The Proviz 360+ Jacket. The solution to commuting visibility

Up to know, I mitigated issues of visibility by waiting until the clocks went forward in Spring before cycling to work - and stopping when they went back again in the Autumn.

This meant that although I've always had a selection of fixed and flashing lights on the bike, and a dayglo yellow jersey, ultimate visibility was never a problem.

Giving up the Kawasaki in favour of my e-bike/pedelec converted Dawes has involved commuting to work in all weathers - and darkness - so I needed to address issues of visibility and weather protection.

For those unfamiliar with Regents Park in London, it is quite dark at night  - streetlights are poor and the hedges that border all the roads make it a gloomy place for pedestrians and cyclists. As a result, when riding home in the dark on the Kawasaki, cyclists with highly reflective clothing are much more visible at night in a motorcycle's headlight - when dayglo is much less effective (the clue's in the name !).

Sometime towards the end of last year I (literally) saw a cyclist stand out like no other. It was as if his entire torso was glowing white !  As soon as I had Googled it, I knew I just had to have one of these.

It's a Proviz 360+

I will go as far as to say this is the greatest advance in cycle safety since the invention of the LED


Instead of a few reflective strips or panels the whole jacket is made out of a highly reflective material. All cyclists (and motorcyclists) know that there is little you can do about those "SMIDSY" (Sorry Mate I Didn't See You) muppets out there - who aren't even looking but this is a very "in your face" jacket under vehicle headlights.   

I believe that other manufacturers also have super-high reflectivity materials - the Dare2B "Observate" available at Halfords for example but this is clearly (or not so clearly!) a lesser product. Of course most cycling specific jackets have some degree of reflective material -  but my research suggested that Proviz was the clear leader in this field (www.provizsports.com) 

 The effect  is not always obvious to the wearer (it would dazzle you if it was) as it reflects light back to the source - making you highly visible to car drivers in the dark. To the wearer it often seems to "shimmer" in some light. The jacket itself is of high quality and clearly properly designed for cycling. It is waterproof, breathable and well fitting. 

The Proviz website is clear and easy to use and there are regular discounts sent by email if you register. Not the cheapest on the market but certainly not unreasonably priced for what they are. I have the "top of the range" 360+ version at £120 but there is a cheaper version with less breathability for £79. There is also a range of other products that use the material such as gilets, helmet covers and rucksack covers. 

To cap it all their customer service is exemplary. When I had a small problem with mine they replaced it instantly with no quibble. Since buying the jacket I have also bought a high-viz (dayglo) gilet and a pair of gloves from them and I will certainly be buying some waterproof trousers at some point in the future. I highly recommend this product and the company.

Of course as I write this the clocks have now gone forwards for Summer time - which reduces the benefit of this jacket - although read my next post for a solution for dusk and dawn visibility before we get to full daylight for both the morning and the evening commute. 



 

Commuting in London on an E-Bike - A Fortnight On

I'm now a fortnight into commuting by E-Bike and I'm very happy with the Panda E-bike conversion of my Dawes Sonoran. If you're thinking about converting your existing bike to a Pedelec then a Panda kit should definitely be on your shortlist - find them at www.pandaebikes.com/

It is worth saying that I am not office-based in Central London every day so this fortnight doesn't represent 200 miles of e-biking - in fact it's barely half that total distance. The 10ah battery is perfectly adequate for my 10 and a bit mile each way commute even on the highest power setting and I've stopped packing the charger in a pannier "just in case"


The first clear lesson is that an old man on an e-bike is not quicker over 10 miles than a fit "normal" person. Overall I am consistently  5-10 minutes minutes faster than I used to be but I am still passed like I'm going backwards by the "Regents Park Rouleurs" on the Outer Circle- and just about every other fit commuter everywhere else.

There is a "big win" (obviously) on hills. The available power let's you just keep going without your speed tailing off the further you ride uphill. This assistance means that you keep going against headwinds and also those long slight inclines that tax the less fit.The Panda's controller is excellent. There is a clear assistance from a standing start and the way it tails off at the legal maximum of 15.5 mph (25kmh) is unobtrusive. It also comes back in again neatly if you lose a bit of momentum on the flat. 

I have managed to get used to riding in a lower gear - and changing down early to ensure that turning the pedals as I change down through the gears doesn't cause me to surge forwards as I'm trying to slow down.This surge of power as you turn the pedals does mean that you have to be careful when picking your way between cars in very heavy traffic but like most things you get used to it.

