SometimesSansEngine

Howdy fellow new ER6f rider One thing I've been conscious of is even though it feels like I'm really slowing a lot for a bend, when I actually check my speed I'm doing the same speed I'd drop to in a car for it. Not sure why it feels like I slow more on a motorbike. I can probably go a bit faster but like you I'm still building up to it. And I'm also aware that if you manage to come out of a corner successfully on the other side then it can only be described as a successful corner

Good shout, I'm still trying to find the right sized block to also make getting the bike onto the paddock stand easier

And whilst the looking glass is much more convenient, I still haven't quite mastered having my eye four inches off the ground whilst simultaneously holding the bike level and not dropping it on myself, so usually ask my son to help me ps in case you're wondering, no I can't just look down, a plastic panel 'hides' when you look down from above it so you can't actually see the level unless you're near the ground pps in case you're wondering, no I don't get him to hold the bike, I do that bit ppps yes I will be embarrassed if someone on here tells me a better way to do it that isn't so moronic

This is what happens when you try to play with fire, sometimes you get your fingers burnt

As an all year round two wheeled commuter (although mostly sans engine) this site always gets a stupid number of visits from me over winter https://www.timeanddate.com/astronomy/uk/bath

You missed a space after a full stop and then didn't capitalise the T. Belittling was also incorrectly spelt. I of course had to use spelt just then, because generally speaking the use of "spelled" as the past tense of the word spell is seen more as American English, and I would hate raeswell to pull me up on it

Out of interest, define low RPM? When I first got my ER6 there seemed to be a fair bit of advice at generally running it at around 3k-7k RPM. Which does take a bit of adjusting to when you've been driving a car for years and think as soon as you hear the engine whirring you need to change up.

When I was at uni, for a few years I lived a few doors down from a guy who owned a Lexus. Parked it on his drive. But hated anyone parking on the road outside his house. He'd come out of the house, saying "could you not park there please". No idea why, it's not like he had a steady stream of visitors. Maybe he just loved the view of the house opposite. This morning I filtered back into stationary traffic five cars back from a roundabout, and had one of those drivers who gets ridiculously hurt about it. Lexus driver. Attempted to make love to my left leg all the way up to the roundabout, then was clearly itching to undercut me as we both went left. And it got me thinking. I've never met a Lexus driver (on the road or personally) who doesn't have a massive chip on their shoulder. Is it because they have aspirations of owning a premium car, and the budget premium is as good as they could get? I'm a reasonable chap so I'm sure there are some good Lexus owners out there... has anyone ever met them? Does anyone here own one and know that they are a good person?

Add knob points if they're running a strobe light on a bike path too

(I am definitely not a motorcycle mechanic, I'm new too, but...) What can you see if you take the front sprocket cover off?

A guy who used to ride the same rural road as me had an off road light fitted to his helmet. He got a couple loud yells from me when we passed each other. I have an off road light myself which I use in the depths of winter, because some of the roads I use are unlit. But I only use them when the road is empty and definitely not in town. But when you're doing over 20mph it definitely helps. It's easy enough to cover with a hand if I unexpectedly meet a car. Also used them on a couple of dusk to dawn rides where they are beyond helpful and make you very popular with fellow riders, like moths to a flame. When it comes to rear lights, my opinion is get a See.Sense or don't bother

A historic nob but a nob nonetheless. The neanderthal of a mechanic who tightened the screws of the front sprocket cover of [mention]Magpie84[/mention]'s Yamaha. Greased the threads (as I found out after removing) but then I can only assume tightened it with a bloody impact wrench or something as they were in ridiculously smug, and the screw head (which had already visually suffered enough) wasn't happy. I noticed this last week so ordered some new ones, and today attempted to remove the ones in situ. Even though I was MEGA CAREFUL one only just made it and the other required drilling out, and even that took a fair bit of careful effort and much swearing. The noise I made in the shed when it finally gave in can only be compared to that of an orgasm. Luckily [mention]Magpie84[/mention] was in the house so didn't hear and couldn't panic about the nature of the me time I was spending with the bikes.

Im sure your neighbours appreciate your efforts and extraordinary speed. Damn you you got there before me

Might be worth considering why people don't see you from a scientific viewpoint - if certain drivers don't see you as is I'm not convinced a high beam will make a difference https://scienceofbeingseen.wordpress.com/

If I am to deduce correctly what [mention]Flatty[/mention] does, it's nip into the neighbour's kitchen whilst they aren't looking and squirts some of their fairy liquid into the cleaning bucket....

