ChrisBiggsUK

New fuses have arrived, been put in, and they now blow the second I turn the key in the ignition. I don't even get a chance to press the go button. I now know there is something majorly electrically wrong but don't even know where to begin. While to some of you messing with wiring and such is a simple task, to me who has never even attempted such a thing before, well, I don't know where to start, what I'm even looking for, or anything. All manner of instruction books talking about wiring and the like make little to no sense to me and as such I'm going to call it quits for the time being, take a few weeks off, let the bike sit and think of my next actions. I'm back to being a pedestrian for the next few weeks. Oh what fun. Shiny dust caps though. Shiny dust caps.

Right, so I rode home on Saturday evening, everything seemed fine. I noticed as I was getting off the bike that the neutral light wasn't turning on when I stuck it in neutral to park up. Neutral light on my bike has always been iffy, so just assumed it was having an off day and thought nothing of it. Put the bike to bed and left it there until Sunday morning. Sunday morning I get the bike out to ride to Church, key in ignition, and nothing. No headlight, no tail light, no neutral light, nothing. Pressing the go button similarly did nothing. Silence. Completely dead bike. Put the bike back away, walked to Church, and then in the afternoon, came home and did some troubleshooting. Google initially said 'dead batter'. Checked battery, fully charged and ready to rock. Not battery related. Google then said fuse. Checked fuse (which on my bike has a label saying that it is for the light, horn etc) and wouldn't you know it, fuse was blown. Took blown fuse out, then removed the 'spare' fuse from its little slot, put it in the now vacant blown fuse slot, and tried the bike. Key in, turned on, lights all working, engine roared to life, all great. A fully functioning bike. I was in a grumpy mood, so didn't go for a ride, instead just turning the bike off and putting it to bed for the night. Then comes this morning and I get the bike out again. Key in ignition, initially lights, camera and action so I think to myself; 'It's ridin time!'. Rolled bike out on to drive, get gear on, put key in ignition again and bike once again deaded with a blown fuse. Exact same fuse, exact same issue, just a dead bike but indicators still working. Nothing else, not even a click when pressing the go button, but with a blown main fuse that is understandable. Given that the 'spare' fuse I put in had been sat in the little spare slot for 20 years, I'm hoping that the fuse itself was the problem and am just awaiting the wife to bring me some brand new fuses which I'll try. I'll pop a new fuse in, turn the bike on, start the engine (hopefully) let it idle for a minute or two and then turn it off. I'll then wait for a few minutes and repeat the process. If it still works, then I'm going to (for the time being) assume it was just a dodgy fuse issue. If, however, the new fuse similarly blows after an attempt or two, then I'll have to start taking things apart until I find the culprit. I haven't messed with anything electrical on the bike other than fitting a new starter motor, which didn't require me to do anything other than unplug the wire from the old one and plug said wire into the new one, and have also put a USB charger attached to the battery (didn't mess with any other wires or anything though just attached it to the battery and aforementioned charger is still working completely fine even with the bike being dead). Nothing has happened to the bike over the past couple of days that could have possibly damaged it in any way, nor has it gotten overly wet or anything as it is always covered over when not in use, so again I'm hoping that it is just a case of a couple of bad 20 year old fuses. I'm hoping that is the case, but I'm also a realist. I'm hoping for the best but expecting the worst. Still, given that the CG is a pretty simple machine, with not much electrical to really root round with, if it is a loose connection, corroded connection or otherwise something like that, it should be a simple case of find the problem, fix the problem, put bike back together again, press go button and then reward myself with a nice long ride in the countryside. Or I'll end up with a bike in a thousand pieces on the floor in the living room, conservatory, kitchen and driveway as I take the entire thing apart. Motorcycling is teaching me a whole new set of skills. Mechanical, electrical, you name it. Shiny dust caps. I still have shiny dust caps.

It is most certainly something electrical as when I turn the ignition, I don't get headlight, taillight, horn nor neutral light didn't even get a click when pressing the starter. When I replaced the blown fuse last night, everything worked just fine again. This morning, nothing. Completely dead again with the exact same (though old) fuse once again blown. I'll try some brand spanking new fuses as my first port of call and then after that, head to pitstop and work through likely culprits until I figure out what is causing my bike to be fizzy. Again, I'm hoping it is just a case of dodgy old fuses. Battery is fine, I know that much as that was the first thing I tested yesterday before I took out the fuse and noticed it was blown. I'll enjoy figuring this out. Either mightily if it is just a new fuse, or frustratingly if it is a case of hide and seek with fizziness. The joys of owning a bike. Every day is a learning experience. Every day something new that'll explode. Every day more money to spend. But yeah. Shiny dust caps!

