ANDYROSE

Sounds and looks like fun. cheers for the nice pics No matter where we travel to though, I am always pleased to get home here to the Highlands and have to say that while I ain't knocking you or anyone else for relocating, I reckon the UK is still a pretty good place to live. Mind you, I will also say that we are lucky to be living in the Highlands and might feel very different if I lived elsewhere. Re the bike, I recently helped a neighbour with a small job on his son's GS and they both rate the bike very highly indeed with the same comments as you make. Cheers, Andy

And ain't it kind of strange how often that happens, too Andy

Lot's of people do it, or claim to when they are 'really going for it', but whether it will harm the gearbox I don't know. As stated previously, the clutch is there for a reason. What I do know is that if you need to do it to smooth upward gear changes then you should go out and practice doing them properly before you start trying 'advanced techniques'. What I also know is that if you are doing them on the road then you are probably going to find that the acceleration of an R6 gets you into a tight situation which will end in tears. If you want to smooth out your upward gear changes then try 'shortshifting'. Don't rev the balls off the motor but change up before the rev counter starts trying to overtake itself, in the area where the torque is at it's strongest. Ask any pillion, that makes for much smother changes and a smoother more comfortable ride. Frankly, if you are on a racetrack then it's probably worth doing to save those microseconds, but on the road it's worthless and senseless. Just my tuppence worth. Andy

Yep. I think most folk on the Divvy Forum find BT45's to be very good for the XJ and Divvy. Andy

Bike work! There is a bike in there somewhere? I hadn't noticed! Andy

He made a huge impression on me as a teenager, film I saw of him still sticks in my mind even now though I never saw him in the flesh I'm sad to say. Andy

Wrong tyre? What the hell did they fit? On a Divvy I wouldn't have thought it was that difficult a choice! Bad luck for you though, hope the wrist is better (and the bike of course). As you say it's a continual learning experience for all of us. One thing though; it pays never to trust antone to do anything properly! Andy

What exactly do you meaning by 'sticking under braking'? Are they compressing but not rebounding, eg what used to be called 'sticktion' by some older riders, or is it something else? When did this start or has it always happened, did it start suddenly or develop gradually. Does it happen all the time or only under certain conditions? I would agree with jimjam's idea, as it will also give you a chance to be sure that the fork legs have not twisted in the yokes either. More probably I would guess you have a problem with a spring (or both) either being too tired for the job or having broken. After trying the first idea I would take both springs out and check them for length and soundness. While I was doing that I would drain the fork oil and replace with fresh oil of the correct grade and see what difference it made (if you didn't find anything else obviously wrong). Andy

Thank you for the reminder of how the years have gone by, Mervin You are dead right though, I do remember it well. No front disc worked too well in the wet in those days (high proportion of stainless steel in the mix I believe) and I suppose we had all developed a habit of relying upon the rear drum as a bit of a substitute. Then along came the rear disc equipped 400 and hey presto, no brakes at all for what felt like eternity whenever it rained! Then the rear would bite (they always were a bit savage and mine is still more effective than the front brake even now with modern pads and a braided hose on the front!) and it was so easy to lock it up just as the front started to work! Modern brakes are brilliant by comparison, but they still need a high degree of practice to learn to use them effectively. I read a tip a while ago which you might want to try if you can find somewhere suitable. Ride along at a normal speed, and pick where you wish to stop. Then apply your brakes and aim to stop on that spot. Then do it again, and again and again, each time trying to be more accurate and not having to vary the pressure on the brake lever except to ease off as you stop. Then, once you feel confident enough try increasing your speed slightly, and once you have mastered that increase a bit more etc etc. Obviously there is a limit to how far you can take this without it ending in disaster, but in theory you will be developing a much better feel for, and confidence in, your bike's brakes as well as your own ability to use them. If you come unstuck though, don't blame me, it's only a suggestion! Andy

A very good day indeed! Congratulations on landing the position, hope this means the start of good things for you! Methinks another bike might have to come into the equation with that commute ahead? The RD isn't probably the #1 choice, and faithful though the XT is for you it probably isn't fast or comfortable enough. How about another Seca? I'm sure you will find a way of turning the journey into (something more like) a pleasure trip! Good luck with it all! Andy

Scott has hit one possibilty on the head, but hopefully it isn't that bad. Are you selecting neutral while still rolling or at a standstill? If it's the latter, they are all prior to being tricky I believe. If it's the former getting into neutral while still moving at a reasonable pace. If it isn't easy to find neutral even when moving I wonder if your clutch is dragging a bit, possibly due to wear, being out of adjustment or the wrong oil? You could try this forum for a bit more help... [url=http://www.bikersoracle.com/yamahadiversion/forum/url] Andy

Have to agree with Scott on this one, they are illegal at anytime. The law requires them to pass a minimum amount of light and as even a 'clear' visor stops a quite high degree of light passing through any shading reduces it further. I didn't know about the strip things though, they sound useful! Andy

Well, two replies and two different schools of thought because I do look them straight in the eye (if possible) but then I would also be thinking about my position on the road relative to them and other traffic. Every circumstance is different but depending on the distance from myself to the vehicle waiting to pull out I tend to move out toward the centre line of the road as I feel that it gives me a bit more room to manouvre if they do pull out, although it can be an advantage to be able to go round the back of them if they do pull out, possibly due to the distance between you being quite large (just not large enough!). I could be wrong on this but I feel that altering the approach line of my bike to them also gives them more liklihood of seeing me. I always use dipped my headlight and by moving the line of the light relative to their vision hopefully it will catch their attention. One thing we do agree on though, treat all other road users (including bikes!) as idiots and always expect the unexpected! Andy

