7omly

Hello Olli You have to do what you think is right for you in life, never be swayed by others. It' a beaut of a bike and it should be ridden but there you go. I have been ran over and trapped by a lorry and even shunted off my bike by a woman who was driving the wrong way round a roundabout. I am lucky to have never broken a bone or neede a stictch. As I say to the wife, someone up the loves me. I have not been so lucky with dogs. The wife and I were given a smooth haired Lurcher pup when we first got married 27 years ago. It was the runt of the litter and we fed it on scrambled eggs and best steak and within six months Lady as we called her was a beauty. So much so that I was offered £100 for her by the women who had given her to us as she 'was good for nowt'. Unfortunately twelve months later when my son arrived Lady's character changed completly and she became aggressive and attacked passers by and neighbours. We narrowly avoided court action and after much soul searching on advice from the vet we had her put to sleep. It was one of the worst days of my life. I walked her alone (the wife couldn't bare to come with me) and cradled her in my arms as the vet put her to sleep. I walked home three miles and I cried all the way. I could never have another dog simply because I would not wan't to risk that heartache again. People tell me I should 'just get another' and get on with it. You don't want to ride and I respect your decision. One day the lure may be too great and you will return to the fold but until then good luck and all the best. 7omly

Welcome to what is probably the best bike club on the net. I sympathise with you on the knees, it's a bugger getting old but it beats dying anyday. All the best. 7omly

Thanks for the advice, at the moment I have it covered with a shower blanket under the waterproof cover I use. The seat looks as new with no rips at all so I am loath to replace the seat, (I need all my cash anyway to replace the exhaust sytem bedcause the baffles are rattling more than two skeletons shagging on a tin roof). I am going to try sealing the stitching points with nikwax and see how that goes. Safe riding and all the best 7omly

I think you will find that in Britain today you have to buy your justice....and it doesn't come cheap. If you are rich (and famous) you can afford the best legal representation who will twist and turn the law for you and get you off. Like the Judge recently who was almost three times over the limit and avoided any punishment wahtsoever. Apparently the arresting officer didn't correctly read him his rights so the conviction would have been unlawful. Handy eh? If you are a biker the establishment probably hates you anyway, if you are a poor biker you're f*cked. All the best and Safe riding

I wonder if anyone can offer any help or suggestions. My 97 Divvy 600 has started to absorb water into the seat just at the point behind the petrol tank. I discovered this when I set off riding and felt my inner thighs became damp, (you wouldn't want that sentence taken out of context would you). It appears to be seeping out of the side stitching on the seat when I sit on it. By pushing down on it I have discovered it is seeping out through the stitching holes. Other than this the seat cover looks like new. It is becoming a pain because I am having to wear waterproofs when the weather is dry or I still get wet. Has anyone got any ideas on how to remedy this because when I get off the bike and walk around town (sporting two considerable damp patchs) I am sure people must think I am incontinent. If anyone has suffered the same problem and cured it I would greatly appreciate their help. All the best and safe riding 7omly

Oh I forgot to mention, if anyone gets the chance to visit the National Motorcycle Museum (just outside of Coventry) Take it. My son and I did and it was a great day. All of the machines on display are British but they are mouthwatering. Incidentally does anyone know of any motorcycle museums that contain mainly old Japanese bikes. My son is 25 and has no real knowledge of Japanese machines from 1960 to 1990 and has expressed a desire to see them in the flesh. (He has often expressed a desire to see Angelina Jolie in the flesh but I think I have a more realistic chance with the bikes. All the best and safe riding 7omly

Don't be hankering after a 'plastic rocket', (no offence meant to plastic rocket riders who may be reading this). Everyone has thier own styles and tastes but I can't help thinking modern manufacturers are all following each other like sheep, and that's both bikes and cars. Whenever I see any pre 1990 bike I always try to get a good look at it because they are a thing to admire, even the unloved ones. I think back then despite making basically the same UJM they all managed to put their own slant on it, Today all fully faired bikes rarely differ in anything but colour. You should savour every moment on your XS360 because you have something exclusive in todays humdrum world, enjoy it, I know I would. All the best and safe riding. 7omly

