Hi from an Old(ish) Newbie

Hi,
Just joined the forum so hello from Dilton Marsh (near Westbury).
Apart from when I was 17 (40 years ago) on holiday with some mates, I never rode a motorbike / scooter until December last year.
Shorts, T shirt and trainers on a scooter in India :cool:. Absolutely loved it. Deffo not the best clothing to be wearing and deffo not the best road skills.
So, in January this year I started a DAS course and passed last a couple of weeks ago. Great fun but quite stressful at times..
On Saturday picked up bike from Blade Triumph - Street Twin.
Not stopped grinning since.. Done 300 miles over the weekend.
Learning lots - and from what I understand you never stop learning.
Looking forward to being part of the forum..
Cheers
Bob

Hi and welcome to WB :cool:

It's a bit quiet on here at the moment for some reason, maybe the rain? Look forward to meeting you on a run or two later in the year. I ride an SV650 and himself has a street triple.

Welcome to WB Bob , congrats on the test and nice bike . I have a Bonneville :cool:

welcome, lovely bike as a first bike too - Triumph are coming out with some crackers lately!

Welcome to WB Bob, great bike, triumphs are the way to go :).
And yes you never stop learning, well not until the day you don't see the old man or the taxi driver pulling out in front of you :( .

Hi and welcome to WB, well done on passing the test and the purchase of the bike. Lets hope the weather starts to warm up soon.

Welcome to WB, most of us are on the wrong side of 20 something (add about 30 years) lol. if you can survive the roads in India ours should be a doddle although just remember most drivers want to kill you :p
bit to nippy for me over the weekend so kudos to you there. looking forward to warmer temps :cool::D

Evening Bob :)

Hi..
Thanks for all of your comments.. makes me feel very welcome!!

It would be really good to ride with you guys at some point.. being a newbie maybe a little too soon at the moment trying to keep up with the experts.. I did see that group riding can be a little hairy when testosterone kicks in :-)

I may be stupid or keen or a bit of both, but I went out last night to see how good the headlight was - crap!
On dipped I could see about 40 feet in front, on main there was a faint glow in the distance - but that’s it..

Do you avoid riding at night or have LEDs or xenons??
Interested to see what you all think..
I promise to try and keep the dumb questions to a minimum.. ;-)
Bob

The lights on my Bonneville aren't the best and every year or so i think about doing something about it , but most of my riding is done in daylight hours so have never bothered . When I do occasionally find myself out and about in the wee small hours , i ride accordingly .

We don't really experience an excess of testosterone on rides , it's generally pretty civilized and well behaved .

As above the hideouts are very civilised and the system in use means you wait for the back marker.

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Originally Posted by Dazr

As above the hideouts are very civilised and the system in use means you wait for the back marker.

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And so are the rideouts! lol

WB doesn't do testoterone, most of us are either to old for that or just don't feel the need to always be in front of the bike in front. i ride like miss daisy most of the time, anything like rossi and i find it spoils the ride out as you miss loads of stuff.
don't worry about being the new one on a ride out we have all been there, everyone rides with consideration and no one gets left behind.
we had a newbie last year with the same concerns having only passed their test weeks earlier and within 30 minutes they were at the front of "the pack" and thoroughly enjoyed their first ride out
so don't be backward on the first ride out (weather permitting) you will not feel like an oddball. (unless of course you want to be an oddball) :D

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Originally Posted by BB

And so are the rideouts! lol

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we do rideouts as well ? cool :p

Felt like a 17 year old this morning - rode the bike to work, first time ever. No drama, just a little chilly.
I missed out on all the fun 50cc, 125cc stuff as a kid, but I am getting a taster now:D albeit on a bigger bike - why did I leave it so long?:confused:
Happy days.. love it.:rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by BobB

Hi..
Do you avoid riding at night or have LEDs or xenons??
Interested to see what you all think..
I promise to try and keep the dumb questions to a minimum.. ;-)
Bob

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Welcome to WB. On rideouts we usually are very civilised :-)
As per lights my previous bike had very crappy ones, current have LED ones so it is much better and I don't feel like I'm riding with torch :-)

Hi,
I guess the LEDs were standard on the bike?
Not sure if you can retrofit them easily - I know LEDs need a lot of bulky electronics :(

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Originally Posted by BB

And so are the rideouts! lol

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Ha ha - you love the hideouts more..... :)

Hi Bob, well done on the pass, and welcome to WB :)

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Originally Posted by BobB

I know LEDs need a lot of bulky electronics :(

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Barely bigger than a standard bulb (they have a small heatsink on the back). You are thinking of HID which requires ballast and relays.

MOT regs tightened up last year, retrofit HID is now an automatic fail and I'm not sure of the status of retrofit LED (Though I believe either without a specifically designed reflector/housing is against C&U so an offence).

Welcome! Keep an eye out as I’m in the process of organising another pub social meet, so you can come along and meet us. Not all rideouts are testosterone-fests, as some of us literally have no balls!!!

Ha ha!
A social sounds good..
Looking forward to meeting up at some point...
Beer and Bikes - not a good mix!
I did know a bloke who made a shandy with alcohol free beer? :D

There’s a post up now, meet-up will be 1st May. And no, it’ll be orange juice and lemonade for me!

Hi,
That is so typical - I will be away on holiday then., Bugger.
With technology these days I could join via a remote session:D

There’ll be plenty more!

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Originally Posted by BobB

Hi,
That is so typical - I will be away on holiday then., Bugger.
With technology these days I could join via a remote session:D

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Not the best of signals inside the Magpies so may not be able to Skype in! lol

Hey all. Just joined. Swindon based and new to the area. Be good to meet up for a ride out or social some time. Cheers.