Hywel

I'm in the 'what's all this fuss about?' camp I'm affraid. I have nothing against the 'swerve and stop' or 'avoidance maneuver' as the examiners are now calling it. I had to do it and thought it was by far the easiest part of mod1. I think the distance / availability of testing centres is a problem but I get the feeling people just got caught up in all the media scare stuff *waggles fist at MCN*, and so did I until I had to do it... it is honestly a gentle sway back and forth. You'd have to do something severe like grab the front brake hard during the turn to come a cropper. A sensible alteration would be to extend the stopping distance by 2m in the wet but as has already been said; if you can't pull this off without panicking and throwing on the anchors while the bike is leant over then you're a long way off being under reasonable control of your machine. Also, it's not as if they've replaced observation / planning / road sense with coarse avoidance drills... the module 1 stuff is about machine control while the previously mentioned road based training carries on as far as I could tell. If 'motorcycling' as an industry is being affected negatively, blame the media, not the test.

Yeah I'd like a link to a .gov site or a credible statistics page when someone says something like "oh actually a new law is coming...." I think cars are very different to bikes... quick cars are easy for a novice to drive compared to powerful sportsbikes for example, and if an average 17 year old car driver felt inclined to break the law, he could do some very serious speeds through a town centre and being in a 1.1 corsa instead of a scooby isn't going to stop him. Insurance companies make it pretty much impossible for a young guy to drive anything over a 1.6 petrol car anyway unless he has some proper cashflow knocking about, which isn't too likely. The fact is, riding a bike is on another level of risk, and although I don't disagree with the DVLA easing people into bigger bikes more gradually, I quite like the fact that if I had the money I could start riding a turbo Hayabusa streetfighter to and from work tomorrow having ridden for only 5 or 6 months .

Hmm... is there a way I can reliably check that this is the problem?

I'm no mechanic but suddenly / briefly loosing power to the back wheel under hard acceleration sounds like a clutch slip for sure. Either that or it's dropping out of gear... any 'clunking' noises when the power is lost?

At tickover all my lights (clocks, neutral light, head/tail lights and indicators) pulse... getting brighter and dimmer. The indicator has a habit of flashing quite incosistently / too quickly when the revs are low too and it evens out when I up the revs a bit but even at high speed I notice the headlamps all of a sudden getting brighter then darker and I sometimes notice the indicators going a bit mad. I know it doesn't sound like much but it's quite distracting and takes my attention off the road a little. Anyone else experienced this? Reckon a new battery is the answer? It doesn't sound very strong when I push the starter and it usually takes a while to fire up the bike. It's a '98 Honda CB600F by the way.

Yeah something I can use when it's back in one piece would be good and I bet those CBR250s are a laugh in the corners although something tells me I should start smaller. Like a little 50cc single or something, dunno. I'll start with the top end but eventually wanna get through the whole thing, just to see how it all works and goes together more than anything else.

Hi!! I finish uni in a few weeks and want to learn more about bike mechanics over the summer. I'm a complete new jack to this therefore I would like something simple, so I could get my head around stripping and re-building the motor, possibly with improvements made in the process. My only criteria is that I'd like it to be vaguely relevant to the types of bikes I will be mostly riding for the foreseeable future... pretty much 4 stroke inline 4 sports bikes. So, gimme some ideas for a very cheap bike that would be a good starting point for learning this stuff. Also, how epic a tool-arsenal would I need to strip and re-build a small / small-ish four stroke engine?

A week of all-nighters doing coursework ahead of me because I've been such a LAZY F***ING TW*T! F**K IT!!!!!!!

Yeh well I figured I'm embarking on a long journey of discovery in finding out what tyres / tyre combos I like so I'm keeping it simple for my first purchase and getting an exact match. They're probably a bit sporty for a new rider like me to get the best out of them and they're not the longest lasting shoes around but I am looking forward to trying out some decent rubber! Any do's or dont's for scrubbing in brand new tyres?

Ohhhh kay. I just had a little delve and it turns out Bridgestone actually do the 021 set in my size, there's so much contradictory info online... they're on order, bargain. EDIT: Doh, the dealer rang me back and said he'd made a mistake. Was tempted to go for the 016 front / 021 rear combo but I quite fancy seeing what a perfect tyre match does to the handling so despite some reservations about tread wear I've gone for a set of the triple compound BT-016s.

HELLO!! I'm having a bit of trouble shopping for tyres because my front wheel is a 16" / 130 section one which limits my choice of rubber quite badly. My question is, can I mix different tyres within the same brand? For example I want a Bridgestone BT-021 on the back but they don't make that for my front so would putting a BT014 or an 016 on the front with the 021 on the rear be ok? TA!!

Welcome, and congratulations! Being free to go wherever you want on a big bike is an excellent feeling.

I'm banking that!

I've found that as soon as I truly stop being on the lookout for a lady friend and just enjoy my life and friends without a care in the world, someone tends to appear out of the blue and hit me for six. I think the opposite sex can smell complacency So yea, just chill!

