Shoei Raid 2 Strife RRP £260 ish ordered mine for £170
right place at the right time. apparently someone ordered it, then couldn't afford to pay for it. it's been gathering dust since and the shop owner wants rid of it because it's last season's design... what a shame. i'm getting it at cost price plus postage!!
it's a very good lid, here's a review (clicky)

Tags: motorbike

well i settled on the KBC Tarmac Radiation and ordered it.


Then i get a phone call telling me that they don't have it in stock and it'll be about 2 months before they can get it in my size!!!
so i look elsewhere for the same lid, only to find a similar story... even from the official UK distributers!!!

so either i persevere or i find myself something else.

Tags: motorbike
Current Mood: annoyed

the more i think about it the more i like these two...
(yes, i know one of them wasn't on the list yesterday...)


KBC force RR top gun  £99.99

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/kbc/force-rr/

(hi-res piccie clicky)

KBC Tarmac Radiation Helmet £90

http://www.webbikeworld.com/r2/motorcycle-helmet/kbc/tarmac/

(hi-res piccie clicky)

Tags: motorbike

ok, choosing a lid is doing my head in! my budget is £150 ish and i want to look cool, but i'm not interested in replicas (rossi, lorenzo, etc.)
my main problem is that i need an XXL or 63-64cm lid and i want a full face helmet, not a flip front or an open face helmet...

below are some that i've found and quite like, i'm sure there are more out there that i haven't found yet...

do you like any of these? do you know of another that's better? please let me know!


here's a useful thing it's the government safety standards ratings (SHARP)
http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/search/results/?&sort=size_id&dir=desc


Marushin Tiger £100  SHARP rating 5*




Caberg Zonda £130 SHARP rating 5*

Shark s500 Air Samurai £115 SHARP rating 4*


Shark s650 Wings £135





KBC VR1-X TRIBAL £100 SHARP rating 3*

KBC VR1-X LIGHTENING FORCE SPECIAL EDITION £110 SHARP rating 3*

KBC Tarmac Radiation Helmet £90 SHARP rating - not rated

Tags: motorbike

now to find a lid...

Tags: motorbike

i passed my theory test.

on the theory part were lots of motorbike specific questions, many of which are not in the highway code or the official DSA practice guide...
i got 2 questions wrong. i don't know which.

then the hazard perception thing. 14 short clips of someone driving around. you have to click when you see a hazard. this was very hard for me as i'm used to identifying lots of potential hazards, especially when whizzing around at twice the speed limit on blues... each clip supposedly has 1 or 2 hazards, i was identifying 20 - 30 hazards in each clip and having to try really hard to restrain my clicking... only on 1 clip did i apparently click too many times and so was awarded a big fat 0. my scores for the other clips however meant that i passed.

next step - London Bike Show on the 29th to look for leathers and sit on some bikes.

Tags: motorbike

i've booked my Direct Access motorcycle training course and paid the deposit.
no going back now!!

i have my theory test booked for 17/01/09 and my actual course is 14-19 March 09. normally the DAS course is 5 days, but not having ridden a push bike (not counting clown bikes) for at least 10 years i figure an extra day will be needed. the course includes 1 day Compulsory Basic Training followed by 5 days intensive training and ends with the practical test.

Kruel commented about safety and yes i know it's a dangerous thing, but in my first year in the ambulance service i have seen quite a few people who've fallen off bikes and surprisingly it seems to hurt more falling off a push bike than a motorbike. i guess full face crash helmets and leathers reinforced with CE approved armour offer a bit more protection than lycra cycling shorts and a mushroom strapped to your head... and yes i know motorbikes can go alot faster than push bikes and therefore injuries can be worse... but interestingly someone crashing at 30mph on a push bike will sustain similar injuries to someone crashing at 70mph on a motorbike (assuming they're wearing good protective clothing). now then how many fatal or near fatal bike crashes will i go out to over the next 3.5 months?!

Tags: motorbike

i'm going to learn to ride a motorbike.

it's something i've been wanting to do for a few years, but haven't for 2 reasons. firstly i don't like pain, i've seen how much falling off can hurt. and secondly because mum doesn't want me to.
mum thinks that if either me or my sis get on a bike then we're going to hurt ourselves and to be fair she's probably right.

on march 30th 2009, the bike test is changing. it's being made much harder to pass and new exercises are being introduced that even seasoned motorcycle instructors are finding difficult - i know, i asked them!
so basically it's now or never.

so before march i have to;

• rearrange some of my annual leave
• book a direct access course (clicky)
• tell mum (the biggest hurdle)
• save up (i feel some overtime coming on!!)
• buy some protective clothing.

Tags: motorbike