The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread

[Bob_Defly]

KTMsm said:

Rubin215 said:

You've probably seen at least one tyre burning on a bonfire somewhere; think about the volume of smoke it produced but then imagine it contained in your house.

Whereas the sofa, carpets, curtains etc don't make any toxic smoke

Why the eye roll? There are tons of regulations around fire prevention when it comes to sofas etc.

[Rubin215]

KTMsm said:

Rubin215 said:

You've probably seen at least one tyre burning on a bonfire somewhere; think about the volume of smoke it produced but then imagine it contained in your house.

Whereas the sofa, carpets, curtains etc don't make any toxic smoke



Although I agree I'd rather keep bikes in the garage as they're for riding not looking at IMO

But if I didn't have a garage...

On you go mate, fill your boots, I'm only trying to help.



Can't believe this thread was three years ago!

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

[KTMsm]

Bob_Defly said:

Why the eye roll? There are tons of regulations around fire prevention when it comes to sofas etc.

If you've ever been near a house fire - you'll know that unless you get out very quickly you're dead

Adding many other nasty burning things to that is irrelevant as you can't be "more dead"

[Pebbles167]

When I was in my 20's I kept my race bike beside my bed. The flat letting agent, though ammused, wasn't very impressed when they did their inspection as they said it presented a fire risk.

There is something funny about a motorcycle in the house though.

[Krikkit]

KTMsm said:

Bob_Defly said:

Why the eye roll? There are tons of regulations around fire prevention when it comes to sofas etc.

If you've ever been near a house fire - you'll know that unless you get out very quickly you're dead

Adding many other nasty burning things to that is irrelevant as you can't be "more dead"

But you can be dead once a lot faster...

I don't really understand the sentiment, the professional says it's a bit of a bad idea, should we just nope everything you say as a bike dealer?

I also don't know why you'd bring it in the house in the first place, it's a big awkward thing, it won't dissolve outside

[Bob_Defly]

KTMsm said:

Bob_Defly said:

Why the eye roll? There are tons of regulations around fire prevention when it comes to sofas etc.

If you've ever been near a house fire - you'll know that unless you get out very quickly you're dead

Adding many other nasty burning things to that is irrelevant as you can't be "more dead"

Research suggests you are wrong. Taking the more toxic stuff out of the house does actually have an impact.



Figures 1 and 2 show a downward trend in the number of house fires and fatalities since
the introduction of the FFRs, which indicates the positive impact of the regulations. A
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills-commissioned report in 2009 suggests that
the FFRs were annually saving around 54 lives, preventing around 800 injuries and over
1000 fires in the period 2002 – 2007. These savings to health and property were valued at
around £140m per year.4 In addition, research published by the University of Surrey
showed that in 1992, four years after the introduction of the FFRs, there were at least 65
fewer deaths as a result of fires started in upholstered furniture in the home, than in 1988.
The research goes on to conclude that in 1997 there were 138 fewer deaths than in 1988,
and by 1997, as a conservative estimate, the FFRs had saved at least 710 lives since their
introduction.

[trickywoo]

Bob_Defly said:

Research suggests you are wrong.

All well and good but let’s face it, you are more likely to highside a bike through a hedge or get knocked off by some knobber than die in a fire because you wanted it in your front room.

[Bob_Defly]

trickywoo said:

Bob_Defly said:

Research suggests you are wrong.

All well and good but let’s face it, you are more likely to highside a bike through a hedge or get knocked off by some knobber than die in a fire because you wanted it in your front room.

Agreed but irrelevant.

[leighz]

had a klutz moment a while back and dropped my bike at standstill (put foot down to find only a gravelly slope and down I went) and cracked a small fairing - circa 35cm long by about 25cm high. Turns out these are heading towards £250 from fowlers. Ouch. If they can get them.

Nothing coming up on ebay in the right colour - so thought about buying a different colour and getting it sprayed.

So....how much do think it would cost? Roughly? Colour matched.

Decals on top obvs

[talksthetorque]

Bob_Defly said:

KTMsm said:

Bob_Defly said:

Why the eye roll? There are tons of regulations around fire prevention when it comes to sofas etc.

