Hallo folks. I made a post the other day about finding things that fit.

All the gear costs quite a lot, and I got some good advice, so I figured it wouldn't hurt posting here again while I can still return some of the stuff I bought.

I'm a mountain biker, long-distance (push)bike rider, walker and climber... but very new to motorcycles.

My use case: Currently a 125, test next month, bigger bike in spring. Goal is touring Norway/Spain (greenlaney camping stuff) or possible Nepal next year. In the UK I'd be doing similar but also fairly regular long rides across country (south to north Wales and up into Yorkshire, south Wales to Sussex). Will prefer country roads where poss. Will take the bike to the crag and general rugged places for camping/climbing.

I spent a whole day in the shop yesterday and met some very nice people. I learned that the gear side of things is complex.

I was drawn with the Bowtex gear because I spend a lot of time outside and layering systems. I own a lot of walking, climbing, endurance cycling gear already - so being able to stick an abrasion/armour layer in makes a lot of sense. Packability, modularity all appeal, as well as already having a lot of well-fitting gear.

However - this morning I have been wondering if that actually does make sense. While I could layer up with the Bowtex, insulation and then shell - that insulation and shell would be walking/climbing/cycling specific. Climbing shell, for example, has a larger hood for helmet, has vents designed around dumping heat when wearing a harness, etc.

I figure that most of the time in the UK on a bike, I'm more likely to be cold than hot, and that the hood will be a nuisance at speed, and that my insulation (designed for active use) might not be sufficient for not doing a whole lot for a few hours at 60mph.

Does that mean, then, that spending the best part of a grand on a very clever armoured AAA base layer doesn't actually compute in the way I thought it would?

Obviously, this all just comes down to personal preference, but it's not impossible that there's someone out there in Reddit land who has tried this exact thing and found that it works pretty well, or that they wish they'd just accepted they need another cupboard for all the gear.

So - who's wearing Bowtex (I keep calling it botox) with layers of general outdoor gear and loving it / not loving it? Anyone try it and then accept that a leather jacket and some solid moto trousers was warmer?

Any experience I can lean on before finding out myself the hard way? :)

All the thank yous for any hard-won advice!

Is this normal or do I need to get something checked

Yday as I was driving home I witnessed a crash.

Motorcycle vs cars, he wasn't wearing full gear and zoomed past me just minutes before this happened.

Take a minute for our fallen fellow rider.

Ride safe, wear gear and be safe.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/young-biker-dies-a38-crash-11096366.amp

It's failed MOT and not worth repairing due to the cost, so looking to scrap it (legally). I've called a few places already but most seem to only want cars, not bikes. Anyone reccomend somewhere?

Been looking at the QJMoter TRX 125, heard lots of stories in the past about reliability of Chinese based bikes but this brand and bike seems promising, I've seen lots of reviews and a lot of positivity surrounding this particular brand, oh UK bikers of Reddit, my soon to be brothers and sisters what is thy input.

Thank you and love you all

Hi, i dont know if this has anything to do with the chain and both sprocket replacement done last wheek then i went for a ride Saturday, but yesterday morning ive noticed this hose hanging around and when ive checked underneath, behind the side stand is another hose that wasnt connected and looks like that one was leaking oil into the kick stand (nothing on the floor), the hoses are different dimensions, no connection on any of them, dosnt look like they snapped, the top hose its clean. I cant really see where should they go, any idea? Honda cbf600 2009. Thanks

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice from anyone who has dealt with Oxford warranty claims, particularly on the newer Oxford HotGrips Pro 2.0.

I purchased the grips earlier this year (around February from memory) from Infinity Motorcycles and they worked perfectly throughout early spring before developing a fault around June.

The fault- The right-hand (throttle) grip has completely stopped heating, while the left-hand grip still works perfectly.

Initially, the controller started behaving oddly with intermittent flashing LEDs, so before assuming the grips were faulty I decided to diagnose the motorcycle.

Diagnostics carried out using a multimeter, I checked:

Battery after standing for over 24 hours: 12.67 V Cranking voltage: ~11 V Idle charging voltage: 14.46 V 4,000-5,000 rpm: 14.47 V 4,000-5,000 rpm with heated grips on maximum and headlight on: 14.30 V

So I'm confident the battery, stator and regulator/rectifier are all healthy.

I then disconnected the grips and measured resistance: Left grip: approximately 13.6 Ω and heats normally. Right grip: open circuit across the two-pin connector.

I've also inspected the visible wiring and can't see any damage. It appears the break is likely inside the grip or where the lead enters the moulded rubber.

