The friendly "dumb" bike questions thread

[crofty1984]

We were all new once, thought it might be nice to have a thread where we go over our silly mistakes, things we've learnt, dumb questions we've heard/asked, or ask any basic questions we have.

For me: I was forever flooding my old Yamaha (first bike) because I'd put far too much gas on when trying to start. Since I've had kick-start bikes that's become much more important! Until I know "the knack" I always go with no throttle and build up very gradually on subsequent kicks - easier to add slightly more fuel on the next kick than take it out from a previous one! Though now I do have the knack with the BSA and Triumph so I'm all good. Or buy a bike with fuel injection

Another is my FIL telling his son to mainly use the back brake. When braking, weight transfers forward, so use the front as the main braking device.

[crofty1984]

A500leroy said:

Do i need to take my sprocket and brake disc off to change the tyre?

No.

[crofty1984]

Super Slo Mo said:

That leads me to another dumb biker point: make sure your side stand is properly down before you lean the bike on it

Done that one! If leaving your bike on an incline, always park so it won't roll off the stand!

[crofty1984]

Great thread, thanks for starting it. I have my CBT and DAS booked for July and I'm full of stupid questions already....

- I love the look of the naked bikes, current shortlist for first bike is either a Monster 821 Dark or a Triumph Street Triple R. Is this a stupid idea for a first bike? I don't want a st first bike, because I'll hate it. I want something that I lust.

I got a nice sensible Honda a few years ago. Now I have a 38 year old Bonneville, a 48 year old BSA 250 and I'm looking at buying a cheap Ducati as a "reliable and modern" bike. So the buy with the head thing didn't work too well for me!

- With a textile jacket (high collar) and helmet, is my neck going to get cold? What do people use if it's bit fresh out? Neck sleeve? Balaclava?

I wear a neck sleeve. Buff do a good one, especially the fluffy one.

- I cycle a lot, and the brakes on my road bike are st. I am often worried that I won't be able to stop in time. What is heavy braking on a motorbike like? Is it easy to lock the front/back wheel and/or both?

You'll clang your knackers on the tank. Don't worry about brakes. Learning to brake properly (i.e. putting on more than you think the bike will take) in a straight line on an empty road can be beneficial. Mostly you brake on the front wheel. Back is mainly for control.

- I have a strange paranoia about dropping the front end on diesel or a wet road, probably stemming from doing it whilst cycling. Put my mind at rest please!

Diesel: be careful. Wet: don't cane it about like you might in the dry, but there's no need to ride all uptight and nervous in the wet. Just be smooth on the power.

- Should I get a jacket with a back protector in it? What about elbow protectors?

Personal preference. I generally have light elbow armour, no back protector. other people won't even stand in the same room as a bike without a back protector. Both of us are right.

- I have two young kids, am I being selfish for wanting a bike license? Does it make me an irresponsible parent putting myself in danger?

Not really.

- I don't want to wear full leather and have to completely change into normal clothes at the office. Are there protective jeans that you can wear all day with a t-shirt? Same goes for boots. I am lucky that I'm the boss so can wear whatever I want (within reason).

I have a pair of British-made Hood jeans that are brilliant. £150, made to measure, fully kevlar lined, Fancy D3O armour in the hips and knees.

- Rucksack or decent messenger bag? By decent messenger bag I mean something like a Chrome Industries NYC style bike messenger back with a twin strap setup.

I'm a rucksack man.

- Sunglasses or tinted visor? Are mirrored visors silly?

My helmet has a flip-down internal sun visor. It's ace. I'm basically a 25bhp fighter pilot.

- Bluetooth headphones inside helmet, yes or no?

I don't like music when I ride, just me and my thoughts. Only way I can get a decent conversation! I'd advise earplugs, whatever you do. you can get them with bluetooth in as well.

Thanks in advance!

[crofty1984]

Dgr90 said:

I have heard a few people mention 'sag' when talking about suspension (rear, I think). Is this something that can be adjusted on all bikes or just fancy-pants everything adjustable bikes? I ask as I have a cbr600f (2006) and its my first 'big bike' and although a few mates have ridden it and say its fine, to me it feels like it doesnt have any suspension at all. I am 55kg's, so maybe 60 with gear (all weather textiles) and I feel like its far too stiff for my weight.

To follow up, if it is adjustable, is it something any bike shop could do, or is it more specialist?

I found this article which looks interesting.
http://www.motorcyclenews.com/new-rider/choosing-k...

[crofty1984]

Sounds like clutch drag, ie only releasing about 99% efficiently. Clutch cable may need adjusting as others have said.

