The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread

[black-k1]

Onelastattempt said:

crofty1984 said:

Don't ride from Leeds to Worksop on a CX500 with fork oil on the front brake and a disconnected rear brake. You can do it, but it's a bit hairy.

Don't ride a CX500 ever! Even with working brakes! You can do it, but it's a bit hairy!
I remember borrowing a mates once, I had a lot more respect for his riding skills after doing about 5 miles on it. You had to force it to corner, and fight it back upright again. The brakes seemed to work, then you suddenly realised that putting your feet down would have more effect. To make it worse he had fitted a king and queen seat, a good lesson it how to make an ugly bike even uglier.
Aaah, the good old days, I don't half miss them.

A CX500 is of it's time, which was the mid to late '70s. I had two, rode one overland to Malta and back (1700 miles in 2 days on the return) 2 up and had lots of fun on them. They weren't a good looking bike but they were better than just about everything else in their price/performance/practicality bracket. Thousands of couriers can't have been so wrong.

[CousinDupree]

black-k1 said:

Onelastattempt said:

crofty1984 said:

Don't ride from Leeds to Worksop on a CX500 with fork oil on the front brake and a disconnected rear brake. You can do it, but it's a bit hairy.

Don't ride a CX500 ever! Even with working brakes! You can do it, but it's a bit hairy!
I remember borrowing a mates once, I had a lot more respect for his riding skills after doing about 5 miles on it. You had to force it to corner, and fight it back upright again. The brakes seemed to work, then you suddenly realised that putting your feet down would have more effect. To make it worse he had fitted a king and queen seat, a good lesson it how to make an ugly bike even uglier.
Aaah, the good old days, I don't half miss them.

A CX500 is of it's time, which was the mid to late '70s. I had two, rode one overland to Malta and back (1700 miles in 2 days on the return) 2 up and had lots of fun on them. They weren't a good looking bike but they were better than just about everything else in their price/performance/practicality bracket. Thousands of couriers can't have been so wrong.

Yep. The maggot or slurry pump as the German's call it, handled fine, stopped and went ok for it's time. Never a sporty option and damm heavy, but solid bikes for racking up the miles.

Heavy yes, a bit hairy, er no. Try a H2 750 two stroke.

[crofty1984]

Mine was a Eurosport version, I had it about 2003 and paid 650 for it. I thought it was a really good bike for the money. You want one now and you can add another 1000 to the price as they're all getting hoovered up by hipsters.

[black-k1]

CousinDupree said:

black-k1 said:

Onelastattempt said:

crofty1984 said:

Don't ride from Leeds to Worksop on a CX500 with fork oil on the front brake and a disconnected rear brake. You can do it, but it's a bit hairy.

Don't ride a CX500 ever! Even with working brakes! You can do it, but it's a bit hairy!
I remember borrowing a mates once, I had a lot more respect for his riding skills after doing about 5 miles on it. You had to force it to corner, and fight it back upright again. The brakes seemed to work, then you suddenly realised that putting your feet down would have more effect. To make it worse he had fitted a king and queen seat, a good lesson it how to make an ugly bike even uglier.
Aaah, the good old days, I don't half miss them.

A CX500 is of it's time, which was the mid to late '70s. I had two, rode one overland to Malta and back (1700 miles in 2 days on the return) 2 up and had lots of fun on them. They weren't a good looking bike but they were better than just about everything else in their price/performance/practicality bracket. Thousands of couriers can't have been so wrong.

Yep. The maggot or slurry pump as the German's call it, handled fine, stopped and went ok for it's time. Never a sporty option and damm heavy, but solid bikes for racking up the miles.

Heavy yes, a bit hairy, er no. Try a H2 750 two stroke.

Back in the late '70s Bike magazine tested one at the same time as testing a Yamaha XS1100, The CX can't have been too hairy as the XS1100 tester got really frustrated by the fact he couldn't leave the CX500 behind!

Also, it was not significantly heavier than the competition. 1978 4 stroke 500s weighted in at:

Honda CX500 - 452lbs
Honda CB500 Four - 445lbs
Yamaha XS500 - 463lbs
BMW R45 - 452lbs.

I think we forget that while those who rode in the late '70s have got heavier, bikes since then have got a lot lighter.

[CousinDupree]

black-k1 said:

Back in the late '70s Bike magazine tested one at the same time as testing a Yamaha XS1100, The CX can't have been too hairy as the XS1100 tester got really frustrated by the fact he couldn't leave the CX500 behind!

Also, it was not significantly heavier than the competition. 1978 4 stroke 500s weighted in at:

Honda CX500 - 452lbs
Honda CB500 Four - 445lbs
Yamaha XS500 - 463lbs
BMW R45 - 452lbs.

I think we forget that while those who rode in the late '70s have got heavier, bikes since then have got a lot lighter.

Yes, you are probably right. I guess the weight being up high, meant it did feel pretty top heavy. A bit like the early and much later Bloor trumpets.

[Lukas239]

Not wanting to start a new thread...

Can anyone recommend gloves for this time of year and again towards November time? I don't ride in winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) but finding mornings are around 0 at the moment and hands are frozen. Will address heated grips etc but what gloves would people recommend with the following;

- not out & out winter gloves (no lobsters!)
- short or mid length, no massive gauntlets
- warm down to ~5 degrees or so.
- leather main preferably
- touchscreen tips would be useful

I had the Bering Moya in mind but cannot find these now.

