Notes from a Trainee Biker

Giving up...for now

2010-06-19T18:23:00.000+01:00

Following on from my last post, I hadn't got round to trying riding my bike again. I had plenty excuses...the weather, time, other things I wanted/needed to do but, in the end, that's just what they were - excuses.After 2 months of putting off riding, I was "definitely" going to try again last weekend.

I help with a youth club, about 8 miles from where I live. On the way home from it last Friday (i.e the day before I was "definitely" going to get back in the saddle) I thought about my bike and riding it. It occurred to me I was just kidding myself that, for now at least, I'd be back riding. I only really took my bike out for short trips to go to places/things I am/did help with. I never quite got the idea or point of my hubbie and I taking taking 2 bikes for a run, even when he had the Pan. Now he has the Wing, why would I do100+ miles on a semi-comfy seat or sit like lady muck on the armchair which is the Wing pillion seat? To me, there's no contest.

Also, I thought, if I haven't riding since February last year, am just putting it off. If I had really wanted to ride my bike again, I would have by now. So, I decided, on that 15 minute journey home, to sell my bike.

My hubbie and I have a friend who is going to get her bike licence, so we gave her first refusal. Last night we popped round with the hornet and she loved it. Sold. I'm pleased it's going where it'll be appreciated and used. Better that than me putting off the inevitable and letting the machine rot in the garden. That's one thing I had decided I wasn't going to do.

I must admit I'm disappointed about this. I went to a lot of effort to get my licence, including passing with 2 cracked ribs and a broken finger. I still have my licence and there's nothing to stop me changing my mind. At the moment, though, I'm happy riding pillion, enjoying the scenery and chatting to my hubbie as we go along.

Bottling it

2010-04-17T08:50:00.002+01:00

I had a go of my bike last Sunday and, bottled it. I managed to get it to move about 12", then just couldn't find the bite again. I had just got myself so worked up.

I'll try again tomorrow, if the weather is kind. If I still think "what am I doing?", I'll have to seriously consider getting rid of it. I like the size and look of the Honda CBF125. I know it would be back to a 125, but if that's what if takes to get back on 2 wheels, especially after what Spot and I went through last year, is no shame.

Where has the time gone

2010-04-09T13:49:00.002+01:00

I haven't updated this blog for ages. No, I haven't foine away, I just haven't had much to say.

The weather has been poor for most of the autumn and winter, so not much riding for either Mr Gerbil or me. I have been out a few times on the goldwing 2-up in the last couple of weeks. I'm really enjoying it, so that's good.

I haven't been back on my hornet. Partly the weather, but also things on it needing attention. The battery had died, despite being in the house and kept topped up. Probably because it's not been used. After several charges and discharges it seems fine. Then, the throttle return cable was broken, do that needed replaced. It's fixed now, thankfully.

I'm hoping on the next 2-3 weeks I can get back on my own bike. Mr Gerbil'll take it somewhere quiet and I'll have a shot. Them take it from there. Hopefully, it'll be fine.

The restriction on my licence to 33bhp has now expired!!! So, legally I could ride Mr Gerbil's bike. I think I may learn to walk before I run.

So, that's what's happening now. Going 2-up on the 'wing tomorrow with a group of other bikes tomorrow. It should be a good run and we're all looking forward to it. Pictures and story will follow.

Back in the saddle again

2009-09-26T08:01:00.003+01:00

The Goldwing was delivered early yesterday morning. That was a laugh to begin with. The driver went past our house twice! My hubbie went outside to wave on his third pass. Yes, we do have a house number.

Anyway, it's not the type of bike for the shy and retiring type, I've discovered. As the delivery driver was lowering the ramp 3 school kids turned to be nosey (I would have). There faces were a picture. Just awestruck, with a hit of wow - that's very cool.

I wanted to head out to see my Mum on it before she left for work. This was the first time I had been a bike since the crash. As I was getting my kit ready and on, I was a little nervous, but really looking forward to it.

It's such a comfie ride, but a very powerful machine. My hubbie had warned me to hold on when he accelerated and I'm glad he did!!!

As we went along the road to my Mum's (she lives about 8 miles away) I took in the sights and sounds. This is a road I travel on frequently in a car. It's so different on a bike. Better visibility, due to being higher. You feel the road in a way you never can in a car. I love it. As we were going along, I thought to myself "I forgot just how much I loved this".

My Mum was well impressed. She was only on the Pan once and loved it. I think she's aiming for a ride on this too!

Everywhere we went there were people admiring the bike. Kids and adults noticing it in a way the Pan (which is a large bike) never was. Where we were parked for lunch, a passerby came had been admiring the bike and came in to ask the staff about it. One of the staff knows us and told the passerby to speak to us, as she knew we wouldn't mind. I think we made his day!

It's looking to be reasonable weather today. I'm busy this morning, but hopefully we can get out for a run in the 'wing this afternoon.

I think there's going to be tales aplenty from the pillion seat of this bike!

The new tourer

2009-09-19T08:44:00.002+01:00

It's now been 7 months since the crash. Since he has been able to, my hubbie's been using my hornet. Until now he had neither the strength nor inclination to replace the Pan.

He's always aspired to the Honda Goldwing. I have no problem with that - a pillion seat that's potentially more comfortable than my car seat and a 1.8 litre flat 6 engine...need I say more???!!!

So, this is to be delivered on Friday...

The offer

2009-09-16T19:09:00.002+01:00

I had a call from my lawyer yesterday regarding the claim following on from the crash. All I can say is I was really surprised how much it was. It's a lot of money.

A bit of me feels a little odd and guilty about getting money I've not earned by "the sweat of my brow", but as both my nearest and dearest and lawyer have said I am entitled to it due to everything I've been through as a result of the crash. And I will also have a 5" scar and titanium plate for the rest of my life.

Well, the main thing is this is another step towards getting this whole incident out of the way. At least the insurers of the driver have done this and my lawyer isn't now advising me to take the case to court. I really didn't want to go down that road if I could help it.

Now, what to spend it on...?

Claim

2009-08-20T18:11:00.003+01:00

Now my lawyer has received my medical report and photos my hubbie has taken of my scar, the claim is now being sent to the insurer's of the driver which pulled out in front of us.

They have been given 5 days - yes, 5 days. I was a bit surprised by that! - to make an offer. If none is forthcoming, court proceedings may be raised. I hope it doesn't come to that. I just want to get this behind me and move on. Until the claim is settled I won't feel I can move on properly.

Annoyed

2009-08-18T13:02:00.004+01:00

Today my hubbie phoned the procurator fiscal office to which the police had referred the charges levelled against the driver who pulled out in front of us. The procurator fiscal makes decisions on whether or not to pursue the criminal case and take it to court.

In the case of our crash, the procurator fiscal has decided not to pursue the criminal case! Apparently they believe it can be dealt with through the appropriate civil channels. I.e. us pursuing the insurers of the driver.

So, the driver caused us to be injured to an extent where we required surgery. Both her car and our motorbike were written off and she could have killed us. What does she get? Nothing. There will be no points on her licence nor a fine. My hubbie and I will have a piece of metal and substantial scar for the rest of our lives.

It's not that I think points and a fine would change things nor necessarily amend her behaviour, but at least the authorities would have acknowledged the dangerous nature of her driving. Personally I would have preferred her to have to re-sit her test. That would have modified her driving.

What I find particularly annoying is if someone's done for speeding, they automatically get at least 3 points on their licence and a £60 fine. Now I'm not condoning speeding, but they haven't put anyone in direct danger. Yet, a driver pulls out in front of a motorcyclist, injures both the rider and the pillion and causes thousands of pound worth of damage and nothing happens.

In praise of...the NHS

2009-08-14T18:01:00.005+01:00

At the moment there's a lot in the press about the NHS, as President Obama is trying to reform health care in the USA. All I can say is good luck to him. I think what he's trying to do is amazing, but he really has a fight on his hands.

Now I'm proud of the NHS. Yes, it's flawed. It's not prefect, but what system is? My recent experience has been an exemplary example of the treatment the NHS provides. My hubbie and I were attended by 2 ambulances with 4 paramedics arriving within 2 minutes of the crash. One of the ambulances took us to hospital where we were X-rayed, examined and given strong pain killers. All free.

We were operated on and had to stay in hospital for 2 nights. We were well fed, watered and cared for by all staff. From cleaners to consultants. All free.

On discharge from hospital we were given a large selection of pain killers to take home with us. All free.

We had follow-up consultants' appointments and X-rays. All free.

We had physiotherapy sessions. All free.

All of this treatment would have cost us thousands, if not tens of thousands of pounds. We are comfortably off, but there's no way we could have afforded all the treatment.

We may not have been covered by health insurance or the whole cost may not have been covered.

The NHS rocks. Also, like many people in the UK, I have friends and relatives who good quality lives as a result of the treatment the NHS provides. Some may be dead or seriously disabled if not for NHS treatment.

And to any American reading this - The NHS to us Brits is a bit like a close relative that drives you to distraction. They are flawed, but you love them, are proud of them and NO-ONE berates them but you. Brits can moan about the NHS, but leave it alone. Oh, and check your facts. Stephen Hawking would not have been left to die by the NHS. In fact, it is because of the NHS he's alive. And he's British.

The report

2009-07-31T19:52:00.002+01:00

My hubbie and I have now received a copy of the second opinion consultant's report. There's no major surprises, though they do read rather similarly. Same injury, near identical prognosis, same hobbies/activities. Yes, we are the same person.

On the back of the report, my hubbie's to see another independent consultant to report to our lawyer about his groin injury. Also, I am to get professional photos of my scar taken, as I stated when I met with the second opinion consultant I mentioned I am self-conscious of my scar.

I don't really want anyone else looking at my scar, especially some random bloke (sorry, hate to sound sexist, but there aren't many female photographers). So, as long as the lawyer is happy with it, I'm going to get my hubbie to take them. After all, he is a trained photographer.

Whether it seems obvious or not to others is irrelevant - I am aware of it and will have to live with it for the rest of my life.

Well, that's all for now.

Second opinion

2009-07-14T18:20:00.002+01:00

As part of the legal proceedings resulting from the crash, my hubbie and I saw an independent orthopedic consultant today.

He looked at our X-rays, asked how we were and checked the movement of our shoulders. We also had forms to fill and give to him. Those asked how the "accident" (I don't like calling it that as it implies no blame) had affected us, in terms of work, hobbies, domestic activities and psychologically. We gave very thorough answers and compared notes to ensure neither of us had missed anything.

I mentioned about the strange numbness I get in my left hand and forearm to the consultant. By checking the difference in the sweat of my left and right hand he confirmed I'd sustained nerve damage. Nice. I'll have to learn to live with these sensations, but it doesn't mean I have to like it.

Now the consultant will submit a report to our solicitor and we wait to see what happens next. Somehow, I think this is going to be a long process.

Will I ride again?

2009-07-12T20:45:00.004+01:00

I swung my leg over the Hornet the other day, just at see how it felt. Would I panic? Would I feel okay? Would I like it again?

Sitting on it was fine. I didn't sit on it and think "no way am I riding a motorbike again". So that's positive. So, I tired gently, while stationary and with the engine switched off, turning the bars. Just to see if I could physically steer (pretty critical, I find). Well....I didn't like that. My left arm was toiling to give me the necessary power to move the bars. Now, prior to the crash, I could move the bars while stationary pretty easily, as I had reasonably good upper badly strength. Now, well, there's just no way I could ride the Hornet. It's a real pain give the effort I put in passing my test and I really enjoy riding that bike. Oh well, at least my hubbie can use it and it's not just rusting.

I reckon I may not ride again for several months, if at all. Even then, I think I'd have to go back to a 125, just to re-build my strength and confidence. That will probably be able the same point as the 33bhp restriction on licence exprires. Oh well, could be worse. I'm walking and talking. And, I don't need to ride.

Yesterday I was out for a walk and a red Pan two up passed us. Well, that was it. I really was quiet freaked by that and had a bit of a greit. Now, anyone who knows me will tell you I don't cry. Well, not never, but very rarely and even more rarely in public. It was strange, though. I have seen red Pans since the crash and heard other coloured Pans, but I think it was the whole combination of colour, sound and 2 up that did it for me. Don't you just love the way the brain works. I'd love to know the evolutionary reason for some things that go on up there.

A couple of weeks ago I also had a near miss in the car when a Royal Mail van pulled out in front of me. I managed (according to my hubbie) a really impressive brake, swerve avoid manoeuvre (as he made rude gesticulations at the driver of the van!). When it was safe to pull over I broke down in tears. 5 months ago, I would have ranted, but I think it's all the psychological damage the crash has caused that's coming out. Better out that in, though.

Good news at the moment, though, is as my hubbie is using my bike, he paid the road tax for it. So that's a plus. Always look on the bright side of life.

Good days, bad days

2009-06-16T19:45:00.002+01:00

Things are really starting to show improvement, in terms of the shoulders (both mine and my hubbies). This is good, though we know it'll be a long stretch until we're back to normal (what ever that is!).

The thing is, sometimes it's not the physical scars that are worse. Both of us have had our dark days. I know I have analysed the wisdom of us taking the bike that day. My hubbie, in some ways, blames himself. If he didn't ride, I wouldn't have been pillion, I wouldn't have been on the back when the crash happened and been injured.

I know it was neither of our faults. Not mine for not saying "lets take the car" nor his for wanting to ride his bike. It was a silly car driver who didn't look. That said, it can be hard not to blame yourself and over analyse things. All of life is full of "what ifs". What's done is done. No amount of "what ifs" will change what happened. We, and the car driver, have to live with the consequences.

I know my faith has helped me a lot during the last few months. God was with us; holding us and standing with us. I know some people would say "if God is with you, why did he allow the crash to happen?". Well, that doesn't have a straightforward answer, but He gave us (humans) freewill. A freewill that gives us responsibility for our actions. Consciously or not, the car driver chose not to look before pulling out in front of us. It may seem strange, but I truly believe God prevented the crash being worse. If we'd been fraction of a second later the car would have side swiped the bike and we would have been much worse off.

We will heal, the bike will be replaced. Everything else...that's for the courts and lawyers to sort out.

No riding yet

2009-05-31T21:45:00.003+01:00

Well, for me, that is. Although I have been given the clear from the consultant to ride, I really don't feel I can ride my bike. Talk about all dressed-up with no-where to go!

It's mainly a strength thing. Also, only last night, I just moved my left arm slightly and I experienced a strong stabbing pain at the point where my clavicle attaches to my shoulder. It's not just sore, it's M&S sore!!! When I get these stabbing pains, the pain subsides after about 10-15 minutes, but I get a strange numbness in my hand and forearm. After last night's pain, the numbness was still there this morning.

With all of that in mind, that's the primary reason I don't feel I can ride at the moment. I'm more likely on the bike to put my arm in an "unusual" position. If I get a stabbing pain on the bike, it could be very dangerous. I need to use 2 arms riding. I can, for short periods in an emergency, use 1 arm driving. It's also an experience thing. I've been driving for 9 1/2 years, but passed my motorbike test just over a year ago. So, I'm more able to deal with things in the car than on a bike.

It's funny, before I got the stabbing pain last night, my hubbie and I had been talking about getting me a 250 to use. It would be a good compromise between the Hornet and a 125, in terms of weight (a Honda CB250 is about 30kg lighter than the Hornet) and power.

Hopefully I improve in time for getting a little riding later in the summer. I'd like to actually wear the jacket I ordered the week before the crash at some point!

Suited and booted

2009-05-24T17:30:00.004+01:00

In theory, I can now ride again. The Hornet's MOT'd and the consultant's given the go ahead. I've even replaced the kit that was damaged in the crash - helmet, jacket and trousers. Of course, the cost of those will be claimed against the insurers of the driver of the car that pulled out in front of us.

My hubbie and I don't need new boots or gloves as those weren't damaged at all as a result of the crash. I know of many people who think we should - "get another pair on their insurance" - but, despite it being the driver's fault, that just isn't the way we operate.

I haven't ridden yet. It's not that I don't want to but I lack strength in my left arm and occasionally get tingles and numbness in my left hand, especially if I've overstretched myself or done something I haven't done since the crash. That can be caused by something as simple as spooning rice pudding from a bowl - I kid you not!!! That's why I haven't riden yet. It's starting to look more and more likely I'll be getting another 125 to build up my confidence and strength before I get on a big bike again.

