Motorbike decision :)?

Tramlines: the railway lines that trams use, embedded in city streets to catch out unwary cyclists and motorcyclists. The only safe angle to cross these nasty little sods is at 90 degrees (or a right angle for the trigonomically challenged) or as close as you can reasonably manage. Not so bad in the dry, but lethally slippery in the wet. My crash came when I decided to change lanes and so crossed the lines at a very shallow angle, when the back tire hit them it just spun out sideways and dumped me on the ground.

 

At 6'4" and 70 kilos the new kid on the block might just be able to pick up a 125 and just carry the bloody thing across any rails he encounters.

 

Here you go: living proof that riding a 125 does not automatically make you the laughing stock of your mates. Well I thought I was cool! Bring back the 80's I say!

 

If we were to bring back the 1980's , the anomaly would be that the OP would not be here at all making this thread aboot as important as some others..

I'll buy bringing back some of the 80's but not all.

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/c1/5a/9a/c15a9ac880443de98e382204d94dcff4.jpg

 

How timely: In the October 2015 Motorcycle Consumer News magazine, there is an in-depth article on how motorcycle training and certification works in the UK.

"The UK Connection" by David L. Hough

It is certainly more well thought out than the US system.

 

http://www.msf-usa.org/

 

Our system in Australia is not quite as restrictive. Varies slightly from state to state at present but they're all gradually going the same way.

So in NSW you can do a short course, to learn the basics of handling the bike, usually over 2 half days and usually using the training center's bikes. Pass the knowledge test on the road rules and you get your L plates. You can then get out on the road on any LAMS approved bike. (Learner Approved Motorcycle). So anything up to 660 cc with a power to weight ratio no greater than 150kW/t. As most of the manufacturers have LAMS variants of their popular models you have a lot to choose from and you don't end up trying to shoe horn big guys onto 125cc bikes.

You have to stay on your learner license for at least three months during which time you are not allowed to exceed 90 km/hr, then do an additional training course and have to pass a skills test to get your provisional license. Once you pass that you are allowed to ride with a red P plate displayed and are limited to 90km/hr, you stay on that P1 license for 12 months then with some additional testing you progress to to a P2 license which lets you do 100 km/hr and you can get your full license after a further 2 years. You can't carry a pillion until you're on a full license or tow a trailer. If you start rider training after holding a full car license and are over 25 the P2 phase is waved. Personally once they're off their L plates I don't see the point in restricting them to below the highway speed limit at all. To me that puts them at more risk than keeping up with traffic.

In Australia we have a demerit point system, so in addition to fines you accrue points with any traffic offences. The points stay on your license for two years. Generally the naughtier you were the more points you get and the bigger the fine. For full license holders your license is cancelled/suspended once you accrue more than 12 points. P2 license holders only get 7 points, P1 license holders get 5 and Learner license holders get three, which means they lose their license for almost anything. That is already a big incentive to do the right thing with respect to speed. Putting an inexperienced rider on a freeway at 20 km/hr below the speed limit (or 30-40 km/hr slower than most of the traffic flow) is just dangerous but that's what they do. At least they're on a bike with sufficient power to actually get out of trouble when they see that semi bearing down on them from behind, not stuck on a 125.

Just to stay close to the thread, they're both nice bikes Johny, the Aprilia certainly has the cool factor, the Yamaha will probably be more reliable. My first bike was an MZ 150cc 2 stroke. I would suggest you avoid one of those unless you like tinkering and pushing bikes around in the rain.eaceful:

 

How times have changed since I passed my UK bike test. Then anyone over 25 could sign up with a registered training company for a 5 day DAS(Direct Access Scheme) course and in the morning obtain a CBT pass with just half a day riding on a 125 before moving straight on to use pretty much any bike under 600cc as a learner machine - such as one of these RVF400s a close cousin of the VFR range ... On day 3 you sat a 1 hour computer based observations test, and by day 5, your instructor would decide if you needed more training or would submit you for a full test. So you could easily have a full motorbike licence in a week.



Its a real shame the way nanny state seems determined to take the fun out of most things... But maybe - once you get that full licence ... you might enjoy riding one of these really fast accelerating RVFs.

I commuted on two wheels into Central London for 30 years and man it was dangerous - TAKE CARE


SkiMad

 

Dave Hough's ride now is a Spyder. Dave got off a Kawi pretty hard at a SBNW rally when he traded bikes with Lee Parks. He messed up some fingers and totaled the bike. Dave also writes as "pm dave"

Dave is a straight shooter. Known the dude for 20 years. He would be the first to tell anyone that there really are two types of rider. Those who have been down and those who are gonna go down.

Daves books are great. He even has one on sidehacks. Dave lives on the really "cow pissing on a flat rock" part of WA where God invented rain on day two or maybe three. I need to check that oot on Google..

Not having read the latest article aboot how it's done in UK, and not familiar with all the various US regs applied to the MSF course and knowing Dave as a really "fair and balanced " (for real) guy I have my doubts that his article in MCCN mag is as biased as presented by the noob who is faking it.

"Guitar George knows all the chords", All 7,000 LOL

 

Did ya hear aboot the guy on a Harley that was going to commute from Hollywood to South Central LA? He did it once . It was a one way trip.. The HD was red..