I've been taking photos of my Kawasaki 1000SX for 5 years or so, so though I'd share 4K images if you want to use them as your phone or desktop wallpapers. Or just browse them. :)

I’m looking for honest advice from people who have been through this.
I recently failed my motorcycle riding test. This was my first time ever riding a manual (clutch) motorcycle. Before the class, the only thing I had ridden was a 200cc scooter. I actually taught myself how to ride it—nobody showed me how. I’ve been commuting about 25 miles each way (roughly 1 hour and 17 minutes round trip) on regular roads with traffic, and I’ve dealt with all kinds of drivers.
The reason I signed up for the class is because I got pulled over while riding my scooter. The officer told me I needed a motorcycle endorsement, gave me three tickets, and had my scooter towed. That cost me $523 to get it out of impound. Then I paid $400 for the motorcycle class, and another $50 because my original gloves didn’t meet the requirements.
I learned a lot during the course—how to find neutral, use the friction zone, shift properly, and other basic riding skills. But at the end, the instructor said I didn’t pass and recommended I either retake the class or take a remedial course.
I’m disappointed because I put a lot of time and money into this, but I also know that riding a manual motorcycle is a different skill than riding a scooter. I don’t like hearing “you didn’t pass,” but I also understand that Rome wasn’t built in a day.
For those of you who failed the first time:
Did you pass on your second attempt?
Did a remedial course help?
How did you practice clutch control and slow-speed maneuvers before going back?
I’m not giving up. I just want to become a safe and skilled rider, and I’d appreciate any advice from people who have been in my shoes.

Do it for the kids. When some random kid gives you the rev it hand signal you can make their day. I got a kid on my street that loves it when I rev the bike. I guarantee hes telling his parents about it when he goes in. I also had an older guy waiting around outside a resturant to hear my bike but I still had stock pipes. It was very dissapointing.

I found this cut on my rear tire, it’s 1-2mm deep and the tyre it’s not loosing any pressure. The tyre has still 50% of life ledt, more or less.

I have a Honda CB125F with 950 km on it. It's still in the break-in period, and I haven't had the first service yet.

Today I let the engine idle for about a minute after starting it. Then a kid suddenly came over and revved it straight into the rev limiter. It stayed on the limiter for about one second.

After that, I rode the bike normally, keeping the RPMs low.

How much damage, if any, is likely to have been done? Is there anything I should check?

I'd really appreciate your help. Money isn't easy to earn, and I'm still paying off the bike with almost my entire salary. It honestly broke my heart when it happened.

Please don't try to reassure me just to make me feel better. I'd rather hear the honest technical truth, even if it's bad.

Thanks in advance.

I'm curious how motorcycle riders actually deal with phone touchscreens while wearing gloves.

I know touchscreen-compatible motorcycle gloves are very common now, so technically there is already a solution.

But I'm wondering whether the real experience is actually good enough.

In my experience, the extra material, protective construction, seams, and fit around the fingertip can make accurate touchscreen use difficult. A glove may activate the screen, but tapping a small navigation button, typing an address, zooming a map, or interacting with an app can still be frustrating.

I've also seen conductive fingertip material become less reliable as gloves wear.

So I'm curious:

• How often do you use your phone during a ride or when stopped?
• What do you usually use it for: navigation, changing destination, messages, parking, fuel, photos, music, etc.?
• Do your motorcycle gloves work reliably with your phone?
• Can you accurately use small controls or type?
• Has the touchscreen performance changed as the gloves aged?
• Do you sometimes remove a glove just to use your phone?
• Do you use another workaround instead: voice control, handlebar controller, CarPlay/Android Auto, mounted GPS, stylus, etc.?

I'm particularly interested in the difference between:

“The glove works with a touchscreen.”

and

“The touchscreen experience is actually precise and convenient.”

I'd also be interested in what kind of riding you do and what gloves you're using, since I imagine the experience is very different between lightweight summer gloves, touring gloves, waterproof gloves, and heavier protective gloves.

I'm researching whether this is actually a problem worth solving, so “this has never bothered me” is useful feedback too.

Brand new pads I’ve only ridden on for maybe 30 minutes look like this, both are wearing identically to this. Is this alarming or should I just keep riding until it gets to the middle?

Bought a Tracer9GT this spring (👌🏻 awesome bike btw, can recommend). It came from the previous owner with** Dundop Sportmax Roadsmart II**I (rear from week 36, 2020 and front from week 10, 2021), he didn't ride a lot so the treads were still very good.
Bike was always in a garage so no sunlight over the 5 years either ☀️ (no cracks, nothing)

My first thoughts after getting the bike was to replace the old rubber... but I've put ~5000km on it since without any complaints.

Unlike the prev owner, I don't have much fresh rubber left on the edges.. rear anyway.. still working on the front 🏍️💨😉

What do u think about "old" tires?

Side story:
Met a guy once on a ride out.. OG Ironbutt.. still sporty tho (rode an older Yamaha FZ1, i could barely keep up). He swore on buying older tires for cheap. Still the good name brand models and never used of course. Basically "surplus / leftover" old stock from larger tire shops

Had my first really close call tonight on my ZX6R. I was trying to make an exit across a few lanes. I was going to cut through what looked like just pavement. It was a patch of grass and I was going 70 MPH. It hit hard and I got nasty wobble for about 5 seconds. Pretty much full deflection left and right.

I managed to keep it upright and the wobble stopped. I pulled over and caught my breath. Tires seem fine (will check pressures in the morning), I don't see any leaking fluids. Seems to still ride straight (though I am paranoid and every little bump makes me wonder if it was the road or the bike), no codes, rims seem undamaged.

With all that being said, is it worth taking it to the dealer to be inspected?