In other news, my hubbie's probably riding down to Carlisle tomorrow, to test ride a Goldwing. The Honda dealer down their is having an open day and there will be a Goldwing available for test. As the Goldwing is such an expensive bike and there's such a small market, no dealer keeps one for test rides. They have open days and Honda supplies the test bikes. Unfortunately, my hubbie's missed all the open days at the Scottish dealers. The only other way to get a test ride is if a dealer has a second hand model in but, again, none in Scotland have any at the moment.

It'll give the Hornet a good run - 120ish miles each way. Given it's only got 2400 miles on the clock (2002 model), it may be the longest run the bikes had. If he does go for the test ride (weather dependant, of course) at least then he'll know for sure that the Goldwing is the bike for him or not, as the case may be. If it is, he'll be more prepared to travel to buy a decent early model 1800. So, watch this space for updates on the search for the Pan replacement...

MOT'd

2009-05-22T23:15:00.004+01:00

Following our good news at the consultant's my hubbie took the Hornet for it's MOT. It was only out-of-date by a month. Oops! But, it was off-road and we weren't in a position to ride before the consultant said so.

It passed. There wasn't much surprise there, though. I bought it last year, with 1200 (genuine) miles on the clock. That was an average of 200 per year, as it was 6 years old when I bought it. Between the MOT before I bought it and the MOT the dealer did when I purchased it, it had done 17 (yes, 17!!!) miles. From the second owner's house and back.

Due to the really bad weather last summer and the crash, I hadn't been out on the Hornet as much as I would have liked, but I still doubled the mileage!!!

The thing is, although the Hornet's not a big bike, neither am I. Prior to the crash, it was almost on the limits of what I could ride, given my strength, riding experience and confidence. Now, I know it is too big for me, which is a total pain, as I really enjoy riding it.

At least my hubbie can ride it at the moment, so it's not just an expensive piece of garden furniture. In the meantime, I need to build up my strength and confidence, so I can get back on it. In the meantime, I may have to get another smaller bike. Possibly even a 125 again!

I've always go the car, but on night like tonight...well, I would have been on my bike like a shot normally. Ne'er mind, it'll all be okay in the long run.

The all clear?

2009-05-18T21:18:00.003+01:00

My hubbie and I were back at the consultant's today. The X-rays show we're both healing, which is a huge relief. 1 in 10 people with plated clavicle breaks don't heal. I was really worried we'd (or at least one of us) would be the 1 in 10. My hubbie's to o back to see the consultant in 2 months time as his break isn't healing as fast as I am. He had a complex break, with 2 shards of bone as well as the 2 main pieces. The next appointment is just to check all is well. I don't need to see the consultant again. Well, not that one. We see another, independent, one in July for our personal injury claim, but that's "paper work", so to speak.

The consultant seemed a little surprised we hadn't ridden since we'd last seen him, but we did what we were told (not the norm, but these aren't normal circumstances!). Now we're healing, Officially I can now ride a bike. As I say , officially. The Hornet is at the limits of what I can ride in terms of size for my strength and pre-crash ability. Given I get painful twinges in my shoulder when I do something different, I don't want that went riding. Also, I can just get my foot down on the Hornet, which was fine before the crash, but I don't know if I could cope with that at the moment. I might get a smaller bike (a 125 or 250) to build up again. In the meantime, my hubbie is going to ride the Hornet until he gets a replacement for the Pan. He took it for its first run today - for its MOT. It's only a month overdue!!!

Need to get a new lid now. I've replaced everything else, but had been putting off replacing the lid. The other things can go back to the shop if unused, but not the lid. I suppose I was really paranoid I'd never be able to ride again. Now I think I will, but it'll take time until everything is back to normal, whatever normal is...

Back to work (2)

2009-04-30T14:52:00.002+01:00

Well, it was fairly painless. My hubbie and I have been given a phased return to work on a part-time basis. This week we're just doing 4 hour days. Perfect to break ourselves in.

It was quite good being back. It'll get us into a better routine. Also, everyone I've spoken to has been really supportive and concerned about how we've been.

Getting back to normal. Well, normal for us!

Back to work

2009-04-28T22:18:00.003+01:00

My hubbie and I go back to work tomorrow, after over 9 weeks off. We were planning to return last week, when our sick line expired, but our office won't take us back until we've been signed back.

The first appointment we could get to be signed back was yesterday. It was an appointment for my hubbie (I couldn't get one until today!!!), but I went along as we've got exactly the same thing wrong with us. Thought, as getting signed back is a formality, we could get both our forms at the same time.

Well, the doctor was happy to sign both our forms, but had never heard of any business insisting their employees get signed back. I've since discovered there used to be a back to work form the doctor signed, but that was done away with years ago.

My hubbie then called the person in HR who we've been dealing with. Now, we had been offered part-time return to work. Basically, get paid our full wages, but over up to 8 weeks work part time hours. As we'd been offered that we had to have a caveat on the sick line (that's all it was, it just had a "expiry" date), stating we were suitable for a phased return to work.

So, we headed back to the doctors, apologised profusely to a somewhat surprised doctor, and got an additional note added. I didn't think going back to work after being off sick would be so much hassle.

I've looking forward to going back. I need a bit of routine back, though tomorrow will be hard as we get up for work at 5:30ish!!! Haven't done that for over 9 weeks. We're starting on 4 hour days, so by the time we've checked out e-mail in-boxes, gone through stuff on our desks, caught up with notices on the intranet and had meetings with HR and our respective line managers, it'll be time to come home.

In other news, my hubbie has just found some "interesting" vegetables in the fridge. Mmh, yes I need a routine - my cleaning schedule is all to pot!!!

Frustation

2009-04-16T17:22:00.005+01:00

The accident - and I hate calling it that, as it happened due to gross carelessness - has really annoyed me. It's all the things I discover I can't do:

Birdwatching. Yeah, it's sad, and not very rock and roll, but I really enjoy birdwatching. Okay, I can do it, but not if I need to use my binoculars. Mmh, that'll be almost all the time. Although I can get them up to my face and they are really modern lightweight ones, I can't hold them to my eyes for any length of time.
Motorcycling. That's an obvious and, as I said in my last post, not until at least the middle of May.
Driving. Still haven't driven the car since the accident. Although my shoulder's much better and improving by the day, I still get pain when I get dressed and put on a jacket sometimes, so I'm worried I'd hurt myself changing gear and be concentrating on not hurting my shoulder, rather than driving safely. Not good.
Cooking. Well, until yesterday. I love cooking. It gives me a lot of pleasure cooking for my hubbie and I and for others. That said, until yesterday, I may have hurt myself while lifting a pan (even with my good side) and been totally put off dinner by the pain.
Gardening. I'm not the world's greatest gardener, but I try to keep my garden tidy. I had to get my parents round to cut my grass the other day.
DIY. Again, it's said, but I like building stuff. My hubbie and I have done most things in the house. We've friends who are doing a self-build on a former church and, prior to the accident, we would go round to help them out. Unsurprisingly, we won't be doing that for a while. And it's just at the point when our mates could probably really do with the help.
Photography. My hubbie and I really enjoy photography. We've a selection of film SLR cameras and a digital SLR, with a selection of lenses. Just over a week ago we were at a friend's wedding. As we enjoy photography and, even if I say so myself, pretty good, we made an album up of the photos my hubbie took. Ususally we'd both be taking photos. On Saturday, my hubbie's sister gets married and he's taking the part of father of the bride. So, I hope I've improved enough to take some photos. I'll be really annoyed if I can't.
Climbing. About once-twice a month, prior to the accident, my hubbie and I would take ourselves off to the EICA to do a bit of climbing. We were improving, abet slowly, but we were starting to really get into it. Goodness knows when we'll be able to go climbing again.
Camping. My hubbie and I enjoy camping. It's cheap, fun and a great way of seeing this beautiful country. We usually go camping for our main summer holiday. We love the freedom of just throwing the tent, sleeping bags etc in the bck of the car and heading in a general direction. I don't think that's going to happen this year. Some nights I can't get comforatble in my own bed, there's no way I'd manage on a camp mat. Also, we have a 4 man tent and it takes a reaonable amount of effort to erect, especially in a bit of a wind. There's no danger we'd manage it at the moment.

The list probably goes on, but you get the picture. Although it should be only short term, it's life limiting. Also, it's frustrating having to ask others to do gardening, lifts etc for me. I know they don't mind, but it's not the point. If the person who pulled out in front of my hubbie had actually looked I would be posting about the runs we'd been on our bikes - it have been pretty good weather for biking of late.

Apparently, we can claim from the other side (the insurers of the woman who caused the accident) for loss of amenity, which includes all of the things I've listed above. I'd imagine there will be potential wrangling over how much our loss of amenity is worth. I really don't care. No amount of money will make up for not being able to do the things I, we, enjoy. Things I need for my sanity and to remind me there is always more to life.

The other thing that's getting to us both is do we replace the Pan? Yes, we want to get back on the horse, but the longer the wait, the harder it'll be. Will either of us manage it? My hubbie's a big guy and even he is planning to ride my hornet for a little while to get used to using his shoulder for biking again. I may have to get a smaller bike (125 or 250) to build-up my confidence and ability again. Argh!!!

Earlier this week, my hubbie was looking at the potential replacement for the Pan. He'd always said when the Pan needed replaced, he'd want to get a Goldwing. From my prospective, it's a comfy looking pillion seat. It's also a 1800 engine flat 6! Apparently my face when I realised that was a picture of delight! That said, even an early model is £4k more than the Pan was worth. It's a lot of money to put to another bike, but hey, life's too short. We discussed the pros and cons of the Goldwing verses the Pan. Then I realised what was really annoying me. It was having to have that conversation at all. Again, if someone had looked at a junction, there would be no reason to replace the Pan and we wouldn't have even been discussing it. Well, not yet anyway!!!

Anyway, that's my rant. I'm sure everything'll be okay in the long run, but at times it doesn't feel like that.

No biking today

2009-03-20T16:11:00.002Z

Or for another two months. That's what our consultants have told us. Fair enough, especially when they pointed out the screws holding our clavicles together will strip out of the bone if we over do it - nice!

But, it's a little frustrating. I mean, just look at the weather. It's never usually this nice in March. I remember 5 years ago today (it was our wedding day) it absolutely tipped it down. My hubbie and I, before the accident, had been planning heading away for a few days for our anniversary. He'd even suggested, if it was reasonable weather, we'd do a bit of touring on the Pan. Sod's law that it's glorious sunshine eh? Knowing our luck, when we are able to ride, it'll be really heavy rain.

I suspect we'll be so itching to get back in the saddle not much'll hold us back!

Post-op update

2009-03-12T10:23:00.002Z

My hubbie and I are got home following our operations last Friday. His was performed on Wednesday, with mine on Thursday. I think we both caused issues for the surgical teams as our ops took about double the usual time. As I've said before, we don't do things by halves!!!

We're glad the ops are over - we both saw them as the first step on our road to get our lives back. Now the physical healing process can begin. In just over a weeks time, we have follow-up appointments with our respective consultants and, a couple of days later, the physiotherapy begins.

During our hospital stay, the staff were amazing - if somewhat surprised to have a married couple with the same injury, getting the same operation. It's never happened before. One of the theatre nurses suggested to me we'd need to get matching anoraks now!!! No - that won't be happening.

We've follow-up consultant appointments next week. The physiotherapy starts then too. The pain's subduing, which is good. At least the pieces of collar bone aren't moving any more, though we're both aware of this foreign object inside us, which is a little disconcerting when you're body realises it!

One bonus of this all, and you have to look on the bright side, is people turn up to do our dishes and take our ironing away. My hubbies more enthusiastic about that than I am and he doesn't generally do either!!!

It's sad, but I like housework (not very rock and roll. eh?). But, I don't want anything to get in the way of our recovery. We're not to use our arms or left shoulders at all for at least 2 weeks. Believe me, that's easier said than done.

Someone asked us the other day what we'd rather be doing and both of us said we'd rather be at work. If we were at work, we wouldn't be signed off sick, so the accident would never have happened. That said, we can't change the past, only look to the future and what the replacement to the Pan will be.

No operation today

2009-02-25T18:20:00.002Z

My husband and I had our operations called off. There were no beds for us. It's a pain (in more ways than one!), but other people's needs were greater than ours. We are walking wounded. The ops have been re-scheduled for next Wednesday.

That's all. The paper work for insurance claims are starting to come in. Again, another pain, but it'll get done in due course. Most of the paperwork will be my husbands, but I'll need to claim the replacement costs of mt kit (helmet, jacket, trousers and, potentially, gloves).

On the other hand, we walked away from a car/bike crash. We've got off lightly and everything will get sorted out in due course.

RIP Pan 1

2009-02-24T01:15:00.002Z

Yesterday my husband and I visited the police recovery agency to collect our belongings from the Pan and inspect the damage. I think a picture tells a thousand words -

As you can see, the forks are bent, the front fairing is totally knackered, as is the side panels. We also saw the brakes are no longer functioning - believe me, they were on Saturday! - and the head stock (thing that attaches headlight, dash board etc to frame) is bent. Given this damage the frame is almost certainly bent too. The 1300 Pan European has an aluminium frame, and it's nigh on impossible to fix on of those when it's bent.

Bottom line is, we're pretty certain it's an insurance write-off. I've told my husband I do want to get on my bike and behind him, though given our injuries, that won't be for 2 or 3 months anyway. That said, if the insurance company says the Pan is repairable, I wouldn't trust it. I'd always doubt how well the frame etc had been repaired and would not have confidence in it. My husband thinks the same and would dig is heels in with the insurance company, if necessary.Hopefully, it doesn't come to that.

In other news, we are both getting plates surgically inserted to hold our collar bones together. Without them we won't regain full use of our arms (i.e. no raisin our arms above shoulder height - just think how often you do that!). I'm hoping the plate has a high ferrous content so we can stick fridge magnets to our collar bones!!!

All in though, especially now I've seen the damage to the Pan and the car that pulled out in front of us, I firmly believe we were being looked after. We walked away. Our injuries will heal and the bike's replaceable. Everything else is optional.

Please look!

2009-02-22T19:50:00.001Z

My husband and I were having a really good day yesterday until just before 6 o'clock. We'd been in Glasgow for the Scottish model railway show. Great show -brilliant layouts with amazing levels of detail. Pete Waterman was even there (yes, as in Stock, Aitken and...) doing book signing.

But, at 6pm about a mile from home, a driver pulled out in front of us from a side street without looking. We were on my husband's bike at the time.

My husband had realised the car was going pretty fast approaching the junction, so backed off the throttle. Meanwhile thinking to himself "please look, please look". She didn't. We hit her car square on and the next thing I was on the road in severe pain down my left hand side.

I had to get up. I couldn't see my husband, as I had been thrown in front of him - we think he'd become a launch ramp for me! At that moment all I could think was check my husband was okay (in relative terms) then tear a strip off the driver which pulled out in front of us.

My husband was on the road too; just next to the bike. He had pain in his shoulder, but other than that was pretty much okay, that was it! I was going to rage at the driver.

That was until I looked at her. She looked absolutely terrified; she was scared of what she'd done, especially as my husband wasn't getting up. At that moment, my heart melted a little. I couldn't have anything for the lady except pity. She'd screwed-up big style, but she had so much remorse on her face.

Strangely, all I want to do when I next see her is to let her know I've forgiven her. I did as soon as I looked at her face last night.

We both have broken our left collar bones. I'm fairly sure I've cracked 1 or 2 ribs. I did last year and the pain I'm having breathing now is exactly the same as then. Oh well, these things happen. It could have been so much worse!

The motorbike's almost certainly a write-off, but it's replaceable - we're not. Mostly, though, I pray the lady with whom we collided doesn't feel too cut up.

First time for ages

2009-02-19T21:40:00.001Z

I was out on my own bike for the first time since November. I took it canny (carefully for non-Scots!), which was just as well given the road I went out on was awash with mud, salt and assorted other grime.

Hopefully this spell of dry not totally freezing weather continues and I can get out more often.

Brrrrr

2009-01-01T21:54:00.002Z

I've just about de-frosted from today's run. The was scenery beautiful and the roads were especially quiet (mh..I wonder why?). But, good grief, it was cold. The maximum the Pan's thermometer read was +2C. Given it generally reads about 2C above the actual air temperature and there was the wind chill factor...well, enough said.

There were another 10 bikes we saw, though I was the only pillion. Probably as all the other wives told their OH's to have a good time. I'm still glad I went out. It makes me appreciate central heating!!!

New Years day

2008-12-31T16:29:00.002Z

Tomorrow, my OH and I are planning going for a New Year's run on the Pan. Yes, the overnight temperature's to be -3 and the maximum tomorrow 2. Hey, it's all about layering. Besides, the roads will be dead, after all this is Scotland and he and I will be about the only people without a hangover!!!

