bonio

Wow [mention]mike_smith[/mention] you've been working hard at this. What score are you on now?

For a few ££££££s they can provide with one.

Yes mate, if they do bikes, then they should do a spoked wheel without damaging it.

That Marauder is amazing

One more tip for riding in winter: when the road is damp or wet (i.e. most of the time) keep everything very smooth; expect less grip from the tyres, especially on roundabouts (this is most people's place of choice for spilling their diesel).

Me too. I find it works well; better than Pledge.

Looks really great.

For the bike: ACF50 all over (except the brakes ). Fender extender to protect the engine from the worst of the grit and salt. Rear hugger perhaps to protect the rear shock. Hand guards, or muffs (muffs are warmer, but I've always been too vain to use them. A screen large enough to keep the wind off your chest. For you: I'd say buy the best (not necessarily the most expensive) you can afford that's designed to keep you warm and dry, Goretex if you can run to it. Rukka is excellent, but eye-wateringly expensive. Other good brands include Held, Klim, Knox. IXS (from J&S) is a great budget option, but still good quality. But tbh most brands you can find out there - for example at Sportsbikeshop - do good kit. You can often pick up good deals on secondhand stuff from ebay.

Sort of. I took one out on a test ride yesterday for about an hour and a half. I thought it was a really nice bike. It has all the electronic gizmos you'd want from BMW: cruise control, electronic suspension, riding modes, very pretty TFT dash and so on. And it's all tech that's been tried and proved on other bikes, so it all works well. I rode the thing in Dynamic mode, but I found the suspension was too harsh (cos I'm only 9st, need to eat more pies). You can set the suspension independently of the riding mode, but even when I'd changed it to Road, it was still harsh enough to upset the ride and make the front feel vague. The issue is that you only have two settings for damping, and so you need to be sure that at least one of them is going to work for you. The engine reminded me of the the F800ST; it's very smooth, it revs nicely, the fuelling is spot-on. It delivers loads of power, more than you can reasonably use on the road. For all that, I found it a bit lacking in character (but I feel that way about many parallel twins). The riding position is relaxed and upright. Wide bars. It's truly a very competent bike. You could honestly tour on it (as long as you were happy with the smallish screen) or use it as a commuter, or for days out or pretty much anything. I would think it's got a fair bit of competition, as more bikes are coming out in this just-under-a-litre size, but I'd guess the comprehensive electronics package is a big draw.

Hi mate. See this post https://www.themotorbikeforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=92&t=73700 and ask [mention]Trooper74[/mention]

Yup. Bags are fine to carry a packed lunch or a fleece for a couple of hours, but I wouldn't want to use one to carry your stuff for touring I reckon a tail bag is the perfect thing for a lightweight trip. As long as you're not camping, you can stuff in enough for a week away, and it won't add an inch to the width of the bike.

Have a good one mate.

You can hear it now... "The only time I saw anyone trigger one of those cameras for real, it was a vicar on a bicycle!"

Nice idea. Years ago I had a go a Zero S - it was huge fun - loads-a-torque on a really light bike. But it all came to sad end when the batteryometer said I had to go home and I'd not yet done 50 miles. Once they sort out the recharging times they'll be a serious option.

If your bike is nicked, they put the number plate on the national database and it's checked by every ANPR camera in the country. My guess is they don't ask the local coppers to drive on the wrong side of the road and follow any bikes they come across. Nearly new, was the bike? Deffo they were just admiring it.

[mention]JustinW[/mention] I learned in Exeter. It was awful. I remember the roundabout to Marsh Barton. And the impossibly complicated "left only" "ahead only" lanes at the junction. And the grim road that takes you right through a no entry sign, where the examiner expects you to be awake and take the last left hand turn before the sign. I didn't know the place well, and it was all too much for my poor old brain to process. When I passed, it was in Cambridge. Hill starts were a doddle (not like Launceston!) Congratulations on your pass 54? Definitely not too old. With a bit of time and some miles under your belt, it will all come naturally.

I like the idea of the Zero dual sport. Would be great to go offroad silently.

Congratulations on the pass Yes a full year riding on CBT counts for NCB. Every year on my insurance application I say I've had my licence n years, and I want an NCB for n+1.

Nice one 'streme. Looks like you're going to be very happy together.

I've had a few rear tyre wobble moments. The oddest one was on a dry, sunny day, perfect conditions, doing a wide hairpin, got 2/3rds the way round - just at the point where you open up the throttle and bring the bike up - when the rear went and the whole bike lurched towards the ground for just long enough to me to think, "hello, tarmac, here I come", and it then magically picked itself up again as if nothing had happened. It was all over in half a second, with just the racing heart to me it really happened. I didn't dwell on it much, so it was a bit confusing when we stopped a bit later and the bloke who'd been riding behind me looked straight at me and said, "Don't you ever do that again". I think it scared him more than me.

I crashed within 2 weeks ! There was a guy doing his mod 1 at the same time I did mine - I think he went first. He crashed. It was on the emergency stop: a good helping of rear brake while leaving the throttle on and it was all too much for the rear tyre, even on that beautiful tarmac they roll out over the test centres. I seem to remember he broke his thumb; the bike wasn't in too great shape either.

Not sure if I've remembered this right, but I think with cataracts, they replace the lens with a completely new, artificial one.

Been wearing glasses for work since I wuz 45. But no other eye problems so far. I think it's pretty routine op now. The only difficult thing is finding someone to see you, but it sounds like you've got bit that sorted.

Blimey mate that's truly awful. Glad to hear you were able to get out. Our dog had it just like you, but dogs are more longsuffering than us humans and she was never really into motorbikes.

That's taking a long time (the payout, not the crunchy)