Fiddlesticks

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...