Rodders

A couple of other things I forgot to say: 1. I made a conscious effort to look where I wanted to go. We've all heard that advice about not looking at the opposite kerb when you emerge to the right etc. I nearly got caught out during my CBT, so yesterday I tried looking up the road I was turning into and I found it helped way more than I ever imagined. I ride push bike a lot and have plenty of experience on how to lean the bike etc which probably helps a little, so it's just a case of looking at the right place and thinking about the controls. 2. I've bought all the gear I need for riding over the last couple of months - decent jacket, helmet, jeans, boots, gloves. Yesterday I got to test it out and I was really chuffed. The jacket was warm enough without the lining, and the helmet was comfy at all times. My leather gloves let my hands get a bit cool in the morning, probably made worse by clammy hands.

Interested in how much you paid for your hourly lessons. I did my CBT a couple of months ago, and about to start DAS training this weekend with the same school but they only offer training in "day" increments. There are a couple of other schools locally that I could try, because I think hourly lessons might work well for me. But I'll see how they assess my riding on Sunday and what they advise.

Well, I got about 2.5 hours riding in before having to take the bike back. Would have liked more, but it was great fun and useful. I started by riding back to my house through fairly quiet and slow roads. A little bit wobbly in places when moving off, and there was a definite problem when needing to almost stop then get going again - in the car I call this a Rolling 1st and I think it will work the same on a bike but I need to get used to the throttle and biting point, as well as the balance and whether to put a foot down or not. Also, moving off just takes a bit longer than I'd like so when I got stopped at some traffic lights, I felt a bit vulnerable for a few seconds when they went green and I couldn't get moving. I then headed out into the countryside where it was almost empty of traffic, so I could practise moving off, hill starts, and emergency stops. I'm not as scared of the front brake throwing me over the bars now, and I got a feel for the rear brake for hill starts....and then decided I quite like using it for junctions and lights etc. much like the handbrake in a car - a kind of "launch switch". Then I did about 1 hour of normal town riding, deliberately looking for situations where I couldn't predict the stops and starts - parked cars, blind corners, pedestrians etc. By this point I was getting fairly smooth with everything, though I do find I miss the gear lever frequently and also flick it into neutral rather than 2nd occasionally. Perhaps that's down to new boots, and partly down to the Lexmoto YZF not being the most ergonomic of designs (I liked it though). I felt like I was really conscious of what I was doing, and what other road users were doing. I used to be a driving instructor so it's quite natural for me to be alert, but riding raised that because I felt more vulnerable. I spotted cars that hadn't seen me, and started to prepare to avoid a collision, and that's obviously very healthy. I do think my control skill need a lot of work so that I can deal with stuff more instinctively though. Next week I'm doing a day on a 600cc, with an instructor for guidance, so I'm looking forward to that.

I bought my first helmet recently and took some advice from the chap at J&S. I ended up with an HJC IS-17, and one of the key features is that the vents direct air around your head but avoiding your ears. I was out riding for the first time today for a few hours and didn't wear ear plugs, on a Lexmoto 125. I didn't think it sounded noisy at all, and I was concerned because I'd read that most people recommend ear plugs. So, that's my recommendation. The IS-17 retails at around £150 and comes in gloss white with included pinlock. I got mine in a sale for £50 though it wasn't my preferred colour, and didn't have the pinlock.

Yo I did my CBT in July, haven't ridden since as I've been intending to do DAS this year. I've booked my first training session for next weekend. The training school have 125s for hire, so in prep' for next weekend I have booked one out for the day tomorrow. I did OK on CBT, had most difficulty with slow control - moving away co-ordination of clutch and throttle, and the emergency stop gave me the jitters because I thought I was gonna lose the front end. I wondered what things would be best for me to practise the most, aside from the two above. And any drills you can recommend (not the Makita 18v type ) For context I've been driving for 21 years and was a driving instructor for 5 of those, and I ride push pike on the road in London every day, so I'm fairly confident of my road sense. It's more about getting used to the controls of the bike.

Cheers [mention]Bender[/mention] for taking time to reply. Problem with access to the garden from the drive, is that we usually have 2 cars blocking the fence, and I'm not gonna mess with the brick wall. I'll build something. It'll be great. And you'll all want one for yourselves. Maybe.

