General chat thread... Links, pictures, banter etc

unattendedbag · 07-06-2015 7:55pm

CJhaughey wrote: »

A man in overalls and sandals with a piece of pipe hitting a couple of helmets.
How in any way, shape or form is that a scientific test of a helmets safety?
They aren't even the same type of helmet.
Its not where its made its how its made.
Some very good helmets being made in China these days.
Some rubbish as well.

It's not one bit scientific. Video should be renamed 'alright helmet vs fairly s***e helmet' and it's a bit much to label an entire country as producing good or bad helmets. Still though serves as a visual reminder to stay away from the cheap lids that could result in serious injury

Hotblack Desiato · 08-06-2015 11:03pm

unattendedbag wrote: »

It's not one bit scientific. Video should be renamed 'alright helmet vs fairly s***e helmet' and it's a bit much to label an entire country as producing good or bad helmets. Still though serves as a visual reminder to stay away from the cheap lids that could result in serious injury

It's still bollox though as all lids sold in EU have to meet ECE standards.

goodlad · 09-06-2015 2:39pm

Anyone know of any sites that sell MRA screens which a voucher code floating about?

gerrowadat · 09-06-2015 2:55pm

goodlad wrote: »

Anyone know of any sites that sell MRA screens which a voucher code floating about?

I have the clamp-on MRA deflector if that's any use to you, whipped it off the deau before I sold it. Also have the mounting kit for permanent fixing if you feel like doing a bit of drilling.

goodlad · 09-06-2015 2:59pm

Thanks for the offer man but I want a dark smoked screen screen on the bike instead of the blue on thats on it so gonna nab a MRA vario screen

Pedro K · 09-06-2015 8:10pm

Some helmet cam footage from my trip to Scotland with the club. It's my first effort at putting a collection of clips together, so please have a watch!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONR7Yf4UxBg

Wonda-Boy · 09-06-2015 9:03pm

Nice vid.

Lose much on the sterling? How is the price of juice mate.....did you tent it or B&B.

What route you take also, thinking of heading over in August with a few lads, hence the twenty questions....;)

Pedro K · 09-06-2015 9:09pm

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Nice vid.

Lose much on the sterling? How is the price of juice mate.....did you tent it or B&B.

What route you take also, thinking of heading over in August with a few lads, hence the twenty questions....;)

73 pence to the euro.
Juice is about £1.15
Tented it!
We went to Larne, ferry to Troon, then through strathaven to Carluke.

cantdecide · 14-06-2015 1:05pm

Had it in the back of my mind to buy a Haynes for my GSX1400 for the work I'll be doing over the next few months. I was in Halfords yesterday and spotted there were Haynes manuals in the bike section and had a look for mine and was surprised when they actually had it.

I asked how much they were and the guy said 'oh between €25 and €32, let me check... beep

€5... to which I said

He said it must have been a special order that was never picked up

I did it- I actually got a bargains from Halfords!!

goodlad · 14-06-2015 1:19pm

Great to know. Must order some stuff in that I'm after then not collect it and drop in a week later to buy it for a bargain

Richard tea · 16-06-2015 9:47pm

Quick one lads. Im fitting throttle cables tomorrow. Should I fit the handlebar end first or the carb end or does it matter?

Skill Magill · 16-06-2015 10:12pm

Richard tea wrote: »

Quick one lads. Im fitting throttle cables tomorrow. Should I fit the handlebar end first or the carb end or does it matter?

Main thing to do is leave the original ones in and guide the new ones in beside the old ones, then whip the old ones out.
As to which one you connect first, I connect the bottom one first and adjust from the top therafter, but its a bit of both to tell the truth.

Richard tea · 16-06-2015 10:16pm

Thanks Skill.

shortys94 · 18-06-2015 11:12am

Hey guys

Had my first lesson yesterday, went as bad as possibly could.

Lesson area is in a big parking lot with cones etc, with grass and small canal to one side and curb and grass, then a small road to other side.

Was on bike only a couple minutes, got the hang of neutral then 1st, did a few circles around the practice area, then was trying going into second and back to first. Came around bend too fast and tried to go into 1st. Didnt get shifter and ended up panicking and pulling full throttle on right handle instead of pulling break as a reflex. Then was panicking even more and didnt really know what i was doing, pulled hard on throttle all the way to stay on and went over curb onto grass and onto road with oncoming traffic. Was too panicked and just jumped off bike and it hit a traffic calming bit of concrete and front forks twisted, wheel twisted and oil leaking out. I hit ground with gash on left leg and ripped jeans, was wearing protective jacket gloves and helmet but hand is pretty bruised.

Guy said people have only ever got to curb and fell, that never happened. Luckily im ok, bike seems pretty out of it. Just worried now because I remember similar thing haoppened with reflex to pull throttle 10 years ago when I tried a dirtbike at a mates house as a kid.

Do you guys have any advice or help? Have 2nd lesson in 10 days, figured I want to try, just scared I guess, was a scary moment.

Wossack · 18-06-2015 11:34am

Sorry to hear!

