Phill

I will definitely have a look this weekend at some bikes, i might pop to some dealers. EDIT: i have found this one, it's a ZZR600: https://www.budgetbikesuk.co.uk/used-kawasaki-zzr600-swindon-wiltshire-1677706 Not a bad price, looks alright from the pictures, and the price seems ok.

I did sit on a V-Strom 650 and I've enjoyed the position and i've done my license on a SV650 and i like the engine, especially the torque and the way it sounds! I'm afraid of not getting bored of it!

I'm in a bit of a pickle picking a "big" bike for my needs, i don't know what to choose. My needs are comfort, weather protection, reliability, and to be able to filter properly, because I'll b using the bike for commuting most of the time, with the occasional trip/motorway riding. I hava seen zzr600's, thundercats, cbr600f, cbf600s, gsx600f... the zzr600 seems like a massive machine for filtering... my budget is around £2000 so there's plenty to choose from. Should I run away from high mileage bikes? I mean bikes which have 30-40k miles on the clock. I don't want to buy a wreck. Any suggestions?

I have found that at the actual test site the mod 1 'runway' is longer than the school one, you can build your speed more gradually and more important to have a glance at the speedo to check if you're at the required speed. You need to go over 32-33mph indicated in order to pass, because there's that speedo error in place, as i have found out at my practice sessions on the SV650. More important is to learn to listen to the engine at that speed, memorise it and when you her that tone you know that you're at the correct speed(so you won't have to look). Roll off the throttle completely exactly when you reach the speed-trap.

No more electrical gremlins! finally! It seems to have stopped after the garage fitted my heated grips which were wired to the ignition circuit(and ignition barrel). I reckon there was a loose/imperfect connection in the ignition loom... happy days.

@Slowlycatchymonkey @mikestrivens Thank guys! I've just arrived from my mod 1 test! I have totally nailed it! Arrived at the school's HQ, sorted the paperwork, went for a quick slow speed manoeuvres warm up ride, off we went to the test centre, not too far away from the HQ. Unfortunately i had to use a shitty cbf125 because we were 3 students plus the instructor. Silly little bike, i much prefer my ybr125, feels bigger and more powerful, and a lot louder, the CBF125's engine was loud as a sowing machine, hilarious, you only hear the engine when you open the taps fully lol. After 10 mins of riding to the test centre, we've parked up the bikes and i've waited my turn. The DVSA guy came round and invited me to the machine and with the paperwork. Then i was being told to get ready and to on the test course, shoulder checks, and off i went to the first manoeuvre, manual handling, then slaloms, then figure of 8, slow ride. Then i've met my nemesis, the u-turn, where i have been struggling before. Stopped near the cone, and i said to myself '' keep slipping the clutch and don't look down, look straight ahead over the shoulder''. Didn't put the foot down! hurray! I said to myself '' that's it, it's like i've passed'' The high speed manoeuvres were next, got them right apart from the hazard avoidance where I was off with 1 kph, i could swear that i had 32-33mph on my dash just before the speedtrap bacause i had a glance, got a minor for it though. Went back to the parking bay and the dvsa guy said that i have passed and congratulated me, complimenting my slow speed control of the bike! Hard bit is over now, waiting for my mod 2 test next tuesday! The instructor said to treat it as a nice ride out, just be safe and don't do silly things and you'll pass! He's observed me on the way for my mod 1 test. I'm looking for bikes already, lol.

Yesterday was my second day of training, we did mod 2 stuff, country roads, A roads, residential areas, hill start, parking the bike on the road and setting off... We had a break and the the instructor said that my general roadcraft is very very good, i never missed a shouldercheck/lifesaver, never left an indicator on or lack of, and my forward thinking is good, and sitational awarness is good as well, a couple of cars pulled on me and i had to slow down and use my horn! He said though that my following distance when joining a dual carriageway is to close? 2 seconds rule at 70 it's quite a distance and i didn't know that i have to leave a 2 second distance frond AND back, and when you're overtaking vehicles and going back on the left hand lane. Off we went and practiced joining the dual carriageway between junctions(A34) enjoying the power of the bike, tremendous power i might say, i dont think i have ever been over 30% throttle and it just took off fom 40 to 70!!! i slid a couple of times in the saddle! Another problem was the spiralling roundabouts when you need to change lanes in the roundabout, he said 'do your checks if you cock up, change lanes in the correct lane, if there's a car or something else in the other lane, just carry on on your lane safely and exit the roundabout at a different exit, treat the examiner as a very very bad sat nav. I was very pleased that i'm actually alright with my roadcraft because i was sure that i have picked some bad habits from riding my 125! I have spent the rest of the afternoon doing the mod 1 manoeuvres over and over again, and 2-3 mock tests, all is good! I like to think that i can do it with my eyes closed. Tuesday it's my mod 1 test! I wil have to go arly there and warm up before the test!

