The Bikeshite Thread

[Dave_Q]

Just now, Cavcraft said:

They weren't massively popular, which hopefully means you could get the rest of the bits to make one up cheaply. Or it could be a massive pain in the arse trying to get the parts.

Some dickhead (ie me) already did the build a whole Vespa from bits thing and found it definitely cost more in total than buying a whole one but what the hell, it's most of a classic* scooter for under £100

[plasticvandan]

MZ number 1 extracted and collected

Hit me up if you want a project!

[Stinkwheel]

1 hour ago, plasticvandan said:

MZ number 1 extracted and collected

Hit me up if you want a project!

You have a PM sir 😁

[MT606]

the Hizzy memorial run last sunday, a 270mile ride that day and didn't run out of fuel (even though I'd left the fuel tap on for the aux tank, n pissed half a liter or so away when the main tank overflowed)!

[Cavcraft]

Probably did about 25 miles or so this morning on the GS with my mate on his Honda Monkey 125.  Whizzed over to J&S (motorbike) accessories as we were near that away anyhow. Needed a replacement visor for my helmet. How much? Fifty fucking quid. I'll live with the scratches, thanks.

Parked next to us was one of these, and I must say it was a bloody nice looking bike...

Had considered a 502 before getting the BMW (can't remember why it didn't happen) but one of these is seriously tempting. There's a couple on eBay for just under £4,800 second hand (both with the luggage, too), so one to consider for the future, I think. 

[MT606]

£50!?.... what make is your crash helmet?

[Cavcraft]

21 hours ago, MT606 said:

£50!?.... what make is your crash helmet?

A cheap Shark one! The visors are only £19 on eBay, even if they're 'copies' it's better than fifty bleeding quid.

[myglaren]

 

[Cavcraft]

6 hours ago, myglaren said:

 

Appreciate there's  grass there, but who the sodding hell keeps hold of a motorbike when it's on fire?

[Hawkeyethenoo]

👍

[scdan4]

A big yellow taxi needed for the schwing 🙁

 

Fans come on, engine goes off. 

[Hawkeyethenoo]

15 minutes ago, scdan4 said:

A big yellow taxi needed for the schwing 🙁

 

Fans come on, engine goes off. 

You have let it develop nicely. Hope it's an easy fix cause, Honda. 

[castros_bro]

Well that's interesting.  Except it doesn't say which licence category is needed.

Gov.UK

Towing with a motorbike

You can use motorbikes with an engine size of 125cc or more to tow small trailers.

Your motorbike has to be clearly and permanently marked with its ‘kerbside weight’.

Kerbside weight is the weight of the vehicle without passengers or any load but with a full tank of fuel and filled up with the necessary oils, water and fluids.

The trailer must be no more than 1 metre wide and must be clearly and permanently marked with its unladen weight.

When the trailer is loaded it must weigh no more than 150 kilograms or 2/3 of the kerbside weight of the motorbike - whichever is lighter.

When hitched, the distance between the end of the trailer and the rear axle of the motorbike must be no more than 2.5 metres.

[catsinthewelder]

Presumably it's still A as you can tow caravans with a normal B license now.

[Rustybullethole]

Seen all sort's towing all sorts at bike rallies. From mopeds with home built trailers on bmx wheels to trikes with camping pods and wood burners. 

[robt100]

2 hours ago, castros_bro said:

Well that's interesting.  Except it doesn't say which licence category is needed.

Gov.UK

Towing with a motorbike

You can use motorbikes with an engine size of 125cc or more to tow small trailers.

Your motorbike has to be clearly and permanently marked with its ‘kerbside weight’.

Kerbside weight is the weight of the vehicle without passengers or any load but with a full tank of fuel and filled up with the necessary oils, water and fluids.

The trailer must be no more than 1 metre wide and must be clearly and permanently marked with its unladen weight.

When the trailer is loaded it must weigh no more than 150 kilograms or 2/3 of the kerbside weight of the motorbike - whichever is lighter.

When hitched, the distance between the end of the trailer and the rear axle of the motorbike must be no more than 2.5 metres.

Seeing this reminded me of when SWMBO took her bike theory earlier this year.... first question was 'what is the maximum width allowed for a motorcycle trailer'.......not one she had come across in the highway code!

[New POD]

9 hours ago, castros_bro said:

Well that's interesting.  Except it doesn't say which licence category is needed.

