The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread

[bogie]

talksthetorque said:

Another Helmet question.
My helmet feels as if it fits fine - but when I get over 70 an up to (and occasionally past) 100 it seems to push back more against my face and I find myself riding along with my mouth open to stop it moving about.
I get the physics of the wind hitting it is pushing it back but do you guys (and girls if there are any) have to do this?
When buying 18 months ago, one size down pressed in the centre of my forehead so I went for this size which as I said feels fine the rest of the time.

Speeds quoted in km/h of course

I ride naked bikes with no screen and can max out my bike (on airfield of course) and dont worry about my helmet moving (Shark Race-R pro carbon) it fits snug around the forehead and cheek pads.

If your helmet is moving about that much its sounds like its too large. They are supposed to be a snug fit, especially when new. Could be the size smaller was the correct size, just the wrong shape liner giving the forehead pressure.

When the strap is done up as you would wear it, tip your head forward, have you got any front to rear movement if you lift the back of the helmet? ...hopefully not much.

Can you get your fingers in between the cheek pads and your face and forehead part of the liner ? if you can I would say its a little too large. Some brands offer different cheek pads to get a perfect fit.

[airsafari87]

talksthetorque said:

Another Helmet question.
My helmet feels as if it fits fine - but when I get over 70 an up to (and occasionally past) 100 it seems to push back more against my face and I find myself riding along with my mouth open to stop it moving about.
I get the physics of the wind hitting it is pushing it back but do you guys (and girls if there are any) have to do this?
When buying 18 months ago, one size down pressed in the centre of my forehead so I went for this size which as I said feels fine the rest of the time.

Speeds quoted in km/h of course

Yep, as others have said, it's too small.

Thats what prompted me to change mine. Last year I could sit at high treble digit speeds on my naked bike and it didn't move.

This year, after loosing weight it was pushing back, and lifting up at medium speeds and would drop down at the front when tootling about.

Cheaper option for you is to try thicker cheek pads first and see if that cures it, if not its new helmet time in a smaller size I'm afraid.

[talksthetorque]

Cheers - I do have a bit of a pointy thin head. I won’t post pictures this early don’t worry! I’ll try a couple of neck warmers over my head to see if it helps and if it does then see if I can get thicker linings. If not, new lid time.

[Zarco]

Just been to visit the very helpful team at Helmet City in Oxford. Should have gone there first rather than order from Helmet City online really (I would have if I'd known it was there!).

Tried several helmets on; established I do indeed have a Shoei head. An XL X-Spirit 3 is too big. They are ordering in some slimmer pads for the crown area to see if it will make my L X-Spirit 3 a decent fit. If that doesn't work I'll send it back and get an NXR-2 which is due out in August.

[Rob 131 Sport]

When I was looking a few years ago for a helmet I strongly considered a Shark Race R Pro Carbon as it felt really good and was light. I did however eventually go for an Arai RX7 V.

Have have to found your Shark in relation to noise and longevity.

[bogie]

Rob 131 Sport said:

When I was looking a few years ago for a helmet I strongly considered a Shark Race R Pro Carbon as it felt really good and was light. I did however eventually go for an Arai RX7 V.

Have have to found your Shark in relation to noise and longevity.

I got the Race R Pro carbon because it fit well, really light, was in the colour scheme I wanted, and was on sale. Its 6 years old now, but not worn daily, its one of 2 helmets I wear regularly so its probably worn once or twice a week during the season. Noise wise I find it quiet with the vents closed, and not that noticeable vents open. I wear ear plugs anyway. The interior lining is wearing well, It washes up well and looks/feels fresh after. Spares are good VFM and easily available anyway e.g. if you want some new cheek pads and neck roll, or a whole new liner.

I would buy another when Im ready for a new one, they are great VFM.

[BigGingerBob]

What constitutes high mileage for a bike?
I'm looking for my first bike and I have seen a few cosmetically nice bikes that have 35 and 39 thousand miles. They are an FZ6 and an SV650 respectively.
Some people say a bike has had it by then but most of my car's have had more than 100k so high mileage isn't a worry to me.

[the cueball]

My FZS has 40k ish and my Pan has over 100k.

Both still going strong with no issues.

[RizzoTheRat]

BigGingerBob said:

What constitutes high mileage for a bike?
I'm looking for my first bike and I have seen a few cosmetically nice bikes that have 35 and 39 thousand miles. They are an FZ6 and an SV650 respectively.
Some people say a bike has had it by then but most of my car's have had more than 100k so high mileage isn't a worry to me.

See if you can find an owners forum or group for the specific bikes to find out what fails on them. For example i know several people with 100k plus TDM 900s and they've all had to replace the alternator.

[KTMsm]

BigGingerBob said:

What constitutes high mileage for a bike?
I'm looking for my first bike and I have seen a few cosmetically nice bikes that have 35 and 39 thousand miles. They are an FZ6 and an SV650 respectively.
Some people say a bike has had it by then but most of my car's have had more than 100k so high mileage isn't a worry to me.

As others have mentioned it depends upon the bike, it's age, it's history and it's expected usage.

It's not that 40k is high miles as such, it's just it's higher than most, as most bikes are rarely used.

I'm now dealing in bikes and try to stick under 30K on similar types, unless they are very cheap.

The problem being that when there are lots of low mileage bikes around, higher mileage bikes have to be cheap to sell.

Cars are expected to do more miles and generally are in a far lower state of tune although it's still rare to experience engine problems with anything thats well maintained these days.

[samdale]

How far would you travel to pick up a bike? Lots of dealers offering delivery for ~£100 but concerned about buying unseen.