If you've ever been near a house fire - you'll know that unless you get out very quickly you're dead

Adding many other nasty burning things to that is irrelevant as you can't be "more dead"

Research suggests you are wrong. Taking the more toxic stuff out of the house does actually have an impact.



Figures 1 and 2 show a downward trend in the number of house fires and fatalities since
the introduction of the FFRs, which indicates the positive impact of the regulations. A
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills-commissioned report in 2009 suggests that
the FFRs were annually saving around 54 lives, preventing around 800 injuries and over
1000 fires in the period 2002 – 2007. These savings to health and property were valued at
around £140m per year.4 In addition, research published by the University of Surrey
showed that in 1992, four years after the introduction of the FFRs, there were at least 65
fewer deaths as a result of fires started in upholstered furniture in the home, than in 1988.
The research goes on to conclude that in 1997 there were 138 fewer deaths than in 1988,
and by 1997, as a conservative estimate, the FFRs had saved at least 710 lives since their
introduction.

No wanting to restart an argument. I was thinking of bringing the bike in to the conservatory to work on it over winter, in the end I couldn’t be arsed to do the work as it was only cosmetic and the bike still works.
Wouldn’t have been an issue for me to bring it in though. I think the weird bit is wheeling all the road muck in and out. Would need to be super clean for me first.
However seeing as we’re throwing graphs around I’ll add this one.
[url]
|https://thumbsnap.com/AjysKDkb[/url]

I’m sure that in fact both are contributing factors to having fewer house fires along with public awareness through campaigns.

[bogie]

leighz said:

had a klutz moment a while back and dropped my bike at standstill (put foot down to find only a gravelly slope and down I went) and cracked a small fairing - circa 35cm long by about 25cm high. Turns out these are heading towards £250 from fowlers. Ouch. If they can get them.

Nothing coming up on ebay in the right colour - so thought about buying a different colour and getting it sprayed.

So....how much do think it would cost? Roughly? Colour matched.

Decals on top obvs

I would estimate £100-150 for paint depending where you go, Ive had a panel and front mudguard done for that but it was over 5 years ago.

[leighz]

ah - cheers

that's about twice what i thought it would cost. Local car spray guy quoted me £140.

Guess that makes a new panel economical

[TheInternet]

New tyres time. £30 more to have my chosen tyre place do it as a ride in/out service vs. loose wheels.

I'm not too fussed about the cost, however if I were doing the spannering I'd probably take the opportunity to clean/inspect stuff whilst the wheels are off, but is there actually anything much to look at/clean/lubricate etc.?

Bike is a very boggo affair, ~5yrs old and ~8k miles in all weathers.

[Krikkit]

Good opportunity to fetch the front pads out and clean up the calipers, make sure they're not seizing up

[OutInTheShed]

TheInternet said:

New tyres time. £30 more to have my chosen tyre place do it as a ride in/out service vs. loose wheels.

I'm not too fussed about the cost, however if I were doing the spannering I'd probably take the opportunity to clean/inspect stuff whilst the wheels are off, but is there actually anything much to look at/clean/lubricate etc.?

Bike is a very boggo affair, ~5yrs old and ~8k miles in all weathers.

First question is, do you have the stands to take both wheels off? At once?

Personally I'd not be rushing to trust a tyre fitter with setting the chain slack, getting the brakes right etc etc, and I like to clean every thing and lube the fasteners etc etc.

[Bob_Defly]

I always just take the wheels in. Last time I only had one stand so just ratchet strapped the front of the bike to the garage rafters.

[Hugo Stiglitz]

brockovrs said:

KTMsm said:

Depends on the bike - not normal for a GS1250, normal for a 125 - what exactly are you looking for / budget ?

SBF have been discussed many times on here - very much luck of the draw as they buy anything and do the minimum so if it went in a great bike it's still a great bike but if it went in a POS, it's still a POS

I'm mostly leaning towards a tracer 700 or a versys 650, I enjoyed the MT-07 I rode during the lessons but would prefer something a bit taller with a screen (as I'm a fairly tall/fat lad, naked bikes aren't really for me!)

