Ttaskmaster

Closest I've seen is an FJR1300. Click Me.

I'd be a bit more friendly if: a) I could drive a 4-wheeled vehicle, and either: I owned the sort of vehicle you usually only see in Moab, or: c) I already had the Scrambler I dream of one day owning. Hell, even a horse would suffice for now... Heavy weight, long and low body, lots of low end torque and icy/snowy roads are not a good combination. TBH, I saw it was snowing last night, but by the time I woke up this morning I'd forgotten and stayed the extra hour in bed - Ergo, no choice but to ride in or be very late for work this morning!!

I find it disgusting that ANY country (including ours) will bleat on about international aid, Millenium/Sports promotional crap and a hundred other things, while not only failing to sort out the general state of itself, but even going so far as to piss it all away on a flawed welfare system (half of which goes overseas to people who have never worked a day for this country, yet are somehow still entitled to everything - As a former Benefits Agency employee I have first-hand inside experience, BTW), corrupt MPs and another hundred other domestic money-burners, only to try an make ME feel bad and guilt-tip me into donating more money to all the above!! Or to put it another way - Good Luck Russia!!!

Plenty of links on here to where you can download a free one in PDF format

Bollocks to snow and bollocks to snow-lovers. I'd rather have clear roads....

Must.... not.... cut loose.... on..... the.... Newbie..... As mentioned earlier - Absolute bollocks. Having a bike, especially when you're a younger rider (not that I'm old) is about having freedom, independence, being able to get to faraway places, having a fun project and exciting things to do, things and skills to learn about, something to care for and about being a real adult. This last one is kinda taken care of when you realise how fecking dangerous it can be on those roads!! I had a 125 Dragstar, weighing in at just 12BHP lugging 144kg. I could still outride bigger sports bikes through town. It ain't about speed and it ain't about luck either - It's always, always, always about skill. Many people DO still buy 125s, just to play around on... and by 'play around', I mean a lightweight thing that you can throw into corners and do a bit of spirited riding on. See above ramble about 125 enthusiasts. In short - Ride your own ride. If blokie wants to go blasting off like a Hoolie, fucking let him. He'll wear out his tyres and other parts far faster and will likely end up buried in a hedge/bus/building. Use your 125 time to learn the mental skills - Anticipation, forward planning, actually seeing your environment, timing your manoeuvres and so on. When you come to hop on a bigger bike, it will be SO much easier and there'll be SO much more you're able to do on it!!

Roadtrip.... Ordnarily, yes. But NOT in this fecking snow. I haven't yet been able to get my Winter jacket fixed, so I'm riding around in my Summer one... which has vented panels all over the fucking thing - It's absolutely FREEZING!!!!! Before you go about angle-grinding and all that, try this: Take a junior hacksaw and see if you can fit the blade down between the lock body and the disc, to just saw through the locking bolt. A lot of the cheaper ones don't have reinforced bolts since they're mostly shrouded by the disc. Just be sure to use blades for metal, rather than wood or other types. It'll be a few minutes of work, but much less risky than slipping with an angle grinder!!

How tall are you? Reason I ask is that Sports bikes are quite uncomfortable for most of us long-limbed people, especially on long journeys and a 125 Sporty will be hard work. If you're tall and/or like the idea of a crosser/off-road/tourer sort of thing, I can heartily recommend the Honda Varadero. They do a 125 version and it's just like it's big brother! For pure comfort, definitely a Cruiser and there's none better than Yamaha's 125 Dragstar. They have plenty of cruising speed for long journeys (I did Cornwall and back quite happily) and I used to outrun most of the big bikes when in town. They're not what you'd consider built for performance... but they will perform!! For a grand, you are looking at a reasonable nick SR125, GC125 and bikes of similar ilk. Good all-rounders and usually the top of the board in all the bike magazine surveys and tests. Ideal for commuting and with a little bit of everything.

Saving fuel? Honda CG125 - Their tank range is measured in whole continents, rather than miles!! However, there are many better bikes out there!! I'll tell you about some in a few hours time, when it's not 2am Nighty night for now...

Ever since I joined, it's been writ right there in my profile, chap. And people wonder why I rant about empty profiles and lacking introductions!!

AHH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAH!!!! Oh you bastard, that's hilarious!!!! Oddly enough, I always enjoyed drill, ha ha

The exhaust backplate. Anywhere between 2 and 6 holes is the norm, although some drill entire crescents out.

Oh yeah - I'm not too bad with them, either. Better on household locks, though. I started training as a Locksmith, but ran out of cash before completing the MLA courses. Still got most of the cool tools and I still do a bit of Locksporting, too. Have you never wondered why I always recommend a Locksmith over Yamaha or a local key-cutter? I know how good a job pro Lockies can do and how cheap they can be!

Unbolt the old ones, bolt on the new. Another trick is to drill the existing exhaust backplate. Personally, I always advise against modding 125s, unless you're going to keep it - It devalues the bike when you sell it on and move up to a big bike.

My Mrs is rather good at parking. Then again, I don't drive a car, so I can't really comment

I did indeed get 74mph out of my 125 Draggie. Little bikes have a trick to them - Go up the powerband steadily, but without a massive acceleration. When you hit the top gear, ease the throttle up and increase your speed gradually. You should already be at a decent cruising speed, perhaps 60-65. Just slowly add more throttle and allow the bike speed to catch up. Before long you'll be at motorway speeds and happy as Larry* Then comes the fun of forward planning - You have to see everything WELL in advance and plan your overtakes accordingly. If you have to brake, it takes a while to get back up to speed. The habits learned here do you massive favours when you come to ride a big bike later on. *I have a friend called Larry, by the way and he is indeed a very happy guy!!

If it's anything like the 650s, then you may indeed have problems as the A's wheels are bigger. However, this may just be the width, which you can possibly sort by using different spacers, bearings etc. It *may* also catch on your mudguards... Don't know the measurements off the top of my head, but it may be worthwhile comparing if you can get them.

Can't say I have... Mainly because I'm a consultant for one of the UK water utilities companies, so I know exactly where everything goes... especially when it comes to the sewer network. However, fun as it may seem, that site is actually wrong - It just plots a SatNav route from your postcode to the nearest Sewage Treatment Works. Part of our training for hydraulic modelling required us to trace the network route from our home to our local STWs, to show how the modelling software worked. God, that was a fun day.....

I thought if you hang up and leave it hung for a few minutes, the phone times out and cuts the connection?

Dammitt - Cannot see the piccy at work. What is it?

Give it a few goes with the pliers and/or tweezers first. WD40 for the first attempts. Graphite lube for the second. Forget angle-grinding - You may slip and mess up your wheel. Forget Thermite - It (or the smouldering metal of the lock) can drip and mess up your wheel. Ideally, you want to save the lock if you can, as it's still cheaper to just get a new key set impressioned and cut. If you're anywhere near Reading, let me know and I'll come round with my Locksmith tools. I can't cut keys, though.

I was actually considering a pair of those Aliens styled Motion Tracker t-shirts (from the same site, I think). You get a pair of them and when they're within a certain distance of each other, they start tracking one another!! I thought it was hilarious, but the Mrs actually likes the idea - She thinks it's sweet and for once I'm allowed to buy some Aliens related tat!!

V-Stars and Dragstars are indeed the same beasts. The former being American, latter being everywhere else. The manuals usually detail all the area-specific variants too, like the Cali emission things.

I am gonna be such a nasty, violent bastard in my old age...

I like!!