Ttaskmaster

Tom Waits "cannot sing". Gary Numan "cannot sing". Mick Jagger "cannot sing". Ozzie Osbourne "cannot sing". I notice a pattern, here..... All the above people who "cannot sing" have all had several top ten hits, most even reaching No. 1. She can sing, so long as she sings songs that are appropriate for her voice. The X Factor does not allow for that level of specialisation. I'd rather an evening of Diana than a single song by James Blunt. I'd rather James Blunt than any of today's so-called R&B artists....... She keeps playing the cute vote and winning the hearts of the public, who are even less reliable than politicians. Notice how she always says how nervous she was before the song. Regardless of how trite it gets, people hear that and go "Awwwwwww", thus securing her votes. If Ruth were to get her tits out and smile, she'd win. Why? Just because it's not 100% bikes? What did you want? Tits and Arse? It's 'anything goes', mate - So long as it's not politics, religion or anything else likely to spark a war, really. FYI, the TV was on whilst I was making my own leather saddlebags. I *was* working on my bike, so NYAH NYAH NYAH!!! It was on X-Factor because I have a girlfriend and because Ruth has nice tits. If you need more justification than this, you clearly have never been laid. Welcome to the grown-up world That was moderate A 'Lady' is usually some prissy stuck-up bitch who'd never touch a motorcycle because it's dirty. Goff is a real woman, the kind that we mostly only hear of in Old English legends. I applaud her strength and stand by her remarks. I only have a TV because my other half moved in!! It's actually her TV, so I don't get a say in what goes on. I don't really care either, but when I'm working in the background I do end up watching whatever she's watching. About the only decent things she ever does watch is House MD. Yes, well you get people like that sometimes. You'd never believe it, but they do actually own the internet, you see. So, how dare you pollute the bandwidth that they themselves have paid for....... Alternatively, fuck 'em. They're doing the online equivalent of coming into a pub, hearing us chatting at a table, calling the whole pub a bunch of tossers, on the basis of what were chatting about and then storming off. What do you imagine would happen in a real pub? Exactly - Anyone with enough energy would go out after them, kick their head in, leave them in the gutter and go back to their pint.

There is NOTHING wrong with Diana Vickers. The problem is that she's trying to compete on the X Factor. Now... Diana sings very well. So do Tom Waits and Gary Numan. The reason she's getting on our tits is because, like the other two I mentioned, she has a very distinctive and particular voice. But unlike the other two, she doesn't stick with singing what works for her. Diana has a voice akin to Bjork. She'd be amazing singing that sort of stuff, perhaps some lazy lounge jazz like Stacy Kent. The X Factor is about all-round versatility and that is why Diana is faltering here. She simply doesn't have the range to compete effectively. She is trying and the result is the awful wailing we're getting. Would I buy a Diana album - Yes. Will she win the X Factor - No. Diana, Laura and Ruth were my favourites. Ruth did well with I Love Rock N Roll, which was actually an Arrows song made famous by Joan Jett (who I adore). BOLLOCKS is it a Britney song (Britney was CLEARLY miming, by the way). However, although her version of Always was good, she did better at delivering the emotion with Purple Rain. BTW - What on EARTH did Laura do to get booted? I missed that show and IMO Laura was always THE one to beat. I hope she does some albums.... She and Ruth are the only two I'd ever deem capable of handling songs like Black Velvet.....

Fuck me...... I must be under 20!!!!!! I actually just have sensitive hearing and yes, it DOES hurt!!!!!!!!!!

Between us, OldGit and Gas up, we'd make quite a team, I reckon!!!!

