The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread

[horsemeatscandal]

Afternoon all. I’m taking my rear wheel off to take to the shop to have the tyre changed. Any maintenance I could be doing while the wheel is off? Ta.

[cbmotorsport]

horsemeatscandal said:

Afternoon all. I’m taking my rear wheel off to take to the shop to have the tyre changed. Any maintenance I could be doing while the wheel is off? Ta.

It's a great opportunity for a really good clean of your swing arm.

Check your rear pads.

Check your swingarm bearings/linkage.

Change your wheel bearings if required.

Clean your wheel.

[MotorsportTom]

cbmotorsport said:

It's a great opportunity for a really good clean of your swing arm.

Check your rear pads.

Check your swingarm bearings/linkage.

Change your wheel bearings if required.

Clean your wheel.

Completely agree on all of this. It's while doing similar I noticed a crack in the frame of my old fireblade where the dogbones mount.

I'm not saying you will find the same but it's one of the best opportunities to get in a dig around so do so!

[Lukas239]

Thoughts and opinions on riding to and from work in what you wear?

I have been commuting with my work trousers on and only some pull over waterproof trousers but starting to think this won't give me any protection in an off.

How do others do it without looking like the Michelin man or taking multiple bags/panniers?

[CousinDupree]

Lukas239 said:

Thoughts and opinions on riding to and from work in what you wear?

I have been commuting with my work trousers on and only some pull over waterproof trousers but starting to think this won't give me any protection in an off.

How do others do it without looking like the Michelin man or taking multiple bags/panniers?

Were decent textiles with armour over your work clothes. Leave a suit and shoes at work.

[_Fayaz]

Where can I find a nice CBR 600 F Sport? (stepped seat model). Of the few that seem to be about, they're all at dealers at RR money.

Any alternatives?

[horsemeatscandal]

Lukas239 said:

Thoughts and opinions on riding to and from work in what you wear?

I have been commuting with my work trousers on and only some pull over waterproof trousers but starting to think this won't give me any protection in an off.

How do others do it without looking like the Michelin man or taking multiple bags/panniers?

I wear armoured textiles over my work clothes. Works fine for shirt and jeans, I even wear an extra jumper/hoody and T-shirt when it’s cold. Not uncomfortable or cumbersome. I leave a couple of pairs of shoes at work. I also have spare socks etc. just in case I get caught in torrential rain and don’t have my heavy duty waterproofs on. Not sure how well a suit would fair under textiles though if that’s what you wear.

In summer time, I can get away with wearing Knox jeans then just keeping them on at work. Armour is removable but barely noticeable anyway.

[horsemeatscandal]

MotorsportTom said:

cbmotorsport said:

It's a great opportunity for a really good clean of your swing arm.

Check your rear pads.

Check your swingarm bearings/linkage.

Change your wheel bearings if required.

Clean your wheel.

Completely agree on all of this. It's while doing similar I noticed a crack in the frame of my old fireblade where the dogbones mount.

I'm not saying you will find the same but it's one of the best opportunities to get in a dig around so do so!

Brilliant, cheers!

[Krikkit]

Anyone have any recommendations for visor anti fog?

Came over the crest of a hill on an evening ride into some weather, went from clear to completely misted in 5 seconds! Visor was clean as I'd cleaned it before I went out. The perils of North Wales in spring it seems.

[dern]

Krikkit said:

Anyone have any recommendations for visor anti fog?

Came over the crest of a hill on an evening ride into some weather, went from clear to completely misted in 5 seconds! Visor was clean as I'd cleaned it before I went out. The perils of North Wales in spring it seems.

I use the muc off stuff. It's not perfect but it's a lot better than nothing.

[Prof Prolapse]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I couldn't recommend Pinlock highly enough. My only criticism is that I find I damage them very easily.

Just don't leave your helmet out in the shed overnight (or any other humid atmosphere) and then expect it to work....

[bogie]

Pinlock is about the only thing ive found to work reliably over the years.

There are loads of potions you can buy to spray/rub on the inside of the visor, starting off with simple options like washing up liquid. However, Ive not found any that last more than a day or few (if that) so you need to be applying "stuff" regularly during the colder months.

For a daily wear all year round helmet, a pinlock equipped visor is the way to go.

[cbmotorsport]

+1 for Pinlock, I wouldn't buy a lid without one.

[Krikkit]

Thanks guys - embarassingly it did come with a pinlock, but I hadn't really looked into what it was. I just dumped it in a box and ignored it!

I'll give it a go

[black-k1]

Krikkit said:

Thanks guys - embarassingly it did come with a pinlock, but I hadn't really looked into what it was. I just dumped it in a box and ignored it!

I'll give it a go

[cbmotorsport]

Krikkit said:

Thanks guys - embarassingly it did come with a pinlock, but I hadn't really looked into what it was. I just dumped it in a box and ignored it!

I'll give it a go

Prepare to be amazed. Make sure the visor is clean and dry when you fit it. Be careful when you fit it, don't damage it.

[Krikkit]

Well that's magnificent. Even without minging weather, just not having to faff around at traffic lights is enough to warrant having one.

Thanks all

[308mate]

Prof Prolapse said:

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I couldn't recommend Pinlock highly enough. My only criticism is that I find I damage them very easily.

Just don't leave your helmet out in the shed overnight (or any other humid atmosphere) and then expect it to work....

Before long the pins will shear off, water will get behind the insert, you'll lose the gadget for tightening it so it seals properly, merely glancing at it from across the garage will scratch it to death but other than that, they are genius.

[Bumblebee7]

Had something really bizarre happen a few days ago, I needed to brake quite sharply whilst going up a speed bump (car from side road went straight through a stop line). The front end completely locked up and I could not move the handlebars at all. Managed to stay shiny side up and broke the handlebars loose. I could not replicate the issue in my own testing conditions.

This morning I had to brake sharply again for a sudden lane changer and the same thing happened, to the point I had to stop, put my feet down and force the jammed handlebars free so they would move again. I couldn't get this to repeat again either and it seems to happen on the very rare occasions when I need to brake sharply which thankfully doesn't happen often.

Anyone else experienced this or know what could be catching? Bike is a 2014 Honda NC750X.

Thank you!

[black-k1]

Bumblebee7 said:

Had something really bizarre happen a few days ago, I needed to brake quite sharply whilst going up a speed bump (car from side road went straight through a stop line). The front end completely locked up and I could not move the handlebars at all. Managed to stay shiny side up and broke the handlebars loose. I could not replicate the issue in my own testing conditions.

This morning I had to brake sharply again for a sudden lane changer and the same thing happened, to the point I had to stop, put my feet down and force the jammed handlebars free so they would move again. I couldn't get this to repeat again either and it seems to happen on the very rare occasions when I need to brake sharply which thankfully doesn't happen often.

Anyone else experienced this or know what could be catching? Bike is a 2014 Honda NC750X.

Thank you!

I can't suggest what the problem is but if I were you, I'd get it sorted before I used the bike again.