of handling and performance options and can be turned into real fun weapons. The old ones with the roundy styling and frames are less desirable. I think Suzuki are in the process of releasing a new version that looks pretty cool..

http://www.sportrider.com/2016-suzuki-sv650-first-look

'nevertheless' is the same reasoning I'm using to rationalise a motorcycle.

I'm not a heavy rider, nor particularly interested in power, but more balanced and nippy bikes, hence the SV. It was initially a VFR, but their scarcity and delicacy kinda scared me off.
I'm also looking for a bit of a project, as I know I won't leave the bike untouched for long. Thing is, I have NO idea what I should be looking at if I go check out a used one as I know it's totally dependent on each bike. Cue hmm'ing and ahh'ing

I love a nippy middleweight, even better a lightweight, though it's pretty much only the proper supermotos that fall into that camp these days.

Check the mileage and try and find something under 25k, there's really not much that can go wrong below that. Otherwise, look at the consumables, tyres, brake pads front and rear, chain and sprockets and fork seals. If there's a centre stand or you take a mate, check the headrace bearings (swing bars from side to side and feel for a notch or lump in the middle), wheel bearings (spin rims and rock laterally for play), Swingarm bushes, shock linkages etc (look for signs of grease, feel for play.) Feel the clutch and throttle, smooth or dry as a bone with frayed cables? Look for signs of crash damage, cracked fairings, missing bolts, broken lock stops on the frame, bent subframe etc. Some did get tracked, so look for evidence of lockwire, (holes through the sump bolt, brake caliper bolts etc,also cuts to the loom, unlikely but possible. Check oil and coolant levels and colour. Smoke or rattles from the engine on start up. And ALWAYS go for a test ride - take your hands off and see if it goes straight.

It's actually pretty handy to make up a little checklist like this and go through it methodically - I frequently don't, then forget stuff and get angry with myself when it turns out to be bollixed.

VFR400s are pretty bomb proof -they just cost a packet to service and are fiddly to work on yourself (at least engine wise...)

I had a lot of fun on a CB500 and older GPZ500 and from what I hear the ER6s are pretty good to. Never really liked any of the RR400s - they're lots of fun on the track but crap around town. No idea what they sell for these days, but ALL of the 250 2 strokes are a total giggle. They're also shit around town, definitely less reliable but much cheaper and easier to fix and work on yourself if you want a project. First gen TZR250? Bit ancient but still a blast to ride, I'm sure.

Have fun!

Does it have a helmet lock or seat lock that can be removed? If it shares the key with the ignition?

How about a fazer?

nc30 are getting pricey kwak zxr400...uk spec bikes

Still got my TZR250, not roadworthy at the moment but similar to a coke habit in terms of thrills and expenses. Around town it requires hooligan/stunt man behaviour. I'm probably a bit heavy for it now. If you like v twins the SV is probably a reasonable choice, a bit pedestrian with sporty leanings. I'd rather go sensible or balls out. So CB500 or TZR250. None of them are seriously fast bikes though, get a 1000+cc bike and you'll never want to run it ragged.

Yeah I miss the little bikes for that - nothing like keeping a 250 stroker on the boil for a few laps of your local urban GP circuit....I'd buy one again in a heartbeat as they'd be friggin amazing for some of my local roads. Alas they were never road legal here and any with a CA registration are 7k+. Mentals.

My MoT is expiring soon, on the first bike I've ever owned. Does it matter where I take it? And when I'm presented with a list of what it's failed on, can I take it home and repair them all before bringing it back? Is it legal to ride at that point? And will the garage mind that I'm not getting them to do the work? In fact, is there a list of checks that I can follow to attempt repairs before? There are some niggles, but I don't know what it can fail on.

Here are some to think about

Bindits
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki-motorbikes/barn-find-bandit-600/1156282749
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki-motorbikes/suzuki-bandit-600-gsf600-non-runner-/1155149716

Faired bindit but not as good
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki-motorbikes/suzuki-gsx600f/1156471198
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki-motorbikes/suzuki-gsx600f-k-reg-93-43000-kilometers-on-the-clock/1154898612
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki-motorbikes/suzuki-gsx600f-gsxr-bandit-28k-miles-well-maintained-london-%C2%A3650-/1154874735

Baby bindit
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki-motorbikes/suzuki-gsf-400-bandit-spares-or-repair-project/1154499897

Beemer?
https://www.gumtree.com/p/bmw-motorbikes/bmw-k100/1153723007

GPZ5
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawasaki-gpz500/1155506406
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawasaki-green-500/1155946712

Crashed sv?
https://www.gumtree.com/p/suzuki-motorbikes/suzuki-sv-650/1156483924

ZXr400
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawasaki-zxr400-h-reg/1153666463

Belt drive amusement
https://www.gumtree.com/p/kawasaki-motorbikes/kawasaki-gpz-305-/1153946716

few bikes to think about

https://www.gov.uk/getting-an-mot/retests
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/motorcycle-mot-inspection-checklist-vt-29m

I used to take mine to a place that only did MOT tests and not repairs - they were known classic / vintage enthusiasts and sympathetic to the idiosyncrasies of autocycles and clip on engines, and the question of who should do the work didn't arise.
This was rural Shropshire before the days of V112 - there must be somewhere equivalent in London?
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-mot
etc.

You have a month before the MOT expires to get it tested without affecting the expiry date - your new MOT will last twelve months from the exits of the old one so next year get it tested as soon as possible and you have a month to fix it and still be legal to ride it - unless the fault is dangerous of course...

Some will charge you a lower fee to retest and some won't.

No doesn't matter but go for a recommendation of MOT stations.
Yes you have a certain amount of time to repair and return for a free retest confirm with the MOT place. Most won't mind at all. Yes the bike is legal to ride beware if it is deemed unsafe they won't let you ride away.

This is the MOT checklist https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/449526/mot-inspection-checklist-motorcycle-vt29m.pdf to give you an idea what is looked at.

Thanks all, that's really helpful. Anyone know of a place in SE that looks kindly on old Vespas?

f-ing pinlock insert........grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

useless

what are your experiences of cheaper lids?

Currently rocking an AGV, had it for 6 months or so, but would like another helmet with built in Sun visor (i wear glasses all the time so shades are out)

MT Flux guys the bill for about £90, or a Caberg Duke for about £140.

Seen £40 lids but I wouldn't want to fall off a skate board in one of those, let alone on the motorways.

Edit: not completely set on flip fronts, not sure why I've been looking at them really

I had the Duke for a while.

Was well made but the difference between that and my Shoei Qwest is massive. The Qwest is much lighter, more comfortable, offers a better overall fit and is massively more quiet.

They conform to the same EU safety standards so you should be fine in that regard but I couldn't go back to one having experienced the difference of even a mid range helmet like the Qwest.

AGV K3 SV (sun visor) it's OK, pretty light, fairly noisy though

Next will def be Shoei