I work for a company that has ALWAYS looked after us. An old colleague once had a company porsche because he always wanted one so they got it.

I made a joke about having a company bike now I've passed my test and my MD said he's going to look into it for me and said he believes it's quite tax efficient. So they would handle the insurance/MOT and maintainance and I would pay some extra tax.

I'm seriously all for it, as I don't want to take out new finance just before mortgage applications in the new year but also want a bike NOW 🤣

Any opinions? Problems you can foresee? I'm not fussed about not really owning the bike, it's like a better PCP agreement in my opinion.

Unreal how fun this thing is

I've just arrived at Evians on Lake Geneva. A German on GS arrived at the same time. I've a chain securing my bike to railings, a DX1000 around front wheel a Litelock X1 through rear wheel and a cover. My German friend put on his steering lock......

Hi everyone!

Some of you may know me from my most recent “CBT disaster” post.

I’ve passed my CBT and went to my local dealership today to try a few bikes out. The dealer helped me decide on a used Yzf r125 Yamaha (previously owned by two people) it’ll be lowered for me and is super comfy and not too heavy.

I applied for finance, as I simply don’t have enough saved to buy it outright. My only problem is, I’ve just checked my eligibility to be approved for it and it’s at a staggering 10% due to my credit score being lower than it usually is. (My partner lost his job a few months back, and as I was the only earner I had to put a few bills on my credit card for a couple months)

My question is, what is the likelihood they will accept me? It’ll take me over a year to have enough to pay for a bike out right. I have a stable job, I’ve always paid bills and any owed credit amounts on time, would they take this into consideration? Or simply decline my application purely based on my credit score? I am super gutted, I was really excited to get a bike suited for me that I could learn on, and now my dreams are just imploding right in front of me. I’ve no idea how the vehicle financing world works, so I just wanted some opinions from you lovely bunch again!

Thank you in advance ☺️

Currently ride a Ducati Supersport 950.

Absolutely love the bike. Plenty of power, fairly comfortable, I've ridden it from South Wales to Manchester and back with no issues.

When the weather's nice I commute to work on it, about 70 miles round trip with some motorways in there.

With winter approaching I'm considering getting a second bike for winter commuting, looking for opinions.

I quite fancy a 2021-onwards BMW R1250RT. It ticks all the boxes - wind protection, good headlights for cornering in the dark, good on fuel, no chain to clean, massive storage capacity, radar cruise control is a plus.

But it's a lot of bike (and a lot of money!) for what I want it for, and so I'm trying to broaden my options.

Do bikes like the Multistrada V2 or similar provide enough protection for motorway cruising at, say, 5C? And what's the consensus with a chain-driven bike in winter conditions? Pain in the arse or a non-issue? It would certainly broaden my options if I didn't have to clean it with my toothbrush every time it rains.

Good headlights or an easy way to add auxiliary lights is a must!! I've scared myself too many times on the Supersport cornering in the pitch dark. The LED headlights just don't cut it in the bends.

Bike will be stored in an unheated wooden garage/shed... If I ever finish building the sodding thing.

This interests me, as someone who both buys and sells bikes on occasions - but never privately.

If you’re advertising and selling a bike privately, is it considered ‘expected’ that you’ll permit prospective purchasers to test ride it? Would you allow it?

If you’re buying a bike privately, would you expect to test ride it? Would you walk away if not allowed?

Because personally, if selling, then no I wouldn’t be comfortable with allowing it; but if buying then no way would I consider a deal without a test ride first. Which I realise presents a problem!

I'm about to head off on a European trip, should be doing around 3000 miles.

I have side panniers and a top-box for the luggage but want a fitted tank bag for odds and ends.

You can get tank bags which can hold only your passport in and you get tank bags which could hold a month's worth of underpants.

I'd appreciate some insights into what works for rain and shine and is sensible.
Passport, phone, keys etc when I am walking around.

I have satnav so don't (really) need phone window.

Does anyone know how I can get my gear sensor to work again? I’ve cleaned it, sanded it, purchased a new sensor, and even installed the new one and it still no luck.

I’ve cleaned all the pins on the connections with electrical contact cleaner and still nothing.

I’m wondering if anyone else has had this issue and knows a fix.

