exportmanuk

Hi

Is your bike still legal in Italy? If it has been here for a number of years have you kept up to date with whatever the requirements are in your home country. In the UK you may not get stopped but once in mainland Europe it is a different matter and they are more likely to be aware of the vehicle legislation than the average UK bobby. Some countries may confiscate the bike immediately.

Hi

Mirrors Rider make the mistake of trying to see all of the car 2 metres behind them in both mirrors. I have never understood why

Near side mirror to see behind you and off side mirror positioned to see what coming up along side you for an overtake

If riding in traffic position yourself direct in front of the driver following If you are in front he will see you if you position to the side he will be looking at the back of the car in front of you and will tend to reduce the distance from your back wheel. If you are on a multi lane road be aware driver coming up your inside may try to get into your space ( again Car drivers tend to only look immediately in front of them)

Turning Dont cut the corner ( Apex it) you will run wide on the exit. Second gear and trail ( Gentle pressure) your back brake as you tip into the corner release the brake and add a little throttle. Dont coast with the clutch in as the bike leans over the circumference of the tyre reduces so you will slow the slower you go the more your bike want to tip then you fight the bike to keep to your line. Adding a little throttle when you start to tip maintains a steady speed and keeps the bike stable. Also LOOK where you want to go NOT at what you want to miss. Don't look at the road surface immediately in front of your bike or thats where your face will end up.

Look to take some additional training if you can from a reputable outfit

Noise is always subjective. So many things will influence it too. The bike you're riding the cloths you wear. A Helmet that is quiet in winter when wearing bulky winter gear may be noisy in summer with a lighter weight jacket. Change your bike and it may change the level of noise. It all depends on the direction of the wind flow.

Someone has said Ear Plugs. Excellent idea I now use custom made ones almost every ride, wish I had got them many years ago, then I would only be turning my deaf ear to the wife.

Advice mirrors everyone else get a helmet that fits and feels comfortable, If you ride at speed try to get a helmet that the chin guard is close to your face. Some helmets look great but do a blind spot ( shoulder) check at speed and they try to put your head on backwards. But most important is the fit. noise you can deal with, cheap but comfortable and reasonably effective ear plugs can be less than a fiver. You can still hear your comms but they filter out the wind noise.

Hi

Many forces were involved in a major incident exercise yesterday and today

I will be changing mine soon, the rear in particular is a bit squared off. New tyres First 10-15 miles is always super smooth getting used to the feel of a new profile and up to temp also allow the tyres settle on the rims ( the stuff they use to ease the tyre bead over the rim is quite slippy and can allow the tyres to rotate on the rims) then I start to get a feel for them and increase the power braking and lean gradually.

+1 for the above.

Also engage your brain the tires are going to be different, you need to start off gently and feel your bikes responses to the new shoes.

Take care out there even on tires you are familiar with at this time of year the roads can be a little greasy

If you look at the video there are two vehicle already crossing the junction as the dashcam car approaches ( A white van and a blue car ) a further 2 second before the bike cop is even in the junction. From the layout there is no left filter on the cross road so there would not be a filter light to get confused. I would say that at least 10 seconds had passed between the red light for the crossing car and the vehicle entering the junction.

The car enters the junction at speed don't know if the driver was on a suicide mission. they must have seen the traffic crossing.

As for the copper. Yes maybe with his training he should have been more cautious, BUT vehicle had already crossed in the opposing lane, so it is not unreasonable to have expected the crossing traffic to be stopped.

Hope he makes a full recovery.

When we joined the European Free trade area the "Common market" in the 70s unlike today there was an alignment period during which our duty rates for trade with the EU reduced to Zero and many regulations where change to meet the Euro free trade market . I do recall that customs boarders still existed across the whole EU even in to the eighties. No matter what happens many of our products will still be compliant with EU regulations it is just not economical to produce something very different for the UK to the EU. There is now a period during which we negotiate our trade deal with the EU whilst this is happening there will be very little change if any.

Before we joined the European common market we still had holidays in Europe drove our cars and bike across the continent, yes it was a little more bureaucratic, whilst leaving the EU will inevitably bring back some bureaucracy for the average person they will see little difference, Green cards will probably be back and IDPs but the only time they will most probably be checked is crossing into the EU or if you do something wrong.

