It's started again - bikes are coming out of garages.

[onesea]

Where to start

Facebook - 

• Last week was of biker groups news reports of Car v Bike accidents, and subsequent arm chair comments.
• Now it's the week of police we caught a biker gang doing 100mph plus.* Yes we are back in radar.
• Stupid biking questions

 

 

The change in attitude of car drivers, 2 miles home this morning. 

• Ford Ranger - Yes I will use both lanes leaving you in the gutter to cut this corner, 
• Mercedes - you shall stop whilst I drive round this parked car, 
• Vauxhall - I will pull out of side road whilst your turning into and jesticulate that I should of seen you coming. 

 

Then there are the bikes, exhaust noise up and headlights set ridiculously high dazelling any on coming road users day or night.

Some seem to have spent there time in hibernation (winter) adding more running lights than 1960's scooters.

 

For anyone who thinks they help: 

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AHQeDG9Gn/

 

Speak to any emergency service driver lights sirens, blue, green or red weighing several tons people just don't look.

 

* I once had a chat about this with a copper and they where midly concerned, I had thought to much about it.  If you want to go for a sporting ride:

• Put your bike gear on,
• Park up at suitable location,
• Put cheap disposable chavy track suit over top, of your bike gear,
• Steal a bike,
• Enjoy your sporting ride, your unlikely to what would be short chase thrown in,
• Abandoned said bike,
• Ditch tracksuit, 
• Ride home on own bike,
• Just be careful of CCTV at start and finish.

 

Ride own taxed and insured bike 10mph over speed limit, be ready for points and fines and to be added to statistics for dangerous bikers.

You will be classed as one of those chavs you had just dressed as

 

Maybe I just finished a night shift so a little grumpy..

[vstromming]

Same every year unfortunately. 

 

 - The fair weather riders (If you want to do that fine but it is a literal description) come out of hibernation with severely lacking skills and gone absolutely mental. 

 

- The resulting crashes and near misses are always the car drivers fault - funnily enough it's sometimes the bike riders fault!

 

- The usual myriad of insurance company recomendations -  how have people not understood yet that it's all based on personal circumstances and all you can do is shop around? 

 

It's interesting to read but so incredibly frustrating at the same time. 

[Mawsley]

L'enfer c'est les autres. 

 

 

[Throttled]

Blue lights from multiple ambulance and police around the Glasgow stretch of the M8 today, but nothing obvious as to why. Lots of bikers out.

[Mawsley]

[Ian Frog]

On 07/04/2025 at 13:56, Mawsley said:

L'enfer c'est les autres. 

 

 

Jean-Paul Sartre on a bike forum ! Now I am suitably impressed.

Agree with the sentiment though.

Cheers

Ian

[billysugger]

I had to Google it

[onesea]

4 hours ago, billysugger said:

I had to Google it

You are not alone

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

Jean-Paul Sartre...does he ride for Ducati? 

[Ian Frog]

11 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Jean-Paul Sartre...does he ride for Ducati? 

No I think he made perfume and conical bras.

Cheers

Ian

[Phil1]

Coincidentally, my MOT ran out last Friday so I wasn't able to use it over the weekend, the soonest I could get it in was Tuesday this week. 

 

The previous couple of years before the last MOT it was sorn as I just didn't have time with family commitments etc. 

 

The local place I do the test I usually get involved with doing the lights/brakes etc. He asked how many miles it had on, jokingly saying "let me guess has it done 200 miles since last year?". 

 

Turns out he does about 40 bikes a month and his average over the past couple of years has been 114 miles between MOTs over about 1000 bikes. 

 

He said he regularly gets "bikers" coming in every year with 2-3 miles since the last MOT, obviously only ever taking them out just for the MOT. 

 

I only had about 1500 miles on mine but it took his average up a fair bit .

[Mawsley]

14 hours ago, Ian Frog said:

perfume and conical bras.

 

 

*Mental note for Frog's TMBF Secret Santa present

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

23 hours ago, Ian Frog said:

No I think he made perfume and conical bras.

Cheers

Ian

Bloody dangerous those things when your pillion is wearing one. 

[Ian Frog]

8 hours ago, Mawsley said:

 

*Mental note for Frog's TMBF Secret Santa present

Why wait that long it`s my birthday in a fortnight lol.

Cheers

Ian

[Mawsley]

While I've been swapping cars and out with the dogs, the standard of riding is woeful the last couple of days. Bikes overtaking on blind bends and before hill crests - all of them race reps. They aren't long for the world. Why don't they go track days?

[Steve_M]

7 hours ago, Mawsley said:

While I've been swapping cars and out with the dogs, the standard of riding is woeful the last couple of days. Bikes overtaking on blind bends and before hill crests - all of them race reps. They aren't long for the world. Why don't they go track days?

