Phooey

I shave my head. It does get the odd strange look though when I turn up in a rush for work with motorbike boots, leathers (not had time to change) and shaved head. 'Hi, I'm Paul and I am your maths teacher' Not what they expect for a boring college maths lecturer.

Sounds like they are waiting to receive something form you! I would give them a call.

I've never been asked to remove my lid either but to be honest, I wouldn't mind if they did ask me. Afterall, it is their property and they have the right to dictate what I do on their property. If workmen came to my house with muddy shoes I have the right to ask them to remove or cover them! I don't see the difference.

Mine field indeed Chris. I had an argument with an insurance company once, many years ago, when they tried to wriggle out of the responsibility for something on my policy. I can't remember the details so I wont try to relay them but the point is that they said ... 'It is in the policy breakdown 'small print'. I suggested that the 'small print' ought to be more transparent and not written in such a language that it would take a solicitor to understand it all. Her reply was that they are not responsible for making sure we understand it but it is our responsibility to make sure we understand it. When I quoted a line from the 'small print' document and asked her to clarify she offered to put me through to their legal department because she didn't know!

I think that this post only serves to prove how complex the field of insurance is. I, rather naively, didn't realise how complicated and probably illegal my mate was when he rode my bike back for me after I bought it. I neither had insurance, nor the confidence to ride it back so my mate who has a full license and was insured to ride any bike rode it back for me. My wife, who works in insurance, said that he, my mate, may not have been covered because his policy only covers him as long as the owner is insured and once I bought it the previous owners insurance company would argue that it was no longer insured so my mate was not insured either! Seems silly when I say it but the bike appears to have to be insured by two parties for the insurance to be valid.

Ok Stu. Thanks for your advice.

Based on that link ... the oil I have is ok then? It says ACEA A3, B3.

I've no idea what's in her at the moment. It is virtually on the min line. The oil I have in the shed is Tesco's Petrol and Diesel part synthetic 10W/40 oil. On the back it says, meets or exceeds the requirements of the following specifications: SAE 10W/40: API SL/CF ACEA A3, B3 The guys said he just did an oil change when I bought it. I've done about 300 miles since. My mate was going to help me give her a full service but I was hoping to wait a few weeks and money is slightly more flowing. About 4-6 weeks.

Used it last night to visit friends ... sorted. I can now see the oil level. It is closer to the min line than the max so now the stupid question. My manual says to use SAE 10W/40. Do I need special motorbike oil or can I use the SAE 10W/40 that I have in the garage?

Ah and oh

Hi guys ... I had a nice 80 mile run last Sunday and I use it everyday for about 5-10 miles instead of the car. So it does get used quite a bit.

As the title says. I went to check the oil level and couldn't see the level because the window is white. Unscrewed the filler cap and felt the oil inside and it feels normal ... not foamy like it's mixed with water (my first fear). Any idea's on how I can resolve this so that I can accurately check the level?

I went for yes but the results graph seem to disagree. From the side it looks like it is giving us the finger!

Mr white van man this morning on the A38 dual carriageway. Speed limit 40 mph and he is sat in the right hand lane dong 30 mph totally ignoring all the beeps and flashing of lights. I got fed up (wife needs to be at work) so I pulled out and passed him on the left. He is sat one eye on the road and the other eye in his favourite novel. He was actually reading a book. Pr*ck!!

lol ... ooooh! Next week counter-steering

The best I can describe it is when the gears on a pushbike 'slipped' across the cogs when the lever was in between gears. You can hear and feel them not quite engage and then clicks into gear. Thanks Chris. Will look at that vid later.

Had a little rideout yesterday, 70/80 miles, and twice during the ride I experienced a strange thing with the gears. I lifted my toe slightly to take up the slack on the gear lever, as I always do, and on two occasions before I even touched the clutch lever, the gears rolled through a gear or two as if the cogs were slipping. I have just fitted a new clutch cable which is adjusted correctly, the chain and sprocket has been checked and is also fine. My mechanic mate doesn't have the time to take a look at it at the moment so I thought that I would ask you guys what you thought. Is there a problem with the gearbox/clutch? Is this normal and I am just too inexperienced to realise it? Answers on a postcard please!

Took her for a ride up to Hereford today. Opened the throttle and had a couple of 9k moments ... Loved it. Was a bit 'arse tweeky' at first but soon got used to it. First proper ride out and loved it.

From MCN: A surprise, to say the least. The Kawasaki ZZ-R600 looks so docile by today’s standards yet twist the throttle and a ridiculous surge of power carries you up to the 14,000rpm redline in no time. The Kawasaki ZZ-R600 engine is reliable, grunty enough low down and positively mental at anything above about 4000rpm. Bloody hilarious! You've not even touch what's lurking underneath yet mate take your time and ease yourself into it. Number one stay Safe and sod the rest lol ... thanks for this Chris. The friend who came down with me to collect it, and rode it back for me, said I needed to be confident below 7K and I better be f***ing good above 7K. He said he got 146 mph out of her with a bit more to spare. You will understand why he get's a definite NO! when ever he invites me out for a ride. lol I had never seen him ride before and naively believed him when he said he doesn't ride mentally! Hmmm, I must ask him where he got that limp from one day!

John ... I appreciate your words but I must stress that I was not referring to speeding or riding like a prat. What I meant was that one of my friends say that keeping the revs a little higher but dropping a gear if necessary, gives me more control while the other says the opposit.

lol ... better make sure that I am on a straight road then. Motorway trip sounds like a favourite. I must admit, lots of people was talking about ZZR being poky and I was wondering why I wasn't feeling it ... now I know.

Mines almost over by then 9.5 is the top end power on mine with a 10.5k redline gotta love lazy bikes So how do I find my power band? Is it simply opening her up and feeling where the power kicks in? There is a lot of summer to come and I will be out there hopefully developing my own style. I will be pushing her a bit as the dryer, warmer road appear. I have been really tame so far. This weekend promises to be lovely so I will cover a few miles then.

Thanks guys. The general consensus seems to be 'do what feels right for me'. Littlecat: I was looking at doing the bikesafe soon Moo: Your posts always make me smile. Next time I'm out I'll open that ZZR600 throttle and 'let that bitch pull me along' ... lol

No not come off yet, Stu. But I am always looking for tips to improve my riding. Just because I haven't come off yet doesn't necessarily mean I am doing it right ... I could be just lucky. Thanks for your comment though.

Ok guys ... so I am looking for your thoughts. I have been riding my bike for a couple of months (mostly in the wet) and have been taking it nice and steady, not trying to be a hero just smoothly does it. This past few days what with the weather a little nicer I have been opening the throttle a little more and obviously feeling a bit more confident riding a bit faster. Now here is my question. I have two mates who ride and one says while riding around town and semi country roads keep the revs higher and drop a gear if I need to, because that will help me to keep control and ultimately feel more confident. The other contradicts this by saying ride in an appropriate gear so as to keep the revs low but not so low the bike struggles and that will keep control and help build confidence. So which one is right?? At the moment I am keeping revs low, rarely go over 4000 unless on the motorway or dual carriageway. Don't think that I have gone over 6000 yet! I do all the usual, gentle braking, easy throttle, smooth steering, counter steering , when it is wet so I guess I am really asking about when it is dry and we can enjoy the ride for the rides sake.