Ttaskmaster

Either let him have the 980Ti with 6GB, the Titan X with 12GB or have him wait for the next gen, as they're just about to be released... especially if he's planning on using VR. I never got soap operas... TBH, it usually just takes the right kind of game - There are so many and they're not all shooty-shooty by any means. My favourites are the story rich ones, where it's more like an interactive movie... that and flying spaceships - Once you play Elite: Dangerous in VR, there is NO going back!!

Nah, this is the 'seasons' of topical discussion between bikers, either on road or on forums, not neccesarily concurrent with the weather seasons. If you wanna show off, try Sindarin in an Eldamar font... UK: Left hand raised as you overtake, right leg if you're being overtaken, means Hello. Nod as you pass oncoming bikes, means Hello again. Two fingers pointed down means hazard ahead, for the oncoming bike. Two fingers pointed up diagonally, arm fully extended, means speed camera ahead. Fist on top of head, thumb down, means Police ahead.

Oh, is it that time of year already? There are four seasons to biking: 1 - Summer riders don't nod... 2 - Summer riders in t-shirts and flipflops 3 - What is this wet stuff falling from the sky? 4 - Bloody freezing, innit!!!

There are many different schools of thought regarding this, depending on whether you talk to Yamaha, a mechanic, a fitter, a rider, a racer or a mechanical engineer... If you talk to the OC, the best and most recommended is Morris 20w50 Ring Free mineral, followed by Morris Super Sport 10w40 semi. Yamaha's 4000 mile oil service interval is the maximum you should do and this is in perfect conditions. Short journeys, extended motorway work and hot engine temperatures all should be taken into account and the interval for oil and filter changes reduced accordingly. ie every 2,000 miles. However, IIRC, I'm actually using a diesel car oil of some kind. I'd have to check which one, but it does me just fine and has served the PO perfectly well for a good number of years too.

There should be nothing on the test that hasn't already been covered by CBT - You just have to manage it to a higher standard, is all. Worth getting the Direct Access if you can though, if only so you can try other bikes. One never knows what kind of FJ1200 will turn one's Cruiser-centric mind... If you're set on a mid-size Cruiser, the 650 will definitely see you happy! I think the 400 would hold you back. An even larger Cruiser will be defnitely be loads of fun. If I had to choose nowadays, I'd likely go for a newer, larger one like the 950 or the Bolt for a mid-size... Big enough to hoon, small enough to throw around, powerful enough to keep you entertained as your riding develops.

I assume you have knobblies on it?

Cruisers don't do 0-60 in 3 seconds, or get ridden at 140mph on a regular basis... which might also have something to do with my FJ tyres only lasting 4,500...! Nope, all year round. It's purely what they're designed and made for. Even the recommended Dunlop ones last reasonably well.

I think by the time I'd got one fitted, I'd be used to the gearing anyway!! Nah, it's pretty easy after a few goes and you'll be fine.

I always found Avon tyres best suited my 650 Draggie. Never the slightest slip even on ice and snow, lasted forever and let me throw it around (not on the snow) like a complete hooligan... as much as one can on a Cruiser, anyway! The Mrs ran Dunlops on her DragQueen and they were quite slippy. Had the back end step out when banked and going over a wet manhole cover on more than one occasion. I got it with part-worn Avon Venoms already on and they did 19,000 miles before I needed to change them. I put Venoms on again, as they did so well and that was the last time I changed. They're still on (what's left of) the bike and look like they'd do a few thou more, at least. I have Metzeler Lasertecs on the FJ1200, but that's because they're crossply and so necessary for that bike. Those have only managed about 4,500 and are already due to be changed in a couple of weeks. I'd say go with Avon - You have the Classic, so the Cobras are what they recommend: http://www.avon-tyres.co.uk/motorbike/xvs-1100a-drag-star-classic

Is that before or after you've spent time modding in those quick-release parts.... and where's yer clocks, man?

Yo!! Still love this thread... Gear indicator... yeah... Not something I'd recommend, partly because many are designed to fit into an inner fairing slot and you don't have fairing, partly because you're far better off learning your bike. Same for cars, really. As mentioned above, after a very short while, you'll start to know what gear you're in just by the speed you're doing and what noise the engine is making. It makes you a better rider as you don't have to keep looking down to see your gear, and if ever you change bikes or have to ride a different one, for some reason, you'll find this an invaluable skill!! As for changing gear, even these days I occasionally change my mind and swap around at the last second. Again, you'll get used to it very quickly! But if you're set on your course, then yes this is a fantastic way of removing the tank, especially the string trick... but then I'm biassed, so I would say that!!

