Colin the Bear

New battery charged? Battery on right way round? Connections secure? Earth strap connected other end.

Ah! the cold crutch trickle. I use tent proofer.

Cover display with gaffer tape and buy a watch

An air filter with a hole in it is no longer an air filter. Replace it. Dirty air will cause all sorts of wear problems. Strangely enough this may be why your machine is running rich. The loss of a little power on a small motorcycle is most noticable. Don't go adjusting everything. Fix the problem. An old man once said "You can't dig a hole in a different place by digging the same hole deeper"

Doh!http://i195.photobucket.com/albums/z28/Colin_the_bear/smiley-chores028.gif

Try wearing a balaclava for a while to stretch it out or let someone with a big head break it in for you

Bike Trader

Position will help too. Try to bend your elbows and take the weight off your hands. Not easy with a sports though.

FFS CHECK THE TYRE PRESSURE

Metal toolboxes invariably chip and rust in my experience. I've had a variety of plastic ones where the main box is usually robust but the trays break. I currently use an aluminium flight case type box. I cut some boards to fit and arranged the most commonly used spanners, screwdrivers, etc on the boards and stapled strips of 1"wide knicker elastic across each tool to hold it in place. Pockets in the lid for bits and pieces and a range of small plastic storage cases for odds and ends. Used to use golden virginia tins but haven't smoked for years. The problem with sets of sockets and spanners is all the sizes you never use. Chrome vanadium for spanners and sockets is a must. A cheapish half inch drive socket set will fare well enough for home a mechanic. Smaller sizes need to be better quality to stand the strain You can get good tools cheap and crap tools for a fortune. Car boots, bike jumbles and shows, flea markets can have some bargains in second hand stuff. An old tool is a good tool. Don't spend a fortune guessing what you need, buy what you're going to use and update/replace as you get more experienced I'd include a basic multimeter in any tool kit. I prefer a digital. 2 pair of lockiing pliers, 1 small, 1 large will come in handy. I can recommend visegrip. I've had a small pair4" and an 8" pair for decades and they look and work like new. I'd include a rubber hammer and/or a leather faced mallet.

Some bikes just don't like the wet. My XJ900 will misfire and act up if it rains. Tried alsorts. The old XV1100 doesn't mind the weather.

I've had a fieldsheer jacket for years. Can't fault it. Well designed, well made, practical, comfortable,removable inner fleece bomber jacket and armour pockets and pads. http://www.fieldsheer.com/site2010/IE/index3.html

2 years doing an occassional sunday rideout is fine for a helmet. 2 years daily use and it's getting done. The inside wears out before the outside shows signs of wear. I'd be looking to replace it.

We're a bit odd in England. We use Centigrade for below freezing and fahrenheit for above, so no conversion needed for the warm. Jacket gloves and boots will do for warm weather riding. A good pair of ordinairy jeans will do. Leather pants for when it's cold, to keep the wind chill down.

Gel batteries need a slow trickle charge. They can explode if charged wrongly. Have a look here http://www.batterystuff.com/kb/articles ... arger.html

Lace up commando boots are good for fat feet days. Silvermans have plenty of choice.

The retro is best petrol guage in the world. Open the cap and look in. If you can't see any, rock the bike, if you can't hear it sloshing, it's empty. NB if moths fly out when you open the cap, it's been out of fuel for some time

Been listening to the beautiful sound of my old Vtwin. Currently listening to a ringing noise

Lots of leather jeans are too long so you can cut them to length. Bike jackets have longer sleeves than an ordinairy jacket to accomodate the riding position Had some bargains here http://www.silvermans.co.uk/ J&S carry a good range as do hein gericke As a general guide, if it's tight try the next size up

Lube....... short for lubricant. So many different types and applications. Used engine oils contains carcinogens and should be handled with care. A bottle of gear oil EP80 or 90 works well as chain lube. There are a variety of greases that have different applications. Hot ,cold ,wet etc. Then there's copper grease, all the different colours of brake grease, rubber grease Dry lube is graphite powder or similar. Used it in door locks but never on the bike. There's a ptfe ( polytetrafuoroethylene) spray for twist grip throttles that's classed as a dry lubricant White lube may be silcone grease. A very versatile product. Then there's water based lubricants like KY Jelly. This is mostly used by bikers sporting a moustache and no beard and wearing tassled jackets. It's quite expensive so two guys generally share a tube.

I saw a turntable made from two circles of sheet metal, big rivet in the centre and liberally greased inbetween. Pop it on the cetre stand and Boing , time for bed. Worked a treat. I use a bike lift myself.

A one man tent is ok for hikers etc but with all the bits and pieces you take on a bike I'd recommend no less than a two man. A couple of bungies and a bin bag is a cheap and cheerful pillion luggage system

You need to read the BFG, re whizzpops

The Sinead oConnor album arrived. How about I be me and you be you. Had it on all day.

Why would a sat nav be make and model specific?