Steve_M

18 minutes ago, Simon Davey said:

Thanks  for taking the time good people.

I was out in my leathers for about 90 minutes, yup, fecking cold!!  

OK, it was only 1 degree C, but now I know.

They're also pretty snug, I last wore them 23 years ago, I seem to have grown into them a little 

They shrink over time apparently. Or so Kate from Hideout told me. 
 

To go with your original question, I rarely wear my leathers since I discovered how versatile textiles are. I stopped wearing them for touring about 9 years ago, I may wear them on dry spring or autumn days. I think the  last time I wore them was n June last year. 

Original plan. The good lady helps her daughter who’s ill, I go out on bike. Fog and freezing weather put the kibosh on that so I’ll be doing some odd jobs around the house and tidying up the out buildings. Oh joy! 
 

This is the longest period of time I haven’t ridden a motorbike in over thirty year of bike ownership. Really and truly pissed off….

On 30/12/2023 at 10:45, rennie said:

Drove to Warrington and back yesterday! Driving to Norfolk today!

 

The standard of driving on The M6 yesterday was abysmal!

Why does nobody move over to the left nowadays?

 

I think I'll need a drink by the time we get to Diss later  

I was on the M6, heading south, that day. It’s fine until you get to about Preston then all hell breaks loose. Lane hoggers - nervous drivers who are afraid they’ll get trapped behind slower moving traffic, those who think anything other then the outside two lanes are  “slow lanes”, others who are too dozy to notice there’s a clear lane to the inside of them, and the simply pig headed who just can’t be arsed to change lane.  Then there’s the Max Verstappen wannabes who weave across all lanes at speed, or the tailgaters. My favourite (?) are those who closes up the gap to the car in front when you put your right hand indicator on signalling you want to move out to overtake thus preventing you from changing lanes. They gain a whole car length which they’d have gained anyway once you’ve moved back to the inside lane. 
 

4 minutes ago, RideWithStyles said:

Now i agree that it is abit odd it should go up that much if any at all but computer has the odds typed into the data base.

 

I know what your saying, The minimum is the minimum but if your higher than that you can be tested to that....

well yes im a doctor and surgeon, i fooked up so can i be trialled on the basis of a gp doctor cos its the minimum and possibly less harsh...nope.

 

Ive heard of a few cases with IAM used but as most people aint IAM taught nor current among the masses so not widely used nor most solicitors bother.

 

the IAM is viewed as a higher level over the "minimum std" like higher education so the other party can still bring in to question your ability of IAM "if" the solicitor is savvy enough and even point to "did you fall below the IAM std? Isnt that what was taught? Does it not say...

Didn't you put that down in your policy for advanced driving? "
which can be viewed as higher std outside of public sector training higher rank as police motorbike class, highway pursuit for example. If they cock up by crashing into a car at a crossing you know there actions gonna be in question due to there knowledge and class as a prime example.

now we know its far fretched for a sole case but any information and use can have impacts on outcomes.

Flips and say well "ive a racing licence aswell thats current and clean so that means im better than that minimum licence noob so it couldnt be my fault cos i was try avoid and drift past this stupid mofo", this wouldnt give you a instant "wow this person must be good and so rightfully correct that no matter what he did and still couldn't avoid an accident so the scummy noob must be in the wrong".
This isn't strictly god roll reasonable either to win a case nor to lose but as a judges rule is percentages of likly hood, well yes mr racer but you will be in for a 20% reduction for part blame cos i see you could of avoided it or seen it sooner...

 

Things like these are used and based on a case by case basis.
Now what im saying isnt always used as a solid one step clearing or whole hearted god roll but COULD be used against you to undermine, sway to reduce fault and payment as possible.

 

Now good underwriters go by numbers of percentage odds of the field which we wouldnt get to care for or know about in our profession or free time (cos really how would?).

living with them must be terrible, sorry dear not fish tonight as their moght be a 10percent  chance i might not like it, cos you got it from tescos which came from this fisshing port and it had taken them abit longer to get that fish at this time of year cos they had to travel abot further due to the weather and the fishmonger has this and this against him..... holymoly.

might be that recently a few cases have brought this up....

or of course another reason the IAM option costed more was likely some computer noob just put in the wrong figures into the data base....

I think you’re overthinking it…

However, it could be that the IAM qualification infers that you’re an enthusiast who rides more miles (assuming not a limited mileage policy) than average therefore putting yourself at risk for longer periods. Yes, I’ve had that conversation with an underwriter.

3 hours ago, RideWithStyles said:

A indirect problem insurances / legal side with being and using the IAM card is that it can lower the percentage for a strong claim as silly ass it sounds.

when it goes solistitors and court for any augment, as a rule youll be of higher being of knowledge and uprightness but it can been seen as a leverage tool to undermine everything "well how come your client had this accident, shouldn't they have premeditated this and tried to avoid it seeing as they are a IAM? Isnt that what they teach?" So to give them a mark for trying to shift blame because you must of fallen below the high standard of your higher ability..."where as my client isn't expected to know that with there std driving licence" as they dont have much of a step to fall from even if they are expected to take blame.

