suitable motorbike for a novice

[ColinEssex]

But what about the backs of your hands?

proper bikes have wind deflectors attached to the front fairing near the mirrors - plus of course you have your winter gloves on.

oh and please don't mention religion in the cooler

I forgot

Col

 

[Fifer]

I had the same problem when I passed my cbt and when I passed my bike test as I was too short for bandit etc. I got a Yamaha virago 535 and had to put a restriction on it for 2 years. didnt make any difference and had the oomph when needed.

Good luck and enjoy your bike what ever you get

 

[Rich]

- plus of course you have your winter gloves on.
Col

Can't get them big enough for my hands

 

[emcf]

Good luck on the DAS. I did it in 1996, a freezing day in January . The gears will happen automatically in time, stick with it.

i'm hoping for half decent weather on the 1st dec.....anything but chucking with rain will be fine (although obviously no snow/frost!). Going up the gears is not too bad, its coming down i have trouble. found myself in a gear too low occasionally and when i then let the clutch out it really made the bike squirm....i guess doing that on the sv would result in a rather embarassing and dangerous incident practice,practice, practice....going to hire a geared bike for next week to get used to driving it about.

My little 400 was in for a service the other day, and the company gave me a a new sv650s for the day.
It was very good, a high revving engine, 6 speed so there's plenty of gears to choose from! I found you need to be in exactly the right gear all the time, the torque was not very forgiving

yup...i'd better get sharper on the downshifts then!

With no wind protection, I found it was fairly "breezy" out on the dual carriageway, also I missed having somewhere to carry stuff. On my 400 I have a huge underseat area that swallows a laptop and shopping, and the Pan has the 2 panniers each capable of taking a full face helmet.

i had a look about the sv in the shop and i reckon i will be able to store a neatly folded fiver in the underseat compartment!

Ignore the remarks about being a "wuss" if you have heated grips - believe me, in biting winds and cold they are a godsend, as is a heated waistcoat - I use that for long trips during winter. This is mine.

Get this book. - its the bible of motorcycle riding, ignore the "police" bit, police riders are the most advanced and safe you will learn alot, this is their riding techniques shown. It explains everything and is just brilliant, it will help you before and after your test. It is the way to ride a motorcycle. Remember the learning doesn't really start till after you pass the test.

Ride safe - keep alert

Col

cheers for that, i've ordered the book and some other IAM book that amazon threw in for a couple more quid & no postage. i also heard about a decent police run training course that only costs 30 quid for a day's riding/tuition/skills, reckon that will be on the agenda soon after the test (although they seem to stop doing them from nov-feb).

i reckon all this wuss stuff from rich is nonsense....bet he actually rides a vespa with one of those stylish leg blankets! not too sure re the wind deflectors though, i'm only travelling for 20 mins each way so i may just try to bear gloves only. although in january i may have changed my mind!

 

[emcf]

Things I bet they didn't teach you...

How to ride through the hills... (2.33mb)
http://www.predatorsoftware.com.au/files/country ride.wmv

Bike balance.... (2.19mb)
http://www.predatorsoftware.com.au/files/bike tricks.wmv

Carrying a pillion... (858kb)
http://www.predatorsoftware.com.au/files/didnt hang on.wmv

How to stop... (488kb)
http://www.predatorsoftware.com.au/files/williebrake.mpeg

How to park it... (192kb)
http://www.predatorsoftware.com.au/files/load_your_bike.wmv


Dave

they did teach me how to drop the clutch real quick....

Wheeliedance.mpeg <1Mb

 

[emcf]

Check your local police to see when or if they auction off their used bikes. They are generally a good deal an have usually been maintained well.

i never even thought of that. although i do vaguely remember that the uk police have had trouble with one of the models and have dropped it after a few fatal incidents. not sure what model or what incidents but do remember reading it somewhere.

 

[Rich]

..bet he actually rides a vespa

That's boiled rice isn't it?

 

[ColinEssex]

i never even thought of that. although i do vaguely remember that the uk police have had trouble with one of the models and have dropped it after a few fatal incidents. not sure what model or what incidents but do remember reading it somewhere.

The UK police usually either auction their "old" bikes at the big auction place in Oxford - or they sell them direct to Force Motorcycles (which is where I bought my Pan Euro)

The problem you describe was with the new Pan European ST1300. It took over from the ST1100 in 2003. As the ST1100 was always the standard choice for the police, they continued with the new one.

The problem came from a high speed weave (above 95mph) it caused a "tankslapper" and couple of bikes to crash and 3 police riders have been killed as a result. The police discontinued the ST1300 and Honda got onto the problem.

