Well it looks like I have failed to update my website again. That almost a year since the last post.
I have some plans for my website again this year. I have loads to do to my Aprilia Caponord including new clutch master cylinder and brake master cylinder. I also need to try and get some of the plastics sorted and a new mirror after a small off that removed the mirror and cracked some of the fairings.
I also need to buy some new gear and will do some reviews of equipment and gear that I buy.
Keep your eyes open for a new guest reviewer this year too.
]]>Well I got the shock of my life, not the fact that I felt like blogging but the fact it has been two years since I last made a post on here.
I really have been busy with buying a new house and losing my instructor licence. I really need to update my about us page as I no longer work for Virgin Media and i’m not an instructor anymore, even if I do still ride like one. I also have my car licence now which is a novelty.
I’m still riding my Aprilia Caponord too and have been constantly for the past two year with a couple of spills along the way.
The site design is really starting to look dated too, I really need to spend some time updating the site and general layout.
I have got so much better at PHP over the past few years and have been busy designing a few other sites for businesses and individuals so my experience should hopefully make this site better.
I have also decided that I am not going to try and focus on just motorbikes on my blog, what’s the point? My life has much more points to it and this is my outlet so there is no point generalising is there?
]]>
This is what I say:
Ok so I got these new Metzler Tourance tires fitted yesterday on my Aprilia Caponord and this is my primary review of them.
0 – 100 Miles
The first thing I noticed between these and any other tire I used is that they are very slippy when new, as we all know you should always scrub in your tires for at least 150 miles when you first get your new tires fitted as they are coated in a slimy residue that helps get them out of the molds they make them in. The Metzler Tourance tires seem to have alot of this coating on them and found myself going extremely slow round the corners for the first 30 odd miles so be careful if you get these fitted.
The tread on all the pictures I seen online seemed to show quite an off road type tire but actually they are not as off road looking once they are fitted which I was a bit disappointed about but these are mainly road tires with the ability to use off road. I haven’t been off road with them yet but will update this post when I do.
On road they seem very sticky so far and are very confidence building once you scrub them in which didn’t take as long as normal. I have used them in bot wet and dry conditions and i’m very impressed with there ability to stick you too the road.
I’ll add to this review as I start to put more miles on them.
]]>
Got my new bike last week and i’m loving it. It’s an 2003 plate Aprilia Caponord and so far so good.
I want to add lots more toys/mods too it as time goes on, here the list:
- Heated Grips
- Hand Guards – Bought
- Upgrade rectifier/regulator
- Change brown plugs
- Driving/fog lights
- Uprated suspension
- New off road/ on road tires
- Stainless Steel panniers/top box
It currently has full hard panniers and top box which are all Aprilia gear which is nice but they could do with a painting.
Here are some pictures
]]>
The sun has got his hat on and he coming out to … wait what…No way!!! it’s bloody snowing…SNOWING IN MAY!!! Come on to FU*%!!!
Yep that is how my day went today. It started off as a gorgeous warm summers day here in Bonny Scotland when all of a sudden it starts snowing, yes you read that right snowing in May. Ok so what happened to the global warming thing we hear all about??
I guess biking weather isn’t here just yet, oh well i’ll just hang the leathers up for an other week or so and see how it turns out
]]>If you have any feel free to post the link in the comments and i’ll add it here.
It’s amazing what you can do with these massive big bikes, they make it look so easy. I guess riding the same bike everyday makes you part of it and allows you to do stuff like this.
Why not come test drive one of the new Benelli’s at XLR8 in Camelon, Falkirk?
XLR8 are having an open night between 18:30 and 21:00 tonight to show off the new Benelli range, so why not pop in and drink their booze and eat there food and get a test drive of one of these gorgeous bikes preferably not at once.
XLR8 in Camelon in Falkirk, Scotland are now the Official Benelli Dealers for central Scotland.
Check out their website here
]]>
Ok so I havent tested one of these yet but after reading some great reviews online and after seeing how well they done in the dealersnew.com Top Products From the Top 100 I’ve decided i’m going to go ahead and order one.
The helmet cams look like the dog’s, they are vibration proof and waterproof and the sound and image quality from the videos looks great and at only $200 for the motorsport version it’s definitely worth a try.
They have a wide angle lens so you can cover all the action wither its on your dirt bike or with the handy head strap on your mountain bike these things work really well. They also come with sticky applicators so that you can stick them to the top of your street helmet or on to the back or front of your bike.
They say that they come with 3 hours of video recording with the lithium ion batteries or 2 hours with standard treble A’s. I think this will be great for going touring so you can just pop in a set of treble A’s when your charging the lithium ion batteries.
It’s a inclosed unit too so no need to hook it up to an external video recorder either.
Once I receive and test mine I will put up a full review with some video clips of it in action. In the mean time you can check out the videos from the cam on their site here
Here is what the site says about them:
Motorsports HERO Wide
The world’s smallest, wireless on-board video camera.