Garden Ornament

2008-11-23T20:43:00.001Z

That's what my motorbike seems like at the moment. I was out for a short run last Sunday and that was it's first trip for 3 or 4 weeks. Now it's not going anywhere as, to be frank, have you seen the snow?!

Battery Issues

2008-11-04T18:42:00.004Z

The other day, I was heading out to a meeting. While I was getting into my bike kit, my OH said he'd get my bike ready (cover off, unlocked, turned over). I'd just come downstairs and he told me to scrap my plans - the bike wouldn't turn over. The battery was so dead that the reallies wouldn't even switch on...not a good sign. I changed again and took the car.

While I was out my OH (he's a total star) took the battery out of my bike and placed it on charge. That didn't help. On my return, we took the battery off charge and placed a voltmeter across to test it. During testing (about 30 seconds) we saw the voltage drop. The battery was bereft of life; dead.

The following day my OH phoned a local motorbike dealer/repair shop to check they had batteries for a Honda Hornet in stock. Yes - 10 in stock and £33. Prefect.

Just to be sure, I took note of the battery code for the battery which had been removed from my bike. That's when it all became interesting...

As a little aside, other than slightly larger wheels (17" up from 16") and a slight frame change to take that into account in 1999 (1 year after the initial launch of the Hornet), there had been no major change of the Hornet until the new Hornet was launched last year. With that logic, I would have thought all hornets would have the same battery.

I went into the bike dealers and asked for the battery by code - YTZ 7S. The salesperson didn't recognise the code, so asked what kind of bike it was for - 2002 Honda Hornet. She said that she'd never heard of the Hornet having that battery, but checked the parts book to be sure (I may have written down the wrong code). No, the code I'd given her was correct. Bizarrely, the only Hornet model year which took that battery was the 2002 model. The ones before and after take a YTX 7LBS, which apparently is in half the motorbikes in the UK!

The salesperson was totally confused. Why would only that model year have YTZ 7S, when all others had YTX 7LBS? She checked the dimensions of the two batteries, and their ampage. If they were the same, I'd buy the battery that fits all other Hornets. Unfortunately, the height of the common battery is 27mm taller than the one which came out of my bike. It looked as though it wouldn't fit.

Given what I know about the Hornet, I thought this really odd. Why would it have been necessary to change the size of the battery box for 2002 only? I decided to go home and check the dimensions of the battery and battery box.

The battery's dimensions were correct with those quoted in the parts book. Right, looked as though I'd have to order the same battery as had been removed from the bike. That was until I inspected the battery box. For some bizarre reason, known only to the people in the Hornet factory, there was a piece of rubberised foam (about 1" thick).

My OH popped back to the bike dealer for the YTX 7LBS battery. The rubberised foam was removed and the new battery fitted. What a palaver.

Money burning a whole in my pocket

2008-10-21T14:37:00.002+01:00

I've lost a fair amount of inches lately. As a result, I need a new bike jacket, as my current one is falling off me.

I went to visit my favourite bike accessory shop, Forth Gear, just over a week ago. They were closed to upgrade their stock computer. Then, the next weekend, they were on holiday (I did check their website before travelling that time!). How dare they!!! Especially when I have money to spend...

I'll just have to go when they get back from holiday.

Nearly gave up

2008-10-07T13:15:00.006+01:00

On Sunday my OH and I were out on our bikes. We stopped off for lunch at a burger van and as I was leaving the car park, I dropped my bike.

I was so annoyed with myself. The previous Sunday, I really felt my riding was starting to come together and I was getting used to the bike etc. Dropping my bike made me think perhaps I'd got it all wrong - I shouldn't be riding a motorbike.

I also couldn't pick my bike up as I'd never been shown the technique and was so upset. I think that only made my opinion of my riding even worse.

My OH helped me right my bike and I told him all my frustrations with riding. Feeling I hold him back when we're out together; some days everything comes together really well and others (like Sunday) where it all goes wrong; feeling really uncomfortable moving off at slow speed, especially when a tight maneuver is necessary. The list went on a bit more than that, but that's the main things. I was all for selling the bike and being done with it.

My OH told me how good I was getting and that I wasn't holding him back. Also, I'd been through more than that (cracked ribs; 5 failed tests) and got back on the bike. He had a good point, but what if I dropped my bike and he wasn't there to help me and no-one else would?

Once I'd calmed down a bit, my OH moved our 2 bikes so he could give mine a going over to check there was nothing broken with it. Visually, it was fine, except a small scuff to the off-side crash bung (it did it's job, then!). It started okay and my OH got on it to move it off and stop it in a very short gap (5 metres or so) to check the throttle, clutch and brakes all worked okay.

That's when he discovered what was causing some of my problems with slow speed control. Once the revs are set and the clutch starts to be released to get the engine to the bite, the revs drop by about 1000rpm. The times I'd had an issue I had thought more like a car driver pulling away, where the bite can develop as you move off (think about it, when was the last time, other than a hill-start you got to the bite with the hand brake on at a junction?). Also, I wasn't using enough revs. More revs before engaging the clutch would mean even when the revs dropped, there would still be sufficient revs for me to move off safely.

The drop in revs seemed a bit strange, but I've now discovered this is a "feature" of a restricted bike. Here was my OH and I thinking it just affected top end speed. A bike salesman had mentioned something about it a while back, but we hadn't totally twigged what he meant.

Discovering this made me feel so much better about my riding (can you tell my riding school was top notch?!). Now, everything that as causing me an issue finally made sense. I tried moving off and stopping with this "new" way of finding the bite with higher revs. I instantly felt in control. Up 'till now, I often felt the bike was riding me (especially at slow speed and tight maneuvers) than me riding it.

We rode to an industrial estate so I could try the new technique. Wow, that felt so much better. I even managed to move off from behind a parked car safely, starting from the bike being about 1/2 a car length away from the car and parallel to the road. Before Sunday, I would have moved the bike to be at an angle before moving off. I had been able to do this with the EN, but it was a much smaller bike.

My OH also found a path with grass either side of it. He rode the Pan onto the path and horizontally parked it (intentionally), turned round and said "right, pick it up". I now know I can lift a Pan European and my Hornet. It's all about technique. That makes me more comfortable. Strangely, I think if I'm less worried about picking my bike up when I drop it, I'm less likely to drop it in the first place!

As we rode home, I felt so much more comfortable. My OH noticed I looked more in control of my bike and more comfortable. I just wish I'd know all of this before Sunday. Well, we learn by our mistakes, don't we?

Got stung

2008-09-30T20:35:00.002+01:00

At the moment, as a result of fitting heated grips to the Hornet, I don't have bar ends. This doesn't affect the handling, but looks odd. My OH thought bar ends from a Pan would fit, as they are designed to have heated grips. He removed one from his bike and they fitted well. In particular, the throttle didn't foul.

I found a used set on ebay. The seller stated they were undamaged, so I bidded and won them. Bar ends are keyed on the inside, so they wont turn as a result of the vibration from the bike. When the set I bought via ebay arrived, 1 of them had obviously been cut at this key point with a hacksaw. I contacted the seller who, in effect, stated "you got them cheap, tough".

I'll just have to chalk that one down to experience. I've bought and sold on ebay a reasonable bit and haven't had any issues that the seller wasn't willing to help solve, so it won't put me off. I did leave them negative feedback, though!

I did find aftermarket bar ends for the Pan at Busters, so I shall be ordering a set from there. The question now - what colour?

Driving like an angel

2008-09-29T21:56:00.002+01:00

The Hornet doesn't have a very big tank. 12 litres before reserve on the original bike (the latest model has a couple of litres extra). Consequently, it's not a high mileage between fill-ups.

Having had a look around various forums discussing the tank range of the Hornet, I must drive like an angel. Many people are stating they get about 100 miles before reserve (around 40 mpg). I have now discovered I'll get around 135 miles before reserve (about 51 mpg).

I must be driving like an angel! At least at my rate of fuel consumption, taking my bike, when on my own is more efficient than taking the car, which gives around 42 mpg. In these times of £1.12ish per litre petrol, every little helps!

Coffee Morning update

2008-09-27T16:41:00.003+01:00

Today's coffee morning went really well. In total, we made about £200; not bad for a couple of hours work.

Back in June the Young church sent off a cheque to Riders for a sum equivalent to the cost of providing a motorbike to a health care worker. Given the original target for the project was to raise that sum in a year, the project has gone really well. Now, the additional money is forming the "spanner fund". With this we hope to fund a tool kit which contains all the tools a mechanic will need to keep the motorbikes running well. I think this is about £800 worth of kit, which also covers some of the costs of training the mechanic. As the mechanics are local, Riders is also providing local jobs and security.

As a result of the queue going off to Riders, the young church received a lovely letter from Riders. This had the stories from a health care worker and a mechanic. It's really amazing how these fairly simple things are making such a great difference.

The health care worker is the sole health service for an area around the size of Fife, where the roads are dirt tracks. Before the motorbike, she was barely able to visit 2 villages per month and could never get to a person at the outskirts of her district quickly if they needed urgent medical attention. Now she can visit her whole district in a month and can do more than treat the current needs, but also give health care advice, prevention being better than cure. All this because the motorbike gives her a reliable mode of transport.

The mechanic was locally trained by Riders and is now training other locals to be mechanics. She also trains the health care workers in the routine maintenance of the motorbikes, increasing their reliability. So, not only is Riders helping people get access to health care, it's also providing jobs and training to local people.

It's a bit like that saying. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a day. Give a man the means to catch the fish, feed him for life. That seems exactly what Riders is doing and it's great.

More Fundraising for Riders

2008-09-19T10:17:00.002+01:00

The young church is having a coffee morning on Saturday 27th September as part of their fundraising for Riders for Health. There will be cake and candy aplenty.

Pop in if your in the area. It's at Linktown Church, Nicol Street, Kirkcaldy.

See you there.

Fitting Heated Grips

2008-09-17T14:58:00.010+01:00

I'm not a dry warm weather only biker. Given this summers weather, that is probably a good thing. Last year, with the EN, although I would have like heated grips, the bike did not have enough extra capacity in the alternator for them to run. As the Hornet has a larger alternator (with it being a larger bike), there is enough power, so this morning I (with a little assistance from my OH) finished fitted heated grips to the Hornet.

Heated grips do exactly what they say on the tin. They are replacement grips (the black rubber bits on the handle bars) with a heating element which warm the fingers. A temperature controller gets fitted to the handlebars, allowing control over the amount of heat that's generated. The advantages of heated grips is I can wait later in the year until I need to wear my thicker gloves (thicker gloves make it harder for feel the controls) and I can ride my bike more comfortably in colder weather.

The grips I was recommended to buy were made by a company called Oxford. My OH had fitted then to other bikes he had owned (the Pan came with heated grips fitted). Also, Oxford make a lot of aftermarket motorbike accessories and have a good reputation. During my research (to ensure their quality was still as high as it had been and to get the best price), I came across a brand caller Roxter. Their heated grips seemed identical to the Oxford Hot grips, but about half the price. I searched various advice forums and talked to my brother-in-law (who is also a biker) and they looked identical as they are identical. Roxter are made by Oxford. As you can imagine, for 50% of the cost for the same thing, I bought the cheaper version.

To start, I removed the bar ends, cut off the original grips and polished up the bar to remove the excess glue. I then test fitted the new grips to get them in a position I could reach all my controls and they aren't fouling anything (i.e. brake and clutch levers). The best positions I found were as shown in the following pictures:

It's clearer on the photo of the offside (right hand) bar. The bit that sticks up at the end of the grips is the wiring. With it in this position on the offside bar, it would not foul on the front brake and the throttle would also operate correctly (motorbikes' throttles are operated by twisting the offside grip. The nearside grip was fitted with the wiring under the bar. On top wouldn't allow me to operate my full-beam switch properly.

To secure the grips, the instructions stated to use grip glue and some was supplied. My OH had not used this in the past, as it dries very quickly (or can) and them final positioning of the grips would not be possible. He had used Impact adhesive in the past, as he has friends who used to race bikes and apparently this is the best thing. Usually when using impact adhesive, the glue is applied to both surfaces and allowed to dry before both surfaces are impacted on one-another. With the grips, about 2/3rds of the bar was glued and the grips slid straight on, without waiting on it to dry. We were particularly careful when fitting the offside grip as if glue had got into the throttle mechanism, I would have issues!

At this point, before the wiring was inaccessible, we plugged the grips into the controller (there are, quite literally little plugs). There's also a wire that goes directly onto the battery to supply the power. This was attached to the battery via the optimate cable I've fitted to the bike (and another one of those plugs). We plugged the power supply into the controller unit, started the bike and...

nothing

no, absolutely nothing happened.

There's LEDs on the controller and these light up to show the grips are on and to indicate how high the temperate is, They weren't lighting up. We checked the instructions. No, we didn't appear to be missing anything. We checked the power supply, battery and alternator using a volt meter to ensure the bike was delivering sufficient power. It was. We checked the grips for resistance. This was fine. Blast, the controller is goosed. So we e-mailed the supplier to ask for another controller.

He replied very quickly and said try pressing the on switch of the controller for around 5 seconds. That sounds dubious, but it worked. Wouldn't it be nice if they said that in the instructions. It's a useful safety measure, as the switch can't be knocked to accidentally switch the grips on.
The controller is attached to a small bracket with the 2 screws and the bracket is attached to the handlebar via the assembly that holds on the clutch lever (see photo). Supplied with the grips are 2 pairs of bolts to replace the bolts which hold the clutch assembly. I needed to use the longer pair. As you can see, to looks very neat.

The power supply cable was threaded under the tank, in the gap the other bike wiring is in. This was accessed by lifting the tank at the back of the tank (that is, the end of the tank furthest away from the front of the bike. To lift it, switch the fuel tank off (that's the middle position; before reserve). Remove the seat and the 2 grey side panels at the rider's knees position. Under the back of the tank is a bolt that holds the tank to the frame. Remove this and now the tank can be tilted. This is best done just before the tank needs filled!

I have a Haynes Manual, so it made working out where the wiring runs and how to lift the tank easier to work out. Probably the best £20 I've spent on the bike. It's already paid for itself and I've only had it for 4 months.

That's the grips fitted. I could do with a couple more cable ties to tidy everything up, but I used it today and everything seems fine. Only one small problem. I could get the nearside bar end back on, but not the offside one, as once it was on, the throttle wouldn't turn. Not a major problem, it just looks a little odd. The new grips are a little longer than the original ones. I'll just need to get a new set of bar ends. I had been thinking about it, as the ones I have are a little scuffed.

Now, I'm ready for winter.

Indicator issues

2008-09-14T08:14:00.003+01:00

On Thursday, I was going to a meeting. While I was getting changed into my biking kit, my OH was getting my bike ready. He was just about to start her up when he noticed one of my indicators hanging off. Talk about me being all dressed-up with nowhere to go! I had to run back into the house and get changed again. I took the car.

There's a rubber bush that the stalk of the indicator goes into and this had perished. The bike's 6 years old and the indicator that was affected is under the exhaust, so gets quite hot. My OH fixed if with some modeling epoxy - that indicator isn't going anywhere now. It's great, as I'm back on the road.

Broken Spring

2008-09-10T14:06:00.002+01:00

Last week, my OH was doing someone in his office a favour by going to Mothercare to get gift vouchers for a colleague's new baby. On the way back, there was an awful rattle from the car as it coughed up part of the front nearside spring. This must have been the car's way of celebrating getting 100,000 miles on the clock.

Fortunately, it was only a small part of the spring, resulting in the car sagging at the front nearside corner by 5-6mm. There was a little difference in the handling, but nothing major. That said, we didn't want to use the car too much and the spring needed replaces.

So, this is the third day we've commuted to work on the Pan. The mechanic we take the car to didn't have any space until Tuesday (they're always very busy). We thought we might get the car back yesterday, but the spring wasn't going to arrive until today. No great shake, as we have the 2 bikes.

The commute has been not too bad, though I still wet myself when my OH is filtering is a relatively narrow gap. Though this morning, it was fairly windy and we have to cross an exposed bridge. That was quite hairy in parts and I wasn't even driving it!!!

The good news for the commute home tonight is the wind should have died down. The bad news is it should be raining. We both "prefer" rain. Wind is too destabilising.

Just hope the car's ready to be picked up tonight. Although neither of us mind commuting on the Pan, we'd rather be in the car. There's a radio, heating and shelter from the elements. Okay, you can't filter, but that's the choice we make.

