bonio

Yeah, I went and had a blast. But it's been a while since I went to a show, and I went expecting little, so I was easily pleased. I thought Capital Moto had brought along a good range of Yamahas, and I had a bit of a laugh seeing how far my legs would have to grow to reach the ground on the Low Tenere. The BMW stand seemed to have everything you'd want to see, and I reminded myself again why I don't want another GS. I noticed the missing NX500 at the Honda stand; it would have been good to have seen it there, but they must have had 20 different models to try out, so they put some effort in. The KTMs were brought along by a dealer in London, and you're right, there weren't many there; they had to share the stand with MV Agustas and a few others. HD had a good stand though, and you could sit on them all, too. Made me realise I'd never want to own one. No Guzzis anywhere to be seen; that was a pity. And like you said, no Voge.

Happy birthday Rob! 56 - pah, you're just a kid. Good to hear you've been having a good one.

Yes, you can.

Welcome in

Went to the London Bike Show; had a great day out. Got to sit on a load of bikes, and found one I've have happily taken home right away. It's been about 10 years since I've went to the NEC, so about time for an outing like this. This ones for @Fozzie. It was generating a lot of interest. Interesting to see the CFMoto bikes there. They look good. Better than this ugly brute from MV Agusta

@Fozzie I guess you've seen this? https://www.motorcyclenews.com/premium-content/beautiful-simplicity/

Looks like the GB to me

You can buy from sports bike shop and return for free if it doesn't fit. Just keep the stickers on the visor, look after the packaging, and they'll take it back with no hassles. I think helmet city do the same.

Another word of caution about the sump plug. Don't do a @Westbeefand overtightened it.

@Mississippi Bullfrog You shouldn't have to pay for return postage to return something not as described. Since the error lies with the seller, they have the obligation to cover the return costs. Given they're cheap uns, they might even refund the money without asking for them back.

Yes, you're right. Balls of the feet on the peg. Then, when you want to change up, point your toes down a bit and shift your foot a smidgeon forward. And lift. You should be engaging with the gear lever roughly at the base of your big toe.

Haha that's not a few, that's several garage fulls! A lot of nice bikes there

Hi John. Welcome in. Do you have a bike? If so what is it?

Like @RideWithStyles says, I don't think you should get focussed on engine size. But you might bear the weight in mind. At 190kg, your last bike was a medium weight machine but add another 20 or 30 kg, and the experience could be different. I think you're going to need to try some out to come to any decisions. If I were in your position, I'd spend a day at a place that has a large number of secondhand bikes for sale, sit on as many different styles as I can find, and then try to get a test ride on the ones I found comfortable. I think you'll be fine with whatever cc bike you end up with, but for your own peace of mind, do the test rides in order from small bike to large. You don't have to make any decisions that day, but I like to think you'd come away with more idea of the of bike you're looking for.

If it's any consolation, this happens to one of my bikes every other winter - even though they're kept on trickle chargers. Winter is a tough time for a battery.

Most likely the battery is dying. It's still got enough energy in it to power the lights, but ask it turn the starter motor, and it just curls up in corner and shakes its head. But, there's a smaller chance there's a problem with the starter motor, perhaps it's stuck, or perhaps its died. This is what I would do: 1. Charge the battery overnight and try again. Perhaps this fixes it. 2. If not, buy a new battery and fit it. @RideWithStyles is right: get a YUASA with good CCA (100A is good). Perhaps this fixes it. 3. If not, the problem is probably with the starter motor. Likely you'll need a new one. Might mean a trip to the dealer.

Noooooooo

I've ridden from Calais to Valenciennes a few times. The first 45 minutes, there's a nice back route through some hills, but after that it's so built up with villages cropping up everywhere, it's better to hop on the autoroute and get through it quickly.

Come the end of the month, and I'll be on the same equation. Can't quite believe it's going to happen

Another one for Richa here. I've a pair of Richa Cold Protect and they're dry and warm.

What's the bike you're after? I think a lot depends on this

Bonjour! Desole, mais non, je pense que ca n'existe pas. Tous les locations ou on peut louer des motos que connais je, ce sont dans la region de Londres, par examples https://www.superbikerental.co.uk/ https://www.roadtrip.uk/motorcycles-for-hire/ (Ah, il y en a deux ou trois encores aux Midlands, mais celles-ci sont moins utiles pour vous.) Je crois qu'il faut passer par Londres. Bonne chance PS A mon avis, Devon et Cornwall sont trop petit pour une promenade de 15 jours. Vous pourriez peut-etre inclure le Pays de Galles aussi? C'est un lieu souvent recommende par les motards. Je vous recommende aussi le livre "Britain for Bikers" par Simon Weir; il presente les meillures chemins de chaque region.

Thanks guys. I appreciate it.

Oh no. Bad luck mate. You have a right to a bike that's "fit for purpose" and "as advertised". But SBF probably won't want to play ball. Get some advice like from Citizens Advice advice or somewhere.

So I was doing righty loosey today, and it worked! My normal is that a right hander takes 5 times the concentration of the left hander. But today the right handers seemed oddly easy.