Ducati Monster 821 screen and radiator guard

Evotech Radiator Guard

Now that I've decided to commit to the Monster 821 I've started to look at upgrades and improvements to it (there didn't seem much point if I was going to be chopping it in for something else). I'd been told to get a radiator guard from the beginning, and feeling that I'd probably pushed my luck as far as I could on our medieval UK roads. I got this one from Evotech:

https://evotech-performance.com/collections/ducati-monster-821-2013-2017/products/ducati-monster-821-radiator-guard-2013-to-2017

Installation was quite simple, and the included instructions were clear. The whole operation maybe took 45 minutes - as this is the first bit of work I've done on the Monster following an almost 20 year break of home mechanicary I took my time. Installed, the guard is inconspicuous and looks sure to do it's job.

Puig New Generation Windscreen

I love my Monster, but one of the reasons I was thinking of trading was because I'd taken it for a ride to Nottingham over the summer across the A50. This was mostly done at 70mph, and I found it to be quite fatiguing after a while - no doubt because it's a naked bike with no wind protection. I looked at the various screens available and decided to order this from Sportsbikeshop here in the UK.

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/300449

There are a few screens available for the Monster 821, some tall but quite gawky looking, others small and apparently not offering a great deal of protection. This was just £85 - somewhat more affordable than other options, so I thought I'd give it a try. It arrived, along with some winter base layers and was again a very quick and simple install.

I was a little concerned that the screen would spoil the appearance of the bike, and while it obviously looks better without it on at all, it could hardly be described as offensive, and from some angles is actually quite good.

I've had a ride of about an hour so far with it on, seems good so far. I'm only really going to know for sure when I go for a long ride on the motorway or along the dual carriageway. Ill update my thoughts when this happens.

What happened? Part 2: CBT and Theory Test

Compulsory Basic Training (CBT)

It was a crisp February morning when I went to do my CBT in Stoke-on-Trent. The first time I'd been on a bike for just over 11 years, but I remembered mostly what to do. The only issue was the very cheap 125cc bike - I think Brixton was the brand (sounds a bit like Thruxton dunnit?) - which stalled at the slightest provocation. Still, it was an enjoyable day and I relearned a lot in the classroom in the morning and then in the afternoon it was time to do the two hour supervised ride.

For me this went well - at the age of 42 and an experienced car driver I have a good knowledge of roads, but my co-student on this ride had only just arrived in the UK from South Asia. I knew it was over for him when he sailed through a red light on a pedestrian crossing, and our instructor was understandably extremely stressed - I worried this might result in an invalid test for me as he spent so much time watching out for the other student! Fortunately this was not the case, once the instructor recomposed himself I was told I'd done well and my CBT certificate was written up.

Theory Test

I remembered needing two attempts at this in 2010, the Hazard Perception Test caught me out although I'd done well on the multiple choice questions. Nevertheless, I got the official DVLA guide to the theory test and read through it all in preparation, and I also downloaded the DVLA app to practice the Hazard Perception Test. I'm very glad that I did both these things and I definitely got a few extra points on multiple choice. 

The Hazard Perception Test has improved since I did it in 2010, now based around a high quality simulation instead of the filmed sequences of the past. Again I only just passed this section, but pass I did and I was delighted to be one step closer to getting my licence.

What Happened? Part 1: 12 years

The brief answer (which I may expand upon in the future), is that following my last post I failed my test twice in the following month and decided to abandon my quest for a motorcycle licence. At the end of 2010 I had spent maybe £1000 on lessons, the same again on clothing and other equipment, and owned (but had not taken delivery of) an Aprilia Pegaso 650 Factory which had set me back a further £3500. 

I sold what I could of the equipment and clothing at a loss, the dealer who sold me the bike agreed to sell it for me, although it took over a year to get my money, I'd only lost £500 on that and saved myself the hassle of trying to sell it myself. With the dust finally settled and my heart broken, I put the whole thing down to folly and told myself I'd never dabble with motorcycles again.

