Saxophones Carrying a tenor on a (motor)bike?

[jonf]

Sorry to hear of your experiences, and glad you've found a better tutor. It really shouldn't have to be like this, and the fact that the prat who upset you is ex army doesn't make a difference - he's just a prat. Years ago, the guy who taught me was ex army. He was so tough and macho he made me look like Larry Grayson but he was still encouraging, friendly, polite about errors and encouraging about good riding. That firm had a 90% first time pass rate.

My experience is that bikers are pretty inclusive, so don't worry too much about the 'boys' toys' thing. Most bikers just want to be encouraging of others who want to join them.

 

[Jay]

Sorry to hear of your experiences, and glad you've found a better tutor. It really should have to be like this, and the fact that the prat who upset you is ex army doesn't make a difference - he's just a prat. Year ago, the guy who taught me was ex army. He was so tough and macho he made me look like Larry Grayson but he was still encouraging, friendly, polite about errors and encouraging about good riding. That firm had a 90% first time pass rate.

My experience is that bikers are pretty inclusive, so don't worry too much about the 'boys' toys' thing. Most bikers just want to be encouraging of others who want to join them.

Yes, bar these two 'instructors', all the bikers I've met have been lovely. There was a crowd sheltering from the downpour yesterday, at a local service station, and no-one was a bit 'scoffy' on finding I rode a little 125 with L plates - they were all just really encouraging and everyone was swapping 'where have you been, where are you going, what are the roads like' stories.

About to head out but 1. it's Bank Holiday Sunday and 2. it's not raining (and it did yesterday and is going to tomorrow) so it could be busy!

 

[richardr]

Ues

Yes, bar these two 'instructors', all the bikers I've met have been lovely. There was a crowd sheltering from the downpour yesterday, at a local service station, and no-one was a bit 'scoffy' on finding I rode a little 125 with L plates - they were all just really encouraging and everyone was swapping 'where have you been, where are you going, what are the roads like' stories.

About to head out but 1. it's Bank Holiday Sunday and 2. it's not raining (and it did yesterday and is going to tomorrow)

Bikes are great for trickling past stationary traffic - but beware of drivers pulling out suddenly.

 

[kevgermany]

Bikes are great for trickling past stationary traffic - but beware of drivers pulling out suddenly.

Or changing lanes without looking

 

[Jay]

There were a couple of 'busy' places, the Tan Hill being one of them, but the roads weren't bad at all - long stretches where I had it to myself.
The other day there was a 2 mile queue on the A66 and I filtered for the first time

 

[jonf]

My massive BMW is off the road at the moment, so I've had my spare bike out. It's a battered 20 year old Honda CB500, tiny, light and revvy. Just enough power (57bhp) to be fun, it's the essence of pure, simple biking. It's been great fun riding it again. I don't think I'd want to use it for a long commuting slog through winter, but today, on a lovely early Autumn day, it's been great. Most refreshing.

 

[kevgermany]

Oh dear, what's wrong with the Beemer?

 

[jonf]

Oh dear, what's wrong with the Beemer?

Clutch has gone, as has the paralever bearing (the big bearing up inside the drive shaft). On the little Honda I can change my clutch in 40 mins. On the Beemer it's six hours labour, the bike having to be split completely in half. Oh dear indeed. Very dear.

The mechanic has loaned me another Beemer, an R1100R, with a power chip fitted. It trots down the road very well, having about 95bhp at the rear wheel, but it's not as much fun to ride as the wee Honda.

 

[kevgermany]

Sorry to hear that. Shouldn't happen, but I guess it's done a lot of miles.

 

[jonf]

Hasn't actually done all that many, as I changed the 100,000 miler a couple of years ago. This one has only done 36,000. I think the root cause is the original owner was a rather portly gentleman, who used the bike to go on holiday, two up, with panniers and top box crammed full of gear. Although he only did 10,000 miles, I think he may have caused some significant wear. It also gets a pretty hard time from me, riding right into central London every day. Even if it costs a grand to fix, it's still significantly cheaper than a train ticket, and using the bike saves me a minimum of 31/2 hours travel time each week, as well as (just about) preserving my sanity.

 

[Jeanette]

How is it going with new tutor @Jay Hopefully you will manage a few nice autumn rides before the winter sets in 🙂

Jx

 

[Jay]

Hi Jeanette, thanks for asking 🙂

New tutor is amazing, but I got the assistant tutor last lesson as the owner had taken the day off. I have a lesson again today, so I am going to try to ask if I can have my lessons with the owner, not the other guy (who is very nice, but doesn't teach as well).

I really want to have passed so I can be riding a bigger bike and 'finding out' on my own, which is mainly how I learn - but that's not how it's done.

 

[BigMartin]

Do you ever wonder how they get their instructors tickets? And what kind of monitoring goes on afterwards?

Yes. The second question worries me about a lot of professions, not least the medical one.

 

[BigMartin]

It's deliberate, the owner is ex-army and his method of teaching is to terrify you into not doing it incorrectly.

Been there with (musical) conductors, too.

The son is moody,

You don't say.

 

[Jay]

Hi Jeanette, thanks for asking 🙂

New tutor is amazing, but I got the assistant tutor last lesson as the owner had taken the day off. I have a lesson again today, so I am going to try to ask if I can have my lessons with the owner, not the other guy (who is very nice, but doesn't teach as well).

I really want to have passed so I can be riding a bigger bike and 'finding out' on my own, which is mainly how I learn - but that's not how it's done.

Oh wow, I have had a brilliant day, 5 hours on a bike, in glorious weather. I rode to my lesson, which is over an hour of amazing scenery - it was like being in the Alps this morning, with the slight nip in the air and the blue sky. Then had a brill lesson with the owner - he is such a good teacher - who's agreed I can stick with him for all my lessons, and then rode home. Got onto the Honda CBF600 (inline 4) in my lesson today which is smoooooth, compared to both my 125 and the Kwak 500 I have been on so far (parallel twin).

 

[Jeanette]

Great news Jay 🙂

Pleased you have enjoyed it

Jx

 

[jonf]

Oh wow, I have had a brilliant day, 5 hours on a bike, in glorious weather. I rode to my lesson, which is over an hour of amazing scenery - it was like being in the Alps this morning, with the slight nip in the air and the blue sky. Then had a brill lesson with the owner - he is such a good teacher - who's agreed I can stick with him for all my lessons, and then rode home. Got onto the Honda CBF600 (inline 4) in my lesson today which is smoooooth, compared to both my 125 and the Kwak 500 I have been on so far (parallel twin).

Glad you had such a good day. CBF600s are great bikes. A good friend of mine has one as his first big bike, and I think it's great. As smooth as silk, and as long as you're comfortable with the slightly higher weight than a mid sized parallel twin, they're great.

I'm now back on my mighty BMW, restored to full health. Feels great.

 

[Jay]

Glad you had such a good day. CBF600s are great bikes. A good friend of mine has one as his first big bike, and I think it's great. As smooth as silk, and as long as you're comfortable with the slightly higher weight than a mid sized parallel twin, they're great.

I'm now back on my mighty BMW, restored to full health. Feels great.

Thank you 🙂

Glad to hear the mighty Beem is better

 

[Colin the Bear]

What a time of year for your thread to stir my interest in the bike again

 

[Jay]

What a time of year for your thread to stir my interest in the bike again

Beautiful autumn days - perfect!