My new bike, and a ‘shiter’s guide to two wheels

[garethj]

I’m a bit of a latecomer to two wheels, I had no interest in Fizzy mopeds when I was 16, I was already planning the car when I was 17. The main reason for getting a bike was to beat the car park charges at the railway station, four quid a day to park was taking the piss but motorbikes could park for free.

 

This was about 8 years ago, I did a CBT (compulsory basic training) which is a morning in a carpark going in and out of traffic cones, then an hour or two on the road in the afternoon. I’d never sat on anything bigger than my Raleigh Grifter before that, so even the piddly little 125cc bikes you borrow seemed massive. If you’ve never done it and have a Saturday to burn I’d recommend it, 40mph feels scarily fast at the start and once I’d cranked it up to 50mph I was almost white with fear.

 

I passed (natch) and got on well with the instructor who offered me a blezz around the carpark on the 500cc bike, phoooarrrr.

 

From there I got a 125cc Honda Varadero which is a sort of big trail bike thing, maximum power after you’ve done a CBT is 15bhp which would get me to 75mph on the speedo and acceleration that was slightly faster than a sprightly Morris Minor.

Whilst riding this I was doing lessons every week with the instructor on his Kawasaki ER5. This was monster fast! With its 50bhp it would just about crack 100mph but the acceleration was as quick as you’d ever go in a car, probably 7 seconds to 60mph but instead of being pushed back into a lovely Recaro you’re hanging on for dear life.

 

I had to do a theory test then a practical test, and if you’re an old fart you can jump onto any bike you fancy after that. For youngsters I think you have 2 years on a 33bhp bike until you can ride anything.

 

Learning to ride was really interesting, if you just get in a car and get out at the other end then it probably passes you by, but if you take an interest in the drive and the vehicle it’s a great experience where you need to soak up lots of information.

 

I got rid of the Varadero and lost nothing because 125 bikes are always in demand and at the time Honda couldn’t get new Varaderos into the country so they were at a premium. I got straight onto a Honda Hornet 600 which is a really pretty thing and has performance which is vivid by any standards. 60mph comes up in about 4 seconds and it makes about 90bhp at 12000rpm. Unfortunately it makes about 40bhp at 9000rpm then delivers the rest all in one go. It’s like the most manic turbocharged car you’ve ever been in. It also looks gorgeous in the metallic blue, and with a lid on nobody can see how ugly you are.

 

I started commuting into London on that, but with a fuel tank range of barely 100 miles it wasn’t great to be filling up every other day. Next came a Yamaha Super Tenere, a 750cc twin cylinder bike that was iconic for competing in Paris Dakar rallies. With its 75bhp it wasn’t so fast but still plenty quick enough and a commanding road presence with its twin headlights and tall riding position. This was the time they were digging up the M1 and cars were always queuing on the motorway and back up the slip road. One morning I was looking down the embankment, looking at the off-road tyres, looking down the embankment and rode down with ease. It’s nice to cut through the traffic I say.

 

The Super Ten had a few previous owners and some of them didn’t care so it broke down a couple of times which led me to look for a replacement. The fastest road bike at the time was a Suzuki Hayabusa which can crack 185mph. Before that was the Honda Blackbird which could do 179mph and before that was the Kawasaki ZZR1100 which could do 178mph. This was the one I was after.

 

It was handsome, it was fast, it would do over 200 miles to a tank and it was very relaxing to ride if you were careful. I don’t remember the 0-60 time, I suppose something like 2.5 seconds, but it would do the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds at 135mph which is exactly the same as a McLaren F1 road car. That’s really quick. You could be ambling along at 100mph in 6th gear, twist the throttle and it would pull smoothly to 140mph before you knew what was happening. Drop it down a gear or two and the acceleration was like a fast car would go from 30-50mph. Cost for this performance? About £1800 which is a significant saving on a McLaren, plus it did 48mpg which is impressive through London.

 

After that I changed jobs and was only a few miles from work, the ZZR wasn’t getting warmed up but of course still needed proper servicing, big tyres and I was probably going to get the world record for speeding on the ring road. I change to a CCM 640 Supermoto. This was a single cylinder bike which vibrated like a bastard and was flat out at 105mph. It was good fun for a while, but I was hardly saving any time over commuting by car so two wheels went.

