Fozzie

Is there any hope of reversing that? I ask as there's a couple of guys going through a tough time that just seems to have no end in sight. It does go the other way, not as much admittedly as I can only think of one I've ever helped. Mostly guys just add to the trouble, trying to be the knight in shining armour, playing witness to one of the revenge stories as they think it will get them laid.

It's creeping up towards 4 men to every 1 woman now in the stats. There's also the side effect now, in that it's causing "incels" numbers to quickly multiply, as seen unfortunately with the Plymouth killings. I encountered one last year and they are a scary bunch. Makes you worry how many of these will be fathers, as if change is only brought because they are being violent, the cause for the suicide rate will likely go overlooked again.

Are these sort of people just more reported on these days? Or are there actually more of them? Just seems like there's a surplus of this personality type, picking something like speeding in this case. And then setting out to make the trouble, so they can gleefully run to report it.

What they really mean is: "Loads of people have too much money in their pockets with lockdown stopping them blow it on holidays and pubs, so now I can ask a mint for my tatty commuter by calling it a classic" Things like the gen 1 SV650 I understand, as the once common commuter is rarer now, and people love the old look, especially as it was styled on the TL1000. It's when you see a K2 GSXR600 with 45k miles and he wants 4 grand for it. God loves a tryer but yeeeesh.

That's genuinely horrible... And it really bothers me that as I hit 30, quite a few friends are going through this sort of thing. It disproportionately seems to end badly for the man, not that it doesn't happen the other way. A friend of mine in Scotland came close to suicide over it, so well done for just carrying on as you have pal! Really puts me off having kids, as if it goes wrong, you don't know how they will handle the rejection etc. If it was their behaviour that caused the split, even if you agree to keep it private, some people act defensively by unfortunately destroying your image with revenge stories while in a very emotional way. Which makes things very difficult if you then have to co-parent with them as they try to uphold this image they've created. Was saddened to read some of the stories on this thread.

Used prices are mad right now. I got into a small scuff when I asked a genuine question to a lad selling an MT-07. "Why would I buy this 2016 bike? And not a 2021 model for £600 more?" Saw his arse...

You're moving to a CB125R from the YZF? I think unfortunately the dealer will, to put it bluntly, skin you alive on the price they offer for the YZF. Firstly, ask the question, they might have someone lined up to take the YZF on and will give you a good deal. If they give you a bad one, look on AutoTrader, see what the prices are for similar versions to yours, and then try and undercut them. Bike prices at the moment are crazy, so you might be able to take advantage of it. But I also know that 125's are in scarce supply right now, owing to issues with the costs of shipping. Even the Chinese bikes have jumped up in price, so this might be a difficult deal to pull off in your favour.

Morning! I finally got parts I ordered like a month ago for my latest project, my second Honda Blackbird. Should be MOT'd and riding by next week, going to have some fun then lay it up over winter and get some big bits done to it. Hopefully this thundery weather moves on...

@Tiggie And you just know someone, somewhere, has an identical unit saying "F***kin ell, I don't need to freeze stuff, why is -4 the highest it goes!?" Unless it's a brand new model on the market, you'd think they'd have been through the pain of that mistake by now!

Morning! Caused an anti-vaxxer to have a small meltdown last night and now he's stalking me on the page I told him the silliness in one of his claims. He was one of the "I won't be part of the experiment" brigade. So I tell him if there is an experiment going on, he's part of it, and laid it out, and pointed out an experiment needs a control group to compare results against, so as he will have a NHS number, if he needs treatment he'll become part of the statistics. I then popped on his profile and he'd filled out one of those quizzes and I finished by telling him as he'd told me his job, age, kids, and marital status, he had willingly given the experiment crucial information that allows him to be categorized. It didn't go down well...

Afternoon! Continuing the workshop build this weekend. The generator needs a quiet box building around it, while the little Honda is whisper quiet outside, it's a bit rackety indoors even with the exhaust routed to an outside flue. So will need a ventilation solution and temperation monitoring building into it... The stress of not having a garage with power but a lot of power tools! Got some shelves going up as well. Aiming to be able to have a project in Manchester, and another over in Wales at my old mans place as it gets a bit tight for space with anymore than 1 bike here.