TIA

[vindaloo79]

Lukas239 said:

Not wanting to start a new thread...

Can anyone recommend gloves for this time of year and again towards November time? I don't ride in winter (Dec, Jan, Feb) but finding mornings are around 0 at the moment and hands are frozen. Will address heated grips etc but what gloves would people recommend with the following;

- not out & out winter gloves (no lobsters!)
- short or mid length, no massive gauntlets
- warm down to ~5 degrees or so.
- leather main preferably
- touchscreen tips would be useful

I had the Bering Moya in mind but cannot find these now.

TIA

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/411141#tab_desc



I have done a fair amount of nov dec - feb rides without heated grips and it takes over an hour for the cold to bite at 125 speeds. In the end I’ve kept my heated grips for next bike. Usually buy medium but went small with these and stretched slightly but fit ‘like a glove’.

Edited by vindaloo79 on Tuesday 13th April 11:32

[black-k1]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I've not used the Air n Dry but I've had Held Race-Tex for the last 6 years and I'm very happy with them. I'm just replacing them this season with a pair of Held Chikara GTX gloves.

I use those gloves for riding from mid spring to mid autumn, including trips to Spain, Italy and France, with temps from -5 to high 30's.

[TimmyMallett]

Kent Border Kenny said:

You can. Back before chargers were very sophisticated some car ones could damage smaller motorbike batteries but nowadays they should be fine.

I use the 5.0 on my hikes if I want to charge overnight, or the 0.8 if I am leaving them on charge. I also have the lithium one for my car.

Also, the 5.0 has specific settings for Bike, Car, Recond and cold weather charging.

[BigGingerBob]

Since when was this a deal?

I can get car finance for low 3's, 0% on a credit card for 3 years and low rate loan.
Why is bike finance so expensive?

[lukeyman]

BigGingerBob said:

Since when was this a deal?

I can get car finance for low 3's, 0% on a credit card for 3 years and low rate loan.
Why is bike finance so expensive?

It varies though... They dropped their rate to 2.9% not long after I'd taken the higher rate a few years ago. They all do 0% every so often. Same as some car finance is even higher than that.

[bogie]

BigGingerBob said:

Since when was this a deal?

I can get car finance for low 3's, 0% on a credit card for 3 years and low rate loan.
Why is bike finance so expensive?

Isnt it just the difference between you getting a custom low rate quote in accordance with your risk profile versus the provider having to give 6.9% to just about everyone who applies for it. Sure its something to do with the way the vehicle finance is advertised compared with personal loans and credit cards.

[airsafari87]

Not my question but one that is currently being asked elsewhere.

Q. I have standard non adjustable levers and the clutch lever is just out of reach. What can I do to bring it closer to the bar.

A1. Fit ebay special levers.

A2. Wind the Adjuster on the lever all the way in / out.

[trickywoo]

airsafari87 said:

Not my question but one that is currently being asked elsewhere.

Q. I have standard non adjustable levers and the clutch lever is just out of reach. What can I do to bring it closer to the bar.

A1. Fit ebay special levers.

A2. Wind the Adjuster on the lever all the way in / out.

A2 wouldn’t be any good as that only adjusts cable tension. If it’s correct now changing it will either stop the clutch fully engaging or fully disengaging.

I’ve heard too many bad stories about eBay levers to do that. I’d probably spend the money on ASV.

[Krikkit]

Got some evotech levers on mine, bargain for the money.

ASV and Pazzo are supposed to be even better but I'm too cheap to pay for them!

[Seight_Returns]

What do you do if you get a puncture ?

I see plug kits advertised. DIY puncture repair seems more common amongst motorcyclists than car drivers.

Can you recommend a plug kit small enough to fit under a seat ? Is a DIY plug repair a permanent repair ?

How do you reinflate the tyre post repair ? CO2 inflator to get some pressure in and limp to nearest garage to inflate fully ?

[black-k1]

Fort Nine did a good review of puncture repair options.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qm6fTWaj3QE

[RizzoTheRat]

I have a Cargol Twist and Go pack, and it works really well. You screw a blunt plastic screw in to the hole, and snap off the top so it's flush. I've ridden 30 miles home with one with no loss of pressure. However CO2 inflation cartridges aren't ideal, as you need to put some air in the tyre first to find the hole, and then have enough left over to inflate it with the plug in. Luckily one of the guys I was with had a mini compressor on him.
The idea is the plug can then be unscrewed by a tyre bod and proper repair patch put on.

A mate has a fancy mushroom kit which works really well too, like a big syringe you poke through the hole and inject the mushroom through, and then chop off the excess from the outside

[Bob_Defly]

Seight_Returns said:

What do you do if you get a puncture ?

I see plug kits advertised. DIY puncture repair seems more common amongst motorcyclists than car drivers.

Can you recommend a plug kit small enough to fit under a seat ? Is a DIY plug repair a permanent repair ?

How do you reinflate the tyre post repair ? CO2 inflator to get some pressure in and limp to nearest garage to inflate fully ?

I got a plug kit and a mini compressor for when I tour. Haven't had to use it yet.

[airsafari87]

Bob_Defly said:

Haven't had to use it yet.

You've said it now haven't you?
Post regret coming in 3.... 2 .... 1

I have the gear gremlin one which seems to be canny and would fit under the seat of most bikes. Apart from my bike which couldn't even fit one of Durex' thinnest blobs under the seat.