Gas up - Let's Go!

It's a warning, to be sure,,,, but I'm not sure the first thing I would think about, after having my fingers ripped apart like that, is "get the camera"..... Bizzar.

Indeed. Foamy, Merv and OldGit riding alongside....... Well done, it's not easy raising money for charity.

Bridgestone BT020 are pretty OK touring tyres, but over more sports type rubber you do notice the difference, there are some decent deals around for these. You can increase your tyre life by adjusting your riding, heres a couple of tips. Let your tyres warm up before making them work hard, 5 or 10 miles. keep the throttle nice and gentle, don't race cars off the line or snatch overtakes. It's very easy on a bike to use the power, but if you think about your riding and plan your overtakes (buy holding back and accelerating gently as the gap appears, so you are up to speed when it is safe to move to the offside and overtake), you don't want make the bike 'sit up'. use the throttle in a more controlled (ie slower movement) manner as this will reduce the work the rubber has to do in transfering the forward movement to the road. Plan your corners, ease off the throttle before you get there, the idea being that to reduce speed (without having to brake) enough to corner, and use nice gentle acceleration in the corner (as soon as you start your turn), and increasing it as you see the vanishing point appear. Use the whole of the road in the corner, by following the outside line, there is less centripetal force (the bike doesn't loose as much speed in the corner, you will see more, and you'll not need to accelerate as much. When you see the speed restriction signs, drop the power. Yes dab your brakes enough for the brake light to come on (warns others) but let the bike slow without making the tyres do all the work. These will put much less wear on the tyres, brakes, cahin, engine, rider and will improve your fuel consumption too. Now, you might think these are all pointers to take the fun out of riding, however, when you make your riding smooth and planned you will also find that you have lots more time to think, and you get from A to B faster. These are just some points about advanced riding.

Me too. This always reminds me of my own mortality, for all it's sad, it does make me think a little more on the road. The drivers in that part of the world are the worst in europe though.

It's a tough question is this. I'm lucky, I have a shite but well paid job, and to cap this my missus is a teacher as a couple we have spare cash. I have a number of options, as I ride all year, and have different bikes. I have a set of Teknic leathers with elbow, shoulder, knee and hip protection - it's the thicker leather. I also have a Knox back protector, the new Aeges one. This is a great setup, but only on nice warm days as the leather is very well vented. This is my choice of attire for the XJR, as my speeds are a little higher than the other bikes. For everyday riding I use a combination of Akito leather pants and a Hien Gericke Master V jacket, again protection all over the place, back, elobow, shoulder, knee, hip. I carry some good quality waterproof overpants to help keep out the rain or extreme cold. I also have a HG rally Suit, this is a bit heavy and has a detachable linning so the air can pass right through it, again full body protection. I use this when travelling, it's very good at dealing with extremes of temp. Off-road, I have a full knox body suit - protects forearms, elbows, upper arms, shoulders, back , kidney, chest, hips (front and back), coccyx. I also use knee/shin protectors as well as HG Tuareg MX boots - I can work the bike, but walking is a bit funny!! Lids I always wear, I have a shoe flip front for the XJR, Shoe Hornet for the Tenere and my older Aria Tour-X for off-road Gloves I have a pair for all occasions (like shoes!!) from vented warm summer things to full on heated winter gear. What should you wear? If you know the sort of accident you are going to have, then tailor your gear to match - trouble is we cant, so we all have to balance the risks. Slow speed spills, gloves are going to be the first thing that hits the ground, so good palm protection (don't worry about the knuckle stuff, it's no help when you come off!), if the bike land with you then your legs are going to be pinned between the bike and the ground. Leather wears best, but a sturdy set of boot with good ankle protection and some hip/thigh protection is the very least. Higher speed, you are either flying, or sliding, mostly on your backside, but you could end up on your front so it's impossible to say what's best. Of course a full set of body armour is best, if you can afford it, but it is restrictive and in the heat you are in, thei sleads to another point. saftey comprises of two areas, active and passive. Active is the stuff that stops the road wearing away your skin, we've talked about that. Passive is more along the lines of preventing the spill in the first place. If you are uncomfortable, or cold then you are more likely to make a mistake, so being comfortable with less protection might actually be better than having an accident with all the protection. It's a bit of a paradox. Training can help. Here in the UK we have many places people can go to learn skills that keep them alive, IAM, ROSPA or BikeSfae are the best known. What you must do, is balance the comfort, ability and impact protection to give what is best for you - it's all about how comfortable you are and how best to spend your cash. PS - As tskmaster says, shows are a great place to pick up 'last years' styles at knock down prices, still the same good quality, just a different colour!!

