rob m

Android with navigon for me. I can plan routes in ITN and transfer them to my phone. This is what I did for my Germany trip in 2014. I keep my phone in an inside pocket and use headphones for instructions. I got myself lost in the middle of Strasbourg in 2013 and doing it this way got me out of there without harm. I tried having the phone in the clear bit on the top of my tankbag but couldn't keep my eyes on the road for looking at directions. Respect to those who can, I just can't.

Has the jetting changed or K&N air filter been fitted? If it was me, I'd grab my haynes manual and strip & clean the carbs. Sounds like a blockage to me, possibly jet related. While I was at it I would balance them using a carbtune or similar. I had a GSXR750 in the mid 90's with a similar problem and stripping the carbs fully, cleaning them and balancing had them spot on afterwards.

http://www.carlsalter.com/download.asp?p=1508 The manual is here, in case you need it.

Cool, just thought I'd ask. Hope you get it sorted

Have you changed engine oil recently? I went from semi-synth to fully-synth on the 'blade and suffered horrendous clutch slip. I switched back and cured it immediately. Worth a thought.

http://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcy ... prod/52020 Very good winter gloves. I bought mine a size bigger and wear inner gloves if I need to venture out on very cold days. No discomfort or windchill effects at all. Well recommended.

Well done sir. Take it easy for a while and enjoy the ride

Can you get a loan of an ABBA stand? They are brilliant for swapping shocks. If you can afford it, they are worth investing in, I got mine second hand on ebay. They are very very versatile: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/20140512_115002.jpg

I can thoroughly recommend the Oxford rainex cover. It's kept my bike dry for over a year. http://www.infinitymotorcycles.com/prod ... cover/1257

Is the right answer.

All the best fella

Hi Deso It should go straight to the youtube app, it does on my iphone.

http://youtu.be/DhRq78Wnhjg Me and my mate having fun on our old Fireblades at last year's TT. We had a great week

Are you talking about ferry tickets as watching the racing is free unless you want to sit in the Grandstand or another of the ticketed areas. My advice is to get a ferry ticket and find a free spot. This year we watched from the church at St Ninians Crossroads for free while a few metres up the road there was a grandstand which charged £5 to sit there. We had the same view as them! Just keep trying the Steam Packet website to get a ferry, loads will become available after February when they ask for the balance and people drop out. As for accommodation, I sorted mine out a month before the TT this year, a nice apartment for £39 each a night. I never understand the panic of getting to the TT, I've managed the last 2 times with no hassle at all.

Beautiful bike. I'd love one in a 1000cc flavour.

A nice bloke that went into his house, grabbed a shotgun and shot his wife's relative twice. He's clearly a danger to society and I'm thankful that he's locked up. Shame it wasn't longer.

We've all done it I'm sure but the funniest example for me was back in the mid 90's when I was at Rykas (Boxhill) one Sunday afternoon. A fella in a Sierra Cosworth turned up and offered a race claiming he would win as he had spent £20k on the engine and that it would smoke any bike in the car park. A young lad on a FZR400R dressed in a paddock jacket, ripped jeans and trainers piped up and said 'I'll give you a race'. Long story short, they both set off and raced off up the A24. About 30 minutes later the lad on the FZR arrived and told everybody that the Cosworth had blown up about 5 miles away trying to keep up with him on some twisties. We never saw the Cosworth guy again

My footage is from the go pro 3.

Although not the cheapest, the gopro is my favourite. I currently have the 3+ silver edition and cannot fault it. I had an original HD hero for nearly 4 years until it was damaged during the summer but I immediately went out and bought the 3+, I didn't even consider another option. Of course there is the Drift which I gather is very popular and it's really down to which looks better to you more than anything. I don't mind the look of the gopro but others prefer the streamlined look of the drift. Quality wise, they're excellent. I rarely record in higher than 720p, 1080p looks no better to me and uses too much room on the memory card. I mainly use the suction cup and this has held for very high speeds with no trouble. As for editing I use AVS video editor for fancy stuff (like adding music/titles etc) but Quicktime Pro for short clips. The key in making them look good for youtube is bitrate settings. Keep them high (the gopro records at roughly 15k bitrate). The files are bigger but hey-ho. Here's a clip of mine, watch it at 720p and you'll get an idea. It's bitrate is at 15k. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgjdYQG6u5Q Oh, and for the sake of humanity don't take up vlogging.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/TT2014/20140604_080609.jpg The zips are shit.

Tony has highlighted a good point there. Us Brits see some of the more 'ordinary' roads in Germany as amazing as our roads fail miserably to deliver the same amount of excitement. The good roads are at times jaw-dropping. However, I'd like to make another point. That clip was filmed at a time in the morning which would have been densely-packed rush hour traffic where I live. For those going on the trip next year, we won't see the amount of traffic we are used to in the UK and frankly it's a breath of fresh air. I adore it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQoxUxWbb8U One of my favourite roads in the Eifel, the B50 from Sinspelt to Bitburg, just 10 minutes from the hotel in Neuerburg. By the way, there are better roads to be experienced in the area, this is just a taster

I've used an Oxford tankbag on 2 euro tours. Very handy for displaying a map and storing the essentials. http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y183/cruxiform/Germany%202013/036.jpg

My Fireblade has lived outside for 4 years. I have a good cover which covers the entire bike and an anchor set in concrete with 2 heavy chains. My tip is to keep it as close to the house as you can, mine lives under the front room window. Bike thieves tend to go for easy targets so if it looks like too much work or the chance of being caught in the act is high, they'll move on. Forget alarms, they're a pain in the arse IMO. With all of that in mind, I walk past a VFR800 every morning that is parked outside a block of flats without any form of security or cover. The fella has parked it like that for years and it hasn't been nicked. Mad.

I have this one: http://www.getgeared.co.uk/alpinestars_ ... tegory=203 Great for an overnight trip, I used it for a one-nighter to Wales a couple of months back. Quite small but with chest strap so doesn't move around.