bonio

Same here, loathe it. I've managed my "career" by finding the bottom rung of the ladder and refusing to let go. So I get to do real work and mainly stay out of all that stuff.

Heated vest here only when it's proper chilly, like close to zero (still nearly 10 here in the pansy south ). Under the jacket, layers according to taste: shirt, fleece, then a thin windproof layer when winter comes. Currently on jeans + thermals under but I'll shift to textiles when it gets colder.

Just realised that by sleeping on it, I got a better deal. Reminds of a time back in the spring of 2000. A guy I knew was going to cash in some options on shares for the company he worked for (it was a startup, everyone got options). The price had been steadily going up month by month for quite a while, and as a result he was looking to make a cool quarter of a million. Back then that would have bought a very handsome house. He had kids; this was a really big thing for him. It was the morning, and he kept refreshing the web page to get the latest price, and it was still going up with each hit of the F5 button. So he hesitated; perhaps he'd get a better deal after lunch? There was a crowd of us standing behind him. I remember the moment. Because by the afternoon the share price had dropped 25%. And the way options work, that meant him settling for half the cash. So he left it for the next day, waiting for the price to bounce back. But by the next day share price was 50% down and the options were worthless. Life is odd: he hesitated and lost a fortune. I hesitated and saved myself a tenner.

Just bought the C5 SE Lite. $1.25 to the £1 helped the price.

Me too. Two batteries. Slow learner.

Sounds like good news. Ta. I'll sleep on it and think again in the morning.

Sounds amazing @Mickly. Got me wondering...

Hey @Stu. I'm toying with getting one of these. And they're currently discounted a bit for Black Friday. A couple of qs: * When powering with the USB, does it have to be a 12V USB socket? Will 5V do? * Sounds like you decided not go with USB in the end; why did you change?

@Interference Fit Looks beautiful.

Optimate 4 here too. Had it 10 years or more. Works a treat.

Years since I had a sportsbike, but to look to the right don't you just tuck your left shoulder down, raise the right one a bit? Unlike a naked, you shouldn't be twisting your neck much.

Here's your route buddy. https://tinyurl.com/cardiff-to-edinburgh

That is one freakin ugly MV.

And what are you going to do after lunch?

My 400 has only 39 horses but will happily do 85mph* and it's noticeably faster on the twisties than the 800. @Gerontious is right, mind; if you're doing DAS, skip the 125, skip 300, look for something 600-800cc. The bikes are a whole lot more versatile, and usually more fun to ride too. At 6ft you're going to have to think about size - sports bikes are probably too small for you, but any other style will likely suit you fine. * on an private road with the owner's permission

You're a more generous, warm-hearted soul than me. But at least its better than the industrial vineyard apocalypse (aka Champagne) just to the north.

That's real magic.

One thing to bear in mind is that getting your bike is a really personal decision; it's not like buying a car. There's a bike (or a few bikes) out there that really suits you - it's the right size; it has an engine whose feel you like; it puts you in a position that is comfortable and involving; it gives you enough feedback to give you confidence. Hopefully you'll like the look of it too (but this last one doesn't always happen). So I'd say wait until you've got a few miles under your belt, and then you'll have a much better idea of what you're looking for. No harm in looking at bikes on line in the meantime. We all have a weakness for bike porn.

For comparison, I'm just over 9st. I find a lot of Italian and Japanese bikes' suspensions suit me as set up by the factory. By the way, when you come to get your next bike, put the Ninja 1000SX / Z1000SX on your list. Not sure it's the right size for you, but if it fits, I think you'd like it.

Wanna do a swap? Your energy for my back pain?

I can imagine it's going to be hard to find someone to rent you a bike - their insurance policies won't cover a learner. But I'd have thought any riding school would be happy to take you out for an hour's lesson and then come up with a plan to get you through the test tailored to your ability. You'd have to pay school prices for lessons you do take, and to cover the time you're on their bike for the two tests. 5 hours total perhaps? + the cost of the tests themselves.

@Gerontious might be able to help.

Cheapest I found was £295. A stiff increase in on last year, but hey ho.

Oh my, just received this for the car insurance: The only things that's changed is that the car is one year older. So no, sorry bud, not happy at all.

Can you go out and try doing the route when there's less traffic? A couple of times out of rush hour will give you a lot more confidence.