manxie49

It doesn't really matter whether anyone else likes the bike or not, the important thing is you do .... As for bike gear, pretty subjective question. Personally if I was new to motorcycling I'd probably go into a local shop, discuss my needs with them, try the gear on, and get their advice. A lot of it will come down to budget and also whether or not you intend to ride all year round.

Have a good time

I agree with what's been said about KTM, I owned one briefly, a bit like a high maintenance woman, mine needed lots of care, attention and money spending on it, other than that, it was a nice bike. I own a Yam and have never had any problems with it, in fact I've owned a few Yamahas and never had any issues with any of them. Kawasaki I can't really comment on, the last Kawasaki I owned was a good few years ago, Z1100 A3, It gave me nothing but problems, mainly electrical.

I did a ride down to Leicester on the S1000RR, my back was in bits afterwards, "probably an age thing", with me anyway, plus years of abuse as far as my back goes, with work. I went to a physio who gave me some core stability exercises, they worked a treat. You can find them on you tube. Give it a go, can't hurt......But as others have said, it could be anything, or a culmination of several things. Trial and error and consider some professional advice if it continues

Yes, that's the cafe, great little venue. One of my mates pointed out that the local council officials are all greenies and it apparently won't sit right with them this cafe being so popular with motorcyclists! They're an absolute disgrace, this place has so much support, but like all councils, they're ignoring what the people who elected them into power want, and continue to chase their own vanity projects.

Well isn't this just about right, just what I've come to expect from power hungry local councils ..... One week this cafe is winning awards, a thriving business, very popular and doing extremely well. The next, the council pulls the rug from under them! Really rips my knitting this sort of S--t!

Happy Birthday, have a great day

I can understand how you're feeling ..... I've felt like that. For me though it's down to two reasons, firstly I live on a rock and there's only so many places to go, that's why I live for getting away, exploring and touring. Secondly I also commute on the bike, it gets used for everything year round, so yes, there are days when I think to myself I can't be bothered. That said, I love motorcycling, always have and always will, even being knocked off has never changed my strange, obsessional desire to continue to throw money at bikes

Personally not a fan of loud exhausts, IMHO it just gives the anti motor vehicle brigade more to whine about, and lets not forget the power hungry local councils, who view motorists as nothing more than a cash cow, now seemingly going down the road of noise cameras. I do have an after market exhaust on my bike, but it's road legal, and hasn't made the bike obnoxiously loud, just gives it a nicer engine note. I do like to hear the loud exhaust notes on both the classic and modern race bikes though, although there's a place and a time "on the track". Each to their own though, I never see a biker with a loud exhaust and think "nob", it's just not for me.

If was a faff, but we did manage to pair it with my mates Cardo when we went up to Scotland. I know what you mean about having to shell out on another unit for the missus, cost quickly starts to rack up ....

I've ridden bikes in some pretty hot climates where this sort of temperature is considered normal, can't say I've ever had any problems. Comfort is usually the biggest issue.

I quite like the Sena, I know it pairs OK with cardo, and supposedly pairs ok with other makes? My only dislike with the Sena is that it can't be removed from the helmet for charging, just a minor niggle though .... Good luck with it

Sorry can't help with directions, I've only ever gone M74 onto M8, and yes it is boring .... Damn good helmet and intercom though, that's what I use now, can't fault it, one of the few helmets I've owned that I never get a headache with .... unless my wife is on intercom VOX on a long journey that is

Another good cafe here. Located on Laxey sea front, IM4 7DF. Just won a local "Bikers welcome" award. Good hot food as well as home made cakes and ice cream. Very popular stop off with bikers and gets very busy at weekends, certainly one of my favourite stops when out and about.

Brilliant photograph

My mate who I went up to Scotland with uses Cardo Packtalk and swears by it. We did struggle trying to link it to my SENA. I like the way it can be un-clipped from the mount for charging. It seemed pretty easy to use and he did have an app installed on his I-phone for altering the settings and linking to other cardo units. In talking, he said the only really fiddly bit was installing the headphones and mike, that could just possibly be a helmet specific issue though. I was struggling to listen to music on my SENA at motorway speeds but he said that he doesn't have those issues. Cardo does seem to be pretty good, I just like the SENA because it tucks neatly into my Shoei helmet with nothing stuck to the side.

Happy Birthday, all the best

Have a good one

Good point

I've used a place called my tyres, they were pretty good, delivery was fast and reliable and I found their prices competitive. Although I am sure there's probably better one's out there, at the time, they were doing deals on front and rear Road 5's.