bonio

Nice; I will put that on my to do list.

I've had a few HJCs. Nice wide view from the visor. Good venting. Altogether well made. If you lived near you could try my DRZ and ten minutes later you'd be a convert. But I can see if you've got your eye on an RE, it's a different vibe.

But Perth to Grantown is one the Nine Wonders of the Biking World.

You need a DRZ-400SM. It's light-weight 400, a single cylinder thumper and a proper blast at that. It's happiest on small lanes and handles perfectly on smaller A roads. It can do dual carriageways, but they're not its native territory. It's a tad tall in the saddle, so should suit you sir. You don't wash it; it's meant to look dirty. For helmets, everything you see being sold by a regular seller is certified for use on the roads and is safe, even the cheaper ones. With the top brands you're mainly paying for more comfort. Caberg, HJC, Shark are all good helmets. Shoei, AGV and Schubert are more expensive. But good fit is evreything, so best to buy from a real shop and get advice from the shop assistant.

In my previous jobs my colleagues were Genzedders. They've all long abandoned facebook. FB is best for keeping in touch with elderly relatives.

Direct Access (DAS) is what you want. First you do a CBT and then you get to ride a 650cc on L plates with an instructor. While this is going on, take your theory test. When you're ready, go for the full test (2 tests actually, mod1 and mod2) riding the 650cc. It's a bit pricey, as all the time you're on the road, you have to be with an instructor. But you can tailor the whole thing to suit you. If you've got the time to give to it, you can go from CBT to full licence in a week. But you can at whatever pace suits you. Best thing to do is to phone a couple of schools and see which one you like the sound of.

Hey Steve, Welcome in from Sunny Suffolk

If it's any encouragement, I found the road part of the CBT easier than the machine control bit that went before. It all seemed to come more easily when I was concentrating on other things like traffic and road signs. All the best for your next session

6C and hosing it down here in Glasgow.

But perhaps it's looking more settled by the end of May?

I did this. Guy paid a deposit. Sent a van. Transferred the money while the van driver waited. It was all fine. A couple of years on and I still have the money. On the other hand, I wouldn't accept PayPal (too easy to make a claim back) and of course I wouldn't get into any deal where I pay a courier or anyone else.

That's crazy. But I can understand - who can you appeal to? Once they've marked a claim against your name it's there, and what can anyone do to get it rubbed out?

Wondered about that myself. Never tried it but now perhaps I'll give it a go.

One of the best riding roads in the Lowlands ❤

Lemme guess, Jap was the problem word? Perhaps in the States it has the same ring as calling a VW camper a Nazi car...

Ooh nice. Some great roads, especially in the foothills of the Troodos, which are more off the tourist routes. The tarmac is great (at least it's great if you can stay on roads that don't turn into boulder-stream river beds.) I was looking at it enviously from inside the hire car a couple of weeks ago.

In America, a biscuit is a scone. And they eat them with, wait for it, roast chicken and gravy, which is actually a thick white peppery sauce. While we of course eat scones with jam and cream. It's no wonder they're so serious.

I used to use the ukgser forum. They call themselves tossers, and although they're wrong about most things, on this point they're spot-on. Now I use the MV forum; such such a nice a place by comparison. People moan about the parts supply chain and the stupid sprag clutch and the leaky indicators, but they all love the bikes and understand the trade offs and happily post about how to put decent indicators on and still leave room for the luggage. It's a very international group. One guy's even from Magadan; has to go some thousands of miles miles to get to the dealer in St Petersburg.

Ha. Fat chance the GP will do a thing. When the missus had pneumonia last year, the practice nurse told her on the phone all she needed was to get out for walks in the fresh air. In January. She miraculously got better, but then got covid and so had another bout of pneumonia in March. This time she was really ill - temperature of 41.5, spO2 sometimes under 80%. We called 111, they sent an ambulance, and the crew told us to go to the doctor the next day for erythromycin and blood tests. No-one at the GP practice would actually see her, and over the phone the practice nurse refused any erythromycin. However, the blood tests were done and when the results came in the doctor phone to say to go immediately to A&E; she was on the verge of sepsis. At A&E they were 100% great. More bloods, x-rays, antibiotics, and they said to ignore the doctor and go straight them next time. For sure we will.

Really sorry mate. That hurts. I haven't any helpful advice for you. Insurance on a £1200 bike is basically only about meeting the legal requirement; they'll make sure it's no benefit to you. When my bike was stolen I discovered that theft is counted as a fault claim (which would make sense to me if I'd stolen it myself, but not when someone else had made off with it), which means higher premiums for me even now four years on. Hopefully vandalism counts as non-fault.

I'm lucky I guess, I had a reasonable experience with Markerstudy when my bike was nicked. They paid up (not as much as I would have liked, mind) and I had the money 14 days after the theft. I guess it's a lot more straightforward when there's a total loss.

Where are you planning on going? Got any routes or directions planned (clearly not south or west... :D)

Bad luck buddy. You were caught up in a bad situation. Even if he'd really wanted you to pass, the examiner didn't have much choice over the matter - making another road user brake or change course is a major. Next time you'll be fine. Lightening doesn't strike twice in the same place.

No centre stand here, too. Clean the chain using a paddock stand. Only time its inconvenient is when I'm touring, as the paddock stand stays at home.

Pull up. Side stand down. Open tank. Lean over and grab holster, insert and release.