Let’s take a closer look…

For those readers who are new to the world of vehicle maintenance and servicing, Haynes manuals offer step-by-step instructions for every conceivable task that involves maintaining or repairing the vehicle in question. These books are aimed at the owners of those vehicles, rather than garages and workshops, and because of that, the reader is taken through each step of a task with the help of photographs and detailed “hand holding” explanations. No prior knowledge is assumed or expected. There are also sections of these manuals dedicated to giving guidance in assembling your first tool kit, with further information and techniques on using those tools properly. The procedure of writing a Haynes manual involves them buying a vehicle and completely stripping down and rebuilding it by themselves, with reference to the oficial service manual. All photographs are Haynes’ own.

Time for a breakdown of the CBF125 Haynes manual…

The book is written by Phil Mather, who also wrote the YBR125 Haynes manual, which I also own. It has a retail price of £24.99 (but you can find it a lot cheaper than that!) and comes in hardback format, which is great, considering the environment it’ll be living in – a dirty garage, often being handled roughly. Some Haynes manuals are paperback, so we’re rather lucky! Some chapters are in full colour, whilst most are not. It would have been nice to have full colour photographs throughout the book, but that would have undoubtedly put the cost up considerably. Let’s also consider that the official service manual from Honda has no colour sections at all, but costs more than twice the price! With that in mind, I think we can let that slide…

Upon opening the cover, we’re greeted with an introductory section that’s presented in full colour. It takes us through a history of Honda’s motorcycle development, right from the early days of the Cub, through various important developments over the decades, right to the present day. Honestly, this reads more like a marketing campaign than anything else, but it does provide a little background to the company itself. We’re then shown some initial information about the CBF125 itself, including a brief description of the differences between the versions (a tachometer was added in 2011). We are also given some technical specifications, including various dimensions and information about the engine and chassis, with information on where to find various identification numbers throughout the bike. Finally, there’s a page devoted to safe working practices and then we have the pre-ride checks all listed, which include checking/topping up engine oil and brake fluid and tyre maintenance/checks. All well presented and explained.

Chapter 1 takes us through routine maintenance and servicing tasks, as specified by Honda themselves. It’s here that we’re introduced to the ‘spanner’ rating system of difficulty – each procedure in the book is preceeded with a number of spanner pictures that denote how difficult the task is likely to be, with one spanner being easy, and five spanners being very difficult, suited only to professional mechanics or experts. You’ll be glad to know that nothing here exceeds three spanners worth of difficulty. This chapter is now in black and white. Procedures are well outlined, mainly with emphasis on checking things rather than making repairs – we’re directed to the other chapters should those needs arise. Cross referencing is used extensively throughout Haynes manuals and you will often find yourself flicking back and forth between chapters. This can be irritating but I can’t see any other way of dealing with it. Interestingly, we’re given a few extra servicing tasks that Honda don’t specify – fork oil changes, battery checking, swingarm pivot lubrication and steering head bearings lubrication. There is no specified mileage or time to do these things, but personally, I would start thinking about them after 15’000 miles. It’s good that the author hasn’t just re-written the service manual, but has also put thought into improving things.

I should now mention that the start of each chapter lists a table of contents (in alphabetical order, with each section having its own number) and relevant specifications for those tasks being dealt with, including measurements and torque settings for various fasteners that will be encountered. You’ll find yourself flicking back to these initial pages quite often!

Chapter 2 brings us on to dealing with the engine, clutch and transmission. We’re taken through the steps of stripping the engine down completely, checking every component and putting it all back together again. The clutch and transmission are of course part of the engine unit, so they’re also dealt with here. Difficulty ratings are understandably much higher in this chapter!

On to chapter 3… which is only a few pages long, covering the ignition system – so that’s the spark plug and mechanism that controls it. We’re shown how to check ignition timing and inspect the ignition coil here, as well as performing general checks on the system as a whole.

