Mississippi Bullfrog

I have a tablet and bluetooth keyboard / mouse - but that doesn't cover everything I need. I currently use a desk pc for most work and a laptop for presentations / training events / meetings. All being well I hope retire in 2026 which means moving house into something smaller where I won't have an office. Hence whilst I need to update my hardware I'm looking at a decent spec laptop which is more portable and doesn't need dedicated desk space. It needs to last me at least 5 years - I'd prefer a LED screen but the spec of laptop I want is only available with an OLED screen. I'm after a 16:10 screen as I do a lot of writing. Asus do a Zenbook with a LED screen but that's 8GB RAM. I'd prefer 16Gb to make it a bit more future proof - but those only come with OLEDs.

My 12 year old Toshiba laptop is surprisingly not compatible with Windows 11. I can get W11 to run on it but since everything I have is set to English (United Kingdom) which isn't supported by W11 I'd lose a load of stuff updating the os. Shame really as I fitted extra RAM and a SSD to it and it still flies in terms of what I need it for - basic word processing, emails and the joys of online meetings. I'm looking at Asus Zenbooks but apart from the entry level one with 8GB RAM they are all OLED screens. I tend to keep things for years and from what I've read OLEDs don't last that long. Has anyone had one long term and how did it go?

It is bone dry. The most likely cause is a loose connection. They don't even have to be that loose to create an arc.

Anyone taking part in this? I'm either joining a Cheshire group joining at Knutsford, or going solo down to Birmingham and riding North from there. Probably take the cbf due to fuel range. I can see petrol pumps having big queues.

Same here.

Rust is oxidation, which can be caused by moisture as we all know, but can equally be caused by heating steel. Normal levels of moisture in the air are then sufficient to cause oxidation.

No water leak, it's inside the garage which is bone dry. I suspect one of the screws was slightly loose allowing the sparky stuff to get over excited. The corrosion is simply due to having got rather hot.

6" I like to do things properly.

Hmm....is our electricity panel supposed to look like this?

The guidance not to use either the centre stand or the side stand must make it tricky. I assume you have to use a wheel brace to hold the bike vertical? Sometimes designers like to make life difficult.

2 drain plugs? Never seen that before. Must be modern and fancy!

It has been my mum's 90th birthday today so we hosted a family party. We overcatered on the profiteroles so I am currently working my way through a very large bowl of them.

Green flag used to use local franchises for roadside assistance. That may still be the case. I only had to use them once and it was OK. But I'm with GEM now after a recommendation on here. I've not had to use them but their system and prices are good.

Grrr.....I found several YouTube items how to install Windows 11 on a crappy old computer...which mine is. It must be at least 12 years old. But mine is set for English United Kingdom and that isn't an option in Windows 11. So whilst I can install it I'll lose all my software as the update needs to be for the same language settings. Hey ho... maybe time for a new laptop then.

I'm a skinflint. When I change the oil in the Bobber I fit a new washer as I have a big bag of them. But I hate throwing a perfectly usable washer away so it goes on the CBF. Never had one leak. Nor do I torque the plug up anywhere near the numbers in the book.

Last week I did both bikes. I warmed the Bobber up as usual, then drained the oil. But in doing both at the same time I forgot I hadn't warmed the CBF up before removing the drain plug. It made no difference whatsoever in terms of getting the oil out. Modern oil is so thin when cold there isn't much in it. Personally I still prefer to drain warm oil but doing it cold won't make much difference these days.

I was sat on a beach this afternoon with SWMBO. Lovely weather and lots of people about. She spotted a young lad she wasn't happy about, something triggered her spidey sense. So we kept an eye on him as he wandered along the beach. Sure enough half an hour later a distraught dad came legging it along the beach. His 7 year old had wandered off. The police were on their way. We knew exactly where he was so pointed him out to his dad. He'd wandered a good three quarters of a mile from where they'd last seen him. Needless to say his dad was rather relieved. I've just learnt over the years that her instincts with kids is usually spot on.

I've spent the day driving the safety boat at our sailing club. Some of our junior members were out enjoying a brisk wind. Watching them throw themselves around the boat made me feel very old. When they get to start racing I'd better retire before I get slaughtered.

It takes the shine off the new bike - glad to hear the dealers are taking it seriously.

Years ago my brother lived in a rural area and insisted he needed a 4x4. We were out one day when it began to snow. He was very smug as he drove slowly along a lane - "This is why I need a 4x4. Without this I'd be stranded." Which is precisely when a young lady in a pink Ford Ka overtook him and disappeared into the distance. He went quiet for quite a long time.

Hope you're having a great day

I didn't realise how fragile expensive cars are. In a filter lane the brand new range rover 4 cars in front had a transmission failure which locked the auto box. No way of moving it and it was right in the middle of the lane. The next 2 cars slowly bumped up the curb and filtered past. But the next car was a brand new Audi and the guy refused to go up the sloped curb because it would break his car. After a few minutes of trying to persuade him it was a low sloped curb which he could safely negotiate I gave up. Which meant I had to drive my tatty old Astra over the traffic island and drop down the square curb at the far side. Nothing broke. Nothing fell off. These old Vauxhalls must be far better built than Audis.

The book (and every online source I can find) says 2.9 for oil only, and 3.1 for oil and filter. I always change both. I prefilled the filter and still added 3.1 litres, and that was just showing at the very bottom of the dipstick.

Oil changes for both bikes. The Bobber takes 3.4 litres with the oil level bang in the middle of the sight glass. The CBF says it takes 3.1 litres but if you put that much in the oil level is only just touching the bottom of the dipstick. 3.3 litres takes it halfway up the dipstick. I've never figured that one out.

I got my winter kit back out last night. Horrible weather. At least I know my new gloves are waterproof.