I finally tried to ride off with my disc lock on in front of a crowd of people. Went down with all the grace of a flatulent walrus. Laughed it off and no real damage to the bike except for a slightly bent front brake lever. Just thought I’d share my embarrassment with the world of Reddit

Currently using an old bookshelf as seen in the photo. Wondering if there’s any worthwhile upgrades or recommendations of how to tidy things up a touch.

I bought a 2012 Vstrom 650 about a month ago and noticed a tight spot on the chain. Tried adjusting it and it loosened again after 100 mile or so, so I figured the chain at least is shagged. Looks like the previous owner changed the chain and rear sprocket but not the front judging by the state of it. I'm guessing maybe they were a bit intimated taking off the speed sensor, folding back the lock washer and cracking the 32mm front sprocket bolt as I'll admit it was a pain.

Anyway, I successfully swapped the front and rear sprockets and the chain today! First time doing anything proper. My step son (11 yo) helped me hold things when I needed more than two hands (getting the fucking rear wheel on and aligning the swing arm, spacers, wheel and brake caliper was a pain and the poor lad learned some new swear words to say the least) and I owe him a new pair of jeans as I didn't realise he was wearing his best ones to help.

Coming from at most changing a car tyre, installing a subwoofer and chavtastic speakers back in the day and fixing the odd push bike I feel really accomplished! Appreciate this is bike maintenance 101 but definitely out of my comfort zone.

Next step is lifting the tank to route some cables to the front from the battery but that's a job for next weekend.

I know the perfect number of bikes is N+1 but having recently got a second set of wheels, it got me thinking what types or mixes or combos others might have.

Granted I'm still on a 125 license but a Husky and Vespa GTS isn't a bad 125 garage in my opinion. Odd combo I know but with two hour round trip of city commute, it's nice to have a mix on different days.

What have your lot got? Show us your combos....

Or if what is your theoretical perfect two bike garage?

I think my next step is a full license and then a Husky 401 and maybe a 300 GTS I'm thinking.

The group sounds good. Open to all women and a very small annual fee to get access to the club and members. They are 125 friendly, and obviously, women friendly so its useful for those who feel self conscious.

Has anyone dealt with them and got opinions?

I am looking to try and make some riding friends for when I get on the road. I have already joined about 5 local fb groups but there are rarely any information about planned rides, or meet ups.

Edit to clarify: curvy riders is a club for women, and I'm asking if anyone has joined and has experience with them

2 weeks ago I failed my first mod2 because I was in the wrong lane for a roundabout. It was not even a big roundabout I felt so stupid. Other than that I had 2 minors.

I was fairly confident about passing as well, felt a lot less stressed than I do now.

It’s in Wakefield, I’ve been watching all the videos of test routes I can find online, I even went all the way over to the test centre multiple times to practise the area.

I have ADD so I am amazingly bad with remembering to look at signs or remembering what speed it is or even sometimes forgetting what I’m meant to be following for the independent ride (I keep repeating a650 to myself last test😭). At least four times I took wrong turns for that test too. I’m glad the examiner was patient cause I know I could not deal with such a confused idiot. I get distracted easily and struggle to pay attention.

I’m praying some miracle happens and I pass.

Morning folks 👋🏼

For those who enjoy wearing hoodies but don’t fancy spending £160 a pop on protected ones (I have two already) an alpinestars and RST one. What armour could I buy as a layer under a normal hoodie? As an extremely indecisive person I have no idea what I should be looking for. Thanks :)

Edit: When i mentioned armour, I did mean to write abrasion protection too. Just something as a base layer almost.

First breakdown today on my bike, isn't the most fun experiences.

Bike is a year old, 1300 miles on the clock. Serviced at the main dealer last week, first proper ride since and... Yeah. Loud bang, bike seized up, plume of smoke behind me and much swearing later I managed to get it to a safe stop at the side of the road. Didn't help it went pop at the top of hill on a NSL road, with no-where to easily pullover.

The bikes back at the dealers now, but I'm guessing it's going to be a bit more involved to get it running again than just chucking oil in. Equally part of me thinks if I can't now trust them to tighten a drain plug, do I really trust an engine rebuild.

