Any Motörbike riders here?

breezytele

I’ve just had some leathers altered. Very pleased with the result. Inexpensive too.

I’d happily  use them again, and I see a couple of others in this thread have said likewise

https://www.hill4leather.com/

Bridgehouse

jaytmon said:

Bridgehouse said:

Bridgehouse said:

jaytmon said:

hywelg said:

Bridgehouse said:

Picked up a cheapo ER5 at the weekend. 

Back in two wheels after a shortish break. Actually didn’t feel like I’d been away at all. Did piss it down royally first ride out tho. 

Tiger 900 due end of sept/early Oct now apparently. 

This will be a decent winter hack for this year tho. Next year might swap it out for one of them Enfield Interceptors - had my eye on them for a bit now.

You don't have anywhere near enough stuff bikes. 

FTFY

Working on that...

I have more bikes now..

That is a very lovely looking bike! Sounds like you got the order in just in time too. Congrats!

Very pleased with it. I managed to order just when the dealers reopened. If I’d have left it another week it would be a January delivery...

underdog

Not sure where to post this, but had to to clear my mind and give a genuine be careful.

Coming down the motorway today, traffic slowing slightly, as I passed it was an accident that just happened, cars stopped but no police yet, the guy on the motorbike was definitely not going to recover, blood on the road and his head was opened up real badly.

Again sorry but can't get it out of my mind, I love bikes, but please all be careful out there, and I I hope that poor man felt as little as possible during that crash and that it was quick.

Edit: had to Google and it was a 70 year old guy, dead at the scene, f**k

Dominic

Yes ,it's a very sobering thought 
Back in April ,there was a terrible accident on the North Circular Road in NW London that caused a bad jam . I knew it was a bike accident but when I got home my son showed me an horrific photo circulating on FB of that accident  which showed the scene and included a crash helmet on the road with a a decapitated head in it !
It certainly slowed me down for a while because I couldn't get it out of my mind .

TheBigDipper

It's always dreadful to come across something like that. Especially if you feel it might have been avoided if only the parties involved had known a little more or done a little less.

I used to have a legal obligation to discuss risk with novice motorcyclists (delivering CBT training). I'd often get the response that a certain activity was OK because the risk was one in a million against it happening. This displays a lack of understanding about probability. It's just as likely the event will happen on the first time you try it as the last, and the outcome would still be the same. 

As a rider of a certain age who never had to attend a CBT course as a delegate or take a DAS course to get a full licence, I had to wait untilI started doing advanced rider training before I started to appreciate just how risky some of the things I'd being doing actually were. 

Mitigating risk by being able to identify what's potentially risky and showing restraint at those times hasn't spoiled my joy in riding. It's made it better.

Dominic

better and faster probably ........the more confident and aware you are the better, smoother and safer  you can ride at speed.
 Road positioning is everything when you're getting some pace on .I had a race with 2 Italian Motorcycle cops through the mountains around Lake Como .........I was on a Fireblade and they were on big tourer bikes ( Pans ,if I remember correctly ) .I used to do quite a bit of club racing so I'm better than most on the road although I'm a bit of a coward compared to the faster guys on track but I'm certainly very experienced . 
 I ultimately couldn't keep up with them.......they were both so good - probably as a result of their training .

TheBigDipper

Dominic said:

better and faster probably ........the more confident and aware you are the better, smoother and safer  you can ride at speed.
 Road positioning is everything when you're getting some pace on .I had a race with 2 Italian Motorcycle cops through the mountains around Lake Como .........I was on a Fireblade and they were on big tourer bikes ( Pans ,if I remember correctly ) .I used to do quite a bit of club racing so I'm better than most on the road although I'm a bit of a coward compared to the faster guys on track but I'm certainly very experienced . 
 I ultimately couldn't keep up with them.......they were both so good - probably as a result of their training .

