Last month I started the process of getting some bespoke made to measure Hi Pro textile trousers from Hideout Leathers. This week they were ready for a trial fitting, where I could try on a early first cut to test for size and see what further tweaks are required. Continue reading “Hideout Leathers Hi Pro Trousers Trial Fitting” »
Having rented big Hog’s on two prior work trips to San Jose, I opted for something a little different on my last visit. The Triumph Bonneville T100 is perhaps an unlikely choice, but was surprisingly capable and comfortable to explore the Bay area from Santa Cruz up to to Petaluma in the North, whilst still being a lot of fun to fling round the bends. Check out the highlights from my weekend adventure:
Big thanks goes to Dubbelju for their excellent bike rental service. Read my full review of Dubbelju here.
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 rented a Harley Davidson’s, 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 rental in San Francisco.
Continue reading “San Francisco Motorcycle Rental at Dubbelju” »
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. Continue reading “Replacing Clutch Cable on Yamaha Fazer FZS600” »
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.
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 tailor made motorcycle gear and alteration service. Continue reading “Hideout Leathers” »
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 starting 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 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 something 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. Continue reading “Cheap(ish) Euro 3 Commuter Hacks to Beat the London ULEZ” »
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.
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. Continue reading “MCN Festival Peterborough Low Down” »
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 roads, 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 loop around Essex, starting in Harlow, then taking in Finchingfield, Halstead, Mersea Island, Maldon, Burnham-on-Crouch then returning to Harlow.
Part 1
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, Standstead 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. With the weather warming up a much needed ice cream was had in Finchingfield as we checked out all the bikes on show. Continue reading “Ride Out Route – Essex Loop” »
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.
Continue reading “Honda CBF500 Air Filter Change (2003-2008)” »
Before you jump on your bike it’s highly recommended you run through a few pre-ride checks to ensure your bike’s in good condition and won’t leave you in trouble. t’s advised going through these before each ride or at least every few days if you ride daily.
P.O.W.D.E.R.S.
Yep, it’s a funny acronym to help you remember all the stuff you should check. This is one I was taught as part of my IAM training and can be found in the RoadCraft book.
Continue reading “Pre-Ride Checks – POWDERS” »