Chapter 4 is very interesting, and deals with a subject that frightens a lot of people – the Engine Management System. We’re talking fuel injection here, and all the periphery that comes with it, including the ECU itself and all the sensors and components that drive it. This section is extremely useful – for example, we have no idea what a particular fault with the fuelling system would be in terms of an ‘error code’ that’s blinked to us on the orange instrument cluster management light. We need to look up these codes or we have no clue what they mean. Unlike more mechanical things that can be visually checked and repaired, all we have with fuel injection is a black box of tricks and some electronic sensors to deal with. A world apart from traditional mechanics. Because of my background with electronics, computers and all things technical, I find this subject extremely interesting. We’re given all the information needed to accurately diagnose problems with the system, including a table of fault codes that correspond to the number of flashes counted by the orange light on the instrument cluster. At least we can narrow down the cause of a problem, even if we can’t fix it – it’ll save valuable labour time if a professional knows where to look in the first place! We’re guided in painstaking detail in diagnosing every component within this system, from sensors to the fuel injector, to the ECU itself.

Then it’s time to be bought back down to good old nuts and bolts with chapter 5, covering the frame and suspension. Here we talk about things like removing the stands, overhauling the front forks and replacing steering head bearings.

Brakes, wheels and final drive (chain/sprockets!) are next in chapter 6. This is an extremely useful section as these components are often dealt with in a routine service. Everything is, as always, very detailed, going as far as completely stripping the brake calliper and master cylinder, changing a chain and sprockets and coping with the various other innards of the rear wheel, such as the drum brake and cush drive.

Chapter 7 takes us through the bodywork – something often taken for granted. But it’s still nonetheless useful to know the correct procedure of removing seats, fairings etc in order to avoid damaging them. They can be rather expensive, and believe it or not, there are ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ ways of going about it, and hidden bits and pieces that often get in the way, causing a lot of frustration.

Now we reach the last chapter on the CBF125 itself – chapter 8, the electrical system. If you need to overhaul the starter motor, or diagnose a lighting issue, this is the place to go. We’re also given some preliminary information regarding test equipment and its correct usage. That’s the great thing about Haynes – these manuals assume no prior knowledge and really start things off at the bottom. Even if you’re a seasoned veteran, it’s well worth thoroughly reading through these introductory sections as you may well find some nuggets of wisdom that you may never have been aware of. At the end of this chapter is a full colour wiring diagram, which also takes into account the tachometer on 2011+ models (or the MB variant, if I’m being precise!). This is not the same as the wiring diagram in Honda’s service manual – it’s a completely new re-draw and it’s a lot better. For one thing, Honda’s one is NOT in colour, and believe me, this makes ALL the difference!

So now we move back into a full colour reference section that’s actually an excellent starting point for anyone who is new to this game. Really basic things such as tool selection and usage are covered here, as well as some general engineering practices and concepts. Going back to black-and-white pages, the subject of security is discussed and the various options available to us are evaluated. We have a section that covers various oils and fluids we’ll encounter during our work, some conversion tables for dealing with various numbers, then MOT information (relevant in the United Kingdom), storage considerations, fault finding (troubleshooting) tips, a glossary of technical terms and a full index.

Finally, on the very last page, we have a full colour chart of spark plug conditions. This is invaluable as a comparison to our own plugs – the colour and condition of a spark plug can tell us so much about the state of an engine and any faults that may be developing. These photographs are enlarged and very clear, with a small explanation under each one.

So there we have it – if you own this bike, you owe it to yourself to own this manual too. Even if you don’t plan to do the work yourself, the information will provide a much useful insight into the workings of the bike. It may also help you narrow down the cause of various problems so you can give the professionals something to start with. This could save you a lot of money in labour costs, as their time won’t have to be spent trying to hunt down the issue. If you do choose to do your own servicing, this book will pay for itself! Of course, depending on your skill level, the information presented will also give you an idea of whether or not you’d be capable of carrying out a particular procedure.

Knowledge is power!

A very helpful chap stopped and stayed with me also phoning for help (my phone was destroyed), thank you so much whoever you are. Ambulance and police attended, I was breathalised as stadard procedure, bit of friendly banter with the police, who were very helpful moving the bike somewhere safe whilst the ambulance crew checked me out. Afterwards I stumbled into a local hotel to use the phone to call for breakdown assistance (the HondaCare 2 year breakdown cover which you get with a new bike, luckily covers accidents, woohoo!). The staff were so friendly and comforting, offering free cups of coffee. If anything, this has really restored my faith in h[umanity.

Damage to bike: Left footpeg bent/broken, gear shifter linkage snapped, pedal bent, indicators bent/bulb blown, handlebar bent, centre stand left leg bent. Nothing else that I can tell of right now, so not too bad!