[crofty1984]

boyse7en said:

Stick Legs said:

Jazoli said:

Yes it's called direct access, you can bypass all the 125cc stuff apart from your CBT, buy whatever bike you want, an F800 would be a great first bike.

Great, thanks for replying. I'm off to do some research now!

Any of the F800 range would make a good buy. They are easy going and relaxed to ride, so ideal for a first "big" bike, but are fast enough and competent enough to keep on. If you are worried about dropping/damaging a bike, you could look at the F800ST as it is basically an older and cheaper F800GT

Another vote here. Not what I'd buy myself (I tend to buy old things that don't work), but for what you want they're ideal.

[crofty1984]

Gavia said:

If you didn’t countersteer on a pushbike you’d fall off at every corner. It’s that simple. You have to countersteer to get any two wheel bike round a corner at anything more than walking pace.

Too much BS about it all over the Internet.

I don't think it hurts to know more about the way our bikes operate to help is get the best out of them. I don't NEED to know how my bikes work other than the basic controls, but I like understanding what's going on.
Though there is a lot of bullst about, well, everything, on the internet!

[crofty1984]

revvingit said:

Haven't bought it yet but looking at either a 2012 Yamaha Vity or a 2016 Lexmoto FMS.

Regards above obviously wouldn't ride it maxed out all day, but would like to be doing 50-55 the majority of the time where I can to avoid creating lines of traffic behind me.

I'd get the Yamaha of I were you. It's likely to have been made in China, but with Japanese quality control. Though Lexmoto are one of the better Chinese brands.

[crofty1984]

revvingit said:

The sticking point for me on the Yamaha is it comes with 20k (4k a year-ish, so not colossal) miles and has a lot of dents and scratches - appears to possibly have been dropped, expected for that price point. Reviews say it will do long journeys but don't expect to get there fast, fine by me, as it's mainly a commuting bike - just want the option of visiting family on it who live a few hundred miles away.

oh, well maybe not THAT one. An abused bike is an abused bike, wherever it was made.

[crofty1984]

Yeah, perfectly normal. Think of the gearbox as "self aligning*" when it's under load, everything moving into the right place for the next shift when you let the clutch out. Sometimes by coincidence it ends up in the right place and you can shift from 6th-1st without letting the clutch out, but don't count on it.

*Terrible choice of words, but hopefully it gets the point across.

[crofty1984]

Pravus1 said:

Thats a fair point when it gets colder. Be a lot easier if I had a garage.

I'll have to wash it at the weekends and see what the zzr looks like after winter.

I'd wash it thoroughly once, plaster it in ACF50 and accept that it'll look like st. Then clean it off in spring, revealing a nice shiny bike underneath.

[crofty1984]

SVS said:

It will give off some lovely fumes of gaseous ACF50 for you to breath in. I'm sure it's great for keeping your lungs - stops them going rusty.

It'll burn off the exhaust harmlessly. I don't bother with the regular washing without re-applying it. Just accept dirt sticks to it and it'll look like st.

[crofty1984]

Berty3000 said:

Yeah, mine is 45-55mm high to low when on that centre stand. Guess I'll just keep checking then. I'll be chuffed if adjustments are as infrequent as you guys are saying.

Checked every 500 miles, as in grab a ruler, push the middle of the chain up for a second doesn't seem unreasonable, but I'd be amazed if you found it was out of sorts and needing adjustment every time you did it.

[crofty1984]

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?

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=angled+tyre+valv...

[crofty1984]

Here's mine in situ with the indicator relay. The Starfire is positive earth, hence the number of red wires.

[crofty1984]

If you can get the rear wheel on a bit of wood it helps, but it's mainly technique. The thing I found was I was concentrating on getting a "run up" rolling the bike back, then suddenly trying to Jan the stand down. That's no good. Just have the bike stationary, touch the centre stand feet to the ground, then WHOOP! That's a technical term.

Another thing is that people tend to stand on the ground and push up from the ground with their leg, so you'd have your toes on the centre stand lever, but putting a lot of force through your heel into the ground, wasting it. Get into the habit of thinking than you're not trying to keep the stand still while you hoik up the back end, actively try to push the stand away from you.

[crofty1984]

RAFsmoggy said:

me being as thick as a used sanitary towel is neither here nor there......

That is not what I needed to read today.

[crofty1984]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Or most days, to be fair. Did make me chuckle

[crofty1984]

clen666 said:

Always take a spare key if you’re away on the bike.

If you don’t have a spare, do not leave your key under the seat and then lock it

Ha! I've done that one.