And that's how it was for years. In 2015 my wife and I moved house and our new neighbour was building a custom chopper. We became friends and I took an interest in his project, and several other bikes he bought over the following years. I told him my sob story of licence-failure, but I'd learned enough during my experience to at least be able to have a conversation with him about the bikes as well as appreciate the steady stream of Hayabusas, Ducatis and BMWs he had over the following years.

Occasionally I'd get a little bit tempted to look at doing my licence, especially when my neighbour had a very nice Ducati Scrambler Cafe Racer - but remembering what happened to me back in 2010 I was reminded that it was one thing to go and buy all the equipment - anyone with the means can do that - it was quite another to pass the test.

Exactly one year ago, things changed. My neighbour was going to the MCN Live show in Birmingham - his friends couldn't make it on the day he was going so asked if I'd like to join him instead. I figured that if nothing else this would be a good day out and went along.

After spending a day walking around all of the fantastic machinery I was pretty much hooked. Two bikes stood out for me that day, the BMW RnineT Scrambler and the Kawasaki Z900RS and I couldn't stop thinking about them.

A week later I was on my way to Australia to work for two months, but I'd made up my mind - once I returned I was going to have another go at getting my bike licence.

Intensive Course and Module 1 test

Phew! After three days in a row on a bike, I'm finally at home! Here's how I got on with my intensive training and module 1 test.

Day 1

As I mentioned in my last entry, I'd got on the Kawasaki ER-5 at the end of my final lesson, and assumed I would be riding that for my intensive training. But instead I found out I was using the Yamaha XJ6 instead. I thought this bike was okay, although much faster revving than I would have liked. At heart, I like a lot of torque rather than top end power, and when I wound up the XJ6 it did almost feel like it was running away with me. I found it nice and easy to manouver though.

Day 1 (and 2) was divided into three hour sessions of roughly 2 hours each. I did plenty of practicing of Mod 1 manouvers and found the XJ6 to be quite managable. The only thing I was having a little difficulty with was the swerve and stop excercise. The highlight of the day was a 2 hour ride out towards Newport on the A519, and then cutting up to Baldwin's Gate, returning to base via Newcastle Under Lyme. This is the kind of riding I'm looking forward to doing when I pass, and a throughly enjoyed it, getting up to some quite high (but legal!) speeds. It was raining too, but I didn't mind that so much and I was pleased that all the gear I bought over the last couple of months kept me warm and dry.

Day 2

My instructors and I were reasonably happy with my roadcraft, and with my Mod 1 test following the next day, day 2 saw me concentrate on practicing for that test. They wanted me to try the ER-5 again - I was hesitant as I was now used to the XJ6 - but it didn't take me long to settle into it, and I preferred it anyway (being a twin as opposed to the four of the XJ6). The two key things I mastered during this day were stopping 'professionally', as I wasn't too elegant before when it came to putting my foot down, and mastering the swerve and stop manouver. Sometimes I find it easier to get left alone and figure something out for myself, so I was happy when I got about 5 minutes to give the swerve and stop a go alone, and get it in my head.

We did some road craft in the middle portion of the day. With my confidence increasing (and on the ER-5, which I was becoming genuinely fond of), I began to relax and enjoy the ride. We spent some time around Newcastle Under Lyme again, and despite this being an area I'm quite familiar with, I went down roads I've never seen before! On a bike you can get more of a 'feel' for a place than in the cocoon of a car, so I would flip my visor up and have the breeze on my face, and take in some of the sights and smells.

The final session of the day was more practicing of Mod 1 manouvers. As part of the emergency stop and swerve and stop excercises, one must ride around a corner at roughly 20mph. I wasn't getting up to speed on these, so I was encouraged to really pick up the pace and lean over. Now, to those who've been riding for years it will seem like second nature, but it was a real mental challenge to lean so far over and corner at such a speed. It took quite a few goes, but as my confidence increased and I learned to trust the physics of a bike in that state, I got up to speed and improved my entry into both manouvers.