I broke it! Well, no, let me correct that. It broke itself! Came to go for a ride to Church yesterday morning, only for nothing to happen. Bike wouldn't turn on. Had indicators and power, but no headlights, horn or even neutral light. A quick diagnosis indicated that it was a fuse. Replaced the fuse with the spare fuse last night, started the bike, and all was fine. Purred like a kitten. Thought nothing more of it until just now when I went to go for a cheeky ride and all of a sudden, nothing again. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking 'Chris! What you've got there is a wiring fault! Break out your multimeter, take your bike apart and go on a wild wire hunt!' and you may be correct, but what I'm first going to do is send the wife (I'm done with being a pedestrian) to acquire some new 15a mini blade fuses as the spare I put in had been sat in the little 'spare' socket in the bike for 20 years so rather than immediately dive in multimeter blazing, I'll try a brand new fuse or two and see if that works. If it does, happy days. If it doesn't, well, a post in the pitstop may be in order. I really hope it is just a case of dodgy old fuses. I don't relish the thought of it being something more fizzy. Oh. I also bought and fitted some new dust caps. Shiny chrome ones to match my wheels (though, I'm keeping the old ones obviously). I might not be able to ride today, but I can look at my new dust caps and smile. Little things.

Interestingly enough, while I was out visiting a mechanic friend on an entirely non-bike related matter, he asked if he could buy my bike off me and offered me £2,500. I told him no, and that it wasn't for sale, and he again offered me the money and said he would give it to me in cash there and then as he really wanted my CG. Again I declined and so the conversation moved back to non-bike related matters. My bike certainly isn't special, certainly isn't that old (although, I suppose that since it was made in 2005 and registered in 2006, it is getting on a bit), and certainly isn't what I would assume is a sought after bike, but I guess it just goes to show; If someone wants something, really wants it, they will be willing to pay over the odds for it. In my untrained opinion, one issue is possibly that smaller capacity bikes are becoming much more the norm and are 'easier' to get in to, needing only a CBT and then you're good to go, while the bigger bikes require the extra expense of getting a full license etc and for budget conscious new bikers, or younger bikers, that makes it a no-brainer at least initially. Cheap 125 Chinese bikes costing significantly less when new than good quality used Japanese bikes will be further pointing people toward those options rather than a good quality, reliable used model. Market trends, changing demographics and changing usages of bikes (so many delivery riders) are all conspiring to make the market tougher, again in my untrained opinion. All I do know for certain is that I bought my used CG for £1,500 and I never plan on selling it. Even when I inevitably move on to a bigger bike, I'll be keeping my CG as it is nimble, agile, reliable, extremely fuel efficient and will (if looked after properly) well outlast me. And as for when I get a 'big' bike? I'll openly admit, I do have my eyes on one or two, including a Chinese one, but when the time comes if I could find a used bike I like, in good condition, that fits my needs, that fits my body, and is suitably priced when compared to similar newer models (though I'd be happy to pay a slight premium for a tried and true brand and model), I'd take the used one. Though, that is just me and my thoughts.

I too have noticed that delivery riders are an absolute menace. How they ever managed to pass their cbt with their riding the way it is is beyond me. They are a danger to themselves and other road users. Not, all, I should add, but I will say that it is extremely rare for me to spot a delivery rider actually riding safely. It would be very interesting to see a breakdown of bike types involved, whether other vehicles were involved, whether they were in town or countryside, age and license status of those involved and perhaps even a breakdown on whether they are people who have come to this country from overseas and as such may be unfamiliar with the rules on our roads. The more data we have, the better in my opinion. Just having a raw number doesn't take in to account any of the variables and as such unless we know how and why there is an increase, we won't know how to whether things need to change. Nobody said motorcycling was safe, and I think each of us knows when we put our helmet on and go out and play in traffic, we are taking some degree of risk which we all manage in our own ways. But that is part of the fun of riding. And finally, in echoing Fiddlesticks, I too shall endeavour to remain very much alive and avoid becoming a statistic to be used against the rest of you fine people. If I ever do become a statistic, and it was my fault, hold me up as an example of how not to do something. If I ever become a statistic and it wasn't my fault, I hope that each and every one of you will hunt down whoever was responsible and make them pay for my untimely demise by tutting at them, shaking your head, and telling them that you aren't angry, you are disappointed.

