Motorbikes

pegs.jpg
 
no motorbiking for me for about 7 weeks, got another atempt to repair my broken leg/ tibial platau next tuesday and il not be allowed to drive or more importantly ride for 6 weeks post op, im not tempting fate by riding until the op just in case i have a fall and injure the leg...its going to be a long long 7 weeks
 
All the best for a successful outcome this time.

Think of all the epic trips you can plan in 7 weeks!
 
good luck!
 
Heated grips arrived last night and are east to fit. IF your fingers are warm enough! Hoping to get them on a bit later...
 
Nod said:
Heated grips arrived last night and are east to fit. IF your fingers are warm enough! Hoping to get them on a bit later...
Click to expand...
I have heated grips on my Honda Varadero (they were on when I bought it) I never use them, I prefer my heated gloves which heat the backs of the hands. Plus I don't have an option for heated grips on my Harleys.
 
One benefit of heated gloves is they are transferable across multiple bikes, my mate has them. Me being a pauper only have one bike so heated grips are on it, BMW fit as standard. Chatted to a fella last week who's wife refused to get on until it had a heated seat, he had one custom made for the bike with independent controls for driver and passenger, in White Leather, it was joy to behold, beautiful.
 
My bike came with heated grips (and heated seat) and I prefer this as I don't like bulky gloves, I ride with 'summer gloves' all year round. It does help that I have handguards on my bike too as this stops a lot of the cold air blasting onto my hands.
 
Grips now fitted (and, even better, working!!!)

I have a pair of heated gloves but I made the mistake of going for wired ones rather than battery and it's a faff getting them all plugged in. The (genuine Triumph) grips were reduced by 10% and having ridden Mrs Nod's with them on, I was jealous so ordered them up! All the wiring is in the switchgear already so it was a simple (!) matter of removing the old and replacing with the new; the dash even tells me when I switch them on and what level they're on (for a second or 2). IF I hadn't been lazy and had moved the bike into the clear, it would have saved me a load of walking around but at least the extra exercise kept me warm!

Hoping for similar weather tomorrow to road test them.
 
Both my bikes come with heated grips, one built in and one aftermarket oxford ones, they are a godsend in colder weather, ive got a heated gilet for my body that is battery powered and again that works well, why havent i gone for heated gloves, welli dont want to be tethered to the bike and i like to tuck my gloves inside my sleeves when it rains, its no good having gortex gloves if the water runs into them down the sleeve hence why you need to to tuck them in and i wouldnt be able to with the batteries on the gloves( ive tried a pair to see if they fitted), so for me gortex gloves and heated grips works well
 
Mates batteries only last 4 hours which is not long enough really, another set spare batteries were 45 quid and he reckons he got them cheap.
 
No hate - it's all 2 wheels!!!

Lovely, warm handed ride down to Exmouth to see the loonies gathering for their christmas morning sea swim... The sea front was rammed and the bucket shakers were doing well (for the RNLI). Didn't bother with the heated gilet - got decent Oxford winter jacket and trousers that zip together well enough to exclude draughts.

Safe riding to one and all for the years ahead and hope one in particular is back in the saddle soon (Dave/Brendan).

Just need the weather to warm up enough to wear the vented jacket that appeared beside the TV overnight - a bit chilly for it this morning!!!
 
I remember about 35 years ago, stopping to see if a scooterist was OK when I spotted him stopped in a lay-by. He was bricking it! He'd only stopped for a ciggie so I joined him. Good chat.
 
sat on one of my bikes this morning, managed to get my foot up on the footpeg without too much discomfort, think im a wee bit off riding just yet though and its a big b****r so il probably get one of the boys to get the bike out for me but if all goes well il be back riding in a couple of weeks...its been a long month
 
Don't push it (too far!) and set yourself back a step or 2, Dave.

Glad you're on the mend.
 
Nod said:
Don't push it (too far!) and set yourself back a step or 2, Dave.

Glad you're on the mend.
Click to expand...
Im going to take it easy i rode 6 years with a broken leg prior to this operation , il be fine im not going to rush things after all that, especially with the crap weather , i got back on it today more for my mental health than anything, to see if i could ive got a guage that i can measure, once im comfy on it il see if i can get on my FZ1 thats got a more sporty style but the pegs are higher...got to have goals to help me push through the pain and the physio...onwards and upwards
 
Brendan Mulachy said:
Im going to take it easy i rode 6 years with a broken leg prior to this operation , il be fine im not going to rush things after all that, especially with the crap weather , i got back on it today more for my mental health than anything, to see if i could ive got a guage that i can measure, once im comfy on it il see if i can get on my FZ1 thats got a more sporty style but the pegs are higher...got to have goals to help me push through the pain and the physio...onwards and upwards
Click to expand...
Go for it Dave, there's a saying " You don't stop riding when you get old, you get old when you stop riding". (y)
 
I used to commute the 120 mile round trip by bike for years on various bikes until getting knocked off in Essex in 2017. I wasn't badly hurt but my dear old Fazer 1000 didn't fare so well.
After that I continued to commute for a short time on my VFR800 but found I was using the car more frequently. I sold the VFR when ULEZ came in (I told my wife it wasn't ULEZ compliant and that I needed another bike, not entirely true) and bought a 2017 Kawasaki Z1000 SX. Since buying it I think I've put 1000 miles on it, if that, and only been in to work on it twice. This year, I'm determined to get back out on it and use it a bit more for fun rather than commuting.
20210818_141649 by Phill Windsor, on Flickr
 
looked at the weather ahead here in the north west and its driech...except for thursday, so got a couple of the boys to come round and we will be off on a cafe run, first one with the new knee, only 94 miles round trip, may as well take it easy for a first go...wish me luck, i cant wait
 
Hope the forecast is right and you enjoy the run out.
 
