Gas up - Let's Go!

The blue faces, well, my wife is a teacher and has some idiot parents who think it's OK to trawl the web looking for stuff on the school staff - so we have a blanket rule in out house, no pictures or details of the missus. A bit draconian but it saves alot of agro! Yep, the pic is in the Olypic Village - biggest, modern ghost town I've ever seen, spooky as hell. My missus is scared to death of birds, especially after been jumped on by Whiskey Jacks in Cypress National Park! Hope the fires aren't too close to you......

Jeasus fella, you were lucky! I've just come back from BC, and the birds there are a bit on the large side.....

You don't have to, but as you are lowering the rear then you should lower the front too. However, if you take the fork down by the same amount (remember they are at an angle so 40mm on the forks isn't a 40mm drop) then the bike's handling will change, maybe not enough to notice, but the wheel base will be shorter, albeit a few mm's. I'd start by taking them down say 10mm at the yolk, and see how the bike rides. Set yourself a route, and ride it before you install the lowering kit, then ride it again after, then lower your forks and ride it again, then lower then another 10mm and ride it again - you need to see if you can even notice a difference, then, if you can adjust the forks until you get the handling the same, or similar to how the bike originally rode. The thing is with suspension modifications, you need a bit of testing to get it right for you - what works for you might not work for others.

Vancouver Wash your mouth out...... I'm never tired of the bike, but I do have other plans for the weekend. I'm heading upto Skye at the end of the month though, if anyone's about?

Can anyone sum-up the activity on here for the last three weeks ? and more to the point, will you? with nearly 20 pages of updated threads I just don't have to time to read it all. So ?? what's been happening ?

Isn't that the post with OG on a bike with a traffic cone ?? Welcome along Matt.I'm sure the resident DT experts will wake up soon and tell you where you can take some power from.

Great mind.......... I still have the quote for one in front of me.... 0% and the dealer was offering a fantastic deal. Decided to wait till the spring though.

What an awesome first post.

Puuuurrrfect. Doesn't take much and it makes it a much nicer place to be..... now pass me my rose tinted spec's

Kostnice....

When I married her for the second time, yes that's right divorced her then went back for second helpings........ I got a Satin Titanium band that looke drealy cool, it doesn't wear well and to be honest I only wear it for 'occasions' now, preffering to keep my fingers free of trinkets. The first time round it was a simple gold band, but I managed to loose that somewhere between splitting up and divo

I've had a go on all bar the Kwacker - Wouldn't give any of them garage room, sorry. Now, opening the question, which 600 would I have..... As a new rider, with no experience (50-125 on L-Plates doesn't count, when you move to the 600's) and very limited ability, I would go straight for the new XJ6 Diversion. It's never going to win a lap of Silverstone, but it's one of the best entry level bikes out there that I've ridden. Of course, once you get better, you'll want to move onto the big singles...... second only to the old strokers in my opinion.

Welcome along, maybe you've started a new introduction .........

It depends what she's doing at the time.... If she's horizontal, then anything goes, I even make up some new swear words..... When she's going well, it's normally "that's my girl" I did have a Varadero called Val..... and I named my TTR Tina, but I had to stop as both Val and Tina are also the names of my wifes friends.... and it was getting a bit too erm,,,, you know ..... "I'm off for a ride on Tina.." just didn't go well. Especially as I wouldn't, with any of her friends. Oh yes, you may have noticed, all my bikes are female.

The stator output is AC, did you have the correct setting on the meter ? The voltage at the battery is DC. However, if you are showing just over 12v at the battery then there is a good chance you have a problem with the Stator -> Rectifier -> Regulator circuit, or you could have a blown fuse!!! Very difficult to tell, for the information. Make sure you set your meter to AC and check the inputs into the rectifier/regulator assembly, if you have volts then check the output (change to DC setting), work your way back to the battery. If you have no AC on the input side of the rec/reg then work back to the Stator until you find your problem.

Just because it say 'NOT FOR ROAD USE' does not mean you cannot use it. I had Akrapovics on my Honda that had this mark, and it was there for the US market - so it's not all black and white. So here's the thing, none disclosure will result (but you may get away with it) in your own insurance comapany refusing to pay out. You did not say if you are claiming directly from the other driver, or through your own comapny ?? The fact that your own isurance comapny is refusing to pay out does not remove the fact that the other driver is 'at fault' and so his insurance company cannot refuse to pay up, just because yours is refusing. The real point is why yours would refuse, if they cancel the poilcy because of non-disclosure then you are in trouble as this would effectivly render you without insurance cover. But it doesn't mean you cannot still claim for damages. IF this happens then you need to speak with a solicitor. You are under no obligation to use your own insurance company in the event of an accident, chances are they have a clause in the policy to say you must inform them, but it doesn't mean you have to use them. You are within your rights to deal directly with the other guys insurance comapany and they cannot (although they will try - for lots of reasons) force you to use your own. The threat of using a solicior usually spurs them into action as they don't want to increase costs. The thing with officious types is you have to beat them at thier own game, so if you are going to bluff, then make it convincing and never back down - ever! I would push them very hard (call them 2 or three time a day) for a descision, and also push them even harder for an offer on damages for the injuries, once they have made an offer take it to a solicitor and have them fight it for you. Push hard and don't give them any place to go, if they suggest that you weren't covered (because of non-disclosure) then tell them you are going to a solicitor. Be firm, hard but always polite and never loose your temper with them as it gives them an excuse not to talk to you. If you have good wordpower then a letter is a good way of putting your views into a structured agrument. Whenever you speak to them, get the name, or some way of identifying the individual you speak to, take notes (but do not record - they do this anyway, but have to tell you) and keep details like time of day, date, anything you can use to suggest that the individual has addmitted liability.

