fastbob

I didn't have to push in because it seems to be all over now but I did cause some consternation when I arrived at the pump on a pushbike with a Jerrycan in my panniers . I left it in place when I filled up and I think the cashier thought I was going to make off without paying . 

On 08/10/2021 at 13:37, PaulCa said:

Use  red petrol can.  Park the bike round the corner.  Approach the most friendly looking person at an unleaded pump, hand him cash and fill the gerry can on his bill.  Done.

Where would you get a red can from ?

10 hours ago, billy sugger said:

What made you choose the er5

No reason intially . I was looking for a project and I didn't want a four cylinder bike or a 125 and having no four wheeled transport it had to be something that I could ride home . I would have preferred not to have had the hassle of liquid cooling if I'm honest but that's just the way it turned out . It was only after I got an ER5 that I discovered what fun they are to ride and how readily available second hand spares are . Which is why I bought another one . 

6 hours ago, billy sugger said:

Ask a Harley rider 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry fastbob

Apology not required . That's exactly what I got one for . I rode GSXR 1100's as my main bikes for 20 years . When my 93 GSXR was released it was tested at MIRA and judged to be the most powerful production motorcycle in the World* and the second fastest . ( ZZR1100 ) But I always used to feel like a passenger on the thing . It went faster than I could ride it , it went round corners and it made a pleasing enough sound while it was doing it . Bland ? With hindsight yes , very bland . Those who follow my posts will know that it was my first ER5 that finally made me realize what had been missing from my motorcycling for years . That little thing , with its noise and vibration and it's plucky determination to get down the road was a joy to ride . So much so that I started to leave the GSXR in the garage and go on longer and longer rides on the ER . I rode from Arisaig to Coventry via the lake District in a day once and I felt ready to do it over again the next day . If I had been on the GSXR I would have done the bulk of that journey on motorways and I would have been physically and mentally shattered at the end of it . So it was around this time that it dawned on me that it was time to leave speed behind and get a Harley . And I haven't regretted anything except not doing it years ago .  

4 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Artistic license old bean.

Phone screen to be precise . I pound a keyboard all day at work . 

Meanwhile in some godforsaken fly blown wilderness , scorched by a relentless sun , there stands the ruins of a deserted mental hospital / castanet factory . The windows are shattered now and a solitary shutter creaks and bangs as a mournful hot wind moans through the rusting bars . No sign of life now except a dried up turd in a corner left by a long dead shepherd in 1973 . But wait .... What is this I see ? There are two motorbikes parked outside in the baking sun . Can it be ?  ....... To be continued ( not really ) 

2 hours ago, Fish said:

Bloody naughty websites.... No not the usual ones that @Stu would be visiting but those deceiving gits who say and look like a UK company only to find they are in Greece!

 

TPL Parts, I was looking to purchase a nice Akra exhaust for the bike and thought I'd confirm they have stock before ordering on the site. They come back with that they are basedin Greece not the UK as per all the look of the website!

What the hell is an Akra exhaust ? Surely not one of these Chinese £35 jobs with an Akrapovic sticker on ? 

5 hours ago, lingeringstink said:

 

Don't forget that the difference in running costs, fuel consumption and insurance would be astronomical between those two bikes. If somebody's a new bike rider and not made of money and doesn't care about bike snobbery then a Chinese cruiser is by far the better bet. Certain Chinese bikes actually use Honda Benly clone engines that are perfectly fine. Tyres for a Chinese cruiser are £35 each whereas a tyre for a Sportster starts at around £100. That's pretty much the same with all other bits and pieces. It all just depends on what you're after. Want to ride often and ride cheap? Go Chinese and get lots of biking experience under your belt. Want to stand around polishing your pride and joy with empty pockets- go Harley.

Is that so ? 

Well , today I rode my bike . Not the Harley , the ER5 . This thing is so quiet and smooth . Much smoother than my old one but it's all relative after riding a V twin  . I've got five gears but not a lot of clutch so I'll stick a new one in . If I'd bothered to check the tyre pressures I might have actually enjoyed my little trip around the block . As it was I ended up desperately wrestling the thing around corners armed only with a tiny ( To me ) pair of handlebars while trying to find the tiny ( to me ) gear lever . Anyone want to buy an ER5 ? 

On 30/09/2021 at 17:45, Throttled said:

 

I never got the  hang of ACF50 and found no matter what I did, shale the can, warm the can, or even spray a paint brush and paint it on, it went on gloopy and then dirt stuck to it. I am looking for options to get it done professionally and found somewhere not far that will do it for £70, including ceramic protection on the paint work. I like ceramic protection, which came with my father and then my last cars and I have found it to really work.

Well that's the point isn't it ? The dirt sticks to it , the bike turns black and in the spring you carefully remove all the filth including the ACF50 to reveal a gleaming and beautifully preserved bike underneath . That's what we used to do back in the day but with ordinary grease . 