My gammy knee

2008-08-31T18:03:00.002+01:00

As planned, we took our bikes to church today and left them parked outside for both the normal service and the afternoon one, with the Moderator. It makes a statement and the Moderator's wife (who we'd met before) recognise the Pan.

I wasn't able to ride my bike home. I have a bit of a gammy knee. It's behaved itself quite well for the last few years, but is aggravated with damp weather. This year has been rather moist.

During the service, I was doing one of the readings and was "aware" of my knee; no worse than normal when it becomes "present". As I was helping to clear up the church after the Moderator's service, I turned and felt a pain like my knee being stabbed. Not pleasant, but not always lasting. This time it was. A couple of times after that I was standing, but my knee stated not supporting me. I sat down.

Although it's my right knee, I didn't want to risk riding my bike home. I'd hate for the stabbing pain to recur during one the country road stretches. The initial logistics were my OH would ride my bike home, drive the car to the church and I'd drive home (driving's okay; no weight). A friend took pity on me and gave me a lift home and my OH a lift back to the church. My OH still rode my bike home. I hope it gets better, I'm loathed to go to the doctors. Doctor's are for ill people. An occasionally sore knee isn't an illness. Somehow, I think I'm going to get "advice" from people on what I should do...maybe I'll take it.

Normally, this only lasts a couple of days, so I'll worry about it when it really starts to get in the way of me doing things.

The mad dash.

2008-08-26T21:21:00.002+01:00

On Sunday, despite the recent miserable weather, the forecast was wrong - it was a beautiful day. Ordinarily, when it's dry, we like to take the bike(s) to church. We get a run and, even taking both bikes, it still uses less petrol than our car (a 1.4 litre polo).

Being a trainee biker, I can't get from our house to church as quickly as my OH. Also, I was on the readings, so should have got there sharp to check the bible was bookmarked at the correct points. We live 15 minutes drive away (not including unlocking, getting kit on and locking bikes when we get there time). Given the time we had to get to church (we'd slightly slept in), I decided we should go two-up on the Pan - we left at just after 10:40; the service starts at 11am.

We arrived in time and I did have time to check everything was bookmarked. The other advantage with travelling two-up is I will wear just jeans (with the waterproofs in the pannier, just in case). Much better when it's really warm. Before you wonder, yes I would wear my bike trousers in church. I have on numerous occasions. At least once, when doing readings. There are some who don't approve (they don't approve of my OH and I wearing jeans to church, either), but they are in the minority. If I was bothered what I wore to church, I wouldn't be going for the right reasons. (Small rant over).

I'm hoping for dry weather on Sunday. The Moderator of the Church of Scotland is visiting Kirkcaldy presbytery. He's the yearly "head" of the Church of Scotland. My church building is being used for a special service in the afternoon and as my OH is on projector duties in the morning, he's offered to run the projector in at the Moderator's service. It will be interesting to see the members of other congregations faces when they see the bikes. They'll either love them or loath them. As for the Moderator - I've met him and he's pretty cool. I'm sure he'll not mind. If he doesn't, tough.

I've only gone and done it!

2008-08-24T19:38:00.003+01:00

I needed a new helmet. The old one wasn't too bad, but was uncomfortable when worn for long periods of time. Well, when I say uncomfortable, that's possibly a little strong, but I did notice I was getting a sore neck. Although my old helmet was not heavy, a few grams makes a difference, especially with the additional weight of the mic and headphones for the Autocom.

Naturally, I visited my favourite bike shop - Forth Gear in South Queensferry. After trying a couple of models, I found the Shoei Raid II fitted best and was most comfortable. Sold. I had a choice of colours and designs, but plumped for plain black - so much easier to accessorise!!!

A few days later, my OH and I went for a ride two-up on his bike. Only then did I realise what I'd done - we now appear to have his and her helmets!!! My excuse is his is a different model. Not that you'd know unless really close...perhaps I should have got the slightly satanish design - that definitely would have made a statement arriving at church!

P.S Hi Jo.

Giving my Other Half an Earful!

2008-06-25T19:06:00.003+01:00

If you've been following this blog, you'll remember last year my OH bought a Starcom rider to pillion communication system and the various issues we has with it, which resulted in him taking it back for a refund.

For a variety of reasons, he hadn't acquired another system and it was starting to get boring and dangerous for me on the back, especially on long runs. So, at the start of the month he bit the bullet and bought an Autocom system.

Our initial impressions of this system were really positive. The microphone is on a boom, so it can be positioned close to the mouth. On the Starcom system, the microphone is stuck to the front of the helmet. Also, the cables to connect the parts in the helmet to the brains of the system under the bike seat are much more substantial than the Starcom ones. They also have raised "bars" on each end of the connectors, making it easy to connect to the system, even with gloves on.

The setting-up of Autocom (in terms of volume, vox sensitivity etc) seemed much easier than
with Starcom. I've no idea of the technicalities of it, when we went out for a set up run my OH only had to pull over once to make adjustments. I think we pulled over 4 times in 3 miles setting up Starcom...

We've now used Autocom during a few runs and it works really well. There's little is no wind interference (when we've experienced it, its been windy) and we can hear each other
clearly.

It seems Autocom is really well designed, by bikers, for bikers. The bit that impressed me was in the instructions for "in-house" basis setting up was to run the system with a hoover on in the room to replicate wind noise. Great attention to detail, as far as I'm concerned.

Now that I've experienced both of the main rider to pillion communication systems, I can safely say Autocom outshines Starcom by a mile.

Scottoiler Fitted

2008-06-20T13:09:00.003+01:00

Over last weekend I fitted a Scottoiler to the Hornet. This is a handy little device which constantly oils the chain, while the engine's running. Although I cost me just over £60 and took about 3 hours to fit, it will more than pay for itself as the chain and sprocket will last longer.

I've really impressed with the Scottoiler as a product and business. They supply the parts which will allow fitting to most bikes. As for bikes that require more specialist parts, they will supply them free of charge (now that is virtually unheard of these days). Also, their website has very good instructions of fitting the Scottoiler for virtually every make of bike out there.

For more information about Scottoiler see:

www.scottoiler.com

Additions to my bike

2008-06-08T17:00:00.002+01:00

I've now had the Hornet for 7 weeks and am really getting into it and enjoying using it. It's all getting a lot more natural for me.

I've added a couple of accessories to the bike. They, in my humble opinion, make it look better and make maintenance easier. I've added a fender extender to the front mudguard, which helps stop too much road dirt getting into the front of the engine. I've also added a hugger to the rear wheel. This looks really good and, more importantly, stops the road dirt, salt and grime being thrown up from my back wheel into the rear suspension.

I've also bought a Scotoiler. This continuously oils the chain, so the chain and sprockets will last longer. That hasn't been fitted yet. My OH and I were going to do it yesterday, after we'd bled the brakes in the Pan and he'd changed the air filter. Changing the air filter took longer than he expected (it was supposed to be a "5 minute job"...), as 2 of the retaining screws were rusted in place and weren't for budging even with the application of penetrating oil to loosen them. The joys of "quick" jobs. The Scotoiler will be fitted one evening this week, with a but of luck.

Kirkcaldy Farmers' Market

2008-06-08T16:44:00.002+01:00

Last week the young church held a stall at the local farmers' market, to promote the project and raise some money. It was a beautiful day (very hot in bike gear!), which meant the market was very busy; all the better for us.

There was a lot of interest, particularly among small children. They got to sit on either my or my OH's bike (or both), that got the parent talking and the message of Riders' work passed on. All in, on the day we raised just under £180, which we were more than pleased with. The following link has a photo of the young church (with help from some older church!) and a write-up from Riders:

http://www.riders.org/n_details.aspx?nwId=161

The young church's project is going so well that they have already reached the original target of raising enough money to buy a motorbike for a health care worker - £1450. The project has until the end of the year to run, so the young church has decided to spend the rest of the year raising money for a Spanner Fund. Thus, they will have paid for the transport and maintenance of the bike. That's what Riders is all about.

The National Gathering - One Word - Fantastic

2008-06-08T16:21:00.005+01:00

That's what everyone thought of the National Gathering. There was an amazing atmosphere, with everyone being very friendly and welcoming. I really have been to nothing like it.

This is the tent all set up. I wish we'd taken the photo when the event was open, as there were loads of people around. The bike did draw a lot of attention (the stereotypes of Christians and bikers don't usually mix, but perhaps they should). There were a few times when I was going around the other parts of the event I heard people asking their friends if they'd been to the tent with the motorbike (fame, at last).

So, the main aim of taking the bike had been achieved; the hook to get people interested and promote the work of the church and exchange ideas. We also showcased the work of Riders as outwith the motorcycling community, very few people have heard of them. Everyone was really interested and impressed with their work. Some people even donated money towards the young church project, which was very generous.

Church Without Walls

2008-04-29T21:38:00.005+01:00

The Church in Scotland are holding a huge event over the May holiday weekend at Ingliston (next to Edinburgh airport). As part of this event, individual parish churches throughout the country are being able to showcase their work in a tented village.

My church has purchased one of these tents (which after the event will be packed up for use in emergency relief work). My OH and I have "volunteered" to be involved in the setting up of what goes in the tent. Naturally, we're going to promote the Young Church's project, Riders for Health. Prior to my acquisition of the Hornet, I was going to take my EN to the event, as it is similar to the bikes that Riders supply to health care workers. That plan's now scuppered, but never fear, the Pan European is going instead! We're going to park it outside the tent and bedeck it with information about Riders. I thought the organisers wouldn't be impressed, but we asked permission and they said yes. How cool is that! I will report how the event went after the weekend.

EN125 owners manual

2008-04-29T21:32:00.002+01:00

For those of you who own a Suzuki EN125 and are looking for an owners manual (for general maintenance etc), the Suzuki GS125 Haynes manual is very useful. The engine, frame and suspension are identical. There's usually plenty of used manuals on eBay. The GS125 didn't change from 1982 until Suzuki stopped production in 2002, so the date of the Haynes manual for use on an EN isn't critical.

EN125 Review

2008-04-28T14:39:00.001+01:00

Under the various motorbike photos at the right of this blog is a Site meter icon. This monitors activity on the blog. Don’t worry, it just shows me how many hits, page view and country of origin the readers are from. It also allows me to see how the reader got to my blog (i.e. the referral page). Where this is a Google-type search, it will tell me the search term. Through this I have noticed one of the most popular searches is for a review of the Suzuki EN125. Although I've made various comments about the EN, I haven't written a proper review of the bike, so here goes.

The Suzuki EN125 is a learner legal motorbike, which comes in 2 versions - totally naked or with a small screen and belly pan (the EN125-2A and EN125-2 respectively). Although it is manufactured under licence in China, it is not to be confused by many of the poor quality Chinese bikes flooding the market, as it is made to full Suzuki specification using all Japanese manufactured Suzuki parts.

The EN is a grey import (to the UK); it is made for the Mexican market, so the headlight points in the wrong direction (as Mexico drives on the right). This is easily corrected using the screws at the back of the headlight. I only discovered this hadn't been done when I came to trade in my EN. Given I had bought the bike from a local dealer, I assumed this would have been corrected (not best pleased at Scott Murray Motorcycles for that one!). Also, the original speedo and odometer reads in kilometres. A special adaptor has to be fitted to change these to miles, to comply with British legislation. Mine was fitted with one when I got it.

I found the EN an easy bike to ride, with smooth handling, decent enough brakes and controls which were easy to find with gloves on. Full-comprehensive insurance was pretty cheap, at just under £130 for the year (helped with me being an early 30s, female with 7 years no-claims discount on my car insurance - many motorbike insurers will take this into account where you have no no-claims discount). It has a gear indicator and fuel gauge, both of which proved very useful. The fuel gauge seemed pretty accurate, but I still re-set the trip counter when I topped her up, just in case. In terms of fuel economy, it was a very efficient machine - I got 200 miles between top-ups and never had to put the bike onto reserve. That works out at about 20 miles per litre or around 100 miles per gallon.

Buying a grey import can cause problems when getting parts, however as the EN is made by Suzuki, the parts can be obtained reasonably easily, if you know what to look for and were to get it. The obvious place, I thought, was where I bought the EN from, but when I needed to get new mirrors and a brake lever following my accident, Scott Murray Motorcycles didn't have any spares in stock, didn’t know how long it would take to get them in and didn't know how much they would cost (made me wonder what they did know!). That led me to seek alternatives…

Ebay is an obvious choice, with a reasonable number of EN specific spares (at a good price) available. Also, the EN is effectively an evolution of the GS125, the equivalent GS part could be suitable. I found all the items I would have needed for basic servicing were also GS parts (up to an including the chain and sprocket). The replacement brake lever I got for the EN was for the Suzuki RV125 (also known as the van van). The new mirrors were generic motorbike mirrors from ebay, as the screw holes are a standard 10mm thread.

The EN benefited from both centre and side stands. This is very unusual with 125 bikes, but I found the side stand useful for getting on an off the bike (it's a confidence thing) and the centre stand great for maintenance, especially great for oiling the chain. The disadvantage with the side stand is it is not switched. On most British spec bikes, the bike cannot be put into gear with the side stand down; when you attempt to put the bike into gear with the side stand down, the bike will kill the engine. The lack of a switch lead to me to fail one of my tests, as I didn't kick the side stand out of the way prior to carrying out my u-turn - oops. I didn't do that again!!!

The other feature I liked about the EN was the luggage rack at the rear. It wasn't designed for carrying anything too heavy (3kgs was the weight limit, if I recall correctly), but it allowed me to fit a top box to the bike, in which I could carry a change of trousers etc. With bungee cords I would have been able to carry a spare helmet or tied down a bag (if I didn’t want to carry a rucksack on my back).

There's a small amount of storage space under the seat, which I used for storing my disk lock during travel. I could have probably fitted a thin pair of waterproof trousers under the seat, if I didn’t ride in waterproof bike trousers anyway.

After 8 months of riding in almost all weathers, but always stored under a bike cover, the exhaust was starting to show slight signs of rust, where the chrome had been damaged either with the Suzuki stamp or where it was attached to the frame. It was only slight spotting and I was to deal with it, but traded it in instead. Other than that, there were no apparent problems with the bike.

The main thing that lets this bike down is lack of power. Even as a learner I found this frustrating, as it didn’t really like going above 50mph; not great for heading along a dual carriageway. Although I could get it up to 70mph (downhill, with a following wind), that was on the rev limiter. Also, when going up-hill in country roads, I would have to drop the gears to second and rev the nuts off the engine to get 30mph.

Personally, I think the EN is a great learner bike and would also be ideal for city commuting too, if you didn’t want a scooter. It's reliable; cheap to insure and run; and parts are reasonably easy to get, once you know where to look. Also, I think if Suzuki started making this bike for the European market too, it would make a killing. Maybe with the new motorbike test being introduced in October, the market for 125 motorbikes will increase and, with that, a greater range of 125s from the Japanese manufacturers.

My New Toy

2008-04-27T21:25:00.004+01:00

They say that boys don't grow up, their toys just get bigger. Well, I don't believe that bigger toys should just be for them...

This is my new bike; a 2002 Honda Hornet. I picked it up from Cupar motorcycles last Friday. It was quite scary to begin with, being both the biggest and most powerful (despite the restriction) bike I've ridden. The nerves weren't helped by my OH and I parking our bikes in horizontal formation just outside the dealership - oops!

After we got our bikes vertical again, I really thought I had made a HUGE mistake. If I couldn't get it away from the dealer, how would I manage. Once I got over my fright (as that was all that I'd given myself, along with a very bruised pride!), my OH drove the hornet to a quiet residential street, so I could get used to the clutch etc. I wish we'd thought of that earlier. Never mind.

I rode it home safely, which is about 30 miles. On the way home, we headed to my Mum's to show it off. She had a seat and loved it! I told her she'd just have to get a bike licence. (As you may have gathered, my Mum's quite cool).

Since picking the bike up I've covered approx 200 miles, replaced the clutch lever (which was bent following my horizontal parking incident), added an optimate plug to the battery and fitted crash bungs. I fitted R&G crash bungs as these were recommend. They are a little more expensive than others I could have got for the Hornet, but R&G make them specifically for the bike model and test them at race days. Also, they look pretty good too.

Roll on the good weather and good riding.

Tales of the Unexpected

2008-04-18T12:20:00.002+01:00

Most types of shopping fill me with a stoical, yet reticent attitude - "I don't like this, but as I need X, I'll have to just get on with it". The other thing I find about shopping is when I am on a mission to buy something, I can never find what I want, but when I'm not really looking, the ideal product jumps into view. This happened following my first proper run since passing my test.