Yep they use that alot.... so the percentage of risk of better outcomes is lower than ud expect.

crazy but true.

I find that highly unlikely. Even insurance companies don’t expect you to be clairvoyant. I speak as a former IAM member who did have an own fault minor spill at one point while an IAM member. My insurer, Aviva, sorted it all out with no hassle. 
 

Incidentally, Aviva, formerly Norwich Union, no longer underwrite motorbike insurance - it just isn’t worth the trouble for such a niche product. 

1 hour ago, geofferz said:

I'm just posting this to maybe help people understand and not just get so irate, because stress is a big killer. 

 

Insurers lost a TON of cash during covid (as in are still in the red), weirdly, I'd have thought everyone had the same premium but crashes were massively reduced, but it's true:

 

https://www.ey.com/en_uk/news/2023/06/ey-uk-motor-insurance-results-analysis#:~:text=Following a profitable 2021 – when,inflation and low premium costs

 

Also, if insurance costs more than your bike is worth then remember they have to cover third parties so if you crash into a ferrari they have to pay out the £1m. Suddenly your £2k a year doesn't seem so bad. 

 

Insurers are a necessary evil to protect you as well as everyone else. They pay out if someone knocks your off your bike etc. 

 

"yeah but they're still a bunch of c***s!!!" 

Never mind running into a Ferrari, injury claims, which are more likely,  can run into huge figures. 
 

Fraud and uninsured drivers / riders adds considerably, too.

Insurers can only guess at the fraud figures - whatever the figure is, you pay through your premiums. 
 

Oh, and if you’ve been declined insurance you can apply to see your information on the M.I.D (Motor Insurance Database - Link) which I would anticipate holding a flag showing the reason. You can have the data corrected if found to be inaccurate. 
 

On 30/12/2023 at 22:31, curlylegend said:

I'm taking all this in you know.

I would like to know if I'm missing out on something, or more likely doing something daft !

 

Thanks for all your answers.

You’re only missing out if you fail to bite the bullet and JFDI. 

No tour is perfect, not everything will be 100%. Things go wrong - they’re the incidents that make for the most interesting and humorous tales (with hindsight). Particularly the daft things. 

Unless you’re “into” aliens…

On 28/12/2023 at 22:36, curlylegend said:

So the consensus seems to be ride light and have a plan B, and a plan C too.

And yes, it is nowadays much easier to dodge bad weather. or at least mitigate it. Sat Navs and smart arse phones seem to be the minimum requirements. Is everybody comfortable plotting out a Plan B or Plan C on a smartphone at short notice ?  

And it seems a few of you will book a first night's accommodation and wing it from there on. What if you're in a bad signal area and can't raise Booking.com ?  Anyone ever been caught out like that ?

So what did you do ? Follow the signs to Spain ? I'm curious.  

 

Looks fantastic, where is it ?   I won't deliberately go there and I won't tell anyone else...promise.

I would suggest that “ride light” translates as “ only carry essentials and required items”. What fits that criteria differs from rider to rider and tour location to tour location.
 

I will emphasise that, in my opinion,  flexibility around choosing your route is required rather than a fixed plan A, B, C or Z… Planning options - sights, places, road sections, in advance is not wasted effort even if you don’t get to them 
 

We’ve never had a significant issue with getting a signal to book hotels, though it has occasionally - rarely- meant stopping for coffee to use a cafe’s Wi-Fi. 

Plans are useless, planning is essential.

We book ferries, so setting start and end dates. We designate an approximate area for the tour and head that way, the tour route from that point gets determined by the weather.

For example, in 2022 we booked ferries to and from Rotterdam, intending to head down to around Grenoble, across Switzerland and on to the Dolomites before returning via Austria and Germany. An exceptional early cold snap caused numerous passes to be closed so we spent time across the south of the French Alps where the weather was more clement. Following our usual practice of determining the following day’s Route each evening and, around 3pm each day using booking.com to find a hotel somewhere around our expected destination. 

Our eventual route  which I would never plan as a route in advance.

As @Gerontious pointed out, there are too many things that can disrupt a detailed plan so, for us, flexibility is the key.

11 hours ago, bonio said:

I first stumbled across this one - from Starson to Hempnall at least - just this summer gone. It's nice.

All useful information, thanks. It's good to know I'm missing out on fine Norfolk riding for want of finding the right roads. I'll stop trying to look for what doesn't exist, and stick to Suffolk and Essex.  

That was one of my favourite “escape routes” when I lived in Norwich. I lived 2 miles away from Long John Hill, just around the ring road, so it was quite convenient for me. 

4 hours ago, D.J said:

The coast roads are rubbish, and I live near them. No matter when you go you’ll always get stuck behind someone doing 35, during the week it’s OAPs then at the weekend it’s holiday makers. Although there are some good roads around Norfolk, mainly Watton to attleborough, Diss, we usually head into Suffolk 

Let us not forget the B1108 to Watton, the B1145 Banningham to Mundesley… The unclassified road from Long John Hill to Hempnall and then on to Starston (takes you on into some grand Suffolk Roads). Then there’s the road from Aylsham past Blickling then join the B1354.And, errr, that’s about all I can remember.