The Motorsports HERO Wide quick-release attaches to helmets, cars, motorcycles, boats, planes, etc. Features the industry’s widest 170º wide angle lens and 5 megapixel sensor for the most immersive point of view video and photos possible from a wearable sports camera, period.
Sets up in seconds and is easily moved between different mount locations. Shoot 56 minutes of high-resolution video and 5 megapixel photos automatically in “Photo every 2 seconds” mode. Use as a hand held camera, too. Shockproof and waterproof to 100 feet/30 meters.
Based on the best selling original Motorsports HERO camera, the Motorsports HERO Wide features improved video, photo, audio, and low light performance. Reliability in ultra-high vibration environments has been improved with an entirely new internal circuit design. Battery life is improved to 3 hours of video record time when using Lithium batteries and 2 hours when using NiMH rechargeable batteries.
Five quick-release adhesive mounts and industrial strength suction cup are included. Suction cup is GoPro-approved for external high speed driving and riding, and is strong enough to pull dents out of a car door (unfortunately tested by GoPro). Adhesive mounts are removable but require purposeful removal by user. Safe on painted surface.
Additional expansion mounts available separately, including roll bar, handlebar/seatpost, chest harness, and surfboard mounts.
What’s Included:
- 5 Megapixel Camera with 170º Wide Angle Lens
- 1 Shockproof/Waterproof Quick-Release Housing–100 feet/30 meters
- 3 Flat Adhesive Mounts
- 2 Curved Adhesive Mounts
- 2 Horizontal Surface Quick-release Buckle
- 1 Vertical Surface “J-Hook” Buckle
- 1 Suction Cup Mount
- 1 Three-way Pivoting Side Arm Assembly
- 1 USB/RCA Combo Cable
- Warranty: 1 Year
SD card not included
Specs
Model Number: GMHW5170
Resolution: 5 megapixel (2592×1944) photo, 512×384 video
Sensor: CMOS
Video Format: MJPEG, 30 fps, saved as .AVI file
Optics: glass lens, f/2.8 aperture, with ultra-wide 170º angle of view
Modes: video, standard photo, photo every 2 or 5 secs, 3x photo burst sequence, self timer, upside down photo/video flip
Exposure Control: auto
White Balance: auto
Self Timer: 10 seconds
Microphone: built-in with adjustable recording/input level
Audio Format: 8kHz, mono
Memory: 16 MB internal, expandable to 2GB with SD card (not included), expandable to 4GB with SDHC card (not included) via free software download from GoPro website—available soon
Capacity: 56 minutes video (incl. audio) or 1,945 photos with optional 2GB SD card. 1hr 52min video (incl. audio) with optional 4GB SDHC card—available soon
Power: 2x AAA batteries (not included), lithium batteries highly recommended. 3hrs. video recording with lithium, 2hrs. with NiMH
TV Out (with RCA cable): NTSC or PAL
PC Connection: USB + RCA combo cable
PC Compatibility: Windows ME, 2000, XP, and Vista; Mac OS X 10.2 and later
Dimensions: 1.75″ x 2.30″ x 1.25″/4.45cm x 5.84cm x 3.18cm (H x W x D)
Weight: 4.9 oz/139 g
For the last 2 months my bike has been having continuing brake problems. It all started when when I started leaving my bike outside my old work during the day and it had been raining constantly and caused the callipers to seize up.
I was going to take the bike to Suzuki and get them to have a look at it but was convinced to let the bike mechanics in work to sort the problem for me. They stripped the callipers down and came to the conclusion that the callipers were damaged by corrosion and needed new pistons and seals. In total it came to £250 GBP which was a big shock to me as the callipers were only sticking after the bike had been sitting over night and didnt effect the braking after it had been ridden for about five minutes.
I thought ah well at least it has new pistons and seals so this should make the braking alot better.
This unfortunately isnt the end of my problems but the start.
Since getting the work done the company I worked for has shut down and so have my brakes.
For some reason I just cant seem to get any pressure on the brake lever, I can bleed it up so far but not heard enough. My mate suggested the master cylinder may be the issue so I bought a master cylinder repair kit but for some reason it is smaller than the one fitted to my bike. I guessing that my bike has different brakes on it than standard.
So at the moment I have very spongy front brakes which isn’t so great but at least I can still use the bike.
I’m swithering on what to do next. I thought about biting the bullet and putting the bike into an official Suzuki dealer or possible just buying a second hand master cylinder and trying that. The problem is that if I go to Suzuki then it’s probably going to be another £250 to get it fixed and if I buy a new master cylinder on eBay I can’t guarantee its going to solve the problem.
This Suzuki really has been nothing but trouble since I got it. It really isn’t the ideal bike for what I need so I’m going to get this fixed and then sell it and buy a BMW R1150GS
]]>
]]>