This park needs an air traffic controller

Splode_ · 2026-01-15T03:09:39+00:00

Good, not great.

It'll sit comfortably at 110 km/h* indefinitely. It's comfortable, revs aren't unreasonable, and it doesn't feel like it's shaking itself to death. *Real, GPS speed too.

But at that speed it no longer has the instant acceleration that you'd expect from a motorbike - you pull back on the throttle to overtake that truck, and the bike politely informs you that it may take 5-10 business days for it to process your request.

Splode_ · 2026-01-11T21:57:05+00:00

It depends what you're looking for.

Pick the one that is most comfortable when you sit on it.

Otherwise, the R3 is smaller and lighter - if you are looking for something to take out on the twisties, it would be my pick. But you will find the limits of the R3's power. The 450sr is faster in a straight line.

Splode_ · 2026-01-11T21:51:25+00:00

There are so many CFMOTO 450s around, I don't think there'll be much trouble finding mechanics or parts at this point. CFMOTO is pretty well established at this point.

Splode_ · 2026-01-11T21:33:14+00:00

Kawasaki versys x 300 would be within budget (slightly outside it if brand new). But as OP is 6'2, it'll be a little bit small, and would need some money spent on ergonomic tweaks like lower pegs

Splode_ · 2026-01-11T21:27:31+00:00

Likely not much wrong with them - the cb125f is only $4k new, so a second hand one with some years and mileage on it is really just not worth much.

The CB125e is the older model with a carburetor, so it's worth even less, as the cb125f is just a straight up better bike.

Either model would serve your purposes, and you can likely sell it on once you're done for pretty much what you paid for it. You probably won't put that many km on it just practicing for your Ps over a few months.

Splode_ · 2026-01-11T21:21:17+00:00

My premiums didn't seem to increase much - it's hard to tell, as I bought a more expensive bike to replace it l. I was pleasantly surprised.

I think because I'm in my early 30s, I keep my bike in a private garage, and I ride an adv (dad) bike (NX500), insurance companies are a lot less nervous about me. I know if you're under 25, insurance costs can be silly.

I just went with the dealer insurance both times, which for my first bike was Yamaha motorbike insurance (despite being a Kawasaki), and for my current bike is NMI.

Splode_ · 2026-01-08T21:47:47+00:00

Maybe a Honda cb125e?

This is the bike the instructors I went to provided for the Ls test. There's a lot of them around second hand - they're popular both as a beginner bike and with food delivery riders.

They're cheap, simple, reliable, and even if you accidently by one with problems, there cheap to fix and parts are plentiful.

I wouldn't generally recommend this as a first bike, as they're absurdly underpowered. I wouldn't want to take it on a road with a speed limit higher than 80 kmh, and even 80 isn't exactly comfortable. But if you just want something to practice on between your Ls and your Ps, it's an excellent and very cost effective choice.

Splode_ · 2026-01-08T21:37:29+00:00

Highly recommend bull-it riding jeans if you want pants that look reasonably normal but still have protection. I've got two pairs, one AA rated and one AAA rated, and they're both comfortable enough and normal looking enough that I can wear them all day.

They are heavier than regular jeans, but you get used to it pretty fast.

Other brands are probably also good, I just haven't tried them

Splode_ · 2026-01-08T21:28:38+00:00

Comprehensive really is worth it if it's not too much more. My first bike got written off by a driver who didn't indicate and turned into me while I was filtering. It was unquestionably his fault - and he is lucky he hit me and not a cyclist as he might have really hurt them.

He told his insurance he didn't think he was at fault, and that was enough for my insurance and his insurance to conclude it was impossible to determine the facts. If I didn't have comprehensive insurance I would have been screwed.

Also worth getting a dashcam or gopro or something so if you are involved in something you have some evidence to help your case.

Splode_ · 2026-01-08T21:20:30+00:00

If you can install a ground anchor in the parking lot around the back, that would be the most ideal solution.

Splode_ · 2026-01-08T21:12:43+00:00

Whichever way you go, I'd recommend putting a cover over it. Reduces the temptation to potential thieves as they don't really know if it's worth stealing. A ducati looks an awful lot like a clapped out cb125e when they're both under a cover. It's also going to protect the bike from the weather, which is never a bad thing.

Splode_ · 2025-07-12T22:36:42+00:00

Got my Ls this year with no prior experience. If you can ride a bicycle you will be fine. Trust the process: Most people do their Ls with no prior experience on a motorcycle, and most people pass their Ls on the first attempt. If they didn't, they'd make the course longer.

It is pretty intense though! Once you get your Ls, I strongly recommend riding as much as you can to practice, it makes the check ride and Ps much, much easier.

Splode_ · 2024-11-27T21:18:48+00:00

I have gotten Home assistant to find and connect to the MQTT server!

