learningtofly

I just bought one of these, with the intention of stickingit under the seat and popping it on if I suddenly find myself feeling a little too invisible at night. No lights but it seems pretty effective.

That looks fantastic - can’t wait to see the end result.

At least I've found another thread to moan on. Just saying...

Miserable buggers

Do you want armour? Some leathers come with it, others do not. If you just want a good quality hide garment that will give years of service at a reasonable price, have a look at "Goldtop" gear. Very traditional British type clothing. Lewis Leathers is still going, but their prices are beyond silly. Some of the American leather clothing (Schott, etc.) is also surprisingly good value for money. Steer clear of the cheaper stuff, as it is not made from the best quality leather. Whatever you do, make sure it's made out of hide. Blimey... Lewis leathers! We used to get our gear there when we were kids.

Me too

Okay, this'll cheer you up. Note: YOU HAVE TO WATCH IT UNTIL THE VERY END. http://youtu.be/3jxQV3Umhr4

What an awful experience - sorry, mate. That said, your TL;DR literally made me laugh out loud.

Haha... suits my 1-pack perfectly Seriously, though (!), in terms of fit I have a 40” chest, 33” waist and weigh 11st; there’s easily room for layering even with the thermal lining installed, without it being too large with just a t-shirt on. True to size, I’d say, as a 40/medium.

Only one way to find out

I bought one of these lovely jackets here very recently, then bought another from my training school shop, and then bought a leather Revit. The second jacket has been given to my son and I'm keeping the Revit; however, I don't need two relatively heavy bike jackets so I'm going to move the Hardy on. It's been worn about half a dozen times so is as new - hence the stock photo below. Features: Micro mesh breathable wax cotton and polyester construction Removable quilted thermal liner CE armour at elbows and shoulders Pocket for optional back protector (Note that it has additional back protection too now) Two front exterior chest pockets and two zipped hand pockets Dual ventilation for increased airflow Reflective components for increased visibility Popper secured cuffs and collar closure system Removable Velcro badge patch I also bought a level 1 back protector for it, and that will be included in the sale. It took the total cost up to about £165, allowing for the sale discount at Sportsbikeshop (the cheapest anywhere). Given that it's nearly new, I think that £125 delivered (UK only) would be a very fair price. For anyone looking for a classic style bike jacket with armour for the back, shoulders and elbows, this should be spot on.

[mention]griptwister[/mention] I do think a lot of points you make above are absolutely spot on. That said, and as on older biker who's more interested in old-style cruising than any kind of racing, I'd just like to make a couple of points... Firstly, whether we admit it or not, biking is in part a lifestyle choice. Once we accept that, then it's inevitable that we're going to be swayed - even subconsciously - by the image we wish to portray, and by the way we see ourselves. I wouldn't dream of wearing full racing leathers on my Street Twin, in the same way that I wouldn't expect anyone on a fully-faired superbike to be wearing an Oxford Hardy (or some other retro-styled) jacket. However, within that context sensible and informed decisions can still be made. Helmets are a good example of this. I have two - an AGV open face that I use for poodling around on short or slow-speed journeys, and an Arai full face for longer or faster trips. When it's appropiate to do so I always opt for the AGV - not just because it fits my bike and riding style, but because visibility in it is far better and that in itself is a safety aid. I know the risk profile of each helmet, and my decisions are informed (and to my mind, sensible). By the way, the issue about helmet fitting is well-made. I tried on about a dozen helmets before choosing mine. I found that Shoei and Davida - my preferred choices for full and open face respectively - weren't comfortable at all, and had I bought them online I'd have been well and truly stuffed.

I bought my first bike about 35 years ago – the moment my parents dropped me off in Norwich, where I was going to be working for a few months. I’d never ridden before but bought a CG125; the dealer gave me a quick rundown in their car park, asked if I was good to go, and I managed to flip the bike upside down as I pulled away. He shook his head, straightened a couple of pegs in the workshop and wished me luck. For that whole winter, I used to ride down the A11 to north London every weekend. It was full of roundabouts and usually icy, and it wasn’t at all unusual for me to come off once or twice on the way down (or up again). Mum used to cry when she opened the door to me (I usually had blood on my knees or somewhere), but those experiences did mean that I learnt the hard way and – luckily – I escaped any kind of major injury. This time around, the first day of practice on the DAS bike was very embarrassing indeed. We were in the car park we used for Mod 1 practice, and my instructor told me to park up and take off my helmet for a quick break. For some reason I elected to U-turn towards an adjacent picket fence and quickly realised that I didn’t have enough room. Instead of stopping and backing the bike up to get some extra leeway, I decided that I had to make the turn, got myself on full lock doing almost no miles per hour and down I went. About 20 CBT trainees were staring at me, and I spent that whole night wide awake thinking about what a twat I was.

Well, for me at least that's decision made. It'll be butting against the fence on the patio in my back garden, so I may not even need to anchor it.

This one looks decent, and seems a bit "neater" than others when assembled. The L size is confirmed as suitable for a Bonnie on Amazon, and from what I can see would be fine for an MT too.