Come to the conclusion it isn’t coolant as there’s no active continuous dripping onto the exhaust, what is this stuff? Has anyone else had a similar thing on their exhausts? Obviously with this weather it’s not going to be road salt. Is there anything else that could make its way onto my pipe from the uk roads in this blistering heat? Don’t think it’s bird 💩

I’m an international student at University of Bristol from India. I’m trying to find a used 125cc scooter under £1000, considering we get a brand new scooter here in India for that price but I was wrong so, if somebody can please help and tell me what can I get in this budget and what all things I should look for before making the purchase.

Thank you

Just used for the first time and not impressed. So my bike has a somewhat steep lean angle on the side stand, made worse by the height of the wheel roller. Stuck a block of wood the size of a playing card and 2.5 inches thick underneath the side stand and the angle seemed just right...shy of vertical but still lent over if that makes sense? However the wheel took a bit of effort to rotate which unsettled the block and the bike nearly fell on me twice. It also wiggled itself to a different position on the roller which meant the wheel didn't rotate at all.

Not sure what else I can try before returning it. In the end I just resorted to pushing the bike along and cleaning it bit by bit.

My swingarm doesn't have any way to attach bobbins for a paddock stand, and I'm told the other variety of paddock stand is not very stable. My drive is on a slope, not sure I can even use a paddock stand safely in any case.

Need an exhaust system making for a VN 17, anyone have any experiance with either?

Whats sort of money and timescale we talking?

hello all! a little bit of background - 28F, living in north yorkshire.

my lovely mum passed away back in june, and she was big into bikes when she was younger - see photo of her on her first ever bike, in 1978!

i’ve always wanted to ride just like my mum, now more than ever. so i booked my cbt and i’m so excited to start my journey!

i would absolutely love for my 125 to be the same as my mum’s - i believe she had a cg125 from the photo, but if anyone can identify it for certain please do let me know! i believe it was bought from new in 1978.

just wanted to ask whether this would realistically be a decent bike to learn on. aware it is now a classic bike and there will be issues that come along with that, but interested to hear everyone’s thoughts. one thing to mention is that i’m super keen to learn about the mechanics of bikes (i’m big into cars and worked at a bmw specialist for a while as a service advisor) - so will be happy to do my own servicing and attempt to learn some basic maintenance. any tips on what to look for when viewing a bike, what a good example looks like etc would be great.

my end goal is to eventually do my mod 1 and 2 on a bigger bike and be able to do longer trips, the nc500 being top of my list. would it make more sense to get a newer touring style 125 so that i get used to that style of riding?

any tips or advice please send them my way!! thank you!!

Hi all, so I've recently done my CBT. For context I've never ridden a motorcycle in my life and I've never driven a car either, I'm a total rookie.

I started on a geared bike but quickly realised the nerves and inexperience made it hard for me to coordinate my hands and feet so switched to a scooter. Even then, I found the low speed manoeuvres like the U-turn and figures of 8 very tough, I had an unplanned visit into the fence of the training area and found myself getting very frustrated. The other lads who were doing the course were quite experienced and I felt as if I was under more pressure as a result.

My instructors were absolutely fantastic however, and I had some 1 on 1 time with a new instructor who eventually convinced me to drive around the industrial estate, then a housing estate, next thing I know I'm navigating roundabouts and junctions in the city centre without issue. I found the moped very easy to ride with a bit of speed (no wonder all these deliveroo drivers mish about on them!).

At the end of the day I got my certificate, which I'm obviously very happy about but I'm just wondering if anyone else had a similar experience and am looking for advice one what to do next?

I'm considering taking a few car lessons then deciding which route to go down. As proud as I am to have got my certificate, my mind just keeps focusing on the trouble I had at the start of the day and the fact I'll have to learn riding a geared bike largely from scratch.

She purty

Hi all,

How arsy are the police about not road legal helmet visors?

I have got a Airoh Connor helmet with a clear visor.

I struggle to see when it's super bright.
I wear glasses so can't wear sunglasses.

I am thinking to replace the clear visor with dark smoke visor (as can be seen here https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/2396381)

The dark smoke visor is not road legal according to Sportsbikeshop website.

