Motorbike Chat

[107oc]

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[timcrasher]

Now that is MCN

Nope the telelever is excellent.  For a start you can brake while lent over without the bike standing up.

Until your tyre lets go

I was always a sceptic of BMW's. But, now I work on and ride them all the time, I am really impressed at how good the handling is.
But you definately don't get anywhere near as much feedback from the front end as you do with a good modern fork.

[Handsome Devil]

Now that is MCN

Nope the telelever is excellent.  For a start you can brake while lent over without the bike standing up.

I do that by applying a greater proportion of rear to help the bike drop in and overcome the front.  On the road though, I always seperate gear changing, braking and corners into 3 different entities with no overlapping (except perhaps on slower urban riding where I'm hugely within the limits of the chassis) because I want to live.

I get my speed right before a corner and have the correct gear ready for squirting out once I'm straight beyond the apex - the corner, with the bike off axis in it's geometry, and the gearing dropping as the bike rolls onto a smaller diameter on the shoulder of the tyre, is no place to be playing with the other controls, at least in public.

I ain't no Rossi, but then I've never fallen off since passing my test in '86 either (unless being reverse rammed by a stolen car counts).  Old pilots and bold pilots.

[Chazza]

I do that by applying a greater proportion of rear to help the bike drop in and overcome the front.  On the road though, I always seperate gear changing, braking and corners into 3 different entities with no overlapping (except perhaps on slower urban riding where I'm hugely within the limits of the chassis) because I want to live.

I get my speed right before a corner and have the correct gear ready for squirting out once I'm straight beyond the apex - the corner, with the bike off axis in it's geometry, and the gearing dropping as the bike rolls onto a smaller diameter on the shoulder of the tyre, is no place to be playing with the other controls, at least in public.

I ain't no Rossi, but then I've never fallen off since passing my test in '86 either (unless being reverse rammed by a stolen car counts).  Old pilots and bold pilots.


Alot of that goes for driving a car as well try not to use too many forces at once. e,g braking and cornering is a no no and having correct gear for exit of corner. I teach all my pupils to do that.

[Spank My Car]

Guessing your not keen on the 020's then Tim - Im going to get Bridgestone BT-021 fitted to my MT-03 for commuting. Do you think these are the right choice, or do you recommend another brand?

[qed]

I do that by applying a greater proportion of rear to help the bike drop in and overcome the front.  On the road though, I always seperate gear changing, braking and corners into 3 different entities with no overlapping (except perhaps on slower urban riding where I'm hugely within the limits of the chassis) because I want to live.

Eh? Im talking about not having to be upright or forced upright to brake well after the apex on say a long sweeper if there is a roundabout coming up. On a forked bike you have to gently back off and brake. With the telelever you can run right up to the roundabout lent over.

Using the rear brake (gently) in a corrner tightens the line and is a really useful technique if you tend to brick yourself and run wide on left handers

[qed]

I've never fallen off since passing my test in '86 either

You must be soooo slooooowww

[A.D.I. Ali]

You must be soooo slooooowww

Or just a safe rider, knowing when to ease off reading the road ahead. That's my reason anyway. Had my Fazer 10yrs last November, never had anything touch the road other than the tyres and stand.
My mates I used to work with and go on runs, all wrote their bikes off. I don't concider myself a slow rider, well not then, but now I have to be within legal limits, or I'm out of a job if I get a ban. When I used to ride in the middle to rear of the group I used to struggle at times to keep up. If in the front few, others couldn't keep up with me. One guy with a 600 Ninja was wondering what I had done to my engine as he was sure it wasn't standard. Just the right choice of gear before the corner, keeping to a speed that would allow me to stop safely if needed but accelerate out fast and leave them behind. Most times the ex was pillion and didn't like going too quick, usually digging my ribs, but on one run 8yrs back she didn't, I was surprised charging through 'the wee Glen' in drizzle, when I looked and saw 120, just keeping up with the flow of the traffic. Didn't feel that fast.

