Hey All.
i have some interesting developments within my own self discovery i would like to share. the main being that my journey is now down to 1hr 5m. i am 5 mins off my goal of an hour.
this is mainly because of my confidence on the bike and using the roads as my playground. i can control the bike much better without too much thinking now, although i have still managed to stall a few times at lights and through tight gaps.... LOL
i must admit it is embarrassing, but is mainlt because i try to accelerate too quick either in 2nd or in Neutral, then try to slip in 1st but miss the revs....
learning curve.... :)
i am becoming more bold with my positioning and speed as well, especially if it is dry, because i know the road has grip. i have even pushed the bike to 65mph which is its limit.
1 thing i would like to share is this. My journey is a tale of 2 halves. 1st being A-Road driving which has a speed limit of 50mph and is quite free flowing, and 2nd being inner London City roads..
on the A-Roads because my bik has an upper limit of 65mph it is not good for aggressive driving, as it has no power beyond 45mph.
0-40 is fast, and quick and in general beats most vehicles (except bigger motorbikes) from the lights.
40-50 is not bad, as long as the bike is not already in top gear.
50-65+ takes a while, and against the wind is slower still.
so in essence, when i am on the A-Road, if i am going 50mph, like most traffic i am stuck in the lane i driving in as i cannot be bold around the traffic any further. This is OK, as i accept this as the limits of the bike, but already my confidence is outstripping this limit.
for the 2nd part, the bike is perfect. It is small, nimble, light, and quick through traffic so is ideal for darting beside the queues to gain an advantage. this is where i am making up the time i think, becaus ei am learning where i can filter (outside, inside around etc) and what speeds i can get away with and the trouble zones.
overall then much better, and bike is acceptable for the type of journey i am doing, although i think a 250cc would be ideal, to accomodate the A-Road driving and still be small enough for the City drive.
we will see what happens. i said i would wait a year before taking my DAS course, but i need to chekc out the DVLA site, as i think the law is changing, so i might need to get in before then.
toodles..
3 comments:
Bloody Hell..... Rant time.
Today i started my journey and already its becoming a disaster......! A13 was backup near the Blackwell tunnel basically due to the Flyover being shut....then OK through lime house link and then Embankment then.... bang.. not right turn into Northumberland Ave... had to go round Parliament.
i left my phone at home so had no map, which meant to had to double back to where i knew best. Then managed to get into work and they have started closing more roads off. still managed to get in within 1h 10m.
i also done a few schoolboy errors which affirms my still "Newbie" status on the bike
first.... clipped a cars wing mirror whilst filtering to traffic lights... (i expect this is a common thing with most bikers). the geezer proceeded to get out the car and come and shout abuse in my face for not saying sorry.. i didn't have a chance to explain or say sorry as both hands were controlling the bike at the time.... wish i had more time....
Secondly.... i stalled the bike so many times it is unbelievable and the fact that i still have problems pulling away quickly.
in short bad morning, and i have a long way to go with this bike lark.
Today i have taken the public train to get into work. basically because last night i broke down again, but on a bend in the Limehouse link tunnel....!
this meant i was very vulnerable to commuter traffic.
basically, i had turned onto the Limehouse link from the Commercial road, entered the tunnel when the bike started losing Revs. i though it was strange and started giving it more revs, but all that happened was the bike started kangarooing, and having no power from throttle anyway.
this is when i had no choice but to pull over. i turned off the engine, then waited for 5-10mins hoping that maybe police may come by because i had no phone, i had left it at home ;(
well i started the engine, and it kept goign with power, and managed to get me home without any more issues.
so, i decided to take the trains early, because the traffic is heavy, and i ddn't fancy getting stuck again.. So i am goingt o contact the dealer and get them to have a look.
also, i notice the horn does not work, well it workswhen IT wants to. keep reading folks
I rang the dealer, and they said just bring it in, which i will do on Sat..! which means i'll have no bike for a small while :(
wnyway looking through various forums this is a common comlaint on this particular model. and the circumstances are same throughout the social spectrum.
in fact a guy has posted of the same issue, on a similar bike doing my journey had the issues. it turns out to have been a fault "Fuel Pump". so i will be mentioning this to the dealer... i'll keep you in the know peeps.
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