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Pete

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Everything posted by Pete

  1. Updated! I've relisted the bike on ebay at £5,999 - £500 off the original asking price. Just about to move house so need the bike gone, but won't go any lower than that price. If it doesn't sell I'll just hold onto it. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/-/252321484890" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;? If anyone's interested get in touch!
  2. If you're near a hill (or can get a bit of speed up with a push) try bump starting it. Get on the bike, put it in second gear with the clutch held in, turn the ignition on. Then when you've got enough speed up release the clutch out quickly. That should get it going if it's just the battery that's flat. Many a time have I have to bump bikes in the past, looking a two-hat 'running' up the road with my legs either side of the bike. Good way to get warm in this weather mind.
  3. *Edit* Now also here on eBay Hello everyone, The time has come for me to sell my BMW R1200GS. It's a late 2004 model (54 plate) on 24,283 miles and has a full service history. It's up to date with all recalls and I have all documents for history. Some pics: http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7732.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7734.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7735.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7738.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7739.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7740.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7741.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7747.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7749.jpg http://i976.photobucket.com/albums/ae248/peteblakemore/IMG_7750.jpg The bike comes with: - Carbon wrap petrol tank - Givi Airflow adjustable touring screen, and original standard screen - Spare plastic key (for getting spares cut from if you lose the key) - Akrapovic exhaust (sounds great!) - Garmin Zumo 350lm sat nav, hard wired into bike's wiring loom. Also comes with car mount and charge cable - Full BMW Vario expandable hard luggage set (panniers and top box). The top box has the safety mod to make sure it doesn't fly off when a pillion leans up against it - Throttle palm rest (avoids hand cramp on motorways by resting your hand on a throttle clamp) - SW-Motech Daypack tank bag which mounts to a petrol cap mounted ring (so doesn't scratch the paint). Excellent size for carrying gloves, wallet, etc. - Odyssey high performance battery - never fails to start the bike on first press, and always kept on an Optimate battery optimiser - Grip puppies (foam grips on handlebars to stop hand cramp from engine vibrations) - Krauser engine bars - Front mudguard which protects the front of the engine really well - Braided brakes - 2 level heated grips - warm and hot! - Servo assisted (powered) ABS brakes (which work extremely well) - I don't think I'll buy a bike without this ever again Selling because my partner and I are buying a house...and getting married. And they're expensive! The house doesn't have a garage (yet) so I want the bike to go to someone who'll get use from it, rather than me storing it at my parents until I can build a garage. With plenty of meat left on the tyres and a fresh MOT less than a week ago (with no advisories) it's ready for a big trip around Europe - I bought it for this to take my partner away but we never got round to it. The bike had a full service less than 250 miles ago by Roy Gardner of RGM Croston, who is the go-to guy for BMW bikes (I'd take my bike to Roy over BMW any day. He's previously won BMW Technician of the Year and BMW Master Technician of the year so the bike has always been in safe hands). The only thing the bike needs looking at are a couple of brake bleed screws that Roy has advised probably need a bit of penetrant spray soaking to loosen up. I'm looking for £6,500 for the bike and all extras. It's a dream to ride and whoever buys it will not be pleased as punch. I'm based in B98 0SA area, if you're interested please PM me. Cheers Pete
  4. If it's mounted far forward enough and the viewing angle is decent (GoPro has a very wide viewing angle) then you'll find it'll capture what you need on both sides.
  5. I was in TK Maxx yesterday and saw the Dainese logo poking out of one of the shelves. Didn't expect to see that in there! I pulled it out and it was a back protector, for £30! It's the Dainese Tersk back protector by the way. Checked the retail price online (not on the "was '£x' is now '£y' label on the item in store as I reckon they always over egg those) and it was coming up at about £100. So I bought it. Got home and thought I'd have a look to see if it's a level 1 or level 2 back protector, assuming it would be a motorbike one. Couldn't find anything about it at all! Then noticed "Horse riding equipment" on the stitching ! I reckon I'm going to keep it you know. It feels a lot more substantial than my Knox Contour that is looking a little tired these days, but interested to hear other's thoughts. Any horse riders on here know the difference?
  6. Nice review! Very decent looking bit of kit. Might have to invest in one myself.
  7. Pete