It’s definitely something to do with the sensor or the wires to do with it because the bike is in a safety mode where I can’t start it until the kickstand is up.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Hello so new to riding and got my first bike a Keeway Super-light 125 which I’ve given a bobber look to. I’m looking changing the speedometer to a MPH face.

I’m just wondering if anybody on here has changed their speedometer and has any suggestions on how to change it.

Cheers and safe riding everyone

I moved house two weeks ago and DVLA are still working on updating my license and V5. It's taken ages because of issues confirming my identity with the new One Login system (ugh...). My insurance document has the correct address, however.

I'm travelling to Calais on my Royal Enfield on Sunday. Will this present an issue with authorities in France? Is this checked rigorously on the ferry, or do they only care about my passport?

Ta

Little PSA: Hope this is allowed by the rules. I got some gear from helmetcity and last month's MCN has an extra 10% off with the code MCNAUG10. It worked yesterday. Not sure if it still will now it's September but worth a try perhaps.

Did a run down to Italian Dolomites earlier this month. Scenery was some of the most amazing I've seen on a motorbike. Lots of views like these two pics ... awesome. I'll definitely be back - highly recommended.

For those without a centre stand, you can use one of these clamps to lift the right side of the bike up, enabling you to spin the wheel freely and lube your chain in about 2 minutes 👍

Ok so i dropped my bike yesterday, while turning near a parking lot there was some sand or gravel and my front tire slipped. My bike fell on the right side and i just need some advice on can some scratches be repaired or polished.

The bike in the photos is a Yamaha Tracer 7, in matte black finish.

Just did something phenomenally dumb - pulled into a carpark to remove what I thought was a wasp from inside my helmet, put the side stand down.....and got off the wrong side of the bike, in my confusion losing my balance and half dropping my triumph.

Thankfully managed to grab it quick enough that it only put a small scratch on the brake pedal + engine bar.

So far I'm 3/5 with bikes dropped to owned, other gems were slipping my foot off my Honda's centre stand so that it bounced away from me, and the worst so far - stalling my BMW while pulling out of a car park and the resulting engine braking forcing the bike down with my leg under it.

These things do just happen but they're bloody frustrating.

Share some momentary madness to make me feel better.

Hey I need help and recommendation on boots to wear for delivery driving i use a 125cc and mostly in city area ( fastest road i use is a 40 but thats briefly). I need something waterproof i am unsure if combat boots are the way to go or buy something expensive.

I appreciate all advice thank you!

classic alignment jig.

p.s. it's just a stone.

I passed my CBT on Saturday and I had already bought a 125 so I've been out on it constantly since and seriously addicted to it already.

I was wondering if there's anyone in or around Cardiff who is new or fairly new to riding might fancy joining up for some rides?

M, 33.

Edit: I'm not like a speed freak by the way, and very aware of my limitations as a new rider. I just enjoy being out on the bike and find it quite exhilarating 😅

TLDR: multiple bad experiences with Lightning in Reading, need to do training and tests for Mod1 and Mod2, looking for calm/friendly instructors who want to help you improve rather than shout you down. A couple of one-to-one training sessions at my own pace would be great too.

——

I live between Reading and Oxford (slightly closer to Reading). I have done multiple CBTs with Lightning in Reading - multiple because life always got in the way of finding time or money to go for the full DAS course. For CBT, Lightning seemed fine - I didn’t much like the style of the instructors but I was never struggling with the course so just got on with it to get it done.

This summer I set my sights on the full DAS course and have been totally scared away from Lightning. I did a road rider session on a 125 to get back into the swing of riding around town (I usually just ride around country lanes in my own time) and the instructor was unbelievably rude and patronising, plus racist to the poor Chinese lady who was also on the session with me and clearly needed some calm instruction rather than being shouted at for messing things up.

Then I did the Mod1 training session and test and the same instructor was running it. During the training session he spent more time looking at his phone and complaining about the state of the world (“woke snowflakes”, immigrants etc) than helping us on the course. The other instructor that was running the course with other students also made multiple racist comments about one of his students who was South Asian (and seemed like a genuinely nice fellow to me).

