Summer's here! Time for a video...

With apologies to our Antipodean members (who seem to have summer all year round!) :wink:

I'll start with this meagre effort...

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhD2mvn56PA[/video]

Real roads, My Son has just lent me his Ghost HD camera so I'll be road testing it 2moz on the ride for life run from Shrewsbury to Cosford. You just know it'll rain

How tall do you stand? Your legs in the movie seem to be more forward than mine. Is it the lens
on the camera that distorts?

No rear view mirrors? How do you know if the "Fun Police" are chasing you? :mrgreen:

I love your video, it gives me back 'the urge'. I take it from the stone walls and the fact that you are riding on the LHS side of the road, that you are somewhere in the UK ? However where is all the traffic ? Unfortunately where I live the roads are straight for at least 30 miles in every direction. To get the sort of riding you are doing in that video, I would probably have to move to Tasmania - where there is no work.

One thing I noticed in the UK when I was there about 8 years ago, was the good standard of driving by the average guy. In Australia, our distances are much greater and the roads are generally much longer and straighter. If you are riding a bike, the droning goes on forever. I found that in the UK, 60 MPH was common on those tight country lanes and even the trucks do that. In Australia, the police would lock you up and throw away the key for that. On our freeways the maximum speed in most place is 110 KPH except in some parts of the Northern Territory. This seems ridiculous except when you take into consideration the likelihood of a kangaroo jumping out of the bush and in front of you. I have watched a few videos of Irish road racing - those guys are real heroes. The Ulster GP and the North-West are mind-blowing.

Nice video, I am lucky I get to ride every day and when out riding with the mates it's all back roads, twisty mountain roads and not having to go on any highways, your Norton is running great as well, so enjoy your summer riding, it is half way through out Autum here and is the best time of the year for riding not so hot and not so cold with big blue skies, but I also like riding in our Winter the Norton just loves the cold, you just got to rug up more.

Ashley

concours said:

No rear view mirrors? How do you know if the "Fun Police" are chasing you? :mrgreen:

Click to expand...

Yeah. And your tacho and speedo are the wrong way round! Good job on the video.

I would be dead inside of 5 miles if I was riding over there. I'd be in a head on for sure.
You video sure was exhilarating to watch though.

Less and less Police on roads each year as enforcement is changed from active to camera based, that means on quiet rural roads there are virtually no Police. Go into a town or city and you better have a good speedo and know where all the cameras are, they get you for speeding, running lights, using bus lanes and even for parking, no one to be seen but the spy in the sky on lamposts.

It's not just rural roads. This week I drive to Anglesey and back, @200 miles on the A55 and never saw a Police vehicle whatsoever !
But as you say, lots of cameras, and they are a real help at an accident.
sam

Thanks for posting that video clip, I was going to ask you about you mirrors too, but concours beat me to it. Perhaps you took, them off just for the recording of the video, but I was thinking your MOT would work their way up your backside, if you couldn't see said backside in your missing rearview lens :shock: we are getting more and more traffic cameras which (if I'm. not mistaken,charge you with a civil violation just to be able to collect on the ticket, not a moving violation where they have to take you to court and it going on your record etc...) but that is a discussion for another thread. Beautiful looking day, for that ride on your beautiful looking Blue Norton! :mrgreen:

cjandme said:

but I was thinking your MOT would work their way up your backside

Click to expand...

No.
Mirrors are not a legal/MOT requirement on motorcycles, here.

http://www.bikelawyer.co.uk/mcn-law-col ... irrors-off

The answer to this question can be found in the ever helpful piece of legislation - The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986. This contains many interesting rules relating to vehicle use on the road, what is allowed and what isn’t.
In short, there is no legal requirement to have mirrors on a motorcycle.

Click to expand...

http://mot.fasttrackmotorcycles.co.uk/1 ... checklist/

Are mirrors a requirement for my bike to go through an MOT? cheers
Reply

fasttrack says:
April 22, 2013 at 9:13 am

Hi there, wing mirrors are not a requirement, however if they are fitted then they will need to be secure!

Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments

Rural Lancashire is fortunate for the lack of traffic, which mostly goes to the Lake District on sunny days. I often forget how fortunate I am, as I do a fair bit of cycling too.
My Interstate does have mirrors, and I do 'check 6' regularly, as is correct for a Brit Biker
My 900ss would be utterly ruined by such things, and I'm well used to not having any. As has already been pointed out, they only need to be serviceable if actually fitted - it's the same with indicators, although on post '86 bikes they're mandatory.

Funny how it looks fast - I don't think I broke 60 for the duration as it's pretty difficult on these roads! Rural speed limit is 'derestricted', i.e. 60mph except were signposted otherwise.

The camera is a Turnigy GoPro clone which was about £80 - they've since come down to less than £40 :shock:
No complaints - seems to be a good camera, comes complete with waterproof case for the traditional British weather. Funnily enough I spent a week at Cosford last year hearing some ex-NCO BSing about aircraft design - put me right off, it did, but the Officer's Mess beer prices were some compensation :wink:

The camera perspective isn't too distorting - the legs do get in the way a tad, as I'm 6'10"

I nearly keeled over when you said six foot ten. That Commando must feel like a 350 Honda....:-O

Hi Andy

At 6'10 I feel for you as my middle brother is 6'9 don't know what happen there as the oldest and myself are only 5'10 and my father wasn't much taller so your legs would be sitting higher.
I don't know how I would handle not being able to ride all year round, winter months of no riding would be upsetting to me, but our summer days can be very hot and uncomfortable to ride with leather jacket during the day, but when we go out for a ride it's normally a early start at 6 am or before that and get home before midday and gives me the afternoon to have a few cold beers.

Ashley

ashman said:

I don't know how I would handle not being able to ride all year round,

Click to expand...

You can ride all year in the UK, (but perhaps not on our summer toys) as there aren't usually all that many days when it's unwise to ride because of the weather conditions, it's just colder and/or (even)wetter than what we call "summer" most of the time.

http://www.bennetts.co.uk/motorbike-ins ... zBNneTCvAo

It don't get that cold in my area, I have never seen snow and the only icy I have seen is in hail or in the freezer, but in the southern states it snows in the highlands during winter and sometimes in the lowlands but is more silt than snow, on the coast where I live it only gets down to about 5c, but away from the coast more inland it can get down to -0c or less but I don't mind riding when it's down to 5c but I keep my kidney warm with a extra big woollen scarf around my kidney area under my leathers and a woollen jumper and my whole body stays warm.

Ashley