LB Community Forums / Adventure & Offroad / Bike Specific

Cannonball Bike Run 2008

Dadaah — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 14:44:09 GMT

I have a place on this year's Cannonball Bike Run which takes place in Africa starting on 2nd October 2008. Unfortunately following a recent change in job, I now cannot go.

The cost of the place is £1,999, but I am open to sensible offers. The ticket price includes transportation of your bike and all your food and accommodation (in at least 5 star hotels). There is the possibility to hire a bike if you don't want to take your own. The only extra cost is your flight to Malaga to meet the rest of the runners and your bike! I have confirmed with the organisers that I can sell my place on.

Full details of the event can be found at www.cannonballbikerun.com

If you're interested or would like to discuss things further, pleas call me on 07939407950.

Cheers,

Nick

ADVICE ON LONG DISTANc E TRAVEL

OLD MAN ON A BIKE — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 10:58:32 GMT

Hi, ADVRIDER contains so many horror stories. Two young men fresh out of University are heading south from The US this week towards Tierra del Fuego. I am well aware of being a boring old blimp - however I had the temerity to post them the following advice gained from my own ride of 46000 Ks on a Honda 125.

Originally Posted by simongandolfi
Hey, guys, any advice from an old man is boring - of which I am reminded frequently by the last teenager in our home. However I am recently returned from a 46000K trip from Veracruz, Mexico to Tierra del Fuego, then north to New York. I rode a small bike (Honda 125) - aged 75, I am not as strong as I was and need something I can lift after a fall and I am on a small pension so gas prices and tire prices matter.
The advice is simple. Firstly never ride at night.
Second, ride slow - and I mean slow slow - speed limits are not to be ridden up to but down from.
Third, be prepared for the unexpected - whether a hole in the road, sudden end to tarmac, the road fallen down the mountain or the mountain fallen on the road, stray animals, stray people.
Fourth, expect cars and trucks to have poor breaks and wacky steering.
Fifth, expect drivers to act irrationally and ignore the rules of the road.
Sixth, cuts and abrasions get infected easily - treat them thoroughly.
Seventh, courtesy and patience will make borders easier. Expect officials to be helpful and they will be helpful. Expect them to be corrupt and they will act accordingly.
Eight: Respect people and they will respect you. Remember that you are ambassadors for your country.
Lastly, have fun.
There you are - I already said I was boring...
You might find something useful on my BLOG at www.simongandolfi.com

:smooooth:

Where to go

andrewlondon — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:42:17 GMT

First of all, seeing as this is my first post i had better say hello... I've been looking around these forums for a while but haven't actually posted anything...I'm very impressed so far, you all seem like a right friendly bunch compared to some of the other forums i visit. :D

On to my question, i've just finished a complete xr250 rebuild and want to take it off road, thing is, i don't want to be too rough with it because i've built the whole thing from the ground up so want to give it a little test more than anything.

So, any ideas on where i can take it without getting myself nicked that isn't too far from West London. :D

Cheers,
Andrew

Know a good dirt bike school?

Mike — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:57:56 GMT

I'm a newbie to the bike world and am trying to play 'catch up' with you guys on the experiance front. Riding a sportsbike I've done a Bike Safe, quite a few track days, I'm going to the CSS and I read all the material I can get my heands on. Oh as well as communting though London every day which is pretty good training!!

Although I want to go in the direction of the track people say I should go out on a dirt bike to get comfortable with sliding the bike and improve my balance and machine control. Does anybody have any recomendations of good dirt bike schools or general tips?

Track Sense Offroading Day

powerpuffgirl — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:39:05 GMT

We need a minimum of 4/6 riders - we need to decide if we want to have a day's instruction (which can only be a weekday) or a trail ride (any day). I have listed all the dates from the instruction calendar on their website and a few weekend dates that need clarification with TS before finalising.

I have obtained a discount of 10% on the listed price for LB. The prices are the same for the trail riding and the instruction days.

