MarkW

This is a photo of me (looking at a small pike, if memory serves) that shows the GUE kit configuration: everyone you dive with in the GUE system will look exactly the same, which means everything is standardised, and everything is located and works in exactly the same way. You'll normally dive in a team of three, and all of this makes underwater problem-solving much easier. They also spend a lot of time working on finning techniques, which is only covered in a very basic way in PADI/BSAC. You'll become totally proficient in finning forwards, backwards, and doing helicopter turns using only your fins - all very cool when you're poking around in tight spaces. I started with PADI and then went over to GUE, simultaneously joining my local BSAC club for the pool time. If I had had the chance I would have started with GUE, but horses for courses - they'll all get you enjoying the underwater experience quickly and safely enough.

I packed it in a couple of years ago and sold all my gear because I got fed up of floating around in cold murky green water when I could have been building Lego spaceships with my boys After PADI Rescue Diver I went down the GUE route. It's a very different, team-based approach to diving, born out of the cave exploration community in Florida. You don't have to have any desire to dive caves to benefit from the training, and their minimalist approach to kit will also help reduce the expenditure on shiny accessories. They have some top-notch instructors in the UK. You'll see plenty of BSAC people slagging PADI and vice versa. Take no notice: I trained with both and the standards are broadly similar. Enjoy!

So do you reckon it's worth a go? I don't know anything about this to be honest (the last electroplating I did was at school with a beaker of copper sulphate solution and a graphite rod) but I could imagine that it might give a thin shiny cosmetic layer that doesn't stand up to as much wear and tear as a professional job. If you think it's worth trying I'll give it a go - working in the pesticide industry there's very little in our lab that won't kill you, so we're well used to dealing with chemical and biological nasties

Now that looks right up my street! I'm definitely up for DIY if the results are any good. Has anybody got any experience with these kits? How do the results compare with those from a professional metal finisher?

Evening all. I have my eye on a bike that looks as though it might make a great renovation project for those dull winter evenings, and I'm trying to guesstimate the costs for what needs doing before taking the plunge. One thing that is immediately apparent is that most (if not all) of the shiny bits will need to be re-chromed, and I have no idea what sort of dent this will put in the finances. Realistically it's going to be Thursday morning before I get chance to hunt down some companies and ask for prices, so in the meantime I was wondering if anyone could give me a bit of a steer. Thanks very much!

I'd be interested if you find what the problem is. It's been five weeks since I got back from a 1600-mile round trip to Basel, and I've still got pins and needles in the ball and toes of my right foot. The vibrations through the right foot-peg were pretty painful on the last bit of the journey, so I reckon I've probably done some nerve damage. Haven't found the culprit yet...

Thanks guys - I'll have a poke around when I get a minute. I figured if I pull it apart to replace one bulb I may as well go the whole hog and replace them all.

Hi all. The rev counter lights are out on my ZZR1200, and as I was hunting around on t'internet to see how tricky a job it would be to replace them I came across this upgrade. Pretty cool huh? The thread I got the image from was American and years old, and I haven't found any UK-based info on this. Can anyone point me in the right direction? Is replacing the instrument lights a simple job? I imagine I'll have to dismantle the front fairing and replace some gaskets to keep it waterproof, but other than that no idea! Cheers people

Sound advice - cheers buddy!

Hi folks I'm in the market for a little restoration project for my own entertainment and education as much as anything. Aside from the mechanical issues, are there any special considerations when buying non-running stolen/written off bikes at auction? Assuming I get it running again is it easy enough to get it taxed, MOT'd and insured if it's been classed as an insurance write-off? I'm considering a Cat D bike that frankly couldn't be made any worse no matter how incompetent I turn out to be with the spanners!

Problem solved: I bought a new satnav that'll run off the 12v USB socket I fitted. It fits in my tank bag perfectly, and is tons better than my 5 year old Becker. Sorted!