I found exactly the same thing with regard to the Bullitt - shame, because it's cooler than a cool thing. I was looking for something retro to go with a Bonnie too, and in the end made a decision based on my own assessment of risk. I got an AGV X70 (open face) for poodling about, and a good modern full face (Arai Axces 3) for longer/faster rides. I'm aware that open face divides opinion, but we all have to make our own decisions, and as long as those decisions are informed then that's fine.

Timely thread, as my new Bonneville will be arriving shortly and I'm having similar thoughts. I currently use an Oxford cover for my soon-to-depart YBR, but would like something a little more... structural. Incidentally, a previous poster mentioned insurance benefits. So far as I'm aware, keeping a bike in the back garden constitutes "private land" as opposed to "driveway" (happy to be corrected if I'm wrong, though).

Blimey - that's quick Congratulations!

I hope this is some consolation for you, but a couple of days before my Mod 1 I did actually drop my bike. I also made practice mistakes on my u-turns more often than I wanted to. In fact, it wasn’t until the morning of my test that I felt comfortable. The test pads themselves are perfectly flat, have great surfaces, and are generally far larger than anywhere you’ll be practicing on. I found going through the test less stressful than my practicing, so keep a positive frame of mind, make sure you’re not hungry and don’t need to go to the loo, and I’m sure you’ll be fine.

Well, today was my Mod 1, so here's a quick summary of the week and, perhaps, some info that may be of use to others. Probably worth noting that I paid for three days training this week, and then Mods 1 and 2 (as a package, but with Mod 2 to be booked if and when Mod 1 was passed). On Tuesday I spent the entire day on the road, but on a YBR; this is the standard approach to Day 1 DAS training at the school I'm using (North London Motorcycle Training in Edgware), and although I was sceptical about it I think I understand now why they work that way. Anyway, unlike the riding I've been doing on my own, much of this was flat out, and the main things I took from the day were not to be hesitant when approaching junctions and roundabouts; and to get up to speed (that is, the speed limit if it's safe to do so), as soon as possible. It was much more aggressive riding than I'd been doing, including spells at 60mph on dual carriageways. Wednesday was both exciting and upsetting. It was my first experience on a larger bike (the Gladius 650), and I spent half the time in a large private car park set up to mirror (albeit in a smaller area) the Mod1 test pad, and the other half on the road. The road riding, as it had been the day before, was absolutely fine. We stayed relatively local, hit some dual carriageways too, and I loved every second of it. The manoeuvres for the Mod 1 test were more mixed, though. All the fast/emergency stuff was fine, and I was pretty decent on the slalom. However, I was struggling to push the bike backwards and re-park it as my technique was pants; and I put my foot down a couple of times on my u-turns. Also, I was far better going in one direction on my figure eights than the other. All of that paled into insignificance, though, when my instructor told me to park up and get off the bike for a chat. I was fairly near a perimeter fence, and for some reason decided to do a u-turn in that direction. Realising I couldn't make it I panicked, hit full lock and slowly toppled over. The embarrassment, with all the CBT candidates watching, was indescribable I went home feeling a bit dejected, but Thursday was better and a lot of fun. The road riding was superb, with some 60 and 70 mph stretches as well as horrors like the Uxbridge Road and Hangar Lane (we also had a look at the Uxbridge test pad, where we'd be heading for the Mod 1 the following afternoon). The Mod 1 practice was better, although if I'm honest I knew I was still capable of doing something silly, so I wouldn't going into the test in any kind of over-confident frame of mind. So, to today. We started with some really good Mod 1 practice, and then did a mock test. During the practice I nailed both my u-turns and high speed manoeuvres, and I managed to do everything to a good standard in the mock test. We then rode from Edgware to Uxbridge, where we had a bite of lunch and then rode one of the Mod 2 routes before heading back to the test centre with about quarter of an hour to spare. Soon enough, I was sitting on my bike, waiting to enter the test pad area. During this morning's practice I managed to find a technique for the parking test at the start, so buoyed with a bit of extra confidence after that I worked my way through the slow stuff. All went very well, thank goodness, and following the slalom, figure eights, slow riding and u-turn I then finished off the other fast elements without mishap. I got one minor (for being 1kph slow - 49kph - through the speed trap on my hazard avoidance), but that aside it was a clean sheet. I found it much less stressful than I thought it was going to be, and the beautiful surface and masses of room actually made it easier than all the practice I'd done leading up to the test. Next stop - Mod 2, booked for the 11th October, although I'm hoping for a cancellation!

Ive just bought one, so I hope it’s not a common problem. Sportsbikeshop also have about £65 quid off the ABUS Victory X-Plus 68 & chain, by the way. Good reviews and without the chain it seems very portable.

Ah, got you. It's Friday week, by the way - I will post how i get on though, even if it's painful to do so

I’m not sure until I get there next week. I didn’t know if I’d prefer it to be first thing or have it later in the day, after a practice.

I was looking at the Oxford Boss alarmed disc lock today. It has a 100 decibel alarm that goes off if the lock gets disturbed, and it's small enough to fot under a seat. You can also use it to secure a chain.