Had a nice ride out for a couple of hours myself yesterday. Lovely evening sunshine!
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They certainly are roomy Oaky and of course they are Asbestos and brick but im still alive! The property was a former nursery and they were the 'Mushroom propagation sheds'. I think i'd struggle with anything smaller now im used to them!
Really enjoyed my little ride out today.
Can't wait till Thursday for my fist lesson.
Chris.
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Took mine out for a blast on Thursday, very enjoyable!
Triumph Twins in the sunshine yesterday :-).
Last edited by skmark; 26th April 2021 at 09:57.
That 999 in the last pic is lovely. Genuinely think one will be my next bike.
Looks like a good day was had Enoch.
I managed a couple of hours with a mate today. It’s good to see the sun shine!
A quick spin on the monkey today (81 miles! ) took me to A& D ( shut) and the Cafe at Cerrigdigion. Whilst I was at the cafe I saw two unmarked Police black BMW 3/4 Series saloons. I think all the bikers in N.Wales and surrounding area were out today and the Police presence was the highest I have seen for some time, especially as at least 60 miles of the roads I was on were served by average speed cameras.
I will make a point of visiting the Chain & Sprocket cafe when Im out on a real bike :):)
Well, Sunday saw me out with a few of my Ducati pals for what was my first proper ride of the year. Met up with the lads near Bosley Cross then had a good half day round some of the Peak Districts good roads, stopped for a brew at Castleton an the end of Winnats Pass, then on to Matlock. no parking available on the front as it was packed due to the great weather, but we found a little spot near the coffee stand. Good day had by all, but jeez, them V4 Streetfighters are bloody quick and sound the mutts nuts with a full Akra system on. The little RS held its own though so all in all a great ride out, great roads, great company and great weather. Now, I must do my favourite scoot to Barmouth soon though..........
Stuart
Long gone for me them days Dave
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I just wanted a short run yesterday afternoon, so went out to get acclimatised to my R-1.
Went and had a look at Hume Castle in the Scottish Borders, set up on a hill.
Stopped to look at the view all around and a cyclist stopped to chat about the scenery, tourism etc.
Anyways - he had been biking for decades and had a Hayabusa bought from "Motorbiking" down in Bournemouth. He was really surprised when I said that I knew the place and had bought a 954 Fireblade from there back around 2009/2010.
We discussed the two owners of Motorbiking and that they only seemed to deal in immaculate bikes. I had kept the 954 down in Poole with a friend for two years but sold it to a woman in Devon as a surprise for her husband. It had 20,000 miles on it and was absolutely immaculate.
After an hour of yakking, I headed into Kelso for a coffee from Greggs.
Spotted a guy sitting next to a 954 Fireblade, and stopped to view it and chat to him and mentioned that I owned one the same, sold it in 2012.
Looked at the reg and said to him – the registration looks familiar – (AD02DSU). noticed the levers were same as I had fitted, tank pad - and sitting talking - I was saying "I have this feeling that was my bike". He was thinking ......... "yeah - right"
Eventually looked up my old e-mails on my phone, and there was the DVLA mail about road tax - for AD02DSU !! the guy was amazed!!!
He bought it from Dumfries, I think. He'd put a pillion cowl on it, akra can, and Maxton suspension (£1400) - and said the paintwork was a bit tired when he bought it a couple of years ago. Think he paid around £4,200 and spent a few bob on it, also removing the RR decals from fairing and adding a GPS steering damper.
Bit of a coincidence!!
R-1 at Hume Castle
954 yesterday
954 in Poole 2012
I did once have a chap turn up to collect some BMW parts that I'd sold on eBay. After a bit of chatting it became clear that the bike they were going on was the bike they came off of when I owned it about 20 years earlier.
B591 MAJ
By the looks of things he never finished fixing it as the bike's last MOT was 2007
Insurance renewal time and it seems like once again I need to take a deep breath and count to 10!!
Background - I receive my renewal notice (£420..small increase on last year) and with plenty of time I check out the comparison websites. Lots of alternatives mostly at least half the price of my renewal...the cheapest being Carol Nash (£192). Being pleased with that I proceed to purchase and get taken to the CN website on checking details I add some further information (ie security devices and changes to the bike spec as the comparison website does not take this detail). Im then told that to complete I need to call CN. I do so and after 30 mins the price has jumped by £100.....not happy...30 mins more £50 discount. Take the quote (£250) and arrange payment.
Cancel existing 'auto-renewal' with current insurer.
Email docs come through......listed as no changes to bike specification!!!! I call and discuss, generally they are not interested in any of the changes I had informed except the upgraded rear shocks (by Fox a Triumph approved extra).This apparently makes me and my bike uninsurable except with one broker and at a cost 3 times that of the original quote (£650)......no chance, cancelled.
Currently very frustrated and without insurance........any ideas on where I went wrong (other than being honest) or what next?
Try Triumph insurance. I've got the fox shocks and other dealer installed extras all listed as mods on my T120 and they were very competitive.
