Joe85

Gutted for you mate. Hopefully all relatively simple to repair. Still time before full riding season.

Beautiful weather, lovely scenery… oh and my bag feel off and became wedged on the back wheel. Laptop ruined! Guess I’m lucky my weeks clothing isn’t scattered across the French motorway.

And laminate at that. Don’t get the goretex liner shit.

Cleaned the bike, and prepped for day 1 of 7 round France tomorrow. Can’t wait.

Head towards Kent, avoid motorways and Dual carriageways. You’ll soon find them.

These days (i'm guessing) i think the Popo rely heavily on ANPR and traffic enforcement cameras, and as such expect the number of traffic stops for minor infringements (like illegal number plates) to be almost non-existent. In my completely uniformed opinion, you'll be fine unless you're tugged for something else first, like speeding or wheelies etc. Blu-tak sounds like a rubbish idea though. If you're gonna do it, own it!

Decided to treat myself ahead of the riding season. Thought i'd leave a couple of thoughts for anyone in the market. First Impressions: There are two options available in the 50 range: The R and the S. The main difference between the two models is that the S can be removed from the helmet for charging, whereas the R is hardwired to the speakers/mic (cabling) and thus impractical for regular removal, which means you'll need to lug the entire helmet to your nearest USB-C charger. I've also seen that the S has more charger by virtue of being slightly larger. Lastly, the S has the Jog Wheel you see on most Sen comm systems, whereas the R goes with a 3 button set up. 7/10. Install: Slightly irritating. No install instructions come in the box, and it's not readily apparent where to find them. Even with the app downloaded, they're fairly squirreled away in the options. As expected, you get the main unit, helmet clamp, speakers, two mic options (boom and dot), a charging/wireless connectivity cable (waste of time) and a plethora of speaker covers, double-sided pads for the unit and speakers/mic. It's fairly straightforward to install but as i say, the instructions are non-existent. 5/10. Connectivity: The app is complete dog water. Nothing's changed in the 4 years since i last owned one. Rubbish on every level. Slow, clunky, ugly UI. The wireless dongle included for updates? Just stick it in the bin. Far easier to just plug it into the laptop and update via the desktop app. 0/10. Sound: Speakers are great. I'm no audiophile so all i can say is music sounds good, voices are clear and things get pretty damn loud at the highest volume; a common complaint of older models was the poor volume which appears to be solved here. 9/10. Haven't used the Mesh/Bluetooth communication features yet, but will update later next month. From a usability point of view, it's 4 buttons so not too taxing on the brain to work out. Overall first impressions: 6.5/10.

Is this a cautionary tale? Or he just couldn't use the rear brake?

Are we using the rear brake or not? The suspense is killing me.

Just make one of the kids sleep in the garage next to the bike.

Bought a quadlock phone holder and a lead for my heated gloves. I've had enough of the car - hibernation is over (after the storm, of course). Also committed to a 7-day tour of France/Andorra for the end of March. Lets go!

S1000R has SatNav built into the TFT, so selling my Rider 400. Barely used, comes with all accessories, mounts, cables packaging and a 3rd party carry case. £150

With one bike in storage until the sun comes out, i got the itch to buy another to store alongside it. Was looking at everything from GS's to Hypermotards. Having finally come to my senses that i could actually just store thousands of pounds next the bike instead, i'm now planning a bit of a SW camping/tour for a few days... which will also likely never happen. Bored.

Made me giggle more than it should have.

Not really. Well, so little that they’re able to be wiped clean with hot water and a mit.

Nah, Endurance chain - no muck.

Wash mit, get stuck in. Done.

A know a couple of Nigerian princes who are desperate to send $5million my way. Can ping them your details if you like? Otherwise, welcome to the forum and good luck in your endeavour.

Never clean the chain brush. Use it 5/6 times, then bin it for a new one. Oxford Motorcycle Chain Brush - SPORTSBIKESHOP

I've noticed that insurance firms don't tend to ask for proof of no claims any more. Assume this is because they can just check the database?

Pleased to not be giving any money to that caaant.

Next cheapest was Be Moto at 1095. May go with them, to be fair. They include riding other bikes and travelling abroad, both of which i plan to do.

£1500 the cheapest. Some up to £4k. Just tried Moneysupermarket - anyone ever heard of go skippy? Just quoted me £730

Thanks Mike, will give them a buzz.

Same bike for the last 4 years, to be fair. A BMW S1000R. 6 Years no claims, 6 years held license, 36 years old. Locked in a garage, tracker, immobiliser etc. They're w**kers, pure and simple.