Damage to me: Very small graze on my left arm, just below the elbow, sore left arm and shoulder, nothing broken, but will be stiff for a few days. Moral of the story is – always wear your gear! I had an armoured textile jacket, trousers, gloves and boots on, as well as my rain oversuit, which was torn to shreds. Rather that than my skin and flesh!

Now I’m just waiting for parts, has cost me around £80 to get the bits to make it roadworthy again, but that doesn’t include the centre stand and replacement indicators as they’re a bit on the wobbly side now, but not that bad… Still cheap as chips, when you consider what it’d cost on a larger bike, or car with a garage doing the work! This is one reason why I chose the CBF, after all.

Ride safe everyone, especially at this time of year.

As well as the usual service schedule gubbins, it’s prudent to consider a few extra bits and pieces because of the extra strains the bike will suffer during winter use. Well, that’s true for those of use who won’t be putting the bike away over the cold season (out of stupidity or necessity?!) anyway noteworthy things that were encountered…

• Valve clearances were spot-on and didn’t require any adjustment. Thus supporting the theory that they do indeed begin to settle down as miles mount up.
• The engine oil was quite dirty, maybe the engine runs hotter due to how lean the air-fuel mixture must be to get 120-130mpg. No metal fragments, which is excellent, but within the last 500 miles or so before this service, I found that the level had dropped to about 1/2 way on the dipstick, so it needed a top-up.
• Oil filter strainer – the one you’ve all been waiting for! Check out this how-to for more information about what to do with the oil strainer in the sump. Mine was quite dirty, especially considering that I never looked at the YBR’s one until 38’000 miles, and it was clean!
• Centrifugal oil filter – not checked – I’ll explain why in another post! And it’ll probably never get checked either – regular oil changes mean it should remain clean, and accounts from people checking them at high mileages on bikes like the CG125 (25’000 miles+), show that they found insignificant amounts of dirt in there, hardly worth opening everything up for. Only worth checking if oil changes have been infrequent, or there has been engine damage and you suspect metal fragments will have accumulated in there.
• Air filter – replaced. The old one was fairly dirty – it’s a paper type that can’t really be cleaned with any solvents, and dirt gets so embedded in there that compressed air and tapping will not have that much effect.
• Crankcase breather – had no liquid in it at all! Oh well…
• Front brake pads – I expected that this would be the time to replace them but was pleasantly surprised to see a fair bit of meat left on them, so after giving them a roughening with some wet-and-dry paper and cleaning them up, back in they went.
• Steering head bearings – needed no adjustment (no play in the steering head) and no ‘notches’ – points where the races wear unevenly due to corrosion or heavy-handedness (wheelies!).
• Chain – did not require any adjustment, which was nice!

Okay – here’s some winter-specific things I’ve also done:

• Lubricated clutch and throttle cables with a PTFE based spray lubricant and aerosol cable oiler.
• Partially stripped and cleaned/greased the front brake calliper – essentially pump the pistons out halfway and clean them up, either with a brake cleaner that’s safe around rubber (Wurth Brake and Chain Cleaner is) or use brake fluid. A smear of red rubber grease around the pistons before pushing them back in also helps protect against corrosion as well as providing a little lubrication – insurance against sticking pistons that will require a full calliper strip down and new seals!  Also cleaned and lubricated the slider pins with red grease to ensure they don’t corrode and cause the calliper to seize and bind against the disc.
• Lubricated the following points:
• Clutch lever with LM grease.
• Brake lever/master cylinder piston contact area with red grease.
• Brake pedal pivot with lithium grease.
• Gear-shift pedal pivot with LM grease.
• Side-stand pivot with LM grease and its switch with silicone spray.
• Rider and passenger foot-rests with lithium grease.
• Treated the entire machine to a coating of ACF-50 – an excellent corrosion inhibitor used in the aerospace industry. It has an excellent, well-earned reputation amongst motorcyclists who ride all-year-round as well, including myself. Basically put it everywhere metal apart from the brake disc, the part of the brake pedal your foot touches, and the clutch/brake levers. Then leave the bike for a few months – it’ll look terrible but once you wash it off, you’ll reveal gleaming beauty! It’s also good for electrical connections. Smells great when it burns off the exhaust/hot engine parts too!

Safety first! Engine oil is carcinogenic – so I’d advise that you wear gloves when there’s a risk of it coming into contact with your skin.