Most importantly, I don't arrive at the office sweaty and wheezing and that's the key. Electric power doesn't make the journey quicker, it makes it significantly easier. 

The second lesson is that as electric power doesn't suddenly turn you into car! You still need to think - and ride - like an urban cyclist. Nothing new here but my key pointers for commuting in London are:

• Visibility - take every opportunity to be seen by other road users (more on that in the next post - a couple of "product reviews")
• "Own" your piece of the road
• Positioning is key - remember that in some circumstances it is better to be on the "offside" of the traffic in the centre of the road than it is to be "hidden" on the nearside
• If you are riding nearer the kerb, DO NOT ride in the gutter  - you have no manoevring room to the left and all the "mung" on the road collects there leaving you even more vulnerable to punctures
• Your biggest hazard is the road surface itself - the level of potholes (especially on Kilburn High Road) is such that being thrown of your bike is a far bigger risk than the other traffic
• Wear appropriate clothing - including a helmet

Commuting in London on an E-Bike - First Efforts

With the conversion all finished, it was time to actually use the converted bike "in anger" last Friday.

I rode a quick circuit of a 6.6 mile local route including a very big hill and managed to take 4 minutes off my best (fit) time so I was immediately impressed.

The commute to my office in Great Portland Street in the West End of London from my home in Stanmore is another matter. This is a 10.5 mile journey including some significant traffic - and in the early morning there is also the cold to contend with.

For the first trip in to work I probably picked the foggiest day in London for a very long time and it was also a cold one.

Despite the cold, it was a good trip. The motor applies power smoothly (and swiftly from standing start) and fades away unobtrusively as it hits the 15.5mph (25kmh) limit to ensure it stays within the EPAC (Electrically Power Assisted Cycle) regulations. Five minutes faster (in both directions) than my previous best times for the journey and I think there's an even greater time saving possible with some changes to my riding style.

Firstly, although the power from the 250Watt front hub motor is entirely "adequate", it does not have a great deal of torque available. As someone with a reasonable degree of power in my legs but a low level of aerobic fitness, I have always stuck to "grinding a higher gear" rather than "spinning a lower gear".

The other thing to get used to is the fact that I do not have "brake switches" to cut the motor power when braking. This is because my bike has combined brake and shift levers (it's the apparently "odd" Shimano "Megarange" "Rapid Rise" system). It also explains why I think every bike shifts the "wrong" way as this system is thumb push to change up and finger flick to change down.

Shift direction is irrelevant here anyway as the issue is that the combined brake and shift levers prevent the use of replacement brake levers with a cut out function. This means that as long as the pedal is rotating, the motor is running even if you are braking. As you need the pedals to be turning to change down the gears with a derailleur system it means modifying my riding style further to change down before I start to brake as I come to a halt.

So with 2 changes to my riding habits I should be fine - tomorrow will tell what effect that has on journey times.

Converting my Dawes Sonoran to an E-Bike Part 4 - Battery, Controller, wiring and LCD Display

Now it's just a matter of fitting the battery, the controller, the display and connecting it all together.

It's a bottle battery so 2 screws and we're done - on the down tube rather than the seat tube. As I wrote in part 1, I sent back the original round bottle battery for the "upgraded" USB version. Although the USB port is of little use to me, this battery simply slots in and out where the "normal" version has a screw in plug which is significantly less useful. The upgraded battery is also 10Ah rather than 8Ah. 

The controller is another matter. The box fits neatly enough on the seat tube and the controller itself fits easily inside. However, Panda's wiring is generous in length so I tried to get as much of it inside the controller box as I could. This was a little fiddly and it then became difficult to hold it all in place before screwing the  two halves of the box together. The fit of the lid once it was crammed with controller and wires became a little less tight and I covered the seam with insulating tape - neat and hopefully weather proof.
  

The wiring from the battery to the controller does not have neat pugs but a pair of bullet connectors so I used heat-shrink tubing to protect the connection.  Unfortunately, Maplins colour code their heat-shrink by size so the most suitable tubing was bright blue - at some point I'll wrap that in insulating tape to neaten the job.

The other connections have (very) tight plugs but I've taped some of them as well - and combined with a selection of cable ties the overall installation is neat enough.

The LCD controller fits neatly on the handlebars and the rest of the wiring s just a matter of plugging it in.Unlike some, the LCD display can be configured to display in MPH and the instructions are not too "Chinglish" for an intelligent person to understand. 