Because they’d discover just how slow they are, and how quickly they’d get black flagged riding like idiots?

[Stu]

On 13/04/2025 at 09:54, Mawsley said:

While I've been swapping cars and out with the dogs, the standard of riding is woeful the last couple of days. Bikes overtaking on blind bends and before hill crests - all of them race reps. They aren't long for the world. Why don't they go track days?

 

I went out the other day and was overtaken by "the fast boys" 

 

It was a dangerous overtake then they continued to overtake approaching bends and with oncoming cars! 

 

Few miles down the road in the bendy stuff I caught them up and overtook them!

 

As my mate always says! You can look as though you're fast if you ride dangerously enough! 

 

I'm guessing it was their first ride since last year

[onesea]

These things happen, had been out for a ride with a friend a whilst back now.  We stopped at a cafe, 600 bandit and fz6 nothing remarkable.

 

Then road in a power ranger on suitable polished sportsbike, knee sliders back hump etc.  People came over to admire his bike and listen to his story.  
 

My comment to my friend was compare our tyres.  His still had new bits of shiney tyre and some wear in the middle, ours yeah they were worn.  But the chicken strips where respectable.

 

Then there is the local Railway crossing, they all filter to the front race away and you overtake them on the bends after.

 

 

 

[RideWithStyles]

Not sure which thread this sits best with so I’ll go with the view of seasonal riders fail at the basics and makes it worse for others.

nipped out nothing special just a quick loop. Traffic was horrendous but I was still in good spirits without filtering until:

My local and regular petrol station for fuel and the odd thing for years, never a problem.

Roll into the usual pump on the right (p1) which is easily seen by all vehicles when they enter the yard up so they can see this pump is in use before they roll up, *I’ve been nearly caught out by cars in a rush and driving into the back of the bike like that as they don’t look beyond the bonnet and the shops window scene is blurry and off set of sight when turning in*. I’m always wary of the floor so I stop where less shite is there.

now the counter is to the left, not out of sight but not very direct eye line if you dont park the front of the bike 10foot back from the pump which I do not. Plus they have cameras about.

 

Start filling the bike up as usual, about half way filled notice this young lady wondering over and shouting some random nonsense but thought at first it was to the person on the other side.

to be honest i wasn’t tuned into to people , had my plus in and as I was more interested about refilling the tank…

it came apparent she was a worker there shouting some obsence spiel about from a pump and a half away: 

“you can’t fill it up!”

What? why?

“You can’t fill it up (x2)”

why can’t I fill it up?

“you can’t fill it up without the side stand down…..you cant fill it unless your off the bike”

why? Been here loads, Never been a problem before, why you have a problem now? wheres the instructions of law or your company policy her (pointing at the pump) to say otherwise here??

She get the guy at the counter to cut the pump.

“you might slip and fall over, spill you whole tank and ignite the fuel and set yourself on fire!”

what sort of nonsense are you on about?

(I’m think we’re more likely to have a problem while she goes on about her shite) then her reason changed,

“its because we have new pumps….and they block views and….”

what new pumps? The same ones with the same old duct tape holding the covers??? What sort of bs is that?

Which pumps then do I have to use the?
“if you use those two pumps over there you can be seen?”

So rising to the challenge of this workers view i said so where does it say that then?

”you still have to be off then”

 

Wonders to the counter quite miffed saying:

Pump 1 if you couldnt see or tell, better be quick incase the bike or i spontaneous combust or something.

he gave the same “bs of the new pumps” around customers and when I said which new ones? The old ones with duct tape holding the covers? 
“yes…”

well now for a H&S bs. she was struggling to hand carry a bag of sand (rather than the man behind the counter) with the thinnest plastic bag across the yard and bays failing to deposit into the little buckets while vehicles are being filled which is hazard of slipping.
I managed to ride my bike even with millions of green flys, birds, sunburnt people, bank holiday rushes, get some fuel in (and get home) without not have an whoopies.
if its that bad judging by the loads of dried diesel on the floor and pumps they shouldn’t let people fill their cars/vans themselves even when they’re stood up….

now as a note I find putting the bike upright and the nozzle more vertical down actually avoids spills as the all the fuel from the valve to the nozzle is out, when the bike is on the side stand you have it at an less angle so there is some fuel still left at the kink so when you move the nozzle it syphons out over the tank, floor or pump.

 

tell you what I’ll go back with a 20ltr tank, stood up right next to the car and fill the tank stood up and spill a load of it on the floor, it will be fine….

Edited Friday at 22:17 by RideWithStyles

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

9 hours ago, RideWithStyles said:

Not sure which thread this sits best with so I’ll go with the view of seasonal riders fail at the basics and makes it worse for others.

nipped out nothing special just a quick loop. Traffic was horrendous but I was still in good spirits without filtering until:

My local and regular petrol station for fuel and the odd thing for years, never a problem.

