Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Think amps not volts. It's the amppage of the car alternator that could be an issue. Why risk it when no need, just use the battery, without car running. 99/100 you might have no issue. But there is no need to have the car running, so why risk it? Just use the battery.

Earth the frame is safest. On the donor vehicle.

It's the idea of amperage causing a problem that bothers me. If there's no problem with the bikes electrical system it will only draw as many amps as it needs. Like Lynx I can see that the voltage regulator should be roughly the same between vehicles. You're probably right about a car battery having enough cranking amps to start a bike without the car running but large twins like the r80 have big batteries because a high compression twin takes some cranking so it basically uses a car battery anyway.

My bike died in the middle of town and a friendly polish builder tried to help me jump-start off his van. He didn't have any jump leads so we attempted to use some ordinary domestic wiring from the back of his van.
It was horrible, even wearing gloves the wire got too hot to hold, and the insulation started smoking before my bike would even think about turning over.

Okay. I'm going to go away and have another think about it. My electronics is fairly basic so I might be wrong.

However my point of, if a car battery will start it without the engine running, why risk running it; does stand.

If you were using 2.5 twin and earth which seems likely, it's rated at about 20amps. The cold cranking amps of my r80 for example is 400amps, so it's not surprising that you had problems. That's why the short run from the battery to the starter is more like 16mm sq and it uses a relay to connect it directly for the length of time that it needs to turn over.

If you had kept adding pieces of wire in parallel and used the shortest possible run you would have got there eventually.

It would also have been drawing the maximum amperage to begin the turning process, once it's turning it draws much less.

I agree it should be possible from a car battery without the engine running. It's also easier to get someone to push you or even push start it yourself as long as the engine is in good running order and it just has a flat battery. Unless it has an automatic gearbox, like most scooters!

Just got knocked off my bike by a cyclist

Any advice what to do?

Got their details? Call the police?

Got their details.

I'm fine but the bike is damaged.

So I should call the police then?

Should I have kept the guy with me and called the police?

You can only claim against them if they've 3rd party liability.

You need to ask them nicely for their insurance details. You can't get them to give you the details, but ask nice. Then give their details to your solicitor and submit a claim.

Home insurance often includes 3rd part liability. Ask for that if they don't have cycle specific 3rd party (ie. british cycling)

Is that true?

He said he didn't have insurance, I asked "not even under your home"? He said no.

I've had cover under my home insurance for along time now specifically for this type of scenario when I was commuting by bicycle in London.

I've submitted a police form and on hold to my insurers to notify them.

Still a bit shaken up, as he ran full pelt into my side so I never even saw it coming. Guess it's just good he wasn't a bit faster and I wasn't a car otherwise it would have been really awful.

But surely if you cause damage to someone you are liable?

It was so when I made a claim against a pedestrian who ran out into the road. This was a few years ago now. And I am only going from what my solicitor said.

I'd get legal advice.

Cheers. As it's dark it's hard to know what the extent of the damage is. I'm hoping it's just a scuff and a new end to the clutch pedal.

On a practical point what do I do with my bike? I've parked it up, but the clutch pedal is snapped.

Do you usually call breakdown assistance and they drop it off to a shop to assess the damage?

Depends mate.
I'd just fix it myself.
You could get it recovered to a garage, if you breakdown assistance includes that, check the T&Cs.

Is it locked up where it is?

Who you insured with? Mine covers with recovery so long as it's a mile away from home and not too far.

Cheers for all the replies.

The guy gave me fake details. I'm a bit of a mug for not calling the mobile and asking for address and ID - at least looking at a credit card, etc.

I'm going to try and get the bike picked up and taken to a place near my house. Luckily I'm within distance (20 miles) and in any event it's only +£1.50 per mile.

I'm hoping the damage isn't too bad. Frustratingly, I haven't been able to go and check it out today in the daylight to work.

I know a lot of this was discussed with Soul, but with all the CCT TV around nowadays, is there a chance of tracking where this guy went? The accident would have been recorded around there, and I have a description. He said he was going to a bike shop. The Evans at St Pauls would be the obvious one if you were heading toward Smithfield from the Barbican right? Fullcity haven't had any in. The Evans have quite a few black Bromptons in their workshop.

Trying not to get too angry about the shitty behavior, and just chalk it up to experience....

... always call the mob number. Always get a full address and proof of their name!

Sorry man that sucks.

Lesson learnt. Hope it's simple and cheap to sort.

What a cunt. Hope you find them.

Cheers guys.

Will try not to go postal on random guys riding black Bromptons with Barbor quilted jackets and dark hair.

After some advice.

Luckily the damage to my bike was pretty minor and all cosmetic (albeit still close to a grand to return to factory spec). However, I can work around most of it and things like the footpegs barely notice.

The biggest pain in the arse is the speedo. I’ll try and get some better photos up. It works, but the damage seems to be:

1. Missing glass/perspex
   
2. Missing bezel
   
3. Damaged / bent clock mount
   
   

The options as I see it are:
a. Replace whole clock with OEM - The downside is cost and having a different mileage

b. Repair - At the moment buying KPM clock and disassembling seems cheapest. +£70 to have just a bezel machined in stainless vs £69 for a complete clock off ebay.

c. Aftermarket / custom - The downside is that the bike ceases to be OEM, and could look naff/cost more. Although this does look pretty cool:

What are peoples gut feelings / thoughts? I’m especially interested as using a KPM for parts only just occurred to me – I was originally looking at it as just a cheaper route to get a clock.

Cheers.

edit: also does anyone know if "idiot lights" are a legal requirement>?

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Really sorry to hear this man. Absolute bastards out there.

I don't know about you but I always found the OEM dials a bit too big and a bit too angled. If I ever got them damaged I'd be looking to replace with an improved set, something like this:

http://www.squaredeals-ltd.co.uk/dual-mini-gauge-retro-tachometer-and-speedometer-gauge-kit-for-the-triumph-bonneville-and-2009-thruxton-25348-p.asp

They look solid and while they're not identical to oem I think it's an improvement.

Some arsehole did a hit and run on my bike while it was parked last month. The only thing that's really made it bearable is being able to upgrade the bits I wanted to and have it come back looking nicer. Worth bearing in mind.

I don't mind them, but I do know what you mean. The Scrambler has a smaller headlight so it makes it more noticeable.

If the bracket is fucked then I was thinking about buying a flat one as the price is the same - not sure if it will make it less readable though.

The clocks you linked look good. I often too and fro between aftermarket stuff. Most is very well made, but sometimes it looks a bit... too aftermarket. For eg I added a clutch cable gaiter thingy, and toyed with an end cover, but they all just looked to "add-on", if that makes sense?

On another topic does anyone have any boot suggestions / recommendations.

I’m after something that protects like:

But looks like:

All jokes aside, my Stylmartin Indian boots are excellent (on and off the bike), but I’d like something that;

1. offers better/higher protection for the shin,
   
2. has a stronger toe section,
   
3. can go under motorbike trousers (obvs ones designed to go over boots), and
   
4. doesn’t look as frumpy as the weird quilted adventure stuff.
   
   

Happy with more modern stuff, but just not too disco slipper. Thought these SiDi looked like an option