Budget is about 5.5/6k, and for that I've seen these two at a local-ish dealer:

https://www.boltonmotorcycles.co.uk/used-motorcycl...

https://www.boltonmotorcycles.co.uk/used-motorcycl...

The tracer has no service history, which isn't ideal but it doesn't seem to be the huge red flag that I thought it was.

Krikkit said:

If you buy one without any confirmed SH then I'd just give it a service once purchased.

Just had a quick look on youtube and servicing either of those bikes doesn't seem particularly difficult, the most awkward part seems to be getting the tank out of the way, but then I'd assume that's the same on pretty much any bike.

RazerSauber said:

1. Congratulations. I was also shocked that I'd passed, even more shocked that I got no minors. Welcome to biking plus. It's like the biking you did on your CBT, but with added oomph!

2. For newer bikes in or around warranty, it'll be dealer/garage serviced. For older bikes, it's probably self serviced. Buy on condition and check out the dates of when the parts for the service were bought, and the quality of them. If the cheapest of cheap eBay parts are used and they're every 3 years, panic. If they're premium parts like NGK plugs and what not, all bought in the same month each year then you're probably good. If you're personally uncomfortable with self servicing, adjust your budget so suit (either pick an older bike with FSH or up your budget, either will be fine).

3. No personal experience but the avid bikers who I've mentioned them to say that their after sales is a joke. Essentially, it appears to be a bit of a gamble on the money saved. If the bike is good, you've got a good deal. If it's a bag of s**t then you're going to struggle to get them to fix it. Beware of their £199 admin fee on sales, too. Takes the edge off their price advantage! Otherwise, buy on condition, do your due diligence and expect a cleaned up, used bike in roadworthy condition. If memory serves, they have a 120 point inspection which is a bit of a lie. It's a 60 point inspection done twice.

Thanks! I was convinced I'd failed about 5 mins in to the test as I started to speed up to 30, whilst still inside a 20 zone - thankfully that was just a minor!

I think I'm leaning towards getting something from a dealer, as at least there is a bit of comeback if it is a complete dog, the downside of that is that I won't be able to see receipts for work that has been done. I guess I can still judge on the overall condition of the bike and the quality of things like tyres etc (if its got cheap unknown name tyres then it's probably a safe bet its had other cheap parts used on it etc)

I'm fairly confident at playing with spanners so will be more than happy to service it myself (and it'll give me something to do in Jan/Feb when the weather is too cold and icy to go out and ride)

I'd not spotted the admin fee with SBF, that sort of thing really annoys me

Bikes are mechanical beasts much like cars.

If you're happy to buy a car without any history then you'll be at home with something that's under yours thighs with no weather protection at 70mph that's seen no oil or love bar a intensive £40 valet.

[trickywoo]

Hugo Stiglitz said:

Bikes are mechanical beasts much like cars.

If you're happy to buy a car without any history then you'll be at home with something that's under yours thighs with no weather protection at 70mph that's seen no oil or love bar a intensive £40 valet.

For the exact reasons you say nobody should just be riding a bike between garage services without looking at it anyway.

If it passes a mot it’s not dangerous at that point. If it doesn’t smoke or rattle the engine is likely fine.

It’s much easier to learn and do the basics on a bike compared to a car.

I’d rather buy a private owner maintained bike than a dealer one with full history that has only had minimum oil changes.

[trickywoo]

OutInTheShed said:

First question is, do you have the stands to take both wheels off? At once?

Personally I'd not be rushing to trust a tyre fitter with setting the chain slack, getting the brakes right etc etc, and I like to clean every thing and lube the fasteners etc etc.

I had “pro” not locate the rear calliper carrier properly so that it spun on the disc and caught the brake pipe between the spindal and swing arm locking the rear wheel as I was riding.

I try to do all my own work now but if not I check it over before riding away.

[carinaman]

I bought a new motorcycle 9 months ago. There has been at least four supplying dealer issues. Two of them months apart involved not tightening things back up again after they'd been loosened off.