manxie49

Have a good one mate

Looking at this bike I’d sooner walk!

What would have made it perfect would have been if the copper had hit him with the car door as he ran past....

Looks good, hope it all works out for you

Rukka trousers, I've had them 6yrs, used every year through winter weather. Washed each spring as per manufacturers guidelines and treated with Nikwax. Still fully waterproof and I'm hoping I get at least another 6yrs use out of them. The trousers have outlasted one or two of my bikes, they're not cheap but in this case, and if you do ride in winter weather, then I feel that they're worth the money. I have Rukka jacket as well but only had that 2 or 3yrs.

Look OK on an enduro or off roader

I'll meet ya in the Creg .... You can get the 1st round in

Never ridden one and don't know a great deal about them but one of my neighbours has an MT125, he rides it in all weathers and never has any problems with it. It looks like a dog because he never seems to even to clean it, sits outside his house all year round ..... So as far as reliability goes it would seem a good choice, I have an MT10 and although the biggest of the MT series they are pretty good bikes. The CB125 seems to be a popular choice with rider training schools. Sorry can't give you anymore advice, I'm sure there'll be someone on here who can help further, I personally think that you're doing the right thing in using a smaller machine to build confidence "and skill" on, that's exactly what I did. good luck with your training

Good video, It took me ages "and a few drops" to properly master the skill, once it clicked I realised that all I needed was just that added bit of confidence. I did a course a few years ago purely dedicated to slow riding and manoeuvring, it was a former Police motorcycle instructor that ran it. Courses like that are worth their weight in gold, i2i motorcycle academy does them as well, https://www.i2imca.com they're supposed to be over here in July and I was going to book a days training with them. Hanging fire at the moment though with lockdowns. I'm a great believer in maintaining my rider skills by doing the odd course here and there, both on track and road .... Helps keep me sharp.

I have a CRF250L and its a really good all rounder, I tend to use it as a winter hack and also for greenlaning. The 250R is more of a hardened enduro oriented version, great bike, very reliable, good solid machine. I have had a go on a 2 stroke enduro bike and they're not for me, much prefer the 4 stroke machines. You can road legalise the 250R, but why would you. I've done a few bits to the 250L to make it more capable off road and think that its a damn good machine. I think there needs to be some competition for the orange brigade (KTM) and this bike, potentially could do that for lovers of four stroke enduros, it doesn't look like there's been any upgrades to last years model though so I personally think the market, even for those who favour 4 strokes, will still see the EXC KTM's being the favoured model.

A whole different beast to the RRW that I had a few years ago .... I actually prefer the look of the older blades

I've heard of that but never used "or seen" it. Is that the wax type lubricant that you heat up first? Do you not end up with loads of winter crap and grit sticking to the chain?

I'm the same as Tiggie, would still clean and lube it .... call me old fashioned but I've never trusted anything that says "maintenance free"

If you look at the weight of the super Tenere as an example, 265kg! You'd be lucky if you could lift it after one drop. I can do every thing a big adv can do on my old CRF250, and IMHO, off road at least, I think its a lot more fun, Rocks, mud, gravel, snow, it copes with everything. I do think the GS is a good bike, great for doing big miles on, I did test ride one, very comfortable, capable machine, definitely not for everyday use though, not for me anyway.

Fair play to him for actually taking his adv bike off road in the first place, most people who own these bikes wouldn't even consider it .... Looked like damned hard work, that's why when I off road I wouldn't use anything bigger than a 250cc, easier to manoeuvre and more importantly, lighter to pick up when I inevitably drop it.

I think some riders are getting wider ..... A few enduro riders passed me while out walking a few months ago on one of the green lanes, the guy at the back was riding a 250 KTM, although, at the time, my comment was, as he went passed us, that he wasn't riding it, he was wearing it like a G String!

A fitting punishment me thinks .....

Been filtering ever since I could ride a bike, especially when I lived in Leicester, if I hadn't have filtered it would have taken me forever to get home. I'm a lot more careful when I do it now though, seen one or two people filtering in the past at some crazy speeds. Whilst filtering may be one of those things that some people frown upon, there was a driver here prosecuted a few years ago for driving with undue care and attention, he decided to change lanes and hit a scooter that was filtering, so, the law was on the side of the scooter rider.

Most new ambulances have a bulkhead between the cab and the rear of the vehicle so the driver has to get out and enter the back though the side or rear doors. Can’t comment on his vehicle manoeuvres though, ambulance vehicles do on occasion follow odd lines in the road to make things smoother for the attendant and passenger, especially when on blues, they do sometimes stop at an angle, called a fend off position, makes the vehicle easier to see, usually done though to protect a road accident scene, casualty in the road or crew working in the carriageway. Crap vehicles to drive, basically a 4.8 tonne square box on a standard van chassis.

Legendary bike but I wouldn't want one ......

I believe his record still stands as well? .... Considering the age of the bike he was riding it really is amazing, the bloke was a true inspiration

Doing big miles on a small bike is doable .... Look at this guy. Would I want to do it, definitely not! I went to Switzerland a few years ago on a blade, 900cc and it virtually crippled my back, good fun but wouldn't do it again. Different bikes for different purposes that's why I'm now looking for a bike that is fit for two up, touring as well as day to day knock about. In the winter I have a 250cc dual purpose bike that I use most of the time, road and off road, plenty of power and does what I need it to do .... As for 125's, I've had some good fun on smaller bikes over the years, cheap to run, nimble, great for the commute and easy to maintain.

Similar to yourself, test rode a selection of bikes a while ago, wanting to change. Hoping, to re-ignite our cancelled trip to Switzerland later in the year, have to see how things pan out. I’d just be happy with a week touring Ireland or Scotland at the moment.