Hi Morseman. I thought, from the name, that you were perhaps a character from He-Man or something! Good bikes, those 650 Drags... especially the V-reg ones. They can take a lot of punishment, I promise you!!

Hence putting it up against the caliper. I never even bothered with the reminder cables and on the few occasions I did forget, the caliper trick meant you could feel the wheel being hindered as you lift the bike off the sidestand. But having witnessed immobilisers fail mid-ride, I won't ever trust one on a bike.

Xena disclocks are great, IMO and give you an added alarm feature. REMEMBER to always put it right up against the back of the caliper, or the front if you'll need to reverse out - If ever you forget to remove it, this will stop the bike within inches, rather than allowing several feet of travel followed by an embarassing and potentially nasty spill. It happens...

Number 1? Damn, I missed that and spent most of the day formulating my Top Ten... I'll have to start another thread! I guess my No1 would be: Overly bright or badly adjusted headlights - These not only fill my vision from behind, but blind me when oncoming. Doubly so when it's raining and my visor is covered in droplets. On an unlit country road at 50mph (yes, most people are at 70-80), it's mostly luck and guesswork that keeps me on the road and not buried in the front of something.

Others consider me very Dangerous, bordering on Deadly... I hope to be Elite before long, though!! The calculator calls me an 'Emergent Service Worker'... supposedly that makes me young and with a cultured social life (I watch a lot of movies and play video games), but I think it's a woefully inadequate load of bollocks, myself!!

Well... It's a bit blurry, but there are still four basic classes. Lower Class have benefit cheques. Working Class have manners. Middle Class have money. Upper Class have titles. Lower Class and Working Class used to be a synonymous term, but recent decades have seen the Lower sub-class become its own distinct and separate entity which people now place right at the bottom of the scale, somewhere below the dog shit you stepped in earlier... The media will spin differing stories, depending on the general mood of the population at the time, as to whether these people are lazy scum or just poor unfortunates who have been failed by our government. The Tory line is that these are lazy scum. The Labour line is that they have been failed and we must bolster them with our tax money... Guess who I voted for!! To stereotype the most frequent portrayal - Lower Class people are those who have never worked a day in their lives, don't give a toss about education, can't even be bothered to speak correctly (often not even coherently) or get dressed, yet know very well how to play the Benefits system that they get large houses and a lot more money coming in than the average person who works for a living. Stereotypically, they spend all this money on cigarettes, cheap alcohol and often other drugs, perhaps even supplementing this income by selling said drugs as a low-end dealer themselves, or through other crime (usually petty theft and muggings). Children born into such families are often destined to be in and out of prison most of their lives, many having never even been to school. NOTE: Do NOT confuse these people with those who are making use of the Benefits system for genuine reasons of hardship or misfortune in their perfectly respectable lives. There is a MASSIVE difference. Incidentally, I worked for the Benefits Agency and spent a number of years ascertaining exactly what percentage of claimants were genuine versus how many were just fucking the system... My own prejudices against the Lower Class come with statistics to back them up. Those hard-working people who drink beer - Them's the Working Class. A lot about the Class system has to do with what you do for a living - If you work with your hands and get paid very little, you're likely Working Class. Truck drivers, coal miners, milkmen, farmers, road labourers... all that sort. If you work with your hands and get paid a lot, you're more Middle-Class, but in other ways very much on the border. It depends what you do - Even rich bricklayers, plumbers and other skilled tradesmen are Working class, while sculptors, painters, surgeons and so on are more Middle due to having lots of education and/or an artistic nature to their work. If you work in an office and get paid lots of money for not very strenuous work, you're Middle Class. Whether you're lower, middle or upper Middle-Class depends on whether you have School, College or University education... or on how outright rich you are - Golfs and Polos and Corsas are usually driven by lower M-C. High-spec BMWs and Audis are the cockmobiles of choice for the middle M-C. Top of the line Bentleys, Jags and the like are upper M-C. Fully-specced Range Rovers are upper Middle, while the lesser lot have Chelsea Tractor things like a RAV-4. Thanks to education and technology, Middle Class covers the vast majority of people nowadays, which is why you don't seem to see that much of a divide any more. You can earn over £100,000 if you have the right technical qualifications, despite having left school with nothing. Upper-Classes are a laugh - They usually went to a prestigious university, only because that's where their family has gone for generations. They often have titles of some kind and own land, castles and so on. They always talk posh and have little grasp of modern culture. They follow many old traditions, such as serving in the Armed Forces as comissioned officers because their previous generations did. Very steeped in manners and being 'proper' too - The sort that will insist on having afternoon tea, only because "it's the done thing". However, they are often in old or threadbare clothing and drive crappy, ill-maintained cars - They own lots of land and lots of big castles, but these cost money to maintain. So while they're worth a fortune, it's all tied up in investments and property, so they have very little actual cash to spend. Of course, these are just the sterotypes and the modern UK has all manner of variations along the scales. I consider myself Working Class in a Middle Class environment.