14 hours ago, Tiggie said:

only if I'm working, You can have 1 extra chip 

And that's generous for Yorkshire . 

45 minutes ago, Tiggie said:

@Bender Was closing time!!!.........twat!!! 

 

 

@fastbob we cook chips at high temp until browned properly. Haven't got space for amount of chips we go through to blanch. With the high temp and beef dripping we cook in you don't get soggy chips 

Sounds good , I'll try to make a visit one of my 2022 goals . 

29 minutes ago, Tiggie said:

I'm still working!!! 

Do you blanch and then brown or just boil in oil ? 

I could name one or two bike garages that operate like that . " No problem , bring it in on Monday morning "  ........ Half past five the following Friday " No need to keep calling , we'll call you " I'm sure they get a kick out of it . It's especially infuriating when it's a one hour job . Never again ! 

1 hour ago, billy sugger said:

It's not just HD though, fastbob, even most custom builds in USA have minute tanks. What was it HC rode over there in his road trip programme? He had to keep stopping to fill that up. 

On a side note, I loved it when he visited where Clint had been mayor. No fast food joints or Costa's etc. What the yanks gonna eat? 

Much  of that trend  stems from the builders of early choppers taking tanks off the Mustang economy bike . 

39 minutes ago, daveinlim said:

Ive been seeing this weekly since the days have shortened.

 

Saw one Chelsea tractor with just from fogs on nothing on rear and oblivious to what's happening so obviously she drives like that all the time and has no idea how to use her lights. 

But surely if you have a plethora of active Driver Assistance Systems and a Sat Nav , why do you need lights if there's no need to look out of the windows ? 

6 hours ago, billy sugger said:

Why do HD use such small tanks? I get 200 miles on a tank before hitting reserve, which is good for 25 miles or so. I would hate having to plan trips around fuel stations

Styling , no other reason . The Sportster has been a retro bike ever since it was outclassed by the Honda 750 four . And it's been a retro bike since long before the Japanese manufacturers started turning out retro bikes . So the styling is archaic and that's what sells ..

27 minutes ago, Stu said:

 

What size tank is that @fastbob

I believe I've got the 3.3 gallon tank but there's nothing inside it except petrol . EFI models have all kinds of gubbins in the tank taking up space . 

49 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Ye gods - I remember my old CG125 was like that. Hated not knowing when it was going to run out of fuel and swore never to own a bike that didn't have some indication that it was getting near empty. 

It's not as bad as it sounds . The range to reserve is 80 - 90 miles . It's a lot more than the later EFI models like the Iron . When I'm touring Scotland I don't have any issues as long as I don't pass any garages without filling up . 

17 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

So no fuel gauge or even a warning light? 

Not on carburettor models . There is a digital trip meter if you remember to reset it whenever you fill up but mileage varies according to the type of riding you're doing . 

5 hours ago, billy sugger said:

Note to myself, Never buy a Harley

Not to everyone's taste perhaps  but my only regret is that I didn't get one years ago . 

7 hours ago, S-Westerly said:

Hope the running out of fuel wasn't a personal experience?! Horribly embarrassing if so.

Oh yes , it's happened several times . Obviously I've got reserve but my bike tends to quit without any preliminary hesitation or spluttering . So it's clutch in and get to the hard shoulder asap and restart . 

On 30/09/2021 at 21:43, MikeHorton said:

Just a thread to defuse and vent off a bit. 

 

People who don't indicate on roundabouts bugs me today people tend to do a breakaway indication when they are actually leaving the roundabout no Indicating when turning right etc. It's not hard and I'm sure they know where they are going but I'll be f****d if I know where they are going! Same as those who indicate when they have already started making the turn, come on it's not difficult!

I would like to apologize on behalf of all Harley Davidson riders , myself included , who appear not to have a clue what their indicators are doing . It's bad enough having one button on each handlebar particularly the right one where you're doing three things at once . When you've got used to that , there's the self cancelling system which operates completely at random . Designed in the US , the tilt sensor appears to have no understanding that in order to go right at a roundabout you have to  lean left , then right and then left again . Then there's lane changing on the motorway . The indicators always seem to stay on too long but whenever you flick the switch a second time to cancel it will be at the exact moment that they self cancel so of course you end up reactivating them . The only good feature is the hazard function which is very useful when you run out of fuel without warning in the fast lane * of the motorway .                                                                                                    * Comments anticipated .

What I don't get is why Coventry Council has randomly dotted isolated charging points all around my neighborhood when eventually everyone is going to have to get their own charger . Just looks like a stupid PR stunt to me but I bet somebody has got their snout in some trough or other . 

I'm with Swinton . My insurance is so cheap that I can't remember how much it is .