Phil1

Looks like a CB400 superdream to me....

There was a young man from Lahore, Who had quite a stinky back door, With a huff and a puff, He did a big guff, And crapped all over the floor. Sorry, my humour is usually fairly potty mouthed

There was a young man from Gosham who took out his bollocks to wash em, his mum said Jack, you better put em back or I'll step on the bast*rds and squash em.

Also Birstall based here @NeilM. Also don't get out that much due to work and family commitments but trying to use the bike more this year than I have been doing.

I too would suspect something electrical related. Bikes/cars don't generally turn off at all even when overheating (unless they seize). They usually have some form of restricted performance mode and low coolant/ overheating warnings though but I've never known them shut themselves off as that would be dangerous.

The problem with the CBT is that there isn't technically a "fail" as such. I've heard of the CBT course tutors cutting the CBT short and saying they didn't complete the course however due to them being that dangerous on the road. When I started, I'd already been driving cars for 10 years, so the theory, road markings and knowing how some drivers can react were already second nature. I did a pre CBT course with my local charity run motorcycle training centre (B.U.M.P.Y - Birstall Urban Motorcycle Project for Youth), which I really enjoyed. The CBT however, I absolutely hated as the trainer that did that was a bit of an arse and I think he was used to taking young lads out on scooters all day and just generally treated everyone like dirt. Once I'd got past that hurdle though, I did the proper lessons on the bigger bikes which I found much more comfortable and the guys that did the proper lessons were a great bunch. I would certainly buy a paper copy of the highway code, read it from cover to cover numerous times and watch some youtube videos. Then go and learn some basic machine controls on a pre-cbt course. Once you've done the CBT you can ride a moped or geared motorcycle up to 125cc and a maximum power of 11KW (17 or over). If you're 16 then it's scooter only up to 50cc. I would strongly suggest going for the geared motorbike though as it gives you the foundations for a further motorcycle career should you want to move up the sizes. Scooters/twist and go on the other hand won't give you any basics of clutch control.

Been riding for a few years now but it's been mainly localish. Based in West Yorks and the furthest trips have been the east coast and back, Dales, North York moors, Trough of Bowland etc. All in the day and never stopped overnight anywhere. I don't particularly have a suitable bike for touring and get knackered after about 150-200 miles on the SV650 so I'm looking at moving to something more touring related. I'd absolutely love to go further a field and do some overnight tours possibly to Wales or Scottish borders. Long term to have a week or so Max around Europe. My main worry is that I have a partner and two kids and while they're not dead against me having a bike, they don't have any interest on coming anywhere with me on it. Has anyone else gone away for any longer periods of time without your significant others etc, and how did you initially broach the subject with them?

I wouldn't personally feel comfortable filtering at that speed. It is of course down to you, but it would feel far too fast to be safe in my eyes.

Go with the flow. If you feel like it, and it's safe to do so, go right ahead if you want to wait and chill that's fine too. I done more filtering than I've ever done this year, it does require your wits about you as I often see people just pulling out to do a uturn in traffic. Obviously they'll be at fault if they knock you off, but I'd rather just not be knocked off I see too much filtering at inappropriate speeds though. If the traffics moving at over about 10mph then I'll tuck in behind, I don't need to get anywhere that urgently that I'd risk my life. It is bloody great though if you're on a motorway/duel carriageway and there's miles of standing traffic, almost godlike

How much time have you had on the test pad itself before the test? I had about 3 lessons or so on the actual test pad which can be used for learners when they're not doing tests. Take a one step at a time approach with each part of the test and take the entirety of the test out of your mind, take a moment before you set off for each section and visualise what you've been taught and where your lines are. Don't rush, there's virtually no time limit on each part of the test. Just because the examiner is stood there watching you, he's not there to hurry you along. If you want a minute or so to get yourself together, then tell him so, there's virtually nothing they can do. He's working for you, you're the boss. Keep your head well up and look where you want to go during the slow manouvers and give it plenty of rev's, plenty of back brake and just use the clutch to control the speed keeping the other two constant. Use all the space available to you, don't try and take things too tight and create more work for yourself. Have the mindset that it's all good practice regardless if you pass or fail and straight away you take away a lot of pressure upon yourself. Good luck for the next.