Ain't that the truth. Too much money, not enough sense! These are the Clio/Corsa/Nova drivers of the future, there's not much you can do, 'cept maybe spay them all to end the gene pool...

No, don't. Wait till it's on the telly - then you won't feel ripped off after spending anything upto £17 on the DVD... Yip they left out lots of important stuff in that one too. Tom Bombadil didn't affect the overall story though so it still flowed pretty well. I'm goign to stop watching films made from good books, I actually though LOTR was a good set of films (well the extended versions anyway) but after re-reading them I decided they missed too much. Going back to A&D, I've just had a chat with a mate (who can't read books) and he thought that A&D was actually about a group called the Illuminati trying to destroy the Church...... That's the problem when films change the whole dynaic of the original story, which was of course to re-establish the church in people's lives. This sums it up for me. Crap.

I'm more than happy when they change things to allow for film, and, well stupid people - remember 'The Madness of George V" changes to "The Madness of King George", just so stupid people didn't think they'd missed the first 4 episodes? But why change important plotlines, ones that actually make the film more intriguing. The complete absence of Maximilian Kohler, which left the whole question of why was Vittoria, and more importantly, how did she end up in Rome? If they'd followed or even just edited the storyline then the film would have flowed better. Without the CERN involvement at the begining, there would have been no explanation as to how Langdon knew how to survive the Helicopter, so I can see why that was changed, but the knock effect on was a feeble ending that didn't quite fit together. Also, the 4th Cardinal, how come he lives to the end? WTF is that all about, can't see a single reason why that needed to change... I'm such a grumpy old bastard at times!

I finally gave in, and yesterday I purchased the latest Ron Howard release of Dan Browns Angels and Demons on DVD. Now, I like the Dan Brown books, I like how they blur the line between fact and fiction, I like how, to the uneducated, they can appear as truth and I like how he strings the story together. It's just a bit of escapism that centres around some stuff that I find quite interesting. So, why did Ron Howard find it neccassary to take huge chunks of pertinent subtext from the film ? and why change perfectly well written endings for key characters? And why, no really WHY, was the Hassasin a White Amreican? what the hell was wrong with the large dark skinned deranged character from the book?. And the final ambigram, why the fcuk did they need to change it ?? I must admit, when I saw it had become a certificate 12, I did wonder what they had doe with the more graphical scenes - of course, they just deleted them !

How do you miss a faulty wheel ??? Anyway, well done to the guys from the GNAA (great North Air Ambulance), they are funded completely by donations, so if you are in the area, put your spare cash in the collection tins. They can get you from the road to the right hospital (as in the right one for your injuries, spinal, internals, head etc, not just the closest) in less than 15 minutes. From bike to operating table well within the golden hour. I had the pleasure of meeting these guys earlier in the year. They realy are top blokes.

Why. Why when you call someone an Afghan, is that not offensive ? What about a Brit ? What about a Kazak? If Pakistan becomes and expletive when shortened, then why not the others ?

Hmmm. You just don't here of any other nationals suffering, yet I'm sure they are - is this just some sort of vain attempt by the media to suggest that the British forces are the only ones suffering ???? and in the USA, do they only here about US troops ? or does the rest of the world get a mention anywhere ?? If it is, then whats the agenda ? This 'letter' has been doing the internet rounds for a long time now, and it changes slightly depending on which country it comes out of at the time.

16Yrs old, jeans, crappy jacket £20 lid, but propper gloves (??) that was me on my first bike a 50cc Suzuki trail thing. Arsing about with my stepbrother and I came off at around 20mph in a place I shouldn't been. walked away with nothing but a bloody knee... after the nurse had finished extracting the gravel from it a week late (after the infection set in)and I'd recovered from the renewed pain, the doctor suggested that I wear some propper attire, less next time I may not be so lucky. Now 24 years later on, I still have no feeling in the left side of my right knee - reminds me every day to put the right stuff on. Tis true, if the only person it hurts is you them whats the problem? But the human race has only progressed because those who have learned valuble lessons have passed on the wisdom to those willing to listen. My problem is with those that ignor advice, fall off then try to sting someone else because they've suffered and want some compensation to make the pain of the skin graft go away..... I'd like to see the legal system make allowences for this. i.e. if you have an accident and your injuries could have been avoided or reduced by the use of protective equipment, then it's your own tough luck. Wouldn't take away choice, but it might make a few more people think, and lets face it, it's the one who don't think that are normally the problem! Any accident you walk away from is a good one. I hope my accident (and I believe everyone has one coming, sooner or later) will be a good one.