I still need to find a neat solution to seal the ends of the three "spare wires" (thumb throttle and 2x brake cut-out) that you can see in the picture below.

Here's the complete installation - ready for the road. A quick test on a known and previously timed route of 6 and a half miles revealed that I was a full 5 minutes quicker than when I was 5 years younger, over a stone lighter and considerably fitter.

Converting my Dawes Sonoran to an E-Bike Part 3 - the Pedal Sensor

In order to know when to provide assistance, the motor needs a signal from the controller to tell it when to apply the power.

As an aside, thumb (or twist) throttles are also available although this is a subject all on it's own as legislation has recently changed. Pre-2016 UK E-Bikes would often have a thumb throttle but as I understand it, a hand throttle of any type is only now permitted as a "walk assist" when pushing the bike. In any event, I did not specify a hand throttle with my kit. 

To power up the motor therefore we need some form of pedal sensor. More expensive E-Bikes have a "Torque Sensor" which tells the controller to apply power proportional to the effort put in by the rider. This provides a very natural ride and almost feels like you have "bionic legs". This type of sensor is generally found on bikes with "crank drive" motors rather than hub motors although the Wisper 905 Torque, my preferred choice when I get round to buying a complete e-bike is a (rear) hub motored and torque sensed bike.

Having ridden bikes with this system I can absolutely say I prefer it - but it does require effort from the rider and is less suited to people who need to be able to use a bike but want the bike to do (almost) all of the work.

The alternative is the significantly cheaper (and less complex) rotation or cadence sensor. This simply triggers the motor via a magnetic sensor fitted at the crank.

Panda's sensors are "easy fit" and come in two parts that clip around the crank without the need to remove the crank arm. The sensor disc is secured by a metal ring and the complete disc is a simple friction fit around the crank. Time will tell if this is sufficient to stop it spinning freely. The sensor itself fits to the frame and has slots for cable ties as well as a sticky pad. This allows the location
to be tested before sticking it down firmly. There is a pivot which is adjustable to ensure the correct 1-3mm clearance between the sensor magnet and the sensor disc.

Converting my Dawes Sonoran to an E Bike Part 2 - more about torque arms

I mentioned the need for a torque arm in the last post. Here's a bit more info and pictures.

The "drop out" into which the axle/spindle of a bicycle wheel fits is simply an inverted "U".  If the nuts holding the wheel in place become loose, the wheel will simply fall out.  Clearly this is not a good thing. Although the weight of the bike will hold it in place when stationery (and theoretically the weight of the bike and rider will hold it in place while moving - but only if you cycle on billiard tables !)

With a hub motored wheel, a new dimension arises. On an unpowered bicycle, the wheel simply rotates around the axle. No rotational force is applied to the axle. With a hub motor, the axle must be held firmly as the wheel is powered around the fixed centre.

This applies a considerable amount of rotational force (torque) and increases the chances that the nuts could work loose. As a result we need to ensure that the fixed centre of the hub cannot rotate in the dropout.

This is achieved initially by the fact that rather than the axle being round, it is larger than on a conventional bicycle and the sides are flattened to fix the axle into the slot of the drop out - is essence, the axle fits the dropout slot like a spanner fits a nut. As a result, the torque from the motor can even open up the drop out making this problem even worse - especially if the nuts themselves work loose.

This brings us neatly to the torque arm. A plate, fitted to the flattened off axle with an arm which is either jubilee clipped to the fork (an aesthetically awful solution) or bolted to a mudguard stay mount. The ones supplied by Panda are made by www.torque-reaction.co.uk and are magnificent pieces of machined stainless steel.

I selected a "multi-angle" torque arm for my Dawes Sonoran s the standard "eyelet style" did not reach the mudguard stay mount. An additional issue for my bike is that the stay mount and fork are in the same plane so one or the other needed to be packed out with washers to allow for the thickness of the steel plate. The official fitting videos show the "arm" fitted behind the "eyelet" but this means that the axle has to be packed with washers and I felt that this was an inelegant solution as well as leaving insufficient thread for the nut.

The alternative, placing the "arm" in front of the "eyelet" is a far neater solution although it does mean packing out the smaller M5 bolt with washers - and any force applied in the event of a loosened main nut will be applied to this weaker bolt.


I'll be keeping a close eye on the security of all nuts and bolts.

Converting my Dawes Sonoran to an E-bike. Part 1

With the box of bits ready to go, and the bike indoors to make work easier through the winter I started the conversion.

