*** Show us your bikes! ***

[Hades]

That's a beauty, love it!

Thanks.

I picked it up yesterday. On the way back home on the M40 I had to use a genuine emergency swerve. I was following a van in the middle lane when it suddenly moved back into the left lane very quickly. It soon became obvious why; a lorry had shed part of its load and there were crates across several lanes. Luckily I had left enough space to see the problem unfolding and had time to swerve left and then again right around another.

I only had my license a couple of weeks and was on an unfamiliar bike. So pay attention to the mod 1 lessons everyone!

 

[Hades]

Hopefully, should be picking this up in a few days, KSR Moto Code 125cc. I needed something cheap and cheerful and I think this will fit the bill. It's in really good condition. Tide me over until I can afford an MT-125 or KTM Duke 125.

Can anyone tell me what style of bike it is? I want to order the correct Oxford heated grips.

Very nice indeed. It's a a style of naked bike but not sure why that might be relevant to the heated grips?

A guy on my course had a KTM 125. It looked fantastic but he said he'd had loads of problems with it. Based on my happy experience with the instructors MT07 I would probably lean towards the MT125 out of those two. But if you now have a 125 it might be worth saving that money towards a bigger bike when you pass, rather than another 125. Yes some are nicer and faster than others. But there isn't much real difference between them.

I am utterly addicted to riding now

 

[bobbarley]

I was looking at a well known brand of heated grips. They do different ones:

Touring
Sports
Cruiser
Commuter
Adventure
Retro
Scooter

I'd assume the bike I've bought falls under commuter?

 

[Hades]

Yes I would say commuter.

 

[bobbarley]

I've ordered those as they're cheapest Should hopefully do the trick nicely!

I'm ****ing my pants at the idea of riding the bike back 100 Miles tomorrow!

 

[Hades]

I've ordered those as they're cheapest Should hopefully do the trick nicely!

I'm ****ing my pants at the idea of riding the bike back 100 Miles tomorrow!

That's going to be tough. But also exciting once you get a feel for the bike after a short time.

Break it into as many breaks as needed. Don't be tempted to keep pushing on when tired. Take a short break before continuing. Do you have decent gloves? How are you navigating? If by phone then do you have a phone holder? Don't forget a screwdriver etc if it's needed to screw it on. Take a USB battery pack and cable.of you have one. I think it will take longer than you expect. Also
Make sure you set "no motorways" on your navigation app as you aren't allowed on them yet.

Does the bike still have L plates? If not you will have to take some and some tape (although the pic shows some).

Dont be tempted to filter yet even if the traffic is bad. Just take your time and be patient.

Don't forget your helmet etc. Also earplugs if you have any.

Good luck. Exciting times. You will remember this trip for years.

 

[bobbarley]

Cheers Hades! I've ordered a phone holder but if it doesn't arrive in time I'm going to use audio commands from the sat-nav using my earpods, plus I believe my apple watch does on screen directions too which is handy. All the Apple products

Battery pack is ready to go as well. The seller has put L plates back on the bike for me too which is nice.

My plan is to take my time and just make good progress. I'm not fussed about my speed, except on dual carriageways where I do want to get up to 60 to avoid lorries overtaking me. It's a weird feeling that after 21 years of using public roads in a car, I feel like a complete novice again!

 

[Hades]

How's the trip going?

 

[Colonel_Klinck]

Put a deposit down on this today. What a fun ride. Not as batty as my 1290 Superduke but not far off. Looking forward to some green laning and a bit of touring.

 

[Scuzi]

Put a deposit down on this today. What a fun ride. Not as batty as my 1290 Superduke but not far off. Looking forward to some green laning and a bit of touring.

I’ve had one of those for a weekend. Fantastic fun for a Swiss Army knife bike. It’ll be a great touring machine with some comfort mods but I’m not so sure about green laning - don’t drop it!

