Sphere

Yeah it's this. EURO emissions standards were only intended for newly manufactured bikes, but they're always used for ULEZ criteria - i.e. can you drive in a certain zone without being charged £12.50 per day... So if you pick up a used EURO3 but not EURO4 bike, you might find (but can't predict) that in a couple or a few years not only has the zone expanded but the emissions standard has been bumped too. Just because a bike was manufactured in a year when the standard was say EURO3, it could well comply with EURO4/5 standards, even though those standards only came about later.

Boring post I'm afraid I can't seem to find any emissions data for the NC700 or NC750 models. Does anyone know whether they're EURO5 compliant? Or only models after a certain year? Cheers

In the city daily, on the 70-limits few times a month. I'm looking for a sensible, practical model choice and cb500f seems to be the bar. I'm also alarmed by fuel prices and probably value mpg more than most riders - hence the honda on the shortlist Any other strong contenders to consider? I guess I want a narrow bike which handles well in traffic but holds its own on A-roads

Do any London riders happen to know whether the rules for whether bikes are allowed to use bus lanes in London depend only on borough? i.e. if I tell you the borough you can tell me YES or NO? Or is it more complicated than that, and some borough contains both types of bus lane? I know how to read the blue signs (which are at times obscured by tree foliage). But it would be handy to know which the offending boroughs are where I might get a fine... then when nowhere near these boroughs I can ride easy and confidently use any bus lane even if I didn't catch the sign 30 yards back!

I've read people saying insurers pull out all the tricks in the book to avoid paying in the event of a claim, including claims relating to theft. I'm curious about what people's experiences are when they've made a claim after having their bike stolen. Obviously some providers will be better than others, but broadly speaking am I likely to see a payout and is the value likely to be a reasonable one? Fully-comp and 3rd-party-fire-and-theft are somewhat more expensive in my particular situation (London), but I won't bother if when it gets stolen I'm gonna be on a wild goose chase to see any cash from the provider!

Which trackers did you go for if you don't mind my asking?

Yeah fair point, Tile/Apple tags are not without value but would be frustrating to go to the effort and find no signal ^^

Just watched a video on them and these seem unsuitable for a number of reasons. If the thief has an iphone it will alert her that an Airtag appears to be following her around (apple implemented this for privacy reasons to prevent people stalking people's movements!) On the other hand, if the thief has a samsung or huawei or no phone and parks it in an industrial estate for a few days without tons of people traffic you could be stuffed.

Heard of monimoto but friend's died 2 years after purchase (exact day of warranty expiration pretty much!) Any strong opinions about the products out there? Also, please share any cautions against getting one if there are any reasons you guys don't like them/annoyances! Cheers

Thanks guys, I won't be getting involved with limiting after all then. Luckily Japanese 125s are pretty liquid and can be bought and sold within a year relatively painlessly from what I've seen. I'll just flip it and move up when I outgrow it. Cheers

Can I limit something like a 650cc bike down to 125cc to legally ride it with L plates on a CBT license? Is there a limit to how much you can limit? What's the largest bike I can limit down to 125cc to legally ride on CBT license? Possibly dumb question!

Friend of mine who rides in London seems to think theft where a bike is loaded into a van is extremely rare and he has a tracker but no chain. He shared this reddit discussion which is apparently an AMA by an ex-motorcycle-thief who seems to agree. reddit/motorcycles/ex-thief-AMA If this is true, it is tempting to swerve on the chain and just roll with a light, cheap, possibly alarmed disc lock. (Not trying to disagree with the responses so far, I just wonder what people's thoughts are...)

Anyone have any thoughts on a sensible chain thickness? I'd like to keep things reasonably light if possible without it being too easy to attack. I guess I need backpack or box if I'm gonna have a chain. Or do thinner ones fit in a seat (like on CB125F)?

I'm going to be commuting in London with a CB125F 2021 - a curb weight of 117kg. For a bike this light at that price point (just under £3,000) is a chain a no brainer? Are most people going with disc lock + chain? Just wondering if for some reason it's still not worth the hassle. In practice maybe an alarmed disc lock is adequate on it's own? I don't really have a sense for how common lifting-into-van thefts are these days...