The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread
Discussion
Pat H said:
I wonder if he could miracle it up a couple of sizes...
It’s worth asking someone like Hill 4 Leather or Hideout what’s possible. Often, they can do clever stuff. I’ve had leathers increased in size.Salted_Peanut said:
Pat H said:
I wonder if he could miracle it up a couple of sizes...
It’s worth asking someone like Hill 4 Leather or Hideout what’s possible. Often, they can do clever stuff. I’ve had leathers increased in size.I bought a lovely furygan 1 piece set and had them alter it to make it fit perfectly. Super happy with the results.
Hi, i’ve always wanted to ride a geared motorbike. Always had a interest in bikes (crossers and harleys) but never ridden one. Always get stuck on scooters abroad and did my CBT at 16 to ride a moped but long expired. My question is should I do the CBT on a 125cc and learn that way or do a off-road expierience day? Doing a CBT maybe works out slightly cheaper (£125 plus hire vs £300ish for experience day), but tbh I don’t have much intention to buy to my full test and buy a bike, just so I can say I can and when abroad travelling.
Abdul Abulbul Amir said:
Yeah do it on a geared bike. Be aware though that 125s are horrible to ride so dont let that put you off going for your full licence.
I’m sorry but this is not true. I did the CBT in October and bought a lightly used Honda CB125R, and it’s brilliant. I am lucky enough to live in Derbyshire and we have excellent roads. I use it just to get out on a nice day for a coffee. It’s utterly reliable, never stalls, rides well, and keeps up at NSL speeds. It goes round corners flat out. I fully understand this is not a full size, larger capacity bike. But if you buy a $hit box it will always be a $hit box.I will be doing my DAS this year. I will be going into it confident and with excellent experience. Don’t rule out experience on a 125.
Personally I found the geared 125 I rode during my DAS pretty cack. Had to wring it's neck to keep up with traffic on A roads, and all the controls felt horrible compared to 500cc thing we did the rest of the training on. This was a training school bike so perhaps not the best example.
I'm happy I skipped that stage straight on to a bigger bike.
I'm happy I skipped that stage straight on to a bigger bike.
PT1984 said:
I’m sorry but this is not true. I did the CBT in October and bought a lightly used Honda CB125R, and it’s brilliant. I am lucky enough to live in Derbyshire and we have excellent roads. I use it just to get out on a nice day for a coffee. It’s utterly reliable, never stalls, rides well, and keeps up at NSL speeds. It goes round corners flat out. I fully understand this is not a full size, larger capacity bike. But if you buy a $hit box it will always be a $hit box.
I will be doing my DAS this year. I will be going into it confident and with excellent experience. Don’t rule out experience on a 125.
I agree to a point, but see how you feel about the 125 once you have a years experience on something bigger. I will be doing my DAS this year. I will be going into it confident and with excellent experience. Don’t rule out experience on a 125.
I did direct access, 1 week course over 20 years ago and can still remember how much better everything was (not just power) when I went from the 125 to the mighty ER5!
PT1984 said:
Abdul Abulbul Amir said:
Yeah do it on a geared bike. Be aware though that 125s are horrible to ride so dont let that put you off going for your full licence.
I’m sorry but this is not true. I did the CBT in October and bought a lightly used Honda CB125R, and it’s brilliant. I am lucky enough to live in Derbyshire and we have excellent roads. I use it just to get out on a nice day for a coffee. It’s utterly reliable, never stalls, rides well, and keeps up at NSL speeds. It goes round corners flat out. I fully understand this is not a full size, larger capacity bike. But if you buy a $hit box it will always be a $hit box.I will be doing my DAS this year. I will be going into it confident and with excellent experience. Don’t rule out experience on a 125.
Thanks for replies, looking into it i’ll probably just do a CBT to learn gears. I don’t plan on doing my full test or buy a bike though. It’s more a bucket list thing to learn to ride a motorbike, just to say I can i guess. However, I do occasionally look at Harley sportsters…so in the event I do get the bug, i’m better of having the CBT ticked. I did my last CBT 12-13 years ago.