The first thing was to take the opportunity to replace the tyres with a set of new Continental Town Ride Reflexes with reflective sidewalls (to go nicely with my Provis Reflect 360+ Jacket !) and at the same time fit new rim tape and tubes.

With its new tyre fitted, the replacement front motor wheel drops neatly into the dropouts. The axle is flattened to ensure it cannot rotate (so that the hub motor "drives" the wheel) and there is a "tabbed" washer to support this. It is important that this "tab" goes into the dropout last as the wheel does not sit neatly in the dropout if it is inserted first.

The torque from the rotation of the hub motor means that the axle can spin out of the drop outs - or even "spread" the dropouts over time especially with aluminium forks. On way to prevent this is with the fitting of a torque arm but the supplied version did not suit my forks so I will need to order a different version to suit my aging RST Forks.

I have also decided to replace the standard "bottle" battery for an upgraded version. As well as a slightly higher capacity,  this battery has the advantage of a "clip in" fitment where the standard version has a screw in connector. Panda e-Bikes have continued to be highly responsive to email queries and the new battery should be with me in the week to allow me to continue the conversion next weekend.

In the meantime, here's the hub motor wheel loosely installed in the front forks awaiting the arrival of the new torque arm.

The Kawasaki's end is nigh - Time for a new mode of transport

For some time now I’ve known that the KLE500 cannot go on for ever – despite living up to Kawasaki’s reputation for bullet-proof engines, it’s beginning to get more and more rat-like as only a £400 24-year old bike can. After 3 years of all-weather commuting with almost total reliability it certainly doesn’t “owe me anything”.

I’ve long been considering an e-bike (or “Pedelec”) as a replacement. On the odd days I cycle to my office in Great Portland Street from Stanmore I can do it in around 50-55 minutes, but it does somewhat take it out of me, especially on the way home. 

With no tax or MOT to worry about and the ability to reduce the journey time to a more acceptable 40 minutes while maintaining or even improving my fitness (as an e-bike does not remove the need to pedal it just assists - up to 15.5mph).

I’ve been researching this plan for some time (check out www.Pedelecs.co.uk – a website with a lively if highly opinionated forum) – I nearly took the plunge a year ago but held off as the Kawasaki felt like it had one more year in it.

Thanks to John at www.Cyclezee.com  in Milton Keynes I’ve ridden Ansmann and Heinzmann examples and David at www.TheFlatEarth.co.uk has provided test rides of Orbea and Wisper models. I was torn between the Wisper 905 Torque (https://amps.bike/product/wisper-905-torque) and the Bosch powered Orbea Keram Comfort (http://theflatearth.co.uk/shop/electric-bike/electric-urban/orbea-keram-comfort-10/) when an alternative presented itself.

I had previously rejected the idea of converting my existing bicycle until I saw a post on the Pedelecs forum promoting a January sale by www.pandaebikes.com . Following an extensive email conversation with Maria at Panda we settled on a custom conversion kit for my ageing but well sorted Dawes Sonoran. Although I was almost ready to spend £1,700 on the Wisper, the £366 price for the conversion kit was welcome and will allow me to “test the waters” without breaking the bank. The nature of the kit means that if I do subsequently buy an e-bike it can be removed from my Sonoran and fitted to Corinne’s similarly spec’d Kalahari.

The speed and quality of response from Panda has been exemplary and, for a Chinese made kit, the quality looks fine. Packaging was also first rate.

The next few posts detail the actual build - read on......................

  

KLE500 - A Centre-stand Solution

I cannot understand why all bikes don’t have centrestands!

Of course I can – pointless on a supersports bikes (but as they have nowhere to keep your sandwiches anyway they are pretty much pointless as motorcycles in the first place). I can undestrand why a Harley doesn’t have one either. I can also see why you wouldn’t want one on a purely off-road bike. But on a bike designed for (mainly) road use, a centrestand should be manadatory – and the lack of one has stopped me buying bikes in the past when I could afford to be fussy.

Even before I committed to buying the KLE500, I researched the availability of an aftermarket centrestand and despite a price tag representing about a quarter of the value of my KLE500 I knew I had to have one.

Internet research suggested that the SW-Motech stand was a quality product – and the only game in town anyway. The only possible problem was that the makers (perfectly reasonably) don’t guarantee that it will fit with an aftermarket exhaust. And my bike has a stainless steel Sebring system. Despite numerous posts on as many forums as I could find, I couldn’t absolutely confirm that it would fit my bike. But at least one member of the Facebook KLE500 community (thanks Richard) was pretty sure that it would – and the only set of photographs I could find of an installation seemed to support that view.

