The Bikeshite Thread

[Barry Cade]

Nope. Been a pillion once, on a VF400F. 

I will never, ever do it again.

[hairnet]

Omg

Was in East Sussex this morning

[S2000]

^^ my first pillion ride was on the back of a 1992 Zephyr 750, micron can plus other nods and it had been on the dyno. Lane splitting on the A52 between Nottingham and Derby. Biggest rush ever, couldn’t roll a fag afterwards….

[robt100]

Thanks guys, well, we shall see how it goes!

 

[catsinthewelder]

3 hours ago, hairnet said:

Omg

Was in East Sussex this morning

I was just above the W in Wye Valley when you posted that, you're taking the scenic route to Shitefest this year!

[Bmwdumptruck]

Heading for Lincs Aviation tonight. We’ll actually be leaving here after 1pm with a suitable stop enroute.  Taking the new Tenere. Pic from 3 years ago. 

[martc]

17 hours ago, robt100 said:

Well, been offered to ride pillion to the Triumph factory tomorrow for a tour. Never been on a bike, going to be interesting. Feel free to give out advice as a pilloc....pillion passenger. Promise I wont lean the opposite way to the bike 🤣

Please lean in the same direction as the 'driver'!!!! I took someone out for their first pillion ride on my MZ TS125, it was absolutely horrifying fighting it around bends. When we stopped my pillion explained that he was leaning in the opposite direction to try and stop us falling over in the corners! On the way home, after I explained that he should be leaning the same way as me, things went a lot smoother... 

Don't know if it's been mentioned but when you stop, don't put your feet down, keep them firmly planted on the foot pegs.

Years ago I was discussing pillion riding with a fellow lab rat. He had only ever ridden pillion once, when he worked in Holland. The bike he rode on? A Van Veen OCR 1000 (a wankel engined, hand made super bike) and one of the most exclusive motorbikes ever (only 38 were made)! Saying that I took my now sister-in-law on her first pillion ride, on my Laverda 750, quite posh, but not in Van Veen territory.

 

 

[andyberg]

GRUMP TIME

How can it be so hard to find a motorbike place or mobile motorbike mechanic to change my tyres????

so far 3 places have basically said no because they are so busy right up until late September. That’s ok I say I’m in no rush, plenty of tread left just the tyres are a bit old (2017 and 2019) so September is fine. Ah no we are not booking in any more work until we clear our backlog comes the reply 🤷‍♂️ 

one place even said ‘ nah I don’t really want to do that’ after I told him what bike it was for!! 
seriously what’s happening in the uk 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[Bmwdumptruck]

Some pics from Linc Aviation bike night.  The place was absolutely heaving, one of the biggest bike nights I’ve ever attended. We got there actually a few mins early, about 4.50, but they were letting everyone in already. £5 per bike on the gate was nice n easy.  We were just a few rows from the front right in front of Just Jane.  

[Bmwdumptruck]

I had a rough RD250 in black as a 17 yr old, bit earlier than this one as mine had wire wheels and a drum rear brake

Into the mid nineties I decided I wanted to ride again and bought a Honda RS250 in bits and once back on the road I learnt how to ride again. A year or so later I eventually bought an early jelly mold CBR6 in red n white, still think it’s a nice colour scheme.And another year or so on upgraded that to a Thundercat which at the time was often reported as the poor man’s VFR. Mine was a Candy Red one though.

 

[Bmwdumptruck]

Few more random pics.  Must have been a good few thousand bikes there.

[Bmwdumptruck]

Oddly the most common bikes there were Triumphs, mostly in Tiger form.  Easily outnumbering GSs by some way.  Harley’s running them a pretty close second, although some of those may have been Yamaha and Suzuki copies, I’m not into that scene so don’t recognise all the different models.  The local ish BMW dealer was there with a few bikes, but oddly no 1300GSs.  Didn’t see too many people looking at what they had brought.  Is the BMW bubble bursting at last?  The fact that they are advertising and offering finance deals suggests the new models aren’t exactly flying out as they’ve been used to for twenty years or more now.  

[Stinkwheel]

1 hour ago, andyberg said:

GRUMP TIME

How can it be so hard to find a motorbike place or mobile motorbike mechanic to change my tyres????

so far 3 places have basically said no because they are so busy right up until late September. That’s ok I say I’m in no rush, plenty of tread left just the tyres are a bit old (2017 and 2019) so September is fine. Ah no we are not booking in any more work until we clear our backlog comes the reply 🤷‍♂️ 

one place even said ‘ nah I don’t really want to do that’ after I told him what bike it was for!! 
seriously what’s happening in the uk 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

Unfortunately, as I've posted a little bit about before here, the UK is facing a motorbike mechanic/technician crisis. Very few new or young trainees or apprentices coming through. I forget the actual figures but roughly, the UK has about 4000 qualified bike mechanics right now and that number is dropping fast as they retire or move to other jobs away from the bike industry. Less and less older machines are being kept in good working and regularly used order, the industry is moving to the car model of selling/leasing you new bikes with warranties and sod everything older. Small independent places have been closing up (much like pubs have been for years) There is a severe lack of educational places offering training at college level anymore. This all leads to a situation where the remaining places can pick and choose the work they want to do. This then worsens the situation as people without the time/experience etc to work on their own stuff and do all the jobs think sod it and get something newer or just stop riding their old bikes. Sadly, I cant see this situation will get better.