Honda brought in design engineers from Japan and they all met up at a test track for a few days with a bunch of fully kitted out bikes and police riders. They tried various things, suspension settings, etc etc. They established that due to the weight of all the equipment, the front fork oil needed to be a thicker viscosity. When this was done, the weave disappeared.

I think the problem has now been solved, although the UK police have returned 130+ bikes to Honda under the 'sale of goods act' because of other issues - electrics, grounding of the bike on a kerb would knock a stud off the bottom of the engine and you lose your sump, swinging arm was flexing and they made a retofit kit for stiffening the whole rear of the chassis, heat shields for cooked legs and a safety recall for the Brake valve for the dual braking.


Honda are revamping the ST1300 wholesale, and are bringing out a new version in 2007

Col

 

[ColinEssex]

not too sure re the wind deflectors though, i'm only travelling for 20 mins each way so i may just try to bear gloves only. although in january i may have changed my mind!

I don't think you can get wind deflectors for yours. They're mostly available for the bigger tourers which have the front fairing.

Gloves will be ok if they're good ones. You'll want to go out for a days "scratch", then it'll be a bit nippy You'll need to check the battery and alternator has enough "oomph" if you do fit heated grips. Daytona do some excellent grips, I've had these in the past, no probs and a good price at around £70. My heated grips are the Honda ones that come with all ex police bikes.

You'll be ok, as I say, just enjoy it, especially filtering through stationary traffic

Col

 

[ColinEssex]

hmm...that's a tourer of some sort is it? I'm wanting something a bit more dynamic. a tourer might be a bit fat & slow for getting through the traffic in rush hour.

I forgot to comment on this

A top speed of 135mph is slow? it'll get up to 70 in 2nd gear! True its not meant to be a Fireblade or Hyabusa but it does shift if you want it to

Traffic? if you can get the mirrors through the rest will fit - see a gap and go for it - with a "police" bike the cars part like the red sea

Col

 

[emcf]

That's boiled rice isn't it?

here's one that is about the size of a bag of rice....

mini pink vespa

although i'm not too sure about kiddies riding things like these

 

[Rich]

here's one that is about the size of a bag of rice....

mini pink vespa

although i'm not too sure about kiddies riding things like these

I see the design's been improved

 

[emcf]

right then.....the big day is tomorrow, got my DAS test in the morning at Pinner....i've had two and a half days solid riding instruction on a cbf500....it is so much more fun than the 125s i've been on, completely different machine to ride

u-turn is good and emergency stop not too shabby either so all i'm hoping for tomorrow is a nice dry day. if everything goes to plan i'll be on the sv tomorrow afternoon still a bit nervous about the test but i guess that is good.

 

[KalelGmoon]

good luck on your test, hope the weather holds for you

 

[emcf]

good luck on your test, hope the weather holds for you

thanks....was pretty gusty out on the road today - i found myself sitting at a traffic light in the safety position (i.e. right foot up on rear brake, left foot on ground)....big gust of wind blew the bike so much i had to drop the right foot! i can do without that sort of complication tomorrow!

 

[Oldsoftboss]

Don't forget the minor details

Dave

 

[emcf]

Don't forget the minor details

Dave

yeah....i think i've managed the 'put on the helmet correctly' procedure adequately!

it's the swerve out of the way of the porsche cayenne/bmw x5/big merc that is carrying darling tarquin to polo lessons that i've got to watch out for.....

 

[emcf]

way hey! passed with no minor faults! u-turn went well (just!) and e-stop good. all that with a nice steady drizzle...i think i done good had a minor slip on a wet manhole cover on a slow right turn but front wheel gripped once it hit the tarmac thank god. been out on the sv most of the afternoon....haven't had it above 50 yet but it still scares the bejeesus out of me scary in a good kind of way though.

 

[ColinEssex]

way hey! passed with no minor faults! u-turn went well (just!) and e-stop good. all that with a nice steady drizzle...i think i done good

Well done em. Now the learning really starts!!

had a minor slip on a wet manhole cover on a slow right turn but front wheel gripped once it hit the tarmac thank god.

Yes, manhole covers are always placed on the bike riding line, its council policy to do so.

Watch out for diesel spills at roundabouts in this wet damp weather too. I never take a roundabout on the outer line - always the inner line. You can smell the diesel before you get there fortunately.

Col

 

[Rich]

Yes, manhole covers are always placed on the bike riding line, its council policy to do so.

Col

and the utilities policy to dig bloody trenches there too