See this link for more information:

http://www.tracksense.co.uk/traildatesprices.htm

My first MotoX day!

Lustfish — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 10:32:12 GMT

Well... It was a late night/ early morning after Route #142 and I had to get up early to get to a MotoX circuit (tucked away near Middle Wallop in Hampshire) for 10am on Saturday morning. [Groan]

Here are some pictures from my first attempt at MX. I can't stop grinning as I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I felt a mixture of shear fright and then bundles of excitement. My heart felt like it was going to pound out of my chest!

I would recommend MX to everyone, it's the best fun I've had with my clothes on! :w00t:

2005 KTM Adventure 950S Stolen

mooky — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:08:29 GMT

Like it says. My bike was stolen Sunday afternoon in London, UK.

Being the slightly rarer Blue S model, I would appreciate it if anyone spots anything in parts or 2nd-hand bike sales.
It had a (very) high Renazco seat, BlackDog CW bash plate and Tim Hilsamer's LongPegs.

Shitty end to what was a nice day really...
To some extent, I feel like a chump - I managed to tick most of the boxes in "how to get your bike stolen" - no chain, no alarm, London. The galling thing is I am normally very anal about it - I chain it up religiously or I don't let it out of my sight. This afternoon, I was visiting friends - a bit of a lapse of my security regime - took their kids to the park... came back and it was gone.

Kinda screws my plans for Portugal at the end of the month...

UPDATE 1: It was datatool tagged - by the first owner - but the subscription lapsed before I bought it. Anyone know much about how datatool tagging works?
UPDATE 2: FWIW, it was taken from N1 4BT
UPDATE 3: Full list of distinguishing features after the photos

This is what she looked like....

List of distinguishing features/mods are:

Dent in front header pipe - visible from the front (from before I bought it)
No safety warning sticker on top glovebox
Renazco suede rally seat (2.5inch raise)
Hilslamer LongPegs (long rally pegs)
Blackdog Cycleworks Bash Plate
Touratech rear brake guard
Touratech Folding rear brake pedal
Katoum luggage rack
Oxford Grips with temp control attached to right handguard & KTM TripMaster switch on Left Handlebar
Green Datatool Tagging sticker on the RHS of the Oil Tank. Many of the parts/panels have been Datatool Tagged.
Rear Luggage Racks
Black Zip-tie on the left hand fork (to keep track of stroke utilisation on my newly tuned suspension)
Superplush stickers on the forks and shock
Paintwork in pretty good order - apart from some flaking on the corners of the fairings near the dash
Bright ORANGE rear Spring (its a custom-wound 160N rear spring)

Is also being tracked here: http://www.ktmforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=21356

and here: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=369432

It's just a thought at the moment! :smooooth:

SirYamalot — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:16:13 GMT

Hey all,

Ive just had a flash in the pan idea from a conversation with Hels. Who would be interested in doing a motocross track experience/trainning day?. As if we get the right amount of people we could hire out the track as a group and have exclusive use of it for the day.

Theres a couple of these experience/trainning days ive been looking at:

http://www.goldingbarnraceway.co.uk (not too sure whether they do bike hire though)

http://www.tracksense.co.uk/offroadschool.htm (which looks the better option as they do bike hire)

Any suggestions more than welcome ;)

FCR-MX carbs

fridayman — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 19:38:01 GMT

Anyone on here know how to set these up?

What's a good present for someone who does enduros?

Benelli Boy — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:32:55 GMT

Mate of mine's been doing enduros for a year or two. Just got a new Husky. Rides it in a local comp, strictly amateur basis for fun.

I guess he's got all the basic gear, but it's his b'day coming up and I wondered whether there was an enduro-type pressie we could get him. Maybe a bit of kit, or something mechanical, or something that's useful/practical when you spend a fair bit of time carting bikes around on trailers?

