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I'm moving back to a Versys. I know the bike well (having owned one for 2.5 years before my GTR), so am going to own another. Should keep me out of trouble and be a lot of fun at the same time.

Still, gonna miss the GTR. It's day will come again (when no doubt they will have kitted it out with a whole load of new fangled gadgets).

Well it's been a year since I changed jobs and reduced my commute from 110 miles a day to more like 10. As a result I've probably ridden only around 2,000 miles in a year. So the GTR is going to be down-sized to something that makes more sense. I'm very sad about this in some respects as I have loved it to bits. But times have changed.

When I've got lots of spare cash I'll hopefully get another! :)

Hope everyone is well - haven't been on here much in a year because my not so new job has greater restrictions on internet use!!

Hey folks, been a long time again.

Sorry to say that I've not completed my training due to simply not riding my bike enough... So I've stopped my RoSPA training. Hopefully at some point I will pick it up again as I was pretty close to taking my test.

Well I definitely have more control doing what I'm doing now... and that's the point.

Now why is that supposed to be wrong? I don't think it makes sense at all.
Using the engine to reduce speed saves fuel as well as brake pads and discs. 

Basically I had a tendency to try to lose too much speed by changing down gears, putting more strain on engine etc, which is more expensive to repair / replace than a set of pads (although they ain't as cheap as I imagined, having just done this).

Anyway, I now roll off throttle, so am using engine braking still (acceleration sense), but if I'm not going to lose all the speed I need for hazard (corner, etc), then I'll apply some brake, then change down to the correct gear. It's really just muddling up the system (Information, Position, Speed, Gear, Acceleration) by switching the Gear and Speed phases round. There were a couple of specific occasions where I got in the right gear for a corner, but still needed to lose some speed before I got there; a specific observation about my ride really and a habit I'd got into.

Hey folks... it's been a while... what have I missed? Since I've last been here I've got a new job and am no longer motorbiking to work as I live so close to work. I'm now push biking it instead! :-) My new job has fairly restrictive internet usage policy, so suspect I won't be on here as much as previously...

My GTR is still here though... but it's use will hopefully be for more pleasure than commuting going forwards. Quick update on my bike - I've fitted some new PR3s (nice so far) and needed new front brake pads, both after 11k miles. I've also had my exhaust replaced under warrantee (hooray) for peeling paint and had my recall done on the rear brake.

How is everyone?!

Hey folks - I'm back!

Well it's been a REALLY long time since I've logged in here as so much has happened. I'm still doing my RoSPA training, but really close to taking my test. I am, in fact just about to book it. So, what has happened:

1. The summer came, including holidays etc, so I wasn't able to meet up with my tutor as often as we liked. We probably only met once a month at best over summer / autumn. This meant it took us ages to book me a pre-test run.
2. I got a new job - this complicated things and it the main reason for me not being on the forum for ages.
3. After continuing to have some very complimentary sessions with my tutor we put in for a pre-test check with another tutor in the group. I met with a guy who is a diploma holder and we ran through what would effectively happen on a full test. So it started with a weekly check of the bike following the POWER (or rather POWDER) acronym that the book mentions. This is something I need to practise before my test (although it went ok). Doing this check I noticed I hadn't put my new tax disc on my bike - oops.

We then went for a good 40ish mile ride that would be typical of a test run. This included a motorway stretch and town stretch and some flowing A / B roads. I was quite familiar with the roads and had a good run largely. We then parked up for a cup of tea, a run through a few highway code / advanced riding technique questions, which were also OK, and a debrief of the ride. Main points to take away were that he was very impressed with riding generally, knowledge of highway code and advanced riding book good (with some advice to polish up on specific terminology). Only point about riding was that I used gears to slow down a lot, rather than losing speed first, then changing to the correct gear for the hazard ahead. It makes sense when I think about what I had been doing and going away have worked on ridding myself of this habit.

4. I then contacted my tutor to find out next steps to book a test.
5. Waited...
6. I then heard back from the group coordinator that my tutor was having a break from tutoring! So he was taking on my training for the last bit leading up to the test. He sent me through the stuff I needed to book my test and we arranged to meet up. One thing I haven't actually done any of during training was overtaking (bizarrely never had the opportunity), so we arranged a long ride on a road that was likely to give lots of opportunities. We did this ride last Saturday.
7. Last Saturday we rode from Tewkesbury to Oxford and back! There were lots of opportunities for overtaking and we stopped a few time to discuss this and filtering and took it in turns to lead. He was able to demonstrate good (and bad!!) overtaking and filtering. I then had a go in the lead and did some, which gave us some points for discussion over one of our several cups of tea!

We discussed positioning and being in the right position enables me to make better decisions about whether an overtake (or filter) is on or if the situation is a risk, rather than an opportunity. Just the way we spoke gave me confidence and on the way back I was able to demonstrate good overtaking and filtering at appropriate times. We actually split or journey back and parted half way home as he was confident we had achieved what we had set out to at this point. In total I covered 125 miles - which is by far the longest session I've had with RoSPA.
8. So what's left is I need to book a test. I'm looking to take it in January now. I'll head out another couple of times with my new tutor between now and then so he can badger and pester me and polish up the small points. He is very positive that I should achieve a high grade, provided I demonstrate the same riding and knowledge that I did to him on Saturday.

Fingers crossed eh?

Will try and keep this post better updated leading up to my test.

The 2year warranty expired on June 16th I believe. I did try to get previous owner to get the  additional 2years sorted but it was too late before I bought. No problem with adjuster now. The WD40 worked a treat. Wake up call for us all to check them frequently. Am half way through installing the Zumo and Autocom. Tool tray sorted, power to the rear accessory wires done. Just need to route cabling to the front and return PTT switch wiring to the rear. Then it's screen and exhaust.

Cheers for the advice.

Kawasaki may still replace as a goodwill gesture for known issues. I had a known issue with the downpipes on my Versys and had them replaced for free 6 months out of warranty. You should get in touch with your local dealer if you think there's a problem with the pre-load. It's definitely a known problem!

Wow, I'd heard rumours, but didn't believe them. :(

I think mine has early signs of this - I must get onto it.

I'm beginning to think the finish on the GTR really isn't up to much. Rear shock is being replaced tomorrow, exhaust needs replacing, now the tank... Hmm.

[How do they know what your annual mileage is anyway]

How do they know what your annual mileage is anyway

I had to give them a figure as to how many miles I expected to do in the year. Previously I estimated 10k (actually would have done more this last year), now I've estimated 6k due to change of job and commute dropping from 110 miles a day to 10 miles a day. I'm hoping to still do a few thousand miles - just more miles for pleasure than getting to work. Even if I took the bike every day to work I should still only do around 2.5k miles in the year and I even plan to ride on two self powered wheels to work instead... so that figure will be even lower.

In the end I've stayed with Bennetts. Turns out changing my annual mileage reduces the quote by almost half.

From what I've heard from my dealer you shouldn't have a problem with a claim for new exhaust.

Press down on seat and see how it rebounds up. If its bouncy, then it needs tightening
Make small adjustments. Quarter turn. You want it so it bounces up and settles straight away

While sat on the bike?

Was there a helicopter in the sky? Maybe you'll be on TV on one of these police chase programmes?!