View Full Version : Well...gosh!
And blimey!
As I am such a scaredy cat and the weather has been a bit rubbish and my car didn't have to go in for work and numerous other excuses I have not ridden my bike since I had the seat lowered.:( Sat on it yes but never actually gone for a ride...until this evening. Why? Dunno really. Fear mostly, fear of dropping it, fear that the seat height reduction wouldn't utterly transform how I felt about riding it (and I needed it to or I would have given up) so I have been putting it off if I am honest. :smt105
Thought tonight that I had no excuses left, beautiful evening, home from work early, hubby there to help me get it off the stand. So rode off the drive and up and down our little cul-de-sac.
Well, just that little ride 50 yards up the road and not only could I put my feet flat, the bike was TALKING to me!!! I kid you not! I could feel what it was doing, what the tyres and suspension and road surface was telling me! The bike felt rock solid and planted. I cannot tell you how much I feel the bike has changed. I then went out for a proper ride.
I swear my knee was nearly down at some roundabouts! ;) I was probably only a couple of degrees off vertical in truth but the bike was telling me so much about what it was doing that I was leaning at far greater angles than I have done before round roundabouts and corners and it felt AMAZING!!!!:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D
Now all you hardened bikers are probably laughing at my naivety but riding the bike before has never felt quite so involved as I thought it should be. The cars I have are all what you would term 'drivers cars' and I can feel what they are doing through my feet, bum, hands, ears; as a result I cannot drive bland euroboxes as I can't figure out what the car is doing:confused: :).
I think I am now sitting in the bike rather than on it due to the substantial lowering the new seat has had (see this thread for pics http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=113932) and there is much less foam insulating me from the bike, however due to the gel/memory foam in it, it is so comfy :). I piled back home with a huge grin on my face, ate my dinner and piled back out again. Something I would have made excuses about doing before.
I NOW GET IT!!!!!\\:D/
Sorry for the long rambling post but I just had to tell someone who would appreciate what I was getting at :) Thanks for listening :D
Trace :)
Congrats, where in the eastmids are you? and what 'drivers cars' do you own :cool:
scottjames
28-07-08, 09:36 PM
its rele cool isnt it. i love it whe it just clicks and every thing is good an you think what was i worried about. when i got my sv in jan it was the biggest bike id ridden so at first i was griping the throttle hard and making my hand ache. i couldnt stop doing this then one day i just relaxed and every thing was so much better. now i cant get off the thing. :p
Congrats, where in the eastmids are you? and what 'drivers cars' do you own :cool:
North Notts near Alfreton so a hop and a skip to the Peaks. :cool:
As for cars, an old school Mini with 10" X 6" wheels and uprated cooper 'S' brakes and a 4 ltr TVR Chimaera. Well they're mine anyway. Hubby has an Alfa GTV and a Ferrari 348 TS. The 348 is sublime, the Mini is a hoot, the Chimaera is a V8 hooligan and you have to own an Alfa if you are a true petrolhead :)
Thought you knew this anyway as you are on PH aren't you? Still got the bike?
Trace :)
21QUEST
28-07-08, 10:00 PM
'well....gosh' ? :rolleyes: ;)
I didn't laugh...just :) and enjoyed reading the post :D
You get me?......well, I got you :mrgreen:
Ben
21QUEST
28-07-08, 10:03 PM
North Notts near Alfreton so a hop and a skip to the Peaks. :cool:
As for cars, an old school Mini with 10" X 6" wheels and uprated cooper 'S' brakes and a 4 ltr TVR Chimaera. Well they're mine anyway. Hubby has an Alfa GTV and a Ferrari 348 TS. The 348 is sublime, the Mini is a hoot, the Chimaera is a V8 hooligan and you have to own an Alfa if you are a true petrolhead :)
Thought you knew this anyway as you are on PH aren't you? Still got the bike?