Any good ideas, for around £30-£40? Thanks

Riding a trials bike through Goodwood House

rostyle — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:54:45 GMT

Dont try this at home, unless you want a divorce!

http://www.goodwood.co.uk/Site/Content/FestivalOfSpeed/Dougie_Lampkin_Video.aspx

where can kids ride

suzukisi — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 03:29:05 GMT

does any one kow where i can take my four year old to learn to ride his bike he is fed up with washing it;)

[IMG]http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c33/sisue80/P1000363.jpg[/IMG]

kwakker klx 300

adam h — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:46:01 GMT

anyone ever had one of these?? ive just been given a fleet of seven to sort out before september!! ive got five runners which just need a decent service! the other two!! well one def needs a new head and the other ive got the engine in bits in a couple of boxes:hehe:

just wondering if anyone has had any experience with this exact model and encountered any major differences/problems that i ca get a heads up on before i start sorting em out??

any help appreciated!

DRZ400 Info

fridayman — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 10:36:55 GMT

Does anyone know of some good sources of info on the various years and models of this bike? I need to know what the differences are including how the Enduro version makes an extra 10bhp?

Coverage: British MX - Desertmartin

Jay — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 00:46:11 GMT

We've just completed our coverage of the fifth British Motocross round at Desertmartin:

Article:
- [b][url]http://londonbikers.com/articles/8950/british-mx-new-faces-on-the-irish-podium[/url][/b]

Gallery:
- [b][url]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/1428/british-mx-desertmartin-round-5[/url][/b]

Previews:

[img]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/img.aspx?g=1428&i=43162[/img]

[img]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/img.aspx?g=1428&i=43167[/img]

[img]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/img.aspx?g=1428&i=43175[/img]

[img]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/img.aspx?g=1428&i=43188[/img]

Coverage: French MX-GP!

Jay — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:05:28 GMT

[img]http://londonbikers.com/_media/editorial/d57d0fe1-929a-4057-8df3-95eecc6c5e2d.jpg[/img]

[quote]Wow, after the British Grand Prix a fortnight ago, this round has got to be one of the most exciting rounds yet this year. The weather forecast on Friday was sketchy to say the least, and when flight BA 7987 turned south for France, it certainly looked like most of the Grands Prix this year bar one so far - rain. With some tailwind, the Boeing 737 turned south west ten minutes early, descended through the broken cloud cover and neatly into the capital of Aquitaine.[/quote]

Article:
- [b][url]http://londonbikers.com/articles/8818/world-mx-the-french-grand-prix-brings-a-refreshing-change[/url][/b]

HD Photo Gallery:
- [b][url]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/1423/world-motocross-round-7-st-jean-dangely[/url][/b]

Previews:

[img]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/img.aspx?g=1423&i=42549[/img]

[img]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/img.aspx?g=1423&i=42510[/img]

The stepthrough Club :-)

Terry-Moto — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 15:36:11 GMT

[b]The Stepthrough Club :D[/b]

Terry-Moto

Tug

Photographichero

Tattooistchick

JasonB

Curtis

AndyP

Gsxrresrector (90'd up)

Arnie (90'd up

Smiled

Dan Arm

Frogga

Angel

Mark (Angie's)

Who have I forgot ?
Anyone else ?

There's a budget of £300 that you can spend on the Cub, as far as moding it go's.........it must be C90 framed, other than that anything go's :hehe: Must be road legal. The 1st ride will be in september and will involve some green laning and there'll be loads more all through the winter :D

Anyone thats got a C50-70 or 90 will be welcome :hehe:)
It will be a bit mad, so maybe not for the Girlie Girls that dont like breaking there nails:P (Are you sure your up for this Tug ? :Whistling:
We will be arranging a trackday at some point :hehe:
And we've had the offer of a game of Footie on the Cubs by Citybikers crew :)

This Post will be updated soon :hehe:

Photos + Article: World MX - Mantova, Italy

Jay — Mon, 26 May 2008 22:08:42 GMT

LB's just reported on the fith round of the World MX Championship at Mantova, Italy (yes, we fly out to these events). Check out the awesome gallery and article...

