The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread
Discussion
Felters said:
Reg Local said:
Filtering.
As I mentioned in another thread, I passed my mod 2 last Friday and as it was forecast to be dry all day today I thought I'd have a go at commuting on the bike for the first time. My commute is about 25 miles and includes about a third of the M60 at peak times, so plenty of very slow moving / stationary traffic.
I decided against filtering for the time being - I'd rather get a few more miles under my wheels & build up a little more confidence before I give it a go, but my initial thoughts are to limit filtering to stationary traffic / traffic travelling at less than 10MPH, and to keep my speed differential with other vehicles to no more than around 10-15MPH.
Am I thinking in the right way? Any filtering wisdom you can share with me?
My own experience is that you are most at risk from cars changing lanes (often without looking in their mirrors) is at the start and the end of a jam. The bit in the middle always seems more settled. 10mph is a reasonable start point. Personally I get twitchy above 20mph. Either way you need to keep your wits about you when you're doing it.As I mentioned in another thread, I passed my mod 2 last Friday and as it was forecast to be dry all day today I thought I'd have a go at commuting on the bike for the first time. My commute is about 25 miles and includes about a third of the M60 at peak times, so plenty of very slow moving / stationary traffic.
I decided against filtering for the time being - I'd rather get a few more miles under my wheels & build up a little more confidence before I give it a go, but my initial thoughts are to limit filtering to stationary traffic / traffic travelling at less than 10MPH, and to keep my speed differential with other vehicles to no more than around 10-15MPH.
Am I thinking in the right way? Any filtering wisdom you can share with me?
Don’t feel ‘obliged’ to filter if you are not comfortable with it, just because you are on a bike.
Years ago I used to be white line crazy and would be swooping down the centre of the road as soon as traffic slowed, any speed, anywhere, everywhere, but a few years off biking, and then a few years of riding in crazy countries and regularly seeing carnage on two wheels, and nowadays I rarely do much more than follow whatever is in front of me. My days of being in a hurry are long gone. Yes, that defeats many people’s idea of what a bike is for, but to me I just like riding, not racing or rushing.
If there is a wide gap, and cars are virtually stationary, I’ll have a little fun occasionally.
Years ago I used to be white line crazy and would be swooping down the centre of the road as soon as traffic slowed, any speed, anywhere, everywhere, but a few years off biking, and then a few years of riding in crazy countries and regularly seeing carnage on two wheels, and nowadays I rarely do much more than follow whatever is in front of me. My days of being in a hurry are long gone. Yes, that defeats many people’s idea of what a bike is for, but to me I just like riding, not racing or rushing.
If there is a wide gap, and cars are virtually stationary, I’ll have a little fun occasionally.
The trouble with filtering on motorways is if you do it a lot you start to get way to used to it and the speeds start to creep up, especially as the traffic starts moving again you keep the same speed difference. I used to commute M3/M25/A30 Farnborough to Heathrow and would quite often find myself filtering way too fast and make a conscious effort to slow down, only to find my speeds creeping up again a while later. My usual intention is to slot back in to traffic once it hits 30mph or so.
Installed a new exhaust system in December, just a cheap and cheerful Chinese one. I noticed in the cold this morning that some exhaust gasses are escaping where the end can meets the pipe. The end can is connected by slotting it over the pipe and clamping it on.
Should I be concerned about this? Try tightening it more? Or does it not really matter anyway because once the exhaust gets hot the metal probably expands enough to seal it anyway.
Should I be concerned about this? Try tightening it more? Or does it not really matter anyway because once the exhaust gets hot the metal probably expands enough to seal it anyway.
Thanks for all the filtering advice, much of which is in line with my own thoughts.
I was a bit tense on this mornings commute, but I set off home whilst it was still light this afternoon and had a very nice ride home. For the time being, I’m sticking with riding along with the rest of the traffic until controlling the bike feels a bit more natural & takes up less of my conscious thought.
There are days when the M60 is awful, so I think my first attempt at filtering will be in stationary motorway traffic.
I was a bit tense on this mornings commute, but I set off home whilst it was still light this afternoon and had a very nice ride home. For the time being, I’m sticking with riding along with the rest of the traffic until controlling the bike feels a bit more natural & takes up less of my conscious thought.
There are days when the M60 is awful, so I think my first attempt at filtering will be in stationary motorway traffic.
As above, I only filter or overtake traffic if its relatively slow. I'll happily sit with other traffic in the dark if its moving at a reasonable speed.
Also, especially when overtaking stationary or slow moving traffic think about what gap you're going to get back into should a car come the other way, and give yourself enough time to brake and get in safely. Oncoming traffic and braking for a gap can mean the gap to the oncoming traffic can disapeer quicker than you think.
Also, especially when overtaking stationary or slow moving traffic think about what gap you're going to get back into should a car come the other way, and give yourself enough time to brake and get in safely. Oncoming traffic and braking for a gap can mean the gap to the oncoming traffic can disapeer quicker than you think.
joema said:
Also, especially when overtaking stationary or slow moving traffic think about what gap you're going to get back into should a car come the other way, and give yourself enough time to brake and get in safely. Oncoming traffic and braking for a gap can mean the gap to the oncoming traffic can disapeer quicker than you think.
++ .For these kind of conditions, I only start filtering if I see a safe "destination" I'm sure I can reach before oncoming traffic. IF while on the way there I see a new potential destination I can reach safely, I change to go there. This way there's always a safe way to bail out if circumstances change.Dgr90 said:
For those uncomfortable with leaning over a decent amount (me), is a bike happier leant over at 80 or 40? I was told by a old guy (talks a good game but unsure how good he really is) to find a roundabout and use that, but it feels like slow speed is going to be far more unstable.