Day 3 - Module 1 test

I have to admit to not feeling terribly confident on the morning of the test. My instructors thought I was good for it, and there was no reason really for me to feel that way. I had read a lot of scare stories about the Mod 1 test which really help. I decided to look at it philosophically - treat it as a practice run and be fully prepared to have to do it again.

My test was in Burton on Trent, which is about 45 minutes away. It was quite rainy and blustery on the way down there, but it was a good experience to get on the A50 and do a long stretch of dual carriageway. After turning onto some excellent A roads to get to the test centre, we arrived and watched another candidate go through her test, then went inside.

While waiting for my examiner to come out, I told my instructor how when I took my driving test I'd managed to keep a cool head because I was under the impression I'd failed after a slightly juddery start out of the first junction at the test centre, and stayed relaxed throughout the test. To my amusement, I managed to unintentionally repeat the trick - when the examiner asked me to start my bike up and wheel it backwards out of the bay, I managed to leave the side stand down. I saw it before I got into the test area, but I know examiners are always watching and again assumed I'd failed.

With the pressure off, I did all my manouvers fairly confidently. I don't remember too much of it actually, and it is rather short, probably under 10 minutes in my case. I parked up, went inside and to my delight, the examiner told me I'd passed! And not only passed, but with no faults at all.

We headed back along the route we came, and I had a big smile on my face.

My Mod 2 test is next week. I may well put in one final lesson, just to brush up the day before. Of course, if I pass I will be able to ride my Pegaso, but as I'm due to be away working the week after, I may wait until the end of the month to get it delivered.

Second lesson - and points! (But no prizes?)

Higher speeds

I'd been looking forward to my second lesson all week. I knew I would at some point be getting up to one of the school's 500cc bikes this week, but there would first be another trip onto the roads on a 125.

Having ridden the CG125 on my CBT and for most of last week's lesson, I thought it would be a good idea to ride the YBR125 for this week's road session. I hadn't liked the YBR as much when I rode it last week, I found it cramped and just 'looser' in it's feel, yet I'd found it easier to manouver. I went out onto the road with my instructor and felt confident. Again, I had the same complaints for the YBR, at 5'10" I'm perhaps a bit too tall for it, and I got a little annoyed at it's unwillingness to change up gear at times - the YBR seems to need a very positive shove, as opposed to the quick flick that was sufficient on the CG. Still, I'm a believer that making things harder in practice makes it easy when it's time to do it for real, so I didn't feel bad about it. I had a quick run around the yard and went through the slalom and figure 8 again - they felt fine.

This lesson on the road was good for three reasons. Firstly, I went faster than I'd ever gone before, round about 55mph on a national speed limit section. I was surprised at how much windblast I felt at that speed, and also how much my helmet seems to weathervane. I've said before I'm not a speed freak, but I think riding up to 70mph is realistic on dual carriageways, and up to 60mph on some of the A roads in the Peak District.

Secondly, I learned countersteering. It took a few minutes for this to sink in, and a few more practice runs to actually implement, but it's actually something I'd done before when riding my pedal bike on the road (I have been at times a keen road cyclist).

Thirdly, there was the general feeling of confidence from putting all this together. I'm getting my observations mostly correct now, and they are beginning to become instinctive rather than something I have to remember to do. Still, I don't want to become complacent and forget any of them come time for the mod 2 test.

Larger Capacity

Finally, the time came to ride one of the big bikes! When I arrived for my lesson I spotted the Kawasaki ER-5 parked up in readiness, and this was to be my steed for the second hour of the lesson. The first thing impressed upon me was the weight of the bike and having to re-learn getting it off the stand and coming to a halt.