An interesting question there Scott! For me it would be a TZ250 or 350, circa 1970's. The white ones with the red stripes. I think there was a picture on here a while back, but you know the bike I mean anyway Andy

I don't usually tell jokes but I heard this one today and thought some of you might like it. Q. Why are John Prescott and an MFI kitchen alike? A. Two screws in the wrong place and the cabinet falls apart. Well, I thought is was funny anyway Andy

Yellow with speedblocks! Can't beat that! Have lots of fun Andy

Hi guys, and belated birthday greetings Alan. Tom is right about the birthdays in May thing, it's Karen's on Monday! Better head to the shops later . What sort of bike eh? Well, I wouldn't argue with the notion of a Divvy, although it may seem a bit tame after the GXSR. I got mine MOT'd tested yesterday (no problems) and I spoke to one of the guys in the workshop who last year told me that I would have no regrets about buying it because 'It will do anything for you' and as I told him yesterday he was dead right. How much do you want to spend though, probably not a lot (new claims on the money bite hard on the available funds, don't they?). Assuming nothing less than a 600 fits the bill how about a Honda? CBR's are quite plentiful, or a Hornet or even a Deauville (like the Divvy, underated and overlooked but apparently very good bikes for distance work). Kawa don't seem to have to much but there seem to be good deals around on the Z750 as they can't seem to sell them although I have read some very positive comments. Suzuki might offer you something, a Bandit or SV650 (ask MarkinSC, he rates the SV highly) or how about a V-Strom, dare to be different! Yam, the divvy of course, or a Fazer? Thundercats seem to be a decent buy at a reasonable price if you can find a good one. Triumph, doubt if you want to spend that much do you? Dunno if that helps, but let us know how you get on. Cheers, Andy

I seem to have missed Alan's but Happy birthday to Tom! Don't drink too much! Oh but of course you are not old enough yet Cheers, Andy

Well, first of congratulations on passing I'm not sure I would want to go through the test system as it is now, the chances are I would fail! Good luck with the R6, both in riding and security. And be careful, there's a lot of idiots out there, on two wheels as well as four! Andy

Well! What do you know? An engagement!! Many congrats to the two of you Just catching up after being away and so have only just read this so apologies for the delay, but congrats again, though sorry about the RD. Having said that I too am going to be downsizing I think as four bikes is a bit excessive and I simply don't have the time or money, so it is happening all over! I did email you a while back Alan, did you ever get it? Nothing more than a how are you so no worries if it got lost. All the best for now. Andy

A little idea that we have been working on. Web Riders The place for the Internet Rideout for Motorcyclists On any weekend the roads are full of motorcyclists riding alone for the pure pleasure of the ride. Even though they have enjoyed the ride the end result can be unsatifactory because the ride was aimless.This is one of the major draw backs with riding alone. The Idea..... Every Saturday or Sunday or weekend will be the time for a run. Every run starts when you want and from your home. Every run goes wherever you want. It can be just a ride with NO actual destination It can be 10 miles or 100 miles. It can be alone or with a mate, or arrange to meet other "Web Riders" at various locations. There are NO restrictions, anyone from anywhere on any machine is welcome to join in. Just remember to take some digital photos at some point and post 'em here. The Aim.... To come together at the end of the day as a friendly community and to share the photos and adventures of that day. Preferably the bike must be in the picture as well. To share comments and friendly banter about our photos and two wheeled adventures of the day. The Advantages.... 1.Riders from the quieter areas of the country or the world can feel to be part of a community. 2.You can ride at your own speed. 3.When you want and how ever far you want. 4.If the weather is bad then you stay at home. 5.Not forgetting the main advantage - making new friends. So if you wanna give it a go, then feel free to join us and make comments. As many of you already know, we're all equal here and you will always get a warm welcome. Presently on the new Yamaha RD site... http://www.yamahardclub.com/ Please register for the worlds first "web Riders" event.... Details on the Forum here... http://www.yamahardclub.com/forum/default.asp You will have to register. Hope to see some of you. All are welcome. The idea is too roll out on making it a weekly event with a few "treasure hunt" style tasks being added. Not my idea, I am simply spreading the word but I hope some of you will want to join in both with a ride out and posting some pic's of it too. Cheers, Andy

Apart from saying that I agree with all the above, here is another piece of hard earned wisdom, don't trust the adjuster marks on the swinging arm on any bike. Make sure your wheels are in line to start with and from then on only adjust the wheel by turning the adjusters an equal amount on each side. That may sound obvious but if you only rely on the marks stamped onto the swinging arm and they are not spot on (and they are not all spot on, believe me!) then you will be putting your rear wheel out of line. Not beneficial for good handling! Andy

This has started up today, and may be of interest to those interested in the classic Yamaha two strokes. http://www.yamahardclub.com/forum/default.asp Cheers, Andy

Hi there Kiers, Like they said, there are a few of us around, both for the air Cooled's (my preference) and LC's. Nice example you have there! Andy

This isn't something I can comment on from personal experience so I may well be corrected by others who are better qualified, but my understanding has always been that fitting race tyres onto a road bike is asking for big trouble. All the advice I have ever read or been told is that they are very different animals and not suited to road use at all, particularly as they won't give as good grip as road tyres a lot of the time. Race tyres operate best at higher temperatures than you can realistically achieve on the roads, and until those temperatures are reached they are less effective than road tyres which are designed for the job. Another aspect is that if you change the tyres from the standard fitments, your insurers may well have reason to walk away should you be in the position of making a claim. Cheers, Andy