Mr Bignel

there's nearly 4.5 million more people in the UK (mostly around London) in the last 9 yrs, don't think the roads have changed much in that period

i've used substantial stainless steel rods and nuts from a hardware store, cut to length with as hacksaw and double bolts either end - it was a rural one that had stuff for farmers, it worked ok, i didn't stress the bike at all though, until i could get the right parts.

i'm sure it is generally applicable to crowded m/ways, a herd of elephants, sorry trucks, slowly trying to get past each other plus nobody wants to go in the sliow lane for fear of getting stuck. This gives rise to strange phenomenon, no lane discipline, much of the m25 is now 4 lanes - you can get situations with the two outer lanes congested, two inner lanes pretty much free. sometimes, exasperated i say 'sod it' and resort to limited undertakes, carefully of course. It is actually feels safer to do that sometimes, not at excessive speed but gently.I'm really not a motorway fan but the thought of going through london on a hot day left me cold haha.. Incidentally, anybody know, are Luton vans allowed in the fast lane?

Season 6 Episode 6 of 6 Henry Cole's restoration of a race bike reaches a climax, and he also trains to become a volunteer motorcyclist delivering supplies of blood to hospitals. Last in the series last of the current series tonight Read more at http://www.tvguide.co.uk/titlesearch.asp?title=The+Motorbike+Show#JlYbOws8M2Y7jg9Y.99

Just got back home after doing half of the circular motorway - how do people stand driving on that for a living? Even on a bike, with miles of filtering it's horrible enough.

good luck with your new bike, scooters are good fun i imagine but be careful in the coming months won't you

i know henry is a bit of a one off and irritates some people but thank goodness he's around knocking out these programmes as there's no many who do, i like him much better than the two actors that went round the world backwards

without meaning to hijack this thread too much and loosely related to my earlier comment i think this is quite a good safety type vid, skip the beginning, about the frustration of welsh roads where it is difficult to overtake.I did not notice poor driving so much as slow driving by cars giving rise to tail backs. i'm quite a fan of the a44 , oxford to aberystwyth but it has a terrible reputation for run offs and head ons of course, there's always pulling out as well.

Don't forget tonight ITV4 9pm

nice bike, beautiful condition and love those candy colours

haha photo from my recent wales trip, early morning in stow, the gaiters are growing on me - more of a chunky look as opposed to those skinny stanchions

for some reason my haynes manual seems to ignore the fuel tap, leastways i really can't find anything on it - this picture shows the fuel on apparently, thin part of indicator pointing up is reserve but what's prime exactly, something to do with being able to drain the tank please?

i wonder whether the driver had been drinking? on that recent trip across wales i spent ages crawling to the front of a massive tail backs. when i caught up i naturally looked at who was causing all the aggravation.Answer: a woman in a small car doing about 40 chatting away and an old boy in a huge 4 wheel drive thing. In both cases they seemed oblivious. It must be extremely frustrating being a motorist in a queue like that. mile after mile, at least with a bike there's some hope of getting past on those roads, However it does take the edge off a day out.

virtually all my stuff is off eBay! surprising what good gear you can get second hand although i do buy helmets new. only advice is to buy things a size too big, or if you are near enough, go round and try on. i did buy some spade boots new, not really that robust or good wearing. important that boots are, in fact, waterproof. on eBay you sometimes find situations where an individual is giving up biking so they are selling all their equipment i feel these have the promise of being sound as there is a reason for parting with the items.

i remember this one, which i presume is a later derivative?

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.