I've heard rumours some do use pretty basic cleaners because it's all about how you use it. But of course, many are likely to swear by some uber-brand like it's a religion. I know some of the people at work do too with the brands they use, and they'll use several different cleaners for specific parts of the cleaning job. Their faces when I mentioned fairy liquid yesterday was hilarious!

That was my thoughts to be honest, and as I said in the original post, I imagine worse gets caked on your bike and stays there for a bit unless you wash off as soon as you finish every single ride.

Industrial chemist brother has spoken: "Without seeing the full formulation (which they won't give away) then it's difficult to say 100%, but they do share the same or similar active ingredients of a similar quantity"

I think that's why I'm interested in this. Chemicals are chemicals, a degreaser aims to break apart the bonds between greasy crap, surfactants aim to lift dirt. We then know to wash them off. How much of it is colours, smells and marketing? I know people who swear by putting their bicycle components (cassette, chainring, derailleurs etc) in the dishwasher, [mention]Magpie84[/mention] definitely wouldn't let me do that I imagine.

Ta, added the data sheet for that to the OP. Has the same "Alcohols, C12-14 Ethoxylated, Sulfates, Sodium Salts" in it too. Use it on the car, no idea why I bought special stuff for the bike really. Muc-off bike cleaner is anywhere between £3 and £10 per litre it seems, for comparison. I bought it on offer so it was around the £3 per l mark.

(Disclaimer, I am not a chemist. But my brother is, although it'll probably be months before he gets back to me) So sitting amongst a load of car nuts, I know one thing that will make them boil with rage is if you mention washing a motor vehicle with fairy liquid. Same for most bicycle lovers. It contains salt and your cherished item will dissolve/rust/explode So with that in mind... thoughts on this? "> It is true that every motorbike cleaning product that I have looked at the safety datasheet for contains sodium salts, and Muc Off & Motul cleaners contain the exact same "Alcohols, C12-14 Ethoxylated, Sulfates, Sodium Salts" as Fairy Liquid. Same concentration of it too, although Fairy Liquid has some quantities of other stuff. At most looking at the ingredients list you might want to dilute washing up liquid just a touch more. Some data sheets: Fairy Liquid Muc Off Bike Cleaner Motul M2 Moto cleaner Simoniz Wash and wax Halfords Car wash Considering you'll put it on and wash it off nearly straight away, I can't see how it logically would damage your bike more than general road grime that you may leave on for several days before cleaning off. For a scientific viewpoint I've got in touch with my brother, who happens to be an industrial chemist, to get his opinion. But he's notoriously slow to reply and I know I'll get bored waiting so thought I'd post here to see if there's any experts on here. So the question is, and not looking for just what people have heard because all I could find online was every warning about Fairy Liquid being "don't use it as it contains salt", should I be saving some money? After all, I'm the guy that will buy the cheapest shampoo/sun lotion etc going because I argue "it's all the same stuff". Now that I've lit a potential firework in the forum, I'll take a step back

Thank god. We also get to have endless arguments with Americans over how words should be spelt. We of course are correct and they get quite upset when you tell them they don't speak English. Except that a lot of American usage is really closer to the original English than our own modern usage. Languages change and evolve but the Americans seem to have got stuck in a bit of a time warp with some words. Their version is sometimes more 'English' than English. And, if you've ever had to teach someone struggling to read to read, you'll realise how much more true to the actual pronunciation it is

He read it on the side of a can in the toilet. Quite old school, I only do that now if I forgot my mobile We're relatively straight with our kids, especially the eldest. He'd only google it anyway

Unrelated but related, just this morning our ten year old inquisitively asked us "what is solvent abuse?"

Mine is broadly similar to OP, hose, spray on Muc Off bike cleaner, agitate with a brush (I recently bought this and it works really well https://www.screwfix.com/p/harris-trade-long-reach-cutting-in-brush-2/9736x), hose off, microfibre towel to dry. I had considered getting a foam lance for the pressure washer but haven't bothered as cleaning doesn't seem to take long. Plus there's a lot of fairing on my bike so not many hard to reach places for muck to cling. Similar for a blower dryer. Considered it but whilst some water hangs around in some areas I'm not 100% convinced yet it's anything I need to worry about.