Yes the dynamics change depending on your speed. Higher speeds allow you to hang off the inside of the bike, but as you get slower it's more likely that the bike will drop, especially if you pull the clutch in say when turning a slow corner/junction. When you're going really slow is when you shift your weight the other way, to stop you from dropping it.People who have been riding for a while can lean in and give it some gas from a stand still, which always impresses me, as I'm still relatively new to biking, and I always feel like I'm going to drop it. Best thing to do is give it some throttle, ride the clutch, and trail the rear brake, you'll be amazed at how well you can control the bike. And if you panic, gas it, don't pull the clutch in.
Practice somewhere like a large car park where you can ride around in circles until your heart's content. I found that a weekend at a track helped immensely.
The bike leaning question is the one I came here to ask. Is there any way to know how far over you can lean? In the dry I feel like during my riding (around town, nothing sporty) I can pretty much lean as much as I want (I'm not talking knee down or anything) but in the wet especially I have no idea what warning I will get before the grip drops out. This is the kind of thing I don't really want to learn the hard way so it's pretty hard to learn the limit.
As to the side stand down thing, I have a few close calls so these days I always hold onto my bike until I am sure it is sitting right!
As to the side stand down thing, I have a few close calls so these days I always hold onto my bike until I am sure it is sitting right!
Leaning and turning is a bit of an art, get it right, it can be fun, and easy, get it wrong and scare yourself and it can linger for years. Yes, I know it is easy and basic and logical for most people, but worth getting a few tips. Check out YouTube, or even take some advanced lessons. Once you can turn with confidence at low speed the rest sort of comes naturally.
https://youtu.be/WFNCyaJZlJg
https://youtu.be/j3nnIKMZKSI
https://youtu.be/WFNCyaJZlJg
https://youtu.be/j3nnIKMZKSI
Knowing how hard you can push on and lean in the wet only comes with experience, air on the side of caution, and as you get more experience you'll find yourself not thinking about it.
Riding in the wet is mostly about smoothness, and gently shifting the weights and forces involved, it's sudden transitions that will cause a loss of grip, rather than lean angles and speed (within reason)
Be smooth on the throttle, brakes and steering inputs. Look way ahead and predict and plan your riding, so that you don't have to suddenly change direction, brake hard or snatch at the throttle.
It's a skill, and actually quite fun to master it.
Riding in the wet is mostly about smoothness, and gently shifting the weights and forces involved, it's sudden transitions that will cause a loss of grip, rather than lean angles and speed (within reason)
Be smooth on the throttle, brakes and steering inputs. Look way ahead and predict and plan your riding, so that you don't have to suddenly change direction, brake hard or snatch at the throttle.
It's a skill, and actually quite fun to master it.
cbmotorsport said:
Knowing how hard you can push on and lean in the wet only comes with experience, air on the side of caution, and as you get more experience you'll find yourself not thinking about it.
Riding in the wet is mostly about smoothness, and gently shifting the weights and forces involved, it's sudden transitions that will cause a loss of grip, rather than lean angles and speed (within reason)
Be smooth on the throttle, brakes and steering inputs. Look way ahead and predict and plan your riding, so that you don't have to suddenly change direction, brake hard or snatch at the throttle.
It's a skill, and actually quite fun to master it.
Agreed. The track weekend I did was sunny one day, and torrential rain the next. The rainy day was way more educational. But it is surprising with good tyres, and smooth inputs, how fast you can corner.Riding in the wet is mostly about smoothness, and gently shifting the weights and forces involved, it's sudden transitions that will cause a loss of grip, rather than lean angles and speed (within reason)
Be smooth on the throttle, brakes and steering inputs. Look way ahead and predict and plan your riding, so that you don't have to suddenly change direction, brake hard or snatch at the throttle.
It's a skill, and actually quite fun to master it.
Yes I definitely go for smoothness in the wet, just ride nice and easy and no aggressive movements. I definitely think a track day will help too as it is always a good place to try and get a feel for things a bit more. I'm always paranoid these days about suddenly losing grip after having it happen once before, although I'm pretty sure that was due to contact with a painted line in the wet, which I now know is like ice!
Zadkiel said:
Yes I definitely go for smoothness in the wet, just ride nice and easy and no aggressive movements. I definitely think a track day will help too as it is always a good place to try and get a feel for things a bit more. I'm always paranoid these days about suddenly losing grip after having it happen once before, although I'm pretty sure that was due to contact with a painted line in the wet, which I now know is like ice!
Yeah, white lines, drain covers, oil, diesel, roadkill - all more lethal in the wet. Spoilt myself yesterday. She sent me to Lidl for some milk and bread but I came out with a air compressor and compressor goodies. Managed to pump up 2 basketballs last night so money well spent for sure 
I've had a quick search but can't find the part I'm looking for. Is there such a thing as an angled connection for a motorcycle tyre with a pressure gauge attached? The normal ones can't fit due to the brake disc being in the way.
I've had a quick search but can't find the part I'm looking for. Is there such a thing as an angled connection for a motorcycle tyre with a pressure gauge attached? The normal ones can't fit due to the brake disc being in the way.
Cbull said:
Spoilt myself yesterday. She sent me to Lidl for some milk and bread but I came out with a air compressor and compressor goodies. Managed to pump up 2 basketballs last night so money well spent for sure
I've had a quick search but can't find the part I'm looking for. Is there such a thing as an angled connection for a motorcycle tyre with a pressure gauge attached? The normal ones can't fit due to the brake disc being in the way.
I've seen angled valve adaptors if they're any good?I've had a quick search but can't find the part I'm looking for. Is there such a thing as an angled connection for a motorcycle tyre with a pressure gauge attached? The normal ones can't fit due to the brake disc being in the way.
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=angled+tyre+valv...
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