Ttaskmaster

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras can indeed read your plates and there are forward-facing cameras. Also, there are these things called Police Officers (we have a couple on the forum here) who rove around doing random checks and they (mostly ) can read your number plate, as well as see if you're taxed, check MOT, etc. Seek out a short term/temporary cover from another company or something, or get Fully Comp insurance which covers you TP on any bike so long as you have the owner's permission. Don't ride without insurance - That'd just make you another prick statistic like the teenage 'Ped Boy dickheads out there and, in the event of a crash, you might seriously fuck up someone else's life as well... or at least have one hefty bill plus a fine on your head!!

There I was, walking down the pavement alongside a road. Just me on my own two feet. No stereo, no mobile phone or anything. I come to a side road - Minor connecting with the 'major' on my left. I'm about 40' from the actual junction. The major is a typical 30mph speed limit, single lane 2-way traffic. I look right, left ahead and left behind, being sure there's no immediate traffic before starting to cross. I'm a pedestrian, I have right of way here and, being broad 2pm daylight on a sunny day with no cars parked anywhere along here, I am clear as crystal to anyone even half awake. From ahead, a big green estate comes screaming down at an easy 50mph, swinging in to make a left turn from the major into the minor I'm crossing. No indicator used, no actual braking beyond engine. At this point I'm just setting foot over the white line dividing the two lanes of the minor and he's now headed right toward me. As he swings in and his brakes screech him to a halt, front bumper just over a foot off my legs, I note he's driving with right hand only on the wheel and his left is holding a mobile phone to the right side of his head. But it *must* have been my fault, right, because the motherfucker starts beeping on his horn, gesturing angrily and mouthing f-bombs at me for being in *his* way... phone still reverse-slapped against his head. I throw my arms wide and loudly ask, "What the fuck??!!". Ooh, he's having none of that. Phone goes down, seatbelt comes off and he makes moves to get out of his car. There's gonna be a fight... or so he thinks. I boot his mirror up and off, before taking up a boxing stance and, like some Hollywood film, gesture for him to "Come and 'ave a go, 'coz he finks 'ee's 'ard enuff"... He sits there looking like he just shat himself. I stand for a moment longer, before folding my arms and watching to see what he does next. He restarts his car (stalled in the braking) and drives away, not taking his petrified gaze off me until he's past. I stare at his remaining mirrors until he's out of sight, just for good measure. Sorry, you were saying something about being a self-opinionated prick? He could have killed me. I take a very dark perspective toward people who try and kill me. When biking, I actually consider myself a fairly defensive rider. I watch vehicles blind spots, leave large safety gaps and look for escapes everywhere I go. However, there are certain places where a boot is far more effective than a horn. Come play with me on my commute home tonight - J11 of the M4, crossing the A33. Every single time I cross this, without fail, I will see someone driving along in Lane 1 who enters the roundabout and then, despite the bright white lane markings that show you where to go, will still cross into Lane 2.. and 3... no, 4... nope, ALL THE WAY into Lane 5 in one manoeuvre without a single hint of an indicator. Seriously, seriously, seriously. I keep my thumb permanently on the horn when using that junction, for the few occasions it does any good. If I have time, I can use it. Often the car coming across is entering from my blind spot and I just catch it because I'm forever looking - I'm usually about 4' away with my front wheel just ahead of their A-pillar and so *clearly* visible out that side window (which they should be looking out when they pull across). The Dragstar is particularly loud for them at this point - I've checked several times when overtaking the Mrs. Horns do no good at that point because the sound is projecting forward and is wimpy anyway, but more so as these morons tend to have the stereo on LOUD too - Obviously we all need more Rihanna in our lives... At such times, the only sound that seems to make thenm wake the fuck up is a quick boot to the front offside wing. From teh moment I see them approaching, I'll have about 2 seconds in which to get this boot in before they actually connect - can't brake back enough or accelerate fast enough to avoid them otherwise. So yeah - Come ride that junction and then tell me I'm a self-opinionated prick!! You try and kill me, I'll spit back!!

I'm lazy, so please do a serach for all the other threads where I've posted the many reasons for me simply driving a tank/FV432 on the road.

You had Party Four and Party Seven, holding 4 and 7 pints respectively.

This is IT Support. For dirty talk, you want line three. If you wish to contest the charges, of either service, you want the accounting on line seventeen. Better baby Duck than Babycham, though... Heck, I'd settle for a Party Four!

Same here. Doesn't mean we're old, though... It's all in how you live. Heck, people sometimes read my posts and assume I'm only 17!! Nah, he's excempt.

NO Cruisers... otherwise I'd have sold her mine. She is a former Draggie rider anyway, but she needs reasonable performance to keep up with the FJ - That means 0-60 some time *today*, preferably in under 5 seconds, while comfortably topping the ton and having more to go. Viggie, Draggie and especially Eliminator are immediately... err... eliminated! I'm likely looking at 4-800cc, naked/semi-naked street bike sort of deal. I think it'll end up an XJ or XJR, really.

