dex

You asked what the best is... I'd say the best on the market is a Garmin Zumo 660, then rather than using the caberg bluetooth system use a Sena SMH-10. Although having said that, the Caberg lid is so noisy that you may as well use the Caberg's own bluetooth headset. Just make sure you're wearing decent ear plugs designed to filter Motorbike levels of noise (Alpine Moto-safe are quite excellent for the money) My 660 gets used daily for my 120 mile commute. I don't need the directions to work, but it's great to use as a music player, and for re-routing if there's really bad traffic or an accident.

Dex, check out RBL Riders on Facebook, or http://www.RBLR.co.uk it's the Royal British Legion Riders branch, supporting the poppy appeal, costs less than Afgan Heroes and all monies raised goes to the poppy appeal which helps HM forces past, present and future. plus they have been going for 4 years so have a better events calendar than Afgan Heroes (FWIH) Helen- thanks for the link, but I'm already signed up

yep seriously Dex - nickname I've had for quite a while. Although if you're nickname happens to be the lead character of a tv series about nasty scary bikers then I shall be doubly amused

I saw the price has just dropped to £10 after the previous announcement of £20. Mind you - it still costs £35 to join their riders group thing. (Seriously, "Jax Teller"? )

I can't comment on Akey's reasons. Although I have a fair idea on a few. The ride is now £20 per person (so £40 with pillion) which strikes me as a little steep. I believe AH are still due to post accounts to show the split between admin costs and money used for charity. AH have set up their own bike club, £35 a year membership. Lot of money for membership of such a targeted charity - Royal British Legion Riders will cost you less to join, let you do more and they help a whole lot more people. NB - I'm not trying to stop anyone from donating to charity. I do feel that if you give to charity you should think carefully about which one, why and what they'll do with the money.

Just decided - since my Euro trip is starting with the start of Le Tour - then while I'm in the Pyrenees I'd better do the Tourmalet! I suspect I will find it a little easier than the peloton do...

It will slightly lower the overall gearing of the bike (each gear will be slightly lower, due to the lower final drive) In-gear acceleration will be increased, but that each gear's top speed will be slightly lower. Unless your bikes pulls the rev limit in top gear, and you do actually do it, then it's unlikely you'll even notice the lower theoretical top speed. However there's a good chance you'll notice the bike having slightly more acceleration. It should have no effect on tyre wear or any other consumables. At high cruising speeds it "might" slightly increase fuel consumption, but often it has no effect.

I thought the Prologue was going to be using the causeway? Or maybe that was stage 1 - I can't remember!

End June/ Early July - Going to France to watch prologue and first couple of stages of Le Tour, then head down to spanish border, Andorra, across pyrenees back to santander for 24hr ferry back. Similar sort of time is the RBLR 1000 (1000miles, 24 hours) not really a "tour" as such lol Might be doing Nurburgring in August, but not yet sure if that will be in car or on bike

Drill slowly, if you drill fast you'll overheat the tip and blunt it. Slow speed, enough pressure so the tip bites (or you're polishing not drilling) and plenty of oil to cool and lubricate. You need to drill most of the way through so the EZ out can bite, if you don't drill deep enough you end up with a stainless bolt with a snapped EZ out stuck in it! Got any pics?

i'd probably look for a 120/60 front rather than a 120/70 110/70 has a 77mm sidewall, 120/70 has 84mm, 120/60 has 72mm sidewall. So the 120/60 sidewall is less different to std than the 120/70, and by being lower it will sharpen up the geometry on the bike slightly. That will help counteract any slowing of steering caused by the wider tyre.

