RantMachine

Hmm, he might have a point about the FJR, Stu... It's been proven time and time again that I have an old man's taste in motorbikes, and I do rather like FJRs...

Going for a ride together, then having a themed picnic in Thetford forest. Don't fancy paying extra to eat in a restaurant that's more crowded than usual and rushes you out the door to free up a table! Plus I'd prefer to do something a bit special.

New chain and sprockets, and pronto! What's the recommended free play (probably written on your swingarm)? Guessing it's a lot less than 75mm - mine is 45mm, so I'm betting your Virago is a fair bit less! Might be safest to find alternate means of transport until the chain is changed out...?

Yep, I'd agree there. Beating someone to death remains a tad extreme, but I think it's fair to assume that the red mist would come down if a sicko touched your kids.

Haven't got the time to read up on Spanish law while I'm at work, but remember that our country has particularly relaxed laws regarding photographing or filming people without their permission or against their requests. It could well be a crime to do this in Spain - I know it can be in France, but then their photographic laws are at the other end of the scale to ours. Not sure where in-between Spain falls. Also: being childless doesn't mean you can speak impartially, it means you don't have the right bit of emotional experience to form a proper understanding of the father's position. If anything, seeing as we aren't mentally disturbed or a child abusers either, we can't claim neutrality so much as a balanced ignorance of the situation But you can still quote the law, and as you rightly said the "punishment" far outweighs the crime no matter whose moral code you subscribe to!

Me and my better half like our trips into town for a coffee but the buggers are always taking all the good tables! Plus one of my housemates is a bit like that.

I'll agree with that, does defy logic that he was wandering around free to do as he pleased. Father is still a nutjob though.

Well I'm from Cambridge, and I live in Cambridge. I can talk to strangers, walk dogs, or look at other people's girlfriends, and it makes no difference... they're still a bunch of good for nothing Starbucks swilling hipsters with sailor tattoos and dodgy beards

At least you can be glad to live in the UK for that one, Shorty! From a legal standpoint we're one of the best countries to work in as a street photographer. Of course from a personal discomfort standpoint we're not so great (can thank the Daily Fail for that one), but it's pretty hard to stick charges to someone for taking photos in a public place. On a side note, starting to see why you're dreaming of that Leica.

Awesome!! I have craploads of bits like that on the fittings for my false tank, it'd be nice to sort them out without forking out £230 for a new one. Will have to give it a go!

Don't get me wrong, I've got no sympathy for the guy. He was warned, just the reaction that finally came was rather disproportionate. The thing that would worry me is if the father gets charged and put away for this - he did it to protect his daughter, but he won't be there to protect her for the next decade or so if this goes against him. Long term consequences are a bugger.

SOUNDS LIKE A JOB FOR 32 LITRE ALU PANNIERS http://img01.naturum.ne.jp/usr/k/r/a/kranke/DSC_2316.jpg

If I go to London, it's one of two ways: 1. On my bike or 2. The company is paying Hardly worth it otherwise.

I think their main fault with the sprayers they tested was that it wasn't clearly advertised which paints it could be used with, and the paint they had chosen was less than ideal. Depends on the paint you're using I guess!

One of my housemates was watching The One Show (because he has no taste) and they did a comparison of them and various other such gadgets to make painting easier. General consensus was that they're all crap, stick to normal rollers!

Or, new project: building a crossbow

Still, not really an excuse to beat someone to death, is it? From the news article, it certainly doesn't seem as if it was necessary to use physical force in order to protect him or his daughter in any way, just beating the living crap out of someone for being deeply creepy. Could've drawn the line at taking the tablet away from him and reporting him to the authorities. Makes me think that the father is probably a somewhat unsavoury character in his own right.

What is this "gradually longer" you speak of?

Now I have to admit that I love those series, but that guy sure does whinge a lot! If you watch Race To Dakar, he spends basically the entire series saying that maybe it wasn't such a good idea and he can't be arsed. Seeing him break both his wrists in the penultimate episode made it worthwhile though Plus Simon Pavey is quite a laugh to watch. I'd love to see him doing a few things in the vein of Guy Martin's shows albeit with a more dirt-road spin.

Oh, and the "For Sale" section of the F650 forum is absolutely going to be your best friend for finding one in decent nick. I'd swear there's at least one or two for sale on there every week, and they're always well looked after and stacked with aftermarket goodies. Two overlanding modded ones up at the moment, a standard '00 GS with a mammoth additional fuel tank, crash bars, and alu panniers, or an '06 Dakar with hyperpro suspension front and rear and some nice home made panniers. Not sure if I'm allowed to post a link so will PM it to you.

