Biker's Cafe Chatroom

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Noakesy85 said:
I took my CBR600 for its MOT last friday... Gladly it passed :D

Only one problem... just as he finished the test it decided to wet itself all over the MOT testers floor :cry:

Turns out the cooling fan is seized solid so its not doing its job to cool the coolant... riding in the cold weather has kept me safe so far but leaving it running in a workshop with no airflow caused it to overheat and pop the pipe off the radiator.

somehow this is only an advisory :confused:

Looks like i'll be pulling it apart to replace the fan before i can take it out for a ride any time soon.
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I had the same problem with my cbr, it turned out to be a small stone that was jamming it up. I also had a similar problem with my zx636, that was the connectors that had corroded, all i needed to do for that was clean them up and it was working again, took me a long time to work out what the problem was though. Good luck
 
iron_monkey said:
I had the same problem with my cbr, it turned out to be a small stone that was jamming it up. I also had a similar problem with my zx636, that was the connectors that had corroded, all i needed to do for that was clean them up and it was working again, took me a long time to work out what the problem was though. Good luck
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Cheers bud, its just finding the time right now to go sit in the garage and pull the fairings off to get a proper look. I've tried to move the fan blades but they don't budge, its either jammed solid or fully seized.
 
@Mickcas thanks. I saw a cbf125 locally I may go look at which seams a good choice to start. Post mod2 not really sure yet, maybe a cbr600 but need to really get down to a dealer and see how I sit on various types of bikes.
 
Bloody annoying looking out the window and seeing such a stunning day, sun's out, clear skies, and then I walk outside and almost freeze to the pavement!
 
My bikes been parked up for the last 2 days, 0 or -1 degrees or there abouts i'm ok with but -7 with a solid frost is well out side my comfort zone, besides my front tyres getting near the limit which ain't helping my confidence on slimey/icey winter roads.
 
I rode from Eastbourne back to Tunbridge Wells on Wednesday, in the dark and probably -1 or so. It was unplanned and unavoidable. My fingers were the coldest they've ever been. I had to stop in Crowborough to fuel up anyway and took the chance to rub my hands together for a few minutes to warm them back up. I was only wearing some £40 DXR gloves, Which are usually very gold, but this was a bit extreme for them.

My Oxford Hinterland jacket kept me warm though. Only had a t shirt and jumper underneath.
 
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CBT completed. Was certainly cold when standing around etc but wasn’t so bad as we got going on the bikes.

The bikes were cheap lexmoto and the clutch and throttle response for me made the slow speed stuff harder than necessary perhaps.

On the road I did manage to have a small “unscheduled stop followed by a rapid dismount” as the instructor put it. Was just stupid on me following a other student at a junction he went and I was just indecisive over slowing more and dropping to first as couldn’t see well enough, that led me to try and go when I saw it was clear but in 2nd didn’t have the power needed, wasn’t looking when I needed to go and went over the curb.

Certainly knocked my confidence but after we finished they had me ride a triumph 600 around the training area and it was night and day so much easier to control at slow speeds!

Onwards and upwards and I know I’m not going to buy a lexmoto
 
Itchytrigg said:
CBT completed. Was certainly cold when standing around etc but wasn’t so bad as we got going on the bikes.

The bikes were cheap lexmoto and the clutch and throttle response for me made the slow speed stuff harder than necessary perhaps.

On the road I did manage to have a small “unscheduled stop followed by a rapid dismount” as the instructor put it. Was just stupid on me following a other student at a junction he went and I was just indecisive over slowing more and dropping to first as couldn’t see well enough, that led me to try and go when I saw it was clear but in 2nd didn’t have the power needed, wasn’t looking when I needed to go and went over the curb.

Certainly knocked my confidence but after we finished they had me ride a triumph 600 around the training area and it was night and day so much easier to control at slow speeds!

