Any Motörbike riders here?

MtB · March 2015

This is a new one on me as I thought it was the law for all new bikes to have daytime running lights: http://www.digbybrown.co.uk/blog/expert/motorcycle_law_blog/2013/05

I have never worn fluorescents (nor have any of the many people that I have known who ride bikes), I have just developed a defensive riding style - particularly for the 4 years (1989 to 1993) that I commuted daily into central London. I would ensure that the daily route took in as many dual lane (each way) roads as possible, and whenever passing a road turning from the left I'd position the bike as far to the right hand side of my lane as possible.

London is an extreme case, where most motorists see (and regard) a motorcycle as a gap in the traffic.

Nomad · March 2015

boogieman said:

Are there actually any bikes where you can turn the lights off these days? Thought they were all hardwired on?

Tbh I'm not that convinced by hi viz stuff being hugely effective, especially when you hear tales of coppers in full hiviz gear, riding bikes slathered in fluorescent paint, reflective stripes and flashing lights and still having Smidsy's. A lot of car drivers are totally unaware when it comes to bikes and defensive riding is a much better option IMO.

Tbh I do wear a hi viz vest if I'm riding at night but only because I've got a black jacket & trousers and ride a black bike, otherwise I'm worried I'd disappear into the background.

No disagreement on the value of defensive riding. The fact that hi-viz'd cops can get smisdy'd doesn't mean that chances of it happening are the same as for someone else in stealth ninja gear. Speaking as a car driver of 36 years, the one thing that continually stands out for me is a yellow hi-viz jacket in the distance.

Nomad · March 2015

Thanks all. I ended up going for mostly stealth ninja gear. I felt the low number of hi-viz jackets was too limiting in terms of choosing the right features, so I decided to get the right features and have the option to add a hi-viz thing on top. (Got a hi-viz vest somewhere, so I'll check that out before I go buying another.)

The kit list, for what it's worth...

HJC flip-up helmet in white
Rev'it Outback jacket in black/silver and added a CE carapace back protector thing
Rev'it Factor 3 trousers
Richa Hurricaine gloves
Sidi Canyon boots

I didn't get the gear from there, but at my local shop (with 15% discount because I'm buying training from them). The helmet in my size, in white, wasn't in stock but is due in a few days. If it doesn't have a Pinlock fitted, I'll add one. The jacket I was considering at first was the Rev'it Voltiac (hi-viz), but it only has three pockets and seemed to lack ventilation. The Outback has much more pockets, as well as a 3-layer setup where the thermal liner and waterproof membrane are both removable.

I like the boots. Been wearing them since early afternoon to start breaking them in. Gore-Tex, leather, plenty of armour, and very usable for walking about off the bike (cleated sole rather than smooth).

Did I buy decent kit?

Any thoughts on ear plugs?

MtB · March 2015

I went with these moulded type: http://acscustom.com/uk/product-category/hearing-protection/

You can then use them in a music / band scenario if you want to (you can buy filters of varying degrees of attenuation)

The alternative that I used for years are the yellow foam industrial ones (not saying that they are the best or anything, but I've used them for 10 years or so with no dicernable loss of hearing) http://www.arco.co.uk/products/281300

boogieman · March 2015

All sounds good stuff to me.

Definitely get a pinlock for the helmet, my HJC is terrible for fogging up without one.

Nomad · March 2015

The fancy earplugs are too pricey for now. I do have some DIY types and can get foam ones, so I'll give those a try first.

Went for the hi-hiz version of the HJC helmet, and the shop gave me a Pinlock. A quick try in the house, and it was very effective.

Noob question...

DAS starts on Monday, and this will include a 100-mile road ride in temperatures forecast to be 7-9 degrees C. Should I keep the thermal liners in the jacket and trousers, or are they really only for the properly cold winter days?

BenSirAmos · March 2015

My thermals haven't come out yet. I could go around the block okay without, but once I start losing body heat, I find it hard to get warm again. For 100 miles, I would wear a base layer and thermal liners

sinbaadi · March 2015

Nomad said:

The fancy earplugs are too pricey for now. I do have some DIY types and can get foam ones, so I'll give those a try first.
Went for the hi-hiz version of the HJC helmet, and the shop gave me a Pinlock. A quick try in the house, and it was very effective.
Noob question...
DAS starts on Monday, and this will include a 100-mile road ride in temperatures forecast to be 7-9 degrees C. Should I keep the thermal liners in the jacket and trousers, or are they really only for the properly cold winter days?

