ginjaninja

Ditto was awesome fun!

Are we still on for tomorrow? I haven't heard anything since Friday.

Bloody fair weather bikers anyway I'll pop over tonight, even if noone else is going to, the weather is fine here in Notts EDIT: Weather forcast for rest of the day is sunny+clouds with temperatures around 25C so no excuse for ya!

Very well thanks, not got any big problems with the bike and really enjoying it.

Put my name down Neil, I'll be going

Hey Jin, hope you can make the ride-out, I was in exactly your position a month or so ago when we last went out to Hunstanton and I did it on a Honda CBR 125, the following day we went down to Ace Cafe Wish we could help and show you the way but we are completely the opposite direction lol! but hey if an incompetent idiot like me can make it to london and back, from nottingham, in one piece then I'm sure you can

Looks good, I'd be up for that

I'll be up for it, I'm sure SK93 will be too when he sees the thread

Have you tried different makes? For example I tried a Nolan and a Caberg in exactly the same size, but the Nolan was really uncomfortable for my head shape.

To be fair, I do feel for you, you would expect that with such a good brand and price tag that it would score highly, and then to spend all that money and find this out must be a bit of a kick in the nads. I'm dreading the score my Caberg will get, as I've only just bought it.

Absolutely spot on in my opinion.

Yeh but in terms of safety the Shark has scored better, I think someone may just be a bit peed off that their £400 helmet isn't as safe as a £50 helmet

In my eyes you can still fall off it like a normal bike and hit your head hence I would wear a helmet, but IMO if someone doesn't want to wear their helmet that's fine by me, more organs for the transplant department http://www.kevinboone.com/mc_c1_3.jpg

I could turn up for a bit...but I've got more of my DAS course the next morning at 9am :S

Bought a ticket but I probably won't make it now, I got 4 hours of training on that day So if you need a ticket let me know.

Back safe and sound too, A BIG thank you to everyone for making me feel safe and welcome despite being a Newb and slow, really appreciate all your efforts to accomodate me. I had such a great weekend was good to meet everyone and learnt alot too, given me alot of confidence for my upcoming DAS. I will put my pictures from sunny hunny up soon. Edit: Was gutted to hear when Sam's Triumph decided to wet itself, was my favourite bike of the weekend, very kind of Neil to stay with him, and was disappointing you both had to miss the Ace Cafe run altogether

Whoever told u that LIED!! hehe x I know.. just wanted to make GinjaNinja feel less inadequet You always make me feel less inadequet

Looking like its gonna be a good weekend, I can't wait Thanks to everyone for making the effort to accommodate me and 125, really appreciate it Oh and I've got a decent camera on my phone so I'll get a few good photos hopefully

Warning – This is a looong post It was a bright and sunny Saturday morning and I had a terrible feeling I'd made a big mistake :S. SK93 had given me a lift to the test centre, which was a brand new school playground, was very open and flat but I felt it had far too many things surrounding it such as fences, goalposts, seating areas, which I could hit...People started turning up and it soon became clear that like a few other posters on here, I was the only one who had never ridden a motorbike before and all of them had at least a years experience We started off with the usual 30min safety talk and bike overview that went fine, I had done some reading into it and was pretty much aware of most of it. Now we were ready to get on the bikes the sunshine vanished and it duly chucked it down, the buffalo jacket I had on was pretty comfortable and warm but the waterproof trousers were anything but that. I had also not worn a decent pair of shoes, which meant my feet were soaked and cold instantly. The caberg helmet was pretty comfortable and fitted well but with the driving rain and me panicking like a rabbit in headlights I was steaming up like a sauna. As everyone else was miles ahead of me in experience I got my own instructor and promptly stalled the bike at first attempt. Second attempt I got it going and the bike wobbled forward unceremoniously straight at the five-a-side goal, luckily I discovered the brakes before discovering what it’s like to ride a bike into a goal. I slowly improved and could now get the bike round the yard and stop it successfully, I even managed to get it into second gear. Next we did the slow speed manoeuvres, figure of 8, slalom, and U-turn. All of which I managed to do ok and the instructor said my clutch control was pretty good, however I really struggled with the U-turn either putting my foot down or going far too wide, something that is still a pain now. To finish the off-road bit we did some junction practice, which at the time was baffling. Observe, indicate, slow, change down gear, slow, lifesaver, and manoeuvre and DON’T forget to turn your indicator off! By this time the weather had cleared and was brightening up, so we went inside to have a talk about on the road riding, it was basically more safety advice and information about traffic and Highway Code. The headset I got was pretty comfortable and the instructor was clear and easy to understand. So I was unleashed upon the general public, much to my dismay more than them. As we left the school I immediately forgot to cancel my indicator and then stalled at the first junction…start as you mean to go on. Oh and weather kindly switched back to rain and hail just in time for our ride out Overall I didn’t do anything to seriously wrong, apart from when at the end I nearly road into a garden wall but I don’t think anyone saw me...It was a tough experience and a steep learning curve for me. However they said I’d done very well for someone with zero experience and I passed I’d agree that if you can get some experience in before you go it will help immensely because there’s so much to take in on your first go. It gave me a good solid grounding but I feel I’ve learnt so much more by having my own bike and getting out there and riding for real, so far I’ve been over 500 miles on it and I’m loving it. Now that I’ve worked out the worst of my bike handling demons on it I think I’ll be ready for the D.A.S and I can’t wait. Main things I learnt though were, cancel your indicator, be observant, practice makes perfect, get your own gear and most importantly don’t rush.

In "tow" being the operative word...

I'll be going as well with SK, I doubt you can miss me though with my L plates and beacon.