So, £30 some odd a seat? Just gets better and better! I'll have to shoot them a message then as at that price it is cheaper than a single pair of shorts.

Would that be these people?; https://www.acornupholstery.com/motorbikes If so, I may give them a look. If the cost of a comfy seat is only about £50, whereas the cost of a pair of shorts is £30, I think that getting the seat done would probably be a better use of money. EIther way, it gives me another option and options are good.

I have similar. Great minds, eh.

Well, it's official, when I bought my bike it had 5,100 miles on it, which for a 19 year old bike was rather good. It now has 10,500 on it so in the past six months, I have done more miles than in all of the bikes first 19 years combined. Quite proud of myself for getting out there whatever the weather and getting the practice in (I'm already taking the next steps toward getting my full license). Anyway, I have started to notice that my slightly portly middle aged derriere is tending to get a bit sore after being on the bike for a while and as such I now ask you fine grizzled veterans what it is that you do to relieve aforementioned soreassness. Yes, I know that isn't a word. I have only had two cups of Coffee this morning though so at present words are not my forte. I keep seeing adverts for a product (https://uk.ripplimpactgear.com/collections/motorcycle/products/apex-rides) and am curious as to what people think. Not necessarily just of that product, but similar ones. Do such things work? What do you use? Do you just tough it out like the iron butted legends that you are? Thoughts, feelings, input, suggestions, gripes and more are most welcome. And while I await your wisdom, I shall acquire coffee number three.

I initially had difficulty on roundabouts too, indeed even so far as to have come off the bike on a roundabout while doing my CBT. For me, what helped, was making sure I was down into the correct gear for the roundabout in plenty of time, looking well through the roundabout at where I wanted to go (whilst also keeping my eyes on other road users and doing lifesavers) and loosening up my arms. The loosening up my arms was the big thing for me. If anyone remembers, I was always having trouble turning right. Kept feeling like the rear end was going to slip out from under me. I loosened my elbow on my right side, relaxed myself, and that took away the problem. My being too tense and overcorrecting for a perceived slippage issue was what was in fact causing said issue. Once I relaxed, trusted the tyres and trusted my own abilities, learning curve though I may be on, everything fell in to place. Speed, gears, vision and relaxation. Worked for me, might just work for you too.

As some have mentioned, don't go down the cheap Chinese route. While yes, some Chinese bikes are increasing in reliability and quality as the Chinese market matures, as a new rider you'll want a reliable, tried and true, simple to maintain, simple to ride and very forgiving bike. A second hand bike from an established brand (Honda, Suzuki, etc) will see you well set up for your journey into motorcycling. I bought myself a near 20 year old Honda CG125 and it has been perfect. Very forgiving of me as a new rider, very simple to maintain, any repairs have been very straightforward and most able to be done myself with rudimentary knowhow (I could have done more myself, but bravery on my part is still lacking with tackling some of the jobs) and it will hold its value reasonably well if I ever come to sell it on one day (which I highly doubt I will ever do). I have run into the guy who had it before me a couple of times now and he keeps on telling me that his dad (who had sourced the bike for him as his first bike) is still quite furious that he took the perfectly good, reliable, bulletproof CG125 and partexed it for a new Keeway Superlight which (he took it to the dealership the other day while I was there) is already rusting, running terribly and the speedo has stopped working entirely. Could those issues be down to him not treating his new bike well? Possibly. All I know is that my 20 year old CG125 is in bloody good condition for a 20 year old bike, is super reliable, super fuel efficient and has a higher value to it than his less than one year old and already worse for wear Superlight. One other point to note as well, and again as some have mentioned and I've touched on above, if you decide somewhere down the line that biking really isn't for you, one of the tried and true brands (Honda etc) will hold their value much more than a Chinese bike will. If you decide that biking isn't for you and want to hang your helmet up, knowing that you will be able to recoup your expenses a bit is a good thing. And, now that that is said, I'll say this; Get whichever bike you want. Get a bike that you like, that you enjoy, that fits you comfortably and ride it with pride. I'd prefer for you to get a cool CG like me, but even if you go down the Chinese route, you are still at least on two wheels and that is something that should always be encouraged. Lets get you on two wheels in whichever way possible and then, once you are hooked, we can work on nudging you towards a better bike choice. And finally; Welcome to the best forum, best community, and best lifestyle choice you will ever make!

