Author: Arthur

Seasoned London commuter, doing my best to stay rubber side down and never stop moving forward.

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Motorcycles

San Francisco Motorcycle Rental at Dubbelju – Triumph Bonneville

Cruising the San Francisco motorcycle roads with Dubbelju

I wanted to try something a bit different which I could fling around the bends without grinding foot boards

June saw me back in California for another two week work trip in Silicon Valley, and again stuck out there over the weekend with nowt to do – what a drag. The last couple of trips I had a couple of Harley Davidson rentals, a Dyna 103 Low Rider and a Road King; so this time I wanted to try something a bit different which I could fling around the bends without grinding foot boards. This is when I found Dubbelju (pronounced double-you), who are also based in the Mission district of San Francisco, but offer a much wider selection of bikes, from adventure and touring to custom, cafe racers and street bikes. Read on for the full low down on my bike San Francisco motorcycle rental.

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Maintenance

Replacing Clutch Cable on Yamaha Fazer FZS600

A common job on any bike with a cable clutch that’s done a few thousand miles or worse has had a snapped cable. As time progresses cutch cables will stretch, requiring adjustment to bring in the slack, but eventually, they will need replacing. Similarly, if they have frayed or kinked preventing easy movement a replacement is the best course of action. Here I’ll walk you through step by step how to replace a clutch cable on a Yamaha Fazer FZS 600 (1999-2003), but other bikes will be fairly similar, tending to vary only on how the bottom end of the cable connects to the clutch.

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Clothing/Protection

Custom Motorcycle Gear – Hideout Leathers

Hideout Leathers

Trying to find motorcycle clothing that fits well can be a real struggle. Nobody wants ill fitting gear, making you worry if armour will remain in position in an off or just looking naff. I’m fairly tall and slim, so finding trousers long enough in leg and with slim enough waist is not easy. My wife is somewhat the opposite and similarly finds it tough to hunt down gear short enough – it’s not so easy to turn up leathers. This is where Hideout Leathers really corners the market with their custom motorcycle gear tailor made for you.

Motorcycle Gear Hideout Leathers

Tucked away in the Essex countryside a short distance from Saffron Walden, Hideout Leathers have a small store and workshop, where they sell many decent brands off the peg from the likes of Rukka, Dane, Halvarssons and Lindstands.  But uniquely they offer their own range of custom tailored motorcycle gear, an alteration service for off the peg item and an repair service for older gear.

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Motorcycles

Cheap(ish) Euro 3 Commuter Hack Motorcycles to Beat the London ULEZ

You’ve all heard the news of the London ULEZ coming into effect from April 2019 that will penalise all pre-Euro 3 bikes within central London. That’s generally anything older than 2007 will be hit with a £12.50 a day charge, with London only being the start – many other UK cities have already started similar proposals, so if you’re running a cheap old commuter hack, time is ticking.

the recent motorcycle crime epidemic is making insurance premiums prohibitively high on anything of value or large capacity

We’d all like splash out on a new bike, but not all of us have the financial luxury and PCP deals are rarely economical for a daily commuter doing big yearly miles. Even worse for those who live in inner London, the recent motorcycle crime epidemic is making insurance premiums prohibitively high on anything of reasonable value, large engine capacity or desirability.

So where does that leave a seasoned commuter on a budget needing a ULEZ motorcycle to replace their trusty and reliable commuter hack? Here are some suggestions of practical Euro 3 compliant bikes for city commuting that won’t break the bank both to buy or to insure.

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Categories
News

MCN Festival Peterborough Low Down

A sunny weekend, lumbered with the bored kids and wishing I was out on the bike. Hmm, what to do instead? Well, the MCN Festival up near Peterborough was on and looked like a good day out. At £16 quid for an advance day ticket, kids going free, only an hour and bit drive away and plenty on schedule – it seemed a good option.

Yamaha boy checking out the new MT-09

Located at the easily accessible East of England show ground it was a surprisingly big event. My first time in attendance and I’d certainly not been to the old BMF rally it descended from either. A large number of manufacturers and key dealers were present displaying the latest bikes to see up close, sit on and take for a quick test ride out on nearby roads.

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Riding

Motorcycle Routes – Essex Ride Out Loop

A couple of weeks ago I was asked to lead a ride for the ELAM group. A bit of a double edged sword, a great chance to pick a route via my favourite motorcycle routes Essex has, but also somewhat nerve wracking – you don’t want to miss a turning, lose anyone and so on. For the ride I choose a popular Essex loop, starting in Harlow, then taking in Finchingfield, Halstead, Mersea Island, Maldon, Burnham-on-Crouch then returning to Harlow.

Motorcycle Routes – Essex Loop Part 1

Motorcycle routes Essex - Finchingfield
Bikes on show at Finchingfield

The first leg starts at Harlow McD’s just off M11 Junction 7, takes a number of rural and twisty roads up through Ongar, Hatfield Heath, Stanstead airport, Thaxted and then Finchingfield. These back roads twist and turn and are great to throw your bike left then right, and almost all have great condition tarmac. Definitely some of the best motorcycle roads Essex has to offer. With the weather warming up a much needed ice cream was had in Finchingfield as we checked out all the bikes on show.

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Categories
Maintenance

Honda CBF500 Air Filter Change (2003-2008)

Standard service time and one of the key items to sort out is the air filter. The Haynes manual recommends this is replaced every 12000 miles or every 18 months. This is a really simply and quick item to change on the Honda CBF500, anyone can do it. Here I’ll give you a quick step by step guide on this task.

First, you need to remove the pillion and main seats. The main seat has a pair of 10mm bolts at its rear which can be accessed once the pillion seat has been removed. You then need to prise off the left hand side panel, this has two push fittings (highlighted in red below) in rubber gaskets and pops off with a firm pull.

Removal of side panel
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Maintenance

Pre Ride Motorcycle Check – POWDERS Bike Check

Before you jump on your bike it’s highly recommended you run through a pre ride motorcycle check to ensure your bike is in good condition and won’t leave you in trouble. It can be crucial to catch anything unsafe or possibly even illegal (e.g. bald tyres), but also to keep tabs on general wear, tear and items due for servicing.

When to do Pre Ride Motorcycle Checks

It’s advisable to go through these before each ride or at least every few days if you ride daily. If your bike has been parked unused for several days or you’re planning a longer trip away, then definitely run through these checks. If you’re commuting daily on your motorbike you can probably go through this pre-ride motorcycle inspection every few days as you get more in tune with your bike’s condition and how often items need attention.

The POWDERS Motorcycle Check

Yep, it’s a funny acronym, but it will help you remember how to do motorcycle pre ride inspection, so you do not forget anything. This how to is one I was taught as part of my IAM training and can be found in the RoadCraft book.

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Videos

California Dreaming – Harley Davidson Rental of Road King

Back in February I was posted out to California again for a three week work trip, spending time in San Jose and San Diego. During me free weekend I rented a Harley Davidson Road King from EagleRider similar to last September when I rented a Harley Dyna 103. Not my usual kind of bike, but certainly a good laugh and a great way to explore the Bay area, see the sights and occupy a weekend. Sit back and watch my antics on this San Francisco motorcycle rental.

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Videos

BMW Drivers

BMW don’t have a great reputation. I’m sure they’re not all that bad, but it does seem like an awful lot are pretty bad. Here’s a Beemer driver I spotted last year, though this one got his comeuppance – enjoy!

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