Mississippi Bullfrog

Simple enough to answer the points raised: Motorbikes may park in parking bays which are marked with lines large enough to park a car in. The provision of separate motorcycle parking areas does not require a motorcyclist to only use those parking bays. They may have been full when the rider arrived. I often have to park in 'car' spaces when I arrive and find the designated motorcycle area full. For security and to protect the bike from the weather motorcycles may be covered by a cover, whether it be a specific product designed for the purpose or some material adapted for the same purpose. Commercially made covers for motorcycles tend to be black as it aids security. So the bike was parked properly.

This is why I gave up restoring old cars for fun. The days when you could buy a wreck cheaply are long gone. May I recommend model boats instead?

I fitted them to my CBF500. I ride all year and they are brilliant. Totally predictable and excellent in the wet. I do a lot of motorway miles and they seem to resist squaring very well. On the twisties they corner great. I'd never grounded out the pegs until I fitted them.

Just worth checking....if it's cranking over but not firing how old is the spark plug?

This was withdrawn in March 2023 according to the gov.uk website. It still comes up on searches as it's still there, just not valid any more.

Set off home after looking after our granddaughter and my headlight blew at the end of their road. Not a nice journey home on unlit rural lanes with only either full beam or nothing.

The HGV driver who pulled out of a lay by on the A55 right in front of me. I had a solid line of cars in the outside lane so I had nowhere to go. In the end I opened the throttle and squeezed through the rapidly closing gap between the emerging truck and the car alongside me to the right.

Unless you're commuting every day I don't get the issue with bike fuel consumption. My 1200 Bobber generally gets 60mpg when ridden 'briskly' and 70 mpg if I'm just bimbling along. My CBF has carbs and probably gets around 50mpg. The only issue with bike mpg is range. When you ride something like a Bobber with a 9 litre tank around N Wales you get pretty good at knowing where the petrol stations are. Far more important factors relating to bikes are how many grins per mile do you get?

I had a wander around Oulton Park picking up bits I can repurpose into something else. This bit off someone's motorbike will be used to make mast fittings for a model yacht.

I have always thought that people who put a No Turning sign on their driveway are a bit pedantic. But today I found out why they do it. We had a new gate installed last week. Today a truck decided to use our drive to turn round and reversed into the new gate breaking it. Then buggered off without owning up to it. And just to prove the conspiracy theorists right our cctv covering the driveway cut out due to a power cut.

Take a look at the service costs on those motors....and repairs costs when they go wrong. Pretty eye watering.

Close to zero maintenance? Only because they get stolen before there's a chance of anything going wrong. In reality there's a lot that can, and does, go wrong with these things.

Have a great day

Have a great day

I ride a lot at night and in rural areas with cars coming at you up an incline modern headlights are a pain. I also have astigmatism. The advice to look to the near side is what I do. It doesn't solve it 100% but it helps.

I'm pretty sure you can't fit LEDs to a 2003 bike due to MOT regs. A mate did it to his and was told to remove them by the tester. That's for the usual lights. You can fit auxiliary LEDs. You could try one of the brighter halogen type headlight bulbs. I fitted one to my 2006 CBF and it is certainly brighter than the original. I was told they burn out more quickly but mine has been in over 5 years with no problem. BikeVis do some self adhesive auxiliary LEDs. I had some but you need to seal where the wires enter the unit as they're not very weatherproof. I put a dab of epoxy and they lasted longer. They're only small but they show up well.

I was left unsupervised in Sainsbury's in charge of a shopping trolley. Realising I needed to buy drinks for our forthcoming ruby wedding anniversary I decided to swap my small trolley for a larger one. So I headed for the exit, which is controlled by a gate that automatically opens as you approach it. Except it didn't....and by the time I realised the trolley had hit the gate, broken off the sign and got jammed in the mechanism. The alarm went off and staff came to my assistance. Fortunately they were very understanding of my plight. SWMBO was not overly impressed.

Desperados is very easy to drink though. But an entire box....that's ambitious.

Looks like plenty of clearance between the car and the van. What's the problem?

When I was after something along the same lines I was looking for an old CB500, and ended up with a CBF500. Dead simple, reliable, cheap to run, plenty around for budget money. Mine has a large topbox and I add a tankbag when I need to carry more. Prices of them are interesting, they shot up not long after I bought mine, and are now dropping again. But CB500 prices are still going up for good examples. I know someone who deals solely in classic bikes and he's just started to stock them.

The tyre I had repaired is Z rated and our local bike place had no issues putting a plug in it. Not a main dealership though. But a very highly respected service and MOT centre near us.

Have a great day

I fitted new Road 4s to the CBF and within a week had a nail in the front tyre. I took the tyre to a local bike shop and paid £30 for a proper repair. I've done a couple of thousands miles on it with no trouble. For road use and speeds that's perfectly adequate. In my view the DIY repair kits are get you home. Then get a proper repair done and just ride it.

An update on my Richa GoreTex gloves that weren't waterproof. Richa have replaced them. Just need a wet day to see if the new pair are any better.

I wonder if the chains hold the blocks of wood under the engine? I can't see any strap on the back that would hold them.