I bought it from Motohaus Powersports (www.motohaus.com ). Not the cheapest but the buyer of the LT’s radio had a friend who worked there and could vouch for them as a reputable retailer. It was a special order item and they quoted 2-3 weeks delivery – which they met. The stand is clearly a very high quality product. The fitting instructions are in German (bizarrely only the parts list has been translated but with a bit of help from Google and a look at the diagrams it’s all quite obvious – especially when you offer the parts up to the bike.

The left side bracket is a doddle. You just remove the passenger footrest bracket and the riders footrest bolt, place the bracket into position bolt it back up again with the bracket underneath the passenger footrest bracket. The result is very neat (Picture Left).

The right hand side bracket mounts to the footrest bolt and one of the frame bolts but it’s equally simple (Picture Right). With the Sebring exhaust, the bracket touches the pipe but there was no force needed to fit – I don’t envisage any long term problems (Picture Below).

The hardest part?  Fitting the springs. However fitting centrestand springs is a problem on any bike and in fact it can’t have been that much of a challenge as the whole job took less than ½ hour from start to finish. I simply hooked one end on and levered the other end with a long screwdriver round the spring hook – sliding it down the screwdriver

shaft onto the peg.

Once fitted, I was delighted. The bike is very easy to lift on and off the stand and a quick ride round the

block confirmed no rattles or graunches. Chain maintenance and rear wheel removal will now be a doddle. I guess it has reduced cornering ground clearance but I doubt the my riding style will challenge these limits. Most importantly, parking will no longer involve leaving the bike at an alarming angle.

  

KLE500 First Faults

I decided to simply ride the KLE500 for the first few weeks in order to identify and prioritise the things that needed fixing.

After a few self inflicted false starts (trapping the fuel tap vacuum pipe after removing the tank was one of them) I’d narrowed down the issues to three

There was a horrible strangled bearing noise decelerating on a closed throttle – it disappeared completely when the clutch was pulled in.  Clearly drivetrain related (and from the rear of the bike) the culprit was the rear hub bearing.  A decent second-hand hub from eBay sorted that one out and allowed me to clean and adjust the chain at the same time.

There was also an engine top end rattle. I tried to adjust the cam-tensioner but it was one of the early type ones and simply broke. Again eBay came to the rescue with one of the better (later) types and the bike started to sound much better. Replacing the air filter and modifying the airbox with the “Rimfire” http://www.hoerburger.net/140.pdf (in German but easy to follow) mod improved the running no end. This information can also be found at http://home.arcor.de/wolfgangschwirz/bikes/schraubertipps/rimfireumbau.htm and http://www.dernacken.de/airbox_special.html but as they are also in German I’m not sure who should be getting the kudos for this simple but excellent improvement to the engine’s breathing. I understand that it benefits the later (more strangled) bikes even more than my early ’92 example

My bike also has a fuel tank leak.  It’s form the top left bracket where the “fairing panel” mounts and is clearly the result of a minor accident at some time in the past. I’ve “glooped it up” with J-B Weld which mostly works although it does seep slightly. As this is made worse by the alarming angle of lean on the sidestand, it will be  sorted entirely by the fitting of the SW-Motech Centrestand (post to follow)

Finally (for now at least) I obviously changed the oil and filter soon after purchase. This revealed that the sump plug was damaged. I bought another one before realising that the one on the bike was not correct and had been forced in to try to get round a damaged thread on the sump itself. I carefully refitted a new (wrong) plug and am now searching for a good sump on eBay to finally put that one to rest – I’ll change the oil again after the winter so I’ve got a while to find one. 

A Japanese Bike - My first in over 30 years !

So - to recap, there I was working from home but with two big bikes (the GP800 and the K75) sitting on the drive.  Parlaying those into one bike seemed like a sensible move which explains how they were replaced with the K1100LT.

Fast forward 2 months and I found myself with a new job – and a commute into Central London on a comprehensively unsuitable machine and a true appreciation of the fact that every single ex-K75 owner has uttered the phrase "I wish I still had the K75". Hence the unfolding story of the last few posts in seeking a replacement for the LT.

