Those Buells are way cool - loved mine.



But, although it's the attitude of an old fart, sportsbike will forever remain to me the coolest of bikes.

Quote from: komp on April 06, 2018, 10:43:27 AM
after taking the panigale to work yesterday I can remember why i love sports bikes
it can make an ordinary journey so much more fun
god i love that bike and to think i was thinking about swapping it out for something else

Yep, the 899 Panigale is an absolutely brilliant bike.

Always felt it fitted me pretty nicely as well, so I didn't even find it particularly uncomfortable on reasonably long days ragging the hell out of it over the roads of Brittany and Normandy. Fact that it looks f'ing beautiful as well doesn't hurt. 

Adventure bike for the commute, mind.

Currently bike-less due to a move overseas and missing it.

Road bike all day.

QuoteI've never test ridden a single bike I've ever bought.

I like test riding.

Allows you to play around with ideas about maybe getting a new bike and just seeing what's out there and having the enjoyment of trying out a new vehicle.

Good for the dealers too because it's allowing your kit basically to sell itself.

If I've counted up correctly, I reckon I've bought 6 brand new bikes over the years that began with an idle test ride.

Test ridden a few things I didn't buy, too, and almost always enjoyed the experience even if I didn't end up buying.

Never test ridden a second hand bike I've bought, mind you, and I've bought a few of those too.

Quote from: David W on June 13, 2017, 11:27:42 AM
I'm not that keen on the shape and style of the new Arai's.  They look a bit too ball shaped.  Going to definitely try something else, assuming they fit OK when I try them on.  Arai have changed the shell shape a lot apparently so what used to fit might not now and vice versa.  My RX7GP leave a big mark right across my forehead if I wear it for more than about 45 mins.  I rode to Italy and back in the previous one!

Hmm, it's not just me then.... I've been a Arai man since I started, but my current RX7 does exactly this.

Cheers all!

It's so easy to slip without realising it more and more into the danger zone as one becomes more and more comfortable with something.

I've had the same thought from time to time when filtering through fast-moving but heavy traffic on the motorway.

The IaM say no filtering above 30mph.

That's never going to work if you're commuting, but as you become inured to the risks after plying the motorway back and forth, day-in-day-out, you do occasionally need to remind yourself that this is not a computer game.

Had a little refresher class this morning on one of the classic biking lessons, that fortunately came free of charge.

On the way to work, along a narrow, twisty national speed limit B-road, that I have ridden twice a day, five days a week, for two years and know like the back of my hand down to every bump, overhanging branch and imperfection in the tarmac.

Pushing along a bit, hitting 60 on the straights, overtaking cars, but comfortably within my limits, not working too hard. Tipped into a hedge-lined bend, knowing exactly which way it went and that I could easily get around it at 40.

Hit the apex - FACK!!! - queue of stationary traffic on the exit, for the first time ever, due to an incident up the road.

On the brakes; I'm going to hit it; is the other side of the road clear?; yes it is; pull out; fly down the queue of traffic on the wrong side of the road; slow down and pull in before the arrival of oncoming.

Phew, and I guess I picked the wrong week to give up smoking!

Total rookie error after 20 years as a biker, and that would have been me in deep shit if the other side of the road hadn't have been clear.

Ride to what you can see, not to what you can remember, kids!

QuoteI'd assume that it was only a vehicle which was capable of going on the road (registered) that would need to be insured.

The clear implication from that article is that we are talking about insurance for off-road accidents here.

"the rule that off-road vehicles, such as tractors and racing cars, had to be insured even if they never went on a public highway"

"Instead, many claims for off-road accidents will be settled out of a fund, into which all insurers must pay and which pays out for uninsured vehicles."

QuoteThis came up last year sometime.

Ah, missed that...

Anyone know what the impact of this is on track day insurance?

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/2e0aaac8-17e0-11e7-a58e-f62cd2603d31

Does it mean you now need to get third-party insurance to go on track?

Or that there is some kind of insurance company fund against which you could claim if someone knocks you off on a trackday?

... and having said that, with the Caledonian Road tickets, I didn't do that and just coughed up in the interests of a quiet life and moving on.

But I had infringed every day in a week before I got the first ticket, and I waited until it was clear I was only getting two tickets before paying up: I think if I'd got five I'd have chanced my arm with throwing myself on their mercy along the above lines.

Argh!

If it were me, I'd consider a letter saying that you're from out of town, bikes are allowed in bus lanes where you're from, you've learned from the first fine that that is not the position in Southampton, you'll never do it again, but it's not really fair to be fined twice before you realised that you were infringing.

I don't think that would necessarily get you off the hook as a matter of law, but they might take pity on you and only make you pay one ticket.

The danger of this approach is if they're being complete arseholes, take 7 days to respond, say no, and then say that the full amount rather than the 50% discount is now due for both tickets.

It's inconsistent within cities, never mind across the country.

I got nailed twice in one week in the bus lane on Caledonian Road in London opposite La Scala before I realised that bus lane wasn't permitted for motorcycles unlike most of the lanes in London.

If the signs on the particular lane are 'clear', you'll have to suck it up - nationwide inconsistency won't get you out of it...

I should update on this, because it's a good news customer service story.

After some discussion with the importer, the advice was actually to take the lid into an Arai approved "shop" after all.

Took it into J&S St Albans last week and they fixed it there and then, free of charge, despite it being 4 years old from date of purchase and apparently 8 years from manufacture according to the code on it.

Top work from Arai and J&S St Albans!

Thanks again for the input, everyone.

QuoteI do like standard T30's as well good grip and wear.

Yeh, I got on very well with T30s on my old Daytona 675.

Good in the wet and even did a trackday on them!

Can't even find a picture of my J2 - which is what started it - anymore!

Here's my B1, looking nice and shiny and new shortly after I'd picked it up from Lloyd Coopers.