^^ I 'failed' at my first two attempts, but then passed with flying colours on my third. As my instructor said, even when I came off on a roundabout on my first attempt, I just needed more time on the bike. More time to get to grips with things. More time to not only learn the basics of the bike, but also how to get from a to be safely. He worked with me and managed to get me over the line in my own time and, truthfully, I feel like a much better (and more valid) rider for him having done that. A good instructor wants to work with you to help you pass and be safe not just for yourself but for other road users. A good instructor will not rush you. A good instructor will give you the time and attention you need. Yes, it may cost a little more in the long run, but better to fail a hundred times and learn from those failings and become a better and safer rider as a result, than to have a bad instructor who passes you just for the sake of it and who then lets you out on the road unsupervised where you can be a danger to yourself and everyone around you. Any good instructor will be more than willing to give you all the time and training you need. Not only are you a paying customer, after all, but a good riding instructor will be passionate about riding and will want there to be more riders out there on the road who are also passionate about riding. You'll get there in your own time. And you'll get there safely.

I can't complain too much about where I live. Garden backs on to a cemetery so its nice and quiet here. If the 'neighbours', as it were, ever get rowdy, then that is a major cause for concern. On topic though, I try to be as considerate as I possibly can be, and don't exactly ride a noisy bike. CG125 with the standard exhaust, so pretty quiet as bikes go. That said, if I ever have to warm the bike up, or rev the engine a bit, and it is super early morning or late at night, I tend to wheel myself down to the bottom of the road where there are no houses and do it there. Middle of the day though? I do it outside my house. Much to the chagrin of the Dogs who have decided that motorcycle noise = existential threat that they must go on attack to destroy. Vicious little fluffy killing machines our Dogs.

When I did my CBT, it took me a few goes before I finally passed it. I had never ridden or indeed driven before, so being in charge of a motor vehicle, and being on the road, it was all completely new to me. After coming off on a roundabout on my first attempt, the instructor called it a day for me and I ended up going back for some additional one on one training. More time on the bike. More getting used to something new. More building confidence in myself. He himself said after my initial failure that in his view, all I needed was more time on the bike. He was right. He saw my weaknesses and my strengths, saw where I was doing well and where I wasn't, and worked with me to get me not only over the line, as it were, but to give me that confidence to be able to take on the world. You don't just need a good instructor, you need an instructor who is good for you. If things simply aren't clicking with your current one, then find a different one. As for geared or automatics, I would say stick it out and go geared. One of my big sticking points right at the start was gears. I knew, even before I started, that I would have difficulty with them, and I did. I was *this* close to simply tossing the towel in over my frustration with gears, but I persisted. Time, practice, and a bit of tinkering with my bike to move the gear shifter to a more comfortable position for me has worked wonders. Everything is second nature to me now, and it has only been a little over six months. And in that time, I've done close to 5,000 miles on the road in all weathers and at all times of the day and night and have loved every minute! I am in no doubt that if I had a different instructor, I wouldn't be riding or, that I would but would be riding a scooter (no shade to scooter riders, to each their own, but they aren't for me or my portly, middle aged frame) which just isn't for me. Keep at it, look for a different instructor who can work with you and wants you to succeed, and don't be afraid to take things slowly and at your own pace. You've got this!

And if they do try to charge extra, I'll write a strongly worded letter! Don't know who to yet, but I'll write one!

The carb needed doing anyway and they then found the cable issue as a separate issue. They don't know it yet, but when I semi-jokingly told them I was only going to pay them for fixing the carb and they could do the cable gratis, I was being serious. Well, as serious as I can be. I'm a mostly unserious type of person.