Its good that you're aware of that reflex, as you'll need to fight it. I did the same thing when I was 14/15 on a mates moped - tis pretty weird really.. still dont understand why hah

I'd say it was a case of 'oh shit, Im going fast, squeeze/operate whatever is in my strong hand, argh!' and that happened to be the throttle.. which obviously just makes things worse

Primary means of controlling your speed is the throttle, and it goes both ways - depending on the bike, you can get quite significant deceleration just releasing the throttle. If you'd grabbed the front brake in the same panic, you'd probably have fallen off too

Clutch is an option in a panic (to a degree), and its somewhat reassuring when starting off to keep your fingers on it, such that you can cut power if needs be - but it can lead to coasting, which is bad practice, so just be aware of that

shortys94 · 18-06-2015 11:36am

Yea I am just very scared of pulling that throttle again, maybe I should stay in first gear for quite awhile to get used to riding a bike first of all

zubair · 18-06-2015 11:49am

Yikes! That's eventful, sounds YouTube worthy. Fair play to you going back out after that but probably best not to ruin another bike so...

You need to be calm on the bike all the time otherwise you'll be on your arse week in week out. Cover the back brake while you're learning, you can fix your foot position later when you're more comfortable. I'm not sure how it's a reflex to pull the throttle if yesterday was your first lesson on a bike, if you panic turn the throttle the opposite way it will slow you a lot. Might be worthwhile watching some beginner vids or reading articles in the meantime.

shortys94 · 18-06-2015 11:55am

because i had the thought i need to hold on so grip the throttle as hard as possible!

yea my dad was laughing, thankfully nothing worse happened

Wonda-Boy · 18-06-2015 2:02pm

To be honest if you feel like that you should talk to the instructor and let him know you feel like this. It is as much HIS FAULT as he should have been aware of your limitations and known your are not ready for the main roads. He should have kept you in a secure compound to get use to the bike before letting you out onto the main roads. If you are in a compound with nothing to hit and open spaces you will naturally relax.

Its a learning curve but you will get better when you relax and not get tensed up. Let us know how you get on...all the best.

gerrowadat · 18-06-2015 2:04pm

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

To be honest if you feel like that you should talk to the instructor and let him know you feel like this. It is as much HIS FAULT as he should have been aware of your limitations and known your are not ready for the main roads. He should have kept you in a secure compound to get use to the bike before letting you out onto the main roads. If you are in a compound with nothing to hit and open spaces you will naturally relax.

Its a learning curve but you will get better when you relax and not get tensed up. Let us know how you get on...all the best.

From what I read, it sounds like the main road wasn't originally part of the plan :pac:

lostboy75 · 18-06-2015 2:09pm

Gerrowdat, you beat me to it!

"went over curb onto grass and onto road with oncoming traffic."

keeping calm is the key, and also the most difficult think in the world to do in that situation!
give it another try, keep it nice and slow, i found talking to myself helped alot! i talked out loud saying what i was going to do, and what i need to do as i did it. i.e taking a corner, signal, mirror, right now maneuver. kept talking to myself, it helped me keep calm, and focused.
also turns out i actually think i am good company! who knew! :-)

shortys94 · 18-06-2015 2:55pm

haha thanks lads, i totally forgot signalling is another thing i have to multitask with!

yes, the road was never part of the plan, it is a secure compound, im the record holder in Amsterdam for distance gone off compound!

Just healing the wounds now. Yea I think my plan next time is to let go completely with right hand if itd happen again and jump

liamnojo92 · 18-06-2015 10:57pm

It's fairly normal to pin the throttle when starting out I'd say, I did it right after a u-turn during ibt into a wall lol, It's a lot to do with just being stiff, you'll loosen up the more you get used to the bike and get more of a feel for the throttle.

On a different note may have been caught speeding by cop car, was hiding behind some bushes in a sly spot beside speed change, if they didn't get out and issue me a ticket am I sound ?

Wossack · 18-06-2015 11:01pm

pretty sure they need to stop and issue there and then (often get another gard down the road to pull you in), so prob ok

kev250 · 19-06-2015 2:34am

Still in the process of building my nsr 80 but connected up the fuel tank recently and half filled it with petrol. Looked into the tank a few days latter and it was bone dry lol. Pretty sure their is not a leak from the carb but will examine where it could be leaking from soon. Although i never even noticed petrol spillage on the floor. This happened to anyone?

Canis Lupus · 19-06-2015 2:34am

shortys94 wrote: »

Just healing the wounds now. Yea I think my plan next time is to let go completely with right hand if itd happen again and jump

I don't know if that's a good habit to get into

I never had an accelerate reflex although I know the instructors when I was learning were aware of it or something similar as they often joked about people not being able to stop when they make mistakes as they simply forget about things like brakes/throttle and they're too busy looking at where they're about to hit at a speed that scares them.

Just get back on the bike and practise stopping and starting for a while and maybe try not to get too enthusiastic with the throttle when entering corners

Take everything smoothly.

BaronVon · 19-06-2015 10:16am

liamnojo92 wrote: »

On a different note may have been caught speeding by cop car, was hiding behind some bushes in a sly spot beside speed change, if they didn't get out and issue me a ticket am I sound ?

Notoriously difficult to ping a motorbike with a laser gun. It'd take a very steady hand! If you weren't stopped there and then, you should be ok

Wonda-Boy · 19-06-2015 11:08am

liamnojo92 wrote: »

On a different note may have been caught speeding by cop car, was hiding behind some bushes in a sly spot beside speed change, if they didn't get out and issue me a ticket am I sound ?

Just say you were going faster because your bike was overheating on these warm days.....works for me.