I will apologise in advance if any or all of these questions have been asked many times before/ are a bit pedestrian/ make you feel sleepy!
First some Kawasaki orientated questions:
R&G Crash bungs for my new Kwacker are going to be £140 (with drilling into fairing), or £200 for non-drill version. Is it really worth it (not sure how much it would cost to replace and paint a panel). Plus would they really save the bike or is there likely to be quite a lot of cracks and scratching even with them in place? Any other decent brands that would do as good a job, but for a more reasonable price c. £100. If £200, is normal fine, but when you see the bits you get, it just seems very expensive for a bunch or screws, bolts and rubbery things!!If I have crash bungs will I also need engine bars? If I want/need louder pipes, can anyone recommend a decent brand with great tone for c. £300 or less (ER-6F 2010)The best online, or motorcycle superstore for Kawasaki bits and pieces (not too far from London)?And now some general questions: I have a teeny-tiny friend - she says she’s 5’1", but I think she may be exaggerating, would not be surprised is she was less than 5’. Weighs about 7.5 stone (but is strong) and has spent the last couple of years riding pillion on the back of a Fireblade and now an S1000RR. Absolutely fearless. Is thinking about getting her licence, but hasn’t found a bike where her feet can touch the ground. She’s far too cool to consider a baby cruiser, so it will need to at least look like a sporty or naked bike? Any ideas? Is there a definitive guide to biker-friendly accommodation throughout Europe? Have found a few websites, but they have very few listings (seem like people have set them up as it’s a great idea and then got bored!). Will happily pay for a book or web subscription for this service, as I plan to travel - A LOT!Planning to travel around the coast of Italy (probably next year) - but would rather not ride down (to save time/tyres etc!) is there a train that you can stick your bike on, down to North Italy/ Southern France or if I take the boat to Spain, is there boat from there to Italy (perhaps from Barcelona)? If neither, any advice on minimising the time to get to Italy? What are the essentials that I should always carry with me - I have a small Oxford tool kit and I know about WD40, Gaffa Tape and Cable ties! - but what about: which is the best temporary puncture repair kit/ tyre inflator (that doesn’t involve green slimy stuff having to be removed), any specialist tools that a basic kit is unlikely to have, but will be regularly needed! Other than a waterproof romper suit and rain repellent for your visor, what else would you say are absolute must haves? Sat Navs - has anyone tried the new TomTom pro-rider 3 - any thoughts on the ease of inputting multi ‘way-pointed’ routes? Better or worse than a decent Garmin? If you have a 12v power socket on your bike, can you get a widget that will allow you to power a number of things at the same time - sat nav AND heated jacket, gloves and foot insoles? Okay I ‘think’ that is it for now, but I reserve to add more questions later, as others might also find at some of the info gathered useful!
Get a worm puncture kit with gas canisters.takes 5 min to plug a hole
R&g crash bungs all the way. If your engine clutch covers show then you can get sliders for those too
A vfr400 or the like will fit your mate. I hear an r6 is small too.
Sat navs will be powered by USB and your jacket (gerbing?) isn’t. Wire the socket to the ignition or you might forget it on and flatten the battery.
Before getting an aftermarket can, check that your baffles aren’t removable. Cost u nowt if it is
Pipes are pricey. Yoshi for my bike is £1200 :w00t:
Wemoto are very good for bike spares and very fast delivery.
I suggest your mate tries a CBR 250 or the new ZXr300.
I looked into the train through Europe, it’s VERY expensive. As expensive as the petrol cost of riding through at least. DHL couriering etc on a plane might work out cheaper.
Tool kits are personal. I have a pen and notebook under my seat and I got scoffed at at the BBQ. Also I’ve got a sidestand puck, helmet lock, zip ties, electrical tape and a set of allen keys.
12v fag lighter socket CAN power several things at once but the power draw is probably too high. if you’re running heated clothing you should certainly have an entirely separate feed from the battery for them
i can only recommend on crash bungs, you’ll only live to regret not fitting them. ask OMC for best suit for your bike.
akras are the best exaust for any bike, imho. but then again thats just my opinion. shouldnt cost you more than 300 unless you want the full racing system. which you dont.
again, anything Kawa Matt should be your man. he has one after all. he does ride it sometimes
if your friend is that small, she wont touch on the R6 either. VFR 400 is the way to go. or anything like that. and on a side note, she may be a fearless pillion but riding is a completely different matter. nobody is ‘cool’ when they are learning to ride. trust me.
whenever you’re ready for your trip to italy, come talk to me. no boats, just trains. relatively cheap as well. although, you’ll miss most of the fun riding there…
I’ve got the drilled crash bungs. I think they are really useful as they will save your panels if you have a low speed drop or several low speed drops. I think having them there also gives you more confidence not to drop the bike to begin with as you are less worried about it. Mian that is a classic story abou the bung puncturing the panel.