I've had my first big bike since a few weeks before christmas and only now am I starting to filter. On the 125 I gave it a couple of goes but my machine control wasn't quite good enough back then and I'd end up getting to the front of a queue thinking "jeeeez I am NOT good enough for that yet" after a few little scary / wobbly moments. On the hornet I feel much more stable and take huge pleasure in getting through standstill traffic when I'm confident with the space I have. When the traffic starts to move at any pace though (anything above 10mph ish I find at the moment) I start getting uncomfortable and slot myself back into the next gap. I'm new to filtering but these are some useful tips I've taken on board and used so far; - Keep half an eye on peoples heads, if someone ahead of you is looking in their mirror or over their shoulder then slow down and get ready to stop - Same goes for their wheels, if they're pointed in a way that looks like they might steer the car into your path, slow down and be ready to stop - If you see a big gap open up on either side of you up ahead on a dual carriageway, a car may quickly try and pull across into it, so slow down and get ready to stop - When slotting back into traffic be careful even if it looks like someone is leaving a nice big gap for you... the gap might have been created for a car pulling out of a side street

Will B&Q stock that?

I just about got away with this... Thankfully did a couple of practice holes on my old tailpiece and pretty much cocked it up then went at it with the new one... did the holes with a drill and a flat file and both indis snapped in tightly and sat perfectly flush but I then held it all up in front of me and despite my measuring I hadn't been careful enough with the filing and one was set further back by about 5 mil - 1cm but after slightly adjusting both holes in opposite directions I got it right. They don't sit tight on their own now but will look great with some adhesive / something to stick them down. Now to give the undertray a shot.. Then..... WIRING! http://badattitudes.com/MT/homer-simpson-5.jpg

In an attempt to tidy up the back end of my CB600F hornet and stop me from wanting a newer bike I've bought a standard tail piece, a shotgun undertray with a plate bracket, some tasty looking LED tail lights and "Cat-Eye" indicators which fit flush into the tailpiece / rear fairing... whatever you wanna call it. I just wanted to ask whether anyone had bought these cat eyes before from Jestertrickbits.co.uk http://www.jesterstrickbits.co.uk/acatalog/Indicators.html I realise this is a long-shot but the question I'm asking is, does anyone have a cutting template for these? I think I was supposed to receive one with the items but no joy. I'm guessing I need to make an egg shaped hole exactly the right size for the clips to snap on tight, but would like some light shed on it. This is what they look like underneath... http://i45.tinypic.com/1ze8gtk.jpg I don't really wanna start hacking away at my new tail which took a while to source until I have some dimensions / measurements to use.

Thanks fellas, job done. Wasn't really close enough to do with the fingers but a slim spanner did the trick, tickover is sounding a lot more comfy now.

My bike ('98 CB600F) seems to be idling a bit slow.. I've read that it should sit on about 1300rpm but it's ticking over at 7 or 800 making it feel lumpy and lazy like it's about to give up. Does anyone know where the pilot screw is on this model? I'm assuming it's somewhere between the carbs but if so, how can I get to it without removing the fuel tank? Any replies would be appreciated!

Yeah the wind has been unbelievable recently. Coming home from work in the car last night called for a death grip on the steering wheel whilst I was bashed violently from side to side on the link road from Cardiff Bay to the M4, not the grippiest surface either. I can very nearly afford my first big bike now but I doubt I'll be taking that sort of fast and exposed route in these conditions until I know the bike inside out! Scary stuff.

My dad (oldmanonabike) and myself will be there on the 29th, quite looking forward to it. Don't suppose there'll be any used bike 'stalls' or whatever will there? If not I'll just enjoy looking at the shiny new bikes and the ladies!

If you haven't already, have a scan through the questions in the back of a copy of 'learn to ride' or something because there are quite a few bike specific questions that aren't too obvious. The hazard bit is the same deal though as far as I could tell. Good luck!

I'm not exactly an experienced biker (understatement) but given a choice if I was dead set on a really focused super/sport I'd definitely start off with the 600 for a while. The 50bhp 500cc twin training bike felt hellish enough to me after full throttling a 125 everywhere, let alone 170 odd bhp going to the ground from a gix1000. Personally my plan is to ride a Bandit6 or something for a while before dipping a cautious toe into the realms of really quick bikes. Saying that I've heard plenty of people doing their DAS's and hopping straight on the most bonkers machine they can get their mitts on with few problems. You've just gotta stay aware of your safety I guess. That UMT place will book you a theory test if you decide to go with them EDIT: Just realised that you almost definitely meant 1000 quid for insurance and not 1000cc... Doh! Wouldn't be surprised if it went higher than that to be honest!

Most bike training stuff seems to happen in Newport to be honest. Have a look at http://www.umat.co.uk and give them a ring about prices. I did it with them and apart from one or two ego's in the instruction team and the fact you have to pay for damage you cause to the bike they got me through everything just fine. Do a bit of googling if you wanna shop around, pretty sure there are a few more in Newport and a couple based in Cwmbran too. A gixxer is probably a bit more bike than a lot of people would suggest for a first ride after the test, and you'll probably be shot down by huge insurance quotes so check out running costs before you take the plunge. From the advise I've collected it seems to be a better idea to ride something a bit less extreme (lower insurance group) for a year to get a NCB, then when everything gets cheaper, go for the bike you really want.