Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Can everyone stop buying dirt bikes and enjoying them?

I don't need another bike.

Oh, last things - always look for the berm! Anything you can stuff the front wheel into is good and will help you carry more speed around the corner. Shallow ruts, raised verges, dirt banks (espesh) whatever really.

For flat turns, sit on top of the bike (on the outside edge of the seat) with body straight up you'll be amazed at how much more traction you get, for berms, stay on top of the seat and lean with the bike.

Don't get trail fixation - it's a dirtbike, I guess legally you have to stay on the trails but try and look around and see where you CAN ride. I still have the tarmac thing where you desperately try and cling to a trail where you can easily just cut a corner or go a different route.

Avoid obscured fencing, barbed wire, angry farmers. Otherwise aim for the fun stuff.

@Soul NEVER! Come join us!

Yeah you do, who you kidding?

I haven't seen a modern bike I've liked in a while. This however, I'm feeling.

Yeah you do, who you kidding?

Me. I'm currently kidding me.

Help.

What is that?
a Guzzi?

Rode to my parents' to park up for the winter. Somehow I always end up riding through epic downpours or straight up blizzards on these trips.
This time it was rain only, but I was very happy with my new over mittens.

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And ready to hibernate:

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Yup.

Yeah - handsome looking machine!

Did a google, that Moto Guzzi looks much better in green than red.

Dunno, the red looked pretty good in the video. Terrible music aside.

Resistance is futile!

@Jung It's really quite pretty. Ticks all the right boxes in styling and good performance without banging on about power figures. Will be interesting to see what it'd look like with panniers.

I agree, classy and fresh. It's part Morbidelli, part TDM850. I'm moderately concerned at some of my recent new bike likes, they all seem to run a little middle aged....

@Soul. Give in to the dirt side.

Middle aged or..classy?

I want madness, plenty to choose from the last two decades.
Cool and cruise? I'll take one of those please.

I’d like to see the pics and more details, thanks

Spent a couple of hours getting back onto the local green lanes, was a lot wetter after last night's downpour. Slowly getting used to the rear and front wheels sliding around, and both at the same time on a couple of occasions. Didn't come off but some emergency dabbing of the feet and feel like I've found the limit of these dual purpose tyres. Wow wet grass is slidy. Tried to train myself to stand for a lot of it gripping the tank with my thighs, did help but feeling tired now. Lots of deep puddles too, first time I've actively ridden through them which for a sports bike rider was liberating.

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Sweeeeeeeeet! Those tyres look pretty aggressive for dual sport rubber - stick with them and embrace the slide.

My engine bits arrived from the UK so I'm now back in the multi-cylinder two stroke business. Most exciting.

Maybe you're right, might just be something I need to get used to. The bike squirming around under me felt slightly more normal as the day went on. Was rewarding noticing how much more comfortable I was on loose surfaces going home, when the slippy mud finished I almost relaxed compared riding on gravel. Certainly felt like progress. Have a feeling I might need to lean forward more when standing though, to get into 'the attack position'. Would thoroughly recommend to anyone ever wondering about riding offroad.

Think we need more 2 stroke photos in this thread!

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whats the best place to sell a motorbike/scooter these days? got an old vespa I need to sell

All this rain, I was looking forward to the ditch being flooded and getting some actual submerged experience on the Sherco.

Put some air in the tyres because they looked like they had a negative PSI. Super flatter than flat, rim-kinking flat.

Nope.

Thought I was gonna die.

Somehow I was sure that 7psi would be low enough. I was very, very wrong.

Front tyre immediately skidded on any brake pressure or turn, and rear would light up and made clutch-up wheelies impossible.

Going in and out of a flooded steep-sided ditch a half dozen times was no good at all. I gave up after 15 minutes.

For reference, no.

7psi is way over for trials tyres. 5 front and 4 rear is normal, and drop one or two for mucky conditions.

Live and learn! Should have double checked before I left!

Props for cracking on!

I got caught in the torrents riding into Central London, met a guy on a matching Explorer, got caught at a dozen sets of lights and raced him between them.

Much fun.

I don’t mind the rain. I guess being a cyclist first and motorcyclist second means it’s difficult to be fairweather about it. Bet that was great fun racing between the lights!

Thursday and Friday morning I had to drop a Bandit 6 to the test centre for students to do their Mod1’s. My old instructor was awaiting his PCR result and needed someone to make sure his students didn’t miss their tests.

Fortunately both passed. Nerve-wracking watching others struggle with stiff bodies and nervous footing through the drills!!

Also, fortunately, his test was negative, he was just full of cold.

Still can’t get my previously stolen 125 to start.

The battery is definitely dead (whether that’s for good or not I don’t know as I can’t check)
I’m now stuck at the point that it lights up and will turn over, but no spark (I’ve taken the spark plug out to check it and it looks okay to me?) I can’t get a spark from it when it’s out of the engine but still attached to the lead.

I did happen to look in this little box next to the battery, should there be 2 more fuses(?) in those spare spaces?

Going to have to admit defeat and take it into a shop next week as it’s becoming more than I can handle with my limited knowledge.

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What’s the consensus on a bang cheap dirt bike? For lolz and all.