another MT 500 outfit

[mr rip]

up untill the other day I was totally convinced that I had the only Armstrong outfit on the road

I've had this for about three & a half years now & done nearly 40Kmiles on it & it's never missed a beat

it's been all over the mountains of Wales, numerous laps of the isle of man (that got a few cheers from spectators up on the mountain)
& it's been thrashed from one end of the country to the other & I haven't managed to break it yet

apart from consumables like tires chains & breaks etc.. ive only had to replace the inlet rocker arm so far

the sidecar body was built by me from a sheet of 12mm ply & skim of fiberglass over the top

so the bike is ex MoD but the chair is ex B&Q

the water bottle on the back came in handy as a ballast weight when I was 1st getting used to it & yes I have had it on two weels a time or two
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never criticise a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, then when the muck hits the fan you'll be a mile away & you'll have his shoes

[truslack]

[mr rip]

yes it probably would, I'm guessing your chair is a bit lighter than mine, I know this ons is almost double the weight of my brothers squire

one thing I soon learned is that it doesn't matter how much you try to weigh the chair down, if you get it out of shape in a left hander then the thing's going to lift anyway

have you had yours off road yet? that's good fun
____________________
never criticise a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, then when the muck hits the fan you'll be a mile away & you'll have his shoes

[twostroketit]

Koowell machine. The only time i ever rode a combination on the road i went off road,didn't meen to though
I love sidecars i just cant get the hang of riding them.
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sup up your beer and collect your fags

[binge]

Seriously Cool!

Whats with the L plates though?

[mr rip]

I remember, vividly, the 1st time I got my 1st outfit out of shape, I was trying to exit an island & I wasn't turning tight enough & the 1st reaction is to try & lean to throw it into the bend but that doesn't work when you've got a great big stabillizer stuck on the side of your bike

well, as you can probably imagine, I zigged when I shoulda zagged & flew straight over the other side of the road & came to a stop in the middle of somebodies front lawn, thankfull I was shaken, not stirred, as it was late at night & there was no other traffic around, but it was a couple of days before I worked up the nerve to have another go

oh & the L plates are there because I can't be arsed to take my test
____________________
never criticise a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, then when the muck hits the fan you'll be a mile away & you'll have his shoes

[Mudskipper]

[mr rip]

yes it's perfectly legal as long as the combined power to weight is under 0.16 hp per kg, & the bike on it's own only puts out 0.14 so it's well within the limit

the 500 bullet I had befor this put out 0.09 hp per kg (bike only)

the only people that are allowed to take their test on an out fit now are dissabled & unfortunatley I fall into that category aswell
____________________
never criticise a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, then when the muck hits the fan you'll be a mile away & you'll have his shoes

[Mudskipper]

[mr rip]

it's because it has the sidecar on it. the bike doesn't have to be less than 33hp as in the A2 license

a provisional motorcycle license is category A & it covers the holder to ride a solo bike upto 125cc & not over 14.6 hp or any size bike fitted with a sidecar with a combined power to weight ratio of not more than 0.16hp per kg

so as long as the bike & sidecar, combined, are heavy enough to fall below that limit, you could ride an R1 if you wanted to
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never criticise a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, then when the muck hits the fan you'll be a mile away & you'll have his shoes

[davthegreat]

so im 17 and have a cbt and provis, can i ride a busa with a sidecar as long as i restrict it enough

[mr rip]

I'm not sure if you have to be over 21 to go above the 14.6 hp the same as you have to be to take direct access, you'll have to contact DVLA to ask that one, but as long as you meet the relavent age, then yes

a couple of years ago I was trying to renew my insurance & the numpty on the other end of the phone refused to believe that you can still ride an outfit on L plates, in the end I had to contact the DVLA & get them to send me a covering letter to say that I could befor I could renew my insurance

one of the 1st things I got asked was how old I am but that was irrellevent as I'm well over 21 but I forgot to ask if there was an age restriction

one thing I can say is that it's no longer possible to take your test on an outfit unless you're dissabled
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never criticise a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, then when the muck hits the fan you'll be a mile away & you'll have his shoes

[mr rip]

I've just found this interesting paragraph on directgov.org

Sidecars
Learners who wish to ride with a sidecar can practice on a combination with a power/weight ratio not exceeding 0.16 kW/kg. On obtaining a standard licence, you will be restricted to a combination with the same power/weight ratio for two years. At age 21 learners may, only within direct or accelerated access, practice on a larger combination, but the test must be taken on a solo bike (although physically disabled riders can use a combination).

so it would seem that you can ride a 0.16kw/kg outfit at 17 years of age on your learner license

& for those who are confused about power levels (as I was earlier, I couldn't remember if it was worked out in hp or kw) 1 horse power = 740 watts or 0.74kilowatts
____________________
never criticise a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, then when the muck hits the fan you'll be a mile away & you'll have his shoes