Fiddlesticks

Bit of a busy afternoon. Took Mrs. Fiddlesticks on the back to a big empty carpark to do some slow speed practising. U-turns within 2 car parking spaces width . Slalom between tennis balls cut in half. Figure 8s in just over 4 spaces. Counter-steering. - by the end of all that she was a bit dizzy so had a break while I had a go at.. circles on full lock. (More practise required here). She's thinking about doing her CBT, so I say, here, have a little sit on the XJR1300 without me and I'll walk you through where everything is. - OK. Want to start her up? - No, it's too big, heavy and scary. Fair enough. Onwards to Southport Pier for a cuppa. All that work paid off as it was a tight turn to get back into the road afterwards. Satisfying to be able to do it without paddling. Just under an hour back to the Wirral, youngest lad (he's 21) wants a ride out. Took him the scenic route to the Tap at Eastham. Good biker spot. Back up the motorway home, topped up with Super for tomorrow morning's 40 mile commute. Been wearing what are known in our house as "love handles" - actually Oxford Rider Pillion Grips. A big belt that has plastic handles for the pillion to hold. They're a bit hit, very comfortable for me (I can't tell they're being used) and the passenger finds them very reassuring. Not particularly cool though Finally took the gloves off. Phew! They're getting old anyway, but they smell like cheese that's been left in the sun. Duly attacked them with the steam cleaner. Will report back on effectiveness assuming they hold together. Night all.

The random playlist threw this one my way earlier. Argh! How do you get rid of spoilers? Anyway...

Physically unable to (or at least not comfortably). Not a motorcycle injury.

I recall the trainer on my CBT course had a knackered lower leg. He did all his slow speed stuff using just clutch control.

Good info, thank you.

Yep. This was one of those manoeuvre, signal, mirror kind of affairs.

Not heard of that before, looks good thanks.

Someone decided he didn't like queuing in town today and jumped from his lane into mine without looking. In the wet, I braked and the back wheel locked and slid out. Let go of the front brake and everything straightened up again. Not quite a 60mph slide but made me question how I could have better dealt with it.

My first motorcycle: a tidy 07 reg Yamaha XJR1300. Maybe it's not the obvious choice for a new rider, but after spending the weekend looking at the tired sports tourers in my price bracket, I saw the classic lines of this retro-styled muscle bike and fell a little bit in love. No, it doesn't have a fairing. I dropped a faired Yamaha 650 on my leg about 20 years ago. The bruise took about six months to heal, but the fairing had to be scrapped. I figure, one less thing to worry about. The lack of screen and luggage can be rectified for a price, but for now I'm basking in its cobalt blue and silver magnificence. The most techie piece of kit on this motorcycle is the digital 12 (not 24!) hour clock that sits recessed in the chunky metal by the ignition. There are a couple of dash lights, a chrome analogue speedo with matching rev counter and not much else. The engine is a fuel-injected, air cooled inline 4. Well, I'm new to this game so not sure how that stacks up to anything except the fun SV650 I learned to ride on. Bigger, heavier, faster, louder but actually nothing too intimidating. You don't really want to go too fast, but it is nice to have almost 100bhp and oodles of torque on tap should you need it. We're missing some engine braking, but the brakes themselves are very good. Slow speed handling requires a bit more commitment, but I can still do a U-turn and figure 8 without difficulty. The Ohlins shocks and comfortable seat make for a great ride. Add a pillion plus luggage and it won't notice the difference. I'm given to understand that MPG may not be the best, but what you get here is some old school cool and a big smile.

Hi all, Well, Stu's reply above was correct. Went to the dealer today to do a test ride and bought the bike. Paid for insurance online and did the tax immediately afterwards online. Rode home all legal, like. Not like the old days I think officially I'm supposed to have insurance in place to do this, but the checks are done on a continuous basis, not at point of paying the VED.

Ah! This would solve things. Hadn't realised. https://www.parkers.co.uk/amp/car-tax/advice/car-tax-online/ Everything else I have read says it's required to get insurance before tax. Maybe it still is, but looks like you're right about the checks.

So how long before the system knew you were insured so you could tax your bike?

Sorry, that should have read "sorting out tax and INSURANCE" - MOT is current. As I understand it, the process for paying road tax relies on the insurance being in place. But there is a delay between buying insurance and the database being updated so I don't see how you can do both together.

Quick question on buying insurance and tax. Say I went to test ride a motorcycle, decided to buy it, and bought insurance there and then. Would I then have to wait 2 days for the insurance database to be updated before I could buy road tax online? Is there any way of legally buying a bike on spec, sorting out tax and MOT, and riding it home same day? Thanks

Worth a look for sure.

Thanks! What to buy? Head vs. heart. Big cheap sports tourer vs. stupidly big custom cruiser. Have an 85 mile round trip motorway commute to do up to twice a week. Chrome and rain not an ideal combo, plus the learning curve of a heavy bike.

Hi all, MOD2 done today. Bit scrappy in places (4 minors) but a pass is a pass. Test was at Chester. Decent examiner, had a bit of a chat beforehand which put me at ease. Stalled at the lights just going out, but recovered it quick and got on with things. Pulling up at the side of the road I tended to park too far from the kerb. My fault for not taking a proper MOD2 lesson with my instructor. Just before getting back to the test centre had an ambulance on a blue light approaching a roundabout I had just joined. I had time to gun it and get out of his way but chose instead to stop on the roundabout well back so he could see it was OK to go. Turned out the examiner was going to advise me to do that anyway, so brownie points for pre-empting him. Just got to find a bike now.

oops, wrong thread

Hey all, just passed MOD1 this morning at St. Helens. Second attempt - first time I put my foot down on the fig. 8. Did 2 hours of lessons yesterday just to get it dialled in, but was still nervous as hell. At one point the (new) bike wouldn't go down into first. The examiner was good, "just let the clutch out a touch in second, then pull it back in, that'll sort it". Kept my head up, arms loose, clutch control good, a little drag on the back brake for comfort. No minors. It started snowing on the way home, but by then I was happy.

Hi all, First post here. Did my CBT the other week with a school in Morecambe (bit of a trek from mine, but weekend availability so..) Very good experience, those of us who had ridden before did most of it on 650cc bikes which made the day a bit more interesting. Good bunch of lads, would have liked to go back for the mod1/2, but will be doing those locally. MOD1 on Wednesday...