In truth, I'm a lot safer than I used to be before I started down this road nearly 30 years ago, and a lot faster - but not in a racetrack sort of way. On a track, I'm pretty slow. 

My advantage on the road is in being able to see opportunities and take them. I see safe overtakes where many others don't, for example, because my training means I look a lot further ahead than they do and can effectively plan with what I can see. 

 The converse of this is lots of people can get past me. They'll speed in a 30/40 zone and I won't. They'll do an overtake at a speed that I know isn't safe for their road position and the amount of view they have to stop in. Playing the percentages, really, but generally unaware that they are. 

TheBigDipper

So, after a bit more investigative work, I decided to pull the pin and place the order for a new bike. It's the BMW F900XR I liked so much a couple of weeks ago. Really good trade-in price for my GS and there's a speculative build (the dealer ordered it without a customer) arriving in the UK in a week or three that's spec'd as I want, in the colour I want (red), so...  

The demo bike I rode...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nlitfz782hinxea/f900xr.jpg?raw=1 

PC_Dave

TheBigDipper said:

So, after a bit more investigative work, I decided to pull the pin and place the order for a new bike. It's the BMW F900XR I liked so much a couple of weeks ago. Really good trade-in price for my GS and there's a speculative build (the dealer ordered it without a customer) arriving in the UK in a week or three that's spec'd as I want, in the colour I want (red), so...  

The demo bike I rode...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nlitfz782hinxea/f900xr.jpg?raw=1 

Nice! I had an S1000XR for a bit. Didn't get on with the buffeting, but I've heard they've made a load of changes with the frame and fairings on these newer XR models.

I'm toying with the idea of a change of bike, but I can't make up my mind on what to go for at the moment.

TheBigDipper

PC_Dave said:

TheBigDipper said:

So, after a bit more investigative work, I decided to pull the pin and place the order for a new bike. It's the BMW F900XR I liked so much a couple of weeks ago. Really good trade-in price for my GS and there's a speculative build (the dealer ordered it without a customer) arriving in the UK in a week or three that's spec'd as I want, in the colour I want (red), so...  

The demo bike I rode...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nlitfz782hinxea/f900xr.jpg?raw=1 

Nice! I had an S1000XR for a bit. Didn't get on with the buffeting, but I've heard they've made a load of changes with the frame and fairings on these newer XR models.

I'm toying with the idea of a change of bike, but I can't make up my mind on what to go for at the moment.

That was my problem. I've been riding GSs as my main road bike for the last 20 years and just wanted a change after 7 years with the current one. Finding something else was harder than I expected - too many good bikes out there and making a decision wasn't that straightforward.

The F-series bike is a completely different thing from the S-series bike and definitely feels like it. Parallel twin, not in-line four, for a start. No vibes (I've got a riding mate who suffers from handlebar vibes on his S1000XR). 

Dominic

The handlebar vibes are a big issue on those -you can stabilise them a bit with end weights as dampeners but it's a well known gripe
......if you'd spent much time in your biking life running around on a Harley rigid you'd have a different perspective ;
Handlebar vibes ;Luxury ,we used to dream of handlebar vibes

p90fool

Dominic said:

The handlebar vibes are a big issue on those -you can stabilise them a bit with end weights as dampeners but it's a well known gripe
......if you'd spent much time in your biking life running around on a Harley rigid you'd have a different perspective ;
Handlebar vibes ;Luxury ,we used to dream of handlebar vibes

I never really have problems with low frequency vibes on old school bikes, but have sold a GSX before now because of a mild tingle between 65 and 75mph.

I didn't really notice it just thrashing it around for a few months, but after riding from Barcelona to Calais I got rid of it as soon as I got home.  

guitargeek62

NBD!!!

So I picked up my shiny new toy on Friday afternoon in Carlisle, then spent the weekend riding it around the Lake District before coming back down to London on Sunday evening. I'm still very much in the honeymoon period, so won't go on too much about it, but I can safely say this bike is just as happy with twisty country lanes as it is with motorway cruising, plus it's a real mile-eater too - I managed to get a smidge under 200mi out of one tank on the way home!



