Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Passed my CBT and Theory now, DAS in time for September is basically impossible so I've come to the conclusion I'll buy a second hand 125 for the time being and maybe buy something else next year before summer.

That's right, yes the snake, I saw it on youtube videos... only:) Riding around London is not fun, maybe it was years ago before you left. Full of cameras now of every kind, the weather, the jam, the bonkers, etc... And not beaches to reach...

Pretty much the case for a lot of people. Also the reason why prices are so high (for tuition as much as used bikes).

My instructor has guys from London come down to Swindon because it’s so difficult to get a license done in town.

September is highly unlikely now (most are booking 10-14 weeks ahead), but call around outside of your area code.

Great idea - plenty of fun to be had ripping the snot out of a 125 for a bit!

Was with them on a commercial policy and was happy with them, but heard so so so much grief from folk on domestic policies (anything you can imagine) that there is a reason they are often cheaper policy price they simply offer less cover or are very successful in paying out adequately.

@Jung this was my thoughts today haha, plus I definitely need the practise time with a clutch before hopping on bigger bikes.

I think in my case it's a £12k litre bike with only 2yrs NCB and a licence for 3.5 years! Saved a lot on classic insurance on my old bike but didn't accrue NCB.

It's a good way to get bike handling skills dialled in.
I did ~5 months commuting on a 125, pending a big boy test.
Made me much more confident on the road.

Also got me to the point where I didn't need to think about what I was doing (initially i was talking through the actions "clutch in, throttle off, change gear, throttle on and clutch out" "indicator is on on on on, off" etc.)
(actually the indicator one is very handy on your test, don't want to fail on something petty like an indicator being left on)

if anyone likes watching re-build/restoration projects, I'm enjoying this one that's recently started (2 episodes so far). The chap seems nice and has a good sense of humour:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LePA5mIYIdk

Been following this, can recommend.

Yeah definitely need to work on that indicator thing 😂 there was a few times yesterday when I consciously thought “I will cancel my indicator after this turn” then I fucked something up and distracted myself using the clutch or something.

Now just need to decide what to buy and find it.

I was taught to press the indicator cancel as soon as I see a minor road, or junction. That way, if you have left it on, you don’t leave it on past a junction.

Hacks/bodges crossover…

When you want a boot dryer but also have a pile of scrap bmx parts…

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Nicely done!

Saw this on eBay and it's right up my street.

Just get in the habit of pushing the boingy button all the time, keep your thumb near it, press it even when you know the indicators aren't on.
Turn = boing

Has anyone managed to insure their bike for less than 12 months before, easily? My tax reminder has come through and half tempted to sorn it over the winter to crack on with maintenance and mods. Ideally both tax and insurance would run from April - Sep to make the most of the 'summer'.

... Just looking at my insurance premium, this year it was £120 (for the gsxr) so have a feeling it's unlikely to be worth the hassle.

Phwoar, however:

I'm extremely reluctant to let go of it but I'm pretty much only riding on dirt these days and I don't want it just gathering dust, it needs to be ridden and loved.

Which seems to be the fashion!!

As for shorter insurance periods, it’s not worth it. I asked about a shorter term insurance to get the second bike insured until the first needed renewal, but it worked out more expensive than any other variation (adding on late, entire new policy, etc).

—

Talking of dirt, update on the Sherco. I have had a lot of trouble the past month with it, it bogged and refused to start from cold. After cleaning the plug and carb, it would work for a few hours then bog and refuse to start.

It was something like: seems okay for the first half-hour of practice, second half-hour it gets boggy. Across a week of three or four practices, by the end of the week I wouldn’t like the starting sound. It would take more than two kicks, and overall just sounded and felt wrong.

Two trips to the shop for advice, including a new spark plug and such. The main takeaway was, “the plugs are rarely a nice brown, they’ll be a bit black” and “you really should clean the carb before/after each trial, so if you’re getting three hours practice in a week, that’s more engine hours than a typical trial”.

Okay, okay. 2-smokers need constant babying with a clean plug and jet-cleaning, but after the third week of pulling a black sooty plug out, I was sure it was a rich fuelling issue over anything else. I want a chocolate spark plug, no matter what they say.

So, the correct thing to do is change one variable at a time, by a measured amount, and then check results.

Instead, I turned the fuel/air screw out 1/8 turn, and moved the incredibly rich main jet clip up one notch. Plus, I reduced the oil in the fuel very slightly.

Two one-hour practices, and the bike would start on the first or second kick, idle more comfortably, woke up as far as power delivery, and doesn’t seem to bog over time.

Phew. Getting closer to reliable running.

Turn = boing

I’ll write this on the handlebars to remind me.

As for shorter insurance periods, it’s not worth it

Seems ironic doesn't it, although kind of reinforces why (personally) fast bikes are so much better than cars. Shouldn't complain when thinking about the equivalent tax/insurance cost for a car that can give a similar buzz.

There are enough cars using the road near me as a drag-racing strip each night, that I’d gladly see their premiums increase.

Does reducing the oil effectively make the mixture richer in that there is a higher proportion of petrol in the fuel / oil mix? If this is the case you might be doing several things at once which will counter each other?

I don't know about modern 2 strokes, but the older bikes I play with use pre-mix and there's always a range of opinions on this - certainly there are machines on club runs that often suffer from overheating, generally attributed to running too lean, and then you hear things like "it's supposed to be 24:1 but I put a bit extra (oil) in to be sure"...

The conversation seems to be ongoing for the oil ratio thing within trials.

As I understand it, it makes the mixture leaner in the sense that the fuel is less oil-rich.

Various sources from the manufacturer recommend 80:1, but I am certain I saw a sticker or note somewhere stating 50:1.

The bike shop initially told me to use 75ml to 5L which is 66.7:1, and told me some guys run as low as 100:1 which would be 50ml per 5L.

The idea of less oil in the premix fuel means less un-burnt oil making its way into the exhaust. Less smoke, less saturation on the exhaust packing. Less fouling on the plug.

Bearing in mind this is the plug that I pulled out last week, after a few hours of running, there is both way too much sooty deposit, and a lot of unburnt oil on the plug. This is prior to making any changes to my running.

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And today, two hours use (1.5hr ish runtime) since adjustment.

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I’m sure most are aware but, for those who aren’t, the Motorcycle Show is on ITV 4 at 9pm tonight.