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Hi I currently own a pair of HG padded jeans and a tatty ancient textile jacket. As its raining and a bit colder these days, ive opted to buy something a bit more warmer and padded should i fall off during wet spells. Ive been and bought a hardly used 2 peice leather suit, its awesome! The trousers fit nice and the jacket is a bit tight (more on the gut than anywhere else ) i assume the leather will stretch a bit to my body over time? I read the leather jackets are meant to be a tight fit but not sure how tight. Its fine across my shoulders/upper body. Made by Wolf... i read these are a good brand? For what its worth, ill be buying a waterproof overall thing for the rain, if anything it'l be easier to dry waterproofs at work than leather. cheers

Hi Anyone just use their iPhone (or other mobile device i suppose) with bluetooth?? Id like basic helmet speakers/mic purely for music/satnav/phonecalls rather than a full on comms package. suppose it doesnt even have to be bluetooth but ive not seen any wired helmet kits.... do i need to look harder? anyone else do something like this? cheers

Hi Am wondering where my local mod 1 + 2 station would be (around Slough/Reading) does anyone know where they take it or how i would find out?! Thanks

Looks huge on http://i547.photobucket.com/albums/hh470/mic8310/a4f901b2.jpg

Hi Been building bits up ready for cbt/buying a bike. Was looking at helmets on eBay and came across this helmet. The shop that sell it isn't far so I went to try it on and bought it (yay!). I'm well excited and happy with it but I thought I'd look around and see what other people think as I read it's a 2010 model. Was quite shocked to find the only real review was a guy giving it a real slating, leaks water bad and alsorts.... Anyone else tried it - or that make in particular?! The helmet does look a little wider than others but I've put it down to the hinge? Cheers

After a bit more reading up on the new proposed laws it looks to be more aimed at under 24 year olds. Suppose I'm grateful I'm in my 30s lol I think I'll just get a 125 on a cbt and take my time, doesn't seem to be a rush after all

dont have the cash for an intensive course and even if i did, would rather have a bit more recent experience behind me first. i *might* be able to borrow a 125cc for a short period. Ultimatly if i can do the theory before the next CBT and do mod 1 as close to that as possible, it would leave me 3 months to sort a bike out and a bit of practise and mod 2 on a 125 for xmas. thats the goal.

Hi Having a little dialema with myself. Nearly 2 years ago i did the CBT, bought a bike and rode it nearly every day for a few months. Instead of riding it for 6 months with intention to start taking bike tests, i sold it and bought a car (recall wimping out with the cold weather LOL) and now i regret doing that as i could potentially riding around on a restricted 600cc now. Anyway, got that bug again and i wanna see it thru this time. CBT runs out this September..... I could wait a few weeks - busy with work/holiday pending and do CBT again in September. I could try to cram in the theory test, mod 1 and mod 2 between now and September when the CBT runs out, bearing in mind i dont own a helmet nevermind a bike..... I was gonna be happy with a restricted license but tonight ive read something about after January it changes so if i did the test on a 125cc i could only ride a 125cc without L plates therefore would have to go thru the full test option anyway. Not cheap. So the third choice which im now warming to would be to take the CBT again in September and thatll give me 3 months to do theory, mod 1 and mod 2. That leaves me a couple of questions which im not sure on.... firstly, i had got comfortable and confident riding the 125 last time and id like to think i'll pick up again pretty quick doing the CBT. on that note, is it possible to do the mod 1 on the same day as the CBT (will fit in theory before CBT)?? And secondly, ive taken a strange liking to them monkey bikes.... assuming i can get one to go over 60mph for mod 2, is there any reason why i couldnt do mod 2 on one? All becomes a little clearer once you write it all down and read it through any thought/opinions welcome thanks!

hi heres the plan. sort of. I did the CBT in September 2010 so it'll run out in 2012. I had a 125cc for a while and rode it daily for 6 months before selling it. Ive got the bug again but this time want to do the test. i think a restricted license would be fine for me, quite happy to potter about on a 400cc for a couple of years im sure they'll fly by. So ive been looking at websites of my local companys and heres what im thinking. 8 hour day on a 125cc then mod 1 test. this way i wont need to buy a bike before the day as im hoping my past experience should be good enough for the manouvers..... 8 hours riding before hand should get me up to scratch for them?! in the summer id do another 8 hours on a 125cc followed by the mod 2 test.... again thinking that aa full day of riding should help me iron out any problems. is that a realistic target? id hate to fork out for a 125cc when id want to get a 400cc after the test, and at least id have the option of not getting a bike till later should money be an issue. any thoughts on that?? cheers

Hi wondering if anyone knows the sizes of the cam bolts in a CBR600 camshaft? done a picture to save me trying to explain rubbishly. would anyone know the sizes? maybe even have a picture for some reason handy?! http://berksminis.co.uk/pics/campic.jpg thanks!