95 miles under the belt today, didnt think id make it at first as changing gear up was really painfull, ive been sitting on the bike and managing to get my foot on the peg and able to move the gear lever...but i was wearing trainies, i had my bike boots on today and A) the sole is thicker and B) its not as dextrous when going up/down, so thats made getting it up on the peg more difficult, but i persevered though and the more i rode the easier it got till it was just an ache, bit painful like pins and needles when taking my foot off the peg but bearable, think having it bent for a couple of hours has helped and i feel an improvement in how much i can now bend my knee, i will be treating more rides as physio sessions, im at physio on monday and they measure how much i can bend it so it will be interesting to see how much its changed ( i was at 90 degrees on monday)...roll on the next dry day, it was SO SO GOOD to be back on a bike, last time ive had this much off a bike was when i last broke it and couldnt ride for 3 months
 
When I couldn't move my ankle much, I hooked my heel over the lever to change up and stayed in 2nd on the way home up through town. The bike was happy pulling away in 2nd when I had to stop for a couple of sets of lights.

Glad you're back on 2 wheels.
 
Knee has been sore today and swollen so reduced my ability to bend it, bit of ice on it and il see how i am tomorrow, next ride planned for sunday slightly more miles at 113, see how i cope
 
we binned off sundays ride as it was p***ing down, but i went out round the forest of bowland today...135 miles and felt much better, still some discomfort and aching but no real pain, out at the weekend if its dry, and will probably do 180 ish miles...so glad to be back on 2 wheels...the bikes rotten and il spend most of tommorow cleaning the b****r :oops: :$:p
 
"Discomfort and aching" sound like the usual after-physio grumbles!
 
Last time I took my Guzzi for an MOT (It's Historic now) the tester smirked as I heaved myself over the machine to ride home.

I told him that he would eventually find out that as one approaches 70 it get harder to get your leg over.
 
Not too bad getting a leg over the Bonnie - but far easier on the Bobber!
 
managed 200 miles yesterday round the peaks, best physio is the desire to get back to something you love, no more pain last night than usual...roll on the summer
 
Brendan Mulachy said:
Both my bikes come with heated grips, one built in and one aftermarket oxford ones, they are a godsend in colder weather, ive got a heated gilet for my body that is battery powered and again that works well, why havent i gone for heated gloves, welli dont want to be tethered to the bike and i like to tuck my gloves inside my sleeves when it rains, its no good having gortex gloves if the water runs into them down the sleeve hence why you need to to tuck them in and i wouldnt be able to with the batteries on the gloves( ive tried a pair to see if they fitted), so for me gortex gloves and heated grips works well
Click to expand...
after saying i didnt want to be tethered to the bike via the gloves, ive recently bought a keiss heated jacket that does get power from the bike, ive had a heated jacket for a bit and i was happy with it but the keiss gear blows it out of the water, the battery one kept the chill off but the wired one even on medium is HOT, i was out in -1 up in scotland last week and i was toasty, definate game changer and 100% recommended, ive forgotten to unplug it a few times but it comes apart easy enough you dont even notice, the wire is zip tied to the frame of the bike though to secure it from getting tugged and the more i use it the more il remember to unplug first , just need it to stop p***ing down to give me a break
 
Does your Keiss jacket take their battery pack? If so, I wonder how long it will power the jacket and (possibly) gloves.

f5e7a5e4d4cf8371245342fd9115258a0f6d41ae_2_534x750.jpeg

Problem is that it's a 3600° corner...
 
Nod said:
Does your Keiss jacket take their battery pack? If so, I wonder how long it will power the jacket and (possibly) gloves.
Click to expand...

i havent got one but you can get a keiss specific battery pack for it for 90 quid if you want it to keep you heated off the bike, reading about them on sportsbike shop page it will last 3.5 - 4 hours on low, but just the jacket not the jacket /glove combo
 
So probably 2 or so hours with jacket and gloves. MIGHT be worth it if the hard wiring gets knackered!

Never realised just how much nicer heated grips (or gloves!) made winter riding until I had them.
 
Finally a couple of days of dry weather meant I could get out on my first ride of the year :banana:


A1_08538-Edit by Toby Gunnee, on Flickr
 
Hoping that Saturday will be dry.
 
Getting ready for Spring, haven’t rode in winter for years, new batteries for the Harley Street and my 1250 Bandit
The Street battery was a b****r to change, difficult to get old one out but the new one is slightly smaller so should be easier next time but can’t complain its the original one that has lasted 10 years
Bandit battery has only lasted 4 years but thats my fault for fitting a cheaper slightly lower power one , new one should be better
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top