What did you do WITH your bike today.

[bonio]

@Simon Davey No lights are good on tight bends. You have to stare into the darkness if you're going to make it round. Even those fancy BMW ones that swivel as you turn can't be much good, as you need to see round the bend before you take it.

I came home from Stowmarket a couple of days ago at 10 at night. I was prepared for the cold, but not for the lights - the tester had set them lower when it went through its MOT a couple of weeks before, and it's noticeably harder to ride. There wasn't much fun to be had out there in the dark on the legendarily bendy A1120. I need to put them back to how they were before. 

[Simon Davey]

Thanks @bonio.

Target fixation was also scarily real, but being aware made a safer difference. 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

The worst bit about riding at night in rural areas is the potholes, mud and gravel which you can't spot in the dark. 

[bud]

That's definitely true. When they closed the road I use for work a few months ago. I had to take a different route. I think I found every pot hole.

On my usual route I know where they are. So avoid them.

[JRH]

10 hours ago, bonio said:

@Simon Davey No lights are good on tight bends. You have to stare into the darkness if you're going to make it round. Even those fancy BMW ones that swivel as you turn can't be much good, as you need to see round the bend before you take it.

I came home from Stowmarket a couple of days ago at 10 at night. I was prepared for the cold, but not for the lights - the tester had set them lower when it went through its MOT a couple of weeks before, and it's noticeably harder to ride. There wasn't much fun to be had out there in the dark on the legendarily bendy A1120. I need to put them back to how they were before. 

My first 2 wheeler was a Lambretta LI150. No battery lights were fed from the Magneto. First time out in the dark and as I rolled off the throttle for a very twisty section the lights virtually went out. That was fun. Not. Had to finish the ride in low gears to keep the revs up so I could see where I was going. Made for an interesting night ride.

[Hairsy]

I've adjusted the headlight aim on every bike I've owned - all because they were too low. For the suspicious, every single one has since been through an MoT and I've never had a fail for a headlight being too high (although my Ducati failed for beam shape which was a factory design problem).

 

I've never used the manual's suggestion for how to adjust beam using a wall and measurements. I always set my beam height by going out onto the road when it's dark and making the adjustment so that I get the maximum possible road visible without getting the light high enough to get a reflection from number plates on parked cars.

 

I imagine that many bikes get lights set to a height that's OK even if you have a pillion. I always ride alone and so don't need that contingency built in.

 

But, as we all know, bikes vary hugely in the quality of their lights. My 2017 Z1000SX headlight is way way better than any other I've experienced. And my 6 volt DT50M headlight was an absolute joke. Although, being 16, I probably rode that bike more at night than any other bike I've owned.

 

These days I avoid riding at night if I can but 2 weeks ago I did an hour in the dark. I really hated not being able to properly see the road surface. Scared me.

[bud]

On yes I'm old enough to remember 6V headlights. Absolutely rubbish at night.

[Fiddlesticks]

Up to Sportsbikeshop Preston for a few bits. Got off the motorway... No rear brake!

Pulled over straight away, rather than "oh, I'll sort it later". Glad I did - the bolt which the pedal hinges around was so loose it fell off in my hand. So easily screwed back to place, thanks to the guy who ran the roadside caff who had the right size hex key handy. A timely reminder to dig out a spare and add to the travelling kit.

[S-Westerly]

10 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

The worst bit about riding at night in rural areas is the potholes, mud and gravel which you can't spot in the dark. 

And the dead badgers / foxes.

[onesea]

4 hours ago, Hairsy said:

 

I always set my beam height by going out onto the road when it's dark and making the adjustment so that I get the maximum possible road visible without getting the light high enough to get a reflection from number plates on parked cars.

 

I was reading in horror, until I read this paragraph, I do the same.

 

To many bikes tilt the headlight up and blind on coming traffic or just leave full beam on. 

 

Ok if you ride day time only, night time you blind every road user.

 

My worst ride was when a twin filament bulb failed on low beam.  I was only an hour from home, so used full beam.  However if I got flashed by on coming traffic I switched to low beam and became invisible. 

 

Not one car flashed me twice after I went dark on them and went back to full beam.

