Beginner Biker Adventures | Trials and tribulations of a London biker, from newbie to seasoned commuter

Downpipe Polish Review: OptiGlanz vs Autosol

Post author By Arthur
Post date April 21, 2015
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Downpipe Cleaner Face Off - OptiGlanz vs AutoSol — OptiGlanz vs AutoSol

The lovely people at LDMotorcycles recently approached me to review some OptiGlanz metal downpipe polish. I took one look at my dirty, discoloured and pretty rough stainless downpipes and said “Yeah, alright then!”

My Fazer has some Motad stainless steel pipes I put on about 1.5 years ago, however my daily commute in all weathers has taken it’s toll. They’re still structurally sound, but cosmetically looking a bit shabby. Discoloured, covered with ingrained crud and are splattered with spots of solid burnt on crap. Definitely in need of some TLC.

Tags Cleaning

News

Free Coffee & Biscuits for Bikers in North Wales/Shropshire

Post author By Arthur
Post date April 20, 2015
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If you’re near Oswestry on the A5 on the last Friday of the month, then check out the British Ironworks Centre. They’re offering free coffee and biscuits for bikers who pop in, perfect for that ride back from the Horseshoe Pas.

When: Last Friday of the month. Open 9am – 9pm.

Where: British Ironworks Centre. Google Map.

Riding

Ponderosa Cafe at the Horseshoe Pass

Post author By Arthur
Post date April 12, 2015
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I made a quick visit to the Ponderosa Cafe near the Horseshoe Pass, just outside Llangollen in North Wales whilst in the area for a family holiday. Unfortunately I was not on the bike, but still great roads and stunning views whatever you ride or drive.

Good turn out of bikes (not just these two old Brit bikes in the photo!) and a change encounter with a London Biker friend too. Do pop by and ride the pass if you’re nearby.

Tags Cafe

Maintenance

Servicing Forks Down at OMC

Post author By Arthur
Post date March 27, 2015
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Yesterday afternoon I was down at Oval Motorcycle Centre (OMC), again, giving my forks a good service. The seals had recently gone and were leaking a lot of oil onto the stanchions and more worryingly down towards the wheel, brake discs and calipers. Not so good.

Stripping the forks down is not a simple job for a newbie, however with the expert guidance of Matt at OMC, I was able to perform the majority of the work and learnt an awful lot along the way. I splashed out on genuine Yamaha oil and dust seals, after being warning away from poor quality pattern parts. New circlips also went on, as the old ones were rather rusty. Oil wise, I opted for standard spec 10w, purely to gauge what the bike is like as standard, before changing things. However many Fazer owners prefer 15w oil to firm up the front end and reduce diving.

The Fazer feels a lot better to ride now, definitely gives me more confidence in it’s handling. Perhaps some tweaking of preload settings could improve things further, something I’ve not tweaked about with yet. But that’ll be another day, maybe OMC’s Suspension Setup clinic…

Tags Repairs, Servicing, Suspension

News

Spring Update

ST55 LFN These last few weeks have been busy, but unfortunately rather mundane. A running theme of work, juggling kids, gloomy weather and being skint haven’t made for much excitement. Commuting through the winter is not a fun ride, but at least we’re starting to gain more light in the evenings now. Glad I went for the super bright Fluro helmet now. I am however getting more and more pissed off at idiots using mobiles whilst driving. See the shot from my helmet cam, this idiot was even stupid enough to opt for a super bright blue mobile that can be seen miles away! With the Met Police currently running their RoadSafe website to pass on the info, it’d be rude not to do something with all the juicy film footage I collect daily.

Motorcycles

Spotted: Custom Chop Commuter

Post author By Arthur
Post date March 3, 2015
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CustomChopOnLondonCommute
Spotting this shiny chop on my journey through London. Not your usual commuter hack.

Motorcycles News

London MCN Show 2015

Back home after tiring day walking around the London MCN Show down at the Excel centre. Pretty local, so seemed a good plan, however in hindsight it’s debatable if taking the two kids was also a good plan. Much moaning, whining, squabbling and numerous toilet stops later, we’re feeling pretty damned drained!

The MCN show is not huge, certainly not a patch on the Brum show at the NEC, but still visited by all the main manufacturers; Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Kawasaki, KTM, BMW, Ducati, Harley, Victory, Moto Guzzi. There was also an Ariel stand, some Lexmoto and Peugeot scoots on show too. No Royal Enfield’s this year though. No brand spanking new releases unveiled, but it did give me chance to check out first hand the new Yamaha R1 and Tracer, the Kwak H2 (No H2R on display though).

Tags Shows

Maintenance

Down at OMC Sorting Chain, Sprocket and Shock

Post author By Arthur
Post date February 7, 2015
No Comments on Down at OMC Sorting Chain, Sprocket and Shock

What a productive day, down at OMC (Oval Motorcycle Centre). Booked myself a bench and with the expert help of OMC’s Matt, I replaced the Fazer’s chain, sprocket and rear shock. Sure, I could have just dropped the bike off at a regular garage to do the work in a couple of hours, but down at OMC I not only got the work done well, but learnt how do it myself for the future.

Tags Servicing, Suspension

News

A Brief History of the Motorcycle Helmet

Post author By Ashley Solicitors
Post date January 27, 2015
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helmet_history_infographic

Gear Reviews

Raleri Visor Inserts Review – FogStop and Photochromatic PCShade

Post author By Arthur
Post date January 27, 2015
No Comments on Raleri Visor Inserts Review – FogStop and Photochromatic PCShade

RaleriFogStopVisorInserts-CloseUp — The Raleri PCShade FogStop

If you’ve ridden in the cold or wet you will know full well how big an issue a steamed up visor is. A whole cottage industry has grown up around this issue, with the Raleri FogStop being one such solution. Raleri kindly sent some of their products in for review, but I shall endeavour to keep this review honest. The FogStop works in a similar fashion to the popular Pinlock, in that it’s a secondary internal visor providing a double glazed setup to prevent your breath condensing on the cold exterior visor. I’m going to compare against the Pinlock a lot, as it does cover a huge chunk of market and is more commonly available and known. The FogStop inserts fundamentally differs in that no specialist visor with specific pins is required, it simply has adhesive edging to stick straight onto the visor. Great if your visor isn’t Pinlock ready or isn’t available for your lid (e.g. my Bell M3R). Oh and the FogStop is cheaper too.

Tags Visors