Mississippi Bullfrog

I've had this happen when our neighbour was having a new kitchen fitted. The guys parked their van outside our house and there were screws and bits all over the road.

Compression will be higher when hot so sometimes a weak battery will show as reluctance to start when hot. But if it's spinning over fine then look at either vapour lock or fuel mix.

I think it was, due to Triumph keeping the traditional fitting of the chain on the right side of the bike. (You see what I did there?)

I remember the days when the office knob would boast how beers he'd had and then driven home. It's not clever any more. But the office knob still boasts how he got from A to B in record time and what it lark it was to the fastest thing on the road. You won't solve the problem with vans, cameras, NIPs or anything else until you change the fundamental culture of how we use the roads. Disclaimer - the office knob is just as likely to be 'she' and 'he'. In either case when they get caught they somehow see themselves as the victim and expect everyone else to sympathise with them. You don't hear people saying they got done for drink driving and expecting sympathy - why do those who get caught speeding expect any?

On the other hand it's not unusual for people to have second thoughts about big decisions and then once you get on with life things sort themselves out. But if you're really not happy with your decision speak to the dealer asap as once the paperwork is done he can't undo it so the bike has been bought and sold.

As above - I've done this with cars when I've finished rebuilding them. You can get it insured (it's ok to be insured without tax but not vice versa), prebook the MOT, then you can legally ride it to the MOT station with no tax or MOT. If you get stopped the police will ring the garage to check the bike is booked in so when you book it make sure they have your reg number your name. Good luck.

I took a serious look at the CB500 range when replacing my commuter. Generally excellent bikes, reliable and easy to live with. Two criticisms, they need a valve clearance check very early on which is expensive, so the advice to buy used makes more sense. Just make it's been done. Secondly, the finish is good but not as bulletproof as Honda's older stuff. In the end I went for a 2006 CBF500 simply because they cope with winter salt so much better. But if you look after it and use something like ACF50 it will be fine. They just lose that showroom finish in hard to reach spots sooner than they used to.

Everyone I know has their own take on this. Some guys fit alternative exhausts and remap, some don't. Some fit power adapters that fool the ECU into thinking the engine is running cool so the mix is richer. Other's just run on original manufacturer's spec. So much depends on the bike and original settings so it's probably worth checking on an owners' forum for previous experience. If it's running lean I'd be wary in the long run, just depends on the characteristics of the new system.

Sad news. Just worth mentioning that it is not unknown for thieves to steal an old item knowing you will then replace it with a new one. So much as I hate to dump more woe and sadness into the situation if you replace the bike you might stand a higher chance of being targeted again. When that happened to me some years ago I made alternative storage arrangements before replacing the bike.

Its a fuel injected bike, how should I do this? Have you got the manual for it? The online version simply says to adjust the idle screw. If it's got a manual idle adjustment it's just a case of adjusting it by small increments.

As above - most definitely not true. A cheapo charger might be fine for your old lead acid car battery. But for a modern motorcycle battery you want an intelligent charger. Even most replacement car batteries now need an intelligent charger because of their construction.

Oil pressure won't be a problem - does it give you a solid idle without excessive vibration? I'm never keen on low idle where everything gets shaken about.

I'm guessing a USB socket is all you'd really need? I have a four day trip coming up so to run the phone for satnav I'm just using a powerpack. Saves adding yet more wiring to the bike and I don't really need a 12v socket on either of the bikes that way.

You can buy the caramel finger biscuits in plain chocolate as well now.

There's probably somewhere that does clothing alterations near you. Some dry cleaners have someone who does it, or ask at a gents outfitters, they'll know someone who does alterations.

Didn’t make any difference for me?

Very nice But I am left wondering - what on earth did you put into the search box to come up with that?

I bet you're great at party's N'ah, I prefer being at home with me pipe and slippers, a bottle of malt whisky and Led Zeppelin cranked up to full volume. Parties are for nobs on jetskis.

Can't see me filtering very well on that - or going round corners with any kind of pace. Plus - do we really need more nobs on jetskis buggering up the waterways?

Everyone is different but I think the majority of people would be better off on a 500 than a 125. I know there are people who love their smaller bikes, I loved my VanVan and would have another if I could justify a third bike just for the local lanes - but for any kind of distance you need something bigger. You can ride a 125 on motorways - I have done it - but you're on the limit of engine, suspension, tyres, brakes etc - and you're constantly riding with no power to move out if you need to, like nearing a slip road where traffic is joining from behind you but going faster than you. There are some very good 500's around that are easy to ride and frankly safer than a 125 because you've got more road presence, better brakes, tyres, suspension etc - and have enough power to keep up with traffic and still be proactive on the road. When I looked at that option I weighed up the new 500s against an old CB500 which were bullet proof and very well built. In the end my commuter is a 2006 CBF500 which can cruise happily at 70 but is still nimble round town, very reliable, cheaper than a 125 to insure (less likely to be stolen) goes out in all weathers and comes back covered in the local mud and grit and I don't worry about it. It's years since I learned to ride so I have no idea how the current system works but folks on here will know and I'm sure you can sign up to a course and use their bikes.

The reason for that is that all those sites track your searches so they know how to fix the price. It's like when you look once and it's £50, next time you look it's gone up to £60. But if you looked again from a different IP address it would still be £50. If you're shopping around use something like DuckDuckGo browser to prevent your search history influencing the results. I used Chrome to buy some ladders the other week, now every site I visit has adverts for ladders. I usually use DDG but I forgot I was on a different device.

A mate of mine tried this - except it was entirely true in his case - it went to court and he got hammered because he was the owner and therefore the person responsible. Different if it is reported stolen and then clocked through a speed camera, but if you lend your bike to someone and don't have their details, evidence of their driving licence and insurance then expect the back cap to be donned and to be taken from this place........

I realise what you mean about there being a whole range of contributory factors and speed alone isn't the single issue - but it is of itself a significant contributing factor to road accidents and the severity of injury sustained. Speeding does kill, it's why we need as a society to start regarding speeding in the same way as we regard drunk driving. Unfortunately speed is often glamourised in films, sport and advertising which is why culturally we haven't clicked to how significant speed is as a cause of death and injury. Most of the young deaths I deal with are road accidents and in the overwhelming majority those left behind have to deal with the fact that speed was an issue. Which makes it harder for them because they know their loved one either caused their suffering or the loss of their loved one was caused by someone else's decision to drive at speed. It stops being an accident and starts to feel deliberate. There is a huge difference between a death which was genuinely accidental and death caused by someone's deliberate decision.

I have bees, well trained, about 350,000 of them. And big notices warning people not to enter.

Did he throw a hissy fit and refuse to stand on the podium afterwards?