Photos:
- [b][url]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/1406/world-motocross-round-5-mantova[/url][/b]

Article:
- [b][url]http://londonbikers.com/articles/8293/world-mx-damp-italian-grand-prix-delivers-surprise-results[/url][/b]

[img]http://londonbikers.com/galleries/img.aspx?g=1406&i=39433[/img]

Rear shock for a Xr650r Needed

M°°K — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 13:02:08 GMT

Hellooo,

Does anyone here know where I can get a Rear shock for an Xr650 from. I've tried loads of places already, but need to try more as no-one has one. :w00t:

Thanks

wr 250

Mingmingmo — Sat, 26 May 2007 00:58:52 GMT

hey guys im after a wr250 . preferably as a project . not a huge major one as it will suit me more. any ideas of the best place to find one other then the good old ebay?

RM 125 restore and rebuild...on a tight budget!!!!!

smiled — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:40:02 GMT

Ok....stood with a rolly in one hand and a cuppa tea in the other we stare each other out like a pair of heavyweights about to go toe to toe..this is a title fight...and im confident im about to unleash a whole can of whoop ass ...

The bike was donated by a guy on here called Redz...a really nice guy who had it, then stripped it down to clean and never go around to putting it back togeather again...i asked for a donation on the site...and he came threw...(there are still bikers out there who really are soo genorus,and thats hard to come by)...

I had'nt seen it in the daylight...it was a case of pick it up...sling it in the back of andyp69's van,and tear off like we just commited the great train robbery....so we get to my house,unload the bike,grab the 2 boxes of goodies and i wait untill the morning...mean while, i posted it up on the site and chunkymonkey gives me some great advice on manuals and the like(cheers pal)..neeedless to say i figured out what year it was by the VIN no.....aint the interweb F)oookin brilliant?!!!!

All night i was thinking about it...my mind ticking over like a school boy waiting for christmas day...something was getting me so exited...and i could'nt put my finger on it and the feeling was most perculier...was it the fact that im going back to my roots of Motocross?..after all...this is were it all first started....hmmmm...just try to get some sleep and have a gander in the morning.......hmmmmm......i could almost smell the two stroke blue mist...hmmmmmm

so morning arrives and coffie and rolly is on the menu.its the cornerstone of any bikers breakfast in my opinion and many a great bike build has been undertaken by this not so nutritius diet.I cant wait to see this thing propperley(im thinking)and get a vision of what is to come.so i get out back and uncover the rolling chassis....

Upon first inspection,im quite pleased that theres still alot going for this bike.most of the plastics are there...very basicelectrics to cause me problems.and everything looks how it should be in relation to being a hardcore scrambler..

Now this is going to be done on a budget....i have hardly got any money,so expensive resprays....2008 grafixso everything new is out of the question....if somthings salvagable...then im gonna keep using it....these parts are ment to be thrashed so there gonna be as hard as an S.A.S soldier on steroids.....

Ive made a list of parts i do have and parts i think i will need.....i'll strip each part down...greese it up like a vegas show girl...and put it back togeather again...thats my plan of action....and thats what im standing by.....here are some pictures of our first day togeather.....lets hope this journey is a fun one;).

ROLLING CHASSIS....LOOK UP!!!

CLOSER INSPECTION...LIMITED WIREING......

MIND THE DOG SH~IT!!!!

smiled:D.

C90s

Steve... — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 15:23:21 GMT

I was bidding on one last night, a barn bike, no documentation, non-runner, lots of rust etc etc so thought maybe £100, possibly £150 . . . it went for £280 in the end, just above my max bid. These things seem to be holding their value better than faster more modern bikes :crazy: It's crazy.

Kids off-road in South London/Surrey

mapryan — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:45:02 GMT

Just come back from a month in Aus staying on a farm, and the kids (6, 4, 4 - all boys) had an absolute blast knocking around on PW50/80's.

