• Welcome to the new B.I.R.D. Forum. Please be sure to read the "New Member / New Registered ? Please Read" thread in the Coffee Shop. This contains some important information. To become a full member ( £5.90 a year ) simply click on your user name near the top on the right I hope you enjoy the new site ................ Jaws ( John )

Is biker season over already?

ScottyUK

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The season better not be over. I've got a track day on Monday. I might be wearing an extra layer though!
 

Jaws

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I loved both my Fazers - in the real world the 600 was every bit as good as the 1000. Great brakes - the brakes the Bird could have or perhaps even should have had....?
I fail to understand comments like that completely Andy
I can stand the Bird on its nose no problem.. I know cos the first time I did it was a complete accident and totally unexpected!

You are comparing 190kg bike to a 230 kg one.. And knowing the way we all tend to stick extras on proly more like 240-250kg
 

andyBeaker

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I fail to understand comments like that completely Andy
I can stand the Bird on its nose no problem.. I know cos the first time I did it was a complete accident and totally unexpected!

You are comparing 190kg bike to a 230 kg one.. And knowing the way we all tend to stick extras on proly more like 240-250kg
Fair comment john. I just happen to prefer the brakes on the Fazer to anything else I have ridden. Can't explain it or even justify it.

Personal view - the brakes on the Bird are good but could be better - good enough but not really good.

There, I've said it!!
 

Jaws

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Fair comment john. I just happen to prefer the brakes on the Fazer to anything else I have ridden. Can't explain it or even justify it.

Personal view - the brakes on the Bird are good but could be better - good enough but not really good.

There, I've said it!!
My definition of good is ' can I lock the wheels at 70 '
Anything more is OTT :)
 

firephil

Registered User
Winter riding...
Hein Gericke is the biz.Pin lock visor.Snow...forget it lovelies!
Best gloves you can afford,not thick so to allow heat to transfer from heated grips.
Keep the stuff you wear clean as winter road grime is shocking at wrecking textiles.
Bike ACF50 ,cold hose pipe on spray ASAP to brakes.
Do not allow good will gestures from your daughter to wash you Wiese jacket without removing Armour....
Bless!
Ensure that when you approach a greased/Icy roundabout that the car/van behind you is a good distance back,so if you fuck up ,hopefully he won't fuck you up!
 

gibbzy2k1

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Haven't had chance to test the brakes on the bird yet really. Although it's stays a lot flatter the the SV does. Think I need to do so suspension work in the SV this year.
I got a pair of Oxford boots, were great last year but leaking now as are all my gloves.
Been looking at the Knox covert gloves the other day. They feel nice and have some good reviews for 100 quid.
Money is tight again this year as I am now repairing the bird so we'll see what happens. Might get some sealskin socks and get another year out of the Oxford boots.
 

Jaws

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I have never trusted boots to be either warm or dry !
When I was dispatching a carrier bag per boot was the order of the day in winter !! :)
 

andyBeaker

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Oh it really is...'specially when its done by accident !
I have never understood why ABS isn't available on more bikes. I,would guess that a large proportion of bike accidents involve lock ups one way or another
 

Centaur

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I have never understood why ABS isn't available on more bikes. I,would guess that a large proportion of bike accidents involve lock ups one way or another

I have seen "car drivers" on bikes lock up the rear wheel by instinctively slamming down with their right foot in an emergency and being mentally unable to get off the brake before the bike goes down. ABS would save a lot of grief but I have only ridden a couple of bikes with it and personally did not like it. I'm sure it is a lot better now. Ignoring the Bbird I have always preferred my bike to have a "soft" rear brake or I would ignore the rear brake altogether in normal circumstances. When I learned to ride the front brake was next to useless and with a square rear tyre the back brake was best left alone. :eek:
 

Jaws

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Euro4 regs came in this past January
Now all bike 125 and up must have either linked brakes or ABS

Something else just in
If you are one of the thousands that ride on the continent make sure your gloves are up to spec
New rules in France from state you must have CE approved gloves on
The must they have a label stating they they reach EN 13594 regs
On the spot fine if either the rider or pillion found with incorrect gloves on
Fines are set to 68 € per person, reducing to 45€ if paid within 15 days
 

slim63

Never surrender
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I'm with centaur on ABS I really don't like it, I don't particularly like linked brakes either, it seems to me that anything that takes control away from the rider is always promoted as a safety feature & that's usually done by people who cant ride a bike in any meaningful fashion

The answer to my mind is learn to ride properly before relying on gadgets to save your neck because when they fail you are going to be deep in the shit if you don't

As for "car drivers" slamming on the back brake, yes it was a regular thing day after day, week in & week out when I was instructing & its one of the hardest habits to break I still see it on the road even with supposedly experienced riders & have given up trying to get it into their thick heads that they wouldn't have had that latest near miss if they leant to use the bloody brakes as intended
 

lumpy

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What is this biker season? Is this the same as the gay not really a biker at all season / hobby cyclist season?
 

lumpy

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I loved both my Fazers - in the real world the 600 was every bit as good as the 1000. Great brakes - the brakes the Bird could have or perhaps even should have had....?
the 600 is defintely an all round better bike that the thou. My 600 has 139500 miles on her now
 

andyBeaker

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I'll bet that everyone on here, but everyone, has locked a wheel at some point.

Don't really wear this macho 'you can't ride a bike properly if you need ABS' stuff :couch:... anything that helps you stay upright has to be a good idea.

My car has launch control - I can't get anywhere close to the 0-60 time that achieves by switching every driver aid off and going bareback.
 

slim63

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I'll bet that everyone on here, but everyone, has locked a wheel at some point.

Don't really wear this macho 'you can't ride a bike properly if you need ABS' stuff :couch:... anything that helps you stay upright has to be a good idea.

My car has launch control - I can't get anywhere close to the 0-60 time that achieves by switching every driver aid off and going bareback.

Yes I have locked a wheel when learning how to use the brakes properly, its the only way you find the limit of adhesion :p most people are surprised how quickly you can stop if you brake properly its about feel & practice not gadgets & there is nothing macho about it just common sense to know how to do it for when the gadgets fail (they will eventually)
 

gibbzy2k1

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Never had a bike with ABS, I like the idea of gadgets though. Maybe one day. I like my carbs too. One day I'll move up a century maybe.

My first car with ABS I hated, not over keen on the ABS and traction control on our current car either for that matter. Lol

I've locked up a few times on th SV, both wheels ones in the wet when some tool in a car slammed their brakes on. Stop ok though. Lol
 

Centaur

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Yes, I have locked up the back wheel very occasionally but I have always got off the pedal feckin quickly and long before I lost steering or went down! My son had a very bad accident on his bike in Scotland soon after passing his test. A range rover pulled out over a stop line without looking or stopping but my son lost 20% of the award because he had lost control by locking the back wheel and going over the centre line. I thought that was fair. A lot more to it but that was the basic facts.
 
R

ricko

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Back to the original topic - had a lovely ride yesterday afternoon so no it's not over yet !
 
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