Then the 35 minute ride to the test centre (first time riding a big bike on the road) was ridiculous. Straight on to a dual carriageway and he’s shouting at me and the other student for going too slow and not overtaking other vehicles (we were in the left lane in reasonably busy conditions doing 55-60mph and he wanted us to be at 70mph no matter what). Then he spent the rest of the ride shouting and swearing at us for minor issues like leaving indicators on or not accelerating fast enough (in his opinion) out of junctions. The other student and I both arrived at the test centre totally stressed out and unsurprisingly both failed our Mod1 tests. Two consecutive failures straight after a training session must be pretty rare.

I failed because of a split second of lost balance on the figure of 8 where I tapped my foot down. It was totally my fault and I knew straight away when I’d done it. But I was in completely the wrong mindset because of how stressful the ride there had been. So, now I need to do my Mod1 again and then progress to some more road training on a big bike before Mod2.

I don’t want to use Lightning again. Does anyone have recommendations for motorcycle training with instructors who are calm, actually want to help you improve rather than shout you down and make you feel stupid? Recommendations for one-to-one training would be fantastic too (I’d be happy to pay for this if it meant I could build my confidence and control on a big bike).

My main bike is an 04 and it had a 4-1 system on it when I bought it six years ago. The OEM exhaust was taken off potentially years before I even owned it and is long gone. The O2 sensor is cut, it has a PCIII spliced in and a bunch of other mods again all done well before I bought it, so not simply a different end can.

When (yes, when, don't kid yourself) this legislation comes in, am I basically expected to somehow source a 20+ year old stock/catted system or pay to have something custom made just to keep riding a bike I bought already modified?

I genuinely don't understand how this is supposed to work for older bikes where the original parts disappeared multiple owners ago and are potentially un-sourceable.

Of course, it isn't their money they'll have to spend so I'd imagine we'll be either told yes and to go fuck ourselves or just ignored completely and put off the road until we burn money.

Opinions?

UPDATE BELOW!

Hello everyone!

I'm looking for a little advice. I had my CBT today (I ended up doing about 2.5 hours then my instructor advised I go home to rest and return again tomorrow) I'm learning on a 125cc and I was SUPER excited to start learning to ride today, I grew up around bikers so finally getting my license has been a lifelong dream of mine.

To put it short... it was a bit of a disaster. I dropped the bike 8 times (on my legs) and stalled twice. My instructor said for the most part I have good clutch control, but my brain just seems to short circuit every time it comes to breaking. He's teaching me to only used the back break currently, and I've noticed when I pull the clutch in to slow down, I also pull down on the accelerator while simultaneously trying to break, then I lose balance and topple to the side. I don't think it helped either that I was the only woman there, and every time I dropped the bike, all the men learning to do their CBT just laughed and hurled insults at me, so l was getting pretty frustrated with myself.

I'm also having trouble with just keeping the revs consistent, they are either too small or too large. Has anyone got any advice?

My instructor has said he will get me used to the controls on a scooter tomorrow, as he thinks the 125cc is too heavy for me (I am 5ft) which I am happy to do, I'm just worried that I'II be stuck to a scooter and never get the hang of riding a bike.

UPDATE!!
Thank you to everyone for all your kind words, advice and encouragement! I went back today and passed my CBT on the scooter. I’m still a tiny bit wobbly going slowly around corners, but I have much better throttle control now and feel more confident with the basics. I’m going to buy a 125cc (not sure what brand yet) then practice clutch control, braking, gear shifting and manoeuvres again with a biker friend of mine. Once I feel more comfortable I’m going to book in for some 1:1 lessons then hopefully go for my full license!

I guess my only other question to you all would be, is there any 125cc bikes you’d recommend for someone of my height and weight? (5ft and 7.5 stone)

Hi all,

I know a few years back there was alot of negativity about ruroc and their atlas 1-3 series. However looking at their most recent addition the atlas 4 it seems pretty rock solid. ECE 22.06 approved and a sharp rating of 4*. Ive always been a fan of the looks of ruroc helmets and im very close to jumping the gun. Does anyone own the atlas 4 and can let me know if its as good as they say? Im also hoping they add a cardo integrated shockwave system like they did with their sports touring helmets so i dont have to buy a cardo on top of the helmet. Thank you!