After watching some videos, reading some posts, and letting some people hear the bike, the conclusion was reached that the carb needs cleaning and adjusting a bit. Given the tyres, oil, brake fluid, battery and so on that hadn't been touched in the near 20 years before I bought the bike, it is understandable that the carb could do with a little TLC. Although I am a god-like super mechanic, I am wary about having a go at that myself right now, so took it off to get it looked at professionally. While the chap was looking and listening, he agreed that yup, could do with being looked at more thoroughly. He then, quite accidentally, and while the bike was on its centre stand still running, knocked my handlebars all the way to side whereupon the engine started to rev something crazy. Turns out, there is some sort of throttle cable issue too. Bloody typical! I'll be honest, I hadn't noticed anything while riding. Then again, it is extremely rare that I turn the handlebars fully to one side or the other, with that usually only ever happening at very low speeds and wile controlling low speed manoeuvres with clutch and brake, so if indeed it did start revving out of the ordinary I probably wouldn't have been any the wiser, would have probably thought it was a quirk of the bike, and would have compensated with more brake and clutch control. Now that I know it does it though, just you watch me notice it every time! Bike booked in for the 17th to sort the carb and the throttle cable. While yes, I could probably do them myself, and have done quite a lot of things myself so far, I'm just not quite 'there' yet for messing with the carb and certainly not with something as critical as a throttle cable. Baby steps. That wasn't very ranty of me. I came on here to rant about it. Erm. Poppycock! Balderdash! Have at thee or some such! Going to go for an evenings ride in a bit (They said the bike is still perfectly safe to ride, I just go a little zoomier when I turn right) to calm down as I'm clearly rather worked up. Well, I'm using that as an excuse for an evenings ride. Wife doesn't need to know I'm sanguine about it all. If she thinks I'm rather hecked, then an evenings ride to 'clear my head' is needed. If you see someone zooming super fast round every right hand bend with a gormless smile on his face, don't worry. Its just me. Non-rant over!

Update; Fitted one plug, kept another as a spare and the final eight have now all sold on eBay netting me a tidy profit. Biking isn't just fun. It is profitable!

So what we have established here is that horses are terribly dangerous and that bikes are perfectly safe and that @RideWithStyles brother is a anomaly in an otherwise perfectly smooth dataset. This isn't just a biking forum. This is a science forum!

I came off my bike once (on my CBT). No damage to myself and only a scratch on the bike. Got thrown off a massive Shire Horse once too. Several broken bones. I'll stick with bikes. Safer.

I may very well do that.

And there we have it. Legit bargain confirmed!

Update; I've had an initial reply from NGK, which I have subsequently replied to. I now await another reply from them.

My 2006 Honda CG125 was £1500, with just a smidge over 5000 miles on the clock. That was money I was more than happy to pay for a proven, reliable, simple to maintain and repair and extremely efficient and forgiving (and at the time pretty much pristine physical condition though it does have a scuff on the front mudguard now where I came off on my cbt, and a couple of other mystery scuffs which I have no idea the cause of) bike. While I did initially have my eye on some Chinese bikes, I'm really glad that the dealers pulled a fast one on me and made me buy the Honda. How did they pull a fast one? I think I have mentioned it before, but here goes again; I went in to book my CBT and while there, I spotted the CG right at the desk and mentioned that I had seen it on Auto Trader and liked the look of it. Anyway, after booking the CBT I said I wanted to buy a jacket while I was there, and tried on a couple, and while trying the last one on asked if there was a chair for me to sit down on so I could see how it fit while sitting. 'I can do you one better. Why don't you sit on the bike?' came the reply. Well, I sat on the CG, jacket on, and bought it there and then. While yes, after the fact it turned out that this near 20 year old bike still had its original near 20 year old tyres, had the original 20 year old battery in it, had never had its oil changed and had a dodgy starter motor, these were all things that one would expect from a near 20 year old bike and (barring the tyres of course) were easily repaired by myself with a minimum of skill and cost. For a 20 year old bike, issues such as I encountered are pretty much the norm. In my case, simple to repair, simple to replace, how-to videos aplenty and with them producing the CG for decades (and still do in parts of the world) parts in abundance, I'm very happy with my purchase. Would the same be the case for a Chinese bike? Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the quality of them will improve over time as their industry matures, but the state of some of the used Chinese bikes are abysmal. Rust, damage, wear and tear beyond what would be expected after a year or two. Generally really poor offerings. Now, this could be down to how their prior owners treated them, but given how many Chinese bikes are in that state after only a year or two, it does give me pause. I'm not going to say 'never' to a Chinese bike, indeed I do have my eye on one or two, but for the foreseeable future? I think I'll stick with tried and true, well established and proven bikes and brands. Chinese brands may get there in the end, but right now? For me? I'll stick with simple, reliable, no messing Honda.