 

[Colonel_Klinck]

I’ve had one of those for a weekend. Fantastic fun for a Swiss Army knife bike. It’ll be a great touring machine with some comfort mods but I’m not so sure about green laning - don’t drop it!

its the R so off-road version with the 21” front wheel. It will need some different rubber on it but it’s more than capable of handling green lanes and more in the right hands. I used to enduro a fair bit. Very rusty and I certainly don’t want to drop it but I’ll ease myself back in with gravel before heading near any mud.

 

[bobbarley]

How's the trip going?

I got back in one piece! I had a couple of hairy moment, the wind was INSANE!

1) I was never told how to handle corners when you're at speed. So learned the hard way you have to lean
2) Went into a roundabout too fast and had to put my right leg out, thought I was gonna crash.

It's all good though, I learned from all of it. By the end of the 100 miles I felt a lot more confident about what I'm doing.

 

[Hades]

I got back in one piece! I had a couple of hairy moment, the wind was INSANE!

1) I was never told how to handle corners when you're at speed. So learned the hard way you have to lean
2) Went into a roundabout too fast and had to put my right leg out, thought I was gonna crash.

It's all good though, I learned from all of it. By the end of the 100 miles I felt a lot more confident about what I'm doing.

Well done. The 125 will teach you so much. That's why I got one rather than just rely on formal training. I nearly poo'd myself on my first small roundabout crawling slowly and thinking the bike would fall over if I leaned. The next day I saw someone blast around it at speed at about 45 degrees. Just ride slowly and within your ability as your experience increases, and have fun.

 

[Scuzi]

I got back in one piece! I had a couple of hairy moment, the wind was INSANE!

1) I was never told how to handle corners when you're at speed. So learned the hard way you have to lean
2) Went into a roundabout too fast and had to put my right leg out, thought I was gonna crash.

It's all good though, I learned from all of it. By the end of the 100 miles I felt a lot more confident about what I'm doing.

It’s always a learning game no matter how experienced you will be. Enjoy it!

Top tip - the bike will naturally go in the direction you are looking. If you look straight ahead, or at the lamppost. That’s where the bike will go. If you focus your view on the limit point of a corner (the point in view where the hedges meet), or where you want to go, the bike will naturally just go that way.

 

[Mickcas]

I got back in one piece! I had a couple of hairy moment, the wind was INSANE!

1) I was never told how to handle corners when you're at speed. So learned the hard way you have to lean
2) Went into a roundabout too fast and had to put my right leg out, thought I was gonna crash.

It's all good though, I learned from all of it. By the end of the 100 miles I felt a lot more confident about what I'm doing.

Congrats on the safe return. Some good advice above and remember to have confidence in the bike itself. Too me a while to stop worry if the bike would grip while leaning.
I used to worry it would wash away under me, then I realised how many people track their sv650 in stock form who are much better riders, and I could probably get no where near the bikes limits on the road anyways.

 

[CrazyGreggy]

Counter steering is one hell of a technique to learn. Plenty of videos on YouTube but the essence of it is that once you’re over about 15mph you can turn by pushing the handlebar on the side you want to turn towards away from you. You don’t have to throw your body weight around like a Moto GP rider, just increase the pressure on the handlebar GENTLY and your lean angle will increase.

 

[bobbarley]

Cheers guys for the great advice! Went and took a few photos today.

 

[Diddums]

I don't get all the negativity towards Chinese bikes. That's not gonna set the world alight but then I suspect you're also not a 16 year old kid. It's a fantastic little machine, it'll do the job perfectly and provided it's looked after, it'll look after you too. Everyone seems to forget that Japanese bikes once were where Chinese bikes are, and look where they are now. Enjoy it, and if you're looking for parts, it's also sold as the Generic Code

 

[bobbarley]

I can't fault it to be honest. Has everything you could need on a bike, even a few big bike features like an oil check window and engine cut off switch. Yeah it'll do about 60mph, but it feels fast when you're not surrounded by protective car!

 

[Draeger]

Run out today, weekend before holiday monday and the roads were chock full of slow dawdling traffic so not hugely enjoyable until I hit some quieter roads. Photos taken at the top of Glen Ogle, Scotland.

Akrapovic gets fitted tomorrow