I've always put spark plugs (with crush washers) in finger tight then quarter turn. Never had a problem with them. ( taper seat plugs are different )

Lol, yeah I know - the advice you weren't looking was "buy Altberg" but they are the only boots I know of designed to do exactly what you're looking for, anything else will be a bigger compromise, either on the bike or walking. Personally, if I couldn't get them I'd go for something more suited for walking. If you go hill walking in something unsuitable then you know yourself you'll be more likely to slip and damage yourself. ( but genuinely, take the time to break them in and the altbergs are boots for life)

I hate to say it, but are you sure? I wear altbergs for work ( I'm military ) and they are by far the most comfortable, longest lasting and all round best boots I've ever worn, including ones I've spent my own cash on. Altberg boots are up with the very best in military boots, I genuinely think you can buy different, but not better. I've just got a pair of clubman bike boots and I think they're pretty great. I've been wearing them at work to break them in and they're really very impressive. They take a bit of breaking in ( as you'd expect of a boot that's going to keep your feet in one piece in an off ) but they will last you a lifetime, both on and off the boots. Add up the cost of a decent pair of waterproof bike boots, plus walking boots and the altbergs suddenly become a bargain. Bit, if you can't, or won't, spend the money on the altbergs, then I'd suggest wearing your current walking boots on the bike to go to and from. They won't provide much, or any, protection if you fall off ( depending on what boots they are) it it means spending no money and having boots you already like for walking in. Generally a lot of military boots are pretty poor for hill walking, you'd need to buy new to get them to break in and for right (and to make sure they weren't knackered ) and the soles on most military boots are too hard for wet rocks etc ( issued military boots tend to be made so the sole lasts well with lots of use on tarmac and concrete ) they also tend not to have good sole or heel cushioning, so if you get military boots you'd do well to get sorbothane insolent. If you definitely decide to get military boots for it, I'd try the uk pro boots ( goretex lined ) but be aware of the limitation of the soles, and that there is little or no impact protection for your ankles, rarely any crush protection, and to be wary of loose laces round gear levers, brake pedals or anywhere near chains.

The best advice you'll ever get for cleaning leather and textiles is this... Don't do it. Get scrubbers leathers to do it instead. They're the people all the bike mags use, they've been doing it for years and they know far more about the materials the kit is made from than you ever will. I used to clean my own stuff, it was a hassle and I was never convinced my textiles were as waterproof after. I'm now converted, I spent more money on stuff to clean my kit than they change to do it all for me. Seriously, Google scrubbers leathers.

It's simple enough really- none of us are wsb, MOTO gp, etc. Clutchless upshift: For: faster, smoother with practice. Against: can cause damage if done incorrectly. Clutchless downshift: For: no reason I fan think of Against: can do damage, much harder to get smooth. Seems pretty clear cut to me, if you do them both properly you benefit from the up, but gain nothing from the down. I've no wish to spend time learning a technique that has no benefits, and is very likely to make my riding less smooth and risk damage while I'm learning it.

The two slotted collars control the spring preload (the amount by which the spring is compressed with no load on it) That is used to control Sag. Sag is the amount the suspension compresses with just the weight of the bike (static sag) or with the weight of the bike and the rider (rider sag) put bike on it's wheels, lift rear of bike so that rear shock is fully extended, measure vertically up from the centre of rear hub to a point on the tail of the bike. Then allow the weight of bike to compress shock, and re-measure the distance. *About* 20mm difference between the two numbers is a good starting point. Once you've got that, leave those adjusters alone. Then you want to play with damping - look all over shock (top and bottom) and see if you have one or two adjusters, they are normally small flat blade screws, often a brass colour. If you have one it control compression and rebound, if you have two then they control one each. *CAREFUL* - there is often a large flat blade screw at the bottom of a shock that is used to dismantle the shock - leave that one alone! Compression Damping - controls the rate at which the suspension compresses - hard means slower, soft means faster. Rebound Damping - controls the rate at which the suspension extends after compression - again hard damping=slower rebound. Most "kicked out of seat" issues are either due to rock hard compression damping or overly hard rear spring (you'll feel one short big thump when you first hit a bump) or down to insufficient rebound damping (you'll feel more of a Booooinnng" as you get launched upwards.) So is your problem a bang, or a boooooiiiiing?