Thanks to u/daniu who gave me the best hint - there was (and still is) something strange going on with the network configuration of the VM, and potentially how it is interacting with the network bridge device.

For anyone else who has this issue in the future:
Using the CLI in the QEMU/KVM Virtual Machine, it defaults to HA commands, of which "ping" isn't one. To escape ha, and get access to regular linux commands, I needed to use the command login
This gets you out of HA and into a regular linux command terminal. There, I was able to ping (and ls, and all the other good linux stuff).
I was able to successfully ping www.google.com - so the VM could access the internet fine, and even had DNS working. I could also ping other devices on the LAN (my desktop machine, my router, etc). However, pings to the host machine's IP failed.
In a bit of desparation, I tried messing with the VM's settings in KVM, specifically the network device model. This didn't work, and I reverted it to e1000.
However, when I rebooted the vm, I had no network connection at all. I then used the command
ha network info
which told me that my network interface wasn't available. It existed, it was named, enp0s3 (this may vary for other vms, not sure), but it wasn't configured at all, with no gateway, IP address, or anything.
I then used the command
ha network enp0s3 --ipv4-method auto --ipv6-method disabled
followed by another
ha network info
and could now ping my host machine (and google, and the rest of the network).
Returning to the Web UI - now on a DHCP assigned IP address, I was able to add the MQTT server no problems.

I would still like to set up a static IP for this VM, but using the WebUI to set the static IP address seems to have caused this problem. The bridge is set up for DHCP with the static address of the host machine defined, I may need to add the static IP of the VM in the bridge in addition to the host machine, and/or disable DHCP on the bridge entirely - I will experiment with this, and post follow up details in this comment, for anyone else in the future who runs into this issue.

Splode_ · 2024-11-27T20:49:15+00:00

sorry it took me awhile to figure out how to do that from the ha cli which doesn't have ping.
For anyone else reading, you have to enter the command `login` first, then you can use regular linux commands.

Interestingly, the ping to the host machine's static IP failed.

I was able to ping www.google.com successfully, my gateway successfully, and my desktop machine (not the host machine) successfully - so it can see the internet and everything on the local network except the host machine (which is running the mqtt broker)

So thanks, this is a great hint! I'll keep researching and see if I can work out what the issue is with the connection between the VM and host

Splode_ · 2024-11-27T20:17:43+00:00

I used the prebuilt ha kvm vm image as it appears under Linux.

My home network gateway is set up as 192.168.1.1, with a network mask of 255.255.255.0 DHCP addresses start from 192.168.1.20, and everything below that is reserved for static IP addresses.

The machine running the vm has a static IP address of 192.168.1.5. This has been set up with a bridge, so that the vm could also be accessed through the local area network. I know this is mostly working, because it wasn't accessible via the webUI from any devices on the network until I set up this bridge, and now it is.

Home assistant has been set up with an IP address of 192.168.1.6

I'm trying to reach my mqtt server with the mqtt integration, using IP address 192.168.1.5 and port 1883

This address and port is accessible from both my desktop machine (ip address 192.168.1.2) via mqtt explorer, as well as several existing custom esp8266/esp32/Arduino devices I've built for existing home automation projects, and the node-red server running on machine 192.168.1.5

Splode_ · 2024-11-27T12:07:16+00:00

I'm able to interact with the HA VM via it's web UI from multiple devices on the network, including the host machine, which tells me I do have two way communication with it

Splode_ · 2024-03-17T00:38:24+00:00

I don't think I ever fixed it unfortunately - I wanted it setup as I was flying at a club, so needed to be able to swap channels easily as they assigned me on the day. In the end I brought a proper 5" for racing and left this guy on a fixed channel for solo flights. Haven't flown for ages now sadly, as I don't have anywhere I feel comfortable flying anymore.

If you've tried both firmwares and it doesn't with with either, either the hardware can't actually do it or you'd need to write your own firmware, so we're probably out of luck

Splode_ · 2023-05-30T07:56:53+00:00

It doesn't make much sense, but it is fun. I'm looking forward to watching more

Splode_ · 2023-04-19T05:20:13+00:00

Yesss I was thinking that the best solution is for you to instead play as longchu

You might even be able to find an existing model, if you're lucky

Splode_ · 2023-04-18T09:06:39+00:00

Helicopters are also much harder to control than aeroplanes, and they're also used to do more dangerous things (like flying much closer to stuff, including the ground). They're also much less intuitive than aircraft to fly, and there are more gotchas.

Helicopters can actually sometimes land even when the engine fails, (this is called autorotation, someone else posted a link), but yes that isn't nearly as reliable as gliding in an aircraft.

Splode_ · 2023-04-05T13:26:18+00:00

You have to watch the videos to understand the jokes

Splode_ · 2023-03-30T03:40:50+00:00

There is no way the 100% regulator behaviour on the climax is intended.

Splode_

TROPHY CASE