that man over there

My father in law was knocked off his bike in a hit & run. It made the local news and everything - "Police are appealing for witnesses", that sort of thing. It worked as well - the driver was shopped by his own girlfriend who recognised the description of the car, went and looked in the garage, and saw his car still with the scrapes down the side. I forget for how long, but he was sent down for it - and I doubt his girlfriend would be waiting for him when he came out. Justice is indeed poetic sometimes.

That is, by far and away, the best idea I've ever heard. I'm tempted to go out for a ride right now juyst to try it - and it's tipping it down.

Well, I know it doesn't exist (film versions notwithstanding) but if I won the lottery, I'd just get one made - Judge Dredd's Lawmaster.

Jiggle my head about to make sure it's still attached, and read the small print on the number plate in front. Also take the opportunity to fidget in general and keep the circulation going

Do you have power to any other parts of the bike - lights, indicator, horn, etc?

Agree. Most car drivers are accepting of filtering, when they see you come up between them - ie two (or more) lanes of traffic, but what you did there was to overtake a long line of traffic, and although I don't see the point myself, car drivers are less happy with this - grumpy that they can't do the same, I should imagine. I do it myself, however I know I'm not filtering but overtaking when I do so.

In my "Hello" post I mentioned that I was planning on selling my Superdream for a Maxim 650. Well, I got to the shop only to find that somebody had beaten me to it - but not a wasted journey, because tucked away at the back of the shop was a very nice looking Kawasaki ER-500, and well within my expected budget too. However - took it out for a test, and the engine was very disappointing - not rough, but not smooth either. Had a very distinct lump to it, that didn't get any better at speed, which I expected. Anybody else ridden an ER-500 - is that a trademark of the bike, or was it a duff one?

Rather obviously, the little dude in the pictures is not me, but number 3 son helping me fettle the bikes one Sunday afternoon. These are pretty poor resolution pictures - how can I upload better ones?

Hello all. I actually joined over a year ago, but I'm rubbish at this sort of thing. Thought I'd give it another go. I currently ride a 2002 SR125, a 1982 Honda CB400n Superdream, and a 1992 XJ900 sidecar outfit. Given that I'm about to sell the Superdream to make way for a 650 Maxim that will make it a 100% Yamaha garage - hence why I thought I'd pop back here again.

Here you go... Link to gallery post

When she started, it was slow to pick up but eventually caught, and the same when she died - just cut out, and wound down - rather gracefully actually...

Funny you should say that - I actually already have a second bike - a Honda CB400, but obviously I can't ride that until I pass my main test. But I'm having so much fun on Amy, that I'm in no rush...

I'd just like to say "Thanks a bunch!" - as soon as you lot posted, she did indeed let me down on the way home, and I'm still not entirely sure what the problem was: Amy won't run

Three days ago (just after I registered her in fact,) I was riding home when the bike just cut out - nothing dramatic, just coasted to a stop. I was at the top of a hill, so after a minute of just turning the engine over, fiddling with the fuel tap, spark plug and kick stand rolled down the hill, where it bumped fine and off I went. Then, the next day, it all happened again - just died as I was riding. Again, no symptoms other than the engine wasn't running - all other electrics were fine. I meandered to a stop, and fiddled around again, and after turning the starter for what seemed an age - she suddenly fired into life, and off I went... for 300m at whcih point she died again. Fortunately, I was only half a mile away from home, so in fits & starts managed to get home, whereupon I put her in the garage, and took the car to work. Symptoms: Just dies while riding, on the level, uphill & downhill - all the same. Starter turns over, but she won't catch If she does catch as soon as I blip the throttle she dies again. If I pull out the choke, she runs fast (as you'd expect) but runs. Carefully twisting the throttle is OK at this point. Once caught, the choke goes back in, and she's fine - until sudden death again. The fuel tank wasn't full, but according to my calculations was good for another 80 miles, which is 3-4 litres in the tank. Today, I borrowed a jerry can and filled the tank right up - taking 7 litres, which kind of confirms there was still plenty in at the time. I bought a brand new Iridium spark plug and fitted that. And last night, I put the battery on charge to be welcomed with a little green "charged" light this morning. Crossing my fingers, I went out for a local ride... and had bags of fun for an hour. So it's fixed. But any ideas what could have been the underlying cause? The spark plug? It was a bit grubby, but I've seen far worse. Low fuel? 3 litres sloshing around in the tank should still be fine shouldn't it? Any suggestions? Thanks.

Well - Yamaha, Amy. The two seemed to go together. Hm, picture - I'll have to take one first!