Sunday was all planned; my OH and I would go to church in the morning on our respective bikes and head out on a small run on reasonably familiar roads. As I something to return to Cupar motorcycles (the Suzuki dealer in Cupar), we planned the route on the basis of passing that way. I had already decided I would like to get a slightly bigger bike as the EN 125 is a great little bike, but show it a hill, even in town, and it'll be bouncing off the rev limiter in second gear. Great for a learner, but if I kept pushing it the engine was probably going to die. Okay, so I needed a bit more power, but what would fit; not just a novice biker, but a short one too. The best way to find out what I would be comfortable on was to sit on a few bikes.

The previous day, we had been in Glasgow. There's a Honda dealer there, so we went for a browse. The dealer didn’t have anything second hand bikes that were suitable, as they were too tall or not suitable for restriction to 33bhp. The guy at the dealer was really helpful. He explained which bikes were suitable for restriction. Apparently restricting a bike to 33bhp doesn't make a huge difference to how the machine drives and handles, but the top speed it reduced to 70-80mph (no autobahns for me at the moment!). The main issue when restricting a bike is how much torque the engine generates - the more torque, the better. My OH's line about this is "You buy horsepower, but drive torque". When a bike's restricted, it makes little or no difference to the torque.

Okay, so that cleared out that restricting a bike to 33bhp wasn't as big an issue as I thought it would be - there are kits for a large range of bikes and they are easy to fit. The next problem was what could I (excuse the phrase) "get my leg over". Again, the guy at the dealer was great. He showed me a couple of the bikes Honda make which are (as he put it) primarily aimed at the new biker, as they are easy to ride, confidence inspiring and can easily be restricted, if necessary. He encouraged me to have a seat. I tried out the CBF500, CBF600 and CB600F (no typo, they are different bikes). Although the 600 bikes have a larger engine (usually with bikes, the numbers indicate the size of the engine), they felt lighter. It's all down to how the engine's laid out and the frame etc. Anyway, they all felt very comfortable, but were brand new. I, as a general rule, don't buy brand new vehicles; I prefer someone else to take the hit on the depreciation of the vehicle. Also, it was only 4 weeks since I'd passed my test and I was only starting to look at the market…

Cupar motorcycles have an excellent reputation. The have been Ride magazine's recommended dealer, in Scotland, for 6 of the last 10 years (I think). Ride magazine is a motorbike magazine (as you may have guessed) with high standards. Also, my OH had bought his Suzuki Bandit from there and they were excellent with that. Besides, I had the item to return. Once that was dealt with, we had a browse of the bikes. The only machine below 33bhp, which wasn't a 125 was a Honda CBF250. I had thought about getting one. It wouldn’t be too big (in terms of weight and height) and I wouldn’t have to worry about getting it restricted. However, after the information I have gleaned on Saturday, my plans had changed - why not sit on a few bikes and see how to get the one I really liked restricted. Apparently one of the most popular bikes to be restricted is a Suzuki SV650. Cupar had a couple of them second hand and my OH pinned down a salesman, so I could have seat and see what I thought. I also told the salesman I am on a restricted license and enquired how much it would be to get a bike restricted (I didn't explain the height - it's quite obvious!). Shockingly, the restrictor kits cost £300ish pounds - significantly more than I had expected (I didn't expect them to be cheap, but still…). However, Suzuki is currently doing an offer where they will pay for the restrictor kits on a range of their brand new bikes. Looking at the cost of second hand unrestricted and then putting a restrictor kit in was looking less appealing, when compared to brand new with the restrictor kit fitted for free.

This led me to sit on several other Suzukis, which are part of this offer. A few of them were a little too high or the riding position wasn't comfortable. Things didn’t look great, but I was only having a look at the market and at this point had only sat on 4 bikes. Then the salesman happened to mention they had a second hand Honda Hornet (aka CB600F), which had a restrictor kit and was ready for the showroom - would I like to see it. Nothing ventured I thought.

The minute I sat on the bike, it felt a very comfortable riding position. The bike is low mileage, has a full service history and was a great price for what it was. I totally loved the feel of it, but would buying it be a rash decision. This called for a "bottle of juice" moment. This entails telling a salesman (any will do - we've done this to car, computer and camera ones) we need to have a think and go for a bottle of juice. We usually do get a bottle of juice to drink while we discuss the product.

My OH has a 3G phone, so while I went to purchase the said bottles, he did some surfing of the net. It looked like Hornet was the "perfect" machine in terms of cost, reliability etc. A quick check of our finances showed we could afford for me to trade up, so long as Cupar was willing to take the EN as a trade-in. Although the EN is a great bike for learning and pottering about in town, I was aware as a grey import, selling it privately may not be easy.

Cupar were happy to take the EN (subject to a workshop check) for a reasonable price, all things considered. So I bought the Hornet. I'm leaving early from work to pick it up today. I have to admit I'm a little nervous about riding it. It much bigger than anything I've ever ridden and is an unfamiliar machine. I just need to take it canny and I'm sure I'll be fine.

My First Run

2008-04-05T17:14:00.003+01:00

Today, I finally went out on my bike, without my L plates!!! Okay, so it was just down to my Mother-in-law's, but it's a start. The weather wasn't too bad. Dry and bright when I left, though there were a couple of hail showers when I was out; fortunately I wasn't caught in them. They'd hurt.

It was weird, though. I would have thought that given it's the same bike that I've been ridding since the end of July last year that ridding once I've passed my test would be the same, but it's not. It's something I can't put my finger on, but I think it's partly knowing I can ride a bike and also I feel more relax as it doesn't feel though I'm constantly being watched, due to the lack of L plates.

Let's hope I can get plenty of miles and experience under my belt over the next few months. Then I think I'll be in a position to start looking for a slightly bigger bike; probably a 250. In the meantime, I intend to have fun on my current machine!

Not fair...

2008-04-03T21:36:00.003+01:00

But, it most certainty is wet and windy. It's now 3 weeks since I passed my test and I haven't ridden my bike since. The weather has been foul. I can handle some rain, so long as it's not throwing it down, but wind; it's awful.

Roll on the better weather. Hopefully this summer is drier than last year...

Legal at Last

2008-03-28T13:38:00.002Z

My new driving licence, with the motorcycle entitlement, arrived yesterday. At last, I'm legal. Roll on some good weather, so I can get out and ride!!!

Got there eventually

2008-03-13T18:08:00.002Z

Today, I sat my bike test for the sixth time and, finally, passed. It wasn't so much of euphoria I felt, but relief that I had finally been able to show the examiner that I was capable of riding a motorbike.

My OH commented that I might need to change the name of this blog - I still think I'm a trainee biker. For a start, I am on a restricted licence, so I can't ride a bike with a power output above 33bhp. I am old enough to have done direct access, but lets face it, it took 6 attempts to pass on a 125. I'd have never got there on a big bike.

Now, as much as I really enjoy riding the EN125, and I can get it to 70mph (on a hill, with a following tailwind, while red lining the engine), I would like to get something will a little more power. I know there are restrictor kits out there, which restrict the bike to 33bhp, but I'm still not sure I'd be happy riding a big bike. I'm only wee and didn't think I've the confidence for a big bike.

I'll just have to save my pennies and keep an eye out for a nice 250 machine. In the meantime, I'll have fun on the EN. It was a great feeling taking the L plates off this afternoon!!!

The Scottish Motorbike Show

2008-03-09T08:00:00.004Z

As members of the Pan Clan, my OH and I were helping to represent the club at the Scottish Motorbike Show. This was the first time we had been for 4 years. We know it was definitely 4 years ago, as it was 1 week before we got married. Anyway, the Clan had to be on site (the show is held next to Edinburgh airport) before 8:30, as the show opens at 9am and there shouldn't be any vehicle movements once the public start coming in (for obvious reasons).

The Pan Clan, we have now established, is the only club with an outside pitch. Okay, the outside pitches for owners' clubs and charties (Rider for Health were there selling raffle tickets to win a brand new Ducati 825, but I digress) may be free. Also, the last time my OH and I were there, there the site of the Pan Clan pitch was perfect, as there was a lot of stall holder/exhibitors/demonstrations etc going on beyond where the Clan had pitched, so anyone going to see those things had to pass the Pan Clan's pitch.b But, from what we (when I speak of we or us, I mean my OH and I) saw, the Pan Clan really need to re-think their strategy, however, I'll get back to that.

On Friday, some of the Clan went to set up a mini marquee, so at least we had somewhere to retreat to, because when the rain came on, it was with a vengeance! I can safely say yesterday wasn't the best day for us to go to the bike show, as the forecast was for showers (well, that's one expression for them!), but we had already promised to help his Mum with a couple of things and we need to get my bike back on the road, so it was yesterday or not at all.

Once the Clan was set up, some of the members went to have a look around the show. We stayed, in case interested parties came along, but the heavens opened, so we were in the marquee (by the way, when I say mini marquee, I mean large tent, it's the labels on the article that described it as such, anyway, back to the story), watching the path at the front of the "tent" turn into a burn (small stream for those of you reading outwith Scotland). During this time, no-one was outside; even some of the burger van staff had headed inside.

During a "dry" spell, we went into the show and could believe what was saw. I don't known the names of the buildings, but the first one we went into had a balcony and the last time we were there it was full. This time it was totally empty. That building had the classic bikes and, if it wasn't for them, it would have pretty much been empty. The classic bikes were stunning, though. I'm always particularly impressed with any classic vehicle that's still being used for it's intended purpose, even if only on high days and holidays, and many of the classic bikes are still being ridden. I really think it's such a waste when a vehicle becomes a trailer queen. Someone's spent a lot of time, effort and money getting the machine up and running, but it goes onto the back on the trailer, it driven to a shown, placed on special carpet (I kid you know, I've seen it and, sometimes it's better stuff than I have in my house), but never used. What a same, but that's my personal opinion.

Back to the show. The other building (yes, there were only 2 building in use this year), had representation directly from the all the major manufacturers, showcasing their products, except Honda. There was a very small, corner plot representing Honda, but it was backed by two of the local dealers, not Honda itself. I know this irked some of the Clan, but I think it's partly what Honda expects their dealers to do and partly the Scottish show isn't important at all. I know that won't go down to well, but it's the truth.

From my point of view, the whole show was less about family motorbike related entertainment and more to do with selling products/services to the punters. The show cost £15 to get into (£12 is you paid in advance). Apart from 1 stunt rider outside, there was very little entertainment. Okay, so it was easier to compare bikes at something like that, as they (almost all) were in one place, but to play £15 to be sold things. If I'm interested in buying a new motorbike, say, I'll go online to research the market and have a rough idea of what I want, then go to the appropriate dealer to have a look at that bike. The same goes for helmets and any other bike related kit. But, I hear some of you say, often the stalls sell products at a discount rate. From what I saw, that may have been the case, but the saving wouldn't have covered the cost of the admission fee, parking and fuel to get to the show. Besides, the wonders of the web is you can shop around there for the best deal.

And another thing, it was appalling to see that some organisations seem to think that in the early 21st century they need brolly dollies - scantily clad women - to sell their products. Now, some of the organisations that felt this was necessary had hired women who appeared to be professional models. In some respects, I think good on them, as at least they are being paid a decent wage to be there. However, worse was the organisations which had bought their female staff very short skirts, lace stocking and the like (or even worse, hot pants and bra), to attract the punters. If your goods and/or services are that good, you shouldn't need to do that. Personally, if I worked for such an organisation, they would be told were to stick their job and I would take them to an employment tribunal for constructive dismissal. My OH was a union rep in a former life and knows that with the right evidence, in that situation I would win.

So, will I be back to the show. Not for the foreseeable future. From what I have gathered, the show was much better before Motorcycle News took it over. Also, their charges are high, so it's less worth stall holders time/hassle etc being there, so less for the paying public to see. They then don't go, so less stall holders turn up and the show just gets less and less popular. I'm just glad we didn't have to pay. It definitely wasn't worth £30. My OH commented he'd have rather spent £30 on something from Forth Gear and hung about their shop all day. Colin and Jackie are a good laugh, the shop's very well stocked and we would have had something worth £30 to show for it. Oh, well, I just hope some of you read this before the show and maybe you'll think twice about wasting your well earned cash.

What's that burning smell??!!

2008-03-03T19:19:00.003Z

A couple of weeks ago, I was going to Kirkcaldy, to help with the Wednesday lunches my church serve. As it was a dry day and I only needed to transport myself, I decided to take my bike.

The church has a car park at the front, but it's gravel (there is a large majority of bikers who will avoid gravel like the plague). I managed to get the bike parked on the concrete path next to it, but my foot slipped on some gravel I hadn't noticed. The bike didn't fall so much as I realised I couldn't hold it up, so horizontally parked it.

It couldn't stay like that (obviously), but I managed to get the bike back in a vertical position with a little pushing and heaving. I have been told there's women out there who can pick up a Goldwing on their own. Well, bully for them!!! Besides, there isn't very many places on my bike that I can get a handhold to make things easy.

I digress though...

Once I'd done my bit at the lunches, I headed for home. Throughout the journey, I could have sworn I could smell something burning. I stopped about halfway along the road, but couldn't find anything (admittedly, I didn't get off the bike). I found the problem once I got home and I was changing out of my bike kit. Can you see the problem?

Yip, I had managed to melt my trousers (note the £1 coin, for scale). I don't know how I managed it, but I must have knocked against the hot exhaust when I was picking up my bike. Fortunately, I was wearing my bike boots, otherwise the melted plastic fabric would have adhered to my leg. Now, I definitely would have known all about that...

I thought I might have to buy a new pair of bike trousers, as the melted bit was threatening to run, but my OH used a bit of the bag my bike cover came in to patch them. He's made such a good job that it's barely noticeable and, if anyone did notice, it looks like a bit of re-enforcement. That saved me £100ish. Just as well my OH's good with a needle and thread - a button is my only sewing prowess.

Looking back at my posts, you would think I'm either really careless or unlucky. Unlucky, I hope. I also hope my luck's turning...

Riders for Health

2008-03-01T19:25:00.003Z

Let me introduce you to a great charity. Riders for Health. They provide health care workers, in Africa , with reliable transport solutions. Mainly, these take the form of motorbikes. Given the "road network" (I use that phrase in the loosest possible sense - I've walked significantly better quality footpaths), these are the most effective modes of transports. The models that riders provide are specifically designed for the African market, so are cheap and easy to maintain.

That's the key to Riders' success - maintenance of the fleet. All the health care workers are trained to ride their bikes on the harshest of these roads; shown how to do daily checks and roadside repairs. They are also supplied with the appropriate safety clothing. On top of all of this, Riders also has workshop garages, where mechanics take care of the servicing and more major repairs of the fleet (I say fleet as, in some areas, they also provide 4x4s). The mechanics are locally trained, so it helps with the economy.

One of the best items Riders provides, I personally think, is something they've called an Uhuru. this is a motorbike and sidecar combination, but the sidecar is a stretcher, effectively making the Uhuru an ambulance. It gets better, though. The Uhuru can also be fitted with a water pump, operated off the back wheel, thus providing the area the it's visiting with safe, clean water. Joined up thinking, or what?

My church is currently fundraising for Riders, with the aim of donating at least 1 motorbike. It's amazing how taken with the whole idea of the scheme people are. I even know people who I would describe as not totally anti-bike, but certainly not pro-bike, who think Riders work is amazing. If you watched Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman in "Long Way Down", you would have seen just how great Riders' work is, and just how challenging the riding is.

Well, that's my plug - for an organisation I really admire. Click on the link at the side for more information.

I hate diesels

2008-02-29T08:18:00.005Z

I don't want to sound cocky, but yesterday I was riding really well. I was doing my pre-test run and it felt as though everything was falling into place...I knew I was going to pass.

But, then disaster struck - on the way to the test centre, I hit a diesel spill on a roundabout. The bike went from under me and both of us went skidding along the road. Fortunately, I had the instinct to let go of the bike, so once it was on its side, I wasn't under it!

The bike sustained a few scraps and lost a mirror. I thought I was perfectly okay to sit my test - that'll be the adrenaline then - but had to borrow one of Pro-Scot's bikes, with 5 minutes before the test...definitely not enough time to get familiar with the controls.

I failed my test, though I wasn't surprised by that in the slightest. Once the adrenaline had worn off, I didn't feel up to the ride at all, especially on an unfamiliar machine. I did get a great boost from the examiner, though. I told him what had happened just before the test and he was impressed I had went ahead with it. He also said that apart from the gross error I had, my riding was really good. I obviously get really nervous and need to try to forget the examiner is behind me. I did appreciate that.

