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Best to you Chris...now you have to start acting like an adult...which could be very scary..trade in the bike and leathers for a car to cart the future kids and wife around town...give up beer and learn to change diapers...scary stuff this getting old. Bet 17 is starting to look good again. Rocky

Hey Chris Does that mean you're buying the beer on Friday? Please send mine by Loomis. Cheers Rocky

Drewpy Congratulations...and it's easy to see why as your bike looks great! Rocky

Jackelhunter You could have an air leak in the rubber intake boot between the carb and the cylinder or need to replace the O ring in the boot. I had a similar noise problem last summer. We spent a lot of time screwing around with the carb and that was not the problem. The O ring had failed. See my comments under the current post topic "Tap tap tap". Rocky

Leatherat There is a lot of controversy in the US about health care. John would be able to comment on it better than I can, but I know a very large portion of US citizens do not have access to any type of medical. I also know that US style healthcare is the most expensive in the world because it is private and everyone wants to make a profit and die rich. In Canada we have public healthcare just like the UK. It is cheap but often there are time delays for non critical surgery. There is a move by some doctors to try and change the system to a private system as in the US. There is huge public opposition to this and I doubt it will ever occur. My healthcare is good anywhere in Canada and for short trips (less than 14 days) outside of Canada. It covers everything that could go wrong, and covers all approved medicine and appliances. It does not cover non approved medical proceedures or medicines. I buy private medical insurance for travel outside of Canada. It does not cover dental. I buy private dental through my corporate dental plan. My total private coverage is approximately $120/month for my wife and two kids. Dental coverage costs about the same. The major problem with public health care is it is abused. If you go into the emergency rooms they are plugged up with people who are there for minor issues or they have not got a regular doctor. In addition, waiting times for non critical issues can be excessive. Often for some critical issues the waiting time is quite long. Critics say it is inefficient as it is the only game in town. The good thing about public heathcare is that everyone is treated the same. All drugs are bought in bulk by the Province or by several Provinces at the same time. As a result drugs are extremely cheap...especially generic drugs. A huge number of Americans get their drugs in Canada because they are dirt cheap. Many US States would like to emulate the Canadian healthcare process. Obama has often referred to Canadian system as one that could be copied in some form as a national US system. In Canada items such as Canada Pension Plan, Unemployment Insurance (includes maternity leave) are subject to seperate payroll deductions. In addition you can buy seperate health insurance for specific items ie dental and contribute to a private pension. I know that I would not want to live under the US type system. This is especially true as I get older. In the US the medical premiums are much higher (if you qualify), there is a higher risk your medical condition will not be covered and unexpected medical bills could destroy your savings and leave you in poverty. I am sure John will correct anthing I have said about the US system that is not correct. Rocky

Hey Foamy I know you say it is a tapping noise so this is probably not the problem (but you never know). I had a tapping/popping problem last summer. It appeared to be coming from the top front end of the engine. The noise would appear after the engine warmed up. It was most noticeable when the bike was accellerating but was also present (and very annoying) when it was cruising at a steady speed. If the bike was in neutral and you opened up the throttle you could also hear it. It took a lot of looking to track it down and it turned out to be an air leak in the rubber intake boot between the carb and the cylinder. We had to replace the boot and the small ruber O ring at the cylinder. Good luck. Rocky

Hey Liam That's great news. Hope you have good luck with your bike and a lot of good memories! Make sure you express your gratitude to the guy at the DVLA..it appears he went beyond the call of duty to help. Rocky

Hey Drewpy Bullwinkle's in the back room drinking beer! Rocky

Hey Chris Glad you survived the crash. It's a bitch getting your leg broken, but thank God for the helmut, eh! It is easier to fix a broken leg or arm than it is to fix a broken mellon! I'm not sure if you have private or govt insurance in the UK, but in BC the first million $ must be purchased from the Insurance Corp of BC which is a Crown corporation. Collision, theft and comprehensive can be bought from a private company. In the event of an accident both parties are dealing with ICBC and most people never feel like they have been treated properly. As a result a high proportion of MVA's end up with lawyers involved. Most lawyers take on ICBC on a contingency basis...usually 30% of the settlement...and as a result they are pretty aggressive. Get a lawyer who specializes in motor vehicle accidents and, in my opinion, those who work on a contingency fee basis seem to work the hardest and get the best settlements. A friend of mine got T-boned going through an intersection on his Harley about 10 yrs ago. Destroyed his bike and broke up his right leg quite badly. About a month later the local newspaper had a picture of this die hard biker riding his bike with his leg in a cast and the crutches across the handle bars. Perhaps we'll see the same picture of you in a month! Hope you mend quickly and are riding soon. Rocky

Hey Liam Sorry to hear that you have not managed to resolve your frame number problems. I am suprised that the DVLA(?) or police have not tried to contact the individual that you bought the bike from. It would seem to me that this would be something that they would be interested in. I did a bit of digging on the net about recovering filed off serial numbers from firearms and vehicles. If you know exactly where the VIN is located on your bike there may be an inexpensive way to recover the number without doing a lot of damage to the frame. This would involve chemical etching of the area where the serial number was stamped. I have no idea how much it would cost, but it might be worthwhile checking into if it means the difference between being able to register the bike or not. Good luck. Rocky

There have been a couple of postings where members have bought bikes that don't have VIN's or V5's etc. This site gives you some background on how to avoid being ripped off and ending up with a stolen bike, one that has been previously written off or has money owed on it. Hopefully this will be helpfull to members. http://www.motorcycle.co.uk/Insurance/Data-checks.aspx Rocky