    call of duty

    Went to one of these types of weddings a month or so ago. Had a 'traditional' wedding in the Lake District on the Friday with one set of friends, then another in the North West on the Saturday with another couple. Wasn't particularly looking forward to it - hot marquee, long drive from the lakes, didn't know anyone going, etc, etc. By the end of it though I genuinely meant it when I said to the bride and groom "that was the best wedding I've ever been to!". Was so, so nice, met some nice people who we chatted to all night. The marquee, which I normally dislike especially in hot weather was fine, they had a ceilidh (barn dance), which I (and pretty much everybody else) was a bit "erm..." about, but once you get up it's actually loads of fun and I can't wait to try another one. Just go with an open mind, you might love it! I went in a suit, even though it said on the invite to dress casually as yours does. Most other people were dressed in suits too so I was glad, a few were dressed more relaxed but didn't look out of place.
  8. Just bought a dual kit of Sena SMH5-FM intercoms. Very, very impressed with them. You can get them singly as well though I'm not sure how much for, they'll be under £100 though. I ordered mine from wheelup.it - cost £188 including postage which is cheaper than getting them in the UK (Wheel Up are based in Milan). Came very quickly, English manuals included (same as you'd get here basically). As an aside I'm definitely going to use that site again. Stuff on there is a decent price and arrives quickly. On the Sena's, I'm massively impressed. I went for the -FM ones to have the option of listening to the radio. Works very well. Intercom function is very clear, as is the phone function and sat nav too. All over bluetooth as well so no need for a cable. If you've got a smartphone (iPhone or Android) and use it as an MP3 player it'll treat the phone as both a phone and a music device and works well over bluetooth. Sena make more expensive/fully featured models but I couldn't see me using them and am really, really pleased with the SMH5.
  9. As mentioned on another thread the missus and I are considering where to go on the bike this year. I've done France before, so am well aware of how deceivingly big it is (especially on a bike compared to an air-conned and coffee laden car). She has only been to Bordeaux by car. So option 1 - which is what we've been thinking - is Interlaken in Switzerland. We'll probably ride the toll road down to a camp site outside Troyes called Le Lac d'Orient, which I can highly recommend (has a lake opposite for swimming in). We'll probably stay a couple of nights, taking it slow and sight seeing in Troyes. Then we'll head down straight to Interlaken in one hit, avoiding tolls and Swiss motorways. Not sure what we'll do from there to get back, but one in Interlaken there are plenty of decent mountain passes to have a go on, or if she's tired of the bike there's the mountain railway to go up the Eiger and Jungfrau. We'll be camping every night, but only at 3ish different sites. She's already said she's not keen on pitching up every day somewhere new, which is understandable. Option 2 - which I'm warming to - overnight ferry from UK to Spain. Ride through Spain in one hit (9 hours) and stay in a villa with a pool in the Algarve in Portugal. Option 3 - forget the bike, fly to Portugal, stay in a villa with a pool for 2 weeks and hire a car! Answers on a postcard!
  10. How on earth do you folks do trips the likes of Calais to the south of France in a day? I'm going away with the missus for 10 nights last week of August, heading for Switzerland (Interlaken) and planning on 3-4 days to get there. Lesson I learnt last time I did a European trip is that France is BIG! Takes a lot longer to get anywhere than you (or rather I) think, looking at Google Maps. Unless you're prepared to sit on the toll roads all day to get to the final destination that is!
  11. +1 to that. I have the Ultimate Addons case - here's a link that works http://www.amazon.co.uk/UltimateAddons- ... B005UYGXXE - it's good for the money. As Chris says you'll need to work out a way of getting power to it. A 12V cigarette lighter socket to the battery with a USB plug will work, just remember to keep it water tight. I saw that Interphone have brought a case out for iPhones as well whilst in GetGeared the other day - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interphone-Ipho ... B00BZ5NAU6 not tried it but looks solid, but nothing more than the Ultimate Addons case and is twice the price. Maybe it does something more, but I couldn't see what. Bear in mind that phones get hot while using sat nav and in the sun. Whilst in France 2 years ago my iPhone helpfully displayed a giant yellow warning triangle and "Temperature" just when I was trying to find my hotel at 11pm. Perfect. That said it had been in my tank bag all day with the sun shining down on it - perfect greenhouse effect! The Ultimate Addons case will probably fair much, much better.
