The Hitcher

Ok, I admit, during his Game of Thrones cameo, I was kind of hoping he would have a confrontation with one of the dragons.

He writes catchy, cheesy pop songs that appeal to loads of people, his music doesn’t appeal to me but good luck to him, not very impressed with his guitar playing though.

I’ve got an Arai RX7 GP from 2013 that’s in good condition still. I might get this summer out of it then get a new one in the winter, it will give me time to track down a Haga rep as a replacement.

I'm sure that's what I was told with the age of them, although I did do my test in 2000 so could have remembered that wrong!.

I’ve had R1s before, as much as the R1M is an amazing bike, as weird as it sounds, it doesn’t do a lot for me. It’s thankfully a moot point now though, insurance sorted , now I’ve just got to wait 10 more days. I'm just jealous really congrats, going to be a long 10 days! 9 Days, and counting!, the worst bit is that it’s probably arrived in the dealership now, they have to get it ready and said it would have been ready early-mid next week but I couldn’t get the time off work .

When I did my test in 2000 I remember helmets were divided into 2 categories, Type B were cheaper ones which weren’t as well constructed and type A were constructed from better materials and had a higher impact rating, at the time I got told type B ones should be replaced every 2 Years and type A every 5, obviously only if it hasn’t suffered an impact. How often do you replace yours?, I’ve had mine since 2013 so the 5 year thing is up but it’s never been dropped or damaged so unsure wether to get another or carry on with the one I’ve got a while longer.

It’s not really the same thing though, an R1M is as highly grouped and worth as much but is fine to insure, its a really weird situation, spoken to a couple of places today and hopefully in hand, I don’t actually want to have to settle for an R1M!. Oh God No, imagine having to settle for just an R1M I’ve had R1s before, as much as the R1M is an amazing bike, as weird as it sounds, it doesn’t do a lot for me. It’s thankfully a moot point now though, insurance sorted , now I’ve just got to wait 10 more days.

Well, get a quote for a car with similar specs in a similar group - probably a bugatti veyron - and see if that's any cheaper. It's all relative It’s not really the same thing though, an R1M is as highly grouped and worth as much but is fine to insure, its a really weird situation, spoken to a couple of places today and hopefully in hand, I don’t actually want to have to settle for an R1M!.

I'm picking up my new bike a week on Saturday and currently can't even get quoted, got quotes on an R1 M and RSV4 RF (similar value) for under £800 Fully Comp, my lunch break tomorrow is looking like it's going to consist of ringing a few different companies going through the same tedious questions over and over, being 35 doesn't make it any better .

I had to have all 4 wisdom teeth out in one sitting, whilst conscious and one was in so tight the dentist was really yanking it and all I could hear was the creaking and feel the pressure, then the anesthetic wore off and it was really painful, not to mention not being able to eat for about a week. It was worth it though they were really hurting beforehand and it does get better after a week.

As much as I do have a soft spot for Range Rovers and Land Rovers, if you want a capable 4x4 that isn’t a money pit, three simple words-Toyota Land Cruiser . At work I often use a mitsubishi L200, it's great for hunting but costs a fortune in fuel and has the turning circle of a barge. I might have to look into a Toyota land cruiser. I wouldn't mind an LPG conversion if I could too. They come in two different flavours, the 80/100 series Amazon is the big Land Cruiser, tough as anything, very capable but have a big 4.2 TD which is very understressed and reliable but thirsty, then you have the slightly smaller 120 Series which has the 3 litre D4D engine, still very capable and reliable but a bit smaller and less thirsty, I get about 26 around town and 32-34 on a run.

As much as I do have a soft spot for Range Rovers and Land Rovers, if you want a capable 4x4 that isn’t a money pit, three simple words-Toyota Land Cruiser .

I’ve not had an Android phone for a while-last one was an S2, had a Blackberry 10 phone for a bit, and it didn’t cause any problems but the lack of most apps was annoying, went to an iPhone 5S whenever that was new, currently got a 6S plus that’s over 2 years old and happy on a sim only until it breaks, then I will probably get a 7- the 8 and X are so expensive and I don’t see he point for features I won’t use. It’s handy for iTunes and just made more sense as I’ve used Macs for quite a while, made the switch when Windows Vista came out and haven’t looked back.

