ColinWB

I got the best of the weather this morning on my short ride from Inverclyde to the St Mocha Coffee stop at Carbeth, beside where the now defunct Carbeth Inn was. I’m glad I was on the bike because the return journey would have been spoiled by roadworks in Inverclyde. 2 sets that are only about 100 yards long but queues on the approaches were at least a mile long. Thank goodness for lane splitting I got home just before the showers started. And I wore the North Face Windstopper that I forgot about at the back of my wardrobe until this morning. It lived up to its name

Just a standard CB125F seat. More likely I have a hard arse

I finished work at 4pm, fed and watered by 430pm and on the bike by 5pm. A wee trip up the banks of Loch Lomond to Tarbet then Arrochar, where I took the road towards Helensburgh. What a road, it was like a BMX track with constant humps and twisting chicanes. Some of the humps could easily result in accidentally getting airborne if you get the speed wrong . At the Finnart oil terminal it gave me a 1 in 6 hill to climb . All the way along the road the low sun was strobing through the trees, a little bit unsettling. Through Garelochhead and down the west shore of Gareloch to Kilcreggan, mostly 30mph limit but a stretch of 40mph and a quick blast of national speed limit. Coming back out of Kilcreggan my patience was tested at the roadworks. It felt like I waited 5 minutes for the green light on a road that must get 5 cars an hour max Anyway, that was the only frustration, so not bothered by it now. I rode back up to Garelochhead and then down the east shore through Helensburgh and on to Dumbarton then across the Erskine Bridge and headed back to Inverclyde via Bishopton, riding into the last of the setting sun. I didn’t stop on this trip so there are no photos. A nice 3.5 hours ride

I know the Old Largs Road very well, I'll admit quietly I used to pretend I was a rally driver on it after I passed my car license 43 years ago I often use it now to get around the many and almost constant roadworks in Inverclyde and North Ayrshire at the moment, but never on my motorbike.

Frustratingly, I cannot put my finger on where that is but it looks familiar.

@curlylegend that must be a bittersweet memory.

I took a ride down the Firth of Clyde coast after work this evening. Decided to go up the Haylie Brae road from Largs towards Kilbirnie but cut off that at Dalry junction, went through Dalry and on through Kilwinning to the A78 roundabout, which I did go round about and retraced my route to Largs. That was when I headed towards the setting sun, so I stoppedfitst to take a photo up the valley then at a private fishery where I asked if I could park up to take photos. They were pleasantly surprised I asked, but it’s private ground so a wee bit of goid manners was in order. The photos are the ones looking down the hill and over the estuary (as if you couldn’t work that out ). At the bottom of the hill I decided on the spur of the moment to go to Fairlie, where there’s a lovely car park with the views in the last three photos. Then a leisurely ride back home to Inverclyde. Lovely ride.

Another ride after work today on what I call the North Ayrshire circuit. Inverclyde down the coast to Largs then inland over the hill to Kilbirnie. Big well done to the driver who was about to turn right out the factory car park who stopped immediately behind the white lines when he saw me coming round the bend. I think it's about time I praised another driver’s good decision From Kilbirnie, I rode through Beith and Lochwinnoch before joining the A737 to go across the M8 then on to Bishopton. It started to get dark then and the gentle heat from the sun disappeared, so I got chilly. But only 15 or so miles to get home to Inverclyde and it was a pleasant ride into the darkness.

My helmet had Pinlock fitted when I bought it so I don’t know the difference of riding without it. I wear glasses and they mist up when stopped at lights etc, never the visor. So I open the visor to clear the glasses then close it to set off again. Not a big inconvenience. I wondered about riding at night with it fitted but it seemed fine last night.

