wannars125

I used to ride with a 50L one before I got my top box. Didn't affect handling or anything. Only when extremely full did it stop my head from being able to tilt back as far but not a problem

I wear one when commuting into London as there's a higher chance in my opinion of someone hitting me. I don't wear it to be seen any better, just so if it comes down to it, I can say I was doing everything in my power to be seen. However, saying this, I've seen people wearing full trousers and jacket that seem to be bright reflective yellow and it's actually hurt my eyes to look at them!

I bought a go pro for my biking hols last year. I wore it a few times travelling into work (central London) but figured it captured me doing things that I wouldn't want anyone official seeing. Yes they're great for capturing what happens in an accident but also capture everything before including any breaks of speed limits, riding over chevron when getting past traffic etc. (yes, this is a normal part of a London commute and if anyone said different they'd be lying).

I bought a go pro for my biking hols last year. I wore it a few times travelling into work (central London) but figured it captured me doing things that I wouldn't want anyone official seeing. Yes they're great for capturing what happens in an accident but also capture everything before including any breaks of speed limits, riding over chevron when getting past traffic etc. (yes, this is a normal part of a London commute and if anyone said different they'd be lying).

Hi All, Been a bit quiet as of late but am either heading tot he Ace Cafe or going for a ride in Hampshire this evening. Let me know if you want to do either. Unfortunately I'm leaving work at 6:30pm so you'll have to get me by then. If I don't hear from anyone then I'll be going into Hants. Number is in the contacts section. Anand

So the local motorbike shop over tightened my sump plug and I can't get the f**ker off. Looking at getting some irwin bolt grips to get it off (unless someone can suggest something else?). Anyway, seeing as I will have knackered my current one I'm going to have to replace it. Can someone explain if there's any benefit to having a magnetic sump plug? I've done all the previous oil changes myself and never had a problem with it getting stuck. It was only out of laziness I let the bike shop do it...

I picked up a second hand 52l givi monokey box for just under £100. Bit more expensive than the one on the link but at leat you know it's been tested to a good speed.

Is anyone going to the bike show in London this year? I've booked my ticket and will be going with a couple of other guys who have left the forum. If you want to join we'll be going on saturday. At the moment we're unsure on how we're getting there. If the weather is ok then we'll be on our bikes, if not probably driving. Give me a call if you're there or want to ride with us from the Ace Cafe. My number is in the contacts section.

Yeah I'll have a look at that. Seems like it might be the most likely cause as when I rev hard it kicks in again so I'm guessing that it could just be a bit of water cutting the spark. Didn't realise there were drainage holes. Will have to do a bit of nosing around!

I've got a small annoying problem with my Bandit (650cc, 06 plate, oil cooled). If I take it out for an extended period of time in the rain it has, rarely, knocked out one cylinder. It comes back after about 30-60mins of riding or just letting it rest overnight so I can only imagine that water is getting in somewhere but don't know where. The first time it happened, I changed the spark plugs and checked the HT leads and they were fine. It kicked back into life after I started it with the air filter off but I don't think that was the fix. I'm going to be servicing it next weekend. Has anyone got any suggestions what to look for that might be causing this problem?

My experience of a scooter when I was 16 was very bad. I fell off the bloody thing 3 times in 18 months and believe that they are just inherently unstable! Maybe it might have been my youth that made me ride it like an idiot, I don't know... I also believe they just don't have the same road presence as a bike and even though you can get larger engine scooters these days, a lot of drivers don't know that and will still try to take the p*ss. I also like the sound of a motorbike more too

Keep pressing * or 0 on those lines. I usually find that eventually gets me through to a human!

As the title says, CBT = Compulsory Basic Training Training being the main word there. There is no pass or fail, they just get you up to a standard where by you will be safe on the road and can control the bike/scooter in a controlled manner. If you've ridden before, it is still nice to show interest and, as like myself doing the CBT the second time round, I just loved it as it meant back on a bike again! Only advice I'd really give is listen to what is being said and enjoy!

I spent a lot of time looking at HD camera's and decided on the go pro as it came with all the waterproof bits! The sounds quality with the waterproof casing leaves a lot to be desired but the image quality is stunning. I've got fantastic footage from Scotland and the Alps. If you've got the money then I'd say go for it. If you're not worried about the waterproof aspect then the Contour HD camera would be just as good. The fittings by the way are extremely secure and, having tested them off road (ahem) are fine up to an indicated 120mph! I'm sure it would have been fine going faster but I don't really like going that quick on the bike.

I used one of those cans of shoe deoderiser. It helped a bit on my gloves but I think they were too far gone!!!! I've heard of people putting their gloves in the freezer. Whether it works or not is another matter!

Hey Mark! Did you meet up in the end? My bike has been off the road since we got back from Europe. Hopefully it'll be getting fixed in at the end of the month so will be able to come out. Might be a little nippy now but just have to wrap up a little!

A bike that you can ride on a dual carriageway at NSL without having to worry about a head on wind. I had one of these bikes and it was great most of the time but in a strong head on wind it would sometimes struggle to get past 50mph! Anyway, I answered No to this question. I decided to stay aaround the 600's when I passed my DAS as I was a little scared of jumping up from 15bhp. I'm sure most others do the same as you can tell by the amount of posts that you get about first big bikes on here. If there's someone though that thinks they have the skill and ability to get a bigger bike then why not? A GSF1250 produces about 125bhp and a new zx6r produces 107. Not much of a difference there really so why penalise someone that wants the GSF1250 and wants to go touring because they've just passed?

There's no option for I have a bike but use of the other half's car! Well strictly speaking the bike is off the road so I'm using a pedal bike at the mo!

I have the Garmin Zumo 220. Was fantastic going round Europe. Found most places quite easily and the Mapsource program that you get to upload routes is really good. Has lots of good information on the device itself although it does record your top speed. Not good I guess if you get pulled over!!! The screen was clear enough most of the time and the instructions are good although I turned it off as it kept cutting out the intercom! I also think it's a bit cheaper than the 660 if you haven't bought it already.

I only ride for fun now really so most of the time I'm above 35mph so it doesn't really seem worth it to me. Maybe if I was still commuting then it would be worth it. I'm hoping that on my travels I won't have too much slow riding! I also feel the cold quite a lot so it would have to be over 25C here for me to wear it which doesn't seem to happen that much. I think the tank bag will be of more use to me.

One of my housemates has a mesh jacket (I hadn't noticed before) so I gave it a go the other day when it was scorchio outside! Must say that I found it good at low speed but once I was up to about 35mph that amount of air it let in was comparable to my normal textile jacket without the lining and all the air vents open... Think I'll be investing in a tank bag with my vouchers instead!

Cheers Akey, No.2 makes sense! I'll nip round to the father in laws as I don't have a voltmeter!

Sounds like the kind of thing I'd need. I'm just a little worried about how much I'll overheat in the south of Europe in a few weeks time!

I've got a 12V adaptor thingy for the bike to be able to charge up different bits and bobs whilst travelling. I've also got a separate charger cable for the sat nav too. Both have connectors on them to plug directly onto the battery with their own fuses. Once unplugged from the actual devices they are charging the battery is not in use at all. Question is, can I have the two chargers running off the battery whilst the bike is in use without affecting the battery? As I say, they are both fused individually and I'm sure don't draw too much power.

Are they safe? I'm considering getting one as I've got a £50 voucher for the local bike shop and with the impending trip round Europe, I figured it might be a worthy investment. Also, if they get wet, do they take very long to dry out?