Hoggs

I was going to nominate myself for forgetting to turn the fuel back on after reconnecting the tank but I think those idiots above win Hope it hasn't spooked your daughter too much

Congrats! But the million dollar question: even though it was sh*t weather did you enjoy it???

Sounds like you're enjoying the project! Look forward to updates

Best advice I had for this was do not think you have to keep a tight figure of eight, you've got a lot of space so use it! You may get a minor if you go really really wide but you will fail if you put your foot down by trying to turn too tight! Also after you come out the slalom try and make the crossover point as close to the top cone as you can, this will give you more space to cross back through and also try and keep the ride between the cones as straight as possible. Keep your head up and after you have made the turn pick a spot in the distance (on the test you can use some of the cones that are about to keep you nice and straight) I have drawn you an amazing diagram to explain this! I am aware it has a slight boob-ness about it.... Yellow are the slalom cones, blue are the figure 8 cones and the green Xs are to show where I was advised to look before you make the turn (making the turn keep head up and pick your target point exactly like in the U turn) http://i.imgur.com/gpLWb6B.jpg This really worked for me and the people I was training with so may be helpful

Plus side, getting some wet weather training in will be good for confidence. I did my mod 1 when it was hoofing it down but knowing I could stop the bike OK in that weather was nice! Also if you can stretch to gortex (or equivalent) you will be glad you did! Also ex-army gortex over trousers are amazing! And cheap!

No probs, I was properly bricking myself before the DAS so remember those nerves! I'd recommend boots, for two reasons ONE! they generally offer better weather protection and it is scheduled to rain a bit tomorrow... having wet feet ALL DAY will be miserable and will distract you! TWO! Once you've passed it's a good idea to buy some proper bike boots with good protection in (I have broken my foot it sucks, do everything you can to protect your feet!!) so getting used to the "lack of feel" may be a good idea. Especially as in the morning you'll be in an enclosed area so you can get used to it. After a while you will instinctively know where the gear lever is and how much pressure is required to change. Bike boots generally have a reinforced panel on the left foot to help prevent wear as well. I wore none bike boots on the 125 and after a year they were starting to look a bit thin! Also they started leaking (which is bad see above!) I am assuming you mean work type boots and not those silver knee high platforms with fishes in the soles? I wouldn't recommend wearing that kind

Oh the idiots are everywhere - but not all of them are on four wheels! Yes you will get cut up, people will be completely oblivious to you and you're going to have a few "eep" moments. You're timing it in your head thinking if that guy was on a bike it would have been close, what you could be doing is thinking if I was on a bike, would I have been that close? Would I have seen there was a gap in another lane and assumed the van would swerve without indicating so kept back? The two second (four in the wet!) rule is something I stick to a hell of a lot more on a bike than I ever did in a car! You'll soon start looking ahead more, slowing down if you're filtering and there is a strange gap in the traffic (side road? something broken down people are going to swerve around?), anticipating what people could do and adapting your speed and distance accordingly. If anything I'd say those little nerves are a good thing You'll have loads of fun tomorrow and realise it is worth it!

Check out Fowlers Parts they have a pretty comprehensive catalogue. They probably do pillion pegs too....

I came here via the unread posts link and I'm on my phone so everything is really really small. Also I'm an idiot

Yeah love green flag. Had an old golf about 10 years ago that was constantly breaking down. Not sure what the official call out limit is but I must have had 5 or 6 in a year before they called to say if I needed them again they may have to apply a surcharge (that was a tenner or something!) Also I'm glad it's almost Friday as I read your post and thought it was very unusual you had a diesel bike. Then that 50l was a mighty big tank. Then I realised I'm a massive idiot

Well wheelies are frowned upon in CBT training so you'll be fine I remember on the road bit in the afternoon the instructor basically was just shouting INDICATORS at us both for half an hour as neither of us had ridden before and kept forgetting to cancel. Becomes second nature after a while I really enjoyed doing my CBT. You doing it on a geared bike?

I ride in London and it's a good idea to leave a "big gap" (about a car length) because if someone bumps into the back of you because they "didn't see you" then you have that safety gap in front so you don't run into the car in front. Also if the car in front broke down if you're a good distance back then you have enough room to manoeuvre around them.

Will do thanks!

haha they do a mean bacon sarnie though Thanks! I'm eyeing up that cider run....

Hi Nick, I believe the U turn is always to the right, but the direction you take the top corner will differ as the avoidance part (around the cone after the speed trap) can either be to the left or right. The examiner will clearly tell you which way round the top to go and you can double check by seeing which side the speed trap is on. Some helpful diagrams: https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati ... a-diagrams I think the left set up is slightly more common but your instructor will get you to practise the avoidance both ways

Thanks guys, I'll check the float first. No not misbehaving any other time although it did get really hot on the way home yesterday (enough for the fan to kick in after turn off). Because I'm a muppet though I forgot to check the engine temp (I can either have temp or clock on that display). And it was a fairly average run home, mainly 50mph roads with a bit of slow speed (filtering / 30mph) at the end. I'm armed with a Haynes manual and a willingness to learn so quite looking forward to tinkering!

I have - many many moons ago when I was a student after a night in a smoky club I would febreeze myself when I got in. Never broke out in hives so I reckon it's fine

It is, I haven't seen or smelt any fuel - but I will have a proper check later! If it is - is it a replace rather than fix type thing?

Hey guys, So over the past week the Ninja has developed a backfire on start (I almost did my own little backfire the first time it happened!). I think this is due to it running a bit rich and the idle speed is creeping up (around 1600rpm). It's merrily starting on half choke in the mornings (albeit with a jolly little bang). So this weekend I am going to adjust the idle and change all the plugs - is there anything else (within my limited skills) I should be looking at or changing? Thanks!

I have no actual facts to back this up, but I would have thought that a horse riding one would be pretty good as a lot of accidents are from the horse being spooked and rearing up and the person falling off onto their back. Don't know how well they would stand up to being dragged across tarmac though

What we need are hover trains like in Back to the Future 3

Congrats! On to booking the DAS now Edit: haha just seen Tango's post. Great minds and all that

I know the drill, my friends used to live in Brixton I imagine there will be some pilgrimages to the Ace Cafe when the weather gets nicer, I'll wait for those rather than risking catching something

LMRC - Are they mainly Saarf of the river? Or is there stuff for us Northerners too?

I won't be making it this year so can people take pictures of any lovely new green bikes for me? *rubs thighs*