With a “warm” buyer for the K1100LT during the Summer, I’d already been looking at suitable replacement commuter bikes – and a couple of mid-sized Kawasaki’s had been in the frame – a GPZ500S and an ER-5.  However the circumstances changed and economy was suddenly the watchword when I need a replacement bike before selling the LT.

There are £500 bikes around – but anything decent is usually snapped up very quickly and there were a few missed gems (a nice looking 400 Burgman and a cosmetically tatty but very sound “Divy” to name but 2).  Eventually a Kawasaki KLE500 turned up – apparently sound, not pretty but cheap enough to join the fleet before the BMW was sold/broken.

My first Japanese bike for over 30 years and my first Kawasaki since around 1979 !

I’m going to write much more about the KLE500. It has much to commend it – yet a myriad of problems, some small, some big but all eminently “fixable” although I do need to start thinking about issues of maintenance and repair that I haven’t had to consider in many years.

Importantly for a man with a desperate need to avoid the rigours of public transport, it came with enough tax and MOT to keep me on the road while I identified and sorted its issues.

The Last of the K1100LT

I said this last time – but I REALLY must update my blog more often.

The K1100LT is no more – or at least much of it has found a new home and the rest is on eBay looking for a new home.

The reason? A combination of circumstances - most of them unfortunate.

I had offered the bike for sale through a selection of online communities and nearly had a buyer. I lost him when the speedo packed up between him agreeing to buy it and collection. If you know your ‘K’s, you’ll be aware that speedo failure is common and easily rectifiable IF you can remove the speedo. The problem with the LT is that the big fairing makes that something of a chore. I guess a previous owner had faced the issue in the past as two of the bolts were comprehensively chewed and even with screen and headlight removed the speedo was staying put.

I carried on riding the bike with the remaining MOT reducing on a daily basis until it became necessary to book it in – for the MOT and to replace the front fork oil seals which were the only clear failure point as the speedo is not (currently) tested at MOT

The week before the test, the final straw occurred. I tried to ride the bike with a substantial Oxford U-lock fitted to the back wheel – the result, apart from falling off L was damage to the rear disc, dist carrier and brake pipes.

I now had an unrideable bike, (within a week) no MOT and a commute into Central London.

Given that the value of the bike was now substantially reduced, I decided that the only sensible thing to do would be to buy a cheap commuter bike and break the K

The result was the Kawasaki KLE500 that features in future posts – and the remains of a K1100LT that has funded it (with change).

If you need any K1100LT bits get in touch – and read on to hear about my experiences with my first Japanese bike in over 30 years !

For sale, my K1100LT

I really need to update my blog more often - the last post was offering my GP800 for sale - and here we are again with the LT

Circumstances are funny things – what is right one day can be completely wrong the next !

For years I worked from home with 2 commuter bikes – almost as soon as I made the decision to trade them in for one big tourer, I changed my job and ended up commuting into central London again  - on a K1100LT. It’s a fine bike but not exactly ideal for London traffic. So, it has to go in favour of something smaller – if you are looking for an budget tourer for the summer this could be it.

It’s a ’93 in Seiden Blue with a light grey seat.  76,000 miles on the clock and a dealer service history up to 63,000. It had a new engine under warranty at around19,000 miles so this engine only has around 55,000 miles under its belt. New clutch fitted in February this year.

Complete set of paperwork (including the radio) a manual on CD and all recent MOTs.

MOT until July and Taxed until December.

Usual colour matched topbox and touring cases and a set of (tatty) black city cases. As I’ve been riding it right through the winter, it is certainly not immaculate – but it is basically sound, and certainly reliable, starting without fail at sub-zero temperatures. Cleaned up it looks pretty good as you can see from the pictures. A perfect time for a new owner to fettle it in before a summer tour of Europe or beyond.

The Good:

It has RS wheels (allowing a better choice of fatter radials)

New Pirelli Angel tyre on the front – good Bridgestone on the rear

New Clutch

The ABS works!

The radio works

The electric Screen works

The Not So Good:

The temperature gauge does not work (aficionados will be aware that this does not affect the cooling fan which is on a separate circuit).

The heated grips are intermittent (and at the moment they’re not working)

£1,800 or swap for something more commuter friendly !

For Sale - My GP800 (Now SOLD)

SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD

I’ve been sitting thinking about this since it was MOT’d recently – but as it’s only done just over a thousand mile since the last MOT it really has to go.

So, it’s for sale, 2008 (’08) Gilera GP800. Black 20,700k miles, MOT until April ‘13 and taxed until March ‘13

Owned by me from new and supplied by a leading Hertfordshire dealer  gc grin. Full service history - most recently at Walton Road Garage.

