I have just joined the forum with a view to joining the tvtr.
I have been purly a road rider until now, so I'm am just wondering what kit is reccommended?
I have some old road going gloves alpinestar road jets and i think they should be ok for now but i need to get jacket and trousers, boots and armour (knee, elbow, wrist, back)???
For the helmet i will just shop around and see what fits best, looking to go for goggles over visor but might change my mind once i try them on. Any suggestions on goggles (will be looking for double lens to prevent mist) also any opinions on tear offs?
Also what do you carry with you on a ride out? (Tools, Spares, Pump, food, drink...?)
I think that is about it for kit unless anyone can think of any thing else?
I think that riding kit is personal to what you feel comfortable in riding with and will offer you protection. What to carry on a ride - the answer can be quite a list. Here's what's been gleaned from various sources and not in any particular order:-
Some Ideas on Preparing Your Bike for Trail Riding One of the best ways to ensure you enjoy your trail riding is to make sure your bike is reliable when faced with the harsh environment which trail riding sometimes puts it through. Riding alone is not recommended, as this could endanger yourself if there was an accident on your ride.
Firstly members of the TRF must ride legal motorcycles on legal carriageways; this means your bike needs to be street legal. It has to have lights that work as well as brake lights, horn, legal number plate, legal exhaust, and a rear reflector and road legal tyres. (Note that a so-called daytime MOT certificate will have different requirements).After the legalities have been attended to, check over the following:
Levers Don't have them too tight on the handlebars they will snap off if you fall off. A good quality brush guard usually helps protect them in a fall. Carry spare levers. Cables Dirt and water gets into the clutch and throttle cables making them notchy and stiff. Work them whilst squirting in an appropriate cable lubricant. Light controls reduce fatigue.
Waterproof the sparkplug If you don't know when it was last changed, fit a high quality new one. Fit a new waterproof sparkplug cap and seal all sparkplug lead joints with silicone sealant, i.e. the stuff that seals round the edge of your bath.
Wheel Bearings Jack the wheels off the ground, grasp the wheel at the top and bottom and push and pull. If there is any free play replace the bearings and the seals. Bearings are only about £5 each, as are the seals.
Brake pads Mud and water equals grinding paste, which wears out pads and discs quickly. Road pads are useless, fit sintered ones instead. Clean the brakes after every ride to prevent them from seizing.
Chain and Sprockets Always keep them in good condition. A hooked sprocket will wear a chain very quickly. Apply oil to the chain after cleaning to prevent corrosion and to help preserve the o-rings.
Engine Oil Change it as described in your bike manual or ask for advice on the forum.
Air Filter Clean or renew regularly, you will be amazed at what finds its way into the air box. Check and oil with the correct sticky filter oil.
Toolkit Include spanners to remove wheels and adjust chain etc, pliers and screwdrivers. Also carry tyre levers, valve key, puncture outfit or spare tubes and a bicycle pump. You could also carry items like spare chain joining links, plastic zip ties and a role of insulation tape. Always carry a spare spark plug for your bike and also the right spanner to fit it.
Protection You must wear an approved crash helmet when riding. Suitable gloves, eye protection (goggles or visor), knee and elbow pads, and a good pair of MX-style riding boots are recommended. Either wear clothing with built-in protection, or use a body armour undersuit.
This will all seem like common sense to most but it might give a few ideas to the novice trail rider.
Some more tips - preparing your bike properly has many benefits:
Improved life of your pride and joy
Better handling
Enhanced reliability
Also washing your bike after the ride has benefits, checking the machine is in good working order i.e.: no bolts undone, wear and tear of chain and also lubricating a clean one is better. Remember that it is an offence to ride with a dirty number plate.
Punctures can be a problem but with the right preparation the risk of a puncture can be reduced. Doing the following will help:
Use heavy duty inner tubes These will help to prevent punctures from hard impacts where the tube is pinched onto the rim or heads of spoke nipples. Using duct tape around the rim to cover the spoke nipples will also help. Don't run HD inner tubes at very low pressures as they will move within the tyre and rip out the valve stem. This is quite a common occurrence!
Enlarge valve hole This will allow the valve to move giving some warning that the tyre is starting to rotate dragging the tube around with it. The inner tube can be realigned by letting the tyre down and rotating the wheel backwards until the valve is straight.
Good tyre security bolt Vital for holding the tyre in position on the rim especially when running with low tyre pressure, without it the valve is likely to be ripped out of the tube if the tyre slips on the rim.
Tyre pressure Running the tyres with reduced pressure will improve the grip, but let the pressure go to low and you risk a compression puncture. Don't refit the retaining nut/ring on the rim of the wheel after changing tubes or keep it wound right up to the dust cap.
Chain and sprockets Upping the size of both chain sprockets will help to reduce wear also make sure the closed end of the chain link clip is facing towards the direction of rotation.
Exhaust make as quiet as possible (road legal!) - repack if necessary.
Suspension Lower ride height if need be and soften so that full travel is used.
Spares to Carry Tube - 21" front if you can only carry one as this will do for the rear. Chain - short piece 2 to 3 links + joining link plus chain splitter. Spare levers for your bike - clutch/front brake. Tyre levers two minimum, decent spoon type. Tools spark plug spanner, pump or CO2 cylinders, pliers, screwdriver (Pozidrive & plain), spanners to remove both wheels, tow rope, cable ties, some spare nuts and bolts with washers, spare inner cable kit to fit throttle and clutch & elastic bands (cut from old inner tube). Spare Bulbs if travelling at night. Small first aid kit. Recovery Service - If your a member of a recovery service, it'd be handy to take your membership card with you on the trail. Chocolate bar. Wallet or some money. Can of tyre inflater. Mobile phone.
Washing the bike after a ride. If using a power washer keep the lance away from the wheel bearings, suspension bushes and chain. It really helps to have some Pro-Clean to spray on before that final rinse to move any stubborn stains! If you can, take it for a ride after to help dry off and warm the chain. Lube the chain so it's ready for your next ride and won't go rusty. Spray the bike with Pro-Care, Duck Oil or WD40 to dispel any remaining water.
All good advice Martyn, can't add much to that except to say don't skimp on the boots there are some pretty useless items out there that look the part and aren't that cheep but the protection they offer particularly sideways across the ankle is where they flex and therefore offer little protection. Coming from a road bike I found a lot of the boots were incredibly uncomfortable then I found some Sidi MX boots (Crossfire they call them now) they have a pivot point fore and aft at the ankle which makes them more flexible in that direction but not at all across the ankle. I've had them since 2006 and they're still good apart from a small leak in one toe cap in deep water but a pair of "Seal skins" socks takes care of that. I used my old road kit apart from boots and helmet for a couple of years and it was fine. Hope that's useful.
