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Morbius

Morbius

Morbius

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Joined
16 Jul 2008
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I've just put a deposit down on a nearly new silver Yamaha YBR125. I have access to some private land where I can trundle around for a bit to get my confidence up before doing my CBT (again). My Dad rides a BMW 1150 so I've got someone who can give me advice.

I did a CBT session during the summer, but I'd never been on a motorbike before. I couldn't do a U turn so I didn't get the certificate. When I was starting the turn, it felt like the bike was going to fall over. I'm certain that this was a combination of a lack of confidence and not going quickly enough to get that gyroscopic effect working.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting back on a bike and working on the weak parts of my riding. :)
 
Sorry, I'm probably asking a stupid question here, but please humour me :)

Why is lots of throttle plus back brake better than just reducing the throttle?
 
Thanks for all the advice guys, it's much appreciated. I'm picking the bike up tomorrow and on Sunday I'll be riding it on some private land so I'll be able to try and put all this advice into practice. :)
 
Got the bike on Saturday and had my first run on it on Sunday!

My confidence is much higher now. Still need more work but I'm better than before. Even after just doing laps of the car park I found that I was turning in tighter and tighter circles without really having to think too much more about it. I was right about one thing though - as I suspected, if I felt the bike was leaning too much, I could apply more power and it would pull itself up.

One big thing I need to do is to loosen up a bit. If I'm slightly nervous then it's all too easy to hold on for dear life. It's alright when you're riding but you pay for it the morning after when your muscles hurt. The really stupid thing is that it's much easier to ride loose than tense. I'm hoping that this is something that comes with time and experience.
 
Just to let you all know, I had another go on the bike today. I'm really pleased because I had a "eureka" moment where everything just came together!

It's all about the rear brake! It seems so natural when you get the hand of it. I can do all sorts of slow riding manoeuvres now. My confidence has rocketed and I'm loosening up on the bike as well. I'm absolutely thrilled to bits.

I'm going to have a few more days riding around the car park just to get more riding time and to fine tune any little niggles. Then it'll be CBT time again. :)

P.S. I haven't forgotten about a photo - I'll get one soon!
 
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Had another go yesterday and unfortunately a razor-sharp stone punctured the rear tyre. Repaired the puncture and carried on.

I'm certain that this can't be the correct technique, but I've found that with lower revs, clutch out and rear brake I can do a U-turn fairly easily now. I've tried it with higher revs and the clutch in a bit but it seems more difficult that way.

I'm making huge progress and I can't wait to get on the road now!
 
bloodiedathame said:
Do whatever suits! In my test I u-turned the loaner CG in about half the road (I think it just rolled round). That thing was like a bicycle.
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At the first distance I marked out some cones with, it felt like two 90 degree turns rather than a u-turn. Loads of room to spare. These small bikes will turn on a sixpence!
 
bloodiedathame said:
It's good your getting the hang of it. When I practiced I found a car park and set myself the target of turning consistently within 2 bays. Half an hour later I was stringing them together and turning tighter and tighter. Doubt I could do the same now though. :D
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Yeah, it's just a confidence thing. Once the technique is sorted it's all about practice and convincing yourself that the bike is happy to turn in a small radii.

My problem was not really understanding the technique. When I started, I didn't get the hang of the rear brake because I was treating it like a car's brake pedal and dabbing it gently. When I took some time to practice using the rear brake, I came to realise it was far less sensitive than I was assuming. Once I'd got the hang of it then it was as though the slow speed manoeuvres lost 90% of their difficulty.

I've booked in for another CBT so with a bit of luck I might get through this time! Riding on the road is going to be interesting after having done everything in a car park so far. In the car park, I got up to the giddy heights of 15mph and in a built up space that seemed mightily fast!
 
It appears that the puncture repair is only good for a temporary repair as the tyre is losing a few psi every day.

Any good places to buy tyres online?

Also, I should be ok to leave the original Cheng Shin tyre on the front and put another brand on the rear shouldn't I?
 
Redid the CBT today. I passed!

