xMachina

Can I get 81 please? I'm determined to get out this year!

Nope, it sucks. New tyres have now arrived and I've got the wheels off the bike, just waiting on some right angle valves to arrive - which ironically I ordered before I discovered the puncture - and then I'll be back in business.

Had my GSX1250FA just over a week now and I'm really happy with it. I was even more happy that for the first time I'd bought a bike that didn't immediately need new tyres, they were like new and looked like they only had very minimal miles on. Sunday afternoon my neighbour asked for a hand to wire in some heated grips, and while we were pottering about I had a weird urge to have a look at my rear tyre - and man am I glad I did! There was a fairly large bit of metal sticking out of it which turned out to be hollow and had removed a 6mm core sample of the tyre. Bugger. So as I'm not keen on the Bridgestones anyway I've ordered a set of my preferred Road 5's but for about 5 mins the air in my garage was a lovely shade of blue.

I went from a 125 to a 1200, at the end of the day the fact you are asking the question means you at least have the right idea and understand it needs to be respected. Interestingly, there was only £20 difference in the insurance between the 600 and 1200 when I passed. The only positive I can see to starting out on smaller bikes is they tend to be lighter so if you do drop it its easier to get it back up, other than that there's nothing that can't be learned on a bigger CC bike compared to a smaller one. I'm personally a quite slow, lazy rider so bigger CC with most of the grunt lower down suits me perfectly as I'm not constantly up and down the box. There's also a lot more fun to be had before the speeds get questionable. I'm firmly of the belief that if you are the kind of person to go nuts on a bike the engine size has very little to do with the likely outcome, so go try one out and see how you like. I've just bought a GSX1250FA and (Suzuki fanboy alert) I'm really liking it, if you can give that a try too.

It pains me but I'd have to say my K3 Gixxer 750. It's not that it was bad, it just really didn't suit the kind of riding that I like to do. Having wanted that exact bike since the day it came out I loved it but I seemed to be finding an excuse not to ride it more and more often so I've just sold it.

Anyone else miss turkey sticks? I used to love them!

IT kit is the same, no one wants to tell you the price its all 'request a quote'. Mainly because 90% of these people hold ZERO stock of these items and they want to see what they can get if for first or they drop ship. Made all the more frustrating by the fact it will also have a little bit of green text below the picture of the item saying available next day - usually this means 'we'll get it to you sometime this week - if you're lucky!'

A lot of user reviews aren't much good either - I see so many that start with 'I've only used this once but...' or 'I bought this instead of (insert product that costs 20 times more) and its rubbish'.

Like when TMF let slip in a live stream that if the review is going to be negative he asks the manufacturers if they still want it put up. I'd guess that's probably pretty common too, seems to completely defeat the point of reviewing things though! I suppose getting free stuff is more important than integrity and actually providing people with an unbiased review.

I think I'll wait until its on YouTube - I watch that more than TV anyway.

The only boot I could even come close to getting zipped up was the Alpinestars SMX6 v2. I had the same issue with all the others I tried on, seems like they are made for people narrow feet and matchsticks for legs these days.

I've got a Tag Aquaracer Calibre 5, I'm not much of a watch wearer but I'd always promised myself a 'nice' watch when I could afford one. A few years ago I had a bit of money saved and decided it was now or never.

Took the Bandit on a day out to the seaside yesterday, 280 mile round trip with some great roads on the way back. However, I learnt a few things: 1: After a few hours it becomes evident just how hard the Bandit seat is. 2: Don’t go on long motorway journeys with no baffle in the exhaust. 3: If you can’t find your wets ‘sod it’ is not the correct response. Thankfully the rain was limited to about 5 mins and all in all it was a good day out.

It's probably just another pathetic Troll post so that he can exercise his limited vocabulary which mainly consists of repeating the phrase " Ok Boomer " Hey bob, you got a moment to talk about the benefits of running without a battery?

Recently bought a 2 piece from the MK store and they were amazing, so helpful! I used to use J&S in Finedon but twice I've been there now and the staff have been no help whatsoever, even though I was looking to spend a few hundred quid and it was really quiet. I doubt I'd go back for big purchases - especially given SBS were better on price, but like you say the clearance items can be good.

Oh they’re out there...

Just make sure your legs aren't obscuring your number plate.

Welcome aboard.

I've got a laser monkey too, I also think its a bit pants. Worked great on my WR125 and I was really impressed by it, however on both the Bandit and the Gixxer it's totally useless. It never seems to want to stay put, and as TimR mentioned, the moment you move the laser bit it shifts and you have to start again. It's frustrating as I got great results with it previously, I think it really depends on your sprocket type.

My daily is a 2017 DS3 1.2 auto I've had from new. I do 440 miles a week commute, it does 45mpg and now has 62k and to be fair its not a bad little car, I've crammed loads into it in the past and its reasonably comfortable and well spec'd.

Another vote for SportsBikeShop. I recently bought a new 2 piece leather from their MK store and they couldn't have been more helpful. I fully intended to go look there and them come away and see if I could get it cheaper but the service was top notch so I decided to just buy it there and then - that turned out to be a good choice as I couldn't beat there in-store online anyway! I wouldn't get too hung up on armour, impact with the ground is never good but I'd worry more about seams holding together and abrasion resistance as sliding down tarmac at any speed isn't fun. Be aware that a lot of the eBay gear that says 'CE approved' only refers to the armour and even that is a self certificated process. Either way I'd definitely go to a shop as they can advise you on fit and sizing as some brands come up small and others are more generous, you may even find an end of the line bargain too.

Firstly, I'm 100% calling BS that it's to feel safe - I'm guessing you have completely forgotten to take into account that we were all 16 once and know the sort of things we got up to and the reasons we did it. If you are looking for support on this front then that's a fail. Secondly, the fact that you (16 year olds, not you personally as I don't know you from Adam) are breaking the law by derestricting a 50cc and thus not riding in accordance with you license and invalidating your insurance is an incredibly poor argument to put forward to gain support for this, and if anything indicates a lack of maturity and sense - you know, the kind of things required to use faster vehicles. I would also suggest you go and read the highway code, particularly the bits that cover what to do if someone is driving too close or aggressively near you, I can tell you now though - it isn't overtake them. I don't think I've ever driven a car that won't top 45 so I'm not entirely sure how far you think you will get anyway. Seriously, if you want to push this forward then start by coming up with a plan for better training than the CBT, show willingness to learn, and some common sense! The fact you want to put a petition in that starts with 'yeah we know the law but f*ck it' shows you need to have a major rethink. P.S: "Upon winning the case the motorbiking community will be able to relax and calm down from this" What the actual?!?!