mr bignal

fantastic pictures

i like it - looks great fun

http://www.visordown.com/features/motorcycle-top-10s/top-10-worst-drivers-on-the-road This doesn't add up for me, my experience is mostly sales type people that seem to want to take short cuts at other people's expense, some van drivers are bar stewards and doddery elderly don't always look.

yes suppose so, go across london every two weeks to visit my mother who is still living alone in the family house at 92 but that's a gruesome trip, 83 miles of horribleness each way, if the weather is good i extend it south to the a272 sometimes but it is still a long congested drag however you spin it, worst are the m/ways with peeps pulling out and across in their hurry plus all the trucks overtaking each other, last time i recall the m25 with the first 3 lanes of lorries all trying to get past each other and then a luton van in the fast lane with a load of backed up stuff behind - i could go on, so you see it's not just the estate latest thing is this guy (actually quite a nice bloke) in a street away but located in such a way that we aren't that far from his garden has, i think, retired, built a huge shed and now seems to be cutting wood on a regular basis, you know those high speed power disc things that make a shrill screaming screech? anyway it was good to have a rest from that, but still winter soon, all the windows shut and too cold to frig about with cutting wood, i hope. another picture from the trip to lighten the mood -' ledbury early in the morning'

yes these trips do me the world of good, i get stir crazy cooped up on our housing estate and start ranting about things that annoy me to the wife until eventually she gives me the money, then i'm ok for a few months - perhaps i need psychiatric help

a moment of indecision outside the Little Chef, Builth Wells

gulp - not good

great photos!

yamaha workshop on this site plus https://www.facebook.com/groups/434282863439992/ would be good

hopefully you will now keep it? incidentally, did you replace the rear relay bushes as they go into the swing arm please? this is a weakness and often fails because it is an area that is exposed to particularly adverse conditions - later, with the diversion they placed the spring more horizontal thus eliminating the complex arrangement on the pre div. you can't win.. on buying bikes, have actually owned a couple from new, in both cases they had serious engine faults just out of warranty, i did look after them, all oil changes done and they weren't especially thrashed or anything untoward like that, it left me with a reluctance to buy new again, my friend, motorbike andy, has a street triple which he bought from new and despite constantly going back to the dealers the faults have never been satisfactorily resolved.

be great to have more information on how you get on with the forks bigwol - i was thinking of tackling mine

thanks, the wirral as well, south part against the dee is nice, well i like it anyway

made itit to caernarvon wales and back - 19hrs left at 6am y/d back 1 am today visited a few places including porthmadog, Tytyn and hay on wye so not totally direct - 528 miles altogether, have to admit the seat was the weak link. That's my personal iron butt award best i think i was 66 today, got to do something mad when it's your birthday haven't you? Well I think so anyway.

6.00 am - set the controls for porthmadog (old photo, actually intending to go on my grey xj)

Institute of Advanced Motorists (also Motorcycles) - it's a UK thing. I agree with cynic, they are a tad self righteous and prescriptive. Isn't Idaho mentioned in a B52's song? b-52's my own private idaho, i prefer rock lobster or planet clare though, no offence The UK is about the same size but congested by comparison - Idaho is equal to 0.89 UKs UK pop 65million Idaho pop 1.6 million

yes - it seems that wales got quite a lot of economic community money to improve their 'a' roads - then they voted for brexit this year haha oil topped up, fuel tank full, chain lubed - haven't checked the tyres yet...can't find my spare i litre fuel bottle, takes the stress out for running low. the wedding reception do was good - in a field with marques, little lights, fantastic - we saw the sun go down but guess what - even though it appeared to be in the middle of nowhere, across a few fields, about a mile away was bullingdon high security prison that's where rolf harris lives at the moment apparently. I thought of him painting in his cell as i queued at the bar.

well, it's wales, not the south west because that's 150 miles of clag to get to tiverton even. wales was made for bikes. however, no bike preparation so far and whether i can haul myself out of bed in time tomorrow? don't know yet my video from last year (no just joking) - this guy doesn't let solid white lines or holiday traffic get in the way - i'll be going at a more sedate pace - if i go

although we've got no money after a load of unexpected expenses i'm going to have to make a break for it, local rides are ok but sometimes you need a real change of scene. thing is, will i get up in time, will the bike start and after tonight's wedding reception do will i be in any fit state? It remains to be seen...

the xj600 divvy definitely has a buzz at ahout 4,5K revs but the pre divvy should be OK, sometimes, strangely, chain adjustment sorts it otherwise I would say carb balancing, something that i have paid for to be done. Just done over 400 miles on a run, pretty much continuous and no vibe issue to speak of. I do sometimes get pins and needles but that is usually because I've been gripping the throttle too hard.

food for thought there, i haven't sent it in yet so i can still make mods

happy Birthday ! you seen this site on facebook? https://www.facebook.com/groups/434282863439992/ I have similar but not so nice as yours

well yes, that was the IAM thing I did, a protective bubble idea, leaving gaps and looking ahead but this stuff kind of cuts to the quick, expect people to pull out big time - they have a routine, you have a counter on the handlebar, every time you are surprised by something you click, empirical data shows the clicks rise at first then eventually fall of as you are no longer surprised at anything and of course that's the way to be.

I started an IAM course got half way through, gave up then did the same thing about 2 yrs later recently came across a different approach that seems to make perfect sense, Some of you may be interested in this, avoiding motorcycle accidents based on anticipating the worse possible outcomes - sounds gloomy but it's to do with expecting bad driving and being prepared rather than taken by surprise https://nosurprise.org.uk/

fork pitting is an issue with older bikes, i put mz gaiters on mine, see before and after - not sure if the look is worse or better before after