boot

To be fair, I think first post on a forum asking for help setting up a shop is less likely to get custom even with a discount, than a regular looking to do the same - under the current climate, people are factoring price and loyalty when making purchasing decisions. Nevertheless, you're making an effort, so here goes. First things first, get your homepage sorted and look at the best ways to improve organic search (seo) on google. 90% of search is performed through google, and you won't appear overnight. I'm assuming you won't be looking at paid search? If you are, let me know, I can provide you with a little info, FOC. Being remarkable is what will help you triumph your competition. Lets say for instance, I lose one of the clips from my TCX Infinity boots, I haven't done, but what if I did? I don't know where I'd get a replacement, although I'd go back to the retailer I got them from and they'd probably order one, it'd take a few days and they'd probably charge me a few quid for it too, even though I parted with a serious amount of dosh with them in the first place. You can see where this is going. Maybe you could look at unique, yet amazingly useful accessories available in the US, but not here in the UK, and then look for getting sole distribution rights in the UK. That way, you're providing to the community that you wish to deal with, without the stiff competition of retailing the same gear everyone else is. This way you'd probably have an ok margin, can budget on pre-orders if you can acquire guarantees on delivery etc. Many manufacturers and wholesalers require minimum quantity sales on new accounts and it could cost you a small fortune just to get set up, before you know it's going to work. Becoming a distributor might not be that exciting, but possibly would be much less risky. Anyway, good luck, retail is a tough business to be in.

Cool! Thanks for the advice.

Thanks chaps. I'm looking for to wear the jeans as I would normally (i.e. for work each day), however cost wise, I'd be looking at a few pairs, and really want something that's comfortable. I'll check out the redroute jeans next time I'm over chesterfield. The other option I've considered, is buying kevlar fabric and making my own liners which are transferrable for my existing clothing, at around £20 a square metre, it might be worth doing. Also looked at Cordura for lining, but not found a supplier yet. Hmm...

OK, so the Jeans thing has been almost done to death, which is a good thing, as it's left me with plenty to read on the subject, plenty of links and the like. What I'd like to know is, are they comfortable? Could you wear them in the office without looking like you're wearing a pair of bike jeans? Are they comfortable enough for regular wear? Am I still likely to go in to "self-clean mode" on a hot day?

This is what I do, pretty much. I have a pair of Sennheiser headphones in my lid, and wear ear plugs. No problems with clarity, or hearing other vehicles.

Always nod, even at peds and cruisers. If it weren't for the chrome and winter riding, I'd probably have a cruiser, and I'd nod. Often get nods and waves from groups of cruisers, in fact, on my CBT a big chap on a cruiser flahsed, nodded and waved at the three of us, so not sure where the 'bad press' comes from. Also chunner away at the ones that don't nod. I expect there'll be a big increase in non-nodders when the fair-weather riders hit the roads in force over the coming months, but maybe I'll be proven wrong.

Sure can. Currently exploring this as a personal use app for things as boring as wife knowing I've set off home from work, or if on long ride out for day, am retuning to area so she can get the tea on Although I'm not generally a user of public transport, I think it would be good to be able to see where the train is, where your connecting train is, whether it's delayed, whether you've missed it etc. Or for buses, metrolinks, whatever. I had seen this site last year http://www.swisstrains.ch. It's not changed since I was first shown it, but figure this maybe a great idea for one of my companies clients.

A geofence is a virual perimeter on a map. So, using a piece of software installed on my WM6 powered phone and GPS unit, on entering or exiting a geographical area, a text or email can be sent automatically to a number or email address with custom message and (optionally) location details. I've been testing it with automatically sending a message home when I leave work, and sending another when I get near. While this isn't the most exciting test, I'm finding it fun to mess about with and it's definitely got some good uses. There's another version that runs on WM6 that uses CellID (cellular network based location) that enables you to send text messages in a similar fashion I think.

Also, I'm having some good fun with live GPS tracking and geofencing using my WM6 device. Drop us a PM if you’re interested in this sort of thing.

Other option would be to fabricate your own wiring. The PTT option is activated by shorting/connecting poles(?) on the jack. Not difficult to fabricate if you're ok with a soldering iron. Problem I have with mine, is that I cannot configure the button on the headset to activate voice commands, only redial or disconnect, so only use for music, sat nav, and listening to text messages. Bluetooth works fine, but not wired headset .

Heard good things about Ditrinol Converust, but never tried it.

Thought I'd update this post for anyone that may be browsing for info on this. I recently changed mobile handset from N95 to SE-X1, and running Tom Tom 7 on this handset. It is FAR superior to the Nokia Maps (Navteq) software and the built in GPS gets a fix in seconds rather than minutes.

Please excuse the crude picture, I've never used sketch-up before and don't have Autocad on the computer I'm posting from. Just an thought, but if your steps are wide enough, you might get away with something a little more permanent, like this, where the ramp would be made of concrete. It would mean no messing about twice a day getting a ramp out and potentially having an accident should the ramp displace with the weight of the bike. I've seen almost the opposite done for cars, where people have put steps in steep driveways.

Might be worth trying a suitable Wash-in Nixwax, I think they make claims that their products can help with thermal stuff, but don't really see how that would work? If the jacket feels like the filling/lining has been displaced, it may be worth taking to somewhere that offers garment alterations, who may be able to neatly open it up, investigate/repair and stitch back together nice and neatly.

