clarke

My fazer made a noise that bothered me whilst riding (can't remember if it was a scream or a vibrating noise). I remember tracing it to the fly-screen. Added a blob of clear silicon sealant to the top of each side of the screen which stopped it.

Bar muffs do a good job of keeping the wind/cold off your hands. Worth the money

+1 to Campaman (this could turn into another oil thread...) I only ever use standard unleaded in my bikes - that's what the manufacturers recommend. I'm sure if you got better performance or it was better for the engine the manufacturers would say only use super unleaded or even a combination of both, but they don't. My dealership mechanic once said to use superunleaded on every 4th fill to help clean out the engine. I used it once but according to the bike's computer my mpgs went down so haven't bothered since. Some people claim you can tell the difference between branded/unbranded petrol but to be honest I never really notice any difference.

7am isn't considered to be an abnormal/suspicious time to be out on a motorbike (after midnight is) so you shouldn't get pulled for no reason.... Unless you're that tired it's effecting your riding & the police think it's dangerous.

Have a read of these to give you an idea of blame too. http://www.access-legal.co.uk/legal-news/accidents-involving-filtering-what-the-law-says-lu-2811.htm http://www.markthompsonlaw.com/motorcycle-filtering-past-traffic-queue/motorcycle-accident-solicitors/ That said, I always filter when I feel it's safe to do so. I find you also need to watch for other motorbikes coming up fast behind you & move aside when safe to do so.

I'd say in your clip the car driver didn't look properly before pulling out. As said by above by Wild Foamy, you have to ride defensively all the time and expect the unexpected

I once had a motorbike 'filter' between me (in my car) and another car on the M1... I was in the outside lane overtaking a car in the middle lane at. 70 mph! The biker was gone in seconds - me & other driver just looked at each other in disbelief! You can filter legally so long as it's not dangerous, ie watch your speed & rejoin traffic once it begins moving again. One article I read in a magazine suggested only filtering in moving traffic up to 30mph - personally I only filter through stationary or slow moving traffic but you have to judge each situation for yourself and see what you're comfortable with. One thing to bear in mind is (generally) if you filter down the outside of a lane and a car pulls out of a side road to your left & hits you the law will say you're liable. If a car in the queue does a U-turn & hits you then they're to blame (as long as your speed isn't excessive).

I filter through stationary traffic everyday at about 20mph... But it's on a two lane road. Thing to remember about filtering is slow down and be prepared to stop if necessary. If a gap is tight you might want to wait until the traffic starts to move again then you can normally slip through & rejoin traffic if appropriate. Be careful about clipping wing mirrors. I once had someone want to fight me because I filtered passed him at traffic lights & I didn't even touch his car... I tend to avoid filtering if cars are moving at about 20mph but I've seen bikes filter at 40+mph.

Unfortunately your riding a 125 or motorbike after midnight so you'll be stopped. Not saying it's right but not many people are out on bikes that time of night. I got stopped years ago when I was driving my Nova, the police saw me reversing off my mates drive at 2am (just been out clubbing, which by the way is pants if you're the designated driver) so they followed me for about a mile then stopped me. Gave me grief trying to get me to confess to nicking the car then told me I had to change a tyre as he didn't like it (it wasn't illegal btw). All you can do is stay calm & be polite. I'd be careful about recording them on your phone as it'll antagonise them and possibly land you in custody for some other reason. It might be a ball ache being stopped but at least if you're bike ever gets nicked they're likely to stop it.

I had spotlights on mine which were a big improvement. Here's some HID instructions which may help if you want to go that way http://1300tourer.com/content/hid-conversion (I miss my 1300!!!)

+1, if your that fussed about not having the bike restricted... Don't forget the new rules will also includetests in between each bike category too. Also re: police not knowing they might not, but if you have a crash then the insurance company might be interested in looking over your bike (imagine the car driver saying to their insurance company "the bike was speeding as it came out of nowhere...") Re: restriction it's 47bhp provided they don't have power to weight ratio better than 0.2kW per kg. Apparently lots of manufacturers are bringing out loads of 250-400cc bikes for this. Crazy thing is I read the new rules are set to change again at the end of next year.

I left my XVS1300 restricted for the 2 years... Even at 33bhp it was much better than the 12 of my XVS125. Then it was like having a new bike after 2 years... Anyone thinking of not sticking to their restriction needs to remember they're not insured. It looks like under the new rules from Jan the restriction of any bike will no longer be allowed but it'll be limited to cc size (about 300cc from what I read in 'Bike')

Stop where safe even on double yellows. If police not happy it's safe they'll tell you to go somewhere else and stop.

I once saw on tv that after a rider was killed in a biking accident (no other vehicles involved) the council/highways agency sent a bill to his family for the cost of fixing the road... They apologised eventually & said it should have gone to his insurance company. I wonder if he wasn't fully comp whether the family would've had to pay...? Doesn't surprise me that insurance companies charge extra as riders are more likely to be severely injured even in a minor accident than they would in a car. I think the personal injury includes cover for loss of earnings etc

I've never owned or ridden a Viggie so can't comment on them really, other than to say they look nice (although personally I prefer the look of the Stars, hence I bought 2 & recommended them). I'm sure Viggies are nice bikes but maybe people have had issues with them? A bit like Harleys, they look nice but have a reputation for not being reliable? On the last organised ride I went on (Squires to Catterick) the only bike I saw that had a problem was a fantastic looking Harley with loads of mods etc, but it was peeing oil when we got there...

It is a shame to kill off nice bikes/cars etc but is is a form of punishment as well as a deterrent to others... I don't think anyone here necessarily has any issue with the biker doing 104+ mph (that's their choice/risk etc) it's more that they we're being inconsiderate towards the horse rider, with horses being unpredictable if spooked. Would the rider have done that passed a school? If riders want to do 104+mph then save it for somewhere appropriate eg a track, or at least keep in mind other road users, esp those more vulnerable. If he had been caught doing 104 down the motorway none of us would have heard about it.

I like both, but I had a 125 Dragstar which was great & a 1300 Midnight Star which was great so I'd go for the Dragstar... Have you thought about the 950 Midnight star? Nice bike

I cannot agree any more with that! What an absolute nob to ride like that passed a horse. I never think twice about having to slow down, in fact as another vulnerable road user, I have even more respect for horse riders & give as much room as humanly possible and go as slow as I can.

Soft microfiber cloth is great for spreading it on large panels etc

I only ever got 145 ish miles from a tank. Always ran with the O2 sensor but still pulled the clutch quite a bit. The 1300 is a fantastic bike, wish I could have kept it along with the Strom...

I've heard the 1300 sometimes has clutch basket coming loose. The 1300 also has straight cut teeth which makes it clunky... Could the 1100 have them as well? As said above, change oil and filter to see if any improvement

When I went France to Calais the other year it was side stand & 1st gear. The guys tied the bike down on handlbars and rear crash guards (cruiser). Fortunately the sea was calm as I reckon the rear crash guards would have snapped in rough sea as they bent on tie down. Also take care on boarding as the deck will be slippery & you might have to u-turn... Enjoy your trip

Hi there. A few things spring to mind Check kill switch, bike in neutral, side stand up, the wires under the clutch lever are fully plugged in (small connector), battery fully charged, spark plugs clean. Hopefully one of them will help?

This is true, but a girl I was working with told me she had a small prang in a supermarket car park, no damage to cars etc, they said no harm done and off they went. A few weeks later the other fella put a claim in saying it had caused him to be impotent amongst other things....

Muck Fe!!! Four Zero Pounds each??? Are they made of gold?