Once I mastered these basics, it was on to circuits of the yard and stops, and then the slalom and figure 8. Just as my instructors told me, once I was used to the weight, this larger bike felt better for these low speed excercises as the centre of gravity is lower. I felt confident going through them, and my instructor told me I'd done well so I finished the lesson a happy man. A few days respite now before I begin my intensive course next tuesday, and my Mod 1 test in a week's time.

Say Cheese!

It's taken 13 years on the road, but I've finally been caught speeding. It happened last Sunday morning, at 9am on the A6 in Stockport as I made my way to Eastlands. I was doing 38mph in a 30 zone, and I was caught by a Gatso, of all things.

Now, I am very careful not to speed. I never intentionally break the speed limit in urban areas. While I'm not very familiar with this stretch of road, it is an extemely wide boulevard, and with no speed limit signs, it felt fairly safe to assume it was a 40. I'm pretty eagle-eyed when it comes to speed cameras, so I would have happily sailed through this particular trap in the full knowledge of the speed I was going at.

Amongst one of the FAQs on the form Greater Manchester Police sent me was something along the lines of "I didn't know this was a 30mph zone, there were no signs up". With the response "30mph areas are not marked with repeater signs." Well, I can tell my new Mancunian friends that they most certainly are thoughout Stoke-on-Trent, and indeed if there had been on this stretch on Stockport I most certainly wouldn't have been driving over the limit. Assuming other drivers think the same way, the motorist could be kept within the speed limit just by having the signs up, thus reducing road casualties. I'll leave you to consider their motives for not marking a wide stretch of road with speed limit signs.

AOB

The workshop manual for the Pegaso arrived last week, and I spent an evening printing it out and binding it. I was looking on course to have it delivered after I (hopefully) pass my Mod 1 test next week, so I have it ready to rride after I (hopefully) pass my Mod 2 a week later. But it looks like I may be working away for a week just after the Mod 2 test, so I may hang fire until after I come home.

I've also found a couple of places online which can supply me with Aprilia parts, and as I order a few things from there I will report on their service. I think a centre stand is likely to be amongst the first purchases.

I forgot to mention last week that I sat on a KTM Superduke which felt great, and this week got to sit on a colleagues Triumph Tiger which seems a great bike too, but perhaps a bit to tall for me.

I begin my intensive course next Tuesday!

New suit and my first lesson

Clothes

With the Pegaso now paid for and my training looming ever closer, the time came for me to get a suit for riding in. As I mentioned before, my local school will provide all the gear I need to actually do my training, but I wanted to wear my own clothes, and helmet. I'd already got my own gloves and boots, plus a helmet in the last couple of months in preparation (and so it wasn't such a large amount of money to pay in one go!). After consulting the few bikers I know, most - but not all - seemed to come down on the side of leathers, but looking at it practically I preferred the idea of textiles. After all, I should be starting riding in the middle of winter, so I want something that's waterproof, and the added ability to wear them over my regular clothes is a bonus too.

I headed to Hein Gericke in Newcastle-under-Lyme and once again was massively impressed with their friendly customer service. One thing that really gets my goat is walking into a shop, especially a specialist one, and being immediately pounced upon by a store assistant. This has never happened to me in Hein Gericke, I have a couple of minutes to browse before one of the staff come over just to check I'm okay. Everytime I have gone in there I've had friendly and non-pushy advice and come away with a very happy purchase. And so it was this week, when I picked out their Nagano Jacket and Atlas pants which are going to fit the bill perfectly.

125cc Lesson

Yesterday was the first of the lessons on the 125cc I'd booked in advance of my intensive traning course. Suited up, I arrived at the school and managed to get the same Honda CG125 I did my CBT on. After a quick ride around the yard (in which I very quickly had to try and remember how to actually ride a bike!), I headed off on the road for an hour, along with Kev (my instructor) and Sue who was another student. For the first part of the ride Sue led, followed by Kev with me bringing up the rear. It was great to be back in the saddle again! Following one minor hiccup when I stalled the bike at the A34/A500 roundabout in Trentham (great place to cut out!) we changed formation with me taking the lead. I was glad I was mostly remembering to cancel my signals, and I felt reasonably confident I was getting in all my observations and lifesavers. Finally, Kev took the lead and gave us a commentary on everything he was doing and observing, which was very useful.

