Leatherat

This is a fair representation of how I felt writing the original post, without the Lingere I hasten to add! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owSwHjzG68Y and this is somewhat representative of what I wished for the coach driver! (the eurovision Violence contest bit)

Just over 500 bikes, that's the sunshine does that!

That's reassuring to know, I was more than a little pissy with the driver, but hey, I can't help but reinforce the stereo type sometimes

Hi Ian, it was great to meet you tonight, the bike looked Fab! Hope you and your brother had a safe trip home.

Hmmm twins........I like twins! (Harleys mostly.... What were you thinking! LOL!)

Hello.......a nice little ride out to Weston tonight then? See you there!

Weston Bike Night on Thursday 7th July is back on! Although previously advertised as cancelled due to the prom being used to set up for the following weekends 'T4 on the beach' the bike night has been moved, further down towards the town centre and can therefore still be held. Weston Bike Night is held every thursday (May -Sept) on the sea front Weston Super Mare, suggested donation to the Royal british legion's Poppy appeal £1.00

Hi Steveo, Can't help with the bike I'm afraid, but if you get it sorted maybe we'll see you at Weston Bike night.

Riding along on a sunny day, what can annoy you more than the dickhead car driver in front attempting to wash his windcreen with badly aimed washer jets, causing your visor, lethers and jeans to become misted with chemically tainted stagnant water? Well let me tell you........riding along a motorway on a sunny day, centre lane, waiting to pull out into the fast lane, traffic on both sides and a National express coach in front. Suddenly and without warning, it starts to rain, not heavy, just that drizzly misty stuff known down here in the South West as Missle, only the skies are blue, not a cloud in sight......WTF! Only after a couple of seconds does it register that the mizzle ain't coming from the sky, but from under the rear end of the coach in front! Now, I have no option but to put myself in a position where I could be in danger by muscling my way into the fast flowing outside lane to avoid the unknown fluid spaying me and my bike. I have told myself it was probably washing up water as the other option is too unpaletable to contemplate. Needles to say the driver was subjected to a tyraid of abuse as I passed, but I very much doubt he had any idea what he had done to deserve such condemnation. It amazes me that in these enlightend days of enviromental husbandry, companies such as these are allowed to pour 'fluids' onto our roads as a normal practice. Yours faithfully, Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells! (I guess only old people will get this reference! LOL!)

As I said, the U-turn catches a lot of people out. The only real 'trick' to it is not looking down, most people who put their foot down do so after glancing at the front wheel. The other common fault, is lack of observation before making the turn. It has to be observation before you move off, then again immediately before you make the turn. once you've made the decission as to the point on the white line where you are going to start the turn, choose a spot in the distance from where you want to finish up and concentrate on that spot. The bike will go pretty much where you are looking. Once the turn has been done, pull up along the white line and then put your foot down. I'm sure we all wish her the very best of luck with the re-test, don't forget to let us know how she gets on.

Dude, really?