Roll into the usual pump on the right (p1) which is easily seen by all vehicles when they enter the yard up so they can see this pump is in use before they roll up, *I’ve been nearly caught out by cars in a rush and driving into the back of the bike like that as they don’t look beyond the bonnet and the shops window scene is blurry and off set of sight when turning in*. I’m always wary of the floor so I stop where less shite is there.

now the counter is to the left, not out of sight but not very direct eye line if you dont park the front of the bike 10foot back from the pump which I do not. Plus they have cameras about.

 

Start filling the bike up as usual, about half way filled notice this young lady wondering over and shouting some random nonsense but thought at first it was to the person on the other side.

to be honest i wasn’t tuned into to people , had my plus in and as I was more interested about refilling the tank…

it came apparent she was a worker there shouting some obsence spiel about from a pump and a half away: 

“you can’t fill it up!”

What? why?

“You can’t fill it up (x2)”

why can’t I fill it up?

“you can’t fill it up without the side stand down…..you cant fill it unless your off the bike”

why? Been here loads, Never been a problem before, why you have a problem now? wheres the instructions of law or your company policy her (pointing at the pump) to say otherwise here??

She get the guy at the counter to cut the pump.

“you might slip and fall over, spill you whole tank and ignite the fuel and set yourself on fire!”

what sort of nonsense are you on about?

(I’m think we’re more likely to have a problem while she goes on about her shite) then her reason changed,

“its because we have new pumps….and they block views and….”

what new pumps? The same ones with the same old duct tape holding the covers??? What sort of bs is that?

Which pumps then do I have to use the?
“if you use those two pumps over there you can be seen?”

So rising to the challenge of this workers view i said so where does it say that then?

”you still have to be off then”

 

Wonders to the counter quite miffed saying:

Pump 1 if you couldnt see or tell, better be quick incase the bike or i spontaneous combust or something.

he gave the same “bs of the new pumps” around customers and when I said which new ones? The old ones with duct tape holding the covers? 
“yes…”

well now for a H&S bs. she was struggling to hand carry a bag of sand (rather than the man behind the counter) with the thinnest plastic bag across the yard and bays failing to deposit into the little buckets while vehicles are being filled which is hazard of slipping.
I managed to ride my bike even with millions of green flys, birds, sunburnt people, bank holiday rushes, get some fuel in (and get home) without not have an whoopies.
if its that bad judging by the loads of dried diesel on the floor and pumps they shouldn’t let people fill their cars/vans themselves even when they’re stood up….

now as a note I find putting the bike upright and the nozzle more vertical down actually avoids spills as the all the fuel from the valve to the nozzle is out, when the bike is on the side stand you have it at an less angle so there is some fuel still left at the kink so when you move the nozzle it syphons out over the tank, floor or pump.

 

tell you what I’ll go back with a 20ltr tank, stood up right next to the car and fill the tank stood up and spill a load of it on the floor, it will be fine….

Which is why Triumph fit the filler slightly to the right hand side of the tank. On the side stand the filler is at the highest point. 

 

This avoids getting shouted at by filling station attendants. 

[S-Westerly]

I forget where but somewhere I saw a sign in a petrol station that "motorcyclists must dismount before using pump". I tend to although if it's pay at pump I wonder why I do. 

[Evotion]

I'd only really heard that there is a real problem with bikers riding away without paying, likely mostly thieves (there is a LOT of them) or delivery riders (even more of them). Certainly, the staff get angsty when a biker comes in as their bosses put the fear of god into them.

[Hairsy]

I have some sympathy for the petrol stations with people driving away without paying - and the ridiculous accidents that some people have where they then try to blame someone else for 'letting them do it'.

 

Having said that, some clear and polite signage wouldn't go amiss and would help us all to comply.

[Fiddlesticks]

11 hours ago, Hairsy said:

I have some sympathy for the petrol stations with people driving away without paying - and the ridiculous accidents that some people have where they then try to blame someone else for 'letting them do it'.

 

Having said that, some clear and polite signage wouldn't go amiss and would help us all to comply.

For the first time ever tonight I was asked to remove my helmet before fueling. It has a flip front too - not good enough, apparently. Felt sorry for the lad on the till - he'd had a few bikers ride off without paying.

[onesea]

5 hours ago, Fiddlesticks said:

For the first time ever tonight I was asked to remove my helmet before fueling. It has a flip front too - not good enough, apparently. Felt sorry for the lad on the till - he'd had a few bikers ride off without paying.

I have had a few garages do that for me over the years.  When possible I do ride off, without putting petrol in. 

I certainly never plan to return to them. 

 

I understand they have problems with people not paying but they should have reg plate so should be able to go back to vehicle owner.