winston smith

Cb500 s have always been good bikes. I haven't ridden one of the new ones, but based on owner reviews it looks like Honda took all the good bits of the old one and brought it up to date. Go and sit on one - make sure it fits you, then with your full licence try to get a test ride long enough to be sure the bike suits you and your needs. I would avoid buying brand new though - most people I know don't keep their first big bike very long and depreciation is a kick in the wallet on any new new bike.

Agreed. My bad. My original thought was a bit arsebackwards.... reducing the airflow makes no difference if the ECU is getting engine speed from the crank sensor and pumping in fuel according to a preset map :/

Sorry to hear about this While it's easy to get paranoid about weird coincidental stuff, it doesn't mean you're wrong to think that way, and it does seem iffy. That company MCE uses is a fraud investigation firm, be careful - tell them the bare facts as accurately and concisely as possible, it will all be recorded and they will be looking for ways to reduce or get out of paying out. If it was less than 6 months old you may be entitled to a replacement bike - check the policy wording, t&C's etc. Mce will most likely make a ridiculously low offer, then refuse to accept any evidence that you can provide to show that the bike was worth more. That's hard to fight, even through the ombudsman, but try - these thieving guys have been ripping their customers off for years. Good luck

I'm no expert, but I would guess the new pipe let's the engine "breathe" better, allowing more air to flow through. The manufacturer would have set up the fueling to match the air flow of the original exhaust. So now, assuming your ecu doesn't know there's increased so flow, the bike will be running lean ( not enough fuel for the amount of air), which increases cylinder temperatures and will eventually cause damage to the engine. Ideally the ECU needs to be remapped or have a power commander fitted. Sounds to me like the dealer has adjusted the idle so that fueling is more or less correct at tickover, but won't be right with the throttle open. There are cleverer people on here who know more about this stuff than me, so don't take this as gospel

Hi., Go for the bigger bike if you can, Generally bigger bikes are all more solidly built than 125s - brakes, wheels n tyres, suspension etc so not only less fragile, but they are safer, more stable and just feel better as a rider, giving more confidence. Most 400s are physically not much bigger than 125s (trailie/supermoto are, but that's just longer suspension). Older (80s/90s) 400s are really tiny - vfr400 was much more cramped than cbr125 for me, I'm only 5ft9. I would suggest 500-650cc - twins rather than fours will be much cheaper to run and easier maintenance. Take a trip to some local dealers, find what fits you, what you like, what's in your budget etcetc

I am quite difficult to insure at the mo ( had a few claims recently). I went with Bike sure as they were cheapest and seemed to offer a reasonable amount of cover. They are part of AXA, who coincidentally offered the best/cheapest cover for my car this year. I understand the comment about unknown insurance companies popping up on comparison sites and I tend to avoid them if I don't have time to thoroughly search them out online. Best advice I could give anyone is: DO NOT USE MCE !! They're often the the cheapest quote, but they are are a bunch of deceitful crooks, with very biased T&C's, crap attitudes, and no idea what customer service is.

Redding would be a good bet, although he's not too familiar with the circuit ( he did an Indy circuit trackday in the last week or so). Brooke's is always fast at brands. Bridewell is on great form at the mo and those V4s should have the edge driving up the hill out of surtees. The BMWs are starting to show better race pace. And of course Ohallorhan and Mackenzie are always there or thereabouts this year. Tough one to call, but I reckon Brookes

Hi n welcome. I don't have any personal experience of Chinese bikes. They don't have a great reputation and the motorcycle media love to slag them off. However, based on comments and posts on other forums my opinion is that they can make decent, cheap commuters or starter bikes, although they may be a bit more fragile and need more frequent servicing than Japanese or European 125's. Hopefully, someone here with first hand knowledge will be along soon ....

Hi. Putting it in simple terms, the way gears mesh together is via dogs (small cylindrical protrusions on the receiving gear) and dog-holes ( slots about 4 times the length of the dog on the driven gear), usually 2 of each person gear. When you change gear a selector fork pushed the gears together to make those dogs go into the dog-holes. When riding all the gears are spinning on their shafts - allbeit at different speeds, so the dogs slot in quite easily. At standstill only the driven half of the gearbox is spinning, so the dogs won't slot in as easily ( lots of bikes clunk going into first gear from neutral). With the engine off & bike stationary nothing is spinning so there's about a 60/40 chance of the dogs and dog-holes lining up at any moment, so turning the back wheel a little helps line everything up. So, yes, your bike seems pretty normal based on you description That's the simplest description I can thing of without pictures/video. Theirs plenty of stuff on YouTube that explains it better and in as much detail as you want - The Workshop is one channel that I've used for odd bits of tech info.

Well, after a cruiser almost any naked/sports/sports tourer will feel nimble, chuckable, nippy etc. And there are loads n loads of good bikes to choose from. Are you looking to get brand new? Ex demo? A few years old? What's your budget? All the bikes mentioned above are worth a look. If you don't have long legs you really need to find a dealer(s) with the bikes in your shortlist. Sit on them, test ride them, paddle around a bit like you're doing a 5 point turn in an alley - all bikes carry their weight in different places. Inline fours are usually wider than twins/v4s etc which can be an issue - I'm 5ft9 shortish in the leg, I tend to avoid inline 4s for that reason.