[qed]

Riding in a group is a whole can of worms

[timcrasher]

Guessing your not keen on the 020's then Tim - Im going to get Bridgestone BT-021 fitted to my MT-03 for commuting. Do you think these are the right choice, or do you recommend another brand?

They are a good enough tyre, but technology has moved on. The 021 is a better compound of tyre, but the carcass is different to premote more feel. On certain bikes this makes them feel very different to ride. But they work well on your bike, and will be ideal for a novice rider like yourself ( no offence meant).
The 020 tyres we use at work are a specially constructed version, made for the plod spec bikes. They have very stiff side walls to cope with the extra weight of all the crap they carry. This gives the tyre limited feedback in certain situations. The Dunlops have just been approved for use. These have a more modern construction and rubber compound technology to prmote good feedback. They should last longer too, as the rubber will work more effieciently, rather than tearing on the shoulders like the 020's do once they get to 2000mls. The Dunlops have a slightly pointier profile which while making them easier to change direction, could make the bike feel unstable in a straight line at certain speeds.
 

[Spank My Car]

But they work well on your bike, and will be ideal for a novice rider like yourself ( no offence meant).

None taken - I still make plenty of mistakes!  

So if you see a Police BMW hooning around the mean streets of Essex anytime soon, without all the dayglo readybrek gear it will just be me testing tyres. Its a crappy job, but someone has to do it

Do you ride around the Harlow area?

[Handsome Devil]

You must be soooo slooooowww

Steady, i would say.  I'm poo hot on 4 wheels with my dibble advanced driving credentials yadda yadda yawn, but I'm not nearly so talented on 2, even though I enjoy it more.   With that in mind I tend to be sensible and ride strictly to the system.

I'd rather be steady and alive with an intact bike, than on the edge all the time and throw it up the road.

Chaz, I used to teach my pupils not to overlap, mainly as an awareness exercise.  It's up to huge debate so I let them decide what worked best for them once unleashed on the road.  Generally speaking, I don't do it myself car or bike and have never felt the need to do so, even at naughty dibble velocities, but it was drummed very heavily into me so I've kinda got the habit now.

I never insisted they shuffle either, so long as they don't cross arms - it was scientifically determined in the 80's that it was not the most efficient method, as in an emergency the brain had no visual reference from the position of the hands as to where the wheel was.  I'm one of the few who let them slip the wheel back when straightening out of a corner - after all, most of my colleagues let them slip it through their hands while shuffling, so what's the difference?

the Home Office have finally seen things my way and their appointed advisor has recommended dropping shuffling and allowing slipping, but none of the 52 farces have adopted it, and with the big nobs at RoSPA and IAM being largely ex dibble they're never likely to either.  They're happy to carry on teaching techniques developed for the dibble in the 1920s...

Apply some intelligence - "over a crest, left is best" may have been a good mantra in 1955, but today it'll likely have you slamming into a parked car.

Jeez, who'd have thought I'd be such a maverick?  a veritable loose cannon me!

[Handsome Devil]

Sorry, meant to say, our Pan Handles are being binned after they were discovered to be unstable at high velocities and banned from going over a ton.  A high speed putsuit vehicle that isn't allowed to be driven at high speed - money well spent!

We're going over to Beemers, but we have 2 x R1s as well.  Gurdamm someone has a fun job!

[Spank My Car]

2 x R1's 

I saw on a 'Police Programme' that one of the forces has an unmarked Hyabusa

** http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRW-0W3PpSE ** Not the greatest of quality

[soffit]

I think you should all be put back 'On the Beat'. Jess!.... The price of the just one of these bikes with all the add-ons of maintenance / rider training/ sicknotes/etc just beggars believe. Just think of the number of pairs of steel-capped boots/ truncheons / training to walk in a straight line you could get for the same price!

[qed]

I saw a policeman on the street the other day

Turned out to be a student on the way to a fancy dress party. Either that  or he'd arrested Borat and Tarzan.