manxie49

I bet if we think hard we could all identify at least one friend like this .....

This is closer to the one in the show but they did say that they are hand built to individual customers requirements . Yes that's the one, the front suspension looks horrific .... Would definitely be an acquired taste, but I suppose it would be a crap world if we all liked the same stuff...

I don't think Henry Cole does the best review on Bikes, but yes, the CCM is a nice bike, sounds nice as well...

Did anyone see the motorbike show last night? He took a ride on the Aerial Ace, I didn't know Aerial were making these? The bike looks "unusual", is the best way I can describe it! I wouldn't want one but would love to take one for a run. Has anyone test ridden or seen one of these in the flesh? What did they think?

Already thinking about the dark winter rides home and needed to buy a new back pack, did a bit of shopping around and found this on flea bay. Jack Wolfskin Neuron back pack. No flappy toggles, sturdy, as waterproof as any other pack I've owned, comes with a rain cover. The thing I like about this is that you plug it into a small rechargeable battery and a section of the rear cover lights up (see photo) IMO goes some way to making you more visible. You have to buy the battery separately, I picked a cheap one up from Curries, gives up to 17hrs use on a single charge.....So will see how it fairs over the winter months. I paid £80 but I think they retail at about £120?? LED illumination by OSRAM rain cover equipped for hydration system 18 litres capacity

Happy Birthday Stu, have a good one

I use Wurth dry chain lube https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/29605 .... I ride all year round, do my chain at least once a month and never have any problems. I usually lube my chain straight after a ride out so its warm, Its then left overnight. TBF so long as you're cleaning and oiling it regularly I would find it difficult to recommend one type or make over another, it comes down to personal preference and what suits you.

I have Givi 4l Tanklock bag, not cheap but definitely one of the better bags I've ever owned, IMHO Givi is hard to beat, there are other good makes but I have little experience of them. Learn from my mistakes, don't go cheap, I've had a couple of cheap bags over the years that are just not fit for purpose.https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/460392

I seen these on TMF as well, they look pretty good, especially for commuting, travel. However, I think its the same as all security devices, there never gonna be 100% secure, if a light fingered scrote wants it he's gonna get get it! I'd be interested in seeing a cut / crop test being done on the motorcycle version.

I recovered one a while ago using an optimate smart charger, as Dynax said though they're not cheap, see if you can loan one maybe. I keep my bike permanently plugged in to the optimate, never have any problems

Welcome John, Cumbria....one of my favourite places in the world

Brilliant pictures and nice ride....Rode through the Kirkstone pass last year, weather wasn't as nice, rain and fog! Lovely part of the world though

CX500 That brings back memories, good old twin pot thumper, I remember picking mine up, first shaft drive I'd ever owned, riding it back through Leicester and went down one too many gears. I learnt the hard way about shaft drives being unforgiving!! Thankfully all I did was lock up, didn't fall off, arse puckering moment though Good luck with your test

I recommend venhill You screw the banjo bolts on to the hose yourself so you can have the lines nice and straight without twists in them So much better in my opinion! I put the banjo's on the calipers and master cylinder first then ran the lines to the banjo's leaving them loose until I was happy with the position then tightened them all up Good point that Stu, it took a bit of fiddling around to get the lines straight, its doable but ads another stress to the fitting process. You can buy HEL lines and make them up yourself, everything comes as a kit, not sure if this would make it easier, I opted for the pre made lines for my bike.

Congratulations Sounds like it's all been said and all good advice, at the end of the day it's a Honda and there pretty robust, just follow the basic maintenance steps as described. If like me you ride all year round then I would invest in some ACF50 as well....Time to get out and enjoy.....

Couldn't agree more, they are stainless steel on HEL. Some companies do let themselves down with crap fixings, and that's usually where they go wrong, the only other ones I've used in the past were Goodrich, they were pretty good as well.

Pads arrived today....Job for later on....should stop on a dime then! Easiest job in the world. I managed it in like 5 mins and I'm not very brown-fingered. All done, easiest job I've ever done, even easier than putting the hugger on!! Now there was an afternoon full of bad language emanating from the garage!!

Oddly my wife found a sixpence on the road near our house a couple of days ago.....

17.91 mm (0.705 in) .... Never let it be said I don't give a direct answer to a direct question

Pads arrived today....Job for later on....should stop on a dime then!

I use pinlock all year round, no problems, no distortion....IMHO money well spent

Thats the next job, I ordered some Brembo pads about a week ago, haven't arrived yet....

Have a good one mate

This was a mod I did a couple of months ago, wanted chance to run the bike for a while before I reviewed them. I purchased the 7 line kit form HPS Ltd, cost about £200, all the banjo bolts, washers and even brake fluid are included in the kit. I would recommend, if you have a bike with ABS, putting a day aside for this job, they are a true biatch to fit! (Although that's probably bike specific). I've always liked braided hoses, I had them on my fireblade, (BF Goodrich then). The write ups suggest they can reduce breaking distance quite substantially and there is a lot of internet based evidence to support this. HEL reckons that the improved brake performance will knock 15ft of the overall stopping distance from 70mph and a whopping 20ft from 30mph. Personally, I don't often get into situations that require emergency braking, but it's nice to know that these could potentially mean the difference between stopping and hitting something unexpected. I did try a couple of emergency stops, out of interest, at a disused airfield after fitting them and was pretty impressed. Aesthetically they look pretty good, I bought them in red to match other bike components, they come with a clear sleeve fitted to prevent them from damaging other parts of the bike. Right from the off I did notice improvements in braking efficiency, the brakes, even at lower speeds, felt sharper, more responsive and less spongy, so thus far pretty happy. For some unknown reason brake bleeding was an issue, just couldn't get the air out! I would recommend in this instance reverse bleeding, seemed to do the trick. Once done, for the first few miles I would recommend taking it easy, no heavy braking, just in case! It would be a real fooker to spend time doing this to your bike only to throw it down the road ten minutes later!

Never done this, however a work colleague wanted to transfer his old wedding VHS to digital, I think this was the company he used? I suppose it would only be cost effective though if you just have one or two videos that need doing...https://www.digitalconverters.co.uk/product/video-to-dvd/?msclkid=cf625bf0bbdb1fbd7021052d4ecde088