Trace :)
Trace, do you know who I just thought of, right now?...one guess....before I say it and possibly get killed by you :p
Ben
well done ace-t. you are now a member of the 2 wheeled club, welcome aboard.
there is nothing wrong about being aprehansive.
enjoy your bike rides
stuntpilot
28-07-08, 11:14 PM
Glad it's coming together for you ace-t :D
I used to have a Chimaera 450, so know exactly what you mean. 4l? A mere pussycat! ;) Now I have a bland eurobox - well it's RWD and well balanced, but it aint no sports car.
Course you do realise this is dangerous, don't you - now you'll be hooning around and doing 300 miles+ a week - there's something about bikes that not even TVR got close to in terms of involvement.
Enjoy and make the most of the weather!!!
tanis34
29-07-08, 05:47 AM
glad your feeling the true flair and feel of biking and its now time to enjoy
North Notts near Alfreton so a hop and a skip to the Peaks. :cool:
As for cars, an old school Mini with 10" X 6" wheels and uprated cooper 'S' brakes and a 4 ltr TVR Chimaera. Well they're mine anyway. Hubby has an Alfa GTV and a Ferrari 348 TS. The 348 is sublime, the Mini is a hoot, the Chimaera is a V8 hooligan and you have to own an Alfa if you are a true petrolhead :)
Thought you knew this anyway as you are on PH aren't you? Still got the bike?
Trace :)
Ah right, do I know you off pistonheads :confused:
Nice selection of cars anyway :cool: I'm 5 minutes from you
Hi,
I think im the same, maybe a little smaller 5.3 or 5.4. and think i could perhaps doing with having my seat lowered, where did you get it done or did you have to buy the seat already lowered?
Thanks.
Trace, do you know who I just thought of, right now?...one guess....before I say it and possibly get killed by you :p
Um, no, should I be flattered or insulted ;) OK, one guess...Clarkson on a bad hair day!
Hol, I bought the seat 2nd hand from a chap on here for £19 inc P&P and a mate of a mate did the sculpting and recover for £40 in Lincoln. Not the cheapest but I think the lowest I could get. All in all a very happy bunny here.
G if you are up for a pootle round sometime give me a shout. my 'test circuit' is the J27/Annesley bypass then the back roads around Alfreton/Clay Cross/Matlock etc.
Trace :)
Yep always around there :cool: so let me know.....will keep an eye out for you.
suzsv650
30-07-08, 07:59 AM
haha awsome!
21QUEST
30-07-08, 08:44 AM
Um, no, should I be flattered or insulted ;) OK, one guess...Clarkson on a bad hair day!
Hol, I bought the seat 2nd hand from a chap on here for £19 inc P&P and a mate of a mate did the sculpting and recover for £40 in Lincoln. Not the cheapest but I think the lowest I could get. All in all a very happy bunny here.
G if you are up for a pootle round sometime give me a shout. my 'test circuit' is the J27/Annesley bypass then the back roads around Alfreton/Clay Cross/Matlock etc.
Trace :)
Flattered or insulted?......definitely not 'insulted' from this side but you may think different hehe hence my coat at the ready :lol:
It was VBH :p ;)
Ben
Littlepeahead
30-07-08, 10:09 AM
I had done a few longer rides but felt that nerves were sometimes holding me back on cornering. Then I did a Bikesafe day with Essex Police where they asses your riding and help you overcome any problems you are having. It was brilliant - gave me loads of confidence and now I corner so much better and don't wobble when doing slow tight turns as they taught me the art of counter balance. See if there is anything similar in your area. My day cost £50 which included lunch at a great little biker cafe. Worth every penny and now I'm keen to do a ROSPA course next spring.
Thank you 21q, that was a very nice compliment!
LPH, thanks for the info. I am actually in the process of looking for a Bikesafe course to do. Notts don't do one and Derbys do something else. Lincs is fully booked until November so I will try Leics next.
G, I reckon I have seen you out and about, I am always quite pleased when I spot another SV on the road :)
Trace :)
G, I reckon I have seen you out and about, I am always quite pleased when I spot another SV on the road :)
Trace :)
I dont ride an SV anymore, there is loads in the area though, keep pointing people in this direction but they never seem to sign up. More fool them as they are missing out on the atmosphere and massive amounts of knowledge.