When I told an insurance company about all the mods on my GPz750, I got a quote of over £5500 with an excess of £3500.
Needless to say I went elsewhere!
This year I’ve only the XJR1300 insured at a cost of £86 with an additional £25 back through Topcashback.
Hhhmmmm tried that too. At first all was good then after all the relevant details taken the policy was refused except with a different 'underwriter' at either £600 for 3rd party only or £1,000+ fully comp!! Seems the shocks are considered a 'performance mod' even though the person on the phone totally disagreed with this!!! Another hour of my life has passed fruitlessly.
Carole Nash are a bunch of chimps.
I have bikes with serious modifications, and although they quoted for the bikes, policy taken etc - when the docs came through, the bikes showed 'no modifications'.
Phoned them up and queried that.
"The mods are accepted - it says so in the e-mail confirmation"
"Err........... what if the worst happens and someone else claims on the policy - are you saying they would have to trawl through e-mails for what is a contract item, and should be on the policy document?"
"Yes"
"Are you mental?"
If your bike is unmodified, and the premium is ultra-cheap, they could be worthwhile for the EU breakdown cover - otherwise.............Run fast, run far!
Carole Nash like all insurance companies sell policies cheap that are part of there binder.. step outside that and they can’t do it anyway close on price.
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I remember the days when Carole Nash was a small independent operating out of Manchester, her USP was bike insurance and she was very good.
Unfortunately, the business grew and now they’re just another “Computer says no!” operation.
Now seem to have taken out insurance with Hastings Direct. I got to the checkout on-line and just called to query a couple of points, girl on the phone could see my quote (reasonable) and made a few changes (mods where fine but it showed kept in a locked garage) it then told her that the system would not offer me insurance! I was then able to make the same changes online and it went through fine but sent me a post completion error afterwards while the girl was still on the phone.....she said 'don't worry I can see the payment has gone through but the policy doesn't show as live.....wait 24 hours and if you don't receive an email confirmation give us another call'. I am not confident.
FFS......whatever happened to customer service, why is this so difficult?
I'm 54 years old, live in St Albans with no endorsements on my licence which I've held for 13 years, 1 claim in the last 5 years, my bike is 1 year old with a few manufacturer approved modifications and a new paint job. It shouldn't be this hard.
When the above inevitably fails I'm planning to try Bikesure tomorrow.
I suppose this would work in this thread.
Birthday boy Dexter, 8 today, trying his new helmet on and having a go the back of his uncles bike.
http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/60884152...7_160521~2.mp4
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Oh - I know how they operate, all I was suggesting was that the only way I would say "go with CN" would be if the policy was an absolute no-brainer bargain and you wanted EU breakdown cover.
I insure via Cornmarket in Belfast, who have placed me with the same underwriter for the last 5 yrs. They tried for a lower policy price with another underwriter, but I want my modifications not only accepted, but also underwritten - which this particular underwriter - does.
As I suspected, yet another 'computer says no' scenario and a refund of payment within the next 5 days etc etc. Tried several others online and it seems any modification whatsoever (tweeking the inputs etc)....even a simple change to the paintwork, brings up a 'no quote'.
How do people get insurance on custom bikes these days.....mines just 'lightly modified' and it's causing me no end of grief?
Well I failed my MOD 1 today.
Not a problem as the main reason for doing it on the 125 was so I could see the course first hand and have a go. Best £15.50 I have spent.
All the slow maneuvers were fine. These were the main thing I wanted to try out.
Failed on the emergency stop, took too long to stop. I was too busy trying to make sure I was getting the speed right and heading for the right cones.
Turns out, being 24 stone and trying to get a 15 year old 125 to 50kph in a relatively shot distance can be interesting haha
Still really happy I have done it, definitely feel less stressed about having to do it. Got my first lesson on an MT-07 tomorrow and the real mod 1 in a couple of weeks.
Chris.
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brakes on a mid weight sports will chuck you over the handlebars compared to a 125 :)
I remember last summer riding over to Buxton on the mighty YBR125 doing a couple of hours training on a CB650R then jumping back on the YBR125 for the ride home. It did everything worse than the 650. Obviously it was slower but it also didn't stop as well and didn't steer as well. It would get hit by any gust of sidewind and was unpredictable on anything but the smoothest of tarmac.
I genuinely don't know why we don't put learners straight onto 400 - 650s and then make them do a special test if they're dumb enough to want to ride a 125 or similar.
Assisted the lad changing the clutch on the YBR this evening in readiness for him failing his Mod 1 next week.
Estimated 45 minutes, took about 2 hours 30 as it's a bit fiddly in places.
Still it's done and he's ready to go.
I was testing my new GoPro Hero 9 at the weekend whilst riding with a few friends.
Found some great new roads around Berkshire downs. (Wantage - Marlborough memorable)
Impressed with the horizon levelling feature - looks just like it's on a gimbal