The Motorbikerist Thread

[JLv3.0]

I'll stop fo' sheezy ma neezy.

[tim]

That doesn't look rubbish at all.

[Marv]

Cold, wet feet are an instant shortcut to misery. My Sidi Adventure 2s were a bloody godsend on my Norway trip.

I'm currently erring towards buying a pair of Adventure 2s

[JLv3.0]

Go for it, the only tiny points I can think against them is they're a bit squeaky, and quite tall and bulky. One is irrelevant and the other one will become a godsend should you ever bin the bike or step into a puddle that is much, much deeper than you first thought

[NotoriousREV]

They’ll be thigh length on Marv.

[JLv3.0]

I realised after I posted that that the kiddies' sizes might be a bit less cumbersome

[Marv]

They’ll be thigh length on Marv.

Once again Dave, if you want pictures of me in my FMBs, you just have to ask.

[NotoriousREV]

They’ll be thigh length on Marv.

Once again Dave, if you want pictures of me in my FMBs, you just have to ask.

Will you be wearing fishnet stockings with your Adventure 2’s? Asking for Beany.

[NotoriousREV]

Having got my new boots, I found I’ve had to adjust the gear lever up around 5mm to accommodate the extra thickness. I missed so many shifts as the ankle support made it hard to get my toes under the shifter.

I also took the opportunity to adjust my bars. The KTM comes with 4 position bar risers to get the best fit. They come from the factory set on position 3 (1 being furthest from the tank), so I’ve pushed them forward to position 1, which is about 20mm forward, to feel slightly less upright.

[Coaster1]

Just had a fairly epic weekend - two mates of mine (both with S1000RRs) and me headed a couple of hours away from Dubai and rode coast roads and mountains all day yesterday, in between a couple of nights at a balla-spec beach resort. None of it sucked at all

What’s it like driving / riding over there?

Free to roam with no worry about speed /police? I guess as you head out the traffic must be quite light?

[Barry]

My feet were feeling the cold today, I might treat myself to some Sidi Adv boots too. Will look a little odd against a Fazer but look how many F**** I give. Ironically it looks mild and wet next week.

[JLv3.0]

What’s it like driving / riding over there?

Free to roam with no worry about speed /police? I guess as you head out the traffic must be quite light?

If you catch it right it can be pretty much like that, yeah. Speed control is normally via camera rather than copper, and most cameras are front-firing where usefully motorbikes don't have number plates

The coast road was too slippy to be much fun sadly, but the road up the mountain was brand new, and we made the most of it

[Marv]

They’ll be thigh length on Marv.

Once again Dave, if you want pictures of me in my FMBs, you just have to ask.

Will you be wearing fishnet stockings with your Adventure 2’s? Asking for Beany.

Why yes, yes I will be! Beany paying me for the pics, is the only way I can afford the boots

I went for a ride yesterday for a couple of hours to test and see if a thin merino base layer, thin down jacket and my normal motorcycle jacket would be warm enough at around 5-8 celcius.... It was. Just my hands got cold, despite my new windproof/thinsulate gloves. So basically, I need to pull my finger out and fit the handguards and heated grips I bought a while back!

[JLv3.0]

Heated grips are a must! I used them on both bikes last winter, but then it was down to about 17C

[_andy]

Once again Dave, if you want pictures of me in my FMBs, you just have to ask.

Will you be wearing fishnet stockings with your Adventure 2’s? Asking for Beany.

Why yes, yes I will be! Beany paying me for the pics, is the only way I can afford the boots

I went for a ride yesterday for a couple of hours to test and see if a thin merino base layer, thin down jacket and my normal motorcycle jacket would be warm enough at around 5-8 celcius.... It was. Just my hands got cold, despite my new windproof/thinsulate gloves. So basically, I need to pull my finger out and fit the handguards and heated grips I bought a while back!

I never found handguards to do anything for keeping your hands warm. If you're going to be out in shit/cold weather then bar muffs and heated grips are great.

[NotoriousREV]

Will you be wearing fishnet stockings with your Adventure 2’s? Asking for Beany.

Why yes, yes I will be! Beany paying me for the pics, is the only way I can afford the boots

I went for a ride yesterday for a couple of hours to test and see if a thin merino base layer, thin down jacket and my normal motorcycle jacket would be warm enough at around 5-8 celcius.... It was. Just my hands got cold, despite my new windproof/thinsulate gloves. So basically, I need to pull my finger out and fit the handguards and heated grips I bought a while back!

I never found handguards to do anything for keeping your hands warm. If you're going to be out in shit/cold weather then bar muffs and heated grips are a must.

Agreed. I’ve fitted handguards to the KTM and they make cock all difference as far as I can tell.

[Coaster1]

What’s it like driving / riding over there?

Free to roam with no worry about speed /police? I guess as you head out the traffic must be quite light?

If you catch it right it can be pretty much like that, yeah. Speed control is normally via camera rather than copper, and most cameras are front-firing where usefully motorbikes don't have number plates

The coast road was too slippy to be much fun sadly, but the road up the mountain was brand new, and we made the most of it

Whilst you’re here, another Gulf states question .....

An ex-forces chap commented that one should not consider buying a car (high end / exotic rather than ordinary) from the desert countries, as sand really does get everywhere (engine internal etc).

You have had your RS4 engine taken apart haven’t you? Any truth in this or have you heard anything like this?

There’re always a few GT3s imported from the Middle East being advertised here..... this one for instance is a good £25-30k cheaper than a UK car.

https://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds ... rs/9258761

Just curious.

[JLv3.0]

What utter nonsense. Does he really think the manufacturers have not considered the possibility of cars being driven in desert countries? I've never seen or heard of anything of the sort. What does he think air filters do?

You need to be aware of anything that the sun or heat has affected - rubber parts, paintwork, etc and also that standards of car care, maintenance and upkeep can be wildly different to what you would expect in the West, but sand in the engine? Nah.

[Coaster1]

Ta

[tim]

Ever since I've had my S1000R I've been meaning to give the chain a good clean, as it has always looked a bit gunked up. I hadn't realised just how gunked up until this weekend when I got down to it.

This is the *after* shot, a good 20 mins after I'd been at it with a load of Gunk and a stiff brush.



This is what the inside of the chain guard looks like.



Honestly, I have no idea what this shit is. Rev suggested it might be axle grease, and he may well be right. Whatever it is, there is an absolute fuck-ton of it everywhere the chain has been. It hasn't flung anywhere though, which is at least something.

The previous owner of my bike, it would appear, was a fucking idiot.

Anyway I put a post up on Tweeter and the MCN #ride5000miles group on Facetwat and got a load of replies, most of which suggested paraffin. So I've been out and got some this morning. I'll have a crack at it in a bit and see if I can get it properly clean, and then lube it with something sensible.

I should probably take the front sprocket cover off, though I'm not sure I want to!