bonio

Shite that's rough. My premiums shot up when the Tiger was stolen, even though my ncb was protected. They said it was because I was now classified as a higher risk. Clever these insurance folk; they have an answer for everything, and it's usually one that works in their favour.

To be fair, I don't think it's 100% clear. IIRC, the Highway Code says you should only enter the hatched area if it's necessary. So the thinking is that of course it's necessary to enter the hatched area if you want to overtake or filter.

Dang it that's sad. The examiner was clearly suffering from post-Christmas humbug. But never mind mate; you'll nail it next time.

Going to ask Rishi to make it legal to have small, black number plates on an Italian bike. Anything to get rid of that woeful wodge of canary yellow on its backside.

The was a law case some years back following an accident where a guy on a bike was hit by an oncoming vehicle. Might have been a van. The biker was injured, and the case came to law to settle the liability. The thing that made the case memorable was that although the vehicle had come over the (broken) white line onto the biker's side of the road, the biker was found to be partially liable, and had to bear a part of the costs, because he had taken up a position near the white line - even though he hadn't actually crossed it. The biker had to admit in court that it would have been safer if he'd stayed in the centre of his lane. So when it comes to the law, you're liable if you do something that compromises safety, and this regard it doesn't matter much which side of the line you are.

I think the "no longer recommended except for emergency services" bit must be a bit of googledegook. I was doing this in my last test back in October and the tester was fine with it. 10 years ago, though, I was getting corrected for it.

Yup, that's the way I was told to do it. When I'm on a test, the panniers get left at home

Tring to find the theme there @goat.

Missing the sun here, too. Hard to think there was so much of it going for free just a few months ago.

Without all the crap they add in.

Never ridden an Enfield, but it does sound right. The only time my bike's reluctant to change gear is when it's stopped. If this is happening when you're on the move I'd get it back to the dealer to be fixed.

Welcome in!

Hey Hoggs, would you put me down for 77? I'm promising nothing, but who knows what may happen.

Hi there. Congrats on the new bike.

29A is a shit load quite a lot. I think you're fine.

Feeling your pain mate. With the GS, I decided in the end that it would be a bike that wore its wounds with a bit of pride. It would a proper bike that had seen active service. Reluctantly have had to come to the same decision about the MV.

Welcome in! Have you got your eye on any particular bikes?

Change your screen. You can try this out for free: when you're riding down some bit of straight road, keep looking straight ahead while you move your head slowly up and then down. If you can find a quieter spot, then a new screen will probably help. Where the quiet spot is will tell you roughly how much taller or shorter you need the screen to be. Use ear plugs, and if it's still too noisy, try a helmet windjammer.

That's a lot. I'm 61, and fully comp insurance on a 2 year old MV Augusta 800cc is about £200. 9 years no claims (so probably £350 without ncb). It's common practice for companies to charge more the first year you're riding a bigger bike than before. When I went from a 500cc to a 1200cc, my insurance was crazy to begin with, but after that it settled down. Same thing happened when I had to say I'd gone from a 400cc to an 800cc. The big factors are: where are you (insurance in London is crazy) and where's the bike kept (in a garage or shed is cheaper). It can work in weird way too: fully comp and can sometimes be cheaper than third party, and you can sometimes get a small reduction by increasing your annual mileage. But the easiest variable to change is the bike. Try putting different bikes and different engine sizes through and see what happens. I wouldn't be surprised if 600cc bikes come out a lot cheaper than litre bikes.

It's not the battery, it's the stator you need to think about. And it's not volts, its amps that are the killer. The problem comes if the current drawn your stuff adds up to more than the current the stator can provide. If this is the case and you're lucky, the current deficit will be made up by the battery. The battery will go flat and when you next stop you won't be able to start. But if this is the case and you're unlucky, the stator will try harder and harder to produced meet the demand for amps and it will burn its little coils out. You need to know how much current in amps the stator can deliver. Should be in the handbook, but if not then a forum somewhere. Then tot up the amps drawn by the headlamps on full beam + rear lamp + grips + power pack/mobile*. If you don't know the amps, then take the power rating (in watts) and divide by 14. If the stator can deliver what's needed, then you're ok. If not, you still might be able to swing it by juggling your accessories, e.g. by only having the grips on low if you're charging the power pack. Or if not, you might be able to swap the headlamp bulbs for LEDs. *The sat nav is probably too small to bother about, and the brake lights and indicators aren't on long enough to make a difference (because the electric can overdeliver amps for short periods) Some bikes use some clever circuitry to cap the current available through a USB port at 1A or 2A - check in your handbook; if this is the case with yours, this will be the maximum current the power pack can draw, no matter what it would draw if it were connected to a mains transformer.

goatbot

It's worth checking the current drawn by the heated grips and the power bank.

Siemens! You sure that was wise?

Not actually owned that many The best: MV Agusta TV The worst: Tiger XRx 800 Wish list: reluctantly have to admit it: R1200GS. Proper love - hate relationship, but the love was true love.