If you're wondering, I started to move at a set of traffic lights, but they had filter lights and my direction had not been indicated to go. I couldn't believe I did that - I have never done that, not even in the car when I was learning. I know I have failed the minute I did that and also knew it was because my mind wasn't totally on the on in hand.

After the test, I phoned my OH to let him know what had happened. As you can imagine, he was only concerned with me and not the test result. I headed to Pro-Scot to drop off their bike, wait for my OH and book another test slot. Then I took my glove off...

I thought my had was a bit sore. The top of the middle finger on my right hand (yes, I am right handed) was really swollen (about twice normal size) and black! |Yes, black, so badly bruised that there was no evidence of blue there. At this point I thought I should visit Accident and Emergency to get it checked out. I have effectively a sort of clot in my finger. I'm to keep my had elevated as much as possible and take 400mg of ibuprofen ever 3 hours! If my nail goes yellow or black or my finger goes red I've to go back, as then I'll have to get a needle stuck in my finger so I can get whatever's in it drained. Sounds unpleasant!!!

When I woke up this morning I was aching all over. My knee is still really swollen - I managed to put a hole in my bike trousers (thank goodness for armour) - and I have more bruises on my right hand side than you can shake a stick at.

Today, my OH and I are going to various bike shops to get the parts my bike needs to make it legal again. No, this hasn't put me off, but I still hate diesels that leak...

Update (1st March 2008):
Yesterday I didn't feel very well at all; breathing, in particular was posing a bit of an issue. After much deliberation (given I haven't been to the GP for nearly 4 years) I gave NHS 24 a call and the nurse told me to go back to the hospital I was at the previous day. I have now been diagnosed with a cracked rib (or possibly 2). Very painful, especially when I breath, laugh or cough. Nothing out of the ordinary, then. I'm to take it easy for a couple of weeks. Still, at least the right bike clothing stopped my injuries being significantly worse!

Gutted

2008-02-15T17:01:00.004Z

Today I sat my test for the fourth time - you can't knock me for giving up - and failed again. This time, I was riding really well during my pre-test ride.That came from my instructor and he's really pedantic and lets you away with nothing. So, from him, it's a big complement.

The test was going reasonably well. I'll admit I was really nervous and was being a little more cautious. But, that's not a bad thing. Then, I got to a mini roundabout and that's where it all went wrong...

I had been told to turn right. So, I was giving way to my right, as you do. The traffic was really heavy, so I knew I'd have to take the first gap I had. A corsa coming towards me was indicating left (to turn into the road I was on) and slowing down to take the bend. Right, I thought, better take the chance, or you'll be here all day. I started to go, but all of a sudden, the corsa decided to go straight on at the roundabout.

I knew I had failed immediately, but finished the test (thankfully, it was nearly over). The examiner told me I had failed and explained what for. He was really nice and I think was also disappointed he'd had to fail me.

Initially when I'd left the test centre, I was raging (that's Scottish for very, very angry) and really annoyed with myself. I felt I was never going to pass my test. I seriously was contemplating jacking the whole idea of getting my bike licence in and selling my bike. But I spoke to my instructor again (he was dropping off another trainee at the test centre). He was gutting for me and reassured me I could ride and to get myself booked on another test.

So, I'm not giving up. Hopefully, the next time I post, it'll be to let you know I've passed.

Strange letters

2007-12-05T20:12:00.001Z

Last week I received an interesting letter from Pro-Scot, regarding my training...

With one thing and another, I haven't been out on my bike much lately. After failing my test for the second time in September, I was a bit down hearted and really annoyed with Pro-Scot.

When I booked my training, I booked myself on the fully guaranteed course. This should have meant I received free training from Pro-Scot until I passed. Well, other than the 2 hours (minus instructor's lunch break - yes on my time!), I had had no formal training in 6 weeks. No ideal.

Following the fail, I headed back to the Pro-Scot's HQ, to get booked in for another test and hand in their high-viz vest. At that point I discussed my concerns, in particular the lack of training between tests. Basically, the person in charge of booking the motorbike lessons at Pro-Scot fobbed me off. His bottom line was the DSA set the tests and he can't book additional test. While I accepted that, I couldn't accept the lack of training in between tests.

At the time, he either couldn't or wouldn't book another test for me. Another trainee who had failed earlier that day couldn't get booked in either. I was told the office person would "call me".

I waited 3 weeks. The next available test slot was going to in December - almost 3 months since my last test. I had already pretty much given up on my training through Pro-Scot by this time and although I had a long conversation with the office person about the service I felt I had paid for, as opposed to the one I had received. Consequently, I said I would have to think about it.

I had a long chat with my OH and decided to get the miles under my belt and go for my test again in the New Year.

Then, I didn't hear anything from Pro-Scot until a letter arrived, asking for the test fee, as I was booked on a test on 5th December. This was the first I had heard of it. I was tempted to just ignore the letter, but my OH phoned Pro-Scot on my behalf.

After his long discussion with the office manager, it turned out the person dealing with the motorbike bookings wasn't dealing with the bookings properly. 2 examples she gave were the longest I should have waited for a re-sit was 2 weeks. Prior to the motorbike office person starting at Pro-Scot, at least 2 test slots per day were kept open for re-sits. He wasn't doing that. Also, he wasn't telling people about bookings or changes to them. Strangely enough, he's no longer with them.

The up shot of this is I am getting a full days training in mid January and Pro-Scot are paying for my test. Better get practicing...

Black Hands

2007-09-18T19:44:00.000+01:00

Last month my OH and I decided it was about time we visited his sister and her fiance in Crewe. She moved there at the beginning of March and, short of an overnighter a couple of weeks later, we hadn't visited since. As her fiance works weekends and night shifts, the best weekend for them were either of the last two weekends. As we were both free this weekend just gone, it was decided to go then.

My OH wanted to take the Pan, as there's no point having a tourer and not touring. I was happy enough with that, as I wouldn't have any driving to do. As much as I enjoy driving, I hate motorway driving. Seeing as Crewe is 280 miles away, motorway driving is necessary. My only concern was I might fall asleep with nothing to do...

Our plan was to head into work and do a 3 hour day (which is the smallest permissible day - we have very flexi-time) and ride down from Edinburgh. We packed our bags the night before and got up sharp to get the bike packed and ourselves kitted up. The journey into work was painless enough as the roads are quiet at the time we left and familiar.

After our "day" at work we headed out of Edinburgh on the A701 towards Biggar. This is a lovely road - fairly quiet, a little twisty to let my OH play and the quickest way towards the southwest of Scotland from Edinburgh. We stopped at Biggar for lunch, where we discovered a church-run community centre which does good cheap soup, filled rolls etc. Duly refreshed, we headed south, towards the M74.

The remainder of the journey was mainly motorway, apart from about 10 miles between the end of the M74 (at the Scottish/English border) and the start of the M6. After about an hour of riding, my OH felt my helmet hitting his back...3 times. This is when he realised I had fallen asleep. As yo =u can imagine, falling asleep on the back of a motorbike is dangerous. He squeezed my leg to get my attention. That woke me up and I adjusted my position to stay awake. We pulled up at the next set of services to stretch our legs and for my OH to have a rest.

Our last stop was at Lancaster services - just for a stretch of legs and comfort stop. As this is (usually) an hourish from Crewe, my OH phoned his sister to let her know where we were and our eta. Unfortunately, we weren't aware of the broken down lorry blocking 1 carriageway of the motorway. This resulted in the final stage taking closer to 2 hours and my OH having to filter for most of that. At least we had that option on the bike.

On the Saturday evening, my OH took his sister's fiance for a run on the bike. He used to have a bike before he met my sister-in-law, but bought a car so when she visited he could take her places. He has been thinking about getting another bike and really liked the Pan, so might be a convert. It's a much better bike for couples than the sporty bikes he used to own.

As we had a long journey ahead of us on the Sunday, we headed off just before lunch. It was a bit windy, but (at that point) dry. Then we hit Cumbria and the heavens opened. Although we wear fabric gear, it's not totally waterproof - not much is at 60mph with driving rain. To make matters worse, we hadn't packed our waterproof gloves. Mine are fairly new and they got so wet the dye ran out of them and dyed my hands black....lovely.

My lovely black hands.

Once we were was wet as we could get without jumping straight into a swimming pool, the rain stopped. I love British weather!

The journey, I must admit, was not the most pleasant experience I have every had, but it hasn't put me off. We won't forget our waterproof gloves again and will be investing in all-in-one waterproof riding suits. They're not attractive, but I'd rather be dry. It was very cold being wet. At least we got there and home safely and gave bike a good run. I wonder where we'll head next?

Curtain poles!

2007-08-30T13:52:00.000+01:00

On Monday, as my OH and I got home from work, I overheard 1 of the local children saying to one of their friends "that's a really cool house; they have 2 motorbikes". Looks like our coolness factor has increased since my latest acquisition!

Since then, I as my OH had promised his Mum he'd fit a curtain pole the next time he was round, I used that as an opertunity to go for a practice run on my bike. As we were getting kitted up and the bikes unlocked a wee girl from up the road was really interested and was asking lots of questions:

"Why are you taking both bikes?" - because I'm a learning and wanted my OH to follow and keep an eye out for me.
"Why has that bike [mine] got a red L on a white bit of card?" - they are my L plates and I have to show them to let other road users know I'm just learning.
"Do you let her on your bike?" [to my OH] - yes, she rides on the back seat….etc, etc.

It was quite cute and, besides we would be hypocrites not to encourage her curiosity as it really annoys us when adults knock children down for being interesting and asking questions in general.

When we were ready to go, she insisted on watching. My OH made sure she was clear of our gates (so she wouldn't suddenly roll forward on her bicycle). I started to roll forward on the drive, but as we have a drop before the road, I was a little apprehensive riding my bike straight onto the road, as opposed to rolling it forward without any engine power. My OH told me to just roll it, if I felt more comfortable that way.

Once I had my bike on the road, I waited a moment for my OH to get saddled up again and started off. I was a little wobbly at first. I need to work on making sure my moving off is nice and positive. This is much safer as it makes the bike more stable. My OH also commented I was a little hesitant, though did agree when I said a little hesitation won't get you killed.

As it's 8 miles to my mother-in-laws on country roads, I took it easy on the bends, but was really impressed with myself getting the bike up to 55mph on the straights. That felt very similar to the sensation I had when I was learning to drive, My instructor would gently encourage my to speed up. I was convinced I was nailing it, but when I looked at the speedo, I'd barely got above 40mph…how things change!

My OH fitted the curtain pole and we headed for home. On balance, given I hadn’t ridden a bike for 3 weeks (apart from when I picked it up) and it's a new machine, I don’t think my ride was too bad. I will admit I need to practice, especially moving off, stopping and the dreaded u-turn!

Finally....

2007-08-27T15:01:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, I finally picked up my bike. It was sitting ready for me and after a few formalities, I was ready to roll. That was fun…

The dealer is situated on a busy road, with a blind bend and Y-junction in 1 direction. Add to that the 2 other bikers, other than my OH, waiting on me to go (they were being very considerate, as they didn't want to spook the learner) and this being the first time riding the new bike. I had a bit of a wobble when I first moved off, with my OH riding behind me. He was sitting wide (bikers should ride slightly left of centre - he was slightly right) to keep an eye on me and offer a little protection.

I got home safely and my OH took it for a spin. That looked ridiculous as his knees were practically round his ears! When he came back he adjusted the clutch lever for me, which will make it easier for me moving off an slow riding (basically, anywhere that clutch control is necessary). It's not a fault with the dealer; clutch levers can be adjusted much like brake levers on bicycles.

Now I have the bike, I need to get practice in, so I pass my test this time round. I didn't do any more practice yesterday as I was really tired from my previous day's exploits. If the weather's fair tonight, I shall take it for a spin. My OH is talking of heading to his mothers to fit a curtain pole. Not very exciting, I know, but at least it's a reason to go somewhere. I remember when I was learning to drive. My uncle would take me for practice between lessons, but I didn't like just practicing; we had to have a reason for the journey. Now I have my bike, I shall be posting more frequently my progress.

Still waiting

2007-08-22T17:55:00.001+01:00

Before I can pick up my new bike, the DVLA have to register it. For that, they needed a copy of my insurance certificate for the bike. That’s where the problems started...

As the insurance claim for my car is still ongoing, I had to wait ‘till the Monday after ordering my bike to phone the car insurance provider to find out what status of claim would be recorded against me. This was to allow me to correctly declare the claims I have had (one) in the last 3 years. So far, I’m 2 says since ordering my bike.

I then phoned round the brokers for a quote and bought a policy I was happy with. The broker told me it would be 3-5 working days until my insurance documents got to me. I thought to myself, knowing my luck, it’ll take the full 5 days. Add to that a postal strike...great. To save a bit of time, I asked for them to send a cover note to the dealer. I carefully spelled out the address very carefully, but the person I was speaking to wasn’t the fizziest can in fridge. The dealer didn’t get it. Also, the insurance documents took the full 5 days.

Last Tuesday, I dropped the insurance certificate off at the dealer. He stated the DVLA says it takes 3-5 working days to process the documentation, though in his experience the local office will process it there and then. Well, I called the dealer today as it’s more than 5 working days since they took the documentation to the DVLA local office. As you may have guessed, they still haven’t received the documentation from the DVLA. I love the civil service, don’t you? The person I spoke to \t the dealer also stated they were now chasing the DVLA. Hopefully I’ll get a phone call tomorrow telling me it’s ready.

I can’t even get annoyed with the dealer, as the delay has been cause by things totally outwith their control. Besides, my bike is sitting waiting for me, the dealer just needs the paperwork.

His 'n Hers

2007-08-06T14:35:00.000+01:00

If there's one thing I don't understand, it's why couples on bikes (usually married couples on tourers) feel the need to wear matching kit. Now, if they have got a stunning bargain on 2 jackets, say, good on them. But what I'm talking about is much scarier than that.

You don't need my to tell you that men and women are built differently. There was a time (not that long ago) when almost all rider gear was "unisex" - let's face it, that means mens wear. Fortunately, the manufacturers have realised they were missing out on a potentially lucrative market and it is relatively easy to buy ladies specific kit (there's even 1 accessory company I am aware of that only sell ladies wear).

So, I found it strange when my OH and I went on our first Pan Clan run. There were 9 bikes, 3 of which were couples (including my OH and I). Of the 3 couples, only my OH and I didn't have matching kit. This was from the helmets to the boots. Jackets, I can live with as there isn't much that is different between a ladies and gents bike jacket, but trousers are a different matter. Men don't have hips and generally have longer legs. I didn't have to look too closely to see that the trousers on the ladies weren't an ideal fit, as they had to compromise waist size over hip size and they appeared a tad long.

And, what scared my more than that was matching helmets, which co-ordinated not only with the rider and pillion, but with the colour of the bike! Besides, I have found that helmets are very like shoes. Some are a small fit; some large. Even a smaller size of the same helmet may not be a comfortable fit for another person. Therefore, I find it surprising that those couples could get 2 matching helmets that fitted each other comfortably. My OH and I certinatly can't, but he has a choice of 1 helmet, as only 1 manufacturer does one large enough for him.

I hear you saying "but, surely if they got a bargain, what's it to do with you". Well, the kit they had wasn't the type that generally features in reduced to clear bins. And, it's my blog, therefore my opinion.

In case you were wondering, my OH and I have very different kit. I have a red helmet and he has a black one; I have a blue, ladies specific, jacket and his is grey. Our trousers are by the same company, but I did get a ladies specific pair. Besides, they were in the reduced to cleat section as the place we bought them was closing down.

Bike Shopping

2007-08-04T21:40:00.000+01:00

Prior to doing my CBT, my OH and I had spent a lot of time getting my sister-in-law's Suzuki GS125 back on the road. She had bought it brand new 6 years previously, as her instructor recommended getting a learner legal bike to practice on before sitting her test. Unfortunately, she failed her test and lost the motivation to get her licence. Consequently, the GS sat in her parents' back garden for 6 years, accumulating 90 miles (yes, that is not a typo) on the clock, about 10 of which were through pushing it around the garden.

Once my OH finally fixed the problem and got the GS MOT'd and insured, it was back on the road. He then did a deal the his sister that he would take the bike on for a year, put some mileage on it, and we would either keep it and pay her market value for the bike, or sell the bike and give her the money.

