Just starting out

I 'll give it a go ;).

I think it was my second time out when I was trying that, perhaps revved it too high as I changed down and felt the back wheel lock up - it was more a 'whoops' moment than anthing too bad :D
 
misterjingo said:
I put up a vid of my ride home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-ooEO1U6WY

(it's actually a good opportunity to learn Premiere...)
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Glad you're back up and running, but that was a painful watch. Mirror checking for the sake of it at odd timings, including as you were running through a pedestrian crossing, slow idling on the clutch to roundabouts, hugging the right side of the outside lane. It feels almost apologetic to be on the road - the filtering was one example where you could have owned a lane but when the lights changed and you were in front you were still stuck filtering as a car on the right went past you. The second filtering you were again in no man's land - in the left turn lane but really wanted to get right and continue straight on.

I'm not saying you need to be a road warrior, but for your own safety you need to think about commanding some more road presence.
 
What do you guys think to a SV 650?

Seen one yesterday, and have to say I was impressed with the seating position, and found it quite low (For a shortass that is good!!) :p
 
The_Abyss said:
Glad you're back up and running, but that was a painful watch.
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ahah way to deflate a guys ego ;) Seriously though, I'm very new to all this and am still learning, so always willing to get advice and feedback.

The_Abyss said:
Mirror checking for the sake of it at odd timings, including as you were running through a pedestrian crossing,
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The mirror checks for a large part of the video were due to a BMW driver. You can see him sometimes in the mirrors. In the video, from 2 mins to 5:14 he was behind me, he kept accelerating up to within feet of me, then pulling back, and would sometimes swerve out to the left to try and undertake. This is why I'd give it throttle at some points during those bits of the video to pull away.

bmw.PNG


I did the mirror check on the pedestrian crossing to see if he was still behind me as he didn't indicate coming up to the junction. He was.

He followed for a few more miles before turning off.

If the guy in the BWM wasn't being such an arse behind me, I wouldn't have checked so often.

Would you only check mirrors prior to maneuver? I'm used to driving around the Birmingham area, so when in the car do frequent mirror checks to see what the other crazy drivers are upto.

The_Abyss said:
slow idling on the clutch to roundabouts,
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This is something barely touched upon on CBT, so am happy to get advice.

I would pretty much gear down as I approached, foot covering back brake. As I neared I would clutch in and move forward slowly and take off if it was clear, else stop.

What would be the preferred way?

The_Abyss said:
hugging the right side of the outside lane. It feels almost apologetic to be on the road - the filtering was one example where you could have owned a lane but when the lights changed and you were in front you were still stuck filtering as a car on the right went past you. The second filtering you were again in no man's land - in the left turn lane but really wanted to get right and continue straight on.
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Filtering is still something I don't feel confident about, so attempt it whenever I can, to build up experience.

On the bit where the lights changed, I had a feeling the woman wouldn't give me room to push forwards, so didn't want to risk it. A few meters up the road she goes left slightly to block me coming past.

The second bit, you're spot on. Would it have been best to push in front of the car in the middle lane?

The_Abyss said:
I'm not saying you need to be a road warrior, but for your own safety you need to think about commanding some more road presence.
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I will ;). I've been out on the bike less than 10 times so far, so still got a long way to go. I guess I've erred on the side of caution, but am willing to try filtering etc to gain experience.
 
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Regarding the mirror checks, try to adjust them so you don't have to move your head much, it should be a quick split second glance as the 1-2 seconds you spend looking in both mirrors is 1-2 seconds you're not looking forward. I check my mirrors pretty often, but so long as you know what's behind you, what's in front is more important.

On a 125, on L plates, you'll get used to tailgater's. Focus more on what's ahead rather than what they're doing, unless you're making a lane change etc. Accelerate up to the limit briskly, dominate the road by riding in the middle of the lane.

Try not to coast up to lights, as you miss out on engine braking, and you run the risk of not being in the right gear if the lights change or you have pull away unexpectedly. You should let the clutch out in between each gear change, bearing in mind a 125 needs to be kept at high revs to make any progress.
 
Thanks for that!

Tbh, I find the mirrors on the 125x a bit difficult to position correctly. The seat is high and perhaps because I'm over 6'2", the mirrors are a lot lower. I might look into some aftermarket ones that I can position better.

I was told by the dealership to only use 1/3rd throttle for the first 300 miles, and no more than half for the next 300. Then after the first service at 600 miles, I can use full throttle. I've been holding back due to that advice. Would I damage the engine if I use full revs before the engine has been run in?
 
misterjingo said:
Thanks for that!

