bonio

Really lovely bike. Didn't see a car

S-speed boots? Is that 4 up and 1 down?

+1 for Daytona Gore-Tex. Dry and very comfortable; I often wear them all day at work.

Well done mate. Great achievement.

Rice pudding is one the greatest achievements of Western civilisation. To appreciate it is to appreciate all that is fine in life.

Could be because Labradors are the most popular breed in the UK. Here's a county by county map of dog breeds: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-27690167

We used to have to have licences to own dog. If I remember right they used to cost 7/6, the same as a marriage licence. But I don't think they were successful either in helping dogs or control ownership. In the end they were scrapped. I think the problem is with the dog breeders. If you get a dog from the dog's home they question you and visit your house and look at your kids and only then they let you take one of their dogs (at least that what happened with us). But you can go to a breeder, pay your money and they don't have to do anything to check how you're going to look after the dog. So I'd go for licences for dog breeders, together with inspections where they'd have to show how they vet their customers.

Get a quote sorted online. Then if you buy the bike, you can buy the insurance on the phone (online or in the old-fashioned way by talking to someone) before you ride it away. Road tax too. That way you're free to walk away if you're not 100% happy when you go and see it.

Nor me.

Feel for you mate. Just unlucky I guess. Next time you'll be ok.

Ta. I used to take my old CB500 to Cambridge Motorcycles, and yes, they're very friendly and yes it could be a bit rough if they needed to get parts, although Phil has lent me his Fazer 1000 while mine was laid up in the shop waiting for them to come in. I've never had anything go wrong with the work they've done. Mainly I've stopped going there because it awkward to get to from where I work now. I've also used M&M in Waterbeach for MOTs and tyres. Also friendly and it's worth going there just for the rook that lives in the shop. Never had them do any real work so I can't say what they're like. Funny: they've recommended Motoworks too. sorry

Tell me about it! Had enough bad experiences that even now I think I've found a good one, I find myself expecting to be f**ked over every time I leave something with them! Shame that so many bad eggs ruin it for the decent ones like the place I'm using these days (touch wood), seriously not cool! Who do you use Rant? Or what I really should ask is who have you stopped using? I'm a bit clueless when it comes this kind of stuff.

Cobbles. Nasty. Mud. Not nice. And on a hill in the wet? Very unpleasant. If it's wet, can you turn the other way and go home up the hill? It sounds as if it's easier to learn to do that road in the dry and graduate to doing it in the wet.

Oh a million questions. Most of them have answers already on the site somewhere, but here goes with some ready-packaged (and condensed) ones. Helmet. The important thing isn't how much money or how many sharp stars, but how well it fits. Try some on in a shop and ask advice from the guys who work there. £50-80 should sort you out. Jacket, trousers. Textiles are going to be most flexible for year-round commuting: they have detachable linings that can be removed in summer, and will be reasonably waterproof. You can wear textile trousers over normal jeans (just make sure they're not a snug fit). Kevlar jeans on their own are too cold for winter; mine stay unused until May.The stuff from Triumph outlet is good, but I think you don't need to spend as much as £100. There are usually plenty secondhand on ebay. Gloves. Basically yes. Just don't get summer, racing or motorcross gloves - they will be too cold (and motorcross won't give much protection). Boots. Motorcycle boots that come half way up the shin are ideal. They will give better grip and offer better ankle protection than most casual boots. What bike? To be honest, for a 4 mile commute on 30/40 mph, I'd be on a push bike, but I guess that's not an option. A CG125 or a YBR would be great. But for £700? I think you might find a bike that needs a bit of work at that price, but then you'll need to spend time and money sorting it out. A 50cc would fit the budget, but mightn't be what you're looking for although it would do the commute fine. I won't give you an opinion on Chinese bikes; others here will.

nice ohlins mate

Dunno, but that sounds like a classic delaying tactic to me . I'd suggest to continue with the CAB at the same time as waiting out the month.

There's a lot in this. About 10 years I had a whole series of jobs that I really hated and I thought seriously about changing career: plumber, teacher, doctor, I looked at them all. Now I'm still doing pretty much the same job and I'm lucky in that I enjoy what I do. The difference is working people you can have a laugh with.

Basecamp for PC. Don't know how the via points got in there, but I could have added them without realising it. Waving my mouse around randomly, I guess. I feel a bit dumb when it comes to computers

If it's the rear, then it probably shouldn't do that, no matter how it's set up. I'd take it to a specialist suspension shop and get their advice. If all it needs is setting up right, they'll tell you.

Still don't know what to think about Basecamp. I used it to put a route to the Unicorn yesterday. Luckily I kind of knew where to go anywhere as I it sent me off the A1 and had me turning a right pretty much through someone's front door - no road to be seen at all. So today I looked more carefully at the route in Basecamp and there it was: a little loop through some village in the Soke of Peterborough, and then nip back on to the A1 in time to head off through the middle of Peterborough itself: all for no reason. For some reason Basecamp had scattered a few via points at odd places just off the route I wanted to take and adjusted the route to make sure I visited them all. I'm not going to give up on just yet. I've learned I need to look more carefully at the route and edit it where it's not right. I've also learned that you can type "M" and then use the cursor to move a point, and then type "H" and the cursor goes back to the hand that you can use to move the map around. A lot easier than going to the menu each time.

Great to meet you all.

Well done Great news.

Lol. Sleepingn

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Well done mate