Yes, I did the same because that brighter patch attracted my eyes, but the cats eyes got illuminated well outside that bright patch so I began looking ahead more on the bends. Now I wonder about potholes on an unfamiliar road at night, they’ll only be seen within the bright patch

I didn't manage to get out in the sunshine and warmth at the weekend but by some freak of nature, Inverclyde was clear, bright and dry when I finished work today, so I got the bike out for a wee trip to Paisley during rush hour. You're mad, I hear you say, and you are probably right, there is a fierce rivalry between Inverclyde and Paisley . Maybe that's why Mrs Buddie in Paisley decided that all she needed to do was indicate and move her car ever closer to me when she wanted to grab my road space. Frantic waving of my left hand and a big fat sweary word later she gave up. A minute later she pulled round behind me into the lane on my right, drew level and told me off for swearing I kid you not. Apart from that it was a nice ride, and I got my first proper taste of riding in the dark. In town it was fine, out of town the wee light on my 125 didn't really light up the road far enough ahead unless I used main beam, which I obviously couldn't do all the time. It was an interesting experience on a local road I know very well. I'm sure I'd have been crawling along an unfamiliar road.

Got my bike out for the first ride of the year, a wee trip down the Clyde to Largs then back through the roadworks that have caused gridlock in my home town this week. Thankfully some had been removed so the hold ups were not too bad. The bike behaved itself perfectly . Now I need to get my DAS sorted out but there's a new lady in my life and she's getting much more attention than the bike

I've got a decade on you . I'm growing old disgracefully doing the things I put off when I was younger and had a "sensible" head on.

This is the info I am looking for too. It answers the question I asked on another thread. Thanks all, especially @AstronautNinja for starting it.

Snap. Today's ride was the first for two weeks and all the more enjoyable for that. It was an overcast day but thankfully dry, so i took myself across the water to Argyll via Western Ferries and Dunoon, then up past Loch Eck to Strachur on Loch Fyne. On the way I passed The Coylet Inn and The Whistlefield Inn before passing The Creggans at Strachur. They are all places I keep meaning to stop at for a bite to eat, but neve have. I couldn't today because I had to get to Bishopton to watch a rugby match, of which the least said the better (you can google the result if you're interested ). Back to the ride - it was one of those days when everything went smoothly and it all clicked, no fuss, no drama, pure fun. Even going over the Rest and be Thankful the traffic lights were with me and there was only a short queue. One wee gripe though. My clothing is definitely not windproof, even through 4 layers I got cold once over the Rest and Be Thankful, not bitterly cold but colder than I expected. Any recommendations for draught excluders? I popped though Inverclyde and on down to Largs again after the rugby, it's becoming a bit of a habit. That took me to 2080 mile in total since I got my wee bike at the end of July.

This morning I did a familiar route but in the reverse direction to my usual ride. Inverclyde to Bishopton to the St James interchange and down the A737 to Lochwinnoch. The weather forecast was for sun with some clouds, the reality was clouds with some sun. Very powerful sun streaming from between clouds straight into my eyes, which made for a very interesting new experience. Looking to either side of dead ahead gave me a much better view of the road and thankfully the sun spent most if the time behind light and heavy clouds, so the blinding effect was very short lived. The road was damp with some surface water being lifted by passing traffic, but my visor stayed clear. hopefully that was because of the effects of Nikwax Visor Proof that I've been using lately. When there was a light shower it left tiny raindrops on the visor and these moved away when I turned my head. I could easily have got fixated on watching them slide across my vision and off the visor but riding the bike has to take priority. Off the A737 and through Lochwinnoch gave me my first time riding with fallen leaves on the road, and falling leaves blowing in the wind. I was very gentle going around bends, particularly left handers. It was also the first time I noticed the Route 760 Cafe, on the A760 on the edge of Lochwinnoch. It has helmets in the window, so gives the impression bikers are very welcome. Has anyone been there? I'll have to try it out on another ride. On through Kilbirnie, enjoying the ride on quiet roads, nodding to the occasional biker going the other way. On the other side of Kilbirnie, heading towards Largs, I slowly gained on the Co-op delivery truck. It was all uphill so I decided my wee 125 didn't have the acceleration to get past it quickly, so I settled in for a 40mph ride, staying well back so I could see his mirrors, with the added bonus that I could admire the countryside without his bulk spoiling the view . He pulled into a layby a few miles later and the view improved even more . Going in this direction I was going down the Haylie Brae and taking the 180 corner as a left hander, a tighter turn than the right hander in the opposite direction, on a damp road. Slowish and steady saw me round it safely. The road through Largs up to Inverclyde was quiet, maybe too quiet, because I took my eye off the ball at Wemyss Bay when I saw a 4x4 start to crawl towards the road at the station junction, so I kept an eye on it. When I looked ahead again the car in front of me had stopped, so I had to stop rather abruptly, which I managed with a few feet to spare. Fixating again! After that wee scare it was an uneventful ride back home.