The first moments of the road ride are terrifying! It seems way too fast! However, it gets easier as the confidence builds. I felt reasonably happy at the end. Can't wait to get out on the road properly. Not tonight though, I'm shattered :D
 
Had my first proper ride at the weekend. Loved it! :) I don't tense up when I'm not under pressure so it was much more comfortable. I have a few questions though, so please bear with me!

I'm finding that my gearchanges are getting smoother the more I practice them. It seems that a quicker gearchange is a smoother one. The clutch biting point is quite far away, which is a bit of a pain. How difficult is it to move the biting point slightly closer?

How do you gauge how far you can lean the bike over? I've been really really cautious so far and I'm certain that the margin I'm leaving is enormous. Is this just something that comes with experience?
 
OK, back to the topic!

I'm finding that at anything above 45-50 mph the wind starts making things more difficult. The bike moves around a lot more and it generally feels more unsettling. No doubt being a taller rider doesn't help. I'm thinking about getting a screen for it as I've heard that it can work wonders, particularly the Yamaha screen.

Also, I'm still struggling to get confident with the bike. I went out at the weekend but there was a lot of wind and it started raining as well. I found it hard to make any progress as the bike was moving around a lot. Everything's still feeling ridiculously fast, even though it isn't fast.
 
I have a screen!



It arrived today. It's an official Yamaha aftermarket screen and was second hand off of a well known auction website. It's in fantastic condition and I saved over £20. :)
 
My latest purchases have just turned up. A set of official Yamaha engine bars (new, great deal on the aforementioned auction site) and a Haynes manual.

:)
 
A couple of months on and I'm getting on really well with my Yammy. I started off by finding a local circuit through some of the villages and I rode it many times to get my confidence up. After I felt that I was at a suitable level I pushed the boat out a bit and started doing longer trips.

I haven't been out in the dark yet. I leave work at 4pm on Fridays, so that's been prime bike commuting time due to it still being light when I go home. It's a 25 mile each way commute with a dual carriageway, some A roads and some back roads.

The bike's a lot of fun and I'm really enjoying it, although I feel that I'm outgrowing the bike now. I'm 6' 2", and although it's a great bike for getting started on, I think that something bigger would suit me a lot better. I could use a little more power as well - the poor little engine in that thing struggles a bit on dual carriageways and any road with even the tiniest of inclines.

So, I guess it's going to be test time soon. As much as I thank my Yammy for introducing me to the biking world, I need to progress. I booked my theory test today so that I can get it out of the way. It's in the second week of March. I did one for my car test, but the hazard perception didn't exist at that point. I think I've got the questions pretty much sorted so it's the hazard perception I need to focus on now. That and learning the stopping distances again.

Then the question remains as to my first big bike. I sat on a GSX650F at the Excel Centre show and liked it a lot. I'm still open to anything though. I'll probably check out the SV650 and the ER-6 as well.
 
kippermitten said:
Nice one dude. Once the bug bites, it bites hard! Thats quite a commute but better by bike IMO!
Are you looking to buy a brand new bike? If so, you should look at the 2011 Honda CBR600F, a fantastic bike and about 7.5k OTR. Something with a decent fairing will be a real boon, makes a big difference.
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I don't mind the commute - it gives me time for some calm before I get to work, which is a good thing :)

As to getting a brand new bike - I don't know. I'm open to anything at the moment. My boss has an older CBR600F as a winter bike and that looks quite good. I think a decent fairing is a must.
 
Haven't posted in this thread for a while but thought I'd just post a quick update. I'm still on the 125 but with each trip, the yearning for a bigger bike increases.

This morning, I told myself to focus on trying to be a bit smoother and it worked - my clutch control is better and everything's a bit more fluid. As a bonus, junctions started to become more polished. Every time I go for a ride I learn something new. It's a constant learning experience and it's fascinating.

I'm thinking that I'll have to book a DAS course shortly. The more confidence I get, I equally get more frustrated with the limitations of my 125. The lack of acceleration hinders progress (and frustrates everyone behind you) and I'm becoming more aware of how uncomfortable its small size is.

As an aside, I'd noticed recently that some road signs in the distance looked a bit blurry so I went to the opticians. It turns out that my prescription has changed a bit, so I've got some new glasses on order. Don't forget to get your eyes tested regularly guys.
 
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