Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

As a long time biker in London, kevlar encased and commuting to work, I moved to Brisbane and promptly sold my bike and have not ridden since. Which may account for my sudden mood swings and propensity to talk crap.

However, I have not died since. Which, given the utter stupidity of your average Brisbane motorist, would have been my assured fate. Australians are simply not used to "seeing" motorbikes.

You are 30 times more likely to be killed in an accident than if you were in your car. And one in 5 accidents involve a motorbike.

If you do the sums it aint pretty. Get good training - really good training and then ride like everyone was out to kill you and can't see you, even if you think they have.

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

The numbers - whilst sobering and worthy of consideration do not account for the difference in 'heavy traffic' accidents and 'weekend warrior' accidents.

Obviously peak hour accidents do happen - and some inevitably end badly ('bad' being obviously more likely on 2 wheels than 4). BUT I'd be happy to bet that a large proportion of those motorcycle numbers comes from the high number of 'leisure riders' in Australia (thanks to a forgiving climate) who fling themselves at grease-lightening speed around any curvy, hilly bit of road they can find on any given Sunday.

It would be very interesting to see how those numbers changed if they were just looking at 6:30am-8:30am and 4pm-6pm.

(Dont suppose ABCDiamond can pull those numbers out of somewhere? :p)

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

What bike license did you have in the UK?

A list of LAMS approved bikes can be found here. Quite a range.

http://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Safety/Mot...le-Scheme.aspx

Could probably just do a Q-Ride refresher, 5 hours in the morning then Q-ride assessment in the afternoon, another 5 hours. Depending how much riding experience he's had previously.

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

Cheers for that Al.

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

Maybe a Honda CB400 or Suzuki GS500? Fairly comfortable for commuting and should be reliable.

Don't know of this link works. (seems to) Just as an idea.

http://www.bikesales.com.au/all-bike...%201545%201544

You will need to do as DadAgain says:-

1. Theory test.
2. Q-ride to get your RE (restricted for a year to a LAMS approved bike).
3. Optional. After a year, same test but on a bigger bike if you want your R (Open bike license)

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

When I started I spent $3300 on a used ZZR250 (sport/tourer) [as seen in my out of date avatar]
and about $1000 on gear..
and about $800 on Q-Ride training.
(In my day there was no LAMS in QLD - so I had to get a 250cc bike)

My insurance cost me $250 a year! (fully comp?!)
Rego was $400 a year
A service cost me $300

and my fuel economy was around 3.6L/100km

In the end as I mentioned before the total cost of ownership after 1 year was less than I woudl have spent on bus fares and it was A LOT more fun.

That bike died a dignified and timely death when someone backed into it in my works car park and knocked it over. The resultant damage was deemed to be sufficient to write it off and I got a nice big fat cheque (off HIS insurance) for $4k to go toward my new ride.


I couldnt recommend a ZZR more - it was so cheap to run and bulletproof reliable. It was a pretty comfy ride and mine had some wicked loud exhaust on it too.

Of course if you're not into the sporty look then a naked style would probably be cheaper still (and cheaper to insure) - but if buying at the budget end I'd definately be sticking to a proven Japanese bike. Hondas do hang on to their value well though so they might be more expensive than an equivalent Suzuki or Kawasaki. Beware the Hyosung - they have a reputation for turning riders into either excellent users of public transport or first class mechanics.

Theres LOADS of ZZRs out there in the affordable range: http://www.bikesales.com.au/all-bike...ywords=&Nne=15

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

Thanks for that.

I must admit, the Hyosungs had caught my eye on price alone.

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

I got's me a DRZ400-SM and I've had it for the last 4 years and it's one hell of a fun yet insanely dangerous ride into work, when I take it....

Having said that, most of the time when I am riding in city-traffic, I could be forgiven for thinking that all car drivers suffer from acute mental illnesses...

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

I currently communte to work in Scotland on a bike and plan to do the same in Brisbane once we're over in July. I've got a 600 Ninja at the moment but to be fair my commute is only 8 miles per days so its not too bad on the high pegs in the town. Even though my journey to work is 4 miles I still get all geared up in my leathers, I wouldn't have it any other way, it takes 2 mins to put them on, its dangerous and lazy if you don't.

I have a few friends who use the Kawasaki ER-6n which is a perfect commuter, light and small but has a bit of power when you need to get out of a situation. I would highly recommend these...great for filtering through traffic. If you go to any major city in Europe, every second bike seems to be one of these.

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

When it's 35c and humid, we'll see how strong your resolve is? :lol:

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

Of course, but good quailty leathers should also be very breathable. Failing that I'll get a decent set of textiles.

Keep the speed up and draft will keep you cool ;)

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

You get a whole range of mesh breathable stuff here that keeps you cool. DriRider jacket and gloves for me and kevlar jeans. :thumbup:

My UK stuff is far to hot except the cordura pants which are ok.

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

Good to know...thanks :thumbup:

Re: Motorcyclists, some advice please
 

Another thing to note is that if you need to buy new gear then buying it in the UK is FAR FAR better than buying here.

Example - I looked at leather jackets here and theres was nothing less than $300 and for anything close to a decent fit I was looking the wrong side of $450.

I went to the UK and popped into some huge great big warehouse full of gear in Swindon and picked up a fantastic perforated (i.e. cool) leather jacket for around 100GBP. Its almost as cool as the dri-rider jacket I had before but offers better protection.

The only danger in this technique is that Helmets purchased in the UK will not have an Australian standards compliance sticker so are technically illegal. I've never heard of anyone getting busted for a non-compliant helmet, but its possible that an insurance company could take issue and refuse a payout - and THAT makes it not worth the risk just to save 2/3rds the price of a helmet! (Yes they do cost 3 times as much here!).

Next time I'm back in the UK I'll be shopping again for some more kevlar jeans, some new gloves and possibly a new pair of boots. Theres no way I can afford to pay AU prices for the limited range and bad selection of sizes that we have available.