BigHeavy1095

I still ride a 125 daily, it just fits my needs at the moment and is cheap as heck to run! Now I have an insurance payout from my most recent smash I can go out and get another Burgman or a Tiger800 again Nothing wrong with a 125 but yeah.... when you can out accelerate a dick in a Porsche from the lights.... you'll really love having a big bike licence

are you running the standard airbox and filter or an open filter? it may be that water is getting into the air filter? that or its getting under the spark plug cap.

that's what Im thinking anyway. Im sure somebody more knowledgable will be along soon.

That is very over the top

I'd change every 1500 miles in your case as you'd still be on the ball at that.

At the moment I take the interval in the manual and take off 10-20% so I'm always ahead of the service schedule. I normally use the 5 litre 5W40 fully synth or 10W40 part synth from Halfords. With the trade card it's £24 for 5 litres.

I've always done it like this with every bike I've had. Mainly because its what granddad used to do with his bonnie and its what he taught me to do

"remember, oil is cheap. Engines aren't, Especially when its an idiot riding the thing"

I know its way over the top but at least the engine is looked after

Im a bit over the top with mine.

The YBR gets an oil change every 500 miles. I do 250 miles per week so it gets done every other week. I don't use expensive oil, Just Asdas 10w40 semi synthetic. I get the 5l bottle and I get 5 oil changes out of each bottle. Works out at £3.30 an oil change.

I don't think her teacher was too impressed when she rocked up on a bike!

 

She looks happy though

Took my first legal pillion this morning

The Burgman is refusing to start at the moment so I've no choice but to use the YBR until its fixed. Took my niece to "breakfast club" at school (since when did having breakfast at school become a thing?!?) I don't think her teacher was too impressed when she rocked up on a bike!

Disconnect battery. ECU, alternator, rectifier.

Basically anything electronic.

Also watch for angle grinder sparks and weld splatter.

Both can damage any surface they land on. Sometimes up to several feet away.

Remove ptrol tanks and move it well away.

Didnt think about removing the tank. Though I suppose it is a good idea

I welded up a top box rack on my CG the other week. Didn't disconnect anything - just made sure I had a good earth right near the weld joints.

If you want to be sure just unplug anything sensitive.

If it was just a simple carbd bike, Id just remove the battery and throw an old fire blanket over the bit of the bike not being welded but because its fuel injected, I don't want to risk screwing up anything complicated or expensive

Im about to start some mods/a mild rebuild on my YBR125 Fuel Injected model.. As part of this mild rebuild Im going to do a little cutting and welding to the frame. Nothing huge, Just a little welding.

Is there anything other than the battery I should remove, to prevent damage to the bike/its electrical system while welding?

I did google this but got mixed results, wondering if anybody on here has experience with welding frames and could give some advice.

I always say

Car = A to B

Bike = A, C, D, B

Cars are just so f**king Boring!

Hence why I refuse to own one.. I get forced to use a work van sometimes when im on site patrols or meeting new customers and thats enough for me. I can see why car drivers are always so angry its bloody miserable driving everywhere

when a child ran out from behind a parked van.

 

I imagine you were quite pleased it wasn't a two way radio at that point

Top job though, last thing you need on an already stressful day is a stupid child and an even stupider parent

Oh yes, I dread to think what the outcome would have been if he were able to hear what I was saying.

Thanks guys.

I've not stopped smiling since the examiner told me Id passed.

I've been out on the Burgman, Only a quick run up to Burton-On-Trent to pick up some keys for work but I took the long way again.

Im going to give the Burgman a few weeks, to get used to it etc but I don't think its the bike for me. It's great riding something that isn't screaming its nuts off at 55-60mph and has enough power to make it feel effortless and it's very comfortable but it just doesn't feel, right.

Well.... I tried my best.

Up nice and early, Got a good breakfast down me and got the Burgman Insured and taxed, feeling a bit over confident. rode over to the training school with my friend following me on my Burgman. Had half an hour sit down and chat refreshing my mind on junctions, lane positioning etc etc.