Tools and consumables used:

• 3/8 inch breaker bar.
• 3/8 inch torque wrench.
• 12mm, 8mm (deep) sockets.
• Rubber mallet.
• Wallpaper scraper.
• Stanley knife.
• A small pair of pliers.
• Paraffin.
• Copper grease.
• A new clutch-cover gasket.

So, we begin by draining the engine oil – which is where our 12mm socket comes in. Torque the drain bolt back up to 30Nm when you’re done. Use a new sealing washer if you can – I have had great success with a self-sealing dowty washer, available from plumber’s merchants and the like. If you’re stuck at this point, STOP and let a competent mechanic do the work!

With the engine empty of oil, we can begin! Sit yourself down so you’re looking at the right-hand side of the engine (where the exhaust is), and undo the two bolts that are holding the clutch cable retaining plate in place:

Keep those bolts safe, start arranging them on the ground in the same orientation that they came out of the engine – trust me, these engine cover bolts are different lengths.

Next, with the clutch cable plate free, gently free the end of the clutch cable:

Now remove the ten remaining engine cover bolts in a CRISS-CROSS pattern (top, bottom, side, side etc). This is important so we don’t have areas of differing stress on the engine casing, which could warp the mating surfaces. You’ll also need the deep socket here, as you can see – a normal one won’t go over the bolt head squarely.

As previously pointed out, try to arrange the bolts in such a way so that you know where they came from because there are two different lengths used. The three which sit under the cylinder barrel are shorter than the rest. This is the point where you might want to place a drip tray under the engine.

Now, grab the mallet and give a few short, sharp taps to the top and bottom of the engine cover, supporting it with your other hand as you go, until you feel the gasket seal breaking loose, and the cover coming free:

Well that’s exactly what I did. You may recall my previous method of connecting my TomTom Rider charging cradle via a piggy-back blade fuse connector. Since the TomTom Rider is rated at 1A at 5V, this works out as 5W. I would also imagine that 5W is the maximum amount of power that the Rider will use, and most of the time, it will probably be consuming less. The charging cradle lowers the 12V from the bike’s electrical system to 5V for the Rider. Current draw from the bike’s 12V electrical system will be about 0.42A – which is very small.

The two Sub Fuses on the CBF125 are rated at 10A each and I very much doubt that the components fed from Sub Fuse B are drawing anywhere near that amount of current. I have no way of working out exactly how much loading is on that circuit, as the power ratings for these components is not published. One way to get a rough idea would be to substitute differently rated fuses (5A, 7.5A etc) in steps, going lower, until you find one that blows when the bike is running, then you will know that the current draw is roughly somewhere between the rating of the last fuse you tried and the fuse before that. I haven’t done this (yet).

Here is where you’ll find this stray bullet connector:

The clear plastic tubing is taped at the top – you just need to peel off the insulation tape in order to get to the connector, with no need to cut the clear tubing itself. The red wire is the positive feed to my TomTom Rider cradle (I have removed the original piggy-back fuse connection). If you do want to power something more substantial from here, such as heated grips, or a 12V cigarette lighter socket, you should use this connector to trigger a relay that switches another feed directly from the battery. You then have the possibility of making up an ‘accessory box’ that can have multiple fused outputs so that you can connect up lots of things! Setting something like that up is beyond the scope of this article and since I don’t require something like this personally, I shan’t be dwelling on the subject.

Anyway, as they say, the proof of the pudding is (look at the top right of the LCD)….

As for Sub Fuse A, we do know the wattage for the lights that are fed from it, and using that information, we can work out that with a pair of indicators (2 x 21W), all 3 warning lights (3 x 1.7W) and the brake light (21W) on, we have a maximum power usage of 68.1W on this circuit. That’s a current draw of 5.675A – so we have plenty of headroom before we hit the limit of 10A imposed by this fuse. It is possible to even swap the indicators for LED units (as well as the flasher relay for one that can handle low resistance LED’s), that draw only a few watts, which would easily allow you to run heated grips, that typically draw 3 – 4A, comfortably from this circuit, via a piggy-back blade fuse connector.

Remember that the main fuse on the battery is 15A and this represents the maximum current draw of devices connected to both Sub Fuse A and Sub Fuse B.