Genuine Gilera colour matched topbox, Givi Screen, Melvin Hunter (subtly) lowered and narrowed seat. GPS corrected (legible) MPH speedo markings.

There’s a Small hole in the lower front shield (belly pan area) and the black paint is flaking off the (stainless) exhaust silencer but otherwise it’s cosmetically in the sort of condition you’d expect for a four year old bike which has been ridden in all weathers – sound rather than mint.

£2,900 £2,500 or sensible offer SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD

New Boots and.........

For some time now I had been considering buying a pair of quality motorcycle boots to replace my Oxford "Bone Dry" boots which were beginning to look rather sad - and certainly weren't bone dry any more! To be fair, they were inexpensive - but after only a year or so, the soles were paper thin, one of the zip tags had broken and there were splits in the material.

My first port of call was J & S Accessories in Watford - purely because they're local and I reckoned on them having a fair selection to choose from. I was approached by a young sales feller-me-lad whose first question took me completely by surprise - "do you want waterproof boots ?"

I had obviously appreciated that the degree of weaterproofing was to a price sensitive matter - but I wasn't expecting it to be optional ! It appears that today you have a choice between cheap plastic boots (like the Oxford Bone Drys), cheap non-waterproof boots and premium boots which cost you one of your legs anyway.

What I wanted was reasonably priced leather boots - where the degree of waterproofing was determined by the amount of polish/dubbin I applied, not some magical layer of clever material. I'm glad to say that after an inordinate degree of googling, I found them at: http://www.bikersparadise.co.uk/ . These are exceptionally good boots. One of the reviews on the site describes them as "probably the most comfortable bike boots in the world" and I'm not about to disagree. They are sturdy boots, a little stiff at first but the advantage of proper leather boots is that you know they will soften up over time and with a bit of care. They have proper soles and heels - unlike many bike boots which may be fine on modern machines with a metal stick for a footrest but are completely useless on a BMW with "old fashioned" rubber covereg footrests. In recent years I have often needed to take a Stanley knife to the heel of a boot to make it possible to ride (and change gear) on the K75.

They do have a rear zip which used to be considered a lesser option over a side zip for waterproofing. But there is a good flap behind the zip and I have had nop problems so far with water ingress.

Bikers Paradise have an interesting range of boots (and other leather clothing) - including "coyboy" styled ones and I'll admit to being tempted but one of my criteria for bike boots is to be wearable under a suit if I'm not carrying a pair of shoes with me and these ones fit that bill nicely.

Highly recommended boots - and an efficient service from Bikers Paradise to boot !

Brake Pads - Replacing the organic pads with sintered ones

I've just replaced the rear brake pads again - after around 2,500 miles. This leads us to a valuable GP800 ownership lesson - on a bike with a 6,000 mile service interval.

I was cutting it fine (although not as badly as last time !). The pads would have been replaced at the recent 18,000 mile service but that would have pushed the job into a second day - and I wanted the bike back so I sourced and replaced them myself.

Although the more visible front calipers are the excellent Brembo "Serie Oro" jobs, the rear has to make do with the same Heng Tong caliper fitted to many of Piaggio's mopeds and small scooters.

This does have the advantage of ready availability (SFA353 if you're interested) but it also means that the common availability is limited to the lower grade organic pads which are fine for smaller bikes. These are what I fitted last time and to be fair, their ability to assist in bringing the 260kg behemoth down from very high speeds is not in question. If you read up on them, you'll also find plenty of recommendations based on the "feel" of the brakes. That's probably a fair point as I have locked up the rear of the GP800 far less frequently since fitting these pads. They also wear the disc itself far less.

Given the reputation of the Heng Tong caliper for seizing the retaining pins, a more frequent need to change pads (and re-apply copious quantities of Copaslip) could be seen as a positive benefit - but on December 5th, in our current weather conditions, that's not a positive feature in my book.

In fact, changing the pads is a remarkably straightforward job. I'm never entirely happy changing pads with the caliper hanging off the hydraulic line - especially if any force has to be applied (changing pads on the Brembo calipers fitted to the K75 is a much simpler proposition altogether) but once the retaining pins are unscrewed, the new pads just drop in - and at least small pistons are much easier to push back in to refit the caliper over the disc.

The new pads are EBC HH sintered pads. Lets hope that they last significantly longer - but not at a cost in increased "grabiness". The other thing that might encourage me to stick to the softer pads will be if I see any signs of increasing disc wear.