First day of training finished! Turned up at the school's headquarters, they've checked my paperwork, all good. Then we went to the bikes, checked the bikes out, answered some questions regarding the difference between a 125 bike and a big one... etc the bikes were a SV650 and a CBF600S, i went for the sv. We did the manual handling bit, then start-stop of the bikes, some slow speed manoeuvres and clutch control. After that, we've commenced the actual training, starting from the beginning, parking the bike up facing forward, then doing the reversing of the bike. from there there was the slaloms and the figure of 8 which i've struggled a bit. The U-turn was a bit of a hassle aswell, kept putting the foot down(because i was going too slow), after a while got the hang of it! Slow speed control was okay. Then we got into doing the controlled stop, emergency stop, and hazard avoidance. I did find out that i kept misjudging the speed so i was either over the speed or under the minimum speed, got the hang of it after a while. Before the end of the session the instructor said that i should have a mock test, i said okay, nailed the manual handling, nailed the slalom, cocked up the figure of 8 by dropping the bike because i've pressed by accident the rear brake too hard and the bike stopped and i had to lay down the bike gracefully . Mind you this was after 8 hours of riding, doing all the things, and i haven't slept well the night before. The instructor said that i'm at 95% with my skills and that im doing very well and considering that it was my first day on a big bike, and he assured me that i'll pass my mod 1 test but i will need some more training next time before we are going out for the mod 2 training and the practice before the actual test and i should be fine. I am quite happy of today's work! Could have been better anyways haha. I'll sleep on it and hopefully the skills i've learned it will ingrain in my brain!

That's what other people have said! I did try some bigger bikes on a private land and they really seem more stable, even if the bike was a sports tourer! Oh yes, i will! responsibly of course! I need to behave on the courses and the test... A friend took me out on a fazer 600 as a pilion and i was amazed when he gave the bike some beans. Not to mention that a colleague had a gsxr 750 and he said to go with him for a short ride, he didn't go over 10k rpm in the powerband and i was like a small kid giggling and grinning after the ride! I hope i will keep my licence clean, touch wood, i've managed to keep my car licence clean for 8 years lol.

Booked my DAS course in January! He lady from the school said that 2 days of training should be enough since I've done around 7000 miles in just under 1 year by commuting on my bike. It's just a thing to get used to the weight of a bigger bike and making sure that I don't have bad habits(those shoulder checks I'm looking at you). My first "lesson" is on 30.12.18, then 5.1.19, mod 1 test 8.1.19, 15.1.19 mod 2 test. Happy days!

I saw a video somewhere on FB a guy being burgled off his bike by a guy with a knife, then the guy turned round to get on the bike, the biker pulled his gun and shot him 3 times in the back, he dropped down(dead i think) and he got his bike back and off he went on his business. And yes, this happened in US.

Since the UK law is too restrictive for the law abiding citizen to carry self-defence weapons, there's nothing much you can do, legally. That's why i have summer gloves with knuckle protectors You can have on your person at hand a u-lock and use it accordingly in the past people tried to burgle me, but with no avail, if they see that you're meaner than them and you actually fight back they will chicken out, even when they have weapons on them, been there aswell, not scared of them(where i grew up it was rough), that even motivates me to make sure that the weapon wielding person won't get up from the ground to hurt me . Intimidation it's a b*tch. my push bike got stolen once, i've heard them running away, it was too late, fortunately for them! i would have locked them against a lamp post.