What ever happens we sill still be taking our bikes across to Europe.

Hi

I would want the heated area to be on the back of the hand and fingers this is the area exposed to the wind. The problem with heated grips is they heat the palm only so your fingers get cold

If I wanted to be safer on the road I would indeed stick to the speed limit. I can't imagine what else could make me safer on the road. Polite hi vis jacket maybe?

I do largely obey the rules of the road, except overtaking on solid middle lines, the odd wheelie etc.

 

Interesting.. so the posted speed limit on a road indicates the safe speed to negotiate that road at

been there .. done that .. got the certificate .. i learnt nothing new..

 

I have been riding since the early 70s an Observer for over 10 years presently a National Observer and Local Observer Assessor, I also support the local police deliver bike safe. I am still learning.

When you think there is nothing more to learn please get an organ donor card i'm sure it will be useful very soon.

Buy some invisible reflective spray and paint your existing kit less than £20 on Amazon

Hi

When riding in traffic I tend to keep two fingers over the front brake lever. This gives me more than sufficient stopping power and reduces the risk of grabbing a hand full of brake.

As you ease off the throttle your fingers naturally curl around the brake lever and you can apply gentle pressure. You need to get used to using the front brake although your back may be effective at lower speeds as your speed increases it will be less so and more likely to lock up potentially causing a loss of control. When slowing the weight is transferred to the front tyre increasing the contact patch/available grip whilst reducing the rear weight/contact patch as a rough figure to stop quickly you would be using the front for 75 to 90% of the braking power. Get used to using it, chances are it will save your life.

clutch adjustment & chain tension are two things to check

Or the wrong type of oil if you used Car engine oil it can cause the plates to stick more noticeable on down shifts and engaging a gear from stationary.

Hi

Myrouteapp was started by Jan and the other developers of TYRE as a replacement. I now use it all the time I still have tyre but the only time I use it is to edit POI files which are easier through TYRE.

Myrouteapp is free when you sign up you get the gold version as a trial but it drops back to the standard one on expiry. They also have a navigation app but I have not tried that.

Hi

Oversuits are good in the winter they add an extra layer of insulation and wind protection but during the summer you can end up feeling a little like a boil in the bag chicken.

I commute most days Kevlar jeans and a textile jacket wear the jeans all day just change my footwear. If its raining then I'll wear a lightweight over suit.

As for putting it on if I'm out an about I put a plastic bag over my boot before pulling the oversuit over the boot swap the bag and do the same on the other foot. it stops the heal snagging in the trouser leg.

Cheap oversuits normally last a few months before the seams leak at the crutch

I use custom ear plugs, can wear them all day and no problem. I have comms to just turn the volume up a little.

Hi

You might find some one here who can help https://er5.bikersoracle.com/

Site has not been updated since June 2012

Hi

I would suspect the regulator rectifier and probably as a result fried electrics. Hopefully not but the description you give with components stopping individually over a short period would led me to believe your circuits where over voltage and have fried.

Hi

Not sure if Poynton Motorcyce club is still in existence they used to meet at Poynton Working mens club

Had to follow one of those things for a few hours a couple of years back really disconcerting. It looks like the rider has their feet down riding along the road.

Hi

Most bikes will shift much easier if the bike is moving

Easter Sunday everywhere is shut

Hi

We frequently get people with difficulty braking on our courses. I usually tell them to find an industrial estate on weekend when it very quiet and practice. Every bike is different it could be you are using muscle memory in stress situations rather than actually feeling what happening.

Apply the front brake progressively ( Squeeze rather than grab) If the back wheel gets light then ease off the rear brake pressure.

Start slow and repeat the process several times increasing the brake pressure until you reach the max practice max a few time to commit it to memory. Once you have this sorted you can move the speed up a little and start again. Yes it is boring but if you are not getting a feel for your bike in normal use its probably the safest way.

But as someone else has said if its happens that frequent that you know its a problem then maybe you need to look more closely at how you ride and anticipate hazards