So, now we're back in London and I'd love to keep their interest going, but I don't have a 5 acre back garden!

Does anyone know of any tracks/schools/organisations that might be able to help? Live in SW12, so South London, Croydon, North Surrey would be ideal

Cheers

Mike

Tracksense or Yamaha School??

Mike — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:44:01 GMT

I have found these guys to be the closest off-road schools to London. I know some of you have been on the Yamaha School in Winchester and had a great time so thats already high on the list but has anybody been with the Tracksense guys or with Yamaha School in West Sussex?

Tracksense (Dartford)
http://www.tracksense.co.uk/offroadschool.htm
Yamaha School (West Sussex)
http://www.yamaha-schools.co.uk/index.php?page=southeast
Yamaha School (Winchester)
http://www.yamaha-schools.co.uk/index.php?page=south

Help from any fellow WR400 owners?????

stanleyR6 — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 16:57:55 GMT

Like my good friend Millieman, i too have been turned to the dark side, and love nothing more than getting bloody filthy at the weekend. With his help we went out and bought our selfs two Weapons to play with!!! He landed himself with a awsome 525EXC and i have purchased a WR400f.

Right i`ll stop going on and get to the piont. I`m after a rear light for the little gem and also a kick start if any one out the has one or knows of where i can get said items for a good deal (yes i have tried Ebay)

Cheers all !!!!!

Stan

Green laning

Terry-Moto — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 09:21:52 GMT

Anyone know a link to the laws of green laning and where there's any green lanes in the suburbs of the Ace side of London ? :)

Buell XB12ST

keti — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:49:35 GMT

http://www.buell.com/en_uk/bikes/adventure/xb12xt/features.asp

So this is the new Buell. In the simplest terms, it's a Ulysses for ickle folk like me. Looks like a nifty bit of kit. Anyone got any opinions? And more importantly, how long before it shakes itself to bits? :D

Trace motorcross boots size9 (43)

buck — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 13:31:08 GMT

I brought these the other day ,they have never been worn outside the house(so they are as new )SIZE 43 ,WHICH IS UK SIZE 9, but i cant get used to them ,im so used to wearing soft touring boots that these seem so alien to me ,so im asking what i paid for them £60 +£10 postage (uk)

Know a good MX store in London?

Scrambler — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:00:42 GMT

Hi guys, do you know any store in London where I could buy spare parts, accessories, wearing, armour, tyres ecc.

It'd be perfect if I also could buy all these items online.

Thank you,

Lamps!

British MX - The Season Starts Off With A Bang

Jay — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:45:00 GMT

As part of our race-coverage expansion into motocross as well as road-racing, we've got the first British MX event of the year covered thanks to our new roaming photo-journalist, Stefan Paetow.

Full race report and gallery now up:

http://londonbikers.com/articles/25735818-05f7-49b0-8ce1-fadd5d695ec9

http://londonbikers.com/galleries/gallery/9affa738-96da-45bd-98aa-4182890b5fea

[img]http://londonbikers.com/_media/editorial/a0728e41-0ab3-40f4-9a1a-1273f77c4e5d.jpg[/img]

Switzerland

GSR SuperDude — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 12:52:10 GMT

Hi!

can anybody suggest/reccommend a website where i could hire a sports bike when in Switzerland (Zurich) so I can go explore the city and the surrounding areas ?!?!

:-)

Thanks

MotoGP Malaysia £4.30

1doohan — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 00:51:43 GMT

I guess it was a sort of adventure,whislt on holiday in Thailand i nipped over to Malaysia for the day just to watch the race. Very hot is an understatement, i got sunburnt even though i was sitting under a covered grandstand. Boring race too. 3 day ticket in a modern venue with grandstand seating was £4.30p

tour

lc8ergr1 — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:22:58 GMT

SILK ROAD greece - china - russia WITH A LC-8

OLYMPIC GAMES 2008

http://www.olivetreeroute.gr/english.htm

an kapoios egglezos exei ta kotsia as erthei na tripsei lastiko kai kolaraki

bol d'or 2008

neveroutthegarage — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 22:19:35 GMT

how do and a happy new year to all,

myself and 3 friends are looking at riding to the bol d'or and watching the weekend racing has anyone been there before? would be greatfull for any advice help or general comments :)

Cheers Dave

My son wants to buy an off road bike 250cc...

