manxie49

TT Racing is just around the corner again and I wanted to wish everyone attending a happy and safe fortnight, one cautionary note though, there are regeneration works taking place along the Douglas Promenade, its causing a real bottle neck for traffic and that's before 40,000 fans arrive on island, when the roads are closed for racing it could be a problem. If possible I'd advise everyone who can to do what I'm going to do during road closures .... avoid the promenade. All the best folks and have fun ">

Makes my blood boil when I see things like this, the have nots who think they can just help themselves to other peoples property without consequence ......... Pat on the back for the boys in the Met though, cleared a whole gang of scum from the streets: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/catching-12-strong-moped-gang-has-more-than-halved-raids-police-claim/ar-AABiY1d?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout

Army ration pack (B Menu with the curry really nice) Bin the dog biscuits though

Going to Verbier in Switzerland in September so will be doing the exact same thing, for the cost of a few quid it gives peace of mind, especially knowing how intolerant the Swiss police are

I have both PADI and BSAC qualifications, I got my BSAC qual through the Army years ago and later did my PADI training at Stoney Cove, I can vouch for the fact that PADI does not put a low emphasis on safety, it is a very well delivered, structured form of training that will give you an internationally recognised qualification that is recognised and can be used the world over, having trained with both organisations I would personally opt for PADI, I like the training format and the unhurried professional approach to advancing your qualifications. At the end of the day its personal choice, they both teach diving and both give a qualification. Good luck and have fun.

From my experience you struggle getting past them anyway! I was stuck in a backlog of traffic only three days ago, group of about eight cyclists with a line of cars half a mile long trying to overtake them safely But you are right, well maintained cycle ways are never likely to happen, we have one over here and as you point out they don't use it anyway. I cycle but I don't use the roads, I only use green lanes and tracks, roads are to busy and on the tracks I can fall of in private

I agree, to an extent. But what is the cross over? Would a 5-year-old kid riding on the path with stabilisers alongside their parents need to have number plates and insurance? Sounds like a daft idea. So if you say well people riding slowly on the path? Then that drives cyclists off the road where they should be, onto the pavement where they shouldn't. Totally agree with what you're saying, I think it would have to be looked at pragmatically, using common sense, there is definitely an argument for more cycle lanes, but when you say that you often get hit with a counter argument of "who's going to pay". The cyclist that hit me wasn't a kid, and he knew full well that he was in the wrong which is why he took off without stopping .... makes reporting him pointless and trying to claim against him impossible, he can't be identified.

This has been on the cards for years, traffic sign recognition, in my opinion, was always just a gimmick, in real terms all they've been doing is seeing if it was workable for electronic speed limiters, and as for data recorders on vehicles "supposedly to assist with accident investigation", it will be like having a tacho in the cab, how long will it be before police pull you over, plug your vehicle in to see if you've broke any road laws in the last week then give you an on the spot fine, more income generation disguised as road safety! ....... Conspiracy theorist or what ....... All designed in Area 51

Always full protection, it only takes a minute to get knocked of, it could be a hundred miles away or twenty metres away, my job has taught me that the motorcyclists who wear proper gear are the ones who ultimately get up and walk away from a bump or at least give themselves a better chance of surviving a serious one

Now I'm not anti-cyclist, I ride one myself, however after having my car damaged last year by a cyclist undertaking me on the left, failing to stop and even apologise and leaving me to foot a £350 repair bill, I'm all for what this guy is saying .... https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/peer-wants-number-plates-for-cyclists-after-attack/ar-BBVndn6?li=BBoPWjQ&ocid=mailsignout

Definitely metal but make sure it has good insulation to help with the condensation, more secure as well and easier to maintain.

Hope you heal soon mate, all the best

Sometimes buy the bike magazine to read on the plane when I'm going on holiday

Not really sure on this but I carry a Divers knife in my kit when I go diving, it travels in my gear bag in the back of the car, I can do this legally because its classed as a tool, probably be frowned upon however if I walk down the high street with it strapped to my leg

Get some Denali daytime running lights, there brilliant, they don't dazzle drivers but they really make you stand out, my mate told me he could see me way off in the distance, 1st rate.

Congratulations .... All the very best to both of you

If you like spoked wheels and are willing to shell out a bit of cash you can buy tubeless spoked wheels at the site below, I ride a Yam XT1200 ADV, It runs tubeless spoked wheels as standard, the cleaning side of things isn't too bad, I wipe them over with ACF50 for the winter months, never had a problem. https://www.bikehps.com/acatalog/motorcycle_wheels.html

I have a GoPro 4, great little camera, I take iron holiday and use it for pretty much everything. Mounting it on the bike depends on what you want to shoot, I tried various places, didn't like the GoPro on my helmet I thought it was to bulky. I now have a Ghost 4K Drift mounted to the side of my helmet, it isn't bulky, very stream lined, easy to use and shoots brilliant footage. I tend to use my GoPro for holidays now as just a one size fits all camera. I bought my GoPro 2nd hand for £100, my drift was a present but I think you can pick them up for around the same price.

Very kind bus driver and a passing cyclist helped me, if they hadn't of it would have still been there.

Did it myself years ago with a Z1100, turned into a side road, downhill with a very adverse camber, as I turned I realised there was a bus coming up the hill and I couldn't get past it, went to put my foot down and realised there was no road to put my foot on, me and the bike toppled over in front of the bus with every one watching, school boy error!! I also seen one of the riders in the TT races drop his bike when coming in for a pit stop in front of hundreds of spectators, he a professional. I reckon we've all done something like this that has given us a red face, its all been seen before so I wouldn't worry to much about going back to the shop, maybe a bit of Mickey taking but that's the spirit of biking, all in good humour, we can laugh at ourselves and each other but we know when the chips are down we'll all be there to help as well.

All pretty much answered really, ACF50 all the way, I spray it on a rag and wipe it over wheels and other visible bits, ACF50 seeps, which is what its supposed to do, so I spray it sparingly on other areas of the engine including electrics, usually do it on a warm engine, wash down with cold water after riding on salted Roads and never have a problem, one maybe two (at a push) coatings of ACF50 does me the entire winter. I give the whole bike a good clean down with muck off come the spring. Another option, especially if riding a lot on salted roads is something called salt away, it mixes, via a supplied hose attachment. with cold water, it States that it leaves a rust proof residue on your vehicle, I've used it on the car and used it on my bike last year, works really well, again had no problems, it is expensive though. You can get it of Amazon http://www.saltawayproducts.com All the best

Cheers, Pewag was the other chain I was looking at, they both look good, and would hopefully give your walk by scrote something to think about

Does anyone have an ALMAX chain, if so what do you think? I'm considering the Almax immobiliser series 3 with the SS65CS lock, will be using it at home and taking it with me in a pannier when I go away, 2m weighs about 8kg

[attachment=0]49064810_2026969387384580_1526443686374670336_n.jpg[/attachment] Thinking of retiring, look at this .... some tow rags have it made!

Can't remember what excuse I used to get my new lid, but GT air is a great choice