Exactly what he said , thanks mate , saved me the trouble. You are very welcome sir

I think, they're a long way from creating a comparable motorcycle Tyre. The construction and load Dynamics are very different to car/commercial tyres. Also, I doubt they'd be usable for racing (which is where the best Tyre development and innovation often comes from) - air/gas filled tyres are fairly stable under thermal expansion but I'm not so sure about a semi-solid Tyre. If they're cheap enough I'd try them on a car though - full set of Conti's are around £800-£900 for my car and with 2 punctures in the last year I can see the benefits.

Well they should be, saved my arse a number of times Called lifesavers for a reason I absolutely agree. Meant to say "at speed" but not paying attention as I typed. I work on the basis that mirrors give a general idea of what is behind, for a full picture I always shoulder check

It doesn't really matter who's right or wrong. There could be all sorts of reasons... the driver could have slowed to fiddle with his radio, phone, satnav etc, then speed up to previous speed, maybe he doesnt like bikers, maybe he's just a nobhead, who knows. It was a near miss, the important thing is nobody got hurt. So chalk it up to experience - on overtakes don't just look at a gap, look at the next car back too and assess it's speed. Shoulder checks aren't fashionable, but sometimes better at speed if your mirrors vibrate alot

The only tool on my bike is the one attached to the bars

I see what megawatt means - it's a reasonable idea and could make a difference with feel. How? you pull the lever which pulls the cable which in turn either pulls another lever or pulls on a worm drive which pushes the push rod which releases the pressure plate which in turn releases pressure on the clutch plates causing it to slip You're not pushing pressure on to the clutch plates so notches would make zero difference to feel all they would do is cause the plates to stick not releasing properly causing notchy shifts or dragging of the clutch I had this issue on the TLs due to many hard starts up to the pressure plate moving the work of the clutch lever is done so the only thing that can cause an issue is something from the lever to the pressure plate Ok Stu. I'm not an expert. What Megawatt wrote seemed to me a plausible reason for the changes in feel. If I'm wrong about that I am big and ugly enough to put my hands up and accept it.

You're welcome sir I'm not here to tell people what to do, how to ride etc. Although if people are unknowingly doing stuff that damages their pride n joy I feel obliged to share information so they can make their own minds up with a balanced view. Every motorcycle I've ever ridden ( except a very old dt125 with a shagged gearbox when I was a kid) has changed gear smoother and faster than any manual car, van, truck or bicycle I have ever used. Even in my stupid years when I rode everywhere flat out I never wanted to change any faster or smoother. So that's why I was asking rich about his clutchless upshifting. Idle curiosity for something I can't quite get my head around.

That would make no difference to the feel of the clutch at the lever! It would cause harder shifting and possibly dragging while at the lights I see what megawatt means - it's a reasonable idea and could make a difference with feel. Although cleaning the clutch basket prongs is a delicate task with careful measurements to make opposing gaps equal. IMHO it would be far easier, cheaper n quicker to clean n lube everything external first from the lever through the cable to the actuator - assuming it's a cable clutch of course - I don't know what bike it's on.

I'm curious...why? Why clutchless upshifting on public roads? And @ Six30 - write on the blackboard 100 times " I must not use smutty euphemisms on the forum, even if they are really funny" then go to the naughty corner Clutchless upshifts are smoother as you don't have to completely roll off the throttle, its not just for racing Ahh, ok. I'm genuinely curious - I've never met anyone who clutchless shifts on the road without the benefit of a quickshifter and clever electronics etc. Personally, I've never felt the need to do it. To me, smooth gear changing is a skill to be mastered - like slow u-turns, or wheelies, or rolling stoppies etc etc. Or maybe I'm just a bit nerdy. Anyway, I came across this video, you may find it eye opening, or you may think it's hogwash, but worth a look... ">

Yeh or lack of use .... perhaps she's a quick shifter . Clutchless 2nd-6th is the only way to change tho, always use clutch on downshifts though I'm curious...why? Why clutchless upshifting on public roads? And @ Six30 - write on the blackboard 100 times " I must not use smutty euphemisms on the forum, even if they are really funny" then go to the naughty corner

There's no such thing as boring with bikes - what you like is what you like. Don't be pressured to get anything you're not sure of cos it might be faster, or more cool etc. As has been said, trawl your local dealers (franchised and independent), take your time to find what suits you. You mind find that that a scooter or one of those 3wheel jobbies ticks all your boxes. And as has been said a number of times, you might have to go through owning 3 or 4 bikes before you find something you're completely comfortable with.

Dunno about where you live, but in the west Midlands it wouldn't be possible to use the cycle box cos it's normally filled up with tw@s in cars, desperate for that extra 8-10 foot of road "ownership", so busy checking their facebook feed that they don't notice the lights changing to Green.

Good news We learn by making mistakes. And for sharing the fix

Could also be electrical - water splashed up onto the HTs or plugs could cause shorting/arcing and the misfiring.

Yep, good call, I forgot the noise - even with standard exhaust they sound good - an old mate of mine had stayintunes on his, sounded even better. Personally, the pre-vtec sounded better having the gear driven cams, but each to his own etc. Bender:- I didn't have that know-how, mine was seized when I bought the bike & didn't know til I got a Honda dealer to do service n check over. Cost me me an extra £200 as I recall.