Any Motörbike riders here?

Tone71

OK read the whole thread, congrats on the CBT, and good choice of lid (Qwest?)

I did my direct access in the summer, only ever rode scooters etc in my teens so no real biking experience but watched a film callled "One Week" and that along with "Long Way Round" made my mind up to get on a bike

I have a few biking mates and was warned off spending time on a 125 as big bikes are easier to ride, plus you wont practise bad habits if you were to do a direct access, it made sense to me so I booked up with a local school (which happended to be in my daughters school, very local) and did the CBT, Mod1 and 2 all on a Kawasaki XJ6.

Bought a SuzukiSV650s a week after passing as it was recommended by loads of people as an excellent first "big" bike, they were not wrong and after a few months riding I can honestly say that I wish I had done it years ago.

My only issue now is that its all fair and well getting the leathers on (20 minute faff) and going out for a ride for fun just emptying the tank, but if I want to go into town its a pain as i dont want to walk around the shops in the full kit.....

No-one told me it would be like a very expensive version of GAS, a Vespa could be turning up soon as a round town bike!!

Enjoy whichever you choose, 2 wheels is pure fun (especially outside the M25) and the people who nod, chat etc all the time are some of the friendliest bunch I have ever met !!

octatonic

Tone71 said:

OK read the whole thread, congrats on the CBT, and good choice of lid (Qwest?)

Yup, a Qwest indeed.

Good spot.

octatonic

I think I'm taking to this motorcycling lark.

I've done 200 miles since I got the bike on Sunday- just bombing about London, working the gears and getting comfortable.

I'm already finding 125cc to be underpowered- I get to 5th and then feel like there should be more power.

I can go full throttle and it doesn't rip my head off- I want MORE!!!!

I reckon I'll do my DA in March or April.

I'm starting to look at bikes like the Speed Triple or Yamaha XJR1300- I think a muscle bike/street fighter might suit me more than a retro thing.

I do my first commute to university tomorrow morning.

Myranda

See... told ya 125 was only wee  

octatonic

Myranda said:

See... told ya 125 was only wee  

I'm glad I went for one though.

I needed a couple of days to put it together by myself.

I can probably turn the 125 over for more than I paid for it come the summer.

strumjoughlamps

yeah branded 125s keep good money..

where and/or how fast are you going around London where you have to be in 5th and full throttle? I am 65+ by then?

what revs are you changing at? not changing too low are you?

octatonic

strumjoughlamps said:

yeah branded 125s keep good money..

where and/or how fast are you going around London where you have to be in 5th and full throttle? I am 65+ by then?

what revs are you changing at? not changing too low are you?

A40- particularly the paddington flyover.

I change around 5-6k.

Is that right?

boogieman

Glad to hear youre enjoying it. A 1300 after a 125 is a massive jump though. I would seriously go for a medium capacity bike first, something like a 600 or 650. It'll still feel hugely different (in a good way) - quicker, more firmly planted etc than a 125.

Myranda

I think an XJR1300 would be much easier to get on with than say a GSX650RR ... 

As long as he doesn't go bonkers on it, it'll be fine... the Speed Triple would be much much more of a handful

octatonic

Myranda said:

I think an XJR1300 would be much easier to get on with than say a GSX650RR ... 

As long as he doesn't go bonkers on it, it'll be fine... the Speed Triple would be much much more of a handful

Was chatting to a guy today who has a late 90's Speed Triple.

Man alive, it was a good looking bike and it sounded amazing.

strumjoughlamps

octatonic said:

strumjoughlamps said:

yeah branded 125s keep good money..

where and/or how fast are you going around London where you have to be in 5th and full throttle? I am 65+ by then?

what revs are you changing at? not changing too low are you?

A40- particularly the paddington flyover.

I change around 5-6k.

Is that right?

nope the drop after change is too low, from what I know you will do your bike more harm changing too early than too late..

I went through all this when I started riding a YBR but fortunately it turned out the dealer I got mine from lives over the road from my Dad so we became friends and with that any niggles I have he sorts me out. anyway back to topic when I said I was changing at 6k he said that is way too low, 7.5-8k is the suggested, you can happily go to 9k but not recommended all the time, basically only do that if needed to get out of trouble..

start changing when you see it go to or just past 7500k and you will see a big increase in throttle after changing, then your ears will atune to the sound of the engine and it will become 2nd nature.

Misterg

octatonic said:

I change around 5-6k.

Is that right?

For economy & sensible riding, yes.

