Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Had this chap ride with me from Dalston to Pinewood this morning. Hung on all the way!

I'm looking into getting some new kit soon, thinking of a Barbour International motorbike jacket and a Bell Bullet TT helmet. Nom.

are you going to wear under armour with that jacket. like knox, dainese or similar?

or are you going commando?

So I'm test riding a secondhand SH125 and a new PCX125 on Wednesday. Any thoughts on which is the better bet?

I did the first two days of my DAS w/ Ace Rider Training over the weekend.

The manual CBT (already have one for automatics) wasn't strictly required but it put me on an equal or better footing that some of the people starting the course on the Sunday.

In comparison to the one done at Metropolis, I felt it was pretty poorly run. There were too many people per instructor and, whilst the Metropolis one took about 3.5 hours, I arrived at this one at 8am and didn't get home until 5.30!! There were also a couple of people who clearly shouldn't be on the road and at least one of them was given a certificate.

The second day (first of DAS) was actually pretty good. The classroom session was informative and gave plenty of good advice on what to expect from both the module 1 and 2. The road sessions in the afternoon were also longer and more autonomous (with the odd good observation). It gave me plenty more time to get used to the manual bike.

On Wednesday I start on the 600cc bike (Yamaha XJ6) which i'll have nearly two full days on before the module 1 test on Thursday afternoon.

So I'm test riding a secondhand SH125 and a new PCX125 on Wednesday. Any thoughts on which is the better bet?

A soon to be on the market PCX125 would be your best bet. ;)

are you going to wear under armour with that jacket. like knox, dainese or similar?

or are you going commando?

Armour all the way - it has pockets for it - so I'm gonna take it out of my current Bering jacket.

Nailing the vintage look with the Barbour and Bell, you can always stuff the jacket with newspaper in the winter when you want to stay warm.

So end up looking swish but smelling funny with every thing sticking to the jacket and trousers.

Are there any 'fun' bikes that you could even considering riding around the world on? Even the question is ambitions, but after looking into it for 5 minutes seems supermotos are off the list.

A full day on the 600cc bike today. Sooooo much nicer. I felt more comfortable on something with more power / weight and better brakes etc. really lovely.

My module 1 is 10.20 tomorrow morning and I think I'm ready. :)

Good luck!

All the best!

best of luck

These guys went round the world on DRZ400s: http://toughmiles.com/

^^^ thanks all.

I'll report back.... Including some more lesson time afterwards, I should be done around 2pm.

Ah good to hear, will take a proper look. I think a supermoto will be my next bike and want to know exactly what is possible.

I was thinking similarly for a while and all research led back to the DRZ400SM.

Are there any 'fun' bikes that you could even considering riding around the world on? Even the question is ambitions, but after looking into it for 5 minutes seems supermotos are off the list.

A supermoto will probably have a small tank but you just need to look for one that's based on a trailly/has good parts availability. Ie the DRZ400 but probably others out there, not sure how much is shared between the Yamaha XT660X and the Z.

Passed the module 1 with no faults.

Bring on the module 2!!

nice! mod 2 is just a ride with human sat nav - relax and enjoy it

Cheers. I'm fairly confident about the Mod 2. Just waiting to hear from the school about a test date / time.

The other guy failed his Mod 1 today. 4 or 5 minors for failing to look around and one for going 1kph below the correct speed on the emergency stop. I can understand failing for dropping your bike on the u-turn or something but to come all that way and forget to look around is silly.

Spotted nice guy on Street Triple, Alpinestars pit boots, on route home who gave me some space at the lights and complemented a lady on her colnago (presume he was complementing the bike). I had a feeling it'd be someone off here but it's a long shot.

Or you could go for the current South London look, omit the jacket and just wear the armour.

Ha! I also like my skin too!

Viewing a PCX 125 tonight.