Haha, yes keep them in

Sorry, I just find the optimism quite funny. It will be cold, you will need t-shirt, sweater, thermal lining and jacket. You may even want a scarf, so take one along if you haven't got one.

You really can't predict how cold it might be until you've done it for yourself, and the absolute last thing you want is to be too cold (or too hot, but there's not much chance of that). Basically anything short of double figures is enough to give a ridiculous wind-chill around the 0 degrees C mark at A-road speeds.

Nomad · March 2015

Thanks chaps. I do run quite warm, which was why I asked. On the CBT, under the borrowed suit, I wore a thin merino wool baselayer, poly cotton trousers, heavy cotton shirt, and did a 20-ish mile run in about 5 degrees on a dull, damp day. Hands were a tiny bit cold towards the end, but the rest of me was absolutely fine (coldness never even entered my head). Got one of those windproof neck things and a stretchy head-over neck thing from Aldi recently, so I'll take both of those and see if they're needed.

midiglitch · March 2015

How did it go today?

Nomad · March 2015

Today went very well. Temperature in the gear was no problem. In fact, I was sweating at times (particularly during the heavier concentration periods - when first setting off in town, and during the Mod1 practice).

When I first sat on the bigger bike (Suzuki Gladius), I felt a bit intimidated - noticeably larger and heavier, and I think my brain was imagining horror stories with the extra power compared to the 125 (about 6 x the bhp). Did a few loops of the yard, and it felt really good - more stable and easier to balance when slow riding. Then we went off for an 80-mile run, mostly twisty A roads, some towns and a bit of dual carriageway. That was great fun - loads more corners than the shorter road ride on CBT, so got much more time to get into leaning. The big bike is a world away from the 125 in terms of acceleration - 30 to 60 in 4th coming out of towns was easy and quick. I somehow expected less power in the lower midrange and to have to drop a gear, but no - just open the throttle and you're there before you know it. Lots of engine braking as well - virtually never used the brakes at all on the A roads.

After lunch, we headed out to an abandoned supermarket car park and started practicing for Mod1. A bit shaky at times, but we got through all of the manuevres. The instructor said that they normally aim to get up to the U-turns on the first day, and was pleased at how far we got. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be doing more Mod1 practice.

midiglitch · March 2015

Fantastic, sounds great. Enjoy it! The week will be up all too soon, and it's a wonderful experience learning a new skill so intensively.

midiglitch · March 2015

In other news...

I test rode a 2014 suzuki gsxr1000 and ktm rc8r back to back for about an hour each last weekend. Aweseomness. I'll post my notes below in case anyone is interested. For reference i have a suzuki sv-650 and a honda cbr600rr at the moment. The honda is my daily rider, and is geared -1/+2 which means that it will lift the front under hard acceleration in first and second, but obviously top speed is compromised. (Not a problem generally!). I've done a few track days on it, and i don't ride like a bellend on the roads.

midiglitch · March 2015

Some thoughts:

The gsxr1000 was geared really tall. It felt super smooth, and basically just a more powerful version of the cbr600rr. However, the gearing was so tall that it wasn't 'rip your face off' throttle response everywhere. It just built an incredible amount of speed very quickly, without having to run through the gearbox. You still needed to wind it on to get the powerband (7-8k plus), and when it came it was huge, but you were going soooo fast by that point that things are getting pretty heavy! I think with a sprocket change it would be an immense machine.

The bike felt fairly small, i could easily flat foot it. It was similar in riding position to my honda but the lack of side tank grip meant i put more weight on my wrists, which made it less comfortable overall. It looks great, although the mirrors look a bit crap from the riders point of view. They were pretty effective though.

The exhaust noise was awesome, with the popping and banging when you come off the throttle being a particular highlight.

The ktm rc8r.

Stunning looking bike. Does have that v-twin 'tractor' thing going on in comparison with the smooth inline 4, but what an engine! Lumpy below about 3.5k, yes, but immense from about 4.5k upwards. Proper 'rip your face off' throttle response. The gear change comes up sooner because the redline is only at 10k or so, and I guess the gearing is less tall than on the gsxr. I think they would be pretty even if the gsxr had -1/+2. That said, it was pretty hard to accelerate hard to the redline because it was just so fast!

