Ttaskmaster

We're coming up to May, which is when many shops sell off last season's stock at insanely low prices. Keep an eye out, especially if said shops have stalls at bike events. The May Day run to Hastings is a good one for that and worth having a gander, even if you don't like crowds!

What the hell was the emergency vehicle thinking - Obstructing the road like that when people are busy Tweeting about how boring their journey is, shouting at the kids in back, fixing their makeup and booking hairdresser appointments... That, or "I'm moving, therefore I have right of way and everyone else should make way for me" is the usual...!!

Massive congrats to you, Pete!! The future of biking starts right here...

Indeed they do... but 'looks' are deceiving, which is what I love about them!!

Keep at it, Noisy - You'll get there!

Because it takes years to earn your Club patch and they regard these things with the utmost reverence. Wearing Club-like patches when you're not a member of a Club, especially around biker hangouts, is considered a great disrespect and claiming to be something you're not. It's akin to flaunting a religious symbol, I guess, except that you're more likely to get your head kicked in. However, most Clubs will explain this quite clearly and give you the chance to remove it voluntarily before they kick your head in. I believe this is more of a US thing anyway, as UK Clubs tend to just laugh, shake their heads and mercilessly take the piss! Not every Club is a 1% outlaw MC and not every 1% outlaw MC is 'like that'. A number of my friends are in such Clubs and they're as much stand-up folks as the company kept here. One of them runs a very successful and well-known dating website, would you believe!!

My money, my business. Don't understand why anyone would be in trouble...

The problem will mainly be if your logo comprises one or more of the following: - A 3-part patch, featuring central logo, top rocker and bottom rocker. - Any patch that names a place, as it could be seen as a territorial claim. - Any patch that says '1%' or '1%er'. - Any patch that says MC or M/C. You may also find problems with any kind of large patch worn on the back. It's usually fine if the design is printed, but an actual sewn-on patch can be problematic. If you're going to feature rockers, banners, scrolls or any kind of 'strip' with wording on it, it's best to incorporate that into the design rather than making them separate components. Try and make sure your logo does NOT resemble a winged Death's Head, a skull with pistons, a bandit, or anything like another Club's logo. Basically anything that looks like Club Colours. Nicking peoples' Sons Of Anarchy stuff is more about those who wear it out in public, thinking it makes them bikers. I have worn an SOA cut to a fancy dress party, which went down great, but it was taken off and stowed on the way to and from the party!!

Went looking, myself. Gloves don't come in sizes big enough that I could even get them on. Trousers and jacket were nice enough, especially for a first set... but their solidity comes from being heavily made and they don't have enough of the features I like to make me buy either... Jacket was nonetheless very tempting and I might pop back for a second look. Don't appear to be Winter-intended, though. Wasn't too interested in the rest, although the chain lock looked quite decent.

It wasn't bad piloting that killed him, though...

No-one else seen Firefly, then?

>I'm confused, I now have a load of people telling me it's dangerous for me to ride anything bigger than a 125, Given that you can hop on certain 125s and do over 100mph with only 2 hours road experience, which is what some new riders actually do, even that can be pretty dangerous. >yet none of them seem to have taken into account what it's actually like to have to use one every day and the problems with it, The only (real) problem I had with my 125 that getting a bigger bike has solved is my desire to ride faster. Everything else is still the same - I still rely on observation, forward planning and timing for my manoeuvres, I still keep to speed limits, I still get vision blocked by trucks ahead, I still get dickheads on the road... >I no longer have an patience for people who do crap like that. It does not get any easier, IMO. I get someone pulling out on me at least once a week, always at the same motorway junction and more frequently if I travel during rush hour. It's very rarely even an issue for me, let alone an actual problem, because of the lessons I learned and the experience I got from riding a 125. There's a lot of give & take to riding a bike effectively - You must be a leaf on the wind...

The 125? Have to say, I never had any grat difficulty lifting any of my Cruisers, but that was the point in the looooong argument thread with Whotshisname who reckoned all Cruisers were deathtraps. It's all in the leverage. That said, it's easier to lift a downed bike as you can place your feet wherever you need first. Don't usually get that choice when you're trying to stop the initial fall... To answer your question about lifting Goldies - Look it up on YouTube. There's a great vid of a small woman lifting a downed Goldwing, which she does by backing up to it and reverse-lifting. I know some Police guys advocate this for their big bikes and I think it's a technique taught by official dealers or something, as the vid is some kind of Owners class at a retailer's showroom.

As you found, getting rid of the L-Plates does help. After I passed my full test, I still spent something like 8 months on a 125 and I even went all the way down to Cornwall for holidays, so it's not impossible to manage. Focus on improving your riding, get through the test and then you'll be laughing!

Aww, son of a bitch... This was the poor FJ, I take it? I assume it pitched away from you, as well, yeah? No stopping that one... I once stopped and put the FJ's sidestand down, then went to lean it left but had recently lubed the pivot and so the stand bounced back up as the pressure came off - Suddenly the bike was headed groundward. I caught it about 6" away from smackdown and slowly dragged it back upright, but wrenched my back so badly I'd have been better off letting it go! Here's hoping it doesn't look too bad once you've tarted it back up again, fella!

You may splatt... I, on the other hand, SOAR!!!

My bike feels as big and heavy as a mountain when handling it around, but open the throttle and it shifts as lightly as a leaf on the wind!

AFAIK, it is not. The manual details adjusting the lever free-play, which will affect when the switch triggers, but there is no specific mechanism for altering the switch settings. You could still achieve it, but this would require removing the lever and jury-rigging something.

I've seen the green one around, too...

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh-waaaaaaaaaaaaaay toooooooooooooo thaaaaaaaaa Dan-ger Zoooooooooooone...........!"

Let's be sure before we start chiseling at anything, as the esteemed Kev's description also matches the wheel bearings on a Dragstar rather than the cush drive... The cush is specifically triangular rubber blocks on a Drag. Do you have a photo of these studs you want out... ?

What, the big rubbery chock-shaped things? Pull. They should just fall out when you turn the wheel over and shake it.

I personally never bothered connecting in the indicators. All it (usually) does is flash them when you turn the alarm on/off or when the alarm sounds and is (usually) optional during install. If you don't want to cut the indicator wire, you could just strip off the insulation and connect the alarm in. Wrap the alarm wire around the exposed indicator wire, solder in place and then wrap with electrical tape or self-amalgamating tape. You can probably use junction clips from Maplins or some such, but I'm not sure if they come that small...

OMG another Tasky??!! Heh heh, welcome!

Clean carbs out anyway. Same for fuel line and airflow. Just good housekeeping!