Ergonomics, security and affordable insurance
Ergonomics, security and affordable insurance
glchua said:
Someone mentioned that we should only ride what we can pick up. I don't think that is necessary a "rule".
Agree - my Guzzi is very heavy, and if it fell over, I'm not sure I'd be able to pick it up.
What's more important is that you fit the bike. For example, you shouldn't have to stretch uncomfortably to reach the handlebars or controls, and the seat should be neither too high nor too wide to prevent you putting the balls of your feet down.
The controls should be adjusted for fit (e.g. lever positions and span), and preference (e.g. throttle and clutch pull made lighter - though (a) modern bikes usually have light controls (unlike Guzzis!) and are fine and (b) you'll need a mechanic).
And buy a decent lock and
always use it, pref. locked to something unmovable - never assume it'll be fine unlocked for 5 minutes. If you leave it unlocked, sooner or later it
will be stolen!
Insurance companies often insist on alarms, but numerous tests have proved that no one takes a blind bit of notice of alarms! (A few years ago, a UK bike mag tried a test: would anyone confront someone pushing a bike into a van with its alarm sounding? The answer was "no", even in a busy high street or in front of a police station!)
As has been mentioned, if parked on the street for any length of time, use a bike cover (pref. a tatty, nondescript one). Also, try not to park it in the same place(s).
Insurance (in the UK) can be ferociously expensive. Consider getting an older (but mechanically sound!) bike, say 10 years old. As it's not worth much and thieves are less interested, you can get it insured for hundreds of pounds less. Also, there's no point getting comprehensive insurance for such a bike, just third party, fire and theft (or just third party if it's really not worth much).
One you get a full licence, you can get classic insurance for a bikes older than 25 years - again, significantly cheaper than for a modern bike (I only pay £150 fully comprehensive!). There are plenty of older bikes that meet the following, so you shouldn't be disadvantaged compared with a modern bike: good performance (power, handling, braking), reliability and easily available spares. Plus there are advantages: cheap and simple to maintain, more "personality".
