Rodders

Hello and welcome. I like that style of bike too. How about this - Herald Classic 400? https://www.heraldmotorcompany.com/our-bikes/classic-400/ Or, Royal Enfield Classic 500 https://www.royalenfield.com/in/en/home/motorcycles/classic-models/ Or, Royal Enfield Bullet 500 https://www.royalenfield.com/in/en/home/motorcycles/bullet-models/ Or, Mash Motorcycles have a few retro 400cc bikes that look smart. http://www.mashmotorcycles.co.uk/models

I wear jeans for all the above mentioned reasons including that they look cool. If any of you get cold in them in cooler days then try wearing a pair of ski thermal leggings underneath. The biggest problem is rain so I have some surplus police Goretex over trousers.

It didn't fit my head

[mention]griptwister[/mention] mate, you typed an awful lot there about open Face helmets but you'll notice if you read my initial post and my replies that I have only suggested full Face helmets, and currently use a full Face helmet too. You'll also note that I don't want to compromise comfort or safety just for the look. That said, I would like to find something that does its job well and looks better than my current helmet. I agree that trying a helmet on is the only way to be sure if it's a good choice. I went to the MCN Ally Pally show and looked at hundreds of helmets but the ones I liked didn't fit. J&S and my local retailers might not have anything for me either. Internet shopping is a decent compromise. The law allows us to return items that don't fit, or even just because we don't like them. So it isn't as foolish as you make out. If I need a helmet quickly, then it wouldn't be the right way to go about it. But as I am in no rush I can afford to wait for deliveries and send a few back until I find the one.

I will at some point. I've been a couple of times but wasn't looking for retro helmets specifically, so perhaps they will have something ideal.

The Viper F656 could be an option: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Viper-F656-Vintage-Motorcycle-Fibreglass/dp/B07BRSMJHP

Now that I ride a cool bike - Bonneville T120 - I need a tasty looking helmet to complete the look. I've currently got an HJC IS-17 which is a superb helmet and I only paid £50 in a sale, but it doesn't look cool. I like the Bell Bullitt but I tried some on at the weekend and they just didn't fit right. And.....they're £350 which is a bit rich for my pocket. I also liked the AGV X3000 but that was the exact same problems - fit and price. The Biltwell Gringo S is cheap and looks OK, but I think the viewport is too small and I've heard the quality is lacking. I do want a safe head at the end of the day, so will pay more to get the right thing. What brands and models should I look for? I'll gladly travel, or buy online to try and return it if I have to.

I bought a set of cheap bluetooth intercoms from eBay. £58 I think for a pair. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2X-Excelvan-Motorcycle-Helmet-Headset-Motorbike-Intercom-6-Riders-BT-1200m-NEW/192642066810?epid=10023239813&hash=item2cda5ca97a:g:cdQAAOSwfN5a8AR8 They work fine, not quite loud enough when you're at high speeds but that will vary depending on your hearing, how you position the speakers inside your helmet, and the wind noise you get around your helmet. Battery lasts for over 2 hours, we haven't really measured that. They charge up pretty quick. You just clamp the bracket onto your helmet, and then the unit clips on and off easily. Inside your helmet you stick the speakers behind the lining using sticky pads with a hook and loop side which lets you reposition the speakers. The microphone is wired into this lot and has a wire arm which lets you position it wherever you like.

You can see the whole of the preceding and subsequent events in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOq89OsIhTg Two similar incidents where Manzi went for the undertake and got close to Fenati. I don't really follow racing but it looked like fair play to me. When Manzi went off, Fenati momentarily stops racing so he can gloat about his off. I think that's very unsporting and should also be taken into account.

£40 for the pair. I would meet on the Friday night as I'm camping at Woodlands, or he could meet on the Saturday morning.

You're also supposed to have CE approved and labelled gloves. I believe you can buy the labels on ebay and stitch them in yourself, which makes a mockery of the whole thing. Again, we didn't encounter any police on our trip, certainly not ones that seemed bothered enough to inspect our kit or bikes. I guess if you ride sensibly then you're not going to encourage an inspection.

what did you do about them once you got back... thats the biggest issue I had with the stickers. once they're on. thats it, you're stuck with them for the life of the helmet. so.. we didn't bother last year.. and to be honest, despite looking for them, i didn't see anyone wearing them where we went. different in the cities mind and if I was riding after dark, when not having them is most obvious. The thing most to be aware of now.. is that fines can follow you back to the UK. get caught by a roadside speed cam and expect a demand through your letter box a few weeks later. Fortunately my helmet has large areas of white so I could hide the stickers amongst the pattern fairly well. I saw some black stickers that still reflect, and think there was other colours too. So, it's possible to make a reasonable effort of it. That said, I don't think the police really care that much so if you're really precious about your helmet then I wouldn't bother. I got flashed by a speed camera near Caen. I had lost a bit of ground on my mates ahead so decided to do a short blast in an overtaking lane. Probably only 10mph over for a few seconds. Never got anything in the post, but it was a front facing camera so perhaps no record of my registration plate.

??????????? You'll need to explain your question or confusion! I may have worded that sentence badly. What I mean is, in the UK we ride on the left meaning your right hand is the most suited to giving a hand signal to oncoming riders. But with that being your throttle hand it's not usually convenient. In France, and other countries where they ride on the right, the left hand is the most suited to giving a hand signal. Since that's your clutch hand, it's far more convenient to do. And I think it's a much clearer way of showing respect to other riders.

I went over for the Le Mans Motos 24 in April this year (2018 for those reading this reply in future). With it being a big motorcycling event there is a heavy police presence, especially at ports and nearer to the circuit. However, other than being followed by a Gendarme car from the edge of Ouistreham to the port itself, we didn't get much attention. As prep, we took the following precautions: Reflective stickers on front, rear and sides of our helmets. You can buy special packs that have the right sizes for these. GB stickers on our number plates. Hi-vis waistcoat needs to be worn if you dismount at the side of a main road, so needs to be stowed somewhere accessible. I tucked mine under the cargo net which was holding my bag on the rear. We chose not to worry about deflecting our headlamps. It's also worth noting that the friendly nod we do in the UK is replaced by a left hand Peace sign over there, I guess because they ride on the right so can take their clutch hand off. Enjoy.

This advice is dangerous for people who live in new-build homes. Even the spiders in my garage don't trust the load-bearing capacity of my garage beams for their webs!