I'm still not wholly sold on the paint scheme on these, so might get the tank refinished over the winter. I've got a few other tweaks and farkles planned for it, but they're largely all cosmetic as at this point I can't say it feels like it needs anything done to it. 

zepp76

p90fool said:

Dominic said:

The handlebar vibes are a big issue on those -you can stabilise them a bit with end weights as dampeners but it's a well known gripe
......if you'd spent much time in your biking life running around on a Harley rigid you'd have a different perspective ;
Handlebar vibes ;Luxury ,we used to dream of handlebar vibes

I never really have problems with low frequency vibes on old school bikes, but have sold a GSX before now because of a mild tingle between 65 and 75mph.

I didn't really notice it just thrashing it around for a few months, but after riding from Barcelona to Calais I got rid of it as soon as I got home.  

I’ve ridden a LOT of bikes in my time but have to say the worst bike I’ve ever owned and ridden is an Aprilia Falco, I don’t know what possessed me to buy it but it was a good price so just snapped it up with plans to flip it after a while and  stupidly and  completely against my character I didn’t even test ride it! Now considering the thing is classed as a sports tourer there shouldn’t have been a problem riding it the 75 miles home but after about 50 miles my hands were crippled! I could barely pull in the clutch or use the front brake it was terrible, I sold that thing pretty quickly. 

Dominic

p90fool said:

Dominic said:

The handlebar vibes are a big issue on those -you can stabilise them a bit with end weights as dampeners but it's a well known gripe
......if you'd spent much time in your biking life running around on a Harley rigid you'd have a different perspective ;
Handlebar vibes ;Luxury ,we used to dream of handlebar vibes

I never really have problems with low frequency vibes on old school bikes, but have sold a GSX before now because of a mild tingle between 65 and 75mph.

I didn't really notice it just thrashing it around for a few months, but after riding from Barcelona to Calais I got rid of it as soon as I got home.  

At lower speeds I agree but motorway speeds at the higher end of the big V twin range get unpleasant although it's never especially bothered me 

octatonic

guitargeek62 said:

NBD!!!

So I picked up my shiny new toy on Friday afternoon in Carlisle, then spent the weekend riding it around the Lake District before coming back down to London on Sunday evening. I'm still very much in the honeymoon period, so won't go on too much about it, but I can safely say this bike is just as happy with twisty country lanes as it is with motorway cruising, plus it's a real mile-eater too - I managed to get a smidge under 200mi out of one tank on the way home!



I'm still not wholly sold on the paint scheme on these, so might get the tank refinished over the winter. I've got a few other tweaks and farkles planned for it, but they're largely all cosmetic as at this point I can't say it feels like it needs anything done to it. 

Very nice- I've considered one of these.
Any heat off the pipe onto the leg?

guitargeek62

@Octatonic - Cheers! Not really, there's definitely some but nothing untoward imo. I could see it being more noticeable in the peak of the summer, or if touring somewhere warm, but even then it wouldn't become an issue unless you were sat at lights and/or stuck in traffic somewhere. I'll see how I get on with it, there's always heat shield and decat options if needs be to drop the exhaust temp a bit. At this point I don't see the need to though!

thumpingrug

Picked this up today.  Probably a bit pedestrian by some of the standards on here but it will do me for plodding to work and the odd trip further afield.

https://imgur.com/MGhuxLI

Kittyfrisk

thumpingrug said:

Picked this up today.  Probably a bit pedestrian by some of the standards on here but it will do me for plodding to work and the odd trip further afield.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3409563099080326&set=pb.100000800075001.-2207520000..&type=3

Boo hoo, can't see it without a FB account 

thumpingrug

@Kittyfrisk   Try again.  I've moved it, though I don't think ill ever get the hang of posting pics on here