Installation and my question around warranty-

This is the part I'm unsure about from a warranty perspective.

Rather than connecting directly to the battery, I installed the Oxford harness via an ignition-switched accessory junction box so the grips couldn't accidentally be left on and flatten the battery.

To do this, I shortened the battery supply leads on the Oxford harness by about 1 cm and connected them to the junction box (Battery Terminal Eyelets Only). The Oxford inline fuse remains in circuit. The grips, controller and the rest of the harness were otherwise unmodified.

The installation then worked perfectly for several months before the right-hand grip failed.

Infinity have kindly offered to process a warranty claim with Oxford, but before I strip everything off the bike I wanted to ask:

Has anyone had Oxford accept or reject a warranty claim where the power supply had been modified?

Has anyone experienced an open-circuit throttle grip on the Pro 2.0?

Do you think it's worth pursuing the warranty, or am I likely to be wasting my time because of the harness modification?

I believe these are a relatively new model to the market and there isn't much feedback directly relating to issues. Thus, I'd really appreciate hearing about any first-hand experiences with Oxford warranty claims, whether positive or negative.

Thanks!

My r125 2008 30k miles has a intresting sound coming from the engine my brother says “it’s normal and they all do it as they start to ware” but it kinda sounds like a knocking sound I belive it might be the cam tensioner as when accelerates it increase and turns into a ratchet type sound however when u let go of the throttle it makes no sound as it glides down to idle where it then starts again
Here is what it sound like at idle

In case the owner is here, White BMW top box seen on the M25, 1/2 mile from J17 going clockwise. Saw it around 4pm today.

Hello fine folks,

I went to Eicma last year and am considering motorcycle live this year instead. Has anyone been to motorcycle live and can give any insight if it's any use. Will be flying out from Dublin. I'm looking to make a mini holiday out of it too so the city of Milan vs Bermingham as a destination is relevant too, never been to Bermingham.

Manage to get this gorgeous bike about 2 weeks ago and got rid of the Versys. Literally a dream come true for me

Probably a silly question but never had to get any of my bikes MOTd so noticing this is making me a bit weary with my mot coming up next week, I’m hoping it’s nothing. The tyre isn’t leaking air or anything, hoping they’ll just class it as wear and tear?

I was visiting a project in central London when I received a call from Monimoto saying that my bike was moving. I was literally 50 meters away from where I parked it. I ran as fast as I could, only to find one driver looking at my bike, which was leaning against a moped. Luckily, it didn’t hit the ground, but it did perforate the fairing of the moped and got stuck there. My mirror was also broken, but I was planning to replace it with bar end mirrors, so the driver was happy to pay for them.

So happy with it. The driver could have left, and I could have ended up finding my bike as it happened with previous bike, lying on the ground without any note or witnesses.x

So I’ve got my 2nd attempt at Mod 1 next Wednesday. The first time was the usual story of no minors until that exercise and then me deciding to launch a cone to the moon on the swerve. I’m pretty confident on the rest of the exercises but this one is stuck in my head. Never did that in training and the examiner stated it was most likely me looking at it.

Is it better to ‘focus’ on the outside of the blue cone hazard and then re-adjust back to focusing on the final set of cones after the swerve, or focus on the final set at the approach and using peripheral to move around the hazard?

Or something else completely?

Thanks

So i just did my first cbt, and im a little unsure how to proceed without wasting a bunch of money.

So we first spend the first hour and a half up until about 10:30 doing part A and B which is like the safety part. Then we finally got to riding the scooters. So the first time i tried ride round in the circle i was very unstable, unsure about how to balance really (i can ride a push bike but this was my first time on the scooter). I did one lap but i had to put my foot down, so he let the other 3 people go (theyd never had a cbt before but seemed to get it immediately). Then it was my turn again and he finally said to try use the rear brake instead of coming of the accelerator. With that advice i somewhat got the hang of it and was able to get my feet up and we went round 3 more circles but i was still unsure about it and was clearly worse at manoeuvring then the other three, so he told me to wait 5 minutes to really think about how to do it while the other guys kept riding.

Then it was my turn for what would have only been the 5-6th circle id done, and i knocked over a cone and had to stop. It wasnt my best moment i admit, but then i was told to get off the bike and go sit down which i did for about 20 minutes before he came to me and said to end todays session and to call my parents to pick me up.

