manxie49

As has been said, definitely check the battery. My mate who was on Island last year with his 1250GSA had a similar issue. The bike would turn over, lights and everything were working ok, but it wouldn't start. His bike actually developed the issue when he was waiting to board the ferry back to Liverpool! He had to get RAC out. It turned out his battery was knackered. Those big old Boxer twin engines use a lot of power to fire them up, and if you're running anything else of them in the background they can drain quickly, especially if you've recently done a few shorts trips involving a lot of starting and stopping the engine.

Happy Birthday, have a good un

I absolutely despise tyre valves that require you to have hands the size of a 5yr old to check your tyre pressures! Why manufacturers don't consider this to be a problem when they design the bikes god only knows!

Dog ownership is getting more and more frustrating. We now have a Labrador, and have noticed that more places are becoming "anti-dog", cafe's, beaches and a lot of parks now having very restrictive rules in place. My wife was approached by an extremely rude couple recently, in a local plantation, saying to her "I hope you pick up after that dog" (which we always do), then shouting the odds at her about people who go there and don't clear up dog mess ..... As if that's my wife's fault! I was also shouted at by some tool who sped past me on a e-bike, on a greenlane, shouting at me to get my effin dog on a lead. It feels like the world is becoming anti everything! The more I see of this world, and some of the dick heads in it, the more I prefer the company off of dogs. I also think people need to educate themselves and their little luvvies before approaching and trying to pet dogs down, some dogs don't like it. But I guarantee, if the dog bites someone because of it, then it's always the dogs / dog owners fault.

I remember the Fizzies well, and even more so the SS50. My uncle bought me an old SS50 when I was 14, I couldn't ride it on the road, but was allowed to ride it around the farm fields. He told me if I could ride it around the farm fields without falling off it would make me a better rider when it came to going on the road. Needless to say I lost count of how many times I fell of the the thing, great fun, great learning experience, and regardless of how much punishment I seemed to give that old Honda, it still kept going.

Not exactly the happiest of birthdays, so I'll just wish everyone a speedy recovery, and hope that everything is ok.

All the best for 2024

Trying to set up a new SONOS sound bar and sub-woofer and getting them to work seamlessly together with my TV ......... what took me over a hour "with much cursing and swearing", and still not managing to get them to pair, was completed by my 13yr old nephew in under ten minutes!! ..... FFS I'm obviously getting old

All the best for Christmas and New year, stay safe and have a good one

Thanks everyone for the Birthday wishes. Had a good day with a nice meal and some of the local brew ....... Plus a nice new pair of bike gloves from my better half

Very true ........ Depends on what make you order as to whether you have to go up or down a couple of sizes. Alpinestars was a classic for me, size 10 feet in every other shoe I own, size 12 in Alpinestars

Nice bike mate, and sounds like a bit of a bargain ....... Welcome back to biking and enjoy the ride

As was previously said, it seems to be the exact opposite here, people doing 20 - 30 in a 60 zone causing massive tailbacks. One area I have noticed what you allude to would have to be the dual carriageway, coming off the M6, by passing Lancaster heading towards Heysham. The local council have put a 40mph speed limit there, and if you do 40mph, you find cars and lorries racing up behind and overtaking you. Why they've put a 40mph limit on a dual carriageway god only knows! One thing I have noticed since lockdowns ended, driving standards among a lot of people, of all ages, definitely appears to have got worse. The attitudes of some road users stinks, and I include pedestrians, cyclists and drivers in that one, there seems to be a massive decline in mutual respect and tolerance.

Rain X works for me, has to be reapplied regularly though

Great review. I've been considering one of these helmets myself, I think it was just the mixed reviews I was reading about fit, and the visor failing to stay clicked open at even slower speeds and misting up that was putting me off. I do think I'm going to give one a whirl though. My Neotec is starting to show it's age, and as you correctly pointed out, after I fitted the intercom the lining has never stayed in place properly since, I'm forever having to fiddle around clicking it back onto the press studs.

Sunday Lunch ....... I'm sorry, but I will not be held responsible for your sick imaginations!

Yep, another for Oxford hot grips. Used them before without any problems, but as with all grips, only did a good job at keeping the palms of my hands warm. Riding year round I found the heated gloves worked better for me and I haven't experienced any of the issues with them mentioned above. I have Gerbing gloves, two years in now and no issues.

All the best, have a good un

Unfortunately it is one of the downsides of leaving the bike outside, and a lot of the time the cover actually makes things worse. When possible, remove the cover and allow air to circulate around the bike, a good clean and spray with ACF50 OR XCP also helps (obviously well away from the brake discs). As Husoi said, condensation is the killer, it even affects bikes stored in sheds or garages. I often run a dehumidifier in my garage to help combat the exact same issues you're having.

Just given mine the ACF50 treatment for the winter. I only ever rinse it off with cold water over the winter months or I sometimes use something called salt away. I never use anything like snow foam or muc-off until Spring, it get a thorough cleaning then. I usually find that the ACF50 lasts pretty well, I rarely over spray it during the winter months anyway.

+1 for the Fertan products. I used one of their products this year for the first time on some rusted steel railings. It was called Fedogel? Absolutely brilliant, removed the rust completely, very impressed with it, not cheap though.

I'm with Keith, had mine for three years now, worn in all weathers, with no real issues. My only gripe is the Pinlock, doesn't matter how I adjust it, I just can't get it to fit properly, which means the visor regularly mists up in the cold, wet weather, which is a pain in the arse. Personally, I wouldn't even consider changing the Neotec 2 for the 3, there doesn't really seem to be any great upgrades or improvements to speak off that would warrant the cost. When I do change helmets I may have a look at Schuberth which seem to get good reviews.

Optimate 4, been using them for a long time now on all my bikes, never had any issues. I even go away on holiday and leave the bike plugged into the Optimate. I have an off road bike, doesn't get used regularly, and it's always left plugged in to keep it maintained, the battery on that bike is currently in its fourth year and still going strong.

What husoi says is quite correct, but try having a look, and altering the direction of the beam. I've had these on a couple of my bikes now and have never had any issues. I did have one or two cars flash me when I was on the Tracer, but all I did was adjust the angle of the lights ...... Just an after thought, check the headlight beam angle as well. LED lights on bikes can be pretty bright and some drivers flash even with lights dipped.