Looking at getting my first bike and narrowed it down to a post '17 MT09. With second hand cars, I'd always give it a good going over before buying but the newest car I've ever owned is a '55 plate so plenty to look out for. How much wrong can there really be on a 2-3year old bike with say 2-6k miles?

There's not much choice within 100miles of me but 150-200miles on an unfamiliar bike as a first ride since passing my test seems a bit much.

[KTMsm]

samdale said:

How far would you travel to pick up a bike? Lots of dealers offering delivery for ~£100 but concerned about buying unseen.

Looking at getting my first bike and narrowed it down to a post '17 MT09. With second hand cars, I'd always give it a good going over before buying but the newest car I've ever owned is a '55 plate so plenty to look out for. How much wrong can there really be on a 2-3year old bike with say 2-6k miles?

There's not much choice within 100miles of me but 150-200miles on an unfamiliar bike as a first ride since passing my test seems a bit much.

I'm amazed so many dealers do delivery - unless I'm mistaken it means the Distance Selling rules apply and you have 14 days to change your mind and get your money back.

I'm unclear who pays for delivery / return but from reading the law it seems to me that it's the Dealer

However to answer the OP - I'm willing to travel 2hrs generally

[samdale]

KTMsm said:

I'm amazed so many dealers do delivery - unless I'm mistaken it means the Distance Selling rules apply and you have 14 days to change your mind and get your money back.

I'm unclear who pays for delivery / return but from reading the law it seems to me that it's the Dealer

However to answer the OP - I'm willing to travel 2hrs generally

That's interesting, thanks.

I'll have to broaden my horizons slightly further than yours. Nearest 3 bikes are all ~100 miles/3hours away

[airsafari87]

For the right bike, in the right spec, in good condition and for the right price, I'd travel the length of the country if really need be.

If you are buying from an honest seller then they will be willing to take and send plenty of photos to accurately represent the condition of the bike.

I'd view the collection as part of the 1st ride out on the bike and enjoy the ride bike no matter how long it is.

Or you could get it collected by a courier. I sold a bike last week to someone in South London and they had it collected by a dedicated bike courier. I spent a good while talking to him and he was a proper sound bloke. He said he's arrived at a sellers premises before and refused to take the bike away as the condition hasn't matched that which has been given to the seller.

[Krikkit]

samdale said:

I'll have to broaden my horizons slightly further than yours. Nearest 3 bikes are all ~100 miles/3hours away

If you post up here you might get a BB'er to give them an eyeball for you.

[samdale]

Krikkit said:

If you post up here you might get a BB'er to give them an eyeball for you.

These are the sort of thing I'm looking at. Guess it depends on personal preference for included mods. All seem there or there abouts with not much to separate them. Standard exhaust might be nice to be included for the neighbours sake. Crash bungs seem a sensible choice for a first bike.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20210501...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20210320...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20210511...

Hopefully looking to buy something this weekend.

[Ilikemotorbikes]

samdale said:

How far would you travel to pick up a bike? Lots of dealers offering delivery for ~£100 but concerned about buying unseen.

Looking at getting my first bike and narrowed it down to a post '17 MT09. With second hand cars, I'd always give it a good going over before buying but the newest car I've ever owned is a '55 plate so plenty to look out for. How much wrong can there really be on a 2-3year old bike with say 2-6k miles?

There's not much choice within 100miles of me but 150-200miles on an unfamiliar bike as a first ride since passing my test seems a bit much.

From a dealer you're a bit more secure. Every one of my bikes have been private sales and my first bike I went from Somerset to Liverpool. Circa 10 hours on trains and buses to get there!

Also travelled to Essex, the Midlands, Cornwall and the furthest was flying to Inverness.

For the right bike at the right price I'll travel any distance but it has to reflect the level of effort involved. I've used couriers too and it's super easy - for £150 you get a bike delivered from 100s of miles away saving you a day of driving/riding etc. Sometimes it's a no brainer

[Northernboy]

talksthetorque said:

Another Helmet question.
My helmet feels as if it fits fine - but when I get over 70 an up to (and occasionally past) 100 it seems to push back more against my face and I find myself riding along with my mouth open to stop it moving about.
I get the physics of the wind hitting it is pushing it back but do you guys (and girls if there are any) have to do this?
When buying 18 months ago, one size down pressed in the centre of my forehead so I went for this size which as I said feels fine the rest of the time.

Speeds quoted in km/h of course

Different helmets are different shapes, and if you've bought a brand that isn;t right for your shape of head then it could well be pressing down hard at some bits but be too big in others. That's why it's a good idea to go to a shop and try a variety on. Some will feel just right, others won't.

[SteelerSE]

samdale said:

These are the sort of thing I'm looking at. Guess it depends on personal preference for included mods. All seem there or there abouts with not much to separate them. Standard exhaust might be nice to be included for the neighbours sake. Crash bungs seem a sensible choice for a first bike.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20210501...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20210320...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/20210511...

Hopefully looking to buy something this weekend.

I bought my last bike from a dealer in Cumbria and they had it delivered down to me in the South. They did a video walkround with the engine running, highlighted any issues and were responsive on the phone. The bike turned up and it was all done remarkably easily. I don't think I'd do that with a backstreet dealer but that depends on the style and age of bike you're looking at.

For a 1/2 year old bike with 2000 miles on it's very low risk to buy it like that IMO.

[Rubins4]

Daft question:
2003 Transalp 650 v-twin. Aftermarket can, TKC80s,

New to riding, so not thrashing it, but getting a bit more confident.

Riding is exclusively longer runs (c.20+ miles per trip) of cross country A and B road commuting.

How many miles should I be getting from a tank? First measured tank was 200, second 170. Could be good, could be bad; dunno.