Procedure was the same for the 2’500 mile service, apart from the following:

• Replaced the spark plug with a new CPR8EA-9. Those who are more observant will see that I’m using the higher heat range (or colder) plug than standard. This is because much of my 30 mile commute is with the engine running between 7’000 and 8’000 rpm in 5th gear at a speed of around 55mph. Judging by the colour of the old plug (which is the same type) and lack of carbon/soot build up on it, things are working properly so I’ll definitely be sticking with them.
• Checked torque of critical chassis nuts/bolts/fasteners (found nothing to be loose though). This actually takes quite a while, especially where there are panels/fairing in the way.

The fairings on the CBF125 are starting to become a bit of an annoyance. I spent quite a while trying to get a screw to line up with its hole in the front left cowling. For superfluous pieces of plastic that serve no function other than aesthetics, they sure do waste a lot of time! Oh well I guess they do provide some protection to the electrics from the elements.

Brake pads are starting to look a little bit on the low side, maybe 2mm or so until the wear indicators run out. They’ll be definitely due a change next time. The Conti-Go! tyres have been wearing quite slowly, which is great. Plenty of tread left on both of them. To be honest I hope to get around 8’000 miles out of the rear before it’s worn out.

I also took the opportunity to apply copper grease to the threads of various fasteners in preparation for winter. I know all too well what a nightmare it is when a bolt head snaps off in the socket when you’re trying to undo it. Usually means lots of time wasted with ‘easy-outs’ (anything but easy!) or a drill, trying to get rid of the remains, then tapping a new thread or cleaning out the old one. The British winter is harsh on our bikes and I shall be posting a little survival guide for both you and your bike soon… Stay tuned!

• CBF125 Specifications - Full listing of the most important specifications for the CBF125, including bulbs, fluid types/quantities, etc. Print it and fill in the specifics for your bike (frame number etc).
• CBF125 Chassis Torque Settings – The most important chassis fasteners to check tightness of every 5’000 miles.
• CBF125 Service Check-list – Print this and use it to keep a comprehensive service history, whilst doing things in the most efficient order.

• Remote starting is possible without needing the key at all, whilst also also having the immobiliser functions of the alarm set up.
• You can use the key to start the bike as well, if you prefer, with the immobiliser set up.
• Any attempt to hot-wire the ignition switch is detected (wasn’t the case with the C-11 if you wanted the immobiliser option).

Physically, both alarm systems are almost identical – containing the same siren, LED, identical alarm box casing and wiring – only the key fobs have a slightly different button layout and look. The alarm box behaves a little differently on both units, with respect to how they immobilise the ignition system on the bike. Even the wiring looms are the same, so it was possible for me to simply swap out the alarm box without having to re-install a new loom. Was quite a quick job. The V2 is touted as being easier to install than the C-11. This is mostly due to the fact that it comes bundled with a number of blue ‘scotch-block’ connectors. These are clamped over two wires in order to join them. In my opinion, they do not form a reliable connection, especially on a motorcycle, where vibration and corrosion will have an effect. It is much, much better to solder and heat-shrink the wiring. With that in mind, installation is on the same level as the C-11, for the CBF125.

Whilst the C-11 is very, very good and the basic alarm functions work well, the V2 is much better suited for the CBF125, although it’s a little more expensive.

I’ve covered a couple of hundred miles with the V2 installed and it’s been working perfectly. No problems whatsoever. If you’re considering an alarm for your bike, I strongly recommend you go for it. For £30, you can’t go wrong.

The C-11 shall find a new home on the YBR…

I really wanted some peace of mind whenever I leave the bike anywhere vulnerable (which is basically anywhere public where I won’t be able to see it for a while – even my workplace isn’t 100% safe). I also wanted another layer of security at home – in my garage, which is locked and alarmed as well as being listened to by a big scary dog.

Being a 125, it’s relatively simple to bypass the ignition switch very easily and hot-wire the thing. That plus the ease of handling and lack of ‘kill yourself’ power makes these bikes especially attractive to your common garden opportunistic thief.

So the C-11 offers the following features that will work on the CBF125:

• Immobiliser – will not power the ignition system without the key fob – the starter switch on the bike does not turn the starter motor.
• Remote start – start the engine with a button on the key fob.
• Anti-hijack – arm the alarm whilst the bike is being ridden and the engine will stop as well as the alarm being triggered.
• Panic button – makes the alarm go off whilst the engine is running, or not.
• Location function – makes the alarm ‘chirp’ and flash the indicators to let you know where the bike is (such as in a busy shopping centre car park).
• And… a very loud, OR silent(!) alarm, with which you can adjust the sensitivity.