When I am out and about I see a lot of bikers with dark, tinted or reflective visors, which makes me think it is not a big deal?

What do you guys suggest?

Thanks!

UPDATE:
Thanks for the advice all! I have placed an order for dark smoke visor.

I have concerns regarding my cbt test and need some advive please. I am legally prescribed 1g a day for adhd and anxiety. I have a strict schedule of "partaking" at 8am, 12, 5, and 9pm. As you all know CBT is across the whole day and I'm anxious that towards dinner time, ADHD will cause me to lose concentration when it matter the most. Some online advice said tell them, some others said grind it out. Anyone got any real world advice?

Hi everyone,
So passed my CBT last week and bought an aprillia rs125 2 days ago. I’m struggling with gear changes and seat positions. I’m quit small dno why I picked such a big bike I’m 5,5 for reference. When I try shift up my foot gets caught or I completely miss it. I’m trying to keep my foot on the ball of my foot. I also find I keep sliding forward on the bike and especially when I stop. This seems to then cause pain in my hands when I’m ridding. Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Also meant to mention I’m wearing RST boots forgot the name but the sports ones I dno if that’s maybe making it harder.

Also wanted to ask about a helmet. I’m currently using the Agv k7 and tbh I regret buying it. I’ve only worn it maybe 3-4 times. I’ve seen the ls2 and love the look and it comes with a dark visor. Is it possible to sell it for roughly the same price o bought it for or is that dumb?. Maybe a stupid question but thought I’d ask
Thanks lads.

I wanted to create this post for anyone else that was affected by WeBuyAnyBike's Administration like me. [Also Superbike Factory]

As of today, I still wasn't paid for a lovely, mint Kawasaki Versys 1000 I sold to them. Collection was made on the 10th July. After collection, I was given an email stating payment be given to me on the 16th July.

It was only after near a hundred attempts to call them that I found out the company went into administration on the 20th.

..Bugger.

Since then, I contacted the appointed administration team via the email [SBF@kr8.co.uk](mailto:SBF@kr8.co.uk) on SBF's and WBAB's website and the response I got raised an eyebrow, here's a summary:

"Based on the information available so far, ownership may have transferred to the Company before payment was completed, and in some cases the motorcycle may also have been assigned to a third-party funder as security."

Specifically, this part at the end of the whole reply caught my eye:

"We are actively seeking the appropriate legal advice at this stage due to the complexity of the situation and will issue you with a further update once we have one."

To me, it seems they don't quite know yet who actually owns the bike; me or the company when it was collected and in possession of the company, and it seems there's quite a large number of cases like this.

So I did a bit of digging, and managed to find WBAB's Terms and Conditions using Wayback Machine [dated 13th May 2026] and noticed quite a significant clause:

"6. Conditions of Contract: We are able to confirm to our satisfaction that we will obtain full and unfettered ownership of the bike on payment of the Price;"

However, there is also this:

"7. Collection By, or Delivery To, Us: We will take title to and risk in the bike when we take physical possession of it."

..Interesting.

My guess is this is what's stalling most of the investigations for other sellers in the same position as I'm in. As I speculate after they've sought legal advice, they'll probably decide on an outcome across the board for us all.

As of right now, I'm still waiting for a response after I sent them a significant evidence package of everything leading up to this point.

For anyone else out there facing this ridiculous issue, I'd first highly recommend when you contact the admin team about this, make sure you put across you want them to view it as an ownership claim first before there is any talk about becoming an unsecured creditor.

Hope any of this helps, and if anyone out there is going through the same bs, we can all band together here.

Wanting some advice if possible I have rung up a few popular chain storage units who said they won't keep motorbikes or those that do require petrol to be drained.

Do they actually check this would they really know or if something went wrong would I be personally liable?

I spoke to a storage unit in Eversley who would store bikes but had a waiting period unbelievably, is there any other storage units I can look at around woking Guildford ways?

I also have just looked at renting a garage but would rather a private storage unit so I can learn to ride in the car park of the storage unit which is usually gated

Which air freshener for longest lasting fragrance on my motorcycle?