Suddenly feeling spoilt having moved away from Norwich… 

I will add that your local RoSPA group has a library of routes based on Route 11 and Swaffham… but you’d have to join them

Welcome. Good choice of bike.

Is there a place for a link or updates for this site?

FEMA recalls

I noticed the Dunlop Sportmax is on the list… 

On 15/12/2023 at 09:46, husoi said:

Because I'm not sure how often I'll be online until next year.

Better to get this out of the way

 

Wish you wall a very Mary (yes on purpose ) Xmas and a Happy New Year.

Don't drink more than your bladder can cope with and one turkey is more than enough  

 

I will see you guys in 2024 

Have a good ‘un,,, 

I would hazard a guess that a MRA flip wing would add little or no benefit even if it could be attached to the double bubble. Probably a waste of money to try.

There are a variety of screen options that are likely a better option than the double bubble for touring. BikeHPS sell a MRA spoiler screen for around £65 which might be an improvement - “might” is doing a lot of work in that comment.
 

27 minutes ago, Simon Davey said:

Soooooo......

Went out for an hour this morning, and although it was windy, I did get a little more bashed about than I'd like.

 

I have a feeling this is actually a double bubble/race screen.

Whilst I appreciate it's supposed to create a higher airflow pattern, the "bubble" does seem quite narrow, having looked at many ZZR1200's on tinternet and YouTube, I'm thinking that a standard, or touring screen might be the solution.

 

Do you good people agree this is a double bubble, or am I talking bo*****s?

 

 

 

 

 

That’s a double bubble. More form than function unless you ride with your head on the tank.

“The rubber plant upstairs would fit nicely in the hall” she said. 
 

Now, said rubber plant is probably 4’ tall and in a hefty pot and I’d just watered it.

”OK”, I said.

I picked it up, heavy-ish, the weight wasn’t too much of an issue, though a bit awkward. I slowly backed down the stairs, one step at a time. Our stairs go down eight steps to a small landing, turn 180 degrees then continue down a further five steps.

On the first section I lost count of how many steps I’d taken and thought my next step was onto the small landing. I had quite a collision with the wall. 

Somehow I managed to cling on to the plant and not drop it. I now have a graze and huge bruise on my right elbow. 

Note to self. Learn to count up to eight.

48 minutes ago, Gerontious said:

I wouldn't even want to guess what 'normal' is with one of those as Ive never seen one in the wild.

Seems like it was one of those mad experiments Honda came up with at the same time as DCT. Though this is CVT with a difference.

I’ve only ever seen one… in St Jean-de-Sixt in, I think, 2018.  Looks a good bike for touring… 

@Al Gear congrats on the pass. That’s an interesting choice of bike (that’s not a criticism) as it’s a bit left-field / niche. It’ll probably turn heads as a result of being a bit different. 

22 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

My Multistrada which was a 937 cc V twin allegedly got 50 mpg. My average over 5 years and 26500 (ish) miles was 45.8 mpg. I rode it enthusiastically and took a liberal interpretation of NSL.

My Guzzi is supposed to get up to 60 mpg (also a V twin and 1042 cc) but according to owners you do amazingly well to see 50 mpg.  I'm expecting 45.8 again. Of course running it in on a miserable 4500 rpm for 1500 km will probably see a lowish consumption. 

I got (all figures approximate) 45mpg from my VFR800, 50mpg from my ST1100, 45mpg from my FJR1300, and get around 55mpg from my R1200GS. I suspect the latter is because of the nature of the riding I do now and ride, shall we say, less “enthusiastically”, than previously. 

 

1 hour ago, Simon Davey said:

Many thanks all, the idea sounds positive (for the best part)...

 

I might try a cheap clip on  one to gauge the affect before buying something decent.

Buy cheap, buy twice…

I know this truism well after buying cheap woodworking tools and having to replace them with decent kit. Currently saving for a decent table saw! 

9 hours ago, Gerontious said:

All you can do is try. see if it works for you. finding the perfect screen is all down to pot luck and some people never manage to. so they make allowances.

 

The flip. and double bubble were both invented by MRA and MRA are one of the very few manufacturers that actually wind tunnel test their products. But there are other factors that can easily affect how they work. (or dont) mostly your height. but also your normal riding position. so geometry.

 

I would suggest you go for MRA because at least if they dont work for you you will get most of your money back if you decide to sell them on.

 

I had a 2-piece MRA on my old GS. it worked well at removing turbulence at speed.

Spot on.

My two penny worth…

I had a double bubble on my VFR800 and it made barely a jot of difference - you had to tuck down into a racing crouch to feel any effect. I did have the MRA aerofoil type thing on my Tiger 1050 and it made a significant difference, particularly on long motorway / autoroute / autobahn runs. Tested, according to my satnav, up to 127mph. It was also easy to adjust down to allow extra airflow over my lid, particularly useful touring in warm climates.

19 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

Me too and some inappropriate photos too.

What? Chinese motorbikes?

On 12/12/2023 at 10:24, Fiddlesticks said:

Can confirm.

My default rightmove search is on Keyword - "Double Garage".

Or “barn”?

No, it wasn’t on my search, but it came with the house.