Then we headed out for our two hour pre-test lesson, The other guy who was also doing his test was riding like a bit of a muppet through our two hour lesson, constantly speeding, not indicating, braking sharply, not doing lifesavers etc so most of the instructors attention was on him for the lesson. I just followed them for most of the lesson but felt fairly confident in my riding.

We got to the test center, The other guy went off for his mod2 first. I used this idle time to watch a couple of roadcraftnottinghams videos on youtube with my instructor. The time passed quickly and the other guy came back, He had failed on repeated speeding, going through a red light and had dropped the bike at an island

It was my turn.

Absolutely bricking it at this point. Met the examiner with a handshake, Went through all of the paperwork stuff etc etc etc and headed out. Traffic wasn't too bad but the weather... well it was raining heavily and the winds were pretty bad. I didn't have my waterproofs on as I didn't think it would actually rain today. but I persevered and carried on, Just trying to keep it a really smooth ride. We pulled up a few times and pulled off. Did a hill start and went on a mixture of roads. I was still feeling good at this point. I was just riding how I would ride while with my instructor.

It was on the way back to the test centre when I thought that I had completely screwed things up. We had come onto a 30mph road from a 40mph road, There were parked cars to my left so I rode out right at the edge of my lane when a child ran out from behind a parked van. There was a car coming the opposite way so I did an emergency stop from 30mph in the rain. The child froze in the middle of the road staring at me and I thought that was it. Id managed to stop the bike five or so inches away from the child. The child's mother ran out and grabbed the child and started shouting and swearing at me, as if it was my fault she let her child run out into the road. The examiner said nothing other than to just ride on, I thought for sure Id failed there and then.

We got back to the test centre, Met with my instructor and waited for the few minutes that felt like a few hours.

Then the three words I never thought I'd hear "Congratulations, You've passed" I won't lie, as a grown man and a door supervisor... I almost cried in joy.

Zero minors. The examiner complimented me on a perfect ride despite the weather conditions and said that I handled the child running out perfectly. One of the best rides he has seen so far this year.

We got back to the training school, I ripped the L plates off of the YBR and waited for my friend to come back so I could ride the Burgman home and he could ride the YBR for me. Needless to say I took the extra long route home, I didn't care about the rain. I just wanted to ride. Im now home, just letting it sink in that Ive gone from a nervous wreck on a bike to holding a full licence.

Mod2 tomorrow.

I've had a back to back lesson today and Im having two hours out before going for test tomorrow. Im feeling fairly confident but im sure Ill be bricking it tomorrow

I've cleaned and polished the Burgman, got insurance ready to be purchased and filled it up with petrol in the hopes I don't screw up and do something silly on test so I can go for a lovely long ride in the afternoon.

Thanks guys.

Just one more step to go before I can get the burgman on the road now

Mod 1 passed this morning. 0 minors.

Nothing Illegal about it at all and whoever told you that it is, is chatting some right waffle.

as long as you are on the bikes that are relevant to the licence you are doing there's nothing wrong or unusual about it.

While on my lessons I've been out with people doing A licence and even some doing A1 when Im doing A2.

I don't know if this is something you do or don't do because I couldn't really tell, but at about 5 mins in you were approaching some lights and they started to go amber, you (i think) pulled the clutch in and started braking causing you to take longer to stop. If I've misread this then disregard whatever I say here but when stopping, you want to pull your clutch in only when you're just about finished moving on a 125. Engine braking is one of the great factors of a bike and you should be taking full advantage when you're trying to stop. Again, if that wasn't correct then disregard this but other than that your riding certainly looks better.

No, I was engine braking. Usually, I don't even need to touch the brakes when stopping for a traffic light etc but I've been having issues where the bike stalls out in 1st if engine braking and you don't pull the clutch in soon enough so that's why it looks that way, I get what I can out of the gears when braking. Just my bike is a pile of crap and could do with a major overhaul

This was recorded at the end of January, Only just got around to uploading it. Ive had a few lessons since that video.

https://youtu.be/JAEwl4ZgBLY

Mod1 is booked for 9th March

Great shout for Blithfield reservoir BigHeavy! That bit of road leading up to it, Wow! Having just passed my test wasn't too confident on some of the tighter bends (just went quite slow) but great fun for my first longer ride. Could spend a few hours just going up and down that road! When the weather is better and I have more time will explore further that way. Cheers!