Yamaha XJ6 Diversion It took an amazing bike, the FZ6 which I've also had and did everything wrong you could just about do. Took off nearly 20BHP with no noticeable change to the bottom end performance, added weight, bolted very cheap suspension to it, and the rev limiter in top gear limits it to a top speed lower than the twins in the same class (SV650, ER6F) which wouldn't have been so bad if the price wasn't so much higher for one at the time. It was buzzy and frustrating to ride, and then returned no better MPG than a CBR600RR I'd had. Worst bit was I had very limited options at the time as I was on one due to insurance not touching me on much else (2 bike theft claims, and 2 where I'd been pulled out on) so I had to live with it for a while.

He actually knew the bike had met its end from the dealer! And expected Ruth to be a young hoodlum lad when she introduced herself. Richard Hammond snapped a pic of them both. I think a taxi in London had pulled out on her for that one. The orange Ninja was originally Sophie's, and Ruth had it resprayed black but got back onto what was her current Triumph. There's been quite a serious development, two of the three other bikers at the scene have been arrested. The markings on the road showing Ruth's path don't show someone running wide and going off, they show someone on the right line suddenly spearing off. The police tracked their route and found a petrol station they stopped at, and the CCTV revealed the two arrested had cameras on their helmet/bike, which they removed and hid after the crash. The police have recovered these cameras, and one of the two came clean, the other is saying no comment. We don't know what they show, but I understand the lead biker did some sort of maneuver that went wrong, but he managed to keep it upright and slow the bike. The bike immediately behind had to dodge and hit the brakes, and Ruth following behind him had nowhere to go so slammed on the brakes, and went off and into the car. Which explains why the oncoming car didn't brake, she wasn't gradually running wide, target fixating, and rode up and over the central reservation. She suddenly changed direction because she slammed on the brakes to dodge someone who was mucking about. A death by dangerous driving, and perverting the course of justice charge has been brought.

63 is no age to go these days, even with a pandemic. And sounds like he had a lot of bike related plans lined up this year alone. RIP

A Mercedes driver who is now under investigation. Those there say it looked like target fixation, and she clipped a central reservation before coming off and sliding into the oncoming car. But what has apparently concerned the police, is the Mercedes didn't brake or try to evade even after it had pulled Ruth under the wheels and pulled her down the road a good way. The car was wrecked as the bike hit it, so the police are trying to find out if the car was trying to get away or if the driver just froze. I expect the latter, but worry the family is looking for someone to blame.

It's just gutting as she was only 34, and after a few hard years her life was properly on track and in a good direction. New job at the NHS, her own place, a new boyfriend. She had a heck of a time with an abusive ex, who she fled across the country from, and he then began spewing various revenge stories in different groups, with her only finding out when she found she'd been removed. She asked for help, and I wrote a post for her that briefly laid out why she fled, then listed the different stories he'd told, how no one had approached her about them despite some claiming to have heard both sides, and it quickly bled back through people and it ended with the chap sent packing. ...Until last night when he was seen tearing down flowers and notes left at the scene by friends, and then leaving his own flowers and a note before sending his sincere condolences to her sister in a dog whistle admission of what he'd done. So now I'm trying to calm her down, and keep him cut off, and stop it overshadowing the funeral next week. I suspect it's going to be quite a drama filled week.

Morning, not been on for a bit as life got busy. Some horrible news, last week a friend of mine Ruth was killed in a motorbike accident. I'd known her since I was 21, she was the sister of my ex-girlfriend Sophie and I lived with them for about a year. I taught Sophie to ride, and then Ruth quickly followed as she'd always wanted to, and I helped her haggle for her first little CBR125. She was a lot more serious about it than her sister, and she went through a few bikes before settling on a Triumph Daytona 675, which she loved and made her own with a holo paintjob. We stayed in touch after I left the relationship, and I spoke to her just a matter of weeks ago over Xbox live. Don't know if anyone on here knew her, but she was pretty well known on the Triumph scene.

Be glad it didn’t happen these days, my generation is quite social media obsessed, which makes an upset person say some silly things. Most recent is a friend who hasn’t seen his daughter in months over stuff his ex made up on and posted. And it’s really common. Sounds like a good one, something to be said about those who understand what something means to you even if they don’t share the hobby!