 

That was almost three years ago. From the middle of next month I’ve got a job in Cambridge, the commute has a few bottlenecks and Cambridge itself isn’t known for free flowing traffic. Time to get a bike again.

 

Back in the 1980s the Honda motorbike division were in trouble. They’d made a few bikes where the camshafts were a weak point, other manufacturers were overtaking them in terms of performance, they needed something special to claw back market share. They launched the VFR750 which answered all the issues by throwing huge amounts of money at the problem. The camshafts were now gear driven, the chassis was expensively and brilliantly welded, the V4 engine made power delivery which was smooth and the whole lot looked fantastic. It may not have been an out and out racer, but for actually getting somewhere quickly it made lots of sense, and many journalists rate it as the most complete bike ever.

 

I picked mine up last Saturday after an epic trip by train, tube, replacement bus, walking the full length of Paddington Station and changing at Baker Street (which is a great euphemism for anal sex – it’s where you change from the pink to the brown you see)

 

 

It’s a 1997 bike, the last of the 750s. After that the VFR came with 800cc which have slightly jerky fuel injection and the later VTEC ones are awfully expensive to service. This has 4 carbs, a smooth V4 (is there such a thing? My old Saab 95 didn’t have it), promises over 50mpg and a tank range of 200 miles. The seat isn’t too low so lanky sods like me can get comfortable and once I’d adjusted the brake and clutch lever for reach it was a relaxing place to be. Power is delivered smoothly, quite unlike the all or nothing Honda 600 and without the loads of torque but no power of the single cylinder CCM. It’s a lot like the ZZR1100, but of course it makes barely 2/3 the power. Quarter mile is about 11.5 seconds to 115mph which by car standards is very rapid indeed but pretty average by bike standards.

 

The handling is smooth, it’s easy to tip into corners and follows a nice line which you can adjust easily if you need to. The fairing is ok, some wind buffeting at high speeds but we’ll see how it goes on the long commute next month. Perhaps a taller screen would help. Basically it’s a nice easy ride which is what you want for long journeys, but with plenty of power for overtakes of dull traffic. I can’t wait to get some more miles on it.

[tonedepear]

That's ace and interesting. I've always thought biking might be nice, but never got past the "I'll definitely die horribly/get maimed" thing.

 

FWIW things like this make me feel like I'm missing out. That VXR looks fucking awesome.

[Bren]

Probably the best all rounder ever built - good tourer and you can get your knee down for a bit of scratching should you be in the mood.

 

The early 800's can be a bit problematic - an ECU fault and a couple of other things cost a work colleague £1000 to put right - not good on a £2k bike.

[dollywobbler]

Yeah, I've never got the two wheel thing. Just too dangerous for me. I've seen a few car crashes in my time and a few motorbike crashes. Guess which type resulted in most injuries... (I'm yet to see someone walk away from a bike crash without some pretty horrible injury - and they were both being twats, so it was hard to feel sympathy!).

 

However, I have ridden a Honda Monkeybike across a field. That's quite exciting!

[wuvvum]

Nobody seems to have a bad word to say about those VFRs. I've never tried one so can't comment, but doubtless it'll be faultlessly reliable being a mid '90s Honda.

 

Hornet sounds like a fun bike (again, never tried one, but I've ridden a mate's 600 Bandit which I imagine to be quite similar), but perhaps less than ideal for commuting - I tend to find sustained high speeds on naked bikes rather tiring. ZZR is lovely but I'd kill myself within minutes on one of those.

[barefoot]

about 8 years ago, I did a CBT (compulsory basic training) which is a morning in a carpark going in and out of traffic cones,

then an hour or two on the road in the afternoon.

I’d never sat on anything bigger than my Raleigh Grifter before that, so even the piddly little 125cc bikes you borrow seemed massive.

If you’ve never done it and have a Saturday to burn I’d recommend it, 40mph feels scarily fast at the start ...

.... I was almost white with fear.