Gadgets and the GP800 - the "Fat Gecko" Camera Mount

One of the things I've always loved is the old "London to Brighton in 4 minutes" film made for the BBC many years ago - you can find it on You Tube if you just search "London Brighton" - there are a number of versions.

I loved the idea of doing a similar thing with my bike journey home from Battersea to Stanmore. I already had the camera, the excellent Kodak Zi-8 and it's probably worth a few lines about why I like this camera so much.

Although there are plenty of Hi-Def cameras around, like many people, I can't really exploit the technology. I have an HD TV but my computer cannot cope with editing the files, and for all practical purposes, the best output medium for finished movies is the DVD (at least until Blu Ray burners drop to a more reasonable price). The Zi-8 gives me the future proofing of full 1920x1080 HD with the more user friendly option of a WVG (widescreen 848x480) which has the added benefit of taking up much less storage space on a memory card. It's natively better than DVD resolution and more than enough for any online application such as You Tube. There are plenty of inexpensive cameras that record in VGA, but very few of them offer a true widescreen format. The ZI8 (and others of it's ilk) has two further advantages which might be seen as negative points but are actually significant benefits.

Firstly, it has a fixed focal length lens (although digital zoom is available). This means that there is not an expensive and fragile mechanism to move the lens - it makes the camera compact, and most of all much tougher than the cheaper cameras with optical zoom. You only have to look at the number of "broken - for spares or repair" digicams and camcorders for sale on eBay to see

how fragile these things are.

Secondly, it has a fixed focus lens. On a still camera this is obviously a very bad thing, the small aperture needed to keep a substantial depth of field translates into poor light gathering ability. On an inxpensive camcorder, it's an absolute boon. Again, There's no fragile focussing mechanism to break and secondly, apart from a close up switch, the device is "panfocus" so you don't get the constant focus hunting that plagues other cheap camcorders.

So much for "a few lines" !

So, we have the right camera for the job, all we need now is a way to attach it to the bike. I had toyed with the idea of using the very fine RAM mounts but they are not readily available except by mail order and you need to construct a mount from a selection of brackets, bike specific fittings and camera plates so I'd put the whole problem into the too hard/expensive box and left it at that. However, as we approached our Summer holiday, I wanted a solution for the car to enable me to add backgound to my holiday DVD by adding clips of entering a Channel Tunnel Shuttle train, driving through Paris, crossing the Millau viaduct etc. A quick search found the "Fat Gecko Mini" from Delkin and a number of reviews praise it for being a sturdy well made bit of kit.

Delkin Fat Gecko Mini

Although it can be found for under £25 online if you search around, the going rate seems to be £28-£30. Whats more, Jacobs Photo in the Kings Road has one in stock so I didn't mind paying the top end of that range to avoid postage costs and to have it in my hot sticky mits straight away.

It certainly is a high quality bit of kit - and comes with a short 3" extension making it flexible enough for most uses and it certainly grips like a limpet (Gecko) on smooth surfaces, even the slight curve on GP800's Givi screen. The best fit was achieved by putting it over the rev counter on the GP800 but it was difficult to remove as you couldn't reach the little "tag" that releases the suction as the instruments are quite recessed. I rode with it fitted without a camera attached and it certainly hangs on quite happily despite the poor state of London's roads.

As you can see from the pictures, when I fitted the Zi-8, I attached its lanyard to the mirror as well as a second lanyard between the Fat Gecko and the mirror. When riding, especially on poor surfaces there is a bit of "bounce" from the screen (even in its lowest position) and of course when you come to a stop, the front forks dive a bit but it doesn't really notice in the final video. When you first ride you tend to look at it but it soon becomes easy to ignore as you concentrate on the road and traffic conditions !

Does it work - yes it does - click below to see the result

GP800 - Battersea to Stanmore in under 5 minutes

(it's a pity that the video has to be compressed for You Tube - the original quality is first rate)

It's pretty good in the car as well. The Mazda 5 has a fairly steeply raked windscreen but using the 3" extension allows the camera to be mounted on the small quarter light window just in front the door mirror. The camera then sits neatly in the corner where it doesn't obstruct the drivers eye-line (we don't even have the Say Nav mounted on the windscreen - we use a Brodit mount which brings it down by the radio - which has the added benefit of reducing glare on the screen). On holiday I'll mount it on the passenger side and my wife will start and stop the recording.