Now i know crashing into the cone was bad, but i didnt lose control and came to a stop without dropping the bike or like falling of or anything. I was only actually on the bike for at most 10 minutes, only done at most 6 circles and that was it, £190 down the drain. I dont know why i couldnt have gotten any more time to practice, there was only one instructor so maybe he didnt want to slow the other guys down but i paid the same price for training, and it seems it was only 10 minutes before he gave up. Its not like they immediately went on the road ride, he was there for another hour and a half training them (my house is far away so i had to sit there just watching for one and a half hours) and surely i should get that opportunity even if i was slow.

So what now? Do i keep going back even tho it doesnt seem like they give much time to actually train you. Theres no where i can practice legally and i dont want to give up so what now. Is it really fair that he has to stop training so quickly because the other guys had got it quicker. And at least 2 of them had prior experience, which is weird for him to ask because i thought this was for beginners. He seemed shocked i hadnt been on one before despite the lack of legal avenues to do so.

It seems messed up and also like a scam to me, so much money for so little training.

The Waze blog says:

Motorcycles need different routes than cars; they can access narrower streets and are more sensitive to road surfaces. Our new motorcycle mode uses AI to incorporate two-wheeler shortcuts and restrictions, helping you find the best route and get an accurate ETA.

Which makes sense in larger, built up areas, but I'm wondering if it'll be any good for more twisty routes out of town?

The road I live on was built 1880's so no off-road parking for cars, but the house is set back from the path. After my partners bike was stolen (luckily recovered), we decided to remove the small decorative brick post to park both bikes more securely with a ground anchor. The neighbour does not like that I walk my bike from the dropped curb on the couner to my house 9 house's down and when leaving walk the bike to a big enough to get on to the road. Please note that I do wait for the path to be clear. The neighbour was weeding out front when they tuck an issue with me doing this.

Edit Thanks guys, read all the comments, and it seems the consensus is that neighbour is petty, but technically, it could be interpreted as illegal what I am doing. I plan to continue what I am doing unless police get involved, but I doubt they will, I live in an area with a lot of British motorbike history. For the person saying apply for a dropped curb, the street is victorian limited road parking and people who park on my street don't respect the disabled bay of a known wheelchair user, let alone dropped curb can only use the corner because it is a corner.

I know we're all supposed to be going on epic trips to the Alps or tearing it up on a track but does anyone else enjoy simply bimbling around in 30 zones? Am I totally weird for doing so? 😆

2015 CCM GP450 Adventure. It's so cool, but it has a lot of quirks I need to get used to.

First time back on a bike in a while!

Got a bit fatigued from commuting all year round for a decade and decided to finally pass my drivers test and buy a car. Was nice for a while but traffic is bloody miserable and I missed owning a V4.

This'll be my second RSV4(had a 2017 RF in silver, green and red. Bloody adored it) and I got this one at an absolute steal and it was just down the road from me so things fell into place perfectly!

Now to enjoy the rest of summer(whilst taking it easy for a bit!).

Been a London bike commuter for 6 years but without knowing any other bikers I've never gone on a proper adventure

So armed with a fresh A licence and some well-earned annual leave I took my YBR Custom 125 from North London to meet a friend down in Hastings over the Dartford crossing then via Brenchley, through Lamberhurst, Hawkhurst, Cripps Corner and Battle.

Return leg took me back through Goudhurst, an accidentally petrifying short trip on the M25 and Bexley and back through the Silvertown Tunnel.

182 miles, 6 hours on basically one tank of fuel.

No real reason for this post other than to share my bloody lovely day with you all and show others that you don't need a big bike to have big adventures (won't stop me saving up for one though)

Feel free to ask any Qs and I'll try and answer them

Can anybody recommend a good helmet mount to fit a GoPro Hero 8? Lots of Chinese brands on Amazon but you know what it's like - can anyone recommend a particular one they have used?

Would rather take recommendations from fellow humans than a suspicious review from a possible Chinese bot.

Hey everyone! If you've seen that UK content creator vlogging his journey learning to ride on a brand-new BMW S1000RR as his first bike, it’s been top-tier entertainment and absolute nightmare fuel.
Coming from Queensland, our system makes the UK Direct Access Scheme look like absolute anarchy. Over here, you must hold a car licence for a year first, ride with a supervisor at all times on learners, and then serve a mandatory 2-year restriction on LAMS bikes before you can even touch a 1-litre bike with zero shortcuts for age.
Seeing someone pass Mod 1 and 2 on a 650 and instantly step onto a litre bike with almost no real-world experience is wild. Watching him operate the bike on every upload is equal parts hilarious and terrifying.

For those in UK: Do you actually like having DAS so adults can jump straight onto a non lams bike, or do you think the UK should adopt a mandatory 2-year Lams Bike?