  12. I'll look Jim up, cheers shorty. It was you who recommended RGM in Croston to me actually, top bloke but a shame I'm so far away. 60 miles is fine though. I could probably do most of servicing myself for sure but life gets in the way these days! I work away during the week and my weekends fill up quickly with other stuff. Far easier to get someone else to do it, and keeps the full service history going! Maybe I'll start servicing next year when I'm not away so much.
  13. Looking for someone reliable to do the 24,000 mile service on my 2004 BMW R1200GS. Last guy I used was up near Preston who was excellent, but I've since moved house so need a new guy. I'm based around the Redditch/Solihull area, so anywhere from Birmingham to Worcester would be perfect. BMW want £465, the guy in Preston says £350, but I can't get it to him. Big trip this summer so counting the pennies!
  14. Buy one of these http://www.amazon.co.uk/Laser-5051-Moto ... B004499M20
  15. What about contracting? I'm a UX designer so work a lot in techie industry as well. I considered switching careers as well last year because staying in one place as a cog in the machine was driving me nuts. Now I'm a ltd contractor I get a great variation of projects, new people (sometimes like an old boys club, I see the same faces on different projects which is great!) pay is obviously better than I'd ever have gotten as a permie and everything I do impacts my business growth. Don't know what kind of IT you do but my old landlord was an IT contractor and loved it. He worked from home to be around family more and was on a good screw to boot. Going it alone is the best thing I ever did (so far so good, touch wood!) but isn't for everyone. It's nerve racking but once you make the leap and get the first project under your belt it soon gets easier. I was out of work for 3 months when I started which was a nightmare, but once I got going it's all good. So in summary - same role that you know well and are good at, with a twist.
  16. Hmm. I was planning on getting an iPhone when the new one comes out in September and putting it through the ltd as an expense. I wouldn't be fiddling or bending the rules as it will be for business. Will just put it through as a business asset, I guess the same could be done with an iPad. I design websites and apps for my business so will be using the iPhone (and iPad if I need a new one, iPad 2 is dying!) for testing purposes. The golden rule is if it's going to be used 100% for business use then it's fine. If not then it's percentage of use. Doesn't work with cars (or bikes) though sadly unless they're leased.
  17. Best price I've ever found was for a DID chain and sprocket kit on Demon Tweaks. So good I bought a chain breaker/riveter at the same time and did it myself!
  18. Air leak from the exhaust? Sounds daft but a small leak can sound like something more serious. When I bought my Blackbird a few years back some dope had previously tightened the downpipes to the manifold too much and sheared off part of the engine block. They did a bodge job with resin that over time cracked and caused a leak. I thought exactly the same as you with the tensioner at first, changed that and of course didn't solve it. Eventually I tracked it down to be the manifold issue. Thinking the worst (i.e. that it'd need a new engine casing!) I took it to a mechanics where I'd heard there was a good Polish welder - he was Polish, and he was good - welded a new exhaust stud in and it held tight ever since. No more issues for over 5 years up until I sold it and it was still fine then. So yes, short version - check your exhaust!
  19. I've got a Halfords charger that might be the same as yours - has two switches allowing switching between sealed and...not sealed! Standard is the word I think it uses. Other switch allows switching between bike and car/other. You should be fine with a new battery as others have said. If you have a multimeter handy you could check the voltage before installing it just in case but that's probably overkill. Should be around 12.2V-12.8V.
