fastbob

1 hour ago, Stu said:

It's OK I figured it out! 

 

It looks like they are rear facing but its hard to say for definite  

I've looked at them from every angle and my feeling is that they are rear facing . Sorry . 

3 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

I once saved money by having a pet.

 

Our daughters' hamster died so on my way home stopped at the local pet shop to get a replacement. It was in a little box which fitted in by bike jacket so that was handy.

 

A few days later it gave birth to four baby hamsters. 

 

Buy one, get four free. Best deal I ever had.

I actually know someone who did the very same thing with a horse !  They bought mare to ride and the thing started putting on weight straight away . It eventually gave birth to a lovely foal which was sold on for a profit . 

11 hours ago, bonio said:

One of the odd things about modern life is the number of people who take to some form activism, seemingly as way out of the agonising nihilistic despair of consumer shopping and watching daytime TV. It's as if they need something to fill a gap in their lives and they find activism simply because it gives their lives a purpose. It really doesn't matter what they're campaigning for (Bradbrook herself has hopped from one good cause to another, to another) as long as they can convince themselves that their calling is a great and mighty one.
The sad thing is I just roll my eyes and switch off and end up becoming even more cynical than I was before I heard about them. 

Exactly ! Especially if you knocked around with these people back in the day when they were Bikers . I stupidly thought we'd all be still riding together but one of my old mates is an ER activist and one is even a vegan with an electric car ! 

12 hours ago, Bender said:

There is often a disconnect between intelligence and common sense, sometimes it's quite an alarming gap. 

A former friend of mine is a very active member of Extinction Rebellion in Abingdon but he drives a milk tanker for a living . It seems to have gone right over his head that the dairy industry is a way to dispose of the unwanted byproducts of the beef industry , the gaseous byproducts of which are apparently destroying the ozone layer . 

If you are offered medicine by a vet on an ongoing basis , take the first issue because obviously it needs to be administered straight away . But also ask for a rolling six month prescription . They may charge you for this but it's going to be worth it . For example , the vet wanted to charge £37 a go for Bob's medicine but with a prescription you can buy it online for a mere £11.23 Inc vat . I use a company called Vetimed . 

25 minutes ago, PaulCa said:

 

More likely cursing the bike for not being able to go around a roundabout WITHOUT scraping the pegs.

Which is why I bought a Roadster with plenty of ground clearance . 

I find it curious that your first thought is the charging system . Is it actually running on three cylinders ? Have you done a spit test on the downpipes ? If it is running on three then the cold cylinder is your culprit . Check the lead , plug cap and plug and then check the carb . 

I've also got some . They are as waterproof as a pair of Wellies . I paid £80 for mine off Gumtree " Worn once " 

42 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Or buy a Triumph Bobber. Then you get the best of both worlds, cool looks and they handle ridiculously easy. You can hurl them round the twisty bits with ease due to the fact that you bum is so close to the ground.

 

Totally impractical of course but the grin per mile factor is huge.

 

All joking aside I am not a fast rider but I've had knee down guys in full power ranger attire ask how on earth something that looks like that is so hard to keep up with.

My neighbor is a Triumph test rider and he would agree with you 100% there . Best handling bike ever he says . 

Searching eBay on behalf of someone else looking for a Harley clutch spring compressor and I got a pleasant surprise when I found a picture of my own bike on eBay . I think I must have sent the picture with the positive feedback . And before anyone says a word , the carpet is out of a skip . 

Oh just get a Harley . You'll be too busy looking good to worry about how you're riding it .

3 hours ago, Mickly said:

Liners fitted - gently tapped in place with a rubber mallet.

 

Thats it for a week or so as we’re off down to Newquay on holibobs

So how much blue Hylomar has oozed out , if any ? 

11 minutes ago, Bender said:

It's not supposed to. 

Exactly . 

1 hour ago, Mickly said:

Thanks, it did say “smooth it off”, maybe it’s squished out as I smoothed it out.

I’ll try & take some off tomorrow ( can you do that once it’s cured? ) or do I need to start over?

Always ready to take advice from someone who’s already got the T-shirt

Does this stuff ever cure ? 

2 hours ago, Mickly said:

You reckon I’ve over done it? 
Haynes manual doesn’t say how big a bead to use.

My understanding of a bead is like a 3-4 mm "String "  straight out of the nozzle . 

3 minutes ago, Mickly said:

So take off the masking tape without buggering up the paint at the edges.

 

Liner mating faces inside of crankcase cleaned up

Assembly lube smeared on gudgeon pin, cloth stuffed into crankcase to prevent errant circlips pinging off in to oblivion.

