Lateralus

Newbies without bikes allowed? If so, count me in!

I can already feel the beginnings of an itch for a bike tour, and I don't even own a motorbike yet!

A mate bought an Asgard shed to keep his pedal bikes in, and I know he's really pleased with it. Afraid I can't help more than that though!

Not been to Sao Paulo, but if you have the time for an overnight trip, I can highly recommend Ilha Grande, just up the coast towards Rio. Had an excellent couple of nights there a few years ago.

It's encouraging reading for other learners too, like me! Have had a variety of reactions from friends and family too, including both laughing and bemusement (which I wasn't expecting) along with the concern about safety (which I was expecting).

Not sure to what extent the app can claim credit, but I passed! 50/50 for multiple choice, and 70/75 for the hazard perception. 12 years' driving experience probably helps too... Main observation is that the hazard videos are much clearer in the test than anything I've seen elsewhere, on a computer or my mobile, but it was definitely the bit I was most apprehensive about beforehand.

Think I'm pretty set on the Paragon V stuff now. As I want to be nice and visible for commuting I'm thinking of the light coloured set, but am a little concerned that I'll look well out of place dressed like this when not riding a R1200GS the length of Africa and standing up at every opportunity! Impressed that it has a 2 year guarantee on being waterproof though (did you check that out raesewell?), and the Moto Central store at Hinckley has a decent discount on them at the moment.

Thats just the sort of thing Im after, ill get the full version. Thanks mate Also good luck with your theory No worries - there are limited ways I can give back to the forum at the moment, rather than just milk you all for information, so am happy to help where I can! I found the coach mode useful for mixing up the questions, rather than slog through everything on a single topic in one go, and you can keep going for as long it as little as you like. Few more run-throughs of the hazard perception tests and hopefully I'm there! CBT booked for Sat too, which I'm looking forwards to!

I've downloaded the UK Motorcycle Theory Test app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.deepriverdev.moto" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Works really well for me, although the proof will be when I do my theory test on Thursday! Has the Highway Code on it (which is what you need to learn) and loads of questions. There's a free version to see if you like it, but I've paid the 2 quid for the full one. There's another app to go with it which has lots of hazard perception test videos on it too, Hazard Perception Pro: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.deepriver.video" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Took me a while to get to grips with them, but assuming they're as per the actual test then they've definitely helped. Claims that a number of the clips are official practice ones too. My issue was that I was spotting the hazards, but not clicking at the right time, so was not getting scored for them correctly. Very frustrating to start with, but found that a few swift (but not too rapid) clicks when first seeing the hazard made my marks jump up. Been driving for 12 years so know what I'm doing, but the test drove me nuts to start with! I am using it on a Note 4 though, which is a big phone, so unless you have a tablet or large phone I could imagine the videos being a bit small to see properly. Will let you know how I do on Thursday, but from the few options I tried this was the first one I felt did the trick for me, and I liked having it in my phone for whenever I had a few spare minutes.

How long does it normally take to clean the chain and sprockets? The lazy part of me is interested in getting a shaft- or belt-driven bike for more reliability through the winter commute, but I don't want to curtail my options unnecessarily.

Congrats on the pass! I have my theory booked for 3rd Nov, and am hoping to get Mod 1 and Mod 2 done before Christmas with some intensive training, so that I can join the club! Was considering going to Motorcycle Live myself - do you tend to find good deals there on clothing and helmets etc, or is it more an opportunity to look at shiny new things?

Appreciate it's somewhat subjective, but what's the bare minimum maintenance someone should be able to do on their bike? I'm not really mechanically minded, but other than checking tyre pressures I currently wouldn't know where to start!

Excellently put!

I've just downloaded this too, but only the free version so far. Was that 72 videos you got then? Sounds useful. Test is booked for Nov 3rd and I'll start preparing in earnest next week. I've been driving for a good few years, so hopefully much of it will be familar, but I know I'll need to read up on the highway code. How much has car driving experience helped others with learning to ride?

Thanks, that's really helpful. Do the Furygan trousers zip into the Paragon jacket? Do/could you wear them over normal trousers?

Good points. Probably need to just get winter-biased stuff to start then, and accept the inevitable additions when the sun returns! The shop where I tried on the Paragon stuff had a bike-shaped frame thing to sit on when trying on clothes, but as you say it'll still very between bikes.

Apparently if I want to ride a motorbike, I need to go clothes shopping too. I want to try and get just one jacket/trouser set to use all year round (to start with - I've seen all the comments about accumulating more biking clothes than you know how to store, but need to minimise initial outlay!), and thought that a textile set with waterproof outers would be preferable to relying on a separate waterproof layer inside, as some jackets seem to do. While I want to be dry too, having a sodden outer jacket doesn't seem ideal! Goretex is going to be well beyond my budget, which is probably around £350 for the two. I saw the RST Paragon V set today which looked quite good for what I think I want, and came in at £360. Seen a few posts on here about the Paragon IVs, which seem well thought of, but anyone with experience with the Vs? Are they likely to be properly waterproof? The jacket seemed to fit fine as just a shell over a t-shirt, or with the liner and over a jumper too, so plenty of options with the one size for the different seasons. Hopefully it'll fit well over a work shirt too. The trousers fit well on their own (with and without liner), but I'm also interested in looking to get perhaps trousers I can wear over normal trousers, so that I can just take off the outer layers rather than have to get changed when arriving at work etc. The issue here is that the next size up just didn't fit right over the jeans I had on today, and were really baggy around the knees with the pads not in the right place. I haven't tried on many trousers yet to be fair, but do many commuters wear work trousers under their biking ones? Should I keep trying to find a pair that do this, or just accept a need to get changed at my destination? Sorry if I'm asking lots of stupid questions, but I have fairly specific criteria I'm hoping to meet and there seem to be so many options that I'm not quite sure where to start!