My Shoei has channel for glasses, however only one of the four pairs of glasses I own fit comfortably. I've also found that glasses fog up very quickly. For both those reasons I switched back to contact lenses. Initially trialled daily disposables, now on monthlies. Daily disposables are good for times where you may be out and wish to bin them without having to mess about with fluids etc, but in terms of comfort, they'll always dry out sooner as their make up is about 70% water, so they tend to sap more tears from your eyes. Fortnightlies are comfortable, however I find that when you get close to the end of your second week they feel like they need to come out sooner in the day than they normally would. The other drawback with fortnightlies, is that you must clean them with saline solution which is a total faff. Monthlies are the most comfortable I've tried. Their make-up is only around 30% water, therefore they do not dry your eyes out anywhere near as much as the two previous types. For cleaning, it's peroxide solution in a tub for 6 hours. The time being the draw back, but the ease of cleaning is fantastic. Pop lenses in cage/lid, fill tub, screw cage/lid on. I would recommend contacts over glasses for motorbike riding, any day of the week. I always carry a spare pair of disposable in case of emergency. Although this won't help you, our local Specsavers let you try out different lenses on a trial basis until you get something that suits you. You have a three month check-up and your eyes are re-tested. Any shift in sight, you lenses can be changed, which I think makes them far better than glasses. My prescription has changed twice since having glasses made. I'm currently wearing Ciba Vision monthly lenses and couldn't recommend them more.

Nothing wrong with N95 using Nokia Maps 2.0 other than gps does eat battery. You wouldn't want to be caught out without working phone if you needed it would you? Bluetooth GPS would be better way to go, although fitting a power outlet to your bike would probably be well advised whichever device you use. Nokia are working on Nokia Maps 3.0 but it's still in beta and only available for S60 V.3 at the moment. All GPS route planners need a little common sense used too - they're not faultless, Nokia Maps 2.0 has sent me to some pretty stupid places. Recently it tried to take me on a 5 mile journey when trying to find a local road, but is usually fairly reliable. Nothing, but nothing, beats a good old conventional map (if being read by a bloke that is).

I have clear, light and dark smoke. Also recently started to use an amber pinlock which, although it improves contrast in low light, seems to be better than without after dark, much better when you get that oncoming car on a country road blindness. For your dark visor, it's a risk you take. If you're pulled over for a routine check, or specifically to be given advice about wearing one, you'll probably be ok. You're more likely to get pulled nearing dusk, and likely to get booked if you're not carrying a clear visor. For a bit of an insight as to how the fuzz regard this issue, you could worse than reading this post http://www.ukpoliceonline.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25142 You can buy a visor bag/pouch for less the £8.00 to keep your spare in, and they're not particularly intrusive. I have on made by Oxford... Wouldn't recommed as unless you're a fatty, as they don't seem to adjust small enough (unless they do different sizes, but that didn't seem to be an option) and mine recently fell off in the carpark at work without me realizing, this was down to the clip fastener not being particularly secure, which I was very disappointed with, I was carrying dark smoke visor £35 Race Pinlock fitted £18, and spare clear pinlock £16, so would expect better considering the value of the contents that can be carried in one of these.

I use Nixwax Visor Proof, however once I've finished it, I will be looking for something that does the job a little better. Sad as the stuff is absolutely fantastic. Techo, Akey - Do you know how these products compare with the Nixwax Visor Proof?

I'll be finding out... Just ordered myself 60 to try out. Always plentiful amounts of good advice on here!

Cheers chaps. Good tips, I certainly noticed a different looking back down the road - I was told on my CBT to look at a certain point of the road, but found this tip much better! Test next weekend, so going to practise u-turns again this weekend. I'm 70% confident, but could do with getting that up to about 90-95%.

Great, thanks for all the advice folks. Korben - Most of the negative reviews of pinlock on the net seem to relate to the issue you had. I'll check the pins, makes sense now. Perhaps I should start reading the instructions for things I buy! Paul - Be careful which you pick... Racevisors have two listed for Shoei, standard and large. I believe the large is most likely the race version - the comes up higher in the visor, on my multitec it comes up in to the visor seal and lets rain in - I know, you ain't going to be riding round with iridium visor in the rain, but I put in my clear for a better view at night and found it let water in.

Not easy to get a good pic that shows issue properly... Looking at the front of the visor when you look closely at the gel edging, with the visor off the helmet, you can see it seals correctly, doesn't move at all. Then when you fit visor back on to helmet, the pinklock becomes loose. I've bent (not kinked) the pinlock backwards to take out some of the curve with the hope that it would press against the visor more firmly, this has helped but not cured the problem. I'm thinking that the issue is with the visor now... Instuctions say to 'flatten out' visor to fit - perhaps this process has deformed the curvature of the actual visor... think I'm going to try that next. Considered fog city as pinlock not brilliant for night use (and not homologated for use in the dark) however I am thinking about getting an amber insert, these are supposed to be for low light. Possible dumb question, but does that mean after lighting up? Cannot find definitive answer as to whether these are homologated for use in the dark anywhere.

My standard pinlock insert for Shoei Multitec doesn't see to be sealing properly and keeps slipping downward. The anti-mist properties seem to be somewhat lost when this happens. The gel seal looks ok before re-fitting visor to lid. I'm thinking it's possibly that either the visor is no longer the correct shape or the pinlock is no longer the correct shape (from stretching out for fitting).

I've been looking at these... HELD 2570 Freezer Winter Motorcycle Glove and Held 2872 Talin Winter Motorcycle Glove Anybody got these, tried these? Any advice from 3 finger glove wearers on how practical or not they are? I assume the idea is that there's less surface area to lose heat from, so they should offer better protection from the cold?

I was told when buying it, that about 90% of the Police wear these. It's quieter than travelling in my land rover at equivalent speeds too!