Just before I did my CBT, my OH took me out to the airfield I've mentioned un earlier posts. This was to let me have a litte bit of an idea of what I was letting myself into. Once I did my CBT, the plan was to use the GS to build up my confidence before taking formal lessons. Unfortunately, although the GS is a learner legal machine, it's not ideal for a novice. The mirrors are tiny and the clutch leaver is very stiff (which wasn't helped by it being bent, when my sister-in-law dropped it). Consequently, I haven't really used it.

Despite these issues, now I have had lessons, you might think those would be tolerable, until I pass and can get pretty much any bike I like, so long as the BHP is less than 33, or the machine is restricted to that. However, the GS has what my OH describes as the 3 second side stand. Turn your back on the bike, when you've parked it on the side stand and 3 seconds later hear the sickening crunch of the bike falling over. Thus, I cannot use the side stand to help with getting on and off. Not exactly what could be described as idea for practicing.

So, the search for a bike began. I set my criteria:
1. Maximum £2000 budget.
2. Reasonably well know make - therefore I would be better placed to sell for a decent price and obtain parts.
3. Cheap to insure.
4. Traditional style - trail style bikes are too tall; sports style (why, it's a 125!) and cruisers push your feet forward, which I'm not too happy with, given my inexperience.

As I mention in my "First Lesson" post, the Honda GS125, although a very good bike, does not have a side stand, so was out of the running. I had considered a van van, as having had most of my lessons on it, I was happy enough riding it. That was until I read the Motorcycle News (MCN) review. It stated the van van does not have a light in the instrument panel - err, so that makes it day time use only. What's the point in that?

I then had a look at the main manufacturers' websites and it didn't look promising. Only Honda had a traditional style bike, namely the GS. All the others had either sporty style or cruiser...

Last weekend, while I had been having lessons, my OH took himself off to various dealers to see "in the fresh" what the market has to offer. In his travels, he came across the Suzuki EN125. On the face of it, it appeared to be an evolution of the GS, but it had a proper side stand. We had a look around the net and, although it was not on Suzuki's UK website, there seemed to be a reasonable amount of not Suzuki dealers selling them. Also, a fair amount of training schools use them, which, given the abuse they'll get in that environment, is a good advert.

Yesterday, we paid a visit to Scott Murray Motorcycles in Dunfermline, so I could have a look myself. I was very impressed with the look of the bike. It turns out it is an official Suzuki bike, but it's a parallel import, though it has DSA type approval, therefore it's totally UK raod legal. It would appear Suzuki don't import them directly, as the EN would effectively compete with their other 125s, which is a bit daft, from a business point of view.

Jon Murray of Scott Murray Motorcycles couldn't have been more helpful. He explained the deal with the bike, as described in the above paragraph. My OH and I had a really good look over the machine and it looked very good quality. It's all genuine Suzuki parts, made in Japan.

So, lets go back to my criteria:
1. Maximum £2000 budget - check
2. Reasonably well know make - therefore I would be better placed to sell for a decent price and obtain parts - check.
3. Cheap to insure. - check
4. Traditional style - trail style bikes are too tall; sports style (why, it's a 125!) and cruisers push your feet forward, which I'm not too happy with, given my inexperience. - check.

Jon Murray even got me sitting on it and I felt really comfortable on it. Now, this bike is brand new and usually I have the opinion of buy second hand and let someone else pay the depreciation for you. However, I would be toiling to get a second hand Japanese bike that met my criteria for less than £2000, unless it had been thrashed into the ground. It seemed the perfect bike for me.

So my OH and I could have a "discussion", we went to Scott Murray Motorcycle's accessories shop. Firstly, this allowed me to look for top boxes, as I wanted a little storage, even if only for my lid. Secondly, we could have a chat about the EN without Jon Murray listening. I thought I was idea and so did my OH. I also found a top box that fitted my lid.

We went back through to see Jon Murray and I bought the bike. There are even going to fit the top box for me, which saves a little hassle. Cool. All I need to do now is arrange insurance and get the cover note to Scott Murray for road tax purposes. The main thing that will slow things down is the DVLA getting the registration papers out to Scott Murray.
So, I'm now looking forward to getting my new wheels. I had a choice of red or blue. As red is my favourite colour and the rest of the fleet is red, guess what colour I chose?!

Now, all we have to do it extend the driveway, fit a ground anchor and get rid of the GS. That shouldn't be too much hassle, so long as it doesn't rain for the next week. I don't really want to dig turf and soil in the wet - would you?

Bike Intercom

2007-08-03T18:04:00.000+01:00

Anyone who knows my OH and I knows we can talk the legs of the hind of a donkey once we get going. This, for obvious reasons, isn't possible on a motorbike, so the search for rider to pillion communications began.

In the past my OH had bought an Oxford rider to pillion coms set. Oxford are a manufacture of bike accessories. This he managed to kill within 1/2 mile, despite the fact that it was not actually connected to the bike - it had its own, independent, power.

So, the search for something a bit more reliable began. We discovered there are 2 main manufactures of bike coms available in the UK - Autocom and Starcom. Both have sets which start from a power unit and headphones for the rider to, for example, listen to music. They then can be upgraded to allow the rider to pillion to talk up to bike to bike coms. The main difference was the price. For the rider to pillion option, Autocom are about £100 more expensive.

Just to make sure, my OH had a good look on-line at bike forums etc, to check Starcom seemed reliable. From that research, other bikers seemed to love Starcom. So, as you may have guessed, we plumped for Starcom.

My OH spent time setting the unit up. This involved positioning the headphones and mikes in our helmets, sewing the cables out of the way and setting the levels. Setting the levels was the most fiddly. He made the major adjustments in the house, using a 12v supply, but we had to go for a proving run, as road and wind noise make a considerable difference to the way the system works. Following this proving run, there were a couple of stops necessary to make small adjustments, but once those were made, the system appeared to work really well.

The following day, we were on a Pan Clan run to Lindisfarne. About an hour into the run, I heard a small crackle and shortly afterwards, my OH said something and was much louder than he had been earlier. About a mile (if that) afterwards, a terrible very loud screach came from the unit. We were on a roundabout and it was all my OH could do to prevent the bike going off the road. It was very painful and even I could barely think. I wasn't having to drive. We pulled over and unplugged from the unit; carrying on our merry(ish) way.

The following day, my OH contacted Starcom direct. They asked if he'd send the unit direct to them, as they don't get many returned with the full background. About a week later, we received the "new" unit. The had replaced the motherboard (to which everything is attached), so all we got back was the box the originally came in. We think Starcom did that as my OH had put velcro on the underside, to attach the unit to the bike. Given how well Starcom deal with the problem, we just put the issue down to experience.

Unfortunately, we had to set the levels again, but everything seemed to be going okay, until today. We were leaving work and I was having difficulty plugging into the unit. My OH noticed 1 of the connector pins were bent. Although this was a bit of a pain, he wasn't too worried, as he could unbend the pin or get a new connector cable, as it is a standard fitment.

When we got home, my OH realised that the pin was bent as a bit of plastic from the main unit had broken off into the connector. Consequently, we now aren't was impressed with Starcom as we once were. Although we will give the benefit of the doubt on 1 occasion, we won't twice for the same product. So, it's back to the shop the unit will be going, for a refund. Looks like we will be getting Autocom after all. Now, I'm thinking that this proves that you do get what you pay for.

Failed

2007-07-31T21:45:00.000+01:00

Things didn't start off well this morning. I was asked to be at Pro-Scot at 9:30 for a pre-test session. I, as you can imagine was a little nervous, partly as I wasn't sure I was ready for my test. I arrived at Pro-Scot at just before 9:30, giving myself time to have a comfort stop before heading off. The instructor didn't turn up to get me 'till 9:45, giving me loads of time to think of all the things that could go wrong.

My test was at 11:41 (yes, 41). I went out with the trainee who's test was immediately before mine. Her run was a mock test and mine a bit more practice. Just before the time of her test, we headed to the DSA test centre. Waiting there was another trainee who had just failed his test. He was sitting his test on the 500, so had to wait on the instructor to take him back to Pro-Scot. Learners can only ride 125s alone. Otherwise, you have to be supervised by a DSA approved instructor.

So, we headed to Pro-Scot to take him back and I nearly pulled out in front of a car. There was no way he was doing 30, but that spooked me. I then did my mock test. As I knew, my u-turns still needed work, so my instructor worked with me on them until just before my test. Although I can understand the logic of concentrating on the problem area, that can lead to complacency in other areas.

We arrived at the test centre with only about 3 minutes to spare. Now, I will admit I am not the world's best time keeper, but for important appointments, I like to be at least 10 minutes early, to give me time to settle. Okay, I thought, I can handle this. But, the trainee before had also failed, which shouldn't have stressed me out, but did. Also, during my run, 1 of my L plates had fallen off. My instructor then had to take on of the L plates from the other trainees bike to put on mine. This was cutting things way too fine...not good for the nerves.

Well, the preliminaries of the test went okay. The examiner checked all my documents were in order (licence, theory test and CBT certificates). He then issued me with the radio he would use to give instructions. He was really good, as he was taking great effort to put me at my ease.

To start the test, I was asked to read a number plate, to check my eyesight. That was okay. Then I was asked 2 "show me, tell me" questions, about maintenance of the bike. I think I gave almost text book answers. Then it was into our respective bikes, a quick check of the radio, to ensure it was working and I could hear properly.

Once we were moving, I suddenly felt much more relaxed. I think that's where it all started to go wrong. We headed to a residential estate in Kirkcaldy. I knew from lessons that in the estate I would have to perform my u-turn and emergency stop. Being a residential area, there were lots of parked cars. I had just headed around a junction and there was a parked car in front of me. I started to move out to pass the car and noticed too late the car heading towards me, who had right of way. I didn't have an accident, but I knew at that point that I had failed.

It all went pear shaped form then on. The u-turn was okay until 80% round. However, as I knew I was now going through the motions of the test, I didn't care, so put my foot down. Things just went downhill from there. I had been having balance issues on my earlier lessons, but I had found it.

I lost it again during the test....I also started weird indicating - like, way did I suddenly start indicating right when going straight on at a mini roundabout? I never did that on any of my lessons and would never do that in the car. I suppose I just really couldn't see the point of finishing the test and really didn't care any more. It wouldn't have been so bad if what I had done was not an absolute definite fail, but when you know and the examiner knows that you know that you have failed, what is the point of carrying on?

Anyway, when we got back to the test centre, the examiner told me that I had failed (shock!) and asked on if I wanted him to tell me why. I explained I thought it was not giving way to oncoming traffic and my u-turn. He agreed and brought up the indicator and balance issues. No real surprises.

As I was sitting my test on the 125, I was legally entitled to ride unsupervised. I headed back to Pro-Scot and the office staff thought I was winding them up, as the instructor hadn't followed me, until I pointed out I was on the 125. I'm now booked for a re-test on...11th September - yes, 6 weeks away.

I'm going to see what additional training Pro-Scot are going to give me. If it's as long as this morning's session (1.5 hours), that's way too long to go without being on a bike. I'll have to find out about that and take them to task if that is the case.

Whatever happens, I need to get a 125 of my own to get the mileage under my belt and practice my u-turns, so when I re-sit I don't ride like a learner and pass. My OH is looking forward to going bike shopping. As far as he is concerned, any excuse is better than none.

The weekend

2007-07-30T21:19:00.000+01:00

Over the weekend, I had 2 more sessions of lessons. I could definitely see my confidence improve as I got used to the van van and the motorbike controls. I was pleased I had made the decision to sit my test on the 125 as the more I looked at the Honda CB500, the more I thought I don't have the confidence to ride a bike that big at the moment. At the end of the day, I'd much rather pass my test on a 125, even with the restriction, than scare myself witless on the 500 and totally bottle it.

During the weekend's sessions, although there were some problems, they were getting significantly better. I think, as the control of the bike was becoming more automatic, I was then able to better concentrate on road craft and actually riding the machine.

Anyways, my test is tomorrow. Now, the main thing I have a concern with is the u-turn. This is the one thing that most people fail on. Okay, so it demonstrates good machine control at slow speed, but once you've passed your test, you need never do one again. Mmh, let's see. I need to point the bike in the opposite direction. Do I toil performing a u-turn, while riding the bike and keeping both feet on the pegs, or paddle it round...I wonder. It strikes me the later method is safer. My OH said just adopt the "it's now or never" attitude. It worked for him on his test.

All going well, I shall be a very happy chappy tomorrow. Watch this space to see how I got on.

Second Lesson

2007-07-26T16:36:00.001+01:00

Today's lesson went much better than Tuesdays. I was put on a Suzuki Van Van (officially known as a RV125, by Suzuki) for this lesson. Okay, so it's ORANGE - definitely not cool. Me thinks, as the van van is a type of trail bike, Suzuki are trying to make it look like a KTM...THE name in trail bikes. All KTM's are ORANGE.
Anyway, never mind the colour. As soon as I sat on the van van I felt much more comfortable. I think it having a side stand, so I could get on and off the bike with it deployed, made a difference, as I wasn't constantly thinking "Am I going to get on/off of this without dropping it?". As long as the side stand is deployed, it will hold the bike. No more worries on that part.

I felt so much more in control than Tuesday. Today I felt I was riding the bike, not the other way around. That said, I am still having a couple of issues, which are more about confidence than anything else (that is a quote from my instructor).

At the end of my lesson, my instructor discussed my progress with me. He was pleased with the difference in my riding. However, he still recommended that I take my test on the 125 and be restricted to bikes with a 33 BHP for 2 years. Although on Tuesday I thought about pushing for doing my test on the 500, I now think that would be the worst thing I could do for my confidence. I now see that I can ride a bike, but I think I would be struggling to fully control a 500. Even if I did pass my test on a 500 - which I doubt I would manage - I think if I had a wee incident (i.e. a car pulling out in front of me) it would knock my confidence so much that I wouldn't want to ride a bike again. Which would totally defeat the purpose of getting my licence. So, I'll now have another 8 hours of lessons on the van van and my test on 31st July.

Now, when I pass my test, I'll want to get a bike, strangely enough! If I had been sitting my test on the Honda CB500, I was planning on getting a similar type of bike for my first bike. It's cheap to insure, will take a reasonable amount of abuse (that's why it's used my bike training schools), but will go some when you want to play. Now that I'm sitting my test on a 125, I will not be able to get a CB500 for 2 years.

As anyone under 21 can only sit their test on effectively a 125, there are restrict or kits that are available for many bikes, that will restrict the BHP of the bike to a maximum of 33BHP. Personally, I don't see the point of that. The engine of the bike to be restricted has been desgined to give a particular BHP for a reason, so restricting the BHP is going to have some kind of affect on the bike, over and above power. Besides, there are bikes on the market that have a bit more welly than the van van or CG125 (the CG has 14BHP), but are still less than 33BHP. Now all I'll have to do is find those bikes then find one I like, am comfortable with and is within budget. So, watch this space for how things go on my next couple of lessons.

First Lesson

2007-07-24T14:39:00.001+01:00

This morning I had my first formal lesson since completing my CBT last year. Consequently, I took a while longer to get used to the bike Pro-Scot use. They use Honda CB125s (pictured) for the initial part of the training program. If you drive a car, you'll be aware that different cars (even of the same engine size) perform differently. This was the case with the Honda 125.

I needed a bit longer in the yard, getting used to the controls etc. While out on the road, I felt I was getting better, as it's a more natural environment. However, I was having issues with clutch control in particular. Clutch control is even more important for slow speed control on a motorbike that a car.

I must admit, I was finding it a bit odd using the clutch for slow speed control in second gear. Perhaps it's just me, but I thing if you're needing to take a corner using clutch control, perhaps a lower gear would give more control. So, I'm going to have to work on that.

The other thing that was annoying me was, as I was lacking confidence, the instructor was "concentrating" on me. Okay, I'll admit I wasn't perfect, by any stretch of the imagination, but I could see the other 3 trainees in front of me making some of the same mistakes and not getting away with it. In case you were wondering, all the trainees are issued with radio receivers and the trainer has a transmitter. As all the trainees are on the same frequency, we can all hear the instructions, comments etc the trainer is giving us.

When I was booking the training, I could have signed up for two eight hour days of training. I know, especially after my CBT, that I can get very tired concentration for that long. Also, when I get tired, I make mistakes, which makes me frustrated, so I make more mistakes and get into a vicious circle. So, I booked my training in 4 1/2 day sessions. This was questioned by my instructor, but when I explained the situation, he though it had been the office staff being sexist, rather than my request. It turns out some of the office staff don't think women can handle a full day in the saddle. I'm sure there are plenty men who think they can, but it is stretching their ability.

