Gas up - Let's Go!

Update....... I've just given the TTR a bit of TLC, I gave the brakes a good going over and replaced the spark plug with an Irridium one --- I was out at our holiday home (static caravan, but home sounds better ), so the bike sat outside in crappy wet and windy weather all night. It started on the button, don't think it even turned over fully before catching. All for changing a plug!!

I asked for that, I'm sure

Has anyone used Klan gear? is it any good? does it work? answers on a post card please!

That's why I'm proud to be a Brit!

VERY INTERESTING STUFF In the 1400s a law was set forth in England that a man was allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have 'the rule of thumb' ------------------------------------------- Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled 'Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden'...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language. ------------------------------------------- The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone. ------------------------------------------- Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the U.S. Treasury. ------------------------------------------- Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better. ------------------------------------------- Coca-Cola was originally green. ------------------------------------------- It is impossible to lick your elbow. ------------------------------------------- Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history: Spades - King David, Hearts - Charlemagne, Clubs -Alexander, the Great Diamonds - Julius Caesar ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested? A. Obsession ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter 'A'? A. One thousand ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common? A. All were invented by women. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil? A. Honey ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... 'goodnight, sleep tight.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England , when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them 'Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down.' It's where we get the phrase 'mind your P's and Q's' ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Many years ago in England , pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. 'Wet your whistle' is the phrase inspired by this practice. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ - Now.... Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it. I cdnuolt blveiee that I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd what I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in what oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is that the first and last ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can still raed it wouthit a porbelm. This is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the word as a wlohe. Amzanig huh? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2008 when... 1. You accidentally enter your PIN on the microwave. 2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years. 3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three. 4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you. 5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses. 6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries. 7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen 8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't even have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and you turn around to go and get it. 10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee. 11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : ) 12. You're reading this and nodding and laughing. 13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this message. 14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list. 15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this list. ~~~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

I've met a box of frogs They objected to being called mad Been following this guy for a while, as well as Lois Pryce, now she is a nutter - first off she rides from Alaska to Buenos Aires(Google ‘Lois on the loose’) on a Serrow (thats a 225 motor) on her own with no idea! Then to top it she rides from London to South Africa (Google ‘Red Tape and White Knuckles’)on a TTR250, again, alone and through some of the craziest countries Africa has to offer. Funny though, she completed her trip just as the Jolly Boys were heading off – and I never saw her story in the news. It’s not surprising that she’s married to Prince of all long range motorcycling Austin Vince (Mondo Enduro fame?) both as mad as brushes!, of course Ted Simon is the God (Jupiter’s Travels? 4 years around the world??) as we all know.

I'd go with the sidestand switch too

Guys, I know you get innundated with requests such as this, daily, so all I am asking is for you to read this, and if you feel you want to - follow the link, if you feel you would like to help then please do so - every little bit helps no matter how small. In August this year I'll be leaving the comfort of my home to ride my XT660Z Tenere 9000 miles through 24 countries in around 25 days - ALONE! I'm sure I don't need to tell you that's Iron Butt territory. It's pretty much a run against the clock, so I'm not going to be able to enjoy many of the sites Europe has to offer, that is my sacrifce. During this trip I'll be raising funds for ChildLine, this is a UK charity that provides a 24 hour helpline for children in distress or danger. If you're still with me, thanks. I need to raise the profile of this trip, I need as many people as possible to know. I would like people to visit the website; Smokingtailpipes and look at what I've done, and what I'm doing. If you can, a donation would be most welcome - this will go directly to those that need it. I'm funding both the website and the trip myself so every single penny raised will go directly to ChildLine. You can help by; 1) Telling as many people you know about this, pass the web address to them 2) Visiting the site regularly, this will push up the hit count and allow me to exploite it by 'selling' link space (all the proceeds go to ChildLine) 3) If you can, make a donation, no matter what size it all helps. During the trip, I'd welcome any riders that would like to ride along with me for a few miles, check out the website nearer the time to find out more. If you have any comment, you can mail me by following the Contact Us buttons on the site, or leave a comment here, by keeping this near the top of the posts more people will see it! Thanks PS - You can go directly to the donations page HERE if you wish.

Do it quick! Before it get's difficult to find a test centre, otherwise you'll need to do it with those really dangerous cones all around you I've an XT, a bit different in that it's got 660Z after it - but nevertheless a great bike!

I'm not sure if this is healthy - but how? how do you have sex with a car, in it, on it - possibly but I just can't work out how? Maybe I ned to get out more...... OK - so there is the obvious, er , entry point - but compare an Opel GT with Herbie, it just doesn't add up the mechanics (sorry, no pun intended) of it just don't add up.

Oh no, two geeks! So if another one comes along, will the forum implode and disappear into it's own binary to hexidecimal conversion? I hope we don't work for the same large company....... I'll bow to your front line work though as I'm in comms where we deal with virus/malicious attacks slightly differently, and at HUGE cost

Don't be too sure - Virus's are only prolific in the windows environment becuase there are so many of them and lets face it, windows has crap security. As the Mac Population grows so will the security threat. I can remember seeing Mac viruses 15 years ago on System 7, it's only the almost extinction of the Mac in the years since that has afforded it some protection. Now they are making a comeback - take your data seriously! A virus is just an automated hack, that's all - it's just the payload that seperates them. Another tip - don't rely on a single product type to protect you, Virus protection is always out-of-date, think about a statefull firewall and put things like you address, bank sequence number etc in it, that way if something is trying to extract financial information you don't need to rely on just the virus protection to pick it up - this works for any important information you have. There are products that include multiple levels of protection in a single box Backups are important when did you last do a full one? Again there are products (from Freeware to $$$$) that will kick these off automaticaly - I purchased a USB 500Gb drive and do an automated backup every night, overnight, think it cost about £50. Sorry - I sound like a right nerd I'm off to ride my bike some more........