I thought they'd dubbed them the widowmaker It's a bit chicken and egg. I'm so bloody uncomfortable on the SV that I can't really ride any longer than about 200 miles in a day (with a maximum of about 80 miles at a time) and it's starting to put me off getting it out to go anywhere. I'll be honest I see/speak to a lot of people who have this theory of "got to get the miles in" all the time. They're that preoccupied with doing huge mileages that they're actually forgetting about just enjoying going out. I'm not interested in doing huge/mega mileage as I've got a full time (50+ hours a week) job, two young kids etc, but when I do go about I want to come home not feeling like I've regretted going out as I'm in pain for an hour afterwards. Yes they're an expensive ish bike, but a decent second GS is a similar price to a brand new street triple. Have you never heard of man maths before?

The power side of it is fairly irrelevant in some ways, in my opinion you can either go as slow or as fast as you want or need to. I don't believe in something having too much power unless the handling isn't set up properly for it (TL1000s for instance). The weight I guess is probably only an issue when having to shove it round or slow manoeuvring.

The expense part I can kind of deal with in some ways. It's a toy at the end of the day and I don't require it day to day for transport. The servicing and repairs I'll do myself, I appreciate this will not keep any service history going, but I do keep all the receipts for all the work I carry out so it generally doesn't make much difference when it comes to selling on/part ex etc.

Well you've ascertained a few things..... If it'll start with easy start, then most likely you've got compression & air. You've already got a spark. You just need to work out the fueling. All bikes I've ever known will prime the fuel pump when you turn it on, that's the noise they make when you turn the ignition on and will last a 2-3 seconds, if it's not making that noise then you've found the culprit.

Yep, it's the older "TM" connector used in various smart chargers. The newer style is "SAE". It'll be connected to the battery most likely with a couple of eyelets.

Just started my stihl saw up that's been sat doing nothing for 5 years. Fired straight up, good enough evidence for me

Automatic chain oilers..... What a waste of time. I'm yet to find anyone that's managed to work out the dark art of getting them to work correctly and be able to trust them. I'll stick with my spraying a bit on myself every few hundred miles.

I've looked at them too, and while it's supposed to be an absolute peach of an engine, the bike itself just doesn't seem to have the presence of the GS looks wise. I'm not saying BMW have ever been at the forefront of design, but they certainly stand out from the crowd. Another problem is that there are far fewer of them about.

Looking on Cycleergo, this would be the difference.... it's quite markedly different

The time for me has come to start thinking about a new bike before long. I've had an SV650 for about 10 years now nearly since passing my test and probably done about 8000 miles on it in that time. I know...it's not a huge mileage but I've probably done more this year so far than I've done in the last 5 years so I'm certainly getting much more into it than I was when I first passed. It's a superb bike and I still love it to bits, but it's just far too damned uncomfortable. I want something I can ride for 200 miles in a day and not feel like I've been steamrollered. I'm 37, reasonably fit and active and about 6'2" with 34" inseam. This I believe is essentially why it's so uncomfortable for me, I'm just too tall for it. My legs are bent at a ridiculous angle, I'm probably fairly high up/tall so I'm having to reach further down to tha bars which puts a lot of pressure on my back and wrists. I get home and my knees hurt, my back hurts and it can take 10-15 mins for my right wrist to stop tingling, left isn't too bad as I can give it a rest every now and again. My backside hurts enormously even though I'm fairly slim, again probably because of the wierd angle I'm having to sit at, plus not having much "natural" cushioning. So.... I'm looking for something bigger, and much more comfortable. Half the reason I don't use the bike is because I know I'm going to be uncomfortable before I even set off. Each and every time I look at bikes, I'm stuck between a couple of options but I kind of know already what I would like. The primary choice being either a slightly older air cooled R1200 GS, or a newer water cooled R1250 GS. The secondary choice is a Street triple. My main concern with a GS is the size and weight of it. It'll be a big learning curve over an SV650. What I want to know is what experiences people have of living with a larger bike like a GS and what can I expect going up a large jump like that? The secondary choice of a street triple is almost down to me being apprehensive about a bigger bike such as a GS. Engine wise, I probably don't need such a big engine and a smaller GS would suit in some ways, but I do like the idea of having a bigger, lazier engine for cruising and you seem to get much more options on the bigger bikes such as riding modes, cruise control etc. Anyone else ever moved from a relatively small bike, up to a larger one?

I thought it was snakes that dabbled in oil?

Had mine done last time at biketyres Leeds in Scholes. I have bought mine online before and having them fitted locally but they always whinge and moan so didn't bother this time. Also on Road 6s now.

Probably wise

I did my research .

Yes really. By about 20 times less likely to catch fire.