fastbob

I should have read this before posting . Oh well . By the way Exream used to ride a VStrom .

Side stand switch , trying bending the tang that pushes the switch . If that doesn't get it try running on Pri ( Prime position ) on the fuel tap . And if it's still playing up , clean both ends of both battery leads and whatever they connect to with an abrasive and reassemble . Failing all of that , pull all the multi pin connectors starting with the most crispy looking ones . Clean and inspect . If you are still stuck I don't mind popping over to have a look at it .

If you have a plastic plate and a rubber diaphragm inside the master cylinder you can definitely get away with conventional screws for now .

I can be a bit slow at times . I've just realised that this idiot has put the L plate and the angling sticker right in his line of vision !

Do you have a relative in Coventry ? It was the fishing sticker that made me think of it .

Sally's Place , Malvern Hills , right on the Worcestershire Herefordshire border . Highly recommended . Three separate local ice-cream ranges plus home baked cakes and hot filled rolls . Bikers very welcome .

A little awkward for me because I live in Coventry in the arse , sorry , heart of England . However , I do ride to Scotland every year and it's high time I visited the East coast for a change . My late father was born in Old Deer and lived in and around Strichen so I should be genetically programmed to understand you guys . I too plan my runs around ice-cream and cake , sometimes on the same plate . Maybe next summer perhaps .

I don't want to sound self righteous but this morning I managed to secure Housing Payments and a substantial back payment for a vulnerable ex serviceman who was recovering from a stroke and was having a bad time from an unsympathetic landlady . Sometimes a bit of personal contact can go a long way . That's better than a birthday present to me .

Thanks everyone ! Just another day at the office really . There isn't a 0 in this one .

I thought about touring Spain but the thought of strange , embittered old men lurking about in remote ruins muttering to themselves in Welsh has always put me off .

I hate Torx . I've managed to rid the Harley of most of them now .

That is probably a vinyl graphics kit . Like this .

I believe there is room for some middle ground here . Older forum members will be aware that before I got a Harley , I rode a pair of GSXR 1100's for many years and clocked up the best part of 70,000 miles . I think that the idea that if you're " Hanging off the bike you're going too fast for the road " is not entirely fair . There is a world of difference between a GP Jockey hanging off a bike and someone shifting their weight around in a moderate fashion to get the bike smoothly around a corner . I don't even think a Hypersports bike will go round a corner at legal speeds without some athletic input from the rider . You wouldn't buy an R1 and sit bolt upright on it like a sack of spuds but at the same time , you wouldn't try to get your knee down on every bend . There is definitely a middle ground where you can enjoy getting the best performance out of a bike without behaving like an absolute hooligan .

Because it's now fully extended . You have to take the end cap off , take out the spring and rod , lift the ratchet and reset the plunger , replace the gasket , bolt it back on , insert the rod and spring and finally replace the end cap . Failure to follow this procedure will result in serious engine damage .

A well chosen user name .

The Gestapo was a very underesourced organisation that operated mainly on tip offs particularly from people who didn't like their neighbours .

I know Stew runs this thing but who is Admin and what possible interest is a bike we are never going to see ?

Sounds like a clutch failure . I wouldn't run it again until I'd had the whole clutch pack out and inspected for thickness and warpage . I've actually got the feeling that it may be a bit more obvious than that though . I reckon you've got some detached friction plate material floating around inside the basket . I have to agree that your description of the symptoms is rather unclear .

Another example of how not to waste your money .

The point I am making is that if you are young , and by that I mean any age between 18 and 30 , and you are drawn to a life based around motorcycles , now is not the time to be dicking around on 125's or " Intermediate " bikes . They really are going to turn off the petrol . Once the middle classes have all got their creepy silent cars and it's no longer a vote loser there will be no stopping the bast*rds . Sinister man of mystery , Elon Musk has already got his plans for a mega factory in Coventry drawn up FFS . So if you want a cruiser motorcycle , or any other kind of motorcycle , now's the time to go for it . A shit Chinese 125 imitation Harley costs only a Grand or so less than a well looked after second hand real one . And the difference is night and day .

Yes , I realize that but look at the bigger picture here . You are happy to spend £3,000 on a 125 that is dressed up in all kinds of unnecessary crap to make it look like a badly drawn Harley Davidson . Why not keep your money in the bank and buy a tatty but functional 125 like a Yamaha YBR or a Honda CG , learn to ride , learn about bikes and maybe even do it up a bit and make a little profit . Then , when you are ready , you get your full license and buy a real Harley .

Were the local residents airlifted to safety ?

Oh yeah , don't let me put you off .

Ha ha ! Having worked in a bike shop , I genuinely thought this post was about those lonely pricks who spend hours leaning on the counter telling tales of their amazing exploits without spending any money . We had one who used to ride a filthy rusty 535 Virago . He would come in every Thursday just before closing time and wander around trying on helmets and asking about stuff . We even tried turning the lights off and putting our coats on but this as*hole was undeterred . If you love bikes , NEVER work in a bike shop .