Money is no Object and you're riding around on some dog sh1t Hongdou GY125? Seriously? Trade it in for an MV Agusta F4 CC - I believe there's a few on sale at the moment with £25k off list price - so they're only £50k now. That will shut you mates up.

Pretty much what he said ^ The easiest way to learn it is to accelerate fairly smoothly in a gear, apply *light* upward pressure on the gear lever then roll off and on the throttle quickly - just off the throttle enough that you stop accelerating but not enough to start engine braking. If you've done it right then the gear lever will feel like it moves of it's own accord and you'll be in the next gear. Start with very gentle pressure on the lever - as you can damage the box by trying to "force" it in if you're too rough. If you find the gearchange is a very jerky affair then you're probably rolling off the throttle too much, getting engine braking and then the acceleration. If you are needing a lot of force on the gear lever then you're not rolling off the throttle enough. To start - practice riding along accelerating, then giving the throttle a small roll-off and back on. Get used to how much to roll off to stop accelerating but not get into engine braking - it's that "coasting" bit between acceleration and noticeable engine braking that is when the whole transmission is unloaded and the upshift can be done. I found that once you get used to it you can do part throttle clutchless up-shifts with a pillion on and it feels seamless to them (no more head banging!) Obviously a lot depends on the bike - as 12bhp bike has a lot more margin for error with throttle finesse than a 120bhp bike, and a well-adjusted chain and decent oil in the engine/box will both make your life a whole lot easier.

What he said, weise do some very good kit for the money.

Think you're missing the point there Nat agreed Either that - or she's hinting that she wants a bit on the side...

If any of the forum's biker lawyers want to get in touch by PM then I can pass their details on to my lass for her to contact - without the Personal Injury element I imagine it may be tricky to find someone who wants the case?

i've got a couple of snaps of an FZ1 with dog blood and guts on it (although bright sun + camera phone = poor photos) she wasn't keen on me taking a photo of her in her blood and gut covered jacket, jeans, boots, gloves and lid though... I think dogs are great, I like it when people from work go abroad on holiday as it means I can dog sit. I really feel for the guy as the last image he has of his dog is bits spread round the road. Sadly, if what he said is accurate, his other half owes him quite an apology for not controlling the dog.

So yesterday my lass rode into a dog at speed. Or rather, she rode through a dog. (She's unhurt, just upset for the dog and a little shaken) She was overtaking on the A4, when a greyhound ran out from the verge. The collision was unavoidable and she and the dog impacted pretty hard. She managed to keep the bike upright (no idea how) but the dog did a fair bit of damage to the bike. They got in contact with the owner (from the phone number on the dog's collar) who drove round to the accident site and said his wife had been walking the dog. In the half hour or so he was there the wife never appeared. My lass went to the police station with her docs last night to report the accident, and is awaiting a reference number from the collisions team over the next few days. We've got photos of the damage to the bike (before washing dog off it) and then photos after we washed the gore off. Her lid was contaminated with bits of dog, and her leather jacket and jeans were properly covered. The jacket is being sent off for specialist cleaning, jeans have gone in the wash and she's bought a replacement helmet (she didn't have a spare and needs it to ride to work). I understand Highway Code puts a responsibility on dog owners to keep dogs under control near a road, and so we have the basis for a claim against the dog owner for the damage to the bike and sorting the kit out, just wondered if anyone had any experience/advice/suggestions? (I know this sounds really cold, she is really upset by it and we're both thoroughly p1ssed off at the person walking the dog for not keeping the dog under control. Poor Doggie.)

No it's not. It's not even a little bit like saying that. 70mph in built up area - likely to cause increased risk to others. No gloves/boots/jacket - increased risk to rider. Completely different. As I understand it Akey is saying that where someone's personal choices don't affect others, but may be unwise, they may benefit from education rather than legislation.