I had done a few longer rides but felt that nerves were sometimes holding me back on cornering. Then I did a Bikesafe day with Essex Police where they asses your riding and help you overcome any problems you are having. It was brilliant - gave me loads of confidence and now I corner so much better and don't wobble when doing slow tight turns as they taught me the art of counter balance. See if there is anything similar in your area. My day cost £50 which included lunch at a great little biker cafe. Worth every penny and now I'm keen to do a ROSPA course next spring.
Bikesafe in Lincs tomorrow and after commuting in on Thursday (50 mile round trip) I am feeling quite ok about it. Going with another girly so it should be a hoot :D
Will report back on whether it was £25 well spent or not.
Trace :)
I NOW GET IT!!!!!\\:D/
Welcome to the fold
Sorry for the long rambling post but I just had to tell someone who would appreciate what I was getting at :) Thanks for listening :D
Trace :)
Don't worry about it, it's the best post of the year! To have someone trully convert like that I mean it :D
Stay safe
BigBaddad
11-10-08, 04:34 AM
Alfa GTV mmmmmmmmmm....what year is that?
You could join us on Sunday http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?p=1651377#post1651377
captainsmelly
11-10-08, 11:46 AM
[QUOTE=BigBaddad;1651384]Alfa GTV mmmmmmmmmm....what year is that?
/QUOTE]
my wife is after one of these, what have you got? v6? recommend?
BigBaddad
11-10-08, 12:50 PM
anything with rear wheel drive
I'm baaaack!
That was bloody brilliant! :smt026
Up and out at 8am to meet my mate at Newark at 9. Directions written in big writing on paper selotaped to my tank (thank you to the person who gave me that tip - very helpful). Journey there was uneventful but slow.
An hour or so of discussion about why we were there, the new(ish) THINK! advert (which is cool and surprisingly unpatronising). CGI crashes, ugh, horrible even though it was just computer animation. This was to discuss the reasons behind the crashes and how the biker could have prevented them.
On thing that was said by the top bike copper there though was that filtering is completely at the bikers own risk due to precedent set by a specific case a few years ago. Filtering past junctions (right and left) is a no-no due to the likelyhood of the cage-numpty doing something daft.
Cornering and observation were the main topics though and helped me a lot. I know the theory but watching someone who actually knows what they are doing is a whole different thing. We followed the police biker (lovely chap) taking the lines he was setting for us and it just flowed! It made the ride so smooth. We then went down Caistor High St - What a road! And at the end he complimented me on how I rode that stretch - to say I am chuffed is an understatment!
Knackered, and going to get pizza - bye!
Trace :)
On thing that was said by the top bike copper there though was that filtering is completely at the bikers own risk due to precedent set by a specific case a few years ago.
That's a shame that they are still spouting out of date/superseded case law :( I know it helps them to get the message across, but if it does happen I would rather know the latest beneficial case law.
I presume he was referring to Powell v Moody. You should now be referring to Davis v Schrogin
Mr Schrogin was stuck in a traffic jam in his car on a straight road. Mr Davis was riding a motorcycle along the same road in the same direction and was able to overtake the stationary queue as nothing was coming in the opposite direction. Mr Schrogin decided to leave the queue by executing a U-turn. Although Mr Davis' motorcycle was visible, Mr Schrogin did not see him until his car collided with the motorbike. Mr Schrogin accepted in evidence that he was looking the wrong way. Mr Davis first saw Mr Schrogin's car moving towards the kerb in preparation for the u-turn and was no more than five cars' length back from the point of impact.
The trial judge found Mr Schrogin negligent in making the u-turn without looking properly, and that Mr Davis was not to blame. Mr Schrogin argued that Mr Davis had accepted that he had paused to react and was contributory negligent. The Court of Appeal held that Mr Davis was so close to the point of impact that he could not have avoided the collision, so there was no basis for a finding of contributory negligence.
http://www.toppingpartnership.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=17048&d=101&h=350&f=351
Filtering past junctions (right and left) is a no-no due to the likelyhood of the cage-numpty doing something daft.
Also I prefer to think for myself at every situation rather than just follow set rules. But it's not a bad rule to follow.
vBulletin® , Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.