Bike question...
eric_draven
Posts: 1,192
Cost?,depends on how much your lessons will be with using the instructors bike,then using it for the tests,and how quick you learn,a friend of mine did his about 2 years ago in scarborough and said it cost him roughly £500,with test,lessons and bike hire,he did ride motocross few years earlier,getting to grips with a manual bike is not as hard as it seems,up and down gearbox and clutch on your left hand,hire a 125 off an instructor when you redo your CBT,you will pick it up,also driving a car and having a moped by the sounds of it you should have road sense to start with
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Gears and clutch will take a while to get used to if you've only ridden automatic bikes.
With all the crazy rules and stages for various ages, you may not be able to ride the barn find due to your age.0 -
Can't you go to Portugal by Ryan Air for 20 quid, sit your test after a couple of Aguilas (or whatever the hell they call it out there), give the instructor a sly tenner, buy a bike for £50 euros and ride it back to the UK filling up with sans plomb deux etoiles all the way and then put it on the back of a Norbert Dentressangle truck whilst the driver is having a piddle?
A license and a bike lesson for less than 100 smackers.
Don't ask a question like this again unless you are prepared to pay for the right answer. This one is a freebie from me.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
What's sans plomb deux etoiles?0
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The older I get, the better I was.0 -
Capt Slog wrote:
Two star? Haven't heard talk of 'stars' for years. There is just unleaded 95 and 98. Sure he doesn't mean 2 stroke?0 -
What sort of license, I think there are 3 different levels now. A1, A2, A?
I think when I did my direct access (4 years ago) it was around the £500 mark for 4 days lessons (including renewing CBT) plus the two tests using the school's bike. That's probably gone up a bit now but I am talking about London prices. I'd been riding a scooter for 2 or 3 years when I took the DAS and I reckon 4 days was about right. First day was on a 125cc, second day we did quite a lot of the mod 1 practice (around cones etc).
I wouldn't have thought that the schools would put much value in bicycle experience but if you call up a couple of local schools they'll tell you how many days they think you need based on your experience.0 -
bernithebiker wrote:Capt Slog wrote:
Two star? Haven't heard talk of 'stars' for years. There is just unleaded 95 and 98. Sure he doesn't mean 2 stroke?
Of course my post was deadly serious and very accurate from the outset.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
If you're still 18 then you have to do the full test just to be able to ride a 125cc then do another test (although only the mod 2 practical if you wait 2 years) to upgrade to A2 when you turn 19. if I'm reading it correctly then you'd have to do the full test again if you wanted to upgrade within two years http://www.geton.co.uk/motorcycle-training-licence/
If it was me, I think I'd just wait until 19 - do the cbt now and get some practice on a 125cc if you want a bike to ride in the interim. The only difference would be that you can't carry pillions and you have to show L-plates.0 -
madasahattersley wrote:bernithebiker wrote:Capt Slog wrote:
Two star? Haven't heard talk of 'stars' for years. There is just unleaded 95 and 98. Sure he doesn't mean 2 stroke?
95 RN is standard but most "super" octane unleaded is around 97. I believe Shell and Tesco are the only places you can get 99 in the UK (i.e. momentum-99 or V-power 99)
I was shocked when visiting Amuuurica to see 87 as the regular then 91 sometimes sold as "premium". I think they measure it differently over there, but it's still sludgy junk that I'd be embarrassed to clean my windows with!
Watch out for RON and MON. RON is calculated octane, and MON is measured in a real engine. MON tends to be lower than RON.
But yes, the Yanks use lower octane than us, a throwback to the days when they used bigger, lower compression ratio engines than us, and partly why they started using methanol to boost RON in race engines.
95 and 98 RON are the industry standards, which can then be tweaked. Don't believe 99% of the bulls**t the majors try and sell you about their super-fuels, in most cases it'll make very little difference.0 -
The yanks also have 5? different grades of diesel - we have 1 grade and it's filthy. I think that diesel emissions could be greatly reduced if we weren't being fleeced.
On the above, the PG return with the Super unleaded in my SAAB did not make up for the price difference. An injector cleaner additive once every 3000 miles or so is a far better option.
More recent new Petrol station builds have very strict ventilation regs and this promotes condensation too.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
pinarello001 wrote:The yanks also have 5? different grades of diesel - we have 1 grade and it's filthy. I think that diesel emissions could be greatly reduced if we weren't being fleeced.
The yanks were well behind Europe when it came to moving over to Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel. They were mostly still using 500ppm Sulphur when we were at 50.
We are now at 10ppm, i.e. almost sulphur free. What is it that you find 'filthy' about our diesel?0 -
Standard unlead petrol which is 95 RON is akin to 3 star, 4 star unleaded petrol is/was 98 RON and is the same as super unleaded.
You only need sufficient RON to prevent your engine from pre-detonation (running like a bag of exploding spanners), too much RON has no benefit unless the engine can recognise this and change the engine mapping accordingly.
There is no such thing as two stroke petrol, there are 2 stroke engines that often need a mix of petrol and 2-stroke oil in about 50:1 ratio (and hence why the noisey blighters on their useless mopeds emit fumes that stink to high heaven)WyndyMilla Massive Attack | Rourke 953 | Condor Italia 531 Pro | Boardman CX Pro | DT Swiss RR440 Tubeless Wheels
Find me on Strava0 -
drlodge wrote:There is no such thing as two stroke petrol,
Not only can you buy premixed 5 litre cans of 2 stroke petrol* (i.e. pre-mixed and stabilised), but occasionally you also see small petrol stations in Europe that sell pre-mixed 2 stroke petrol direct from a small pump.
*generally not made from 95 RON unleaded, but from alkylate, higher octane, more stable. = more expensive!0 -
bernithebiker wrote:pinarello001 wrote:The yanks also have 5? different grades of diesel - we have 1 grade and it's filthy. I think that diesel emissions could be greatly reduced if we weren't being fleeced.
The yanks were well behind Europe when it came to moving over to Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel. They were mostly still using 500ppm Sulphur when we were at 50.
We are now at 10ppm, i.e. almost sulphur free. What is it that you find 'filthy' about our diesel?
It is smelly but not as smelly as the cooking oil we use in our van.
I will get back to you as it was a Doctorate in Chemistry who mentioned it. He has retired now after working in Saudi for years. I don't think it is down to just sulphur content. I'll try and get the full picture from him.
There are surcharge plans for diesel powered vehicles going in to urban areas been pencilled.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/8407964/Parking-permit-surcharge-to-force-diesel-cars-off-the-roads.htmlseanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
That used to be the London bike courier's bike of choice. Nice and reliable, but I wonder how many times it's been round Hyde Park Corner?!0
