Mississippi Bullfrog

Quite right. I find a baked beans tin much better.

I noted that he released this on 1 April. He usually has interesting things to say, and this is interesting, but I will be keeping my armour in place. Not least because if there were to be an accident and I got hurt any insurance settlement could be influenced by my choice to remove the armour. And anyway - as he says - if you want protection wear an airvest, which I do.

OK - so not them then. Get some lengths of wool and tie them to various bits of the bike. They'll act like tell-tails on boat sails and you'll be able to spot the flow of air easier.

Does it have an immobiliser? Many ecus are programmed to the bike so changing the ecu means also changing the chips in the ignition barrel and key. Or some can be reprogrammed to the bike but you need the kit to do that. A lot now immobilisers cut off the fuel supply which sounds like what you are describing.

Buffeting can be caused by some really unexpected sources. If you are feeling a blast of air from lower down maybe it's the crash bars themselves that are causing it? If they are the only non standard parts added maybe that's worth checking. Or ask on a forum that's specific to that bike, see if other owners are having the same issue.

Just a heads up folks...in memory of Dave Myers of Hairy Bikers fame there will be a ride from London to Barrow-on-Furness Saturday 8th June. I think bikers can join along the route for as far as they can do. https://www.facebook.com/events/365252866484354/

Can you tell my wife this startling revelation? I think she needs to know.

Talk about sod's law! My Beeline died. It wouldn't take a charge, I tried everything but it just wasn't playing ball. If it could get a glimmer of life out of it then it was flickering but nothing worked. To be fair Beeline are sending me a new charger free of cost which is good customer support as it's way out of warranty. So no complaints there. So I went out and bought a new UA phone case and two sets of bar mounts for both bikes. Then I invested in a Cardo Spirit so I could hear the navigation prompts. I got it all working over the weekend. And this morning get back to my desk and notice my Beeline sat there - working perfectly.

Then go for it. End cans on most new bikes are pig ugly. It's one factor that took me towards the Bobber. The stock exhaust is lovely.

True but sometimes the ecu has parameters that an aftermarket exhaust system exceeds. I know a few Bobber owners who go too far with modifications and find the bike can't adapt to the increased airflow. In which case a remap is needed. It can be a DIY job if you have access to the right software. For Triumphs TuneEcu does the trick. But if its just an end can from a decent manufacturer that won't be needed.

For budget trousers Frank Thomas are ok but nothing to get excited about. I've got some FT kit for the times I'm riding on local roads which are covered in mud and grit. I suspect it's the size 32 waist that limits potential buyers. Most bikers enjoy big brekkies which translates into a more generous waist measurement.

Hope you've had a good day - pity the weather is so crap. Hopefully beer, and cake, and beer will make up for it.

There are end cans and there are end cans. I don't know much about your particular brand of exotica in terms of what's available but in the Triumph circles there are some aftermarket systems that work perfectly well with the original mapping and some that don't. The latter need a remap which is do-able But usually it's only total decats with open pipes that cause any issues due to the airflow being outside of the ecu's parameters. So assuming you're a reasonably sensible chap (opinions on this score may vary of course) and you go for a good quality alternative then go for it. A quality manufacturer will have the details of what difference, if any, it will make to the tune.

On sale at J&S for £10.