Okay, so consensus view is that R&G drilled bungs are the way to go and to just cough up the £200. Might be my first job at the OMC then - or should I get them professionally done - can’t really expect Matt to do the drilling for me can I?!! Happy to screw in some bolts, but drilling a fairing sounds scary!! :w00t:
The wormy things and gas cannisters sound good Jamie - any particular brand - finding it hard to find a suitable kit. Slime does one, but think I am supposed to stay away from Slime aren’t I?
Learning a lot already from the answers to the other questions, but great to get a range of opinions!
don’t forget to declare your bungs being R&G to your insurer. So far only seen it with Ebike but they gave me a discount for having them on… never know if anyone else would but no harm in adding?
Bike friendly accommodation. Don’t worry about it, follow your nose - there is always accommodation to be found at the end of a day in Europe. 99 of 100 times people will really try to help you hide a motorbike if that’s the concern, but out in any countryside the overnight risk is minimal. If you want to meet other bikers, do it at petrol stations / festivals. The only catch is city centres - 4*+ chain hotels tend to have private parking but often waive expensive daily fees for motorbikes which make them fairly reasonable all in.
Ride the bike to Italy. Two days will do it comfortably. With a bit of planning you could email a dealer in Italy to get rubber fitted there, and finish off an old set on the way down. There are trains but you’re looking at £500+ and you still have to ride to Belgium / Germany to get one.
On my ninja, I got some generic crash bungs off ebay - £25
Then got some M10 threaded rod from Screwfix. Fitted the rod and then fitted the crash bungs. A lot cheaper and R&G, do the same job.
Thanks Martin - some very good points. Can I assume it is possible to pass from France to Italy without riding up into the Alps (would like to do an Alpine trip another time), but for now speed/time is the most important thing - want to spend most of my time in Italy. Am guessing I’d go through the Mont Blanc tunnel? But if you know a shorter/ faster route it would be great to hear.
That’s interesting, I didn’t know you could stick your bike on a train at Paris and then pick it up again down south… I wonder how long it takes and how much it costs…
Last yeah I hammered through France in a day, but it ended up being quite expensive because of the petrol and toll road costs. Plus it knackers you right out. Might look into getting the train this summer…
There is no ZXR 300. If you’re referring to the Ninja 300, that’s the EX300. No-one in the UK will know it as the EX300 since we just call it the Ninja.
+1 on drilled bungs. The ones that don’t require you to drill the fairings literally just move the bung towards an existing hole with a bit of metal.
When the bike hits the deck, the bit of metal will just bend and fook your fairings anyway.
If your friend is over 24, I’d recommend looking at some lower bikes of slightly higher cc.
As I’ve said before. Why buy a 125 when you can get a 600? Starting on a 125 makes sense but you’ll get bored in a month and want something bigger.
Get the something bigger to begin with and restrict it back (to 33 or 47 bhp). Then when your mate thinks she’s ready, its a 30 min job to remove the restriction and she’s got a full powered bike.
Don’t forget that there are lowering kits available and you can adjust the ride height with the suspension.
Matt drills holes for crash bungs all the time!
He’s the man to take it to!
Just booked the Autotrain from Paris to Nice through raileurope - £220 return, for going to Italy in September. Still need to add the TGV on top though but that’s not going to be much. Nice is only just inside France. We’re only doing northern Italy though. Will report back when we experience it.
Crash bungs are a good idea as replacement panels are dear. Don’t ask me how I know this…
- but what about: which is the best temporary puncture repair kit/ tyre inflator (that doesn’t involve green slimy stuff having to be removed), any specialist tools that a basic kit is unlikely to have, but will be regularly needed! Other than a waterproof romper suit and rain repellent for your visor, what else would you say are absolute must haves? Sat Navs - has anyone tried the new TomTom pro-rider 3 - any thoughts on the ease of inputting multi ‘way-pointed’ routes? Better or worse than a decent Garmin? If you have a 12v power socket on your bike, can you get a widget that will allow you to power a number of things at the same time - sat nav AND heated jacket, gloves and foot insoles? Okay I ‘think’ that is it for now, but I reserve to add more questions later, as others might also find at some of the info gathered useful! 