RedZ — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 22:38:49 GMT

Has anyone got a bike for sale under £700? He wants a 250cc Also can anyone give some advice on what to look out for when viewing dirt bikes, or recommend any good models, he has been looking at the RM and YZF. Thanks

DRZ Rebuild Begins!

Jay — Thu, 04 May 2006 20:18:05 GMT

For those that don't know, the engine on my DRZ 400 went pop last year, and it's not been fully repaired since. I've not got the bike home and plan on doing the rest of the work myself. In true DIY style, I've gone completely out of my depth and am taking on a huge project.

The engine went pop, but it's been rebuilt with all-new internals. There's a problem with the gearbox left, so that needs the engine pulled out and dismantled. A mechanic's best guestimate is that the selector forks have gone, failing that, the cogs are buggered (ouch!).

The engine is ready to come out, only the swingarm pivot is keeping it in place, and for some reason, I can't get it out! The bolt on one side is off, so it should just pull through like a wheel axle, but it doesn't, bugger! Have tried the universal big-hammer technique, to no avail.

So I've been picking other bits off to either throw away, clean or repaint. The tank is off and currently being sanded back to be resprayed by us black, and Acerbis replacement fairings will go on. I did think about sanding the existing fairings back and spraying, but it's soft plastic and I fear it bending and the paint cracking. New plastics aren't that expensive at around the one ton mark.

The bike is going to be mint again when I'm done with it! It's not really economical to repair professionally, with a street value of around under two grand, but it has a lot of sentimental value to me, after taking me motocrossing, a little enduro and a hell of a lot of city riding. With the odd bit of private-estate fun (as pictured) thrown in.

Here's how the bike was last time I rode it, and how it looks now. The great thing about this bike is that it's quite simple so I'm quite optimistic about being able to take this job on. I mean, what can go wrong?

Paris Dakar Cancelled

macp — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:38:13 GMT

Bugger....

http://londonbikers.com/news/1753dec1-89dc-413d-aa94-06ecc38dd58a

Offroad advice

gixergooner — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 10:31:41 GMT

As posted in the General section, I'm planning a trip down the length of the Americas in late 08/09. I would like some advice from off-road gurus please.

Now as I want to spend some time off the highways and may be returning via Manaus in the Amazon to Venzuela - this apparently involves quite a bit of mud plugging. My questions would be as follows:

1. Would you use a GS1200 for this trip or would you look at a lighter machine, say 650 BMW, KTM or jap off roader? What in your opinions would be the best balance of very long road miles with the ability to pick up a machine single handed from the sticky mud of an amazon track? Anyone have experience of this.......?

2. I've done some offroad in UK/Asia before so okay with the basics especially in drier conditions. Are there any tips or tricks from seasoned pro's for wet sticky mud, river crossings etc?

3. What essentials would you take for this kind of trip. I have the basics in mind and won't be going all out Ewan and Charley style with support trucks and mahoosive panniers, but beyond the standard medical kits, spares and consumables packs, head torch, photocopied manual, anything else spring to mind?

Cannonball Bike Run 2008

1doohan — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 23:06:42 GMT

http://web.mac.com/cannonballbikerun/iWeb/CBR%202008/Home.html

get saving!!!!!!!!! i cant go, already made plans for that time of year for Malaysia /Borneo trip

Just bought...

biggus — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:03:14 GMT

A DR250... well ok as good as... cash has yet to change hands...

Any recommendation for kit to wear?? I've ridden it in my leathers before - riding was ok, but end up sweating like a fat lass kick starting it