On a 125? I would rather walk mate. With this weather, being limited to 30mph and doing many miles on roads that will have speed limit great, not having proper wind protection or a bike designed for all weathers, no abs, no traction control nah thanks mate. Honestly sounds unsafe to me. Some 125's can hit 70-80mph...... I agree! my YBR does 70 mph, 75 mph with a tail wind push. My commute consists of riding up and down the A40 in Oxford, mostly 60mph limit, a short strech of 30 an 40mph, and some 70mph limit where i can actually do 70. And i do overtake if traffic is flowing under 55mph, on a 125 you will learn and appreciate speed and distances quite accurately when you decide to overtake, there's not much of 'go' if you cock it up whilst overtaking, because you're more cautious about it. If there's wind, that's another problem.

I think it's easier when the bike it's the main transport to work and back! Picked up the bike at 9000 miles and now it's hitting nearly 16000 miles and it's not even 1 year(in february) since i have it. I need to to my DAS course before the bike will give up on me, it's a 125cc after all, lol.

I have a similar problem with my Frank Thomas gear, in light rain/drizzle they're alright but more than that water gets through round the armpits, and my groin. The troursers: http://www.frank-thomas.co.uk/index.php/collection/textiles/frank-thomas-reflector-pants-black.html Jacket: http://www.frank-thomas.co.uk/index.php/collection/textiles/porto-jacket-black.html The solution is a set of 100% waterproofs which live in backpack, that solved the problem.

[mention]megawatt[/mention] About 7000 miles? I think it needs changing! . The adjusters are only half way through just now, i had to tighten the chain 3 times in 4000 miles. [mention]Speedy23[/mention] Yes, exactly as per manual! In November i will send the bike for the MOT and i'll change the chain and sprockets then.

Hello guys. I have a problem with my chain, it seems that it has a mind of it's own, it should get slacker not tighter over time! Thing is that i've cleaned, lubed, and adjusted the chain slack at the tightest point as per manual. After 150-200 miles i have found the chain being tight as a guitar string, the chain making a grinding noise at low speed(this is how i've figured out that there's something wrong). What can be the cause? All the nuts seem to be alright. I have a torque wrench and the axle nut is tightened at the required spec, and the locknuts from the adjusters are tightened properly. I know the long term damage of a over-tightened chain on the output shaft bearings and the gearbox so i would like to avoid that!

my ybr stutters when i don't give enough throttle when i release the clutch, it shakes a bit under 3000 rpm's if that makes sense. If i give proper throttle +4000 rpm's it's stutter free and the clutch is all good. It depens how fast you engage the clutch as well. Fresh fully synthetic oil will help with the smoothness of the clutch.

if you would have had close calls in the car, would that make you stop driving? even when you walk down the street there's a chance for something to happen, hell, even in your own home... Don't be scared, enjoy life,riding and the thrills! P.S. you can always get life insurance if your family's financial security is what you're thinking about.

there is a TPS in the FI model . Link: http://ybr125owner.blogspot.com/2014/08/yamaha-ybr-125-throttle-position-intake.html

I've been brought up doing DIY and repairing/servicing cars and other stuff in the garage since i was little so it comes as a second nature to get my hands dirty on nearly everything, starting from bicycles to motorbikes and cars. My YBR is dead easy to work on, im doing the servicing by myself, oil, filter, spark plug, in the car park! i wish i had a man cave so i could do more extensive repairs/servicing, that's one reason why i will have to send the bike at the garage, lack of space/tools.

After 6 months of everyday commuting i've decided to throw my gear in the wash, armour out, all zips closed and velcro's fastened, the machine set up on delicates/hand wash. The jacket seemed to lose some of the waterproofness on the arms shoulder and axilla. Hopefully this will fix it, not that it bothers me... it doesn't help commuting on a proper chuck down! I'm using the NixWax tech detergent for waterproof textiles.

mine it's the mechanical version. I will try the easy fix, starting with the cable... the bike has like 12k miles, i think the cable is done, i'll have a look on ebay. There is a sign like that in the way to work, it usually says that i'm doing over 30 when the speedo is at ~35 . Have a look at the cable before you have a look on eBay, if the inner cable is in two pieces It's broken . Fixed it with a new cable. The old one was rounded(squared usually) at the ends, so the cable wasn't able to transfer the rotation to the dial properly.

Yes it has live traffic, re-routing, and speed camera alerts(saved me once or twice), and hazards. It doesn't use much internet anyways. I'm using it in the car mostly. .

I'm using Waze and a phone holder for the bike, when i need some navigation.