 

Me too,

 

But that's as far as I got.

I'd bought & restored an old ST70 & had to do the CBT because it was a 70.

 

 

Took it down to Run to the Sun in Newquay on the back of the camper,

You may notice that its Orange with a white seat so it matches my van.

pissed about on it legally for the weekend

Bloke on Monkey Bike wearing Monkey Suit type japes...

 

& it's been in the back of the garage ever since.

[DCLane]

I've recently switched to 2 wheels for the 11-mile commute I do each morning (and back pm), but mine looks like this:

 

 

0-60 erm ... no

 

1/4 mile depends on what I've had for breakfast. It runs on Bananas, coffee and buns quite well.

 

There's a stint from the M62 into Leeds (Ring Road) where it's a 70mph limit - the scary bit on the commute.

[garethj]

I'm yet to see someone walk away from a bike crash without some pretty horrible injury

Here's the thing - you don't have to crash

 

If you do (and I have a few times) then you don't have to get injured, I've come off 3 times and never had so much as a scratch. But to be honest, crashing is much more dangerous on a bike than it is on a car, it's really best avoided. I'm sure if motorbikes didn't already exist, you couldn't invent them today.

 

However riding on the road can be a lot more fun than driving, and as congestion gets worse owning a bike gets more sensible.

[Des]

I did a lot of bike miles about 15 years ago, not so much as a scratch, used to act the maggot as well. I think back then it was a lot safer, you could maintain a safety zone as only about 10% of motorists were inept accident waiting to happen tossers. I tried a bike again a while ago and it occured to me the ratio has changed somewhat, something like 90% now couldn't be even slightly bothered about causing someones death. Been using a bicycle for local trips lately, perfect answer to letting off pent up road rage, you can get away with anything, I'm regularly inviting dickwads to step out of their shitbox, and in the event one does I'm perfectly positioned to slam their door on their ankle / wrist / neck before they have a chance, get caught no problem, claim self defence, the motorist is always assumed guilty.

[Timewaster]

I too have a VFR750, an early twin swingarm model. However, it sits in the conservatory and hasnt seen the road for a couple of years.

Boo!

interwebz photo, but you get the idea.

 

Must must must get around to getting it legal again.

Awesome all round bike, I once rode 1000 miles in one day and could still walk afterwards.

[michael1703]

I suffered for a month riding a vfr800 vtec, it was so shite, I had it as a loan bike until I got my claim settled, it was gutless from the lights and had no midrange until the vtec came on cam by which point you were speeding, would be nice for old geezers plodding about but not my bag.

 

Early viffers are nice to ride but not great to work on, putting the carbs back on is a hassle, blowing collectors are common if you get a lost of spray on them, the rear wheel adjuster seizes and the front calipers can seize with not too much effor too

[garethj]

I suffered for a month riding a vfr800 vtec, it was so shite, I had it as a loan bike until I got my claim settled, it was gutless from the lights and had no midrange until the vtec came on cam by which point you were speeding, would be nice for old geezers plodding about but not my bag.

I heard the same, I don't think it was a great time for Honda's fuel injection. 750 is on carbs so only the usual carb worries

Early viffers are nice to ride but not great to work on, putting the carbs back on is a hassle, blowing collectors are common if you get a lost of spray on them, the rear wheel adjuster seizes and the front calipers can seize with not too much effor too

Rotting exhausts is common, mine has a stainless system which I'm happy with. I haven't tried the rear wheel adjuster yet but I'll give it a go soon just to see if I'm in the shit.

 

Brakes can't be worse than on my ZZR, pistons would seize up regularly using it through the year and I couldn't bleed them properly until I got a Mityvac. Even then they weren't great, considering the performance.

[wackywacerwill]

That last of the carbed vfr's is the best one EVA, this is true fact.