Tbh, I find the mirrors on the 125x a bit difficult to position correctly. The seat is high and perhaps because I'm over 6'2", the mirrors are a lot lower. I might look into some aftermarket ones that I can position better.

I was told by the dealership to only use 1/3rd throttle for the first 300 miles, and no more than half for the next 300. Then after the first service at 600 miles, I can use full throttle. I've been holding back due to that advice. Would I damage the engine if I use full revs before the engine has been run in?
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Nah, you wouldn't damage the engine. In fact, some people don't bother breaking in at all (I do). Is there not a sticker on top of your tank showing the revs you should use at mileage? Maybe it's a Triumph thing, but on top it'll say e.g. 3k revs up to 100 miles, 5k 1-500, etc. all the way up until 1k miles when you can open it up.

Some people ignore all that and never have a problem. Some people swear by it. A 1/3 throttle sounds like a good break in area though, but don't worry if you need to use more of the engine for whatever reason.

As far as mirrors go, I had the same problem with my 125 (I'm 6'1) with the mirrors never being right. Didn't have a problem on my 600 or 1050. You could try some bar end mirrors when can be better as it means your arm isn't in the way, or try some mirrors with taller/longer stems (might look a bit weird though).
 
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The most important bit of breaking it in is not the have it sitting at constant revs for a long time. Some people do a soft break in, limiting revs, some do a hard break in. Just don't be bouncing off the limiter or sitting at constant revs for ages and you'll be fine. 125 engines are made to be thrashed - any other bike engine over 300cc and you wouldn't want to sit at 1000rpm below the red line for 2 or 3 hours, but a 125 will happily sit at 10k rpm for hours without even noticing, after it's been run in.
 
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TallPaul_S said:
The most important bit of breaking it in is not the have it sitting at constant revs for a long time. Some people do a soft break in, limiting revs, some do a hard break in. Just don't be bouncing off the limiter or sitting at constant revs for ages and you'll be fine.
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Yep, forgot to mention that! I just avoided motorways for breaking in, when I could.
 
I messed up a couple of days back. The previous night I'd been fitting a tail pack, so needed to take the seat and back fairings off. It was dark, So I put my bikes lights on...

I didn't realise this would drain the battery fairly quickly :p

The day after I geared up, and as my bike is kept in my garden down the bottom of a narrow alleyway, I decided to sit on it and push it out so as not to disturb the neighbors. Got to the bottom of the alleyway and it wouldn't start ahah.

I ended up having to push the bike backwards all up the alleyway, and try and get it backwards into the garden. Wasted an hour in total and was late for work.

The guys at work told me about bump starting, so I'll know what do try next time. I've since bought a charger and it's all fine now.

I did a lot of riding yesterday, and today the underneath of my forearms are actually a bit achey(!) - who needs the gym.
 
misterjingo said:
I messed up a couple of days back. The previous night I'd been fitting a tail pack, so needed to take the seat and back fairings off. It was dark, So I put my bikes lights on...

I didn't realise this would drain the battery fairly quickly :p

The day after I geared up, and as my bike is kept in my garden down the bottom of a narrow alleyway, I decided to sit on it and push it out so as not to disturb the neighbors. Got to the bottom of the alleyway and it wouldn't start ahah.

I ended up having to push the bike backwards all up the alleyway, and try and get it backwards into the garden. Wasted an hour in total and was late for work.

The guys at work told me about bump starting, so I'll know what do try next time. I've since bought a charger and it's all fine now.

I did a lot of riding yesterday, and today the underneath of my forearms are actually a bit achey(!) - who needs the gym.
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No need to bump if you have a charger or optimate - you can just hook that up and start your bike.

Optimates come with a cable you can connect directly to the battery which basically adds an optimate port to your bike meaning if you need to charge it's just a case of plugging it straight in to this port, so a 10 second job :)
 
Still can't decide whether to buy a nice 125 like the R125 and ride that for 3 to 4 years or go for the direct access. Leaning towards the latter but part of me thinks the many years on the small bike would do me a world of good.
 
Jae-So said:
Still can't decide whether to buy a nice 125 like the R125 and ride that for 3 to 4 years or go for the direct access. Leaning towards the latter but part of me thinks the many years on the small bike would do me a world of good.
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Go and get the direct access you can then still ride an asthmatic 125 if you want, but as Clov!s said you will be wanting more power after a while.

Even something like a 300 is still small enough not to give you that fear of having 200mph at the twist of your wrist and decent fuel consumption etc but will perform much better than a 125.
 
Hopefully not too many changes before the summer, too cold to start right now.

So you reckon find a school that is willing to bring me from rookie to licence holder.
Anyone know how much this could cost for a complete rookie? I did my CBT in 2014 but never got a bike so consider me a complete rookie.
 
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