bonio

Welcome in

Don't know about yellow headlights. As for modifications, if you don't declare them you run the risk of the insurers saying they won't pay out on your claim because you've modified the bike and not told them. Given that some insurers will use any wriggle room you give them to avoid paying out, it seems to me far better to declare the change and know the insurance is going to be there for you when you need it.

That's extraordinary. Where we used to live, one kid got hit crossing the road near the school, and the council put in a traffic island and bollards almost instantly. There had never been any problem there before, it was a wide, open piece of road, and the kid wasn't seriously injured, but the council didn't want even the appearance of negligence. I know you weren't hurt, but perhaps consider reporting it to the police, so at least it features in their ksi stats?

Ooooh I seee. I think you're right. I can be very stupid sometimes. Like now. Thanks to you both @Stu and @Yorky

@Stu... so how do you go touring? Am I reading it wrong?

Yeah you may be right. They don't say who the underwriter is (until after you've paid, that is). And they don't give you a choice of underwriters; you can only take the one they offer you.

Tried Hastings. They say this But isn't this the very part of the bike that's most likely to be vandalised? And if I had to fit a new lock and keys on an MV, they have to replace the dash too, and the total bill is somewhere north of 3 grand. Will keep looking...

@Stu I don't know how Bennetts and the underwriters come to an agreement on what to include and what not to. But I am sure that it's a two-way conversation.

Just got my renewal letter from Bennetts. Not too bad tbh, up to £155 from £135. Until I read the small print. The bike is garaged and the policy used to say it wouldn't be insured if it was stolen within 400m of home but wasn't in the garage. Ok, I can put it in the garage when I'm home, that's not unreasonable. But the new wording says it's not insured between 10pm and 6am unless it's locked away in a garage somewhere. Anywhere. No "within 400m of home". Ok, they now want me to plan every trip I do based on the availability of locked garages, which I don't want to sign up to, but the thing that's unreasonable is they've buried the change in the small print. Why treat people like this? EDIT: It turns out I got the wrong end of the stick - carry on reading down the thread for the full story.

Not complete shite. My guess it that its fine at coming with anodyne marketing blurb or slogans.

If your situation were to change and you decided to sell, having the stamps would likely make it easier. But perhaps it doesn't make any difference where you are now... I know that out here it's too remote for most people to be bothered to come this far. The secondhand market is very local.

If you can't moan a bit here mate, where on earth can you?

@MawsleyThat's grim. The missus is like this. Every year some new injury or illness. One year it was shingles. Then a bad achilles and she couldn't walk. Last year she had pneumonia. Twice. This year bad shoulder, bad neck and bad back all rolled into one. You could see the pain on her face. It gets her down.

You've a lot to learn, starting from absolute zero. You'll get there.

Cracking pics... Wish I could ride like that! Welcome in.

This is true. Sometimes. It all depends on the kind of riding you end up doing. Smaller cc bikes are great on smaller roads. They're light and easy to manage and they'll skip happily around any kind of corner you throw them into. But 125s quickly run out of steam if you take them on a dual carriageway, where you find you're stuck in the inside lane with not quite enough puff to get you past the truck in front, and even my 400 is short of umph when im trying to do an overtake on a local A road. For either of these I'd prefer to be on your average 600 and accept that it's probably not as nimble round tight corners. In fact, a 600/650 makes a great all-rounder as it give a competent ride on nearly any road, other than an unrestricted autobahn. But I wouldn't choose one if I wanted a bike that was mainly for touring with luggage, especially where I might have to do reasonable amounts of time on motorways or the like. It's just not that much fun spending hours on a bike that's working hard to keep up. Even my 800 with its cruise control makes it harder work than it would be on a 1200, and I miss my GS most then. But at least I don't have to push that lump around gravelly car parks any more...

If you don't mind second hand there is (or used to be... I havent looked in the last few years) good kit available cheaply on Ebay. Should be OK for textiles. Not so good for gloves and boots where a good fit is more important. Nor for helmets... go to a shop and get the guy to help you find one that fits well.

It's worth it just for the chance to ride behind a copper. So smooth. So in control. And fast in all the right places.

Layers. Your favourite warm layers under, like a thermal top and a fleece. Then a thin wind proof top. Then a textile biking jacket with a winter lining. Textile pant with therm long john under. Heated grips and warm gloves. That should keep you comfy down to about 5c. Any colder add a heated vest and perhaps heated gloves. Oh, and fit a screen. Even a small one make a huge difference.

Here's a thought for to mull over: once the cbt is done and you've got a few miles under your belt, you could go back to the school and see if they can offer you a lesson on your 125. Seems to me it might be useful to have some feedback on how you're riding early on... better than having to unlearn bad habits later.

I once drove a car through Palermo. The cars were like cattle being driven in for milking, using whatever space on the tarmac or the pavement they could find. I got through by imagining where the next space was about to open up in front of me and aiming for it. At one point I lost my nerve and hesitated. I don't think I stopped, just slowed down a bit, but whatever, I unwisely let a 10 foot gap open up in front of me and immediately the people around me were using it to change lanes and do u turns, and I had to wait for a split second moment when the gap reappeared and I could close it up. Three feet gap max after that.

Getting to a place with a good selection of kit isn't easy from Cambridge. I seem to remember the nearest large place is J and S in Raunds.

If you look at 600s and 650s you'll find more options. Get a secondhand bike because you will drop it and dropping a new bike brings heartache, and in 2 or 3 years you will want to move on and get something else. When putting your shortlist together, get insurance quotes, as inurance can be costly for your first year. As for training, I went to Ian Biederman who used to run his own business in Royston. Now he's the chief trainer at BMW Rider Training, still in Royston. My wife tried them but got on better with Bike Sense who used to run courses out of Bourne Airfield. They're still in the same area. The biggest outfit in the area are Camrider, who seem to do a decent job.

Happy birthday Paul. Hope it's a good one.

I like the idea of longer 5th and 6th. Would be interesting to see how much difference it makes to munching miles on a motorway.