OK - quick update, because I know you'll all be anxious to know how I'm getting on I chased the cable in the car from the back of the satnav cradle to where it joins the car wiring. I thought the guy who did it had spliced the USB cable into the switched 12v circuit, but what he's done is splice in a cigarette lighter socket and then plug the original 12v charging cable into that. The plug on the charger takes the 12v feed down to 5v. So, I'm going to look for a 12v USB to 5v mini USB adapter (if such a thing exists) and then I should be sorted.

Hmm... This is odd. My satnav (a Becker BE Z101) has the cradle hard-wired into the 12v circuit in my XC90, and it works fine when it's in its cradle. If I pull the USB cable out of the back of the cradle and stick it in the USB socket on the side of the satnav, it still works fine. But, if I connect it to the cigarette lighter socket with another USB cable it doesn't work, doing the same thing it does on the bike (flickering display and then powering off). So, either the cradle is wired into something that provides a different current to the cigarette lighter socket (seems unlikely) or there is something specific about the cable connecting the cradle to the power source. As far as I remember it was just a bog standard a USB cable. Any thoughts people?

Hi folks. Is there any reason why my satnav would work off the 12v supply in my car but not off the connector I wired onto the bike battery? The screen flickers quite dimly and then it switches off (the battery in the satnav has long since been incapable of powering the unit). It's a 2006 ZZR600 with a 12v battery, and I wired a Digitek Moto Charge USB into it. Cheers!

Cheers buddy - I'll check this out later today. Right now I'm being dragged into town by my wife to watch the indescribably tedious spectacle of some cyclists riding past.

Thanks guys. Just checked the headlamp, and this isn't working either. I swapped the EU headlamp unit for a UK one a few days ago, so I'm guessing something went awry in the process. It was working fine after I fitted it though. Does this suggest a particular place to start, or do I have to dismantle the front again and start poking around?

Hi folks The front indicators have both stopped working on my wife's ZZR600. Bulbs and fuses are fine, so I'm wondering what else to check. If it was both lights on one side that were affected I'd suspect a loose connection somewhere (I'm guessing there's a circuit for the left and a separate circuit for the right) but as it's both sides at the front I'm scratching my head a bit. Any suggestions much appreciated!

Well, here we are: my wife and I on our pair of ZZR600s. We've just been for our first ride out since passing last week, and they are gorgeous! Loads of poke, nice gearbox, and ultra comfy.

Bit different, innit? I can't honestly say my mother was overjoyed at the news, but I could tell she thought it was pretty cool. She said she used to ride on the back of a friends bike in the 60s, but never got round to learning herself. The father in law is something else though. He can always be relied on to suck the joy out of any occasion, and never lets his ignorance stand in the way of his opinions. I suggested that if he was that concerned about the dangers of biking he should turn in his driving licence: the fewer geriatric drivers with inflated opinions of their abilities there are out there, the better.

My wife has just broken the news to her father that we are now fully fledged bikers. He's a miserable old sod at the best of times, and looks remarkably like the 'before' photograph in an advert for haemorrhoid ointment. Anyway, the news met with his customary disapproval, and elicited the following comments: 1. That he never anticipated that he would be attending our funerals rather than us attending his. 2. That we should make sure we are properly insured, because he never knew anyone who rode a bike who didn't fall off, and we won't be able to work if we are quadriplegics. 3. That he assumes he will have to take responsibility for looking after our two boys when we are scraped up off the Tarmac. I am very well used to being the pariah in my family and my mother has long since learned that her disapproval has no influence whatsoever on what I choose to do, but my wife still lives in the vain hope that her cretinous parents will one day have something vaguely intelligent to say about her interests. I'm not holding my breath

And a pass for the wife today! Properly chuffed!

Thanks guys!

Very happy to report that I passed Mod 2 this afternoon first go! Makes up for having to do Mod 1 twice after a careless cone-clipping incident in the last five seconds of the first attempt. Mrs W has her test tomorrow, and then we'll be away!

Thanks guys. I'll need my car licence for something in a fortnight and then again in early august for our family holiday, so I'll wait until I get home at the end of August before sending it off.

Thanks Bex! I'll be fine if I can keep 24 years of bad driving habits under control (ignoring the speed limit, sticking my wheel in the 'no waiting' box, cutting corners when nobody's there etc etc...)