It’s also worth noting that when installing, you can pick and choose the features you want and leave out the ones you don’t.

The system comes with a wiring diagram specific to the bike – in the case of the CBF, it’s quite straightforward to follow. If you use the immobiliser, you can only start the bike via the key fob – the starter button is disabled on the handlebars and you must bypass the immobiliser in order to use it. You also need the key in the ignition and switched ON in order for the instruments, indicators and brake light to work. The key switch controls those whilst the immobiliser governs the fuel injection system, ECM/ECU and ignition system.

The remote start option isn’t entirely keyless although it will start the engine and run the headlight and tail lights by itself, then you just use the key to unlock the steering and turn on the other bits. It still gave my kids a nice shock when they walked past the bike! You can bypass the immobiliser fairly easily in order to ‘get you home’ if it has failed or the key fob batteries have depleted.

It is worth noting that there is a slightly more expensive Cyclone V2 which will do the whole lot and allow keyed or keyless starting, whilst employing an anti-hotwire feature that sets off the alarm/immobiliser if the ignition is switched on whilst the system is armed. In hindsight, it’s probably better suited to the CBF125.

You also get a 120dB siren and a blue LED (which is very bright). You mount that in the instrument area to serve as a warning when the system is armed. It’s optional though. A word about securing the various bits – they are backed with sticky foam material but I have found it inadequate, so backed it up with cable ties and glue. Belt and braces, if you like.

The alarm function itself is great – very loud and you can adjust the sensitivity of the alarm over 5 steps. When triggered, it gives you a warning chirping sound, then if you trigger it again it will go full-whack for 13 seconds. You’ll get a headache for sure. The key fob has a very long range (I can trigger things from anywhere in my house) – it’s quoted at 100 metres.

I (and others with technical knowledge) think the build quality of these alarms is fantastic – good quality connectors, thick, long wires, solid thick box of tricks which should be waterproof, solid key fobs, straightforward instructions and so on. Technical support is also excellent and based in the UK – via email or telephone. It’s pretty much a one man show and according to many accounts, he is an expert who is well respected by pretty much anyone who has asked him a question. Delivery of the alarm was extremely fast.

Here’s a short demonstration video of arming, triggering, disarming, and remote-starting my CBF125:

I won’t go into too much detail, especially not a How-To, about how to fit one of these, or where to fit, due to obvious security reasons – once a thief knows how a system is installed, it makes it a lot weaker. I will say that you should be confident with electronics and/or automotive electrical systems before you attempt to fit one of these alarms. The company that supply them offer a fitting service for a fee.

A considerably skilled friend from the CBF125 Owner’s Group on Facebook also bought one for their 2009 (M9) CBF and we fitted out both our bikes together. The procedure is exactly the same for both the 2009/10 and 2011 variants of the CBF, as are the functions on the alarm once it’s all done. If you do it yourself, you should properly hard-wire the connections with soldering and heat-shrink, as well as camouflaging the various coloured wires with some kind of flexible conduit. This stops thieves spying for the right wire to cut and actually blends everything in with the bike’s own wiring loom, so the untrained eye would never really know the difference. It also protects against rubbing.

So far I have ridden on a 40 mile trip with no issues whatsoever. I also know quite a few other people who have these alarms (some of whom have more than one in more than one bike) and swear by them. They are excellent value for money and in my opinion, form another good layer of security for your pride and joy. It’s £23 (or £30 for the V2) and has good UK based support. Of course, you’ll probably never stop a determined professional, but frankly, the CBF125 is not an expensive or rare machine, so is unlikely to appeal to thieves of that calibre.

I’ve bought a new camera – a little MD80 clone, for less than £10. Mounted inside my helmet, I tested it for the first time today. Well, it’s a good thing I did, because I captured this little example of someone who perhaps should have been paying a little more attention…

My main reason for buying this camera is to use for insurance purposes, just in case. I think the quality, although not brilliant, is okay for that. If the worst had have happened in this case, the footage would have clearly shown who was at fault. My only gripe with this camera is that the battery life seems to fall just short of the length of my commute – about 45 minutes. Perhaps after a few charges it will improve.

Of course, books such as Motorcycle Roadcraft (get it if you haven’t already got it!!) help to prepare us for these situations. Watch out folks, because you can be sure that the other person won’t be!