iandouglas

although I haven't got that model I understand that there is a vibe around 7-7.5 K - tingle in the seat, pegs and bars -search out reviews, particularly the telegrapgh ones by kevin ash, there are two I think. it's the same on mine but lower, around 4- 4.5 K however I have virtually eliminated it by inserting various rubber washers, getting the carbs balanced and using bar end weights plus I use one of those american air cusion (airhawk) things on a long runs to save my poor butt that doesn't seem to have too much circulation after years of sitting in offices. regards your back, i used to get that - try and virtually take the weight off your hands, a light touch- takes a bit of practice, try to refrain from tightly gripping the handlebars - again this takes practice, use your knees to grip the tank to some extent and maybe twist the handlebars around a bit to slightly change position.- try and be relaxed not tense - theres also a clip device from M and P so you can rest yout throttle wrist by just applying pressure with the palm.

hey huff no offence re:; ' smell of the countryside is another great thing ' yes definitely - don't get that so much in a car if at all.

pretty marginal I think, there is an initial joining fee of around £130 then £20 pa thereafter, you get a magazine 9there have been some interesting free evening talks -good speakers, motorcycle authors and police specialists) - reckon its only worth 8-10 percent off insurance but I haven't passed so not sure. In my case the bloke next door but one was killed on his bike about 3 yrs ago now and I felt I ought to do something what with all the SMDSYs as well. You are talking about your original bike test here I think, IAM and ROSPA do advanced training, riding defensively I suppose which is largely derived from the way police train - there's no intercoms though as the tutors are all volunteers so you have to follow instructions by looking in your mirrors for the tutors signals behind - that takes a bit of getting used to.

Well, dare I mention it, how about IAM training to help ensure that you don't have a bike accident, I'm training with them, Ok it isn't much fun going 'back to school' as it were but definitely feel the benefit already

see the classic cars in the main section today? Also a military bike of some sort, WW2. I went down to a place between Southampton and Salisbury to buy a second hand part - replacement shocker

like it Re: ' as in most areas of life, if the grass looks greener it probably just means there is a little more manure than what you are used to!' good - it's having the sense/wisdom to know that though

like it photo taken from my seat outside a cafe in Hungerford today

couldn't possibly be the battery could it - just that I had similar issues with mine and it turned out to be a duff battery even though it was months old.

some nice bikes there jimmy

The peeps that trade in a new bike relatively quickly must have either made a mistake or have loads of money with depreciation as it is, or I suppose get a good trade in deal - I'd have to get finance to do that i think and knowing my luck financially I'd come a cropper, . I might just own a couple of heaps but they're my old heaps with no money owed. What i had in mind when I started the post was more about the relentless pipe dream of upgrades or changes that seems to be part of biking, something I have to fight against On a slightly different tack I have been offerred another XJ600 - a Diversion this time, honestly I can't justify a third bike but it's tempting, like a stray dog that needs a home

bear with me - there is a tendancy for all us bikers (i think) to have an eye out for the next upgrade, we work our way up from learner type machines and of course from there find the next step, newer, more trick looking. more powerful ...then there comes a point where you feel a tendancy to keep going and perhaps, as maybe you get older that you sometimes look back and think, I wish I hadn't sold that bike, let it go, traded it in...and it wasn't necessarily the newest, best looking or most powerful.. do you think that it can actually be harder to say,' no this bikes fine it does everything I need' and resist the peer pressure or whatever it is that makes us keep looking around, ebay, bike magazines whatever and then there's a boredom factor, just thinking aloud, you got any views on this?

like the look but it is a lot of money for an old bike, don't know how collectable these are though - the thing about old bikes, as I have found to my cost, is that the rubber type conponents in the swing arm for example, and elsewhere of course. tend to get hard with age and disintegrate so sometimes you find yourself having to search old parts out that are difficult, and expensive, to find - notice the lube mechanism isn't operating, so I suppose that means putting ready mix in the tank? Great noise old two strokes if you like that sort of thing and don't mind a bit of smoke.

anyway it's no big deal, less thatn£15 to fill up at the moment - the XJ is an economical bike by comparison with bigger and sportier models and the performance isn't bad, especially the XJ6 series.