Hey Rob Welcome to the forum. It's good to get more Canucks on the site. I was in Ontario last summer and just got back from Claresholm in southern Alberta last Tues. My daughter bought a Ninja 250 and we went to pick it up. Are you working in the oil patch in Saskatchewan? What company? Rocky

Hi Chris Nice picture. My daughter wanted a black 250. She also prefers the new style but she said for the amount they were willing to take for this one, she could ride a blue '08. I appreciate the previous comments you provided concerning the Ninja. I'll pass your current comments on to her also. Rocky

My daughter has been looking for a new bike. She has been considering a Ninja 250 and we finally tracked one down. The problem was it was in southern Alberta....1160k's away. We left Prince George, in northern BC at 6:30 pm after she got out of university and drove 650k's to Edson Alberta where we got a motel room at 2 am. We slept for 4 hours and then drove 500 k's to Clarehome, Alberta to pick the bike up. The bike is a 2008 ZZR250. She bought it from the dealer who had originally sold it new to an older local lady in 2009. Apparently she has two other bikes and never rode the 250 so she took it back to the dealer and asked him to sell it on consignment. The bike has 238 km on the odometer, no scratches, still under warranty and runs like a charm. We were somewhat concerned that it may have been stored with fuel in the tank but the dealer said he had drained the tank and the carbs when the bike was stored in the fall of 2009. It took an hour to complete the documentation, pay and load the bike on the trailer. We then drove for 13 hrs back to PG, stopping only for gas. We were real lucky as the roads were clear of snow until we hit the Rocky Mnts near Jasper. The best part is that my daughter offered the dealer $2700 and the offer was (obviously) accepted. Here is a picture of my daughter talking to the dealer and a picture of the bike in the trailer when we arrived back in PG.

Hey John I know exactly what problems you face in the winter. I built a 30'x40' shop in the summer of 2009 so I had a proper place to store my toys. In the winter it gets as cold or colder here asin Minnesota and we get a lot of snow. We just got through a 2 week spell with the temperature ranging between -27C and -20C. It's warmed up now to 0C. For the last week I have needed to change the water pump on my tractor and to drain the hydraulic fluid in the transmission as there is water in it but it has been too cold.I use a variation of DOA's method..back the bike or in this case the tractor into a corner and use a 1500w forced air heater. You can get a used one fairly cheap or....as you are a fellow rider, I'll trade you a couple of used heaters for you Xmas present and a box of shells. Here's a picture of my shop (hopefully the picture will be a managable size): Rocky

Thank God its a joke.... I was starting to get worried.... I hate goats....more into sheep... It's the only time I get to wear my kilt! Rocky

Hey XS-Time Good to hear from you. Are you on Vancouver Island? If so your riding season is a hell of a lot longer than in PG! Rocky

Welcome to the Forum Liam. Great looking bike. Hope you can get the registration issues worked out. Rocky

If you haven't finished everything in the house off and if you need help...there's a bunch of us out here that are willing to come over and help you out!

Hi Dave There are two types of torque wrenches..deflecting beam and click type. The deflecting beam style costs a lot less than the click type. You read the torque off a scale at the top of the handle as indicated by the pointer. They are cheap and almost as accurate as the click type (ie it is hard to read 5.1 ft/lbs if required). The only thing that can knock them off spec is a bent beam. The click type has an internal clutch. You set the ft lbs you want to tighten the bold to and once setting is reached the clutch slips and the wrench makes a clicking sound. Before putting it away you should adjust the torque setting down to about to about 1/5 of the wrenches max torque in order to maintain the proper calibration. The problem is that you may not know if the wrench is out of calibration. For working on a bike a 3/8 inch s/b adequate. Just make sure the working torque range covers the ft/lb range that you will incur while working on your bike. For instance, on my bike the camshaft sprocket bolt is torqued to 40 ft/lbs, the clutch nut 50ft/lbs and the clutch spring bolts 5.8 ft /lbs. I don't do a lot of complicated monkey wrenching but I prefer and own the click type (5ft/lbs-80ft/lbs). It works for me. Rocky

Enjoy the Form, Nooj. There is lots of great info here. Rocky

Here is how the cops catch the bad guys in the Great White North. Rocky http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuB72HRhADo

40MR Bike looks great. You're right about the garage...it's also cleaner and better organized than my shop. Perhaps you could subcontract him out to organize my shop. It's great when everyone in the family rides! It's a common interest and common interests help to keep the family close. That's why I'm glad my family rides. Rocky

John I've got two daughters and they were never a real problem to raise. They've don the manditory dumb thins that everyone does. Years ago I regreted that we didn't have a boy to hunt and fish with, but as things turn out I very proud of both my daughters. The oldest has her Masters and the youngest is still in university. Both boys and girls can be difficult to raise. It takes a lot of hard work and good luck. You cann't be too lenient or too tough. Years ago I decided that my job was to give them enough slack that they could hang themselves but to pull the rope back just before they did. Would I do it again with two daughters...you bet! Rocky

Hi Cameron Welcome aboard. Great to have more Canucks on the site. What town in NB are you from? My wife and I took the motorhome across Canada in '09. Didn't make Nfld so we went back again last summer and spent 6 weeks in Nfld, Labrador and NB. Had a great time. Spent most of our NB time in the Dieppe area. Ate lots lobster but I think we missed a few. Some day I'd like to ride around the Maritimes on my bike. Rocky