Very nice, welcome to the two-wheeled army!
Stay safe and dont forget those lifesavers!

 

Welcome to the forum! Top priorites are your class and protective equipment. Invest in decent quality gear, it will last a long time and do it's job should you need it. Always wear your gear, the best equipment doesn't do a bit of good if it's sitting in your closet at home when you go down. And don't forget to post pics of your ride. Cheers

 

Cheers guys! I hear you on those lifesavers, people seem to get seriously inconsiderate when they know that you're the one who's going to come off so much worse in a collision.

Lorry drivers/truckers seem really nice though, I filtered for the first time on friday afternoon (there had been an accident on the outer ring road and it was bumper-to-bumper for about 3/4 miles and the sun was blazing so it would have been stupid not to). The lorry drivers were great for shuffling over if they had the space.

I'd already bought a full set of gear for riding on the back of my ex's bike; a.c.u approved helmet (described as 'catastrophically pink' by my cbt instructor, little girls point and grin, I just wanted something brightly coloured). An ixon waterproof jacket that's actually two russian-doll jackets in one. Some rst textile trousers/pants/bottoms. Two pairs of gloves. Motorcycle boots. Got a balaclava-thing for wearing under my helmet as it doesn't have a removable liner.

I also went to an outdoor pursuits shop to buy some of those waterproof textile cleaning and re-treating products for tents and whatnot. Whilst I was mooching around I saw the most hideously eye-bleedingly luminous pink high-visibility waistcoat/vest and I HAD to buy it. It's covered in reflective strips. I do my morning commute at 6:30am and it'll be dark at that time soon. My bike also has reflective trim on the wheels.

Basically, if you don't see me coming, you'd have to be drunk, high, asleep at the wheel or shouldn't really be outside without a minder let alone be driving!

 

Outstanding! I'm a big believer in being obnoxiously visible while on my bike.

 

I'm terrible for luminosity, all my leathers are black and not a hint of reflective material anywhere. My bike however is in the garish colours of blue, purple, black and pink, it'e like a packets of liquorish allsorts.

 

Same here! I suppose the biggest hint that the ex was a bit of an idiot should have been him buying a black bike, matte-effect black helmet, black boots, black leather jackets, black leather trousers, black gloves... everything black and nothing waterproof or reflective! He ribbed me for having a top box because they 'look stupid', but he was soon asking if he could put stuff in mine and asking that seems as I'd brought my long chain along, I should chain his bike in too. I bought a chrome-effect disk lock that was too big to fit my little 125's brake disks so I bought another dayglo yellow electronic/alarm lock instead. He was then after my chrome-looking one because it 'went better with his bike's look'. Seriously! He became such a vain preening moron when he got his bike when I met him he was 20st+, long-haired, bearded, dirt-poor and practical. I think I might have spoilt him...

I only have the one photo of my bike at the moment, but here she is next to the ex's black CB750. The catastropically pink helmet is on the wing mirror and those are my legs in the bottom there... not wearing the proper trousers but it was a hot day and I was taking him out to Pizza Hut, so only a 30 & 40 mph jaunt through the city.

 

It sounds awesome! Benetton colours by any chance? I love the pink and white ones with the turquoise seats because it's just such an insane colour scheme.

I bought my bike off a guy in Yorkshire! Beautiful area of the country, I'd never been before. Ended up calling her Pet/Petal as she is my little Yorkshire lass. It was a mammoth first ride bringing her back from Middlesborough (stupidly so) without using any motorways. The ex led the way with his sat nav and I white-knuckled along behind, very glad we did it on a quiet sunday afternoon to be honest! I still managed to technically drop her in a lay-by when we were nearly home; we pulled up and my legs were like jelly, my mind was fried and I forgot about the kick-stand. I tried to dismount, she started going over, I was too limp to stop her so I just kind of threw my squishy body underneath her. His face when he turned around and took his earphones out to see me flailing about with her on top of me, squealing to pick her up quick - it was priceless. In retrospect anyway, at the time I was really annoyed that I'd had her the whole of a few hours and I'd already been an utter muppet. I couldn't find any damage or even dust from the layby on her so I don't think there was any contact. At least I came in useful for something!