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It does feel slightly chunkier than the neck on the Strat the strings arnt as close together on the Tele, I’ve played my tutors Les Paul and I’d say I preferred it over the Tele, it felt nicer to play even though I wasn’t used to it but is definitely something I could get used to!, although I like the Strat the best though. I’m going to try and persevere with the Tele a bit longer though as I do love the sound of the bridge pickup . Tango, it doesn’t have to be a Fender version at all, I will check them out, thanks.

I have yes, the Tele does have a higher action but it’s not awkwardly or uncomfortably high- yeah they’re both 25.5 scale length as far as I know. Perhaps I’ve just got a gem of a Strat and an average Tele, think my only two choices are to keep it and make myself practice only with it until I’m so used to it that I like it as much or get rid of it and play a bunch of Teles until I find the right one, barring myself from touching any custom shop or vintage ones in case I do something stupid .

Are Telecasters awkward to get on with or have I just ended up with one I don’t like that much?. The reason I ask is I bought a Tele a few months ago which sounds great, looks great and I can play it OK but I always feel like it’s more of an effort to get on with than my admittedly very nice playing Strat, it feels tight and I just don’t feel as smooth on it and make more mistakes, so unsurprisingly whenever I practice I nearly always pick up the Strat. Would different gauge strings on the Tele help?, I’m probably guessing no as they are the same scale length?.

well that is not how i remember it ... there was a group of 18-20 year olds ... probably still remember their names.... who had 1 litre bikes .. and insurance was not an obstacle .. I definitely remember it being a huge obstacle, it was quite a while back now but insurance on an RVF 400 was £1100 ish for me after passing!, I got a couple of years NCB under my belt before moving up to a 600, couldn’t get quoted on a 1000, which was a shame because I loved the first R1s .

Back before the changes there was practically no one who passed their test at 18 and jumped straight on a superbike anyway as the insurance was the prohibitive factor, my first proper bike was a 400 and insurance on that was eye watering enough at the time, the new system has a similar effect but it means that you have to take further tests as well which I don’t think is that fair. Personally, I find the thought of an 18 year old with no road experience being able to drive an artic more scary than being able to ride a motorcycle with 100 bhp. Not because they would want to try and zoom around but more because it’s very easy to make mistakes on the road, particularly when you’re new to using it and even more so in something that big that weighs 40+ tonnes.

I’m in favour of a theory test being done before a CBT, it makes sense, I don’t think another should need to be done before taking a full licence. The motorcycle test has become a complete cluster**** for new riders though, so many different ages and catogories now. I’m glad I did mine prior to all the changes. The fact you can’t obtain an unrestricted A licence from scratch until you’re 24 but you can take a test for an Artic at 18 makes absolutely no sense and is ridiculous in my opinion.

So would a new rider have to do the theory test for a full motorcycle licence before they do the CBT?, or will there be one for the CBT and one for the full licence too, I’m betting on the latter, anything to make them more money.

No, but wish I’d bought a load of them in about 2010 .

Ferrari 0 Landcruiser 1 .

People just don't know how to drive in snow, bit of white stuff and everything grinds to a halt, was in Finland a few years ago, heavy snow falls were just another day at the office for them. Yeah it is quite comical, the main thing is people don’t bother with winter tyres, last time it snowed down here I remember seeing a load of BMWs and Mercs all dumped at the base of a hill not even as steep as that one, RWD and low profile summer tyres are not what you need!, the same goes for people who buy a 4x4 with 22 inch low profile tyres on and wonder why there having trouble, or who find out the hard way that yes 4 wheel drive will get you moving in the snow but remember to go a lot slower as it’s not going to help you brake!.

I tried, I really did because it's about bikes and so I should have enjoyed it, but don't think I got to the end of the first episode.. It was that bad, their shootouts were hilarious too, people shooting at each other from a few feet away with AK-47s and the like yet none of them are dead and someone might get winged in the arm.