It seems like any major trip involves two or three visits to a garage whereas with a car that isn't something that figures particularly, a tad irritating what with having to take your helmet off now and the generally inconvenience of keeping a close eye on fuel - having scared myself a few times (particularly in mid wales where the filling stations seem to close at 5.00 pm) I bought a 1 litre flask that has a clip fitting so it can be attached to the bike but I've never actually got round to taking it with me yet, note to self - must find where i put that item. Mines the older model so no fuel gauge just the reserve tap (which takes a while to operate) so I call for fuel within 140 miles very maximum, my (even older) xj600 pre diversion has a fuel gauge and a bigger tank so that's better for longer runs although it's being repaired right now, quite expensive keeping an old bike tip top.

re; 'even when I passed police cars and sat next to them at traffic lights etc. My exhausts were even marked as not road legal, but no one batted an eyelid. Maybe the cops perceive Harleys to be slow, lumbering old machines (lumbering yes, slow is not always the case), whereas I reckon people have this perception, and they stereotype sports bike riders as nutcases dressed like Power Rangers that have no regard for anything or anyone, and their only interest is to go everywhere as quickly and dangerously as possible. So clearly if your exhausts are loud then you're an exhibitionist and thus you must be one of these sports bike idiots' There's definitely something in that

hats off to you - that's car mileage

bikes don't seem to do anything like the mileage cars do, today I would think a cars would be considered to have some life in it (depending on the make etc but generally) up to 100 thousand, miles you'd maybe start to think twice about buying anything over 80 thousand miles I suppose unless you knew its history but bikes, I don't know, I would start worrying about buying anything over 35 thousand on the clock say unless I knew its history for sure. Most second hand XJ600's are around 20 -30 thousand miles that I look at and that's the cheaper end of the market for under £1000. Of course bikes rev twice as much as cars so you'd expect less out of them.

that's ok just wondering.

Ttaskmaster just a question - how much longer is this Afganistan thing going to last for UK contingents? Are troops coming home now? How did we get into this war if you don't mind me asking? Was it Tony Blair as per Irag? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/9895309/Tony-Blair-People-are-still-very-abusive-to-me-10-years-after-the-Iraq-War.html i'll definitely try and find some mags to send.

I'm interested in anything that will help with safety - Don't know how much good it does though, even with headlight on and reflective jacket still have incidents where I am apparently not seen. - incidentally anybody found any decent reflective stickers for helmets please? Maybe going across the channel....

just worked mine out, average over 3 years, it's 5K per annum, doesn't seem that much really but I suppose there are substantial periods over the winter when I don't venture out much on the bikes.

on the question of 'what interests you about biking' I'm getting the impression that a few of you have the same underlying motivation as me - escapism, a break from the daily grind, responsibilities, work, jobs that need doing maybe. we all need a break, a change of scene, a little while to ourselves, fresh air, a different set of circumstances, bit of a thrill...that kind of thing. Even if it's commuting there is at least a short uplifting buzz rather than the otherwise dull..

found this at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motorbikes/5964128/Yamaha-XJ6-Diversion-review.html 'Fuel economy is not great at high speed, mainly a legacy of the poorer aerodynamics of an unfaired bike. Stick to lower speeds and you should get 50mpg and a range of 190 miles, enough on this kind of machine'.

Hi matey, you are in luck, there is an American site that does nothing else but what you are anticipating doing with your bike,' type, xjride'r' in google or http://www.xjrider.com/ be aware that they never got the MK2 Divvy in the States so that site is all about the MK1 without the oil cooler and twin front discs but some upgrade them to have those parts.

thinking about this post the other day I thought that it's quite nice to hear the engine, mines had a top end rebuild professionally done so it sounds great, a loud exhaust would mute that.