Because they are mostly uneducated. They believe the horn is a rebuke, when in fact all it does is say "I'm here", same as flashing your headlights. Means nothing more, nothing less. Idiots read too much into these things, then take out the frustration on the poor sod who's just used his man-horn to say "I'm here" in the hope that the driver will then see him, and stop his dangerous manoeuvre that could wipe him out. or maybe the driver is upset 'cos my man-horn is louder (bigger) than his.......

Isn't that the truth. I don't mind the modern EFI stuff too much, the Tenere, for all it's Euro III crap, is mostly fixable at the roadside, you can even service it there using the stock toolkit! But for less accessable places I like my bike very simple and fixable. Out on the UK roads, armed with the AA/RAC card I'm happy with a bike that does the job regardless of it's electronic stomach.. I had a look at the XJ6 a couple of weeks ago and I'm left wondering where this fits with the Fazer 600. Looks wise I think the Fazer is geting a bit dated - but people like that, whereas the XJ looks the business IMHO. Both bikes look to me to fit in the same catagory, albeit at different ends, both commute, both tour. You have to wonder what's going to happen to the Fazer....... Facelift? new bike ? ?? I don't think it will matter, as long as your comfortable on it, but I think th XJ might just pip the Fazer in comfort.

There always appears to be a few when the weather improves a bit; http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/cumbrian_biker_badly_hurt_in_crash_with_double_decker_bus?referrerPath=news http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/man_dies_in_m6_bike_crash_1_611626?referrerPath=home/news_star_search_results_page_2_1962 More fine weather predicted, I suspect there will be more deaths.

At £4.84 for a new one, do you realy want to strip it down ? I would go for the upgrade though, and pay the £17.57 for a mans horn! I had one of these on my Varadero a few years ago, and it puts the fear of god up people when you use it! http://www.toolparts.co.uk/acatalog/Motorcycle_Electrical_Accessories_and_Parts.html Or for the best of the best try the Stebel Nautilus like this -> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130313942470

Nawwwwwwwwwwww The GAY word is fine, It's just that Fridays are a happy day...... at least he didn't say Ar$e Bandit, Chocolate Chaser, Fudge Packer (though I know a woman who used to work for Thorntons, yes packing toffee & Fudge!) Cocoa Soldier Player of the off stump

I was seeing slow responses, very slow at times, but then again there have been some quality of service issues in the UK backbone that are affecting some locations and service providers, so I put it down to that!

Hmm, Jebb - Before you begin to castigate others about spelling, perhaps you should look closer to home ! The correct gramatical use of 'cant spell' in the title would of course be 'Can't Spell' Whilst it is arguable about the use of captial letters in both words the use of the apostrophy between the 'n' and the 't' is not, indicating the dropped letter of 'o' of course, or in full grammer 'Can Not Spell' or 'Cannot Spell' would be another alternative. We may once have had an empire, ruled the waves etc, but these days English isn't mandatory - the forum is a bit of fun, not a GCE O Level class (how's that for showing my age!) Jesus, on one forum I frequent one guy types in Scottish ! try reading that sober..... Some people have a problem recognising word and letter combinations, there are many MEDICAL reasons why someone has difficuly (my wifes a primary teacher I get this all the time !). I think on balance, your comments might be a little insensative at best and offensive at worst. The internet has no official language, so how can anyone comment on what is right and wrong. but WTF do i know ?

Therapy ?

So that's why you're so quiet....... Where I come from being 'beasted' has a whole different meaning

Couldn't really say, the wall's been down for ages, so it's possible the gene pool has merged. I'm definitly not Scottish though - don't have red hair or drink Irn Bru. .... and I don't know the words to scotland the brave...

Them piccies are on another site....