Sure would be, but I need something more aesthetically pleasing for the neighbours. Here's a photo of the side of my house (on the left). The grass strip and flower bed has been replaced with gravel along the entire length. Our garage and driveway is at the rear, you can see our garage roof slightly obscured by the satellite dish! http://therodriguezfamily.co.uk/side_of_house.png The strip doesn't look very wide, but I can park my VW Transporter fully on it with the wing mirror touching the wall. So, fitting a motorbike shed will be fine. A wooden lean-to type structure towards the rear end near our driveway is probably the most sensible idea for position and appearances. For example: http://www.buyshedsdirect.co.uk/images/800/800/150623094840/productimages/bsd/garden-storage/double-bin-store-2.jpg

This is what I've got in mind for my shed, so I can get the bike in without needing the roof to be high enough for me to walk in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8PPn6Dot_I

I'm following this with interest. I don't own a bike yet but will do soon. I don't have a place to park one that is out of sight so an planning to build a wooden shed along the side of my house. I'll be interested to see what you go for, and if it is a shed how it works for getting the bike in and out - I have a slightly restricted space to work with.

Anybody going to this? http://www.classicbikelive.co.uk/ It's at the East of England Showground (or Peterborough Arena). Looks like quite a good set up, and I'm only 5 minutes away so might drop in. But it's my son's 18th that weekend so won't buy tickets in advance just in case.

The Dolly looks very good - stable, strong, cheap. I could create tracks to guide it in and out. Only issue would be that the shed will be opening into gravel so that's why I was looking at a front wheel only system. The screw based anchors are also tempting. I'm worried that I can't drive one into my heavy clay soil though.

I'm looking at linear bearings now. I don't mind spending a bit of money to get a good solution. I have very little in the way of options, other than maybe to rent a garage miles away. And I like a DIY project.

I've had quotes already for keeping it "on private property" and it isn't too bad.

Fair point. I might be able to find a proper sliding platform that wouldn't topple. Or, just put a set of wheels on the top edges too, which run on an inverted track so the skateboard is secured in position.

I was indeed thinking of a set of skateboard trucks, running on a guided rail so there's less chance of something going wrong.

So, having passed my theory test today I'm thinking harder about this. My current plan is to build a fairly simple wooden shed, using decking planks so it looks nice. One long side will be against a garden wall, the other will face out onto my gravel driveway. Access will be from one of the ends. To make getting the bike in and out easy, I'm thinking of creating a sliding/rolling platform for the front wheel, with a chock attached. I'd roll the bike forwards onto that at the door of the shed, then push it into the shed from the rear. For security I'd put a disk lock on the front wheel before sliding it into the shed, and use a ground anchor near the door with a heavy duty chain to secure the frame and rear wheel. I'm looking at ways of building the shed structure to be relatively secure too, and I'd try to make it as watertight as possible with some ventilation built in.

Do you have any specific recommendations on the Goretex lined trousers? I guess being GTX they will be pricey.

I'm accumulating kit even though I haven't got a licence yet - just spreading the costs, and will wear it when training. I've got a jacket and boots, now looking at options for jeans. Should I get some WP textile jeans, or go for my preferred denim jeans + waterproof overtrousers for those occasions when it rains? My aim is to get a retro styled bike and should wear clothes to compliment that. So far I've got: Furygan Serpico Jacket TCX X-Blend Boots I don't mind spending £120 on denim jeans, but only if reasonable WP overtrousers can be got for small change. I've seen some reasonably styled textile jeans that are also waterproof for under £100, and wondering if that might be a smarter option.

Is it not just people dressing like HA? I'm not a biker yet, but that sort of thing puts me right off. And I'm quite close to that event so it'd be nice to have that on my calendar in future.

I've just found a Vango Tour which is similar to the Stelvio. Not seen one in the flesh so be interesting to see what it's like when it turns up! The Vango Tour does look decent but it's mighty heavy! I'd rather save weight and have the bike outside, perhaps with a cover on.

[mention]Joeman[/mention] Are those bags waterproof?

This looks great in terms of packed size, and space when pitched: https://www.decathlon.co.uk/quickhiker-ultralight-3-hiking-tent-3-man-grey-id_8245651.html

I have an old Vango Banshee 2 which is a small and light tent, though doesn't have much room for gear once a single person is in there. The 3 man option might be better. I've been impressed and tempted by the OEX tents at Go Outdoors, but can't vouch for their quality. £50 isn't much of a budget, so you're going to compromise on quality anyway. I'd say go to Go Outdoors and have a look at the multitude of options and prices. Another idea would be to try Decathlon, they have some great kit and great prices.

Frank Thomas is their own house brand. As a novice to motorbikes I was glad of the enthusiasm and help from staff. Maybe they were talking rubbish, but it made sense so my bullshit filter was happy to let it through.

I think I'm going to go for these gloves: https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/226617 They're a good price, have decent features, and look retro enough. What do you think?