 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I was out this afternoon doing a dry run with the marshalls for next Saturdays ride raising funds to send motorbikes for medical care in the Congo. It was a cracking afternoon with sunshine and dry roads. Met some interesting characters as you do with riding motorcycles.  

 

So far we're looking at around 40 bikes participating and to date have raised enough to send four 125cc bikes which is incredible.  

[Capt Sisko]

I got rained on!  First time it's rained in my corner of Shropshire of three weeks and whilst it was only a shower it was a short, sharp, heavy one, and muggins here had no choice but to ride through it. Ten minutes later and the sun was shining again.

[curlylegend]

4 hours ago, S-Westerly said:

And the dead badgers / foxes.

And the bloody live wild pigs here in west of France !

You do NOT want to hit one of them !

[Shepherd]

Not today, but last week.

Got taken for some fantastic rides all over North Wales, returning to Betws-y-Coed each evening. The roads were empty, and pot hole free!

I can't believe the difference in road surface conditions between the roads there and the crater strewn area that I live in.

Shame the Ponderosa has closed, would liked to have stopped in an iconic place like that. Didn't even know I was on the Horseshoe Pass( apparently).

Didn't got to see any jets in the Mach valley, but could hear them buzzing around off the coast. 

Did get to cross on to Anglesey just to say I've been there, the same reason we went to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch 

Weather was fantastic,  not so the puncture on the last morning.

It's all a learning curve.

 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

9 hours ago, Shepherd said:

Not today, but last week.

Got taken for some fantastic rides all over North Wales, returning to Betws-y-Coed each evening. The roads were empty, and pot hole free!

I can't believe the difference in road surface conditions between the roads there and the crater strewn area that I live in.

Shame the Ponderosa has closed, would liked to have stopped in an iconic place like that. Didn't even know I was on the Horseshoe Pass( apparently).

Didn't got to see any jets in the Mach valley, but could hear them buzzing around off the coast. 

Did get to cross on to Anglesey just to say I've been there, the same reason we went to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch 

Weather was fantastic,  not so the puncture on the last morning.

It's all a learning curve.

 

You haven't missed anything at the Ponderosa.  It had all the charm and quality of a school dinner canteen. I hope you visited Old Stores just down the road. It's a brilliant biker cafe.

[Shepherd]

14 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

You haven't missed anything at the Ponderosa.  It had all the charm and quality of a school dinner canteen. I hope you visited Old Stores just down the road. It's a brilliant biker cafe.

Sadly not, didn't have a clue where I was, or the location of any cafés.  I didn’t even think to grab some tags whilst out and about, and I even stopped at one of them.

I've already decided that I'd love to do it again, and I'll be better prepared next time. I'll be asking on here for some tips.

I had been up and down to Donnington before that, so we reckoned on a 1600 mile week, which I seem to have recovered from surprisingly easily 

[Fiddlesticks]

On 13/04/2025 at 17:14, Fiddlesticks said:

Up to Sportsbikeshop Preston for a few bits. Got off the motorway... No rear brake!

Pulled over straight away, rather than "oh, I'll sort it later". Glad I did - the bolt which the pedal hinges around was so loose it fell off in my hand. So easily screwed back to place, thanks to the guy who ran the roadside caff who had the right size hex key handy. A timely reminder to dig out a spare and add to the travelling kit.

Now this is interesting. On the way home the cruise control failed to switch on. Same on my commute today, along with a check engine light on the way home.

 

Coincidence? Conspiracy? Cock-up?

 

Here we go again. I have three Windows laptops squirrelled away in a crate somewhere. Abandoned by the kids when they left home. For reasons best known to Bill Gates only the oldest, most knackeredest of them will connect to the OBD dongle so the Explorer can tell me where it hurts. It is a single purpose device - even its version of Internet Explorer gets the brush off from most modern websites.

 

So after 20 mins finding it, about the same booting it up, and again getting it connected, the TigerTool gave me the good news...

 

P1577 Brake light switch 2 correlation error with switch 1

 

.. I cleared that fault code like a boss Triumph tech. Didn't even go for a test ride, but pretty sure tomorrow's ride in will prove everything's fixed. 

 

Fingers crossed.

[Fiddlesticks]

Overconfidence! It came back More investigation required.