Gov.UK

Towing with a motorbike

You can use motorbikes with an engine size of 125cc or more to tow small trailers.

Your motorbike has to be clearly and permanently marked with its ‘kerbside weight’.

Kerbside weight is the weight of the vehicle without passengers or any load but with a full tank of fuel and filled up with the necessary oils, water and fluids.

The trailer must be no more than 1 metre wide and must be clearly and permanently marked with its unladen weight.

When the trailer is loaded it must weigh no more than 150 kilograms or 2/3 of the kerbside weight of the motorbike - whichever is lighter.

When hitched, the distance between the end of the trailer and the rear axle of the motorbike must be no more than 2.5 metres.

For my A level Design project, I designed and built a one wheel motorcycle trailer, which leant over with the motorcycle. 

Unfortunately I had to test it behind a car, because at the time I'd sold my motorbike to fund a car. Doh. I got a grade D. 

It did work. The hinge arrangement that kept it standing up was very clever.  The rest of it was shit.  Unfortunately I have no pictures, no video, nothing but memories. 

[castros_bro]

Jawa did one

 I've recently bought a Mofa Anhänger Kupplung from German moped shop as remember Swiss postal service using mopeds with trailers and was going to try pulling a small canoe trailer behind mine. But 125cc lower limit is a problem. 

 

[Stinkwheel]

I wasn’t towing anything but had a bit of a noodle about in the hills, lovely day.

[Hawkeyethenoo]

Norton Commando 961 Sport Vlog. 

 

[Hawkeyethenoo]

 

[Hawkeyethenoo]

Tempted by another 

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/202509266648363

[5speedracer]

Fair thing, just run in too. Is it the rear subframe of swingarm on these can succumb to rust and not really be noticed?

[Cavcraft]

16 hours ago, Hawkeyethenoo said:

Tempted by another 

 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/202509266648363

150, 076cc is enough for most people.

[Hawkeyethenoo]

2 hours ago, 5speedracer said:

Fair thing, just run in too. Is it the rear subframe of swingarm on these can succumb to rust and not really be noticed?

FWIW, no mention of that in the MOT history which is pretty bloody good reading on the face of it. I know early Pans were bad for crusty SA, but think they've all be scrapped now mostly. It's obviously been crashed and re-imagined as The Beast and why not.... I still would. 

[plasticvandan]

On 28/09/2025 at 09:55, castros_bro said:

Jawa did one

 I've recently bought a Mofa Anhänger Kupplung from German moped shop as remember Swiss postal service using mopeds with trailers and was going to try pulling a small canoe trailer behind mine. But 125cc lower limit is a problem. 

 

I had a trailer I used behind one of my MZs,virtually didn't know it was there

When researching I did find it interesting that the min engine size was 125, where there is no min engine size for fitting a sidecar!

[scdan4]

You know when you think you've worked it out and solved the problem....

 

 

 

 

Bah.

No biggy, just moving house tomorrow 😆

[loserone]

Hope you had it dropped outside the new house 😂

[scdan4]

19 minutes ago, loserone said:

Hope you had it dropped outside the new house 😂

Vendors are nice, it's already in the(ir) garage 😁

[mat_the_cat]

I did my first long trip (350 miles) a few weeks back, visiting a friend in South Wales.

Very enjoyable few days, apart from nearly getting sideswiped as I was overtaking a queue of cars.

After that, I decided to sort out a few bits and bobs with it. My mate gave me a Scottoiler, so I set about fitting that.

There was a perfect sized recess for the reservoir, next to the battery, so that went in.

I needed to replace the thermostat, as it rarely warmed up - should have been a simple job, except...

Although a replacement housing was only £13 delivered, so very reasonable.

Then one of the mounting lugs snapped off the radiator, and it was all looking a bit crusty anyway so bought a decent looking 2nd hand one.

One of the fork seals had started to leak despite being a recent replacement. Not sure why as the stanchions appear smooth. I've popped a new one on for now and will keep an eye on it. I didn't have a suitable tube to drive in the new seal, so I improvised with a bit of tape and used the fork as a slide hammer.

I think I've mentioned this before, but the front rim on this had corroded, and was causing a slow leak. I'm not a fan of black wheels anyway, so I decided on a bit of a colour change. From this...

...to this.

I wasn't sure whether the colour would be a bit much, but I reckon it suits the blue/purple fairly well.