Hahaa
I hate the 125 bikes you have to do your CBT on. I just cant ride them, clutch feels like an on off switch. The lack of weight and torque is I think the problem. Its the slow speed handling of them which is harder than a bigger bike, well a learner big bike. This is why you use so much back brake on 125 when doing CBT...I dont think many of us ever touch the back brake again after moving up! hahaaa
I rode a 125 Cagiva Mito for 2 years when I was young, and that was fine. So its not all 125's.
So coming back to it and having to do CBT again. You think a big bike is going to be insane when youve only ridden 125. Then within 30 seconds of pully off you realise you where wrong. Then regret not jumping on something bigger much much sooner.
Put it this way, a 125 is like a Yugo missing on one cylinder with a broken clutch....a learner big bike is in comparison like a Merc S Class 500 with air suspension and massage seats.
I hate the 125 bikes you have to do your CBT on. I just cant ride them, clutch feels like an on off switch. The lack of weight and torque is I think the problem. Its the slow speed handling of them which is harder than a bigger bike, well a learner big bike. This is why you use so much back brake on 125 when doing CBT...I dont think many of us ever touch the back brake again after moving up! hahaaa
I rode a 125 Cagiva Mito for 2 years when I was young, and that was fine. So its not all 125's.
So coming back to it and having to do CBT again. You think a big bike is going to be insane when youve only ridden 125. Then within 30 seconds of pully off you realise you where wrong. Then regret not jumping on something bigger much much sooner.
Put it this way, a 125 is like a Yugo missing on one cylinder with a broken clutch....a learner big bike is in comparison like a Merc S Class 500 with air suspension and massage seats.
Edited by Mortgage_tom on Sunday 15th May 14:08
Abdul Abulbul Amir said:
Haha. We get someone saying this every year....and then after they have completed their DAS they change their mind...come back then and let us know.
I’m not saying that at all. I will be doing my DAS this year and I will be buying a big capacity bike. Duke 890, Monster, Trident 660. I’m just saying that I have found riding my 125 invaluable. And that it’s not a Chinese crap box that you are given during the CBT.
My wife had a cheap chinese copy of a CG125 to learn on. I actually found it quite fun to ride in some ways, it was about half the size and weight of my 900 so felt like riding a bicycle, and the lack of power meant riding was all about conserving momentum. Wouldn't want to ride it on a fast a-road though.
HybridTheory said:
Is it usually so hard to get the oil filter off my fzs600 2001 ? It's in a bloody awkward place and I don't have a specialised tool to try and turn it only some pliers and feels as if my arm will break before it twists off
Badly-fitted filters are a nightmare if they're not in a good spot.Treat yourself to a special tool, they're worth their weight in gold.
HybridTheory said:
Is it usually so hard to get the oil filter off my fzs600 2001 ? It's in a bloody awkward place and I don't have a specialised tool to try and turn it only some pliers and feels as if my arm will break before it twists off
You are not alone, I did the filter on my 2007 FZ6 and even having a strap type tool it was a real pain. Got there in the end though.Can anyone recommend me something that's cheap on the used market, say 3k or under, that can keep some wind off me, do some light touring, and still be able to go knee down round a corner?
I used to be well into trackdays and did a spot of racing. After a pretty horrendous crash, I don't miss the speed, but I do miss the cornering of a more sporty machine, and to mod my Moto Guzzi to that level would ruin its general purpose ability.
I was thinking maybe a Bandid 600/650? Any better suggestions?
Thanks
I used to be well into trackdays and did a spot of racing. After a pretty horrendous crash, I don't miss the speed, but I do miss the cornering of a more sporty machine, and to mod my Moto Guzzi to that level would ruin its general purpose ability.
I was thinking maybe a Bandid 600/650? Any better suggestions?
Thanks
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