My solution worked? YAAAAAAAYYYYYYY, congrats!! Incidentally, that'll be £49.99 for the solution, £50 standing call-out/contact fee and £505.26 for the distance communication - This I.T. thread routes via Mumbai and is charged per minute!!

How d'you know it's arcadey if you never played? It has fairly realistic flight, but is still an entry level for space combat-trading stuff. The guide is only 240 pages.

Waiting for my mechanic to finish the mountain of fair-weather road users' jobs, so we can get on with break one Drag to tart another pre-sale. I can let you know when they're available for your perusal? PM me as a reminder

Good, solid choice! Welcome to ze forum, mate!!

Ah yeah, I'd been trying to remember what 4-600cc big bikes schools use for training. IIRC, the GS500 is that fecking awkward piece of shyte where every riding school (apart from my first one) replaces the stupid manufacturer's bars before they even switch it on for the first time? 31" seat height, apparently. She'd have to try it, I suppose... What else do schools use? Is there a Kawasaki ER400, 500, 600? I know there's a nice Yammie 400 - XJR400, is it? Ooh, I wonder if any in the XJ/XJR range are low enough... If there's a nice, low-ish 800, that'd be an option.

I know some IT fixer type people who've doused the thing in isopropyl alcohol (with power off and battery out), without any ill effects. Can't say either way if it is a good idea or not, though. I personally only use it on metal bike parts and would be petrified of doing it to anything electronic!!

Welcome to ze forum!! Many Draggie fans here, including those of the bobbed persuasion, so you're in good company.

Chris Roberts has always been about the bling and the detail. He's been after a joystick space-sim for a while, too, getting back to the Wing Commander side of things. It drives PC gaming forward again, so I'm happy either way. Couldn't make enough sense of his bloody Kickstarter things, though so wasn't sure if it was worth investing in all these random comoured cards, or anything. Plus he has a fecking weird accent!! Pilot skillz is "a whole 'nuther" ball game, though - Freelancer was supposed to be simple, but when you end up dropping over a ton on an 11-button mouse and a Nostromo keypad, just so you can pull off *killer* flight moves that require 9 simultaneous commands... That is pretty serious too!!

Apparently "nice colour" would be an electric duke blue (I just Googled that), as in the dark blues you sometimes see on Fazers with the goldish accents.

Something else to know in advance - You will NEVER get 100% waterproof on your bike. Even the most expensive waterproofs can/will end up leaking. The crotch is a particularly common point. The back of the neck is another, where the rain dribbles down the back of your lid and thence your collar. Also anywhere you have pressure, such as rucksack straps. On that same note, trust NOTHING that says your luggage is waterproof. Get some thick, heavy duty plastic bags and put your kit inside that before loading into your luggage. If you ride very often, look into the hard wearing Ortlieb style waterproof bags with roll-top openings. Always carry a few tools and bits - Gaffer tape and cable ties, paracord or decent bootlaces, spare bulbs, little bottle of WD40, etc. Where possible, find out the contents of your bike's original tool kit and assemble something similar.

I took her up the Honda dealer yesterday - The CB500 was too tall. She was on tippy toes and would never manage it outside the showroom. There was an old Bandit she was OK on, but nothing else (apart from a gay Shadow and some 125s) was any good

I'll be trying both Elite and Star Citizen, as they're pretty much the same idea. Not convinced SC will be everything promised, but we'll see...

31.7" seat height on a 29" inside leg? How's she gonna even get on it?

Actually, this one is probably the best budget starter set for something that will last: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_862455_langId_-1_categoryId_255215 I got the 64-piece a few years back, but it only goes up to 24mm, lacks spanners and a few extras.

You'll be surprised how often you'll use a set of spanners - They fit into all the awkward nooks where sockets won't!! Try and get a set that, among any other sizes, includes 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 & 19mm combination spanners (open at one end, ring at the other). This Pro set is half price at the moment - Expensive for first outlay, but FANTASTIC value professional kit with decent guarantee and you'll probably never need another set. Once you have it, you'll find so many other jobs you can do as well - Neighbour's car, for example: http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_862463_langId_-1_categoryId_255215

Get on out there, mate - Take your time, but get out there and ride. You'll soon get back in the swing!!

Haaaaaah-ley-loo-yah... Took 2 goes, bored before the end of the first. I have a massively capable gaming rig, yet instead of Mass Effect trilogy, Crysis, Saints Row, Tomb Raider or perhaps even Freelancer, I spend it trying to do what I achieve every time I refuel the bike? Summat's wrong wiv me.....

Sub £1000 if we can find her one!! So gently used, or even 'well-used but mechanically sound'. Even TLC-wanting types, so long as it doesn't cost too much and can be ridden around happily while she awaits parts.