In government circles there has been a lot of new road safety initiatives lately, yet in parliament the people who make the rules and try to fix this stuff just stood up and said, i quote 'Motorcycles dont fit into our plan for the roads'

Dying breed basically, especially with the looming ban on the sale of internal combustion engines.

[Bmwdumptruck]

Again last night showed very clearly how biking is dieing or on its last legs at least.  The vast majority at the bike night last night would have been pensioners, or like me pretty close to pension age.  I would predict that in another ten years that event will be 5 to 10 times smaller than it was last night.  If I make another ten years, and I’m hopefully still riding by then, I’ll have very few guys to ride with, and I seriously doubt the wife will still pillion with me.  
I just can’t see how the industry will survive with so few customers to support it.  Youngsters are more controlled by scared parents not letting 16yr old Johnny out on a bike to start with.  Then there’s the learner laws that allow a 17 year old any car he (or mum n dad) can afford to insure,  yet if he does a bike test he’s stuck on a 125 for two years and still has to re test to get something 46hp max and then again re test to get an unrestricted licence a few years further on.  By which time most of the keen types will have got into the car scene and moved onto more powerful cars as funds allow.  By the time they could get a decent bike the girlfriends pushing for a place of their own and probably starting a family.   
Add to this the emergence of Average speed cameras, most of which I’m convinced are dummy’s, but who’d risk it to find out!!  But they are appearing everywhere. In another ten years there will be hardly a major A road without them and probably quite a few B roads littered with them.  Added to which they seem to frequently drop the limit to 50 on these stretches too.  So there will be so few places to enjoy a bike in years to come, can’t see why anyone will bother.  

[andyberg]

2 hours ago, Stinkwheel said:

 

In government circles there has been a lot of new road safety initiatives lately, yet in parliament the people who make the rules and try to fix this stuff just stood up and said, i quote 'Motorcycles dont fit into our plan for the roads'

 

Yes I read this too. Just goes to show that the government strategy is actually all about making money (but we knew that anyway) and nothing to do with the environment or making life easier for the motorist. 

[Jerzy Woking]

Teenagers in the UK seem more interested in electric bikes such as Surrons (not pedal assisted e-bikes) and riding them on the road without them being registered or insured.

There was a video posted on YouTube recently by "@VoltageRidezUK" where 100 or more of them (including a few motoX bikes too) went on a ride out on public roads. With very few police in evidence.

Can you imagine trying to get 100 125cc riders to meet up for a ride out?

Happily in Spain, many 16 year old can be found riding around on their (seemingly 17 speed) 50cc bikes, and meeting up in groups. 

All of the independent bike shops I took note of when I moved here, are all still operating. Most (not all though) offer a ride in/ride out tyre service. 

Maybe its the weather, maybe it's that their grandad rides a scooter still, so mum and dad don't see bikes as being that dangerous for their teenage sons and daughters.

Its funny that parents in the UK don't want their 16 year old kids to ride a 50cc moped restricted to 28mph, but will buy their 14 year old son a 60 mph electric Surron (other brands are available) and let them ride them on the road with only a balaclava as safety gear.

[hairnet]

after 1000 miles in a week on the honda

bar risers bought

[hairnet]

more retail therapy

mirror extenders

frame for screen to move it upwards (cheaper than another screen)

looking at a rack but not buying yet

 

[robt100]

Well, a successful trip out as pillion. About 2ish hours on the way there. I MAY have "cheated" and had a lift back in a car, mainly because my dodgy back was playing up, seems that sitting with your legs at almost 180 degree angles for 2hrs doesn't help a bad back 🙈 Also the 36c heat with threat of slow traffic, and the fact I wanted the guy to actually enjoy some of his ride out rather than dealing with me on the back all day. He seemed pretty happy though, said it almost felt like I wasn't there by the end, so i must have got something right. Have been gifted a leather bike jacket and told he will see me on my own bike next time, looks like I best book a CBT at least 😅

Quite an interesting experience though, a lot more visceral  audibly than a car, but a similar 'vehicle to driver to road' connection. Heck of a lot of (what I think was) engine vibration up at higher revs though, I blame that on it being a harley!
On a side note, can highly recommend the Triumph factory tour, a really detailed look into the process and the company.

[Bmwdumptruck]

Got papped by one of those roadside photographers on the way into Lincs Aviation on Wednesday evening.  Two pics looked pretty decent so we splurged a few quid on them. 