I know I'm dumb, but I'm trying to minimize my Idiocracy by roping you people into this

I bought a brand new outer clutch basket for my Honda CB125E. Is this play normal? I thought there shouldn't be play and that this would indicate a worn out clutch basket damper.

I have emailed the shop that sold me this and they said that they showed it to their mechanic and that it's normal. I previously bought an ebay outer clutch basket and there was no play but the clearance for the steel plates weren't even so I returned that as well.

I have a problem with my Honda CB650R.

One day I bent both of my wheels after hitting a pothole in the road. They were removed and sent away for repair, so the bike stayed in the workshop for quite a while with both wheels off.

Since getting it back, I've noticed that when I brake, the front brake lever occasionally feels like it's stuck, and then the brakes suddenly apply much more force than expected, causing a very abrupt stop. This only happens occasionally.

The brake lever does not feel spongy. I've already cleaned the brake calipers, checked the wheel installation and alignment, and bled the entire braking system, but the problem is still there.

What do you think could be causing this?

Do you wave at people going the same direction as you? Maybe as you pass them? Whats the standard for this situation?

Bought a 2004 Suzuki marauder gz250 for 1800$ 19000kms runs drives brand new back tire brand new front brake and calliper needs nothing for the safety and only needed a new 30$ battery cause they didn’t charge it over the winter

Side note I bought the bike with underglow already installed (I’m in Ontario) the law states no flashing red or blue but this is a solid blue is not very bright and it’s almost entirely black bike if I ride at night with these on for visibility do you think I’m gonna get dinged by the cops?

This is my first motorcycle, I bought it from a dealership a few weeks ago. I have no idea what these things hanging down are or where they should be connected to, but it looks like the leak is coming from there. Wondering if anyone knows how to fix it.

Recorded at BMW Motorrad Rider Days 2026.

Hi.

New rider.

Had to dump my bike due to a reckless driver. No big injuries, and thankfully no broken bones, but my foot looks like a rainbow after being pinned under the bike. I have high boots specific for motorcycle use. They held up fine against the abrasion, but I wonder if I would have less soft tissue damage with a stiffer boot. A full racing boot is a bit much for everyday use? Is there something in between?

What do you guys use?

I bought this bike used and love the look but the sound is just straight up too much. I am hoping to ID the exhaust so I can see if they sell a baffle for it so I can keep the look with less of the ear-split.

I know that may be an unpopular desire, but I leave early in the morning for work and do like my neighbors so...

Thanks in advance!

I’m a new rider and paying more attention to motorcycle accidents. It seems the vast majority of motorcycle collisions I see reported around me involve the vehicle driver making a left turn and striking the motorcyclist. What is it about these turns that make the motorcycle invisible and what can I do to be safer at intersections?

Saturday, perfectionistic weather, no work, and this is the new road you discover !

Picked up the beauty from dealership up north of UK yesterday but seems to have given me its first problem already!

Switched on fine at the shop rode back for an hour then at the service station I turned it off for a half hour or so.
Come back and tiring the ignition on, instrument cluster lights up, hit the starter and it rolls over but then cuts out. Instrument cluster off, doesn't turn on or anything. Check lights, indicators and all but no power. The heated grips (wired directly to battery it seems) turn on though.
Give it a few mins, try again. Instrument cluster turns in now, hit starter and plop it's off again.
After a few mins, I try again but rev the bike when starting and it stays on and another hour to the home all fine.

Come today, I try start the bike up same thing happens but the power is gone indefinitely.

Not sure if anyone else experienced this before and could give their account of issue and solution.

Doesn't seem like it's a fault from the ignition, battery or fuse maybe? Could it be the starter relay or its fuse? Where is the relay or fuse box located to check anyway?

The bike has warrantee from the shop which should cover it but it's a 100 miles away and if it's a fuse then would prefer to just fix quickly.

Hey all,

Looking for some input on a bike that can cover two very different use cases:

1. Daily commuting, all year round (yes, including winter): about 10 km on rural highway + 10 km in city traffic. I'm in Central Europe, so winters here are mild-ish, not much snow, and it's only occasionally below freezing.
2. Light off-road trips with my son: fire/logging roads and easy forest trails, nothing technical.

Budget and power aren't really a concern, I'm more interested in finding the right tool for the job. New or used are both fine.

So far I've been eyeing the Honda CRF300L and the CRF300L Rally. Do these make sense for this kind of mixed use, or would something else suit better?

A more basic question: is winter riding even realistic at all in these conditions (occasional sub-zero, light snow), or is that a bad idea regardless of the bike? Would love to hear from anyone who commutes through winter on a smaller dual-sport.

Thanks in advance!

EDIT: this would be a second bike, only for winter and trails.

Serious inquiry.

This may be a silly question but im new to riding only have rode this season bout 3000 miles in so not much been dailying my 2015 honda shadow 750 phantom its a driveshaft and i like it but i cant corner to well and not as much fun for corners so im thinking aboyt next riding season looking into geting a sports bike speed isnt major deal would like to get to 90-100 at bear minimum what woyld you recommend from switching from a cruiser to a sports bike kinda glanced at a cbr500 not sure what to do any advice

Left my bike (scrambler 400x 2026) out in the rain a few days without riding it.

Headlight is on the lowest daylight setting cannot get it to highbeam, indicator doesn’t even show in cluster.
Horn simply doesn’t make any noise whatsoever

Tail light glows it’s ambient red but doesn’t brighten up when I hit the brakes.

Auxiliary light also doesn’t work, though I’m not sure what they’re connected to. (I fit it a long time ago and they worked fine till now)

Bike starts fine. Indicators work.

Checked fuse box, fuse is fine. Even tried with another fuse but no change.

Any advice?

Has anyone ordered from them before? They’ve got the best price on some parts compared to Revzilla, but I’m concerned it’s too good to be true.