I rode home from work today on the Divvy, it actually stayed dry for the 15 mile journey and I enjoyed it. Then I seen some dopey twat had parked in front of my drive on the opposite side of the road. The vehicle was about 80% blocking the drive but I managed to squeeze (rather gingerly) out onto the road and went into town to collect my daughter. When I got back the prat's silver vauxhall astra (rental car) was still there and a few others had parked legally but this made getting into my drive a real ballache manouvre. I walked up and down the road knocking on doors to find the culprit to no avail Fed up to the teeth (this is an ongoing problem because I work shifts and often find myself in this predicament) I rang the police. Two PCs turned up half an hour later and knocked on several doors but got no reply. They then told me that they thought he hadn't been very considerate parking as he had but they couldn't give him a ticket because I had managed to get out. (I can manouvre a car skillfully so the Police won't help, he's an inconsiderate tw~t so he gets away with it) Incidentally this prat could have parked in several other places where he would have hindered no-one, including the empty driveway of the house he was visiting. The two plods then stood and watched as I did a seven point turn to get into my own driveway. I'd bet ten quid and my left knacker that if I had scratched his car they would have done me there and then. The plods left a Fixed Penalty Ticket envelope on his window with a note inside, as the PC put it, 'to scare him'. Forty five minutes later the little tw*t emerged from the very house door both the plods and I had been knocking at, believe it or not he then moved his car onto the very drive of the house he was visiting. The pillock parked his car causing an obstruction and refused to answer the door to a uniformed police officer. What I want to know (apart from how to understand women) is how the feck is a note going to scare him. I now no longer give a fuck about living in a free country, I'm just glad I can still enjoy riding my lovely old divvy. All the best and safe riding to everyone

Hello Everyone Am I glad I live in a free country or what. I sought legal advice and was told that because there wher no photos of the road surface and because my memory of the accident (due to being knocked unconscious) was vague I would not make a good witness. I was told this was less than fair but to save myself a lot of aggravation and money to plead guilty. I pleaded guilty by letter (noting that the fine could be reduced by an early guilty plea. As I said am I glad I live in a free country or what. I was given a £200 fine plus £35 costs plus £15 victim surcharge and to add insult to injury they threw in 6 penalty points for good measure. I sought further legal advice as to an appeal based on it being my first motoring offence in over thirty years of driving with a clean licence. I was told I would have to appeal to the Crown Court and I would need a barrister. I was advised this could cost in excess of £600 and there would be no guarantee of success, in fact if I lost they could add to the points they had already given me. I have been well and truly screwed but then again Magistrates expenses (they don't recieve a wage) the Police and the CPS are all paid by the same government department. Justice has been done. Oh and they gave me all of eight days to pay off the fine or else they will add 50% more to it. This is in the same week as the newspapers reported the Home Office has spent £221,726 on PlayStations for pampered prisoners. Boy am I glad I live in a fucking free country.

If you think some has it in for you let me run this past you. February I was overtaking a few slow moving cars and when I pulled back in I was unfortunate enough to skid on the grit that the Council gritters had left from the previous night. I was knocked unconcious from the impact of sliding into the back of a car. 9 hours in hospital on a morphine drip and 3 months off work. 3 months (Yes 3 months) after the accident I was approached by the Police and gave a statement. Last week I was informed by post that I am to be summoned for Driving without due care and attention. After seeking legal advice I have been told that because I was knocked unconcious and have no details of the incident (ie: no photos of the road, no witness etc) I would have a hard time defending myself. I am pissed off because I have been riding with a clean licence for 31 years and now I will have points. My conspiracy theory is that I am a biker and in employment therefore I will be used to swell the government coffers. Maybe we should start a Paranoids club (LOL) All the best 7omly

I love reading stuff like this it is both funny and edukational. Thanks a lot and please feel free to send any more you have. All the best 7omly

Thanks for giving him the boot. I buried the hatchet and I thought he had too... but then more vitriol. Hitler would have been proud of him! Now we can get back to a civilised exchange of views.

Hello Hamlesh and welcome to the club. You are probably going to struggle fitting any additional lights to your 125 because most small bikes have rather puny alternators and very small ampage batteries. A 600 Divvy only puts out 280 watts at 5,000 rpm and I would imagine your machine will be struggling to make half of that. All is not lost however. If you check the haynes manual or the specs for your machine and it doesn't produce sufficient wattage to power extra lamps you can always upgrade your bulb with a better one. I had a crap headlamp on my Honda CB500 and I put a Phillips X-treme Power H4 bulb in and the light shone twice as far. They aren't cheap (around £22 for a pair) but because they draw no more current than a standard bulb they are a straight forward swop. Then again a couple of spots will be expensive, a pig to fit and probably end up flattening your battery. I hope this helps. All the best 7omly Howdy, First time posting, recently bought a Yamaha XVS 125 Dragstar, my first bike, totally kicks ass, looking forward to passing my full test and getting the 600cc version. For now I have a query, what would be the best way of fitting more lights to the front of the bike? I do a lot of riding at night, and don't find the front light illuminates enough. Thanks

Welcome Steve. I understand your reluctance but your gonna have to get it out sometime (oh er missus). Up north here in Cumbria we wouldn't mind if our only problem was release agent. Last saturday my son and I went for a ninety mile jaunt and it was totally spoiled by everything from huge cowpats to loads of road grit (I wouldn't mind but it hasn't been cold enough to grit the roads for the last two weeks. Good luck and safe riding for when you pick it up. Tom

Ther's one born every minute on EBay. I have just seen someone pay £22.50 plus £4.99 for a used fender extender. You can buy one brand new for £21.00 delivered. If that's a bargain I don't want them.