RantMachine

Have you seen Stevie Wonder's new bike? ...Nah, Stevie hasn't either.

That said, might have to be leaving pretty early on Sunday

Balls to that, Derby or bust! I am not a sensible man.

I've already made it clear to Lou that if she wusses out and travels by any means with more than 2 wheels, she has to bring the tent with her and have it ready when I arrive

Nah, it'll be fine - I'll lend him some of the luck/magic that keeps my bike from living up to the usual chinese bike expectations

Easy mate....one days riding...... I have to admit, Portsmouth looks pretty tempting

Oh no, I've just realised that I'm going to HAVE to clock up an extra 300 miles of challenge 100 trips between now and the Rally if I'm to get my 4000km service out of the way in advance... Life is so very cruel. Now, where's that Google map I made...

Think I'm gonna have to visit the costume shop on the way home tomorrow, I haven't the slightest idea what to do...

Had a morning to kill; Moulton – Packhorse Bridge Thetford - Dads Army Museum

The adult section?

Aye, this indeed

Er..... I've fallen off a pushbike at <5mph and had very bloody knees and hands, I dread to think what would happen at 30mph You should see the state of BikerMoo's leathers after her off last September, and that was only at 30. And then there's the soft tissue damage that she's only just recovering from! 30mph is certainly no laughing matter. And I've had nerve damage in my right arm since my late teens after a pushbike accident at summat like 10mph, so you won't catch me riding anything without trousers and long sleeves!

Officially the best kind of ride to go on when you have a 1993 R100

Can I just say that I officially have the coolest bike on the road. Not shown in this picture, the pink streamers on the handlebars.

On the way home (give or take a 36 mile detour) Cromwell's House, Ely

If you try their website, Lexmoto are pretty good for parts availability. You can order pretty much every single part of your bike from their site if need be.

I've been trying to kill something for the past few days so I can post in this thread. No luck yet, but I came pretty close to mowing down a Nun leaving the pub in Rampton yesterday.

Nah, just found it on Google images

If you're after a cheap fix, could give a DIY Scottoiler a go http://www.xrv.org.uk/forums/attachments/bodgers-corner/2858d1226672980-diy-scottoiler-bottle.jpg

The bike I did my CBT on did exactly the same thing as your Triumph, think it was a Suzuki. Thought that was a really nice way of doing it, actually.

It feels a bit like the discussion is veering towards whether I'm doing something stupid or not. 100% certain, doesn't start with side stand down. Definitely in neutral. Holding clutch in. Starts fine as soon as the stand goes up.

99% sure. I'll try it one more time when I go to Tesco later, but I've forgotten the kickstand enough times that I don't think I could've been in the wrong gear every time.

my gf's starts with the side stand down I can say with 100% certainty that mine doesn't start with the side stand down, clutch or no clutch. Perhaps the design has been revised recently?

Ok, so as the title suggests, I've got a Lexmoto Lowride and it's a 125. Great review, huh? Ok, so I'll actually write some useful stuff. I bought it from Rick Stringer Motorcycles in Bedford, who were one of the two Lexmoto dealers near-ish to Cambridge - the other (in Peterborough) was £50 dearer and didn't include the first service, and were less than helpful on the phone. Rick Stringer are... mixed. Not a particularly cheerful lot, but they were happy to deliver it to my house 35 miles away for only a few quid extra and they fixed the trip dial for me at no charge after I broke it off Assembly of the bike itself seems ok, although the float for the fuel gauge was faulty so they've got a new one on order. The bike set me back £1,340 brand new, which was a nice way to burn most of my redundancy pay from Jessops. On to the bike itself. Bear in mind that I've only ridden a couple of other bikes - a Suzuki DR125SM on which I nearly killed myself during my CBT, and BikerMooFromMars's Kymco Zing deathtrap - so I don't have a lot to compare it to, but I'll do my best. General guff: Bike has no centre stand, and the engine won't start while the side stand is down. Manual choke, and a fuel valve with a reserve tank position. All really nice touches, but also really good for confusing yourself about why the bike won't start when you first get it. Luggage boxes are non-removable, lockable, and come with the bike as standard. Pros: * Hella comfy, nice shape to the handlebars makes steering really effortless. Positioning of mirrors gives you a really commanding view of the road behind & beside you. * Nice and smooth gear changes, and I'm told that the gears are quite generous for a 125 - except for first, which sounds like a nest of angry wasps. * Full beams are practically floodlights, great for night riding on our country roads. * Built in crash bars, for the accident prone. * Luggage boxes are a nice addition - BikerMoo has had a tough time with her panniers (getting them to stay on, buckles breaking, leather giving way) and these things are absolutely painless by comparison. Cushioned lining to make stuff rattle about less and an overlapping seal to keep the rain out, too. Even got little caps over the keyhole! Very cute. * On a superficial note, it looks and sounds LOVELY. Many children in our village have given me a thumbs up when riding past, and obviously they have great taste. Cons: * Not ideal if you have big feet. My right foot struggles to fit between the crash bar and the brake pedal without applying too much pressure to it, which is a pain in the behind. Shouldn't be a problem for most people, my fault for being a size 15. * Turning circle isn't great. U-turns are tricky at best, think I've only done one or two without giving up and putting a foot down. * As mentioned before, 1st gear is noisy as heck and insanely short. * Every time someone asks what bike you have, you'll have to put up with the usual "Oh, it's Chinese?" sneer. I am SO sick of the "Oh, it's Chinese?" sneer. If given the chance to reconsider, I'd still get this bike. I love it to bits, it's amazingly fun to ride - most days when I get back from work I drive straight past our house and go tearing around the countryside for a little bit longer because I can't bring myself to get off yet. The only thing that would make me think twice is the foot-size issue, but that's one point against and still a few hundred in favour. Oh and if I could start all over again, I wouldn't melt my waterproofs onto the exhaust.

Did my CBT earlier today, and can highly recommend against ever using Bike Sense if based in the Cambridgeshire area. It was a like the first half of Full Metal Jacket, only I was paying to take part - every mistake we made was met with dramatic displays of exasperation or criticisms, which largely caused us to make the same mistakes again and again courtesy of the pressure we were under. The radios were patchy as all heck, which often meant that the first time we heard him giving us instruction was the point when he was angrily shouting it (of course, I'm assuming that he said it calmly beforehand). Various conflicting instructions, constant accusations of not taking it seriously, and an unbelievably stressful general atmosphere made it INCREDIBLY hard to focus. Very nearly resulted in a horrific stall/unintentional wheelie/hit by bus incident, which was less than fun and left me wondering if I'd touched cloth. To give a balanced view on things, it certainly all sank in. The threat of having to come back again if I failed certainly kept me motivated! And I imagine it trained me to cope with riding in stressful situations and whatnot. TL;DR Don't use Bike Sense unless you respond well to being shouted at. Masochistic streak would be a plus.