Onwards and upwards and I know I’m not going to buy a lexmoto
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All 125s are rubbish at slow speed control in comparison to bigger bikes it's just the nature of the beast. Glad it all went well and you didn't freeze to death though :D
 
tom_e said:
All 125s are rubbish at slow speed control in comparison to bigger bikes it's just the nature of the beast. Glad it all went well and you didn't freeze to death though :D
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Well that’s not encouraging ha! :D It does make me think maybe I skip the 125 solo and just jump straight to the mod1/2 training but I think I’ll keep to what I’d planned to build my confidence solo then when happier move to the training and tests.

Or in other words, suck it up and work through it.

It was the right day really, about 0 at the start but as we hit the road it was around 4-5 and the wind then didn’t kick in till we were finishing up.
 
My first day of my DAS I got straight on an SV650 and went out on the road. I couldn't believe how much easier the bike was the ride compared to my 125. It was smoother, more steady, and the power compared to my YBR was amazing. Such a good moment.
 
As others have said, 125s are pretty poor - they make the task of riding as a newbie, harder. Some might argue that this will teach you more, but they're wrong :D

As soon as you get out on a nice 500/600cc leaner bike, it all comes together, and you finally get to see what biking is about.

Personally I'm glad I didn't go down the route of x years on a 125 - it would have been a waste of time, and probably end up putting me off of riding; DAS was the correct choice and enabled me to get a proper bike.

Best of luck going forward, try not to dwell too much on your off - a huge part of riding is your mind, and you need to make sure you get that in check
 
I managed 6 months on my 125 and that first day I went to do my DAS training and got on a 650 I was gutted to get back on my little 125 toy at the end of the day :D
 
I think I’ve convinced myself (with help from folks here) that it’s not worth the hassle of buying and riding a 125 that may well put me off of biking when I can just do the das course with an instructor that’ll help build up that confidence with a bike that’s nice to ride.

Will have a chat with the trainer later and see what they have available.
 
Itchytrigg said:
CBT completed. Was certainly cold when standing around etc but wasn’t so bad as we got going on the bikes.

The bikes were cheap lexmoto and the clutch and throttle response for me made the slow speed stuff harder than necessary perhaps.

On the road I did manage to have a small “unscheduled stop followed by a rapid dismount” as the instructor put it. Was just stupid on me following a other student at a junction he went and I was just indecisive over slowing more and dropping to first as couldn’t see well enough, that led me to try and go when I saw it was clear but in 2nd didn’t have the power needed, wasn’t looking when I needed to go and went over the curb.

Certainly knocked my confidence but after we finished they had me ride a triumph 600 around the training area and it was night and day so much easier to control at slow speeds!

Onwards and upwards and I know I’m not going to buy a lexmoto
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Haha yeah the little 125s are a bugger even when they're decent makes.

A 600+ is just buttery at low speed in comparison, if you want a small bike I'd recommend something like a 250/300 at a minimum fun but still useful. An older er6n/f (650) or a 500cc er5 can be nice but might be hard to find one that isn't knackered. Bandits are shockingly really nice and quote cheap and come in faired and unfaired trim like the er6's, don't get get the 1200 as a first bike though they will happily spin a wheel at even motorway speeds lol.

Older vfr800s go for cheap and run forever. Similar power to a cbr600 but delivered over a wider range, a more neutral upright position (loads of after market bolt on handlebars if you want to sit up more or have a more sporty lean forward). And the v4 engine is very nice.
 
Well, the gsxs has been parked up since it's last outing in October, so I started her up yesterday.
First time fire up and let her run for a few mins. Was too wet to go for a spin.
When I had my Srad, it had to be constantly on the battery optimiser otherwise it wouldn't start up after a couple of weeks. :-)
 
Still debating whether to sell the Striple come the spring, I've only done about 2k miles in the 3 years I've had it and as much as I love it when I do get out on it it's a fair chunk of change to have sat in the garden.

I'm saying this now but I know as soon as it comes out for it's first spin of the year to get it's MOT I'll change my mind :o
 
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