Stove paint, high temp paint... anything like that. Even Halfords do a load.

Depends if there's anything inside the sump that the dipstick could rest/catch on, giving inconsistent results...

There's a point just behind the sump where you can get a lift under the frame and not touch anything else - IIRC, they intended to have a centrestand as an optional accessory or something, as there're holes drilled and everything... saw it when I was under mine on Sunday.

That requires thinking and our Rush 'Hour' is more like 0800-0945... and then some, depending on the day, whether there's football on, whether you're rushing to work or to drop the kids off, etc etc...

1/. It's perfectly legal according to the Highway Code and acceptable at any time, through slow/stationary traffic. Just remember that all rules of the road still apply and this is considered an overtaking manoeuvre, especially going down the right hand side of single-carriageway traffic, so no crossing solid white lines for example. For Gentlemen, we also advocate the 20-20 Rule - Never faster than 20mph above the speed of the traffic and never when that traffic is going faster than 20mph. This means you'll filter at a maximum of 40mph. Also be aware that any crash may put a lot of the fault on you. 2/. If you mean the Hard Shoulder on a motorway then NO, NO and HELL NO!!! This is for broken down vehicles, or emergency vehicles only. You get serious badness for misusing this. 3/. Very big grey area. Most on-street parking restrictions will apply to you. You are more likely to get away with it if you park right up against a shop front on a very wide pavement and do not obstruct pedestrians in any way, but it depends greatly on the local Parking Wardens. 4/. Check the restrictions posted at any car park. If they have marked motorcycle bays, use those. If they only talk about cars, do what you want but be prepared to argue with the administrators over why you didn't buy a ticket. 5/. Look at the signs posted at the beginning of each Bus Lane - If there is a motorcycle, you can. If not, you can't. My local area has a mixture and they sometimes change their minds, but they also have cameras so you have to pay attention!

I think they assume that as well... But no - It's a totally unmodded MkII 1984 Celica Supra 2.8L Prices are almost exactly the same whether I get a Mk2, 3 or 4... Weird thing is, last year when one was offered to me, a previous quote search yielded only £350 fully comp!! Seems prices have hiked massively over Christmas. Not 'first car' as such, as I've been Named on the Mrs's and been driving a works van on company insurance. No points or nuthin'... 1L Polo = £1,800 TPO. VW Golf, Skoda Fabia, Bugatti Veyron, doesn't seem to matter what kind of car it is, even the "Top 10 Cheapest To Insure" ones are in the same bracket. According to woman on the phone, who expected it would be about £300 FC, it turns out it's so high because I've not had car insurance before... So like how I cannot get a credit card because I've never had a credit card. Fuck, man... When I was a brand new rider hopping on a first bike, they only wanted £280 FC with every imaginable trimming. These days I get seriously arsey on the phone if they even dare *think* of charging me more than £100 for the full monty on the FJ.... Do they just quadruple the purchase price of the car and go, "Yeah, that'll do"?

1/. They're wise to that. 2/. They won't insure me on hers at all. She had to fight just to get me Named and it cost an extra £400 just for that. 3/. She is NOT getting her filthy mitts on MY Supra!!

£2,800, if I'm completely honest about everything.