Goff, in this instance, is perfectly correct. I'm going to describe my method for you to consider. What I'm about to detail is just 'what I did'. It's not a definite way, or even the best way, of doing this. I'm just offering a slightly different view. When doing this, ride normally (don't whack open teh throttle or anything) and above all keep your mind on the road. Safety is paramount at all times on the road!!!!! As mentioned, you need to learn the sounds and sensations of your engine. Find a long stretch of empty road. Be on it when no-one is about. Stop somewhere at the start of your 'test track'. Move off in 1st gear. Hear what the engine sounds like when the revs kick in and you get going. It'll probably rev high as you start lettiung out the clutch then drop dramatically to a low rumble, before climbing as you pick up speed with your increased throttle. As you increase the throttle, hear and feel the engine as it moves into the power band, feel the bike pulling. Keep going until it starts sounding like the bike is complaining at the effort, rather than appreciatively purring. You may also feel there is no more 'pull' from the engine either. You have now left the upper range of the power band and the bike has no more power from here on. If you still have more throttle-twist left, apply it and notice how the bike doesn't surge forward like it did at the lower revs. That's the clue that you're already way over the power band. If you still keep going, the bike will scream it's little nuts off and you'll eventually blow the engine up, so don't. Basically, for optimum performance you want to shift up to 2nd before you actually hit the top of the power band. You don't want to be too close to the top, either. When you shift to 2nd, you want to reapply clutch and throttle and be greeted by a low-mid range rev, just at the bottom of the 2nd power band. If you rev to high before shifting up, you'll have wasted some of 2nd and the bike will not respond so well. However, you don't want to shift too soon out of 1st, because the bike will then struggle at the lower revs in 2nd and again you'll not have the power you want. Continue this all the way up to top speed and get used to feeling & hearing where your bike is happy in the various gears. There is no easy way to describe this and each bike is different, so you'll just have to do loads of practice and learn by sound/feel - Like most of us. I've always found 1st-4th is what carries the power and 5th is just to keep going smooth without revving the bollocks off. After a bit of private practice like this, you'l start to pay more attention when you're normally riding about. Once you have established the rules of what your bike likes you to do, you can then learn to anticipate better, get into gear sooner, pull away faster and keep your lead, gear down for an overtake and such. We can only explain so much. The rest is about getting out there and learning from feel. The exact same thing goes for cornering, braking, riding in varying conditions.... We can explain the basics, but the rest you have to see, hear & feel to understand.

LIES, LIES, LIES!!!!!!! Look, I'll show you - Someone lend their Baby Drag for a few minutes....... Seriously though, you can. I have. It's true!! I have ridden 3 Baby Drags at various times. Not all were my own. Yes, I was insured. I did notice a difference in the capabilities, though. The German Import would only manage an indicated 67mph on the flat. I had to rag it down a Cornish hill to breach 70. I also managed to get it most of the way up the other side of teh valley before large articulated bastards (Hi Dad*) started to overtake me..... However, my proper UK version (with the nicer paint scheme) would happily do 74 on the M4 into London every Friday. I'd breach 75 going downhill between J16 & 17 on the M25, but only manage low 60s coming back again!! *My dad is a trucker, in case you were interested

Err...... Says who???!!!!! Being pretty does not automatically make her right, ya know.... You should be able to get 75mph on a flat road out of a 125 Drag. Make sure it's well cared for and has decent fuel in it. I use Shell myself, choosing to avoid Texaco and any supermarket fuels. I find bikes run better on whatever mixture they use. I did post the info up for you in one of your recent threads, mate. As mentioned by the pretty miss Goff, it's not a powerhouse. Best way to get decent speed and acceleration etc is to pass your test and buy a big bike!!! I recommend the Rocket III, myself

Hee hee!!! It's all being done by hand, as well. Every stitch-hole punched, every line hand cut, every thread run in with a single needle......

Everything you need to fit the Tom to the handlebars of [a generic motorcycle] should come included. Specific fitting is really a try-it-and-see job, but the thing is "fully posable", so a little bit of thought will probably win the day.

Shop around - M&P, MPS, Hein Gericke, Busters, all the independents.... There's feckloads out there!!!! Google is your friend....... Myself, I recommend ditching teh bike, getting a Cruiser and making your own luggage out of best leather... but that's just me, and the reason I'm taking next week off work!!!!!!!!!

At the bottom of the spring there's a collar. Turn this. Usually it has numbers on it, the higher ones being a stronger setting for bigger loads. You will likely need a special spanner to do this adjustment. Can be had from most M/C parts shops, mechanics etc for the horrendously expensive sum of around THREE of your English pounds Or you may have gotten one included in your bike's tool kit.