But if you crave more power, you need to rev it a bit - what's the redline?

 Did you get a CB125?   http://enginegraph.com/en/AccelerationDiagram/browse/7/?run[]=26091

I would think you should be shifting at about 9k if max power is at 8.5k RPM - break out the inner hooligan, man!

(But watch out for un-lit skips )

octatonic

strumjoughlamps said:

octatonic said:

strumjoughlamps said:

yeah branded 125s keep good money..

where and/or how fast are you going around London where you have to be in 5th and full throttle? I am 65+ by then?

what revs are you changing at? not changing too low are you?

A40- particularly the paddington flyover.

I change around 5-6k.

Is that right?

nope the drop after change is too low, from what I know you will do your bike more harm changing too early than too late..

I went through all this when I started riding a YBR but fortunately it turned out the dealer I got mine from lives over the road from my Dad so we became friends and with that any niggles I have he sorts me out. anyway back to topic when I said I was changing at 6k he said that is way too low, 7.5-8k is the suggested, you can happily go to 9k but not recommended all the time, basically only do that if needed to get out of trouble..

start changing when you see it go to or just past 7500k and you will see a big increase in throttle after changing, then your ears will atune to the sound of the engine and it will become 2nd nature.

Ah ok- good to know- thanks for the tip.

I'll give that a go tomorrow and see if there is more power.

octatonic

Misterg said:

octatonic said:

I change around 5-6k.

Is that right?

For economy & sensible riding, yes.

But if you crave more power, you need to rev it a bit - what's the redline?

 Did you get a CB125?   http://enginegraph.com/en/AccelerationDiagram/browse/7/?run[]=26091

I would think you should be shifting at about 9k if max power is at 8.5k RPM - break out the inner hooligan, man!

(But watch out for un-lit skips )

I bought a Yamaha YBR.

I think the redline starts at 9k.

I'm a big guy so I put the lack of power down to being 6ft 2 and over 100kg.

There is a lot of me to lug around- I double the power to weight ratio of the bike.

Or is that halve?

Myranda

Half - unless you're farting a LOT

octatonic

Ah yes, of course.

octatonic

I've been walking around with a stupid grin and a slightly floaty feeling.

Seriously- this is like having really good sex, or being in love or something.

I cannot wait for summer.

midiglitch

This is such a timely topic for me....  Read the whole thread - congrats oct!

So, it has taken me about four years but Persistence paid off and I eventually ground down the missus and she agreed finally that I can get a bike!  This was earlier this week, and no hurry because we are building an extension and finances are a bit tight.  Or so we thought...

Fast forward to today... Clutch on her car fails and she is quoted £1500 to replace it (seems steep to me but I can work this to my advantage.)

Me: well wouldn't it make sense for you to take my car to work and I can buy a cheap bike.  It'll cost less, be more economical, you get a much nicer car, and we don't need two cars anyway.  We can flog your car and probably break even rather than ending 1500 our of pocket.

Her: well, I guess so.

!!!!!!

Awesomeness.

So here is my plan.  I'm going to do the direct access course ASAP, and get started on something 250 ish.  I accept that I will drop it and scratch it at first, so I'll get something without a fairing that I don't care about too much while I get to grips with the whole thing.  If all is well and it works out, then in 6 months to a year I'll step it up a notch.  My best mate has a bandit sitting in his garage which he never uses and he "wants to see it go to a good home".  So I've called dibs on that and he's happy to hold on to it til the summer.

I've always wanted bikes since I was a kid- dad rode some cool ones back in the day (triumphs and BSAs) but I never had the chance due to the nature of the jobs I've had and life circumstances.  I've always enjoyed riding them when I've borrowed mates bikes and used to love driving when I was younger before regular driving long distances ground down my enthusiasm.  

Now life circumstances have changed.  I live in a beautiful part of the country and because of the time I go to work I rarely see other traffic.  In the mornings I can make it to work without passing a single other car, and reckon four per journey is about average.  (It is busier on the way home, but I'm still more likely to be held up by a horse or cow than other traffic.).

If ever there was a time for me to take up riding it must be now, surely!

octatonic

Nice one- do it- it is amazing.

I thought I would drop my bike but I've not come close to doing that so far.

Misterg

octatonic said:

I bought a Yamaha YBR.

http://enginegraph.com/en/AccelerationDiagram/browse/7/?vehicle_id=6281#fragment-1041135557

Still develops max power at about 8K. It's never going to set the world on fire, but you may as well get the full benefit of what it has to offer!