Anyway, at the end of the morning session, although I had noticed improvement, I also felt myself plateauing. I've seen this happening whenever I'm learning something new. Start off rubbish, get a little better, take a break, try again and the improvement is dramatic, but plateaus again. Hopefully that happens again on my next lesson.

I've now been advised that I may not be able to make the transition to the Honda CB500. If I don't take my test on a bike that big, I will be restricted to a bike of 33BHP or less for 2 years. Although that wouldn't be the end of the world, I'd really rather do my test on the 500. My plan now is to see how my lesson on Thursday goes. That will be on the 125 again. If is goes well and the instructor thinks I can make the transition to the 500, all well and good. If not, I'll see about getting extra instruction and delaying the date of my test, which is supposed to be 31st July. The course if fully guaranteed, so Pro-Scot have an obligation to train me until I pass. Personally, I think if I'm toiling on the 125, it may well be too soon going for my test next week.

We shall see. I shall update the blog after my next lesson session on Thursday, so watch this space to see how I get on.

The Pan Clan

2007-07-17T22:20:00.000+01:00

When my OH still owned the ST1100, he came across the website for the Pan Clan, which it the Pan European (ST1100 and ST1300) owners club. Now, while looking at their website photos, frankly, it looked like if we were to join, we'd be socialising with people old enough to be our parents. This may not be a bad thing; experience, knowledge etc. My main doubt about joining was the riders (who would mainly, if not exclusively, be male - the Pan is a big bike), would spend time talking bike, while the pillions talked cooking and about their grandchildren.

Consequently, we hadn't joined when we owned the 1100. However, joining was brought up again when we got the 1300. I still had my doubts...Now I am about to digress, but there is a point to this.

A couple of years ago, our church acquired a projector. This is used during the service to show the words to songs, pictures, notices and basically anything the minister wants displayed during the service. It's also used by other organisations using the church for presentations etc. My OH, along with another member of the congregation, runs the projector.

About 2 weeks after we bought the 1300, the church was to be used for the local Scout district's centenary service. As it was my OH's turn to run the projector for the morning service, he was running the projector for the Scout service. He had taken the bike so I didn't have to hang around in Kirkcaldy until after the Scout service. Besides, a motorbike parked outside a Church of Scotland kirk does make a statement.

I'm getting to the point, honest...

The Scouter in charge of organising the logistics of the service is a Pan Clan member and got talking to my OH. I used to be a scouter, so know the guy, but have known him for a long time. He's a good guy, so we thought if he was a member, they might not be that bad a bunch after all.

We decided to go along to one of the club's monthly meetings, to see what the rest of the group were like. They couldn't have been more welcoming, though I think they're like the black pudding industry - always on the lookout for fresh blood!

After the meeting, we decided to join. We've now been on 3 runs. All different, but a good bit of socialising and a great way to see the country.

Passed

2007-07-16T14:11:00.000+01:00

Well, my theory test, at least...

I got 35/35 for the question part and 55/75 for the hazard perception part of the test, which is, apparently, a high score.

The test was at 8:30 and I had to be at the test centre for 15 minutes before the test started. I thought it would be about a 15 minute drive, so I left the house at 7:50 and got to the test centre just as the news was starting, so I went in once the news had finished. I then had my documents checked, had locked my bag away and read the test centre rules, I was able to begin the test.

This differed from the last time I'd sat a theory test. As it was paper based, and sat in a traditional classroom setting, the test could not begin until all the participants were there. As the new test is computer based and the questions and video clips given to each participant are randomly selected from the database, I didn't have to wait on everyone else or the test start time. Thus, I started the test at 8:20 and was home by about ten past nine, with my pass certificate.

That's not bad going, as there is a practice session before the multiple choice section, to ensure you know what the format is and how to operate the equipment, which should take 15 minutes. There's 40 minutes allocated to sit that part of the test; then a sample video clip, for the hazard perception part, to take you through the way to highlight a potential and developing hazard. This takes about 5 minutes and there is then an option for a 3 minute break (I pushed the wrong button and landed up having to see the sample clip again - doh). Then there's the hazard perception itself; with 14 clips that are 1 minute long. Then, there's the option to answer some new theory test questions and watch a new hazard perception video clip, for possible use with future participants. Finally, there's a "customer satisfaction" questionnaire. I think you can do the sums and see I was quick.

To be fair, at least the DSA can't be criticised for not giving enough time.

So, now it will be on with the new part of getting my bike licence - lessons. They start on the 24th July and my test (yes, for real) is on the 31st. Fingers' crossed, I'll have a bike licence in just over a fortnight...just a wee bit scary, but really quite cool.

Theory Test

2007-07-13T13:50:00.000+01:00

Early tomorrow morning, (by early I mean 8:30) I will be sitting the theory test for a motorbike. When I sat my car test, I had to sit a theory test. At the time, it consisted of 40 questions, based on the Highway Code, of which you had to get 35 correct to pass. It was done on paper and took just less than 2 weeks to get the results. I only got 1 wrong. Also, there was only 1 test for everyone, bar HGV and PCV learners and if you already had a licence for another type of vehicle, you didn't have to sit one.

Anyway, now the theory now has different categories, depending on the type of vehicle. So, for example, if you have a moped licence and want to get a car licence, there is another test to sit. However, if you wanted to learn to ride a motorbike, you don't need to re-sit.

The theory test now consists of 2 parts. The first part is more or less like the test I sat, but there are only 35 questions, of which 30 must be answered correctly to pass that part of the test. The DSA have also introduced a hazard perception test. This consists of 13 (I think) video clips played, which have, at some point, as developing hazard. During the course of the clip you click on a mouse when you see a potential developing hazard (e.g. pedestrians, cars at junctions, traffic lights etc) and click again when a hazard changes (e.g. a car indicating to pull out does). In order to pass this element of the theory test, a 59% rate is required. Again, see the DSA website for more info.

On Tuesday night I went to my motorbike training school for a hazard perception class, which went okay and made how the whole process of the theory test runs a lot more clear. For extra practice, I have also sat a mock test from a DVD the motorbike training school. Although the quality of that was quite poor (it's not made by the DSA) I still managed to pass. Also, I have re-read the Highway code and sat some mock tests for question part of the test online. So, fingers crossed, all being well, tomorrow I'll have got that part of the road to getting my motorbike licence out of the way.

Fortunately, as the test is now carried out on PCs, I will find out once I've sat the test whether or not I've passed, so no waiting. Watch this space to see how I got on.

In other news...

2007-07-09T22:08:00.000+01:00

For the next few days, my OH and I will be commuting on the bike as some total idiot of a car driver decided to pull out in front of us. We were driving along a straight road with unrestricted visibility for at least 3/4 mile in each direction. As we were coming in line with an entrance to a pub car park, a guy in an MPV decided not to look and pull out in front of us. Then, when my OH got out of the car to "discuss" matters with the other driver, he had the indignity to ask "Why don't you swerve out of my way?"....err, like you shouldn't have pulled out and my OH (who, as you may have gathered was driving at the time) didn't have time to react. Needless to say, he can wave goodbye to his no-claims discount.

Fortunately, but my OH and I were fine. The car took the impact on the nearside wing, bumper and headlight. At least the car's fixable or replaceable; people aren't. I'm only glad we weren't on the bike, as we would have become road fodder and may have still been in hospital. So please, guys, look properly before pulling out at a junction.

Failed Bombings

2007-07-09T21:46:00.000+01:00

Firstly, it's great news to see that Alan Johnstone was released last Wednesday. My OH and I heard when we were stopped for lunch in Fort Augustus. Finally, some good news, especially after the attempted bombings in London and Glasgow.

Talking of the bombings, apparently people the police have "talked to"/arrested in connection with them are medically trained. I would have thought that with a little bit of a science background, they would be able to get a bomb to explode. However, I have a theory about that. These attempted bombings were carried out by Muslim extremists, who wrongly believe they are doing it in the name of God. Now, as far as I am concerned, God gave us freewill to allow us to direct our actions for good or bad purposes. Hence, there has been 9/11, the Madrid bombings and 7/7, not to forget the 21/7 failed attempts, amongst others. Now, although God gave us freewill, I think he's got totally angry with his name, and word, (both in the Bible and Koran) being used in vain, so he stopped the bombs going off, either directly or by making the bombers get the detonation wrong.

Free Alan Johnstone

2007-06-27T21:52:00.000+01:00

A new link on this blog is calling for the BBC reporter Alan Johnstone to be freed. I, I know with many other people, am appalled how a friend of the Palestinians is being treated. It is almost 3 months since he was taken. While in Palestine, he was the only embedded reported, so could tell the Palestinians' side for the Israel/Palestine. By clicking on the link, you can read more about the campaign, his plight and sign a petition to call for his freedom.

My thoughts and prayers go towards his safe release. I also remember his friends and family in what must be a living hell.

Pillion Seat Part II

2007-06-21T21:22:00.000+01:00

My OH and I finally decided to start looking for a ST1300 just before Easter. We knew our budget, condition and extras we'd prefer. Ideally the bike would have ABS and heated front grips. (These are the rubberised bits around the handlebars). Ideally, it would be red, but when buying second hand, colour is often a secondary consideration. We tend never to buy vehicles less than 3 years old as we like someone else to pay the majority of the depreciation.

The first dealership, on the first day of looking had exactly what we wanted:
Within budget;
with ABS and heated grips
and, best of all,
it is red.
Proper, fire engine red!!!

Having done a few hundred miles as a pillion on the 1100, I had discovered it got quite tiring on the back with no support. Also, once we put our lids on the pannier that come standard with the bike, there was no room for jackets if we didn't want to trail them about. So we decided to get a top box to go with the bike too.

My OH also fitted heated grips to the pillion grab rails for me. I've only had to put them on a couple of times (given the time of year), but they make a huge difference...they will come in very handy in the colder months, especially as my OH is planning a New Year's day run with the owners' club!

Over the couple of months we've owned the ST1300, we have done significantly more mileage than the entire period of ownership of the 1100. It's even been used a few times commuting to Edinburgh. For a big bike it filters quite well. I must admit, though, filtering (although I'm at the back) was terrifying the first time I experienced it. Firstly, because when passing buses, lorries etc, they seem closer, due to their size. Secondly, there are car drivers who object to the idea of another vehicle making better progress than they are, so they will attempt to block the bike's progress. On the other hand, there is another type of car driver who will more across to let bikes through. To them, thank you.

This weekend we were planning on going to Boat of Garten (near Aviemore) to see the Ospreys and their chicks. Unfortunately, all 3 chicks have died. Personally, I don't see the adult birds sticking around much longer, when they don't have a reason to stay. Also, the weather forecast isn't looking too promising. Although I accept I will get wet at some point on the bike, I don't see the point at getting soaking on the bike when I have a perfectly good car...we shall see what the weekend brings.

Airfield Again

2007-06-17T18:07:00.000+01:00

This afternoon, I headed for the local disused airfield again on my 125. My OH commented that I'd improved markedly since last week. I must say I felt much more in control of the bike than I've ever felt - which is great.

Now, the problem with the bike is it is 9 years old with 330 miles on the clock. Most of that mileage has been put on the bike in the last month or 2. As I said in an earlier entry, I acquired the bike from my sister-in-law. She bought it brand new, with the intention of learning to ride. For a variety of reasons, that didn't happen, so for 8 years the bike sat in my OH's parent's back garden, accumulating about 10 miles being pushed around. (They don't have a big garden!). My OH and his Dad spend a lot of time trying to get the engine to fire after so long. Although the engine turned, it wouldn't fire and eventually my OH replaced the carburetor. It fired first time once this was replaced.

As I wanted to learn, and the bike is learner legal, my OH and I came to an agreement that we would use the bike for a year, to get some miles on it. At the end of the year, either I would keep it, giving my sister-in-law full market value for it or, we would sell it and give her the profit. When I first was on the bike, being a newbe, I didn't really know how a bike should handle. My OH over the last year has spent a fair time adjusting various things to improve the bike.

Unfortunately, although this has helped, there are a few things about the bike that I'm not too happy with. Consequently, I've lost confidence in it. However, as I'm now feeling comfortable enough to sign up for proper lessons. I had a discussion with my OH and he thinks we should keep it until I have started lessons, to keep my hand in, and get a better bike I'm happy with at that point. We'll sell the current bike and give my sister-in-law the profits.

So, watch this space for my trails during lessons!!!

The Pillion Seat Part 1

2007-06-14T20:12:00.000+01:00

When I first met my husband, he owned a Suzuki Bandit 600. He did take me out on it once, but I was glad I wasn't on it very long - lets just say the pillion seat has got significantly less padding than my backside requires.

About a couple of years ago, my husband decided we needed a more coupley bike. Besides, he wanted a bike that was a bit more a mile muncher than a sportster. Finally, he decided a Honda Pan European (ST1100) would fit the bill:

There's plently storage space;
it can go some when required;
it has a shaft drive - so no more chains to oil, clean and replace
and it has reasonably seats.

To name a few advantages.

So, after a couple of months looking, he finally found an L reg ST1100, which required a little (or so we thought) TLC. The exhaust needed replaced and the fairing was a bit tired, but nothing that a few hours with some T-cut and colour matched wax would sort. After a bit of discussion, which went along the lines of:

My husband: "So, what do you think?"
Me: "Well, I'm not going to be driving it and I don't know much about motorbike engines"
My husband: "You know enough about car ones - it's still an engine. Will you come with me on it? There's no point me getting it if your not going to come out on it with me"
Me: "I have no kit"
My husband: "Er...you can get some"
Me: "Seems a reasonable bike; do you think I'd be able to get a red lid?" (NB a lid is biker speak for a helment)
My husband: No words, but an interesting expression!

So, he said goodbye to the Bandit and hello to the Pan. And the task of restoring it to its former glory began...

Unfortunately, it needed a little more than TLC. After about 2 months, the centre stand broke when my husband was parking it. The way it broke, part of the remainder on the bike was rubbing on the (now new) exhaust, so the bike was, in effect, off the road. This was also the end of October, we don't have a garage and in order to get the remainder of the stand off, my husband had to lie under the bike with a hacksaw...as you can imagine, he didn't do it in a hurry.

Consequently, we didn't use the 1100 Pan very much, as my husband had lost faith in it. Apparently, the condition of the centre stand is a good indication of the condition of the swing arm.

As regards getting me kitted out - I did get my red helmet...
I also got trousers, gloves and a jacket. All of which with so much padding I couldn't bend properly when I got the kit.

Back in the Saddle

2007-06-13T22:04:00.000+01:00

The aim of this blog is to take you through my trails and tribulations for being a trainee biker.

Last year, I did my Compulsory Bike Training. For those of you not in the know, all new motorcyle trainees must complete this. It is a day (or in my case a 1 and a half days) course that teaches the basics of bike control. You have to complete the training before you can ride a motorbike on the road, with L plates and it is only valid for 2 years. It is known by its initials as CBT. See http://www.dsa.gov.uk/ for more info.

For a variety of reasons, mainly fitting a new kitchen at the time, I never got round to getting any practice on the Suzuki GS125 I'd aquired from my sister-in-law. So, last night I finally got back in the saddle. My husband took the bike to a local off-road bit of tarmac and I walked round to meet him. As I hadn't been in the rider's seat for over a year, both he and I were concerned that I'd have to go back to basics. Surprisingly, it went pretty well.

I remembered how to take the bike off its stand;
I remembered where the controls were and how to use them;
I remembered to check my mirrors
and even remembered how to change gear and stop.

However, I didn't remember how to dismount. When I tried to get off the bike, I mananged to lose my balance and let the bike fall on top of me. The way it landed, most the the weight was pressing on my ankle. Fortunately, my husband was there to extract me. Not much harm done - a little bruising to both ankle and pride (probably pride more).

Once I was up again and my husband had established I was okay, he thought I'd better climb back on. Apparently, it's a bit like a horse when you fall off. Well, I got back on and he started talking me through how to get off -

Husband: "Stand up"
Me: "I am standing up"
Husband: "Oh"

Now, I'm about 5'3", with short legs, even for my height. My husband is about a foot taller than me...

It reminded us of the Two Ronnies, when in a sketch, Ronnie Corbet (who is about 5' tall) would be asked to stand up, then the person asking would realise he was! But, I digress...

I did manage to dismount successfully the second time. I was well impressed how the training from last years CBT had stayed with me. I also noticed, I seemed to be more comfortable on the bike, but that's probably down to being on my husband's Honda Pan European more often. The story of the view from the pillion seat will follow shortly.