New Rider

[Hooli]

Adam_W said:

FI is the way to go, who wants a manual choke.

Is it really that hard to move a lever before you start it & a minute or two later? I really can't see why carbs/FI would matter when buying a bike at all.

[BruceBogtrotter]

Venom said:

Yep, I'm in Cambourne now, although lived in Cherry Hinton when I took my DAS.

Also did my training with Camrider - very good bunch of guys. Is Luke still taking the DAS riders?

Good stuff, whole heaps of them now doing DAS - went out with Luke, Nick, Ken (my personal fav) and Meg. Such good instructors and they love it!


By the way is this a good bike/price? http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/hond... It is cat d for a new headlight/windscreen/top fairing but that doesn't bother me too much.

Herrro Rawwr in St Neots too. Tell you what, bikers are the most friendly bunch!

[strudel]

Test rode the cbr600f the other day - first impression was it felt really smooth and not as peaky as I thought. Didn't get chance to go far as it started tipping it down and with the bike having brand new tyres on and 3 (yes 3) miles on the clock I went back. It does sound nice though and I can see why people would recommend it. I however am going for the street triple because I loved the torque on it.

[Venom]

BruceBogtrotter said:

By the way is this a good bike/price? http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/hond... It is cat d for a new headlight/windscreen/top fairing but that doesn't bother me too much.

As a cat D, I'd probably have expected it to be a little cheaper - resale value will be affected, even if the bike looks straight now.

I'd want to know more about what damage it incurred, from what and who/how was it repaired. Looks nice enough in the pics, but without any insurance write-off I'd want to crawl all over it to make sure there weren't any hidden problems.

[BruceBogtrotter]

Venom said:

As a cat D, I'd probably have expected it to be a little cheaper - resale value will be affected, even if the bike looks straight now.

I'd want to know more about what damage it incurred, from what and who/how was it repaired. Looks nice enough in the pics, but without any insurance write-off I'd want to crawl all over it to make sure there weren't any hidden problems.

Just been to see it, looked lovely. I'm only 5ft 4 tho so only just reached the floor! Is there anyway to lower these things?!

[Fred Leicester]

Lowering kits are pretty easy to find on fleabay and the like, a quick google brings up a few results. If you're not too handy with the spanners I'm sure there are plenty of garages out there who can do the work too

[stew-S160]

Hey OP, I've got my Mod2 booked for the 11th with the Cambridge branch of CamRider. Good bunch over there. Went out with Ken for the Mod1 and had Meg and Luke before that.

Edited by stew-S160 on Sunday 29th April 18:10

[BruceBogtrotter]

stew-S160 said:

Hey OP, I've got my Mod2 booked for the 11th with the Cambridge branch of CamRider. Good bunch over there. Went out with Ken for the Mod1 and had Meg and Luke before that.

Edited by stew-S160 on Sunday 29th April 18:10

Hey fellow pupil. Good luck in your Mod2! Im sure they told you this, but go out as if you're riding for yourself and the examiner is your sat nav. Don't worry if they stop you, they will do this 4 or 5 times and then get you to move away again.

On another note : what bikes would people recommend for short arses like me with little legs?

[Pothole]

Hooli said:

Adam_W said:

FI is the way to go, who wants a manual choke.

Is it really that hard to move a lever before you start it & a minute or two later? I really can't see why carbs/FI would matter when buying a bike at all.

Nor did I until I got a bike with FI. Starting is so much better whatever the temperature and you don't have cold acceleration issues either.

[stew-S160]

BruceBogtrotter said:

stew-S160 said:

Hey OP, I've got my Mod2 booked for the 11th with the Cambridge branch of CamRider. Good bunch over there. Went out with Ken for the Mod1 and had Meg and Luke before that.

Edited by stew-S160 on Sunday 29th April 18:10

Hey fellow pupil. Good luck in your Mod2! Im sure they told you this, but go out as if you're riding for yourself and the examiner is your sat nav. Don't worry if they stop you, they will do this 4 or 5 times and then get you to move away again.

On another note : what bikes would people recommend for short arses like me with little legs?

Yeah, Ken talked us through all the Mod2 stuff. To be honest, after the Mod1, we went riding as if we were doing the Mod2. He said my friend and I would be given our pass certificates if we rode like that.

I bought my bike the other week, ready for when I pass. I am the proud owner of an SV650.

[Mario149]

OP, not sure what your budget is but maybe a Street Triple? I'm only 6 months into biking but I just put down a deposit on one and kinda regret not taking one of my mate's advice and getting it when I started out - that said it was probably good to start out on something with a slightly lower power/weight ratio. Insurance is reasonable too although that doesn't seem to be a problem for you!

[priley]

Mario149 we obviously have similar tastes in both cars and bikes. I'm about embark on learning as I desperately want a Street Triple. What a fantastic looking machine. Right, I'm about to make the call and get things underway.

[priley]

While I'm here what was the insurance if you don't mind me asking?

[seymourski]

I hope you don't mind a slight hi-jack but I am in a similar position - passed my test recently and am on the look out for my first road bike. I have been trawling the classifieds and fancy a 1999-2001 Yamaha R6 - does this seem reasonable or am I mad?

[BruceBogtrotter]

priley said:

While I'm here what was the insurance if you don't mind me asking?

For the CBR it was around £100, see above for details. Couldn't believe it.

Maybe a sports bike isn't such a good idea and I should stick to something unfaired and lighter and more importantly where I can confidently touch the floor!

[Mario149]

priley said:

Mario149 we obviously have similar tastes in both cars and bikes.

priley said:

I'm about embark on learning as I desperately want a Street Triple. What a fantastic looking machine. Right, I'm about to make the call and get things underway.

Good man

Insurance is going to be £730ish for TPFT (or about £1k i think for fully comp) as I'm in SW London and get raped for insurance If I was outside of London near Guildford where I used to live years ago, it'd be ~£150 TPFT judging by quotes I've got for other bikes, and about £250 for FC

[GTIR]

I'm also nearby.

You'll have to go up to the Huntingdon marina when the weather gets nicer. Never been myself but will do.

[S7Paul]

Fred Leicester said:

Lowering kits are pretty easy to find on fleabay and the like, a quick google brings up a few results. If you're not too handy with the spanners I'm sure there are plenty of garages out there who can do the work too

What Fred said, plus you really do need to shop around as most of the kits are just a couple of link arms machined from steel. I picked up a set for a Bandit for about £16. Some people were charging £40+ for the same thing.

[Mike600F]

Hooli said:

Is it really that hard to move a lever before you start it & a minute or two later? I really can't see why carbs/FI would matter when buying a bike at all.

Agreed. What I do like are bikes without cats - that smell when you start them up. Mmmmmmmmm.

[Nigel Worc's]

BruceBogtrotter said:

On another note : what bikes would people recommend for short arses like me with little legs?

I've had (still have one) Moto Guzzis in the past they are good for short legs, I've also got a Kawasaki Zephyr 750, which is the only "normal" jap 750 I've ever found I can reach the floor on.

I can ride a hornet ok

Some of the "crusers" if you like that kind of thing (beware though that sometimes you can reach the floor easily enough, but you can't reach the gearchange or rear brake).


Old British stuff, if you like that sort of thing.