It is a much higher bike and i was on tip toes, though i believe there is some adjustability to be had. It is a longer reach to the bars than the jap bikes, but it was actually a more comfortable riding position than the zuk for me. I missed the tank grip again - particularly under hard acceleration when i just slid back in the seat! It is a much narrower bike than the jap fours, and although taller, i would say it feels a bit more nimble and light. Did i mention how good it looks?! Ultimately. I enjoyed this bike more than the zuk, although I prefered the sound and smoothness of the zuk.

If i had to leave the shop with one of them... The rc8r just made me feel special.

rsvmark · March 2015

The gixer will be a doddle to look after, the rc8 will be (ahem) higher maintenance...

Gotta love big V twins tho- sheer grunt is great- get some nice pipes on as well and they sound awesome

MtB · March 2015

I echo your comments @midiglitch. I owned a gsxr1000 for all of 8 weeks - before it was nicked whilst I was on a weekend away in Paris. B'stards chopped the security chain and lifted it into the back of a van. 6 o'clock on a sunday morning, hotel car park

The bike (while I had it) was glorious.

By comparison I had a test ride on an RC8R from the Hemel KTM centre. That was riotous by comparison. It had the loudest pair of open akrapovic pipes I have ever heard on a bike. Accelerated like a scalded cat. Fantastic handling bike. Sooo much fun.

I was put off buying the KTM after I had a read through the forums about antics of curing overheating by lifting the front end of the bike up to some ridiculous angle to release air bubbles trapped in the cooling system!

boogieman · March 2015

Nomad;569477" said:
Today went very well. Temperature in the gear was no problem. In fact, I was sweating at times (particularly during the heavier concentration periods - when first setting off in town, and during the Mod1 practice).When I first sat on the bigger bike (Suzuki Gladius), I felt a bit intimidated - noticeably larger and heavier, and I think my brain was imagining horror stories with the extra power compared to the 125 (about 6 x the bhp). Did a few loops of the yard, and it felt really good - more stable and easier to balance when slow riding. Then we went off for an 80-mile run, mostly twisty A roads, some towns and a bit of dual carriageway. That was great fun - loads more corners than the shorter road ride on CBT, so got much more time to get into leaning. The big bike is a world away from the 125 in terms of acceleration - 30 to 60 in 4th coming out of towns was easy and quick. I somehow expected less power in the lower midrange and to have to drop a gear, but no - just open the throttle and you're there before you know it. Lots of engine braking as well - virtually never used the brakes at all on the A roads.After lunch, we headed out to an abandoned supermarket car park and started practicing for Mod1. A bit shaky at times, but we got through all of the manuevres. The instructor said that they normally aim to get up to the U-turns on the first day, and was pleased at how far we got. Tomorrow afternoon, we'll be doing more Mod1 practice.

I did my refresher training on a Gladius and your experience sounds similar to mine. Very nice bikes, shame they're just so goddam pig ugly.
Good luck with today btw.

HippoPete · March 2015

Picking up on this thread, has anyone got a recommendation for stockists of leather or kevlar reinforced jeans for, shall we say, the more ample figure.

At the moment it's going to be 46" waist but I don't trust the size labels on most mail order clothes too far so could be 48" or 50" and I'll just yank the belt in if the diet takes hold. Deal with Mrs was major diet = replacement bike.

Cheers All,

cruxiform · March 2015

HippoPete said:

Picking up on this thread, has anyone got a recommendation for stockists of leather or kevlar reinforced jeans for, shall we say, the more ample figure.

At the moment it's going to be 46" waist but I don't trust the size labels on most mail order clothes too far so could be 48" or 50" and I'll just yank the belt in if the diet takes hold. Deal with Mrs was major diet = replacement bike.

Cheers All,

http://www.jtsbikerclothing.com/

I've bought from them before, the quality is pretty decent. Also, Richa leathers are made to fit the larger gent, plenty of stockists online.

HippoPete · March 2015

We have winner already, thank you.

Despite the "Google is your friend issue", I had a blind spot with JTS by confusing them with J&S and ignoring hits featuring the former. We have a J&S store locally who aren't quite so great for a wide range of sizes so tend not to bother with them.

Seen a reasonable pair of reinforced jeans straightaway on the JTS site, chuffed.

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