10 years ago I turned down a mint condition Aprilia RS250 for £1500 because “loads of them are about”. I absolutely hate that I didn’t buy every one in sight At the moment, I’d say some cheap bikes that will go up in value are Suzuki SV1000 - Wasn’t as good as the TL but their value is creeping up as they were actually good all round bikes. Honda Firestorm 1000 - Cheap at the moment but I think when more rare they will appreciate Any 600cc sports bike - Now the class is dead, a good condition one will be good value Don’t think anything I’ve listed will go to a mega high value, but I don’t think you could go far wrong

Oof, sorry if that’s something you’re going through. I've not technically been married but had a taste of the costs involved over events 26 year old me went through. Was enough to put me off ever doing it, which the gf is pretty accommodating of. Cost wise she’s a career girl so makes a good wage, but she’s made me throw out most of my furniture for hers already… However she doesn’t mind me having bikes, or project bikes as it means she gets the tv to herself and some private time so it’s a good trade off and she won’t go near the garage.

Good afternoon everyone, not been on for a while. I’ve been mega busy. Celebrated my 2 year anniversary with the girlfriend and moved her in. Been absolutely swamped with work so not had time to celebrate much, and off to the Isle of Wight this weekend for a week. Bike got it’s suspension setup and feels the best it ever has. Car cost me £550 this week in servicing and tyres… It’s all been going on

I can see it in the front end now, the air scoop on the F3 is a more sleek design. I've been thrown off by the fact the one I'm working on seems to be a mix of parts put back together. The rear fairings and seat are from an F2 and don't fit well, but the sub-frame beneath had a sticker identifying it as a CBR600F-S. That's a 1995 model, which was the first of the F3's so if I take this on I may try out one of those bodykits you can get from China, apparently with a bit of fettling with the mounts you can get a good fit. But I will pm you first with a list of bits I need to buy if I can coax this one from its owner. Also, good morning!

It is a 1995 so I'll keep note of this in case he goes for my offer. It's an N reg, but that doesn't mean it's not a F2 that was left over 1994 stock registered the following year. The F2 and F3 look very similar, but I've not been up close to an F2 in years, is there any features that clearly differentiate them? Hopefully getting the new rec/reg on it tomorrow, and give it a test before and after to make sure it's charging. One thing is for sure, the F4 is a better bike to work on imo, but I am biased having had 2 in the last few years as projects (F4 carb and F4i). Things like the carbs vacuum hoses for carb syncing terminating onto the airbox, rather than the comparable faff I had with the F3's. Not like it's a common job, but it is always nice to see a bit of design like that.

Hi folks, the weather is seeming to get a bit warmer again for a few rides to break up the monotony of the day. Girlfriends dad broke down on a ride out last week, an old CBR600F3 which I'd got sorted for an MOT but found it had clearly been through some sort of hell. Either track use and a crash, or just a big crash, as the frame is slightly bent, and the fairings are held on with wood screws in some parts with the bodywork not being a standard colour. It wouldn't start after a run, so I figured the rec/reg had let go, it bump started and got home, but he charged it and went on a ride again this time getting stranded, I had told him to let me check it out first I've given him a cheeky offer to sell it to me so I can strip it right back and start again, so I might have a project bike again to keep me busy soon! Hope everyone else is doing well now that lockdown is lifting, having the gym and pubs back is a big plus.

I read the situation in Bristol as being a mob who in protest of a bill banning violent protest, decide to have an extra violent protest, which actually made the broader society back the governments bill. They really shot themselves in the foot regardless of which way your views fall. Anti-vaxxers are split into some groups, the sceptics who I can understand as it's more often a feeling associated with "why do most vaccines take so much longer?". Which is a valid question, and has a valid answer. And there are many other questions of this nature, and I'm happy to discuss with them. But the ones who actively believe in any youtube videos spewing information against vaccines, no matter how ridiculous, or easily debunkable their information is, and spit blood at those trying to reason with them, and call everyone else sheep despite being clearly herded by cash grabbers monetising sensationalist bullshit videos for views are in my opinion the dregs of society. And I don't bother with them anymore as you can't reason someone out of a position they didn't get to with reason in the first place.