 

Bikes rule, this is also fact. Getting a full licence is fairly pricey and long winded these days though CBT's are cheap enough and plenty of fun can be had on a 125. I've downgraded over the years, mainly due to having kids and the associated wallet traumas they caused.I find the urge give it some beans hard to resist when on a bike so my previous road bikes (TDR250, Ninja 600, CB500) would return the same kind of mpg as the van and Cortina whilst eating up expensive service items to boot. A little bit of research was done and I found my perfect bikeshite;

 

CG125 YO

Yes the lid cost more than the bike

 

Designed for the Asian market to be pretty much indestructible, enclosed chain case making for mega long chain life, parts if you ever need them as cheap as chips, 125mpg and 15 sovs a year RFL = winnar. I'm well happy with it, yes it's slow though still beats the cars of the lights and is perfect for my 5 mile London commute. It does 60 no probs which is fast enough for me, 65 and I'm starting to feel it's pain, top speed ever is 70 on the long down hill stretch of the 25 heading towards the Dartford tolls with my clutch hand off the bars for extra aero's, couldn't bring myself to fully tuck in as I always feel a tit doing that on the road, even on a pucker crotch rocket.

Bought the bike for peanuts as a non runner having been off the road for 6 years. Carb clean and fresh oil saw it pressed into daily service. I've coloured the front lamp yellow which gets me seen better whilst filtering through the traffic and modded a little peep mirror so I can fit through the gaps whilst still keeping an eye out for the man. Rims and spokes were rusty so got lathered with hammershite to pass the mot.

 

Pogweasel pink tank for extra shite points.

 

Biking is GR11!!! I shall never be without one, or ten as it happens at the mo

[John F]

Ooo, bikes!

 

At last count I've had 57 of them, the vast majority of which were proper 1970s and 1980s shiters. My record is 11 at once, but I've currently just got two... a 1986 Honda CBX750F and a 1982 Suzuki GSX1100S Katana. And, thinking about it, about half of a 1990 Yam XJ900F

[Torsten2001]

I have about 30 of them, no surprise and I'm heading off to Europe on my Triumph Trophy on Thursday I hope. I have had literally hundreds of bikes, in fact I had 120 at one stage and although I've crash dozens of times I have only been hospitalised twice, 1981 & 1985, I think I've sussed it now!

VFR is a cracker but I don't like the Hornet, the CG125 is an all time classic though!

[Craig the Princess]

I had one day as a biker, back in 2008, a friend at work wanted to do the CBT and I thought it sounded like a laugh. Mrs the_Princess didn't think so . So after a mother of a row I head off to it, it was a great day, I'd recomend it to anyone.

 

It took me a while to get the hang of it (about 30 seconds away from being demoted onnto a twist and go scooter , well I had never been on a bike before) but after that it was good. All except the first right turn after lunch when we went out onto the road and I misjudged it and did 200 yards on the, thankfully empty, pavement. Still passed though, but the fear (of my wife) has kept me off them since.

[nigel bickle]

Nice writeup. Love 'em to bits.

If I could only have '1 vehicle' (huh -some chance!) it would be a bike. I've been riding all my life, taught 'defensive ridin'g for the RAC/ACU back in the day. Several near death encounters have pulled me back a bit -but at this time of year they're still preferred transport.

Age now tends to mean I err towards electric start -though.

[Father Ted]

Bikes.

 

Love em to bits.

Would have another tomorrow if the wife would let me - but after the last "tarmac-sky-tarmac-ambulance" episode shes none to keen on me having another. I still have greatly reduced functionality in my left arm. Fortunately I w*nk with my right hand.

I'M Free

[garethj]

Bought the bike for peanuts as a non runner having been off the road for 6 years. Carb clean and fresh oil saw it pressed into daily service. I've coloured the front lamp yellow which gets me seen better whilst filtering through the traffic and modded a little peep mirror so I can fit through the gaps whilst still keeping an eye out for the man.

Great to read everything, but the paragraph above shows you know how to Do It Right

[Spottedlaurel]

I have nothing to contribute, other than to say that was a very interesting read.

 

Regrettably, I fear many bike riders aren’t so thoughtful. Our house is not very far from an A-road which runs through to the coast, and when I hear how fast some bikes go along there at the weekend how there aren’t numerous accidents I don’t know.