And private customers will be bottom of the list for getting any money back from the liquidator. I'd be fuming

Back to no pictures lol. I went for an early evening bimble around Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and Renfrewshire today, just to get out on the bike again. I was getting withdrawal symptoms not having been for a ride since las Friday. The last few miles were in semi-darkness, my first on a motorbike, so another new experience. This is the point where I usually have a moan at car drivers. Happy to say I have none today, everyone behaved themselves

I had the day off work so headed for Cumbernauld Airport. It's maybe an unusual destination but I used to fly small planes before wife and family came along and for some reason I had no money left for flying . It was a wonderfully sunny day, so sun visor down for most of the ride. There was a gusty wind too, which I was very aware of going across the Erskine Bridge, but it was an uneventful ride to the airport. Some of the road surfaces left a lot to be desired, particularly between Strathblane and Kilsyth. It looked like the road had been scarified but instead of putting down a normal road surface they put a thin skim of tarmac over it, so it was like riding in wiggly tramlines. I had to laugh at the driver in front on the single track road with passing places between Kilsyth and the airport. They stopped at a less than ideal spot to let a mobile home and another car struggle past in the opposite direction. Then, once the road was clear, they pulled into the farm entrance ten yards further on and that was them home! Coffee and cake at the airport whilst watching the infrequent planes taking off and landing. Then the maintenance guy came over for a chat. He owned the NC750X that I parked beside, the type of bike I want when I get my full license, so we had a good chat about it. He sang its praises. The return journey was as peaceful as the outbound trip, except the driver who decided they needed to use the slip off the southbound road from the Erskine Bridge when there was only 10 metres of the filter lane remaining and I was where they wanted to be. At least they had the sense to let me pass before they pulled onto the slip and gave me a blast of their horn Then it was down the coast to the traditional biker car park on the seafront for a coffee and chat. Well done George for passing his full license today . It started to get cold in the low sun so I set off for home a very satisfied guy. The photos show a rail survey helicopter, an Australian view of the world with Sydney as the hub, the world's strongest man single moving a helicopter into the hangar and a Cessna 172 on its take off run - there was some light rain from the cloud in the background but it didn't reach the ground, and a very faint rainbow too, but the camera didn't pick it up.

I bought Honda insurance when I bought my Honda CB 125F, because it was by far the most competitive policy in terms of cover and price. Honda was the broker, the policy is with Bikesure Insurance Services. Did you buy your bike from a dealer that has a link to a broker/insurer?

I don't have any recommendations but I did briefly bump into a biker at what used to be the Carbeth Inn, now the St Mocha coffee drive through, who had a helmet mounted camera and another one facing rearwards above his number plate "to catch the tailgaters" in his words. If he's on this forum he might be able to advise.

I got a reply from HJC. My query was sent through their website that reaches worldwide, they pointed me to their UK representative, details below, in case anyone else in the UK has a query for HJC helmets. OXFORD PRODUCTS LTD DE HAVILLAND WAY WINDRUSH PARK – WI OXY29 0YA WITNEY E-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44.1993.862300 http://oxprod.com

@RideWithStyles I had another look at it, definitely no tint, however, I also rubbed my finger over the lettering on the outside of the visor and couldn't feel it, so did the same on the inside and felt it there, so as @JRH said, the wording is on the Pinlock insert. Mine is a Pinlock 70. Looking at Pinlock's website I need the Pinlock XLT for night time riding.

It's an HJC i-91 helmet with their HJ-33 visor, separate pop down/up sun shield. I've sent a query to HJC.

What subscription do you have? Free/Silver/Gold?