My textile jacket is a short 'race style' one (so i was told when i bought it, a nice black + white Bering one) and as its getting colder and wetting im thinking of something warmer. Also thinking about my locker at work.... if i hang a wet jacket up in my locker is gonna ruin everythin underneath and fill my boots up so thinkin rather than buy a bigger jacket for a few months use, im tempted to buy a hoodie to fit over the top of the jacket. It isnt a long way to work and i wouldnt mind hanging that up somewhere to dry out of my locker if it gets wet. Would also be a bit warmer too than a raincoat. Anyone else do something like that?

dont know the make etc but in my local suzuki showroom they have disc lock in shape of a handgrenade for about £25, looks well cool!

thanks for the link my bike isnt on it which doesnt come as a suprise as half the insurance companys dont have it listed either

yea its a cheerful cheap chinese jobby. looks like i be using one of their bikes then

Hi! Been looking at the 2/3 day courses for restricted license and it says you can use your own 125cc if the bike is capable of doing 60mph. Mine might do 60mph downhill with the wind behind me.... would it NEED to go 60mph for some sort of manouver as in would i be expected to get to 60mph or is it just a bike that is capable of? Anyone else use your own 125 for it? thanks

i got one of these the other day cost £40? in the shops Hein Gericke alarm disc lock on ebay just need to change the battery just depends on how 'new' you want it to look!

my advice and i may be in the minority if you plan on taking the test for a bigger bike next year, dont spend loads on a 125 you dont plan on keeping. i bought a cheap and cheerful chinese 125 on a 56 plate for £300 with a near full mot and all ive had to do was replace the relay flasher unit for £5. it does 50mph and its cheap to run etc. i'll gain as much confidence etc (and bad habbits) on that as i would an expensive 125 way i see it, if your gonna spend at least 1k on a 125 then you mightve well have paid for a 5 day direct access course and bought an oldish 400cc jobbie off ebay for a few hundred quid. my 5p worth

is definanlty the right flasher relay the bike hasnt even done 300 miles yet, i cant find any loose wires etc. im wondering if i should try fix the original relay incase it 'needs' to use that one, its a pretty spotless bike

Tapped it and knocked it till it rattled. Put another one on and its the same, both sides light up but stay on Any other ideas?

i like that line of thought.... where would i pick one up from to check?

hi! ive got a chinese maxus x dirt 125cc cheap jobbie. when i turn the indicators on they stay on and i get a high pitch humming noise rather than have them repeat as they should. any idea what it could be??

Hi! Been thinking about whether id need some sort of storage unit on the bike for 'stuff' but i dunno, i have a locker at work for safety shoes etc and have a car if i need to carry anything bigger than what i could carry on a bike. the bike im getting is a field bike style so dont know if a box would look out of place but at least it bolts on and stays there and i could leave my helmet in it. on the other hand, a bag would look cooler and i could take it into work etc but its the hassle of taking it on and off all the time. decisions decisions.

Thought id write a little about yesterdays CBT. Ive never been on a motorbike before, havent touched a mountain bike for at least a decade. That the first thing id recommend to anyone out there in the similar situation - jump on a push bike for a day or two before you go..... you dont realise how much balance is involved!! I know that sounds obvious but really, those who have ridden a bike for long periods will have probably forgot what its like to be at the start again. As far as riding the bike goes, it was awesome and i was buzzing in the first few minutes however, it was a very interesting few minutes! Pulling away..... sounds easy..... but for the first time, its scary as hell! Then comes cornering, which doesnt help balance if going slow and scares the shit out of you if you go too fast, and thats only in first gear! After a while you get to knock it up into 2nd gear which doesnt seem that bad and after a short while is becoming normal. Untill you have to do figure of 8 and U turns - all slow! As a car driver with bad habbits, i started to stick the clutch in and coast around the cones rather then clutch control, which took a while to get out of. Couple of errors along the way but overall not too bad. After another chat/brief, we had to use the marked out road for manovours - and after a couple of circuits things looked good. Road drive... where it all went wrong charging into junctions as i would in a car.... coasting on the clutch rather than gearing down as i would in a car.... not always cancelling indicators cos the car does it automatically.... on the road, tension is much higher as there isnt any real harm in a carpark. Stalled the bike twice at juctions pulling off in the wrong gear but overall once nerves had settled i really enjoyed it and didnt think i did too bad. Went home proudly holding onto my CBT certificated Riding a bike just looks so easy, to look at a bike you wouldnt think its that hard to ride but you soon realise its not as simple as that! Maybe its just me who took it too much for granted i dont know, hopefully it wont take me too long to pick it up better when i get a bike but big i certainly have more respect for bikers now ive tried it myself.

i went to the local shop first thing to find they didnt have any in stock and although could order some in from a different branch, they couldnt get them in for monday (tomorrow) so i left it and got some leather gortex ones instead they do have some very similar to what cypek has linked to for £70 which looked ok

Being a firm believer of not getting hurt if at all possible, ive already bought a jacket, gloves, boots and picking trousers up later ready for my CBT tomorrow. Only thing i havent bought is a helmet cos i dont know what size so i'll use theirs for the day. As far as im concerned, falling off a 125cc with L plates in a carpark will hurt just as much as somone falling off a 1000cc on the road at the same sorta speed. I was parked in town the other day and saw an instructor with 2 students (all wearing hivis vests) and was suprised to see one of the students only wearing a t shirt and 3/4 length trousers on a scooter! Ive already bought the clothing cos i want a bike hence doing the CBT but have i gone a bit OTT just for the CBT?? Id like to think safety was equally important whether riding 10 mins down the road or 5 hours on a trip out.