[Cavcraft]

Local bike plce saying they're selling quite a few new 125s (budget brands) mostly as commuters to youngsters.  It's all good I suppose, hopefully a few of them will go onto bigger bikes and get hooked.

 

In other new today, I put 6 litres of E5 in the old Honda, rode off, braked hard and probably lost a quid's worth slopping out of the filler cap.

[Rustybullethole]

Cracking slow way to work ride today. Over the Woolwich ferry and left up through the city. If going west take the westway as the man said then pit stop to sort non charging phone around Uxbridge. Old A40 because motorway is  boring then cut across through Henley then stop at Pangbourne for a swim in the river. Considered the quick dip exercise that required reward.

A 417 out of Pangbourne then stopped again to get milk for the morning in Lechlade. 
Chippy was open so took the lazy dinner option.

Loads of interesting stuff from the steam fair was passing through town. My hands were too full of dinner to get any pictures though highlight for me was a nicely painted Bedford J with period caravan in the same livery. 
Steam engines on a no lighting up ban so missed those sights and smells this year! 
Really enjoyed the bike today. Few jobs still to do though is feeling like my bike now after a couple of thousand miles. 

Edited August 16 by Rustybullethole

[hairnet]

was looking for a tubular rack for the honda as never really been a fan of having the kriega on the back seat spesh if its almost full

most commuter hondas you can get ali express ones for 30-40 quid but same or more to post

so you might as well buy a rack from here

honda just for the box is more than 300 quid not including the rack - which is nuts when they used to be made by givi which are cheaper

was looking at shad which are ace and 120 each for rack and box which isnt too bad

but looking at racks found out the late cb500x will fit mine only the bodywork has changed

givi racks were coming out at 80-90

found one at blackpool honda oddly 37 quid - but i sold a clutch cable so was 14 quid

didnt want a roundy box was looking for a square adv one and found one sportsbike shop wanted 88 for

found louis.de doing them and 64 quid - i thought it was via germany so might have been bummed by customs but no its co.uk it was in ££ and the postage was in pounds

thatll work

also when you buy a new box you get the plate that attaches to the rack - this save 20-30 quid

winnah for less than 80 quid  - kriega bag was more than that 10 years ago

[hairnet]

On 07/08/2026 at 16:54, Rustybullethole said:

 

FUK DAT SHIT

 

 

 

was thinking of buying the 12v that fits in the hole in the dash

but whats the point when you still have to buy a usb

the honda one is 25 from bulgaria and 9 quid (!) to post

35 here

but you can get knock off ones for a fiver that have two usbs in them

nightmare is you have to take off the side fairing and as rusty found out its a pita

american tried it and almost got it off - had enuff room for the mrs to get her hand in (its her bike ) and feed it in then connect the connector

im not doing that - gonna buy a power bank instead

[scdan4]

Finally sorted my life out enough that the Wing went and got itself a mot 

New round front tyre and brand new second hand front discs has made the front feel a whole lot better.

View out the back of the test centre is quite something 

 

Got home and plugged in the old, lives on the floor being kicked about battery charger and all the smoke came out 😮

I think the insulation as it exits the charger gave up and allowed a short circuit, because I plugged it onto the bike and then it went all melty. Very pleased it did it whilst I was there.....

[Rustybullethole]

5 hours ago, scdan4 said:

Finally sorted my life out enough that the Wing went and got itself a mot 

New round front tyre and brand new second hand front discs has made the front feel a whole lot better.

View out the back of the test centre is quite something 

 

Got home and plugged in the old, lives on the floor being kicked about battery charger and all the smoke came out 😮

I think the insulation as it exits the charger gave up and allowed a short circuit, because I plugged it onto the bike and then it went all melty. Very pleased it did it whilst I was there.....

Am very pleased I disconnected mine before I left the lock up now have seen that!

Lucky. 

[hairnet]

been waiting a long time and this is more hornet than the new twin

the specs confuse me - when they announced it they said maybe 55-60hp

apparently its got 80

 

[andyberg]

Finally found a place that will fit tyres to my bloody lovely R1100. I have to take it to them but they will remove the wheels and replace the tyres. BT 31 front and rear £305 fitted. Quite happy with that. 
In other news with the bike, fitted footpeg lowers. Feels much better, knees not so cramped up ( seat on lowest setting) 

The more I ride it the more I love it. 

[Cookiesouwest]

8 minutes ago, andyberg said:

Finally found a place that will fit tyres to my bloody lovely R1100. I have to take it to them but they will remove the wheels and replace the tyres. BT 31 front and rear £305 fitted. Quite happy with that. 
In other news with the bike, fitted footpeg lowers. Feels much better, knees not so cramped up ( seat on lowest setting) 

The more I ride it the more I love it. 

Why is getting bike tyres, such a faff ? Where did you have to go?

[andyberg]

16 minutes ago, Cookiesouwest said:

Why is getting bike tyres, such a faff ? Where did you have to go?

Unity bikes in Keynsham. Took my old Sprint there a few years ago. 
A faff and bloody expensive 😱