http://www.gixxer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226570


Turns out the idiot put NOS energy drink in his gixxer instead of the fuel additive.

It's the gixxer forums, it's easy to believe one of them would actually do that.

I'm sorting out my summer plans and I'm debating doing a Eurotour in August. I live in England, my girlfriend's family are in Finland. Could get the ferry to Holland, ride through Holland, Denmark, Sweden (drop in on some relatives) and then get the ferry to Finland. It's around 2500km/1300 miles in all, which would be okay spread over 5-7 days.

Any Euro riders in here with experience in those countries? I know I've seen photos from someone in Denmark in here somewhere. Mainly looking for advice on riding conditions, any good riding roads and general touring advice.

Hah, I meant the general nature of riding in those countries. Like how strictly the speed limit's enforced, attitude of the police to riders getting their knee down, filtering, all those kind of things.

Mind if I email you to get some ideas of specific routes that are good?

Oh, Honda, always coming up with worthless concept bikes.

I just got back from a 2 week tour of rural France and it's shocking how much friendlier French bikers are than British ones, always waving when coming from the opposite direction or sticking out a foot when overtaking. Riders on cruisers and HD are still assholes, which just goes to show cruisers are poo poo bikes.

I know, I'm just trying to wind people up. That said, the two absolute worst riders I saw while I was over there were both on Yamaha HD knock-offs (no idea what the actual model was): one went straight from a minor road to a major road at a junction without even bothering to check for traffic and came so so close to being wiped out by an oncoming lorry. The other poo poo got his braking distance wrong and hit me from behind on the approach to a roundabout.

I wish the rain would stop over here: I misjudged my corner speed this morning and then pulled way too hard on the front brake. Missing a large chunk of skin from my knee because that's the only bit of me that wasn't in proper gear: boots did a good job of protecting the ankle that got trapped under the bike and jacket saved my elbows.

Put your left foot on the left peg first, stand up on it and then swing your right leg over.

If you're thinking about BMWs, definitely go for an older model. The AA and RAC (the two biggest breakdown assistance organisations in the UK) have said that they get more call outs for broken BMWs than all other motorbikes due to slipping quality standards in the newer bikes.

I was told that even lights in quiet areas that are pressure activated still change on a timer to make sure that no-one gets missed. Don't know if it's true but I've only had to run a red light once and that's because it was broken.

I'm guessing EPA means the environmental standards? How is that? Emissions standards for motorbikes in the EU are ridiculously stringent in comparison to the US so surely any bike that meets EU standards will pass the US ones without trouble.

Isn't this a great way to end up needing a new gearbox?

What's the right way to do it? I just learnt how to blip the throttle to smooth out changes instead.

It's nicknamed the Dullsville in the UK because it's supposedly incredibly dull to ride. Favoured by people who commute huge distances and only care about reliability and comfort, not fun.

If you're a regular cold weather rider then it's worth springing for heated grips and a pair of hand protectors (you know, those bash guards in front of the levers more commonly found on dirt bikes) or some bar muffs if you have no sense of shame

I met my current girlfriend at the Bodies exhibition - it's a great place for picking up women.

Don't be a pussy, stud your tyres and get out there!

Haha, poo poo. 'Bike' magazine in the UK dynoed a BMW S1000RR and found it makes 184bhp at the rear wheel, more than an RSV4/1198S/ZX10R/Hayabusa on the same dyno. I know dynos are very woolly and you can fudge the figures etc but that's still hilariously overpowered.

edit: the other interesting thing in the article is that the project lead for the S1000RR said he felt the GSX-R1000 K5 was the best litrebike around and the one they took the most inspiration from.

That's what you'd think but all the people pretending to be cops that I've come across drive 5-10mph under the limit and generally act like holier-than-thou wankers.

The worst thing about motorbike forums is how people who have great opinions about bikes and are full of helpful knowledge turn into complete shitholes with the most obnoxious and repulsive beliefs in the general banter sections.

If it's an '09 bike then shouldn't it still be under warranty? You could argue defective parts because the chain shouldn't snap on a recent bike unless the tension was too much.

You will end up losing more of your hearing than normal with age if you don't wear earplugs.

That box junction really needs to be extended to cover the whole of the junction instead of just half. As far as I'm aware, the official line is that you should enter the right hand lane and then merge into the appropriate lane once you're clear of the junction. Like you said, the reality is that you just try to get clear of that junction as quick as possible before the lights change - it looks like a badly designed area.

Also, talking of massive roundabouts, have you tried the magic roundabout in Hemel yet? It's one massive roundabout made up of 6 small ones so you actually have to go the opposite way round to normal. It's always obvious who's never been to Hemel before because they get stuck in the middle somewhere.

Only when the timing's done properly. The local big roundabout has poorly thought out timing that gives priority to traffic coming onto the roundabout from all directions but not to traffic already on the roundabout, which results in massive congestion because people can get on easier than they can get off.

Dunno what weird bikes you're riding but most modern bikes won't start in neutral or any gear without the clutch pulled in. In the UK they'll cut out of you put the engine in gear with the side stand down too.

Do you Yanks get this Honda?



Possibly the best looking bike in their current range. CB1300S in case you're wondering.

I'm definitely considering moving up to one. 200 mile tank range yet still able to punch its weight on the track? Hell yes, especially when it's got that gorgeous classic muscle bike look going on.

In France it's mandatory to carry a high-vis vest with you at all times although there's no requirement to actually wear it. The French have the most strict laws about bikes in the EU so if you meet their requirements then you'll have no trouble elsewhere - carry a spare set of bulbs for every different kind on the bike, spare fuses, high-vis vest and that's it. Also make sure you have a large amount of cash on you because you get roadside fines for speeding in France and if you can't pay it on the spot then they will take you in the police car to the nearest cashpoint. Finally all bikes in France have to be limited to 100bhp or less so don't waste your money on a litrebike, settle for a 600 supersport or another mid-class bike.

To be honest, I wouldn't hire a bike in the UK because our best biking roads tend to be the most distant from major airports and train stations because they're hidden away in North Wales and Scotland. Italy is your best bet for excellent roads in continental Europe and Sweden is also fantastic if you get out there. I can't recommend any bike hire places because I've always taken my own bike to the continent.

Erm, generally "higher level bikes" have much better brakes and you can stop a hell of a lot faster compared to lower spec bikes. My experience has been that I don't have any trouble with throttle control on big bikes because I learnt that easily but overcoming my instinct to pull hard on the brakes like I would on my SV is a lot harder. I've locked the front up on big bikes more than once by underestimating how much bite the brakes have.

Depends on local laws - some countries require speedos to be accurate within a given range of error.

Isn't the national speed limit in Norway 50mph?

I think most countries don't explicitly require turn signals but if they're fitted then they have to be working.

Just practice your emergency braking and then take the callipers off and give them a once over? If it's been standing then you should be giving everything a go over before you take it to a track.

You can't see the back of the bike while riding so who gives a poo poo what it looks like.

I have done a lot of questionable things on a bike but at least I've never been such a wanker as to colour-coordinate my leathers with my bike's plastics.

That's equally unacceptable.

Compartment syndrome can be chronic, which means you get progression from only having symptoms on the bike to having other, less strenuous exercises triggering it. Or you could have a stress fracture.

Time to pop along to the doctor.

Energy drink companies! Just got to make your business plan XXXtreme enough for them.

Take it to a 5 star Arai service centre. They'll send it to Arai for you and Arai will inspect it - plenty of people have had helmets they were preparing to junk be declared okay after being x-rayed by Arai. No need to drop the money on a new helmet just yet.