 

yeah it's the Benetton colours, a nice bike for sure. You sound like you had a bit of a time getting through the countryside. A nice ride I'm sure but when your bike is new and you're not used to it, scary!.
I bought my bandit from a guy 165 miles away, it was my first bike bike and I rode it home, I didn't have any leathers at this point and my helmet was about 3 sizes too big, I also forgot all about the fuel switch so the bike gave out a few miles up the motorway, I pushed to the garage, bought some oil for it, put some fuel in and of course it would not go, I was fuming and I felt rather stupid thinking I'd bought a complete dudd, but after scouring the bike in a vain attempt to spot what might be wrong I saw the fuel switch and I kicked myself. How could I have been so stupid. Especially as the first bike I ever owned was a KMX 125 which I bought off a friend and I spent ages trying to kick start the damn thing, I phoned hime up and he ran to my house which was about 3 miles from his, he turned up puffing and panting turned the fuels switch and started it straight away, I never heard the end of it!

 

Well, I thought I’d dredge this post up so people can see how a noob’s epic foray into the world of motorbikes can unfold.

I passed my motorcycle theory test – just about, sodding hazard perception!

I went out for an assessment ride on a CBF500 to see if I was sure that I wanted to go for my direct access. I was terrified; the bike felt so big and the gear changes were so much quieter, but within minutes I’d got out onto a 40mph road, opened up the throttle and decided that I didn’t want my direct access… I NEEDED IT! The assessment ride went well up until I nearly stalled it at a junction (gear changes were so smooth and quiet compared to my 125 that I lost count). I braked and put my foot down but I completely lost balance and couldn’t stop the bike from going over, it was just too heavy. I went over with it and bruised my leg, elbow and my pride a little. It also broke my radio so the rest of the ride was a follow-the-instructor lesson. Overall though my instructor thought that there were no major issues and booked me in for a Module 1 practise session a month down the line.

Meanwhile, I saw Bugkiller on here had posted a Remembrance Sunday rideout on the Road Trips section of this forum. It was going to be my first 11/11 Sunday off work in years so I’d wanted to do something anyway, plus I wanted to try to make some biker buddies. The trip was up to the National Memorial Arboretum, which wasn’t too far, so I asked if they wouldn’t mind letting a newbie on a little 125 tag along. I figured anyone willing to get up before dawn on a wintry Sunday morning to go out to pay their respects to fallen service personnel must be good people!


I’m the little one in the middle in pink holding the map


After paying our respects we went for a little ride. At this point I noticed that we were a group of 3 CBR’s (plus one Suzuki, but we will excuse the rider’s taste as he’s a nice guy). My little CBR125, Bugkiller’s CBR1000F and a CBR1100XX; I even managed to keep up ok, even though I was a complete chicken about overtaking.

Next up came my Module 1. My new biker mates had all told me that I rode fine and that I’d have no problems passing, but you know how nerves can be. It was raining and I was taken across to a test centre I hadn’t been to before, but I just gave it my best shot. I struggled with pushing the CBF500 beast from the one bay into the other on a pure lack of physical grunt basis. I knew they couldn’t mark me down for taking my time so that I did. I took it slowly, made appropriate lifesavers and lost no points for it. Immediately after that I asked the examiner if he didn't mind me taking a couple of moments to catch my breath before moving onto the slalom and figure of 8. I was a bit out of puff and admittedly sweaty after hoofing the bike about in full winter waterproof gear. I was also a bit twitchy with adrenaline too so I mounted the bike, sat back, shook out my shoulders and took a few breaths to chill and cool off. Slalom, figure of 8, controlled stop, emergency stop, swerve to avoid, and remained under test conditions even when approaching the exit gates to leave. Lifesavers before pulling away every time. I knew the test doesn't finish until you are out of the compound and off the bike.

I KICKED ***! I had the head examiner but I still passed with NO MINORS. NOT A SAUSAGE! I CLEAN SHEETED the test. 53 and 53 on the speed trap for the emergency stop and swerve to avoid so I was good and consistent. The examiner phoned through to my riding school to congratulate me on being the best pass of the day.

I’ve got my module 2 on Monday 26th. I could have my full license within a week! Thanks for your encouragement everyone

 

Excellent!!!