1st piston fitted - circlips are a pain as they are just plain hoops without anyway of gripping them to compress !!

All 4 fitted - not a quick job !!

 

Liners with bead of Blue Hylomar on mating faces left to cure.

 

Maybe fit the liners tomorrow.

That's some bead . Be careful they don't hydo lock . 

49 minutes ago, PaulCa said:

Yea, when I got my first quote for the CBF1000 7 years ago, they quoted me £86+fees.  Which was £104.  I just changed from a KLE500 where they charged me £130 the last year.  I think I triggered the "over 40" bracket.  My car insurance came down as well, although a little old lady running a red in front of me and a certain incident of 88mph in a 60, broke that for 5 years.  Thankfully it's back down to £330 for a 2 litre sports car.

Oh , you had a KLE . What are your impressions of it ? I'd like to do one up but they seem hard to come by and expensive . 

11 hours ago, cyclingwilly said:

As above or please pint me in the right direction to find one in the UK.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Long-Black-Clutch-Brake-Levers-For-Kawasaki-Vulcan-S-650-2015-2021-/174758335398?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=710-127635-2958-0

I was idly trawling through insurance quotes for the ER5 and I could barely believe it . I've been known to spend that on petrol on a really good weekend . 

I was idly trawling through insurance quotes for the ER5 and I could barely believe it . I've been known to spend that on petrol on a really good weekend . 

8 hours ago, PaulCa said:

Getting the new bike today, hopefully!

 

Been watching a lot of videos and reviewing my road craft etc.  I've been riding for 19 years.  I've only scraped a peg or centre stand twice and it scared the shit out of my both times.  The first time I nearly popped my knee because I put my foot down, at 30mph. PING!

 

On the two test rides, both times I had a "block" in what I call "intuitive automatic control".  Both times going through a corner and the "autopilot" just stopped banking into the corner further and I had to "intervene" and consciously push the inside bar.  Not talking about ripping it, not talking about running wide, just that my confidence bumped into it's limit and I had to drive consciously.  Maybe that's just being rusty.  I'll keep an eye on it.

 

Some of my video watching tells me, that on warm tarmac/asphalt the bike, most bikes, will happily lean that far and the peg scraper is designed to give you warning before any other more solid part of the bike contacts the road. 

 

I suppose other than driving round and round roundabouts, or doing car park slaloms to gain lean angle confidence, there isn't more you can do?

I'm not interested in knee down and body position stuff, and yes I know body position reduces need for lean angle.  What I'm looking for is to remove that "block" I talked about, where my confidence won't let me push the bike down when I need it without having to consciously intervene.  Consciously driving is too slow, too reactive.

 

Especially in the wet.  I have a tendency to drive too cautiously in the wet, trying to keep the bike upright, always paying attention to the balance when hitting the brakes etc.  I'm 100% sure the bike has a lot more grip than I am relying on it for.

 

So while my approach to date has been always error with margin on the safe side, I think I've been over doing that for a few decades and approaching the edges of my comfort zone would do me good.

 

Be nice!

What you are describing sounds like the way I have ridden motorcycles for over 40 years . We all have different levels of aptitude for riding bikes just as we have different levels of aptitude for playing the guitar or playing tennis . Just because you love bikes dosen't mean you're any good at it . So don't worry about it . Stay safely within the bounds of your ability and just enjoy . Quick story . I used to work with a young Andy Carlisle . You'll have to Google him but he's the fastest biker round the Nurburgring and a mate of Guy Martin . Andy would come to work on whatever bike he had to hand including a scooter . One day I followed him home on my GSXR and what I saw astonishes me to this day . He appeared to just get this thing up to full speed and then fling it smoothly into any corner without braking or throttling back . The lean angle on those little tyres defied belief and I was sure he was headed for a slide but it never happened . What struck me was the sheer fluidity of his riding style and complete lack of fear . In other words , he was naturally gifted .  I am not naturally gifted at anything much but I'm not going to let a little thing like that put me off . 

1 hour ago, Bender said:

Worse. @Six30

You wot ? 

CG125 anyone ? If it only lasted a year it would be cheaper than bus fare . 

12 minutes ago, Boondock Puffins said:

Thank you! That sounds like a great trip, very impressive that you powered it yourself! 

 

Thank you for the feedback, we intend on doing a few videos on what/how we packed and the route that we took, ferries we got etc. 

https://themotorbikeforum.co.uk/topic/39289-scotland-2021/?do=findComment&comment=562741. This is my last trip . 

This was the best one I built . A 1976 . That engine is a hybrid mixture of Brazilian and Japanese parts . I always regret not sourcing a better chainguard .