  20. Sure thing, I'm expecting it to arrive tomorrow so will upload pics when all set up. I reckon as long as your chain isn't left on the floor at all you should be alright. To be fair even Almax and Pragmasis recommend making sure no part of the chain is on the floor, because of sledge hammer attacks. They're guaranteed bolt cropper proof, but not sledge hammer proof, especially after spraying with freeze spray. They'll be more of a challenge to shatter I'm sure but under the right conditions it's possible. I plan on experimenting with positions for my anchor. I may evenattach it to the wall to make sure the chain stays off the floor but will see when it all arrives...
  21. After years of wanting to buy an Almax chain, tonight I finally stumped up the cash and bought a complete setup - new ground anchor, padlock and 16mm chain...none of which was from Almax I went for this package from Pragmasis: http://securityforbikes.com/proddetail. ... 6-x.x-SS65 The padlock is exactly the same one that Almax use, and the the ground anchor is probably the only decent one I can get away with using at the moment because I'm in rented accommodation. On paper the chain's are pretty much exactly the same spec (I'm sure there are differences, but I can't find them anywhere), they cost exactly the same at £174.95 for a 2m chain and lock, and they're both from British manufacturers. So why did I go for the 16mm Pragmasis Protector chain over the Almax Series 3 Immobiliser? Oddly enough the fact that the Protector chain has all gold certifications across the board, and is Sold Secure and the only Police Approved security chain available (and Almax doesn't appear to have any of that...yet - it is going to be Thatcham approved in the near future according to their site) made little difference to my choosing. Both chains are highly spoken of all over the place, from YouTube videos to forums chats. To be honest, what made the biggest difference was that I emailed both companies last week and Almax didn't get back to me. It was the week between Christmas and New Year so that's a bit unfair I suppose, but David at Pragmasis did get back to me, but nobody from Almax did. Security chains and locks aren't that complex pieces of equipment, but just knowing that their service is at that kind of level if needed gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside. To be fair in David's email he did say that some of their customers have used Almax chains alongside some Pragmasis products happily enough, so hats off to him for his honesty. On the note of other products, the anti-pinch pin that Pragmasis make looks good. I'm going to see how I get on with my new set up and might invest in the anti pinch pin at a later date if I'm not happy with how I end up routing my chain. Hopefully I'll be able to get it through the frame on my bike well enough, but if not it's good to know that Pragmasis make another clever bit of kit to solve that problem should I need it. I'll report back once my package arrives.
  22. Pete

    Dead Battery

    Nothing more to add, just plus 1 here for Motobatt and an Optimate. Can't speak highly enough of Motobatt batteries, never had one fail on me yet (same cannot be said for all the other brands I've tried!).
  23. Pete

    12v garage power..

    You mean you don't drag your feet on the floor to earth the bike?!
  24. Does anyone really believe that this can be the face of the next British Prime Minister? http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/7/24/1406184731342/Ed-Miliband-014.jpg No way am I voting labour, especially with that guy at the helm! He'd be the face of the British people! Ridiculous. As an aside - a poll for in/out of Europe would be interesting. I can see arguments for both. A point my dad made the other day though got me thinking - if we leave Europe, countries like Japan will no longer be able to use the UK as a gateway to Europe (for tax purposes) because we wouldn't be in Europe!
  25. Piano tiles (addictive) BBC iPlayer, and all the other catch up apps Second vote for Clash of Clans, great game YouTube Flight Control (addictive game) AutoTrader BBC News iBooks Kindle TED They're ones that I like anyway! iPads are funny things. If you don't have one, you'll never need one or understand why people have them. But once you own one, you'll never want to be without it!
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