[fotorabia]

This an inspiring thread..im gonna have to be motivated towards 2 wheel powa...the Viva is to antiquated...ive got an offer on it..so may well take it...here in NZ we re allowed up to 250cc..so im looking at slightly below that..moped was considered....but 49cc just doesnt ice the cake...

[garethj]

Time passes, what's been happening?

 

I used the bike for a couple of weeks going 12 miles into Luton, 50mpg. It's a doddle to ride, you can lean it miles over and it's very easy. Unfortunately most of the roads are badly surfaced and cornering hard on bumpy roads make my arse go tight. Bike suspension only really works up and down, so cranking the thing on its side makes it only half as effective.

 

Now I've been using it for a week getting to the new job in Cambridge. 42mpg but that's what sustained speeds at "oh dear, officer, I didn't realise" do. Bike aerodynamics are mostly rubbish even if engines are very efficient. I'll try sticking to more sensible speeds on the dual carriageways.

 

The VFR is a pleasant place to be, fast corners are so easy it's unbelievable. Just a touch of countersteering (that's where you push away on the left bar to turn left) and it drops in smoothly, in my mind I'm a racing god. My old ZZR1100 needed quite a shove to lean in but then it was incredibly stable past 170mph. The other thing that's a revelation is the brakes - the ZZR ones were terrible, the CCM640 were average but massive fork dive killed the enthusiasm and the ones on my Super Tenere would make the front dive too, this just squats down and once you've transferred some weight onto the front wheel it pulls up very swiftly.

 

In traffic, the whole idea of a bike comes to life. On an NSL single carriageway road, if the car in front is doing 42mph (why do they pick that speed?) there's no need to hang about behind, a quick twist of the throttle and you're past in places where even 400bhp in a car would struggle. Same thing approaching roundabouts where everyone's doing 10mph and getting aches on the clutch-foot, just whisper past to the front of the queue and zip away first. The saving in time is significant, the saving in stress sitting in traffic is priceless. And as traffic gets worse, it makes more and more sense.

 

If I can get the fuel economy a bit better, I'll be very happy indeed

[nigel bickle]

My old Blackbird is coming off the road at the end of the month (knackered tyres are the principal excuse- but I've been riding it too long and getting complacent. Its NOT a bike to get complacent about).

 

I've 2 old BM's a K & an R -think they'll see me through the remains of the season.

[garethj]

For anyone who fancies a go on two wheels for free, have a click here: http://www.geton.co.uk/content/whats-it-all-about

[messerschmitt owner]

I've a moped - had it for ten years now - but it being nicked has encouraged me to look at bigger scooters - so, despite returning the moped to the roads next week, I am off to do my cbt in the next few weeks and purchase a 125cc Vespa* as my mid life crisis.

 

I'm tempted to go for the 'drive any bike' now licence and perhaps upgrade to a 200 or 250 scooter too but may just stick with the 125 for two years principle.

 

I think another bike will be £50 a year on my fleet policy, so hardly going to break the bank.

 

SWMBO said yes to a Vespa - so, am on the hunt.

 

*other scooter makes are available

[Futuramic]

I have ridden a bike once. I love cars. I have friends that ride them. But I just don't "get" bikes. You get wet and can only cary one friend. There's nowhere to hide a dead body (for which my saloon is ace) and you can fall off. Maybe I haven't been educated enough.

 

It allows me a certain degree of empathy with non-car enthusiasts. I look at them and think "that's a bike" and cannot stir up any more emotion. I've tried. It makes no sense; I even like tractors and vans. Just not bikes. Maybe I've got a gene missing. Interesting write up by the way. I can see the sense.

[hairnet]

ooh harsh on hornets

 

3 600s and 2 900s single cylinder bmw pan euro 850 gs bmw now a kwak versys in 15 years

 

versys 4 secs to 60 125 flat (m6 toll and france are gr9 for speed testing)

 

did 610 miles in 18 hours last weekend to ireland and 300 of that was mway rest were b roads are boreens - 65 mpg

 

when you beat the intercity 125 to the ace cafe you know bikes are a good thing

 

anyone got a yamaha passola or honda melody for sale - old man rode one to cork from manc when they were new - wanna try it..........