The above was just scratching the surface, mate. There's much more if you want to get into this. PS - Truckers love chatting with bikers on CB, if you can make yourself useful. You have 10 miles of range usually, so advance warning to them of traffic and other such issues is always appreciated. Then again, I do lots of motorway and distance riding at night, so we're all bored shitless and talking crap anyway :-D

The Tom Rider 2 mount is OK. I do treat stuff harshly, so mine has broken, though!!!!!! Also, I can't find the fecking receipt, so I might have to buy a replacement through Ram Mount or something

RADIOS!!!!!!!!!!!! Now this I can help with...... OK, a decent headset is part of the cost. You ideally want one made by a radio manufacturer like Midland Alan, NOT a bike manufacturer. Get one for an Open Face, regardless of which lid you actually wear. This should have a noise-attenuating mic on it to cut down on wind noise. A proper bike headset will come with a PTT (Press To Talk) switch that mounts on your handlebar. Radios - You have two choices in the UK; PMR446 27MHz otherwise known as CB. PMRs or Private Mobile Radios are available as cheap sets up to around £50, rather good ones at £60-120 per handset or professional quality at £150+. Range is up to 5km in clear open areas, with direct line of sight. In other words, if you have buildings and trees in the way, this will dramatically reduce your reception. The cheap ones really do not cope well with transmissions while moving. The good part is many of them take normal AA batteries!! PMRs come with 8 channels. There are 38 tones, called CTCSS - Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System. You select one of the 8 channels and set it to one of the 38 tones (or leave it off). This means that you will only receive transmissions from a radio set to the same tone. It stops twats who buy these things from intruding on your airwaves. Think of them as sub-channels. They're not, but think of them that way - It's the best simple explanation. The Benchmark PMR radio is the Midland/Alan 456-R. It's a mid-priced unit that has all the basic bells & whistles. CB is Citizens Band radio. These no longer require a licence to use!! You typically get 40 channels to use, plus a second 40 for EU countries, particularly if your radio is Multi-Band. A bit more expensive for mobile units, but I prefer it. Your basic range is approximately 10 miles and it copes very well amongst most buildings. You have many bells & whistles as standard features with CB. The downsides are that they are more expensive and you need both a 12v power source (hella plug wired into your bike) and a massive antenna on your vehicle. This is a more complicated set-up requiring some basic electronics DIY. Benchmark handset is the Midland/Alan 42 Multi. £100 for a multi-band unit, powered by battery or mains/12V connection. Utterly portable, can be used as a base station/mobile unit or handheld. Need seperate antenna, depending on your use. Withoutit, your average range is 2-5 miles. Thunderpole is probably the best place to start shoping. Any questions, just gimme a shout eh!!!

Highway Hawk is a good start. There are plenty of threads covering this, with many links. A quick Search should throw them up, mate!!

Slam the fuckers for all you're worth!!!

Oh, please!!!!!!!!!!!

Drum brakes? Easiest thing will be to ride into a tree. At least then you know you'll stop!!! Either that, or attach a chain and anchor to the back and drop it when you need to brake...... Discs will be a very good idea. From there, adding braided brake lines and sintered pads will make you stop like a jet fighter with an arrester hook!!!!

Without having a look and a fiddle, my first guess would be that you've overfilled it with oil.

Beauty of a Cruiser - You can corner heavily at amazingly low speeds due to the low-slung bodyweight!! That was kinda taking the piss a bit, though....

Hmm....... Carb issues? Icing? Too much air? Manifolds perished? Either way, do learn to use the Front Brake or risk much badness. There's several very good reasons they have discs on the front!!

Here's an idea - read the Owners' Manual. It will tell you EXACTLY which oil to use. Take it into the shop with you and just point at the page, saying, "Gimme that, please". I do!!

The hard case will be cheaper, but a hell of a lot more hassle. These are just brief examples from a 30-second Google. Spend a few minutes looking for what you really want and you'll find a nice cheap supplier in England, right colour, right area and so on. Just a leeeeeetle bit of effort - Not much, is it?

Look as good???!!! You tell me: Some example Cruisers with hard luggage: Oh look.... Even a V-Star/Dragstar 1100..... Here, I'll even give you some starting links: Hard Luggage Even some leather covered ones!!! Pretty things...