Hi viz helps but don't rely on it. When I used to commute in and out of a city in heavy traffic I noticed a very sharp distinction between when I wore hi viz and when I didn't. When filtering I always watch the front wheels of cars and the driver's side door mirror. You can spot eye contact in the mirror but don't assume just because they've seen you you're safe. The front wheel gives it away. Some drivers have an agressive instinct, you can often guess which cars are most likely to cause issues by the make and model. What I found is that when not wearing hi viz some drivers saw me and then the front wheel twitched out as they instinctively went to block a bike overtaking them. When wearing hi viz the wheel often twitched out and then immediately went back again. There's a two second process - 1. Bike coming, he's not getting past me. 2 Oh bugger he's in hi viz I'll look a dick when I hit him and say I didn't see him. So hi viz does make a difference. However, there will still be drivers who don't see you anyway. The thing to be aware of is that: A - A bike can disappear behind the A and B pillars of cars so never assume they've seen you. B - When scanning a junction human beings might look both ways but our eyes don't actually register the full sweep. We are built to avoid predators and dangers so our brains are hardwired to make quick decisions based on minimal information. When a human being looks left to right in a full sweep their eyes actually only scan a few degrees of information out of the 180 degrees of sweep. Our brain fills in the gaps to make us think we've seen the full picture but in reality we've only got a series of snapshots with large gaps left between them. A motorist is scanning for cars that are too big to fit into those gaps but a bike will. So even on a clear road with no other traffic an emerging vehicle can look both ways and physically not see a bike coming. You need something that will catch their attention and register as a danger. Hi viz can do that but not always. It depends on the background. But in general it contributes to being recognised. Lights help but not always a single light travelling in a straight line at a fixed speed. So aux lights that create a wider spead help. Motorcycles that weave slightly approaching junctions stand a better change of being seen. I ride a CBF and Bobber, both with a single headlight. But motorists perceive them very differently. The CBF light is pretty steady so it gets seen less. The Bobber has a smaller light but due to the nature of the suspension the light wobbles slightly. I very rarely get anyone pulling out on me when riding the Bobber. I wear a hi viz airvest. I have a grey helmet and a white helmet. I find the white helmet gets seen better - possibly because bike+hi viz vest+helmet makes them just check it isn't plod.

I've sent the measurements to TEC regarding the progressive springs and adjustable caps for my Bobber. The oem spacer is 180mm. oem springs 325mm TEC springs 330mm oem caps 17mm TEC caps 21mm minimum preload So with the new springs and caps there's 9mm difference which why they are a bugger to fit and then there's no negative preload left. I reckon if they send their kit with 170mm spacers the problem is sorted.

I've just bought one of these. I'm quite impressed with it so far. The handle bar mount is very robust but it's not quick to swap between bikes so I need to buy a second mount for the other bike.

A new battery doesn't mean its fully charged, unless you've given it a charge before fitting it. You'd expect it to have sufficient charge to at least turn it over though. But what if there's a parasitic drain on the bike due to an electrical issue somewhere? Your new battery is going to lose charge without you knowing it. Fully charge the battery. Remove the earth connection. Then put your multimeter between the negative terminal and the disconnected earth lead, set the reading check small current flow. You might get a few milliamps if you have a clock or alarm running. But anything more and there's a drain.

It would help to know what is happening. Is it turning over on the starter but just not firing? Or not turning over at all? It could be a weak battery or a bad contact somewhere. Or a fuse / relay. Or a fault with the starter switch. Do you have a multimeter to check connectors and current flow to the starter?

I assume you've checked the high beam filament by wiring the bulb to a battery. Testing relays....I'd usually cobble together a test circuit to activate the relay. Its the surest way of checking. But if it's corroded with fluctuating readings then chances are it's toast. They aren't expensive so bung a replacement in.

Reminds of the look on a copper's face when he pulled over 7 bikers.....and was told that the first five were vicars and the two guys at the back were bishops. It just wasn't his day.

I will be stripping down the front forks on the Bobber...again....so I can measure up the spacers and make an arrangement with TEC for them to revise their progressive spring kit.

It may have fallen out of use since the 1980s when I worked for the Flying Angel club in Liverpool. But back then there was a young Swedish lady who was student housekeeper for the Swedish Seafarers Church and it was most certainly in regular use at that time. I was a frequent visitor.....but of course only because they served the best coffee in Liverpool and she baked wonderful cakes. And they had a sauna.

A result with my front fork saga. TEC have emailed to say that from now on they will include new spacers with the kit for the Bobber. And they will provide me with a set cut to suit my measurements.

Another suggestion for cleaning carbs is stuff used for marine engines. QuikSilver Power tune. It is like a carb cleaner on steroids. I've had a few carbs that were giving trouble and before taking them to bits I used the above on them. Most of the time it did the trick without needing to take the carbs to bits. I buy it via ebay if I'm not near a boatyard.