It's true. However I think this is driven by acountants rather than the 'wants' of the guy holding the spanner. I use both the dealer (and I have a good reason for saying dealer, not dealers) and the independant botch-it'n-scarper non-specialist guy next door (AKA - Me). I'll do anything I can, and also have a 'what if' attitude to fixing things. I aslo use my dealer, mainly because the 'muckanic' as he is reffered to is a bloody good bloke, a propper old school mechanic, who actually rides an old GSX all year round. I certainly wouldn't use the term 'fitter' for him. Why do I use the dealer? Simple. At speed I can make my own descisions as to how to ride, but I like to know the bike doesn't have anything that is going to fall apart, cease up or jam. Sure, you can't guarentee things, but a well trained and experienced mechanic will pick out stuff that I would miss. So, once a year each bike will go in for a major service or pre-MOT check. For my own piece of mind realy. I see, time and time again people saying 'I service my own bike', when the reality is they do an oil change and think that's all there is to it! If you take your bike to a dealer/under-the-arches place and they don't do a service (as defined in the owners manual) then you have to complain, and/or report them to the Trading Standards, especialy if you know they have missed something, as the next time it could be someone who knows nothing and takes a bike out that maybe has a dangerous problem... Get the cowboys stopped. My bikes get the full on service treatment, as such I've got a 2yr old bike here with 20,000 hard miles on the clock that look like a 6 month old bike. Still on the original chain and runs all winter. One such 'I service my own bike' example (same bike) has a little over 6000 miles and is already on it's second chain.... and this person is slagging off both yamaha and the dealers as crap... My point, not all dealers are rubbish, up here there are three dealers, and two independants. I wouldn't use either of the independants (I've had bikes MOT's by them both and they missed important issues - and were reported to VOSA), one of the dealers is rubbish, one is part of a group and is overpriced, the other, (luckily for me it's a Yamaha one) is owned by two decent chaps and they have a real mechanic and an interest in bikes. The same place is used by the Police for their servicing too, and that tells me something.

This kind of thing doesn't bother me in the slightest, in fact I think it's the kind of thing that makes a forum. The fact is, on here, most serious questions are based on older stuff/strokers etc, then there is the 'how to ride better' questions. It's guys who post a single post such as "how do I make my 50cc bike do 150mph?" question on thier first post....... Just like he says. Can I quote that ? Opps, already did!

We'll I kinda like Can we just turn up and do this, or should we introduce ourselves first ?

I know it narks Tskmaster...... Newbies, on thier first post, is it realy too much to say "hello my name is xxxxx, I ride a xxx, I have 11 toes and a 3inch willy" or something similar? There have been a plethora of post in the last few days, first post from these people are problems. or am I just a grumpy old bast....rd

Search for BikeSafe in Google, there is a website and each constabulary has it's own take on how it is delivered. Up here in Cumbria it's free to motorcyclists (the funding comes from various groups including the Speed Camera's), you'll walk away with freebies such as Roadcraft, some DVD's and whatever else the BikeSafe co-ordinator can fleece out of the suppliers! As a result of Cumria's approach the courses are difficult to get on, but around 1 in 4 motorcylist has or is booked on the BikeSafe course. It could also be that the new co-ordinator up here is a rather attractive Girlie ..... I've done it and it's very good, even as an Advanced Rider there is still lots to learn. The course should include an assesed ride, where the Police will actually tell you what you are doing wrong. You see the human side of these guys too - it will change the way you look at them in future. For smaller bikes some forces run ScooterSafe, same as BikeSafe but with a focus on low powered machines.

Hello, my name is xxxxxx Ah yes, xxxxxx, Welcome to the forum. It's usally polite, to make your first post an introduction.............

WTF does that mean ?

OK chaps, there's no right or wrong answer to this, just opinions. What makes a Good Bike Road ?? I purchased a copy of 'Best Biking Roads' a year or two back, mainly because it is waterproof and small enough to keep with the bike. The 'great ' roads are highlighted in the book, but I find that these roads are full of traffic, or worse..... So what makes a good road for you ? For me, I like twisty moutain roads, the sort that are full of pot-holes and little traffic. I like high passes and lonely valleys where the average speed is just right to enjoy the view. When I have the wife on the back, which means the XJR is out then I find I preffer more open sweeping roads with wide lanes and good visability all round. I don't mind traffic so much, but is this becuase of the bike or the fact I have the mother of my daughter on the back and I'm more interested in staying safe ?? Sometimes I can go down one road and love it, a week later I hate it..... What's that about ? I find that the least enjoyable ride is amoung other bikers, wierd? I don't mean mates, but when you either come across a group of bikes or they catch you, traffic is bad but I find many bikers are worse (especially those I'd class as Power Rangers). I know I said "I don't mean mates", but that not quite true,,,, there are mates of mine who I won't ride with because of their 'reckless' style So is a good road down to frame of mind? type of bike? traffic? weather?