For those of you without visrus protection you can still afford yourself a little protection, If you use Win2K, XP or Vista you should only login as a basic user, leave the supervisor user for time when you need to install programs etc. When you setup you basic user, give them as few rights as you can work with - in most cases the Virus is using your rights to do it's damage. So no rights = less potential for damage. better still - go buy a copy of Internet Security, for the £50 or so quid it'll cost you. you'll get a years pice of mind. If you're a UK user with BT you get it free, not sure about other ISP's

Guys, Generally 125's are aimed at the 17+ learner market, if you are looking at a rebore, make sure it isn't going to push the CC capacity over the limit - when you're talking about a couple of thou out of the bore it won't make that much difference, but it's best to check. You can of course offset this by taking a skim of the head That said, I can't place the fuzz stripping your engine down to check You'd be best advised to get the same people who do the bore, to supply the rings and piston, that way any mismatches would be covered, especially as they will know how much they have taken off, as well the final diameter

Dood! I've been on here a month or so now, I've not seen any bitching, moaning, or anything that could upset anyone - other than places where it's clearly a bit of leg-pulling. I don't think anyone (and it's only my humble oppinion) can talk out of turn on an open forum. Especially when it's an open question. You are right in that there is a good mix of folk on here, I think sometimes bikers can get a bit, 'ere, entrenched in what they like (Dirtbikes, Street Bikes, Tourers etc), but this forum doesn't seam to be like that at all, that said - Dirt Rules ( ) Sorry Paint - yes lovely stuff, got it all over my walls.......

You need to change to Fairy! "Hands that do dishes can be as soft as your face, with mild green ........" I guess you need to be a 'certain' age to remember that one

I wouldn't say it's insane - I only developed a pollen allergy when I turned 18. If it's that bad the best option is a doctor, or pop into the Chemist as they'll be best able to advise you. In the mean time I'd give my hands a bloody good wash with a degreaser (fairy is as good as anything), then a trusted soap (one you use regular) and make sure it's rinsed off well. If you've got any Distilled Witchhazel, that will reduce the itching. Optrex, could be used as a substitute Petrol has some nasty chemicals in it so it could just be a normal reation to that rather than an allergy. It can damage your eyes so it's perfectly possible it's damaged your skin Have you ever used any cleaning agents on your bike? or the previous owner (sorry I'm not sure how old you bike is or how long you've had it). Often wheel cleaners will have abrasive (and irritant) chemicals in them, who knows what other cleaning agents could have?? This is a bit of a shot-in-the-dark mind, but possible. You may have just run over a spill on the road that's sprayed up the underside of your bike - Who knows what that could be, or what's in it. Your best bet is the Quacks though.

If I file down the knobblies on my TTR I wonder if they'd notice? It doesn't say it is't a R6... but it does say 600.......

I'm gonna get lynched for this, but the Honda Varadero XL125 is a physically large bike - It's a V-Twin too! These are supposed to be an Adventure Tourer type bike, but I wouldn't like to try and take one off road at all. For a 125 it's fairly nippy, tops out at about 60-70, but looks more like a 600 than a 125 - My wife has one so if you want a picture I can oblige.

I wouldn't wory too much, my missus doesn't know the difference between a left and right handed thread either. London to Cape Town... WoW! Have you read Red Tape & White Knuckles by Lois Pryce ? Makes my trip look like a sunday drive........ (9000 miles, 24 countries in 25ish days - it's for the kids!)

Shouldn't this sort of thing be left to the 'specialist' sites

Awwww You smooth talker you! (it's true though - same age as me, but you must have had an easier paper round)

Perhaps, if you discover it, you might be willing to post thier address on here too. Maybe they'd get a visitor or two, for a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake and a taxi to A&E for a few days with the

It's great fun, well once you overcome your demons.... I did it at Easter, booked the tunnel, had a destiantion and went for it - have a read Smokingtailpipes.com. Still not sure if I ever did the right thing putting it on the web, but hey hoy, as my daughter would say. I use the "plan for all eventualities, but don't make plans" rule - I'd like to think it's character building (!) BTW - it's all for charity, so go on, donate a few quid The link to JustGiving is on the site.

There's lot of good advice from the above, but the only person who can make the descision is you. My two penneth, Have a sit on as many different styles of bike as you can, make sure you get your feet on the pegs and hands on the bars (ask the dealer to steady the bike for you if you are at all uncertain), put a lid on (sounds daft but really, it works!) whilst in position try to imagine yourself on the road, have a look around you - can you check your blindspot without moving the bars ??? are you happy with the possition, what about your neck? does it feel comfortable ?? These are just really basic things to consider for the style. You may find (as I do) sportsbikes uncomfortable, unless your going fast, real fast! ( I tried a 1K Blade a few months ago, only comfortable at, erm, the wrong speed!), or you dont like the laid back possition of the cruisers ( I think you have to be a particular state of mind to enjoy these bikes - nothing wrong, some of the most chilled out riders I've met), you might preffer the sit-up, see all possition of the super-moto/trail bike type, or a nice commuter bike with weekend appeal (Fazer/Hornet etc) no one knows but you.... When you've decided on a style, have a think about the engine you want, in-line, twin, V, triple, single - lots of different engines with different behavour. this is where the test ride comes into play. Make the dealers work and try as much as you can, The insurance is going to be a decider in many cases, but it shouldn't stop you from choosing the right style. Power isn't everything! I've just moved from a XL1000 Varadero with OOOOOooools of go in it to a 40BHP Tenere, and I can get everywhere just as quick, in fact the Tenere is way more nible on the twisty roads and in town than the bike bike was. Lots to think about - good luck.