Hi, this might help you........... MOD 1 Test tips: The test starts from the moment you get on the bike, so don't forget observations even before you're on the testing ground. Remember this sequence....Neutral/Ignition/Stand.....when getting off the bike. Enter the first available box to complete the manual handling exercise, push it back out as if you're leaving a parking space at Tesco, use observation techniques constantly, keep going backwards in a U shape so that once you've backed into and come to a stop in the second box you'll be ready to ride out for the slalom/ figure 8. When you've finished manually manouvering your bike, stay close to it, even inadvertantly kicking a cone with your foot is a fail. Don't count the figutre 8's only stop when he calls you over(it has been known for some people to only complete 1.5 circuits) Pull off and round the bend, accelerate pretty hard out of the bend and only back off once your through the speed trap, flick the bike through the avoidance (if they're still doing it) and front wheel stop into the box. The next bit is where alot of people fail, the U-Turn. Observations before you pull off, THEN AGAIN BEFORE you make the turn, don't look down! find a point in the distance towards where you want the bike to go and look at that. Slow ride keeping up with the examiner (they don't dawdle, so you shouldn't have any problems there) Then back around the bend and through the speed trap again (Same as before) but this time it's an emergency stop. Leave the gears alone and leave the clutch until the very last seconds, stalling is OK (better if you don't) but losing control (without regaining it) is not. Remember the test is not over until the bike is back in the parking space you started from so don't forget observations even once your off the playground. Park and get off! The test is now over. Make sure that the bike you take the test on is between 120 & 125cc and is on the DSA's acceptable list. Some machines are not. Make sure your insurance, MOT and Tax disc are all up to date, unbelievably when we went there was a young lad turned away from his test before it had even begun as his bike was not taxed! In my humble opinion all this can be done and the test passed without the need for expensive tuition MOD 2 Test tips: Get some expensive tuition! Even riders who think they're good, probably aren't. The DSA like things done their way, learn to do it their way and you'll pass the test, after all that's what your paying to learn ........how to pass the test, not ride a motorcycle. They will ask you to ride a course set by them over the radio head set you'll be wearing, they will also ask you to direct yourself to a destination (harder than it sounds when you've everything else to think about at the same time) They will ask you to perform a hill start and pull away at an angle from behind a parked vehicle, you've already demonstrated the U turn and emergency stop in the Mod 1 test. The test costs £75.00 and test dates are rare and getting rarer, don't balls it up for the sake of a few quid. Best of luck and let us know.

You know what they say about guys with small hands? To avoid the risk of snapping the fragile alloy, instead of bending the levers so they're nearer the bars how about bending the bars so they're nearer the levers, the larger diameter hollow tube isn't nearly as brittle. However, to be uncharacteristically serious for a second.........by bending the levers you reduce the travel allowed meaning that full pressure can't be applied on the front brake, and the clutch will never truely disengauge leading to premature wear of both the clutch and gearbox components. Just a thought to be thinked about.

Ttaskmaster, such a Renaissance guy! Ok, so maybe the vernacular was a little coarse, what shall we try?......Laydees.

YES you are, and No it doesn't!

OMG! I didn't know that could happen!!!! I'm real glad I wear a flip front helmet!

Just don't sit on it side saddle aka Steve Mcqueen/James Dean trying to impress the gash, it might snap and dump you on your ass!

Save your shoe leather and read these first...... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DragStar_1100 £3-5K http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DragStar_950 £5-6K

Wait long enough and everything turns up eventually. http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yamaha-Dragstar-650-headlight-/130535592916?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item1e648713d4

I saw this and thought of you! They're nothing to do with me, but Highway Hawk Fat Pipes seem to be constantly desirable. Many people on here crave them, so just to feed your addiction....... http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YAMAHA-DRAGSTAR-XVS-650-EXHAUST-SILENCER-PIPE-CUSTOM-/350471020112?pt=UK_Motorcycle_Parts&hash=item5199b35e50

The local Harley dealer offered me really good money on my Dragstar...........but it was against a £16,000 Heritage Softail! £16,000 I've got less than 20% of that to spend, I could have riden it away by supplying them with a signature and leaving my bike as PX, but then I'd have been sleeping with the Harley in the garage (Still tempted though! )

Smart Arse! Still, it sounds like an awful lot of hassle to me.......is the price reduction worth it?

Hub caps....theres a blast from the past! Moving all the moody gear.......a perenial problem for the Liverpudlian, don't worry too much though, it won't be long before some scrote from Bristol on a day trip breaks in an steals it all from you

Have you made your mind up as to whether it's going to be 650 or 1100? Vehicles which go to auction always seem to me to be wrong 'uns that people just want rid of or ex fleet motors, which don't really apply to bikes (the old bill did sell off they're Pan europeans recently, but fleets of Dragstars are few and far between) I'll keep an eye out for which ever you decide on, and if you want someone to have a look at any in the Sarfff let me know.