Right, break time! First off, let me just say what a great bike the F650 is. Love it to absolute bits. Loads of fun, loads of character, looks the absolute business. Spectacular economy and more bottom end torque than you could wish for, too. I’ve posted a review of it in the reviews section, might be worth a quick read. Oh, and get the Dakar model if you can; 21” front wheel instead of the usual 19”, better suspension, and BMW colours As far as your friend’s recommendations go… You’ll have fun trying to find an F650 that isn’t second hand, because they stopped making them last decade The G650 is the heir to the throne, but I’ll be blunt and say that they just don’t feel as nice. Made in China with allegedly no compromises, but they don’t look or feel as good to me. Oh, and they don’t come with a bash plate or top box, both of which are standard kit for the F650. As far as buying a Kawasaki or Yamaha goes, if you can find an older Tenere or KLR then go for it! Bit less friendly for motorway miles but still lovely things. But they’re tough to find, and you won’t find anything like that brand new. EU emissions laws have crippled the 600/650cc dualsport/enduro market, and the KLR is the most tragic casualty in my mind. The only current bike I’d rate as highly as the BMW would be the XT660Z Tenere, but you need to be freakishly tall for one of those, and prices aren’t any better than a brand new G650GS Sertao. On to the list of things to look out for when buying second hand: - As noted, check the condition of the regulator. Doesn't necessarily need replacing, but the place they're hidden as standard (under a cover on the side of the bike) often causes them to overheat so a lot of owners move them somewhere else with a better airflow, which also makes them more vulnerable to corrosion. Which leads me on to point two... - They seem to be increasingly popular winter bikes, so check the overall condition. On older models I'm afraid to say that flaky paint on the engine is to be expected, but it's corrosion you want to be looking out for. Mainly in the bolts on the clutch cover (left hand side of the engine), as some of the threads have open ends - particularly the ones at the front below the starter motor - which can make them rust in place something rotten. Generally not too bad though; these things are pretty nicely finished and should do fine if looked after well enough. - Older models (primarily 1999-2000 models, but in general any of the pre-2004 single spark models) can have issues with fuel injector surging and the bike stalling, all around the 3000-4000RPM range. Trust me, you'll be using that range one hell of a lot. A simple update to the ECU fixed this issue under warranty so most should be fine, but worth checking with the previous owner. - The water pump seals are well known for being the Achilles heel of this bike. From what I've read it seems not all people have problems with it, but again, worth asking the previous owner if the water pump has required a repair recently. And either way, insist on popping the dipstick out of the remote reservoir on top of the bike and check the oil for coolant contamination. If the underside of the cap is covered in milky coloured crap that's a warning light, but could just be that the bike has been used for lots of short hops in bad weather (see above, popular winter commuter). The colour of the oil itself is the telling thing; if it looks like hot chocolate, might be time to walk away or argue the price down a few hundred. - A very small number of the first F650's to roll off the production line suffered a rather catastrophic fork failure. Unlikely that you'll encounter this as the offending bikes will all have fallen apart by now, but if the bike has a low mileage and is from '99-2000 it could be worth a quick glance for any hairline cracks or similar. http://www.f650gs.crossroadz.com.au/ForkInfo/Fork1JimT.jpg - Give the preload adjuster a few clicks either way, make sure it still works properly. I've heard of them seizing up in some instances. - It's a thumper, so it can be pretty hard on the chain. Check the state of wear, and if it needs replacing soon then remind them that they need to knock that off the price. Including the cost of your labour, of course That covers all of the stuff you need to be wary of. I had the water pump problem a few months after buying mine, but otherwise avoided all of the issues above. Had a bunch of other problems of course, which you’ll see if you run across any of my old posts, but that's because the bike has 45,000 miles on the clock and was in a state of neglect, and had been badly bodged back together in several places.

I can help with this, been living with an F650GS for the past year so can share my experiences and tips. Can't write a big post write now as I'm meant to be working but will type up a few tips in my morning break Plus I'm a sad act whole loves their enduros a little too much and consequentially knows almost everything on the market (both used and new) at any given time

Late to the party: Use a hunting catapult? I had a childhood friend who used to kill pigeons with one, scarily powerful things...

Pfft, I don't browse through the threads, I just click on "view active topics" a few times an hour

OH YEAH, I finally achieved basic competence in paying for things online Is there an attendance list kicking about?