The second hour took us back to the yard to practice some of the Mod 1 excercises. The moving the bike into another parking bay routine was fairly easy, but the bit I wasn't looking forward to were the low speed manouvers - slalom and figure of 8.

"Slower... but faster"

A lot of people talk about riding bikes fast, but I think the real skill is riding one slowly and under control. I think back to early 2002, long before I had any interest in getting a bike. My friends and I somewhat randomly went to see a motorcycle trials tournament at Sheffield Arena. Watching those riders - especially our own Dougie Lampkin - navigate these mind blowingly complex obstacles was impressive, and seems to be much harder than getting on a Fireblade and opening up the throttle.

When I did my CBT I remember this being probably the hardest thing I had to do. While I never actually dropped the bike, I negotiated them in a fairly staccato manner. So it was on my initial run through the slalom and figure of 8 - I got through, but I was very tense and not confident I would be able to do it with any consistency.

As ever, the key was practice. It's essentially a balancing act - getting everything co-ordinated between the back brake, the throttle and the clutch. After I few run throughs I felt better at it. Kev then suggested I try the Yamaha YBR125, as it was a bigger bike. I actually felt more cramped than on the CG, and I didn't like the handlebars being at a more acute angle, or that everything felt looser. BUT! For some reason, I found it much easier to do the excercises on, and I was scooting through the slalom at a fair old rate, and following up with nice tight figure 8s. By the end of the lesson I was happy, and with the U-turn and walking speed excercises feeling good too, I finished the session in a confident mood.


Next week's lesson is booked in for the same time, and it seems I'm running through it all again, but very likely on a 500cc bike, which i'm looking forward to as it's the end goal (and indeed, I have bought a 660cc bike!). I really enjoyed my lesson, can't wait for the next one, and I was very happy with all my gear which performed brilliantly on it's first use!

Cover, Locks and Clothing

I had a free afternoon today, and with the bike's arrival date getting closer (maybe even closer than I'd originally planned), I thought it a good idea to go out and get some physical security for the bike. Aprilias are quite nickable - well, their more glamourous models certainly are - and I want to make sure no-one makes off with mine.

There's a Hein Gericke very near to me, and I've already bought from them a couple of times before. I got a rather cool HJC matt black helmet from there, and later some boots and gloves. The intention is to wear these when I do my training, rather than wear items that have been worn by many others before. Over the last few weeks I've been wearing my boots around the house to get used to them, occasionally the gloves too. And yes, sometimes the helmet...

Hein Gericke's catalogue is a good guide, and after picking the brains of a few biking colleages, they seem to be a reputable shop. The staff have certainly been very helpful when I've been in before. Anyway, I went down today and bought their Storm bike cover, plus some heavy duty security gear.

The only thing that's left for me to get is a suit for riding. I've alternated between wanting leathers or a textile suit for a while. Recently I've been thinking leathers - they look cooler, and apprently have better abrasion in the event one falls off the bike. I think this would be my ideal choice, but I have to be practical. If I get on the road sometime in November or December it's going to be cold, wet and very likely will not change until about March. I'd looked at some cold weather leathers at Hein Gericke a few months ago, but I fear they'll be a bit too hot when summer comes. I'll probably get the advice of the staff when I'm ready to buy, but I'm kind of thinking textile at the moment, and then maybe when summer comes I'll invest in some lighter and cheaper leathers.


All being well I'll be off tomorrow to go pay for the Pegaso and arrange a date for delivery. I was thinking of getting it delivered in about 2 weeks time, just before I'm due to do my Direct Access course. But I might get it sooner, and just spend a bit of time getting to know it. I ordered a workshop manual from ebay today, so I can get acquainted with it a little better.