MT07.jpg

Glad to hear you enjoyed it!

That's actually one of my favourite roads, It's not one you want to go down at speed but at a nice relaxed pace, it's quite enjoyable. There are loads of roads around that area like that one. You can literally spend a whole day just exploring up there. I've done it myself

Hopefully, I'll be able to get out on a proper ride myself soon, Just waiting to get a list of shifts for next month before I can decide when I can and can't go out for rides

Sounds good. Let me know. Cheers!

unfortunately, I won't be riding up there, I'll be taking a work van instead. I've got to do a couple of jobs in that neck of the woods which require tools etc before I need to be back in Walsall for a bike lesson. Maybe another weekend though.

Weather permitting (and if my bike is sorted) I'll probably be going for a ride over to Blithfield reservoir on Saturday (I've got to quickly ride past a property in Rugeley to check to see if the tenants are still living there for my boss) It'll probably be in the afternoon at some point as Im working tomorrow night but your welcome to tag along if you want to. Ill know for sure if Im going by bike or not tomorrow.

Im only a 125 rider so I don't really ride out much either apart from commuting but as said above, plenty of roads north of the A5. Blithfield reservoir is a favourite of mine for a ride out to. Not one that you'll be out on all day, an hour or two at most but still a good little ride if you go up through hednesford onto Rugeley and then up to the reservoir that way. The coach and horses in abbots bromley do some decent grub.

Ironbridge is another good ride out.

Loads of places/roads stored up in my head but depends on the sort of distance you like to do and the speeds you like to ride at really.

A good all day ride - Walsall to Bridgnorth, over to clee hill via baveney wood and Cleobury Mortimer, then up to the long mynd where there's a nice little cafe at the top, back down to Walsall through Albrighton/Cosford.

Are you wanting an exhaust for a YBR125 CUSTOM or are you after a "custom"exhaust for the bog standard YBR125?

If its the latter youll struggle to find anything used, as did i. I went with a Lextek downpipe and a slip on silencerth from ebay.

https://www.lextekproducts.com/DWNPP038

Its out of stock at the moment but check on it every day, it usually comes back in stock once a week. They arent a perfect fit, they do need some spacers under the nuts at the cylinder head but thats the only issue i had with fitting. if your bike is fitted with the emissions bollocks, youll need to block off the recirculation pipe that goes onto the pipe.

This is the only pic I actually have of it on my YBR.

It might fit the YBR custom but Im not too sure on that.

Well done on the pass! Passed Mod 2 a few weeks ago and just got my first big bike. I'm also not the most confident rider and have only been out by myself a couple of times in the last few weekends. Only done about 80 miles but each time out it gets better as I'm sure it will for you. I'm in Streetly, so not far from you. If the weekend weather is dry and you want to ride or any advice from my experience of mod 1 and 2 let me know. Cheers and good luck!

Thanks for the offer, can't ride my own bike at the moment as I had a off a few days ago and the bars are bent, waiting for my new bars to arrive. I usually work weekends but if I get one free I'll let you know.

Honestly I think I've got the mod1 stuff sorted and my instructor said I have too, reckons we've practiced it so much I shouldn't get any minors the avoidance maneuver is the one I get shaky on so hopefully I don't mess up on the day

Cheers guys, getting mod 1 booked on Tuesday. Hopefully the wait isn't too long or he can get me a cancellation slot. Itching to get a bigger bike now

Haven't been able to do much to the bike but this happened...

IMG_20180210_005629_071.jpg

Got into a incident with a taxi driver who had no license my head may have twitched and accidentally headbutted him when he told me that

Its only pushing me to get started. Bars are bent and there's a few scrapes so bars will be changed first and tank filled/painted

 

Entry for the worst photo on the planet competition. Hope you are OK though.

Haha it was taken to prove to my boss that I had a genuine reason for being late to a job blame him for poor quality, it was taken on the shite work phone he provided I'm good just cuts and bruises