SometimesSansEngine

Cost has to be considered. I totted up what I spent in year one on here once but can't find it now. But it was significant, and not just because me and my wife learnt at the same time. CBT, theory, mod 1, mod 2, retakes, helmet, boots, gloves, gear, the bike, security, insurance, tax, intercoms, stuff for maintenance etc etc etc After that it only gets as cheap as you want it to get. Some things get easier, when you're starting out you can't always wait for a bargain on kit but if you're replacing (or just upgrading) you can. But there's always the 'just because' purchases eh But in terms of cognitive load, whilst driving isn't cheap it's a lot simpler: get lessons, pass, buy a run around. If you try to get into the world of motorcycling there's FLOWCHARTS to try and work out what licence you want (I kid you not, if you haven't done your test in the last few years) because of the graduated licences, then there's type of bike, size of bike, what tyres do you want to put on it, what type of safety gear do you want etc. It's not as easy to pick up Just to throw another thing into the mix.... other than safety I think a lot of people assume that half your life will be spent fixing the bike. And I know some older riders mock younger riders for not wanting to or not knowing how to fix their bike, but there has to be an acceptance that most people just want to push the ignition button and have the bike start. And part and parcel of motorcycling is weekly maintenance even if you pay someone else to do a lot of the servicing. Many cars now you barely have to check.

Custom Fit Guards here (with the filter) - just checked and I paid £99. I had the moulds done at a local hearing aid place and was refunded the cost. Personally I can't ride without plugs. I didn't wear them when doing my bike training and I'd finish the day with a heck of a headache. And I've never been able to use foam/silicone type plugs successfully. Even our kids have plugs when they ride pillion (although they are able to use the silicone ones). Last time I took an easyJet flight I used them too, just to block out the engine and background noise.

Scandalous that they're not extending expiry dates of various certificates to be honest.

@Stu, as a heads up the notification about the forum change hit my spam folder in gmail. Not a lot you can do about that, admittedly, but just so you know if a lot of people message you confused

How much have you paid? (Don't get me wrong, it doesn't sound normal or ideal, but just wondering if they've charged you for a couple hours training)

Honestly to this day I have no idea how I managed it.... I felt the steering go light and vague... I nearly chopped the throttle but managed to override that urge... then felt the rear grab traction again and managed to not fight it and allowed the bike to correct itself without it inadvertently overcorrecting just as I thought it was all over. It probably helped that it happened fast and I wasn't left to think about it too much.

Zero so far. Closest I have come was.... On the two wheels without an engine, came a cropper at 30mph downhill (as I always said, coming off didn't hurt, but contacting the ground and the sudden stop did) and also had someone overtake then slam the brakes on. Made solid contact with the back of their pickup and the road but had scrubbed most of the speed off so wasn't too badly beat up from that.

Well, I'd say he followed the instructions perfectly. It wasn't left safe.

And of course this is fine. One of my biggest eye rolls when selling a bike at the moment is people are so LAZY. If the first question isn't "is this still available" the second is "what's the lowest you'd accept". This is before even viewing. My usual retort is "I've priced this based on market value, any requests to purchase at a lower price will need to be backed up with a reason". I don't think that's unfair. If they view the bike and aren't 100% happy with something, and explain it and why they think a certain lower amount because of it is justified, I won't take offense, even if it's ultimately over a thing or an amount that I'm not happy with (at that point I can still dismiss the offer after all). The last bike I sold, one guy who was due to come and view it had been a right arse over this, and I had half a feeling that he was going to make a ridiculous offer that I was going to tell him to f**k off over. I was filled with joy when I sent him the message "Hi Jack, just as an update, the bike has just been sold"

You can insist on returning the product as not fit for purpose for a refund. Otherwise I think the ball is in your court slightly on this one. You haven't suffered any loss on the phone as Apple have repaired under warranty. Full disclosure, I paid for the vibration dampener out of my own pocket, but then I guess I drank the kool aid on this product as I'm quite smitten with it.

One doubled down today "Worked with this industry all my life in my career. Loads of experience. Know what I'm talking about. One thing anyone in the know will tell you is you never get the cheapest or the most expensive". I pointed out that genuinely, it was the most expensive I've had so based on his rule and advice.... Was told snottily it's a free country and my choice. Yeah, I know.

Wow, something that BMW are actually easier and cheaper on

Posted a rant in my IAM group about how the "discounted" IAM insurance is full of shit. Amongst the people agreeing are two that have taken it upon themselves to lecture me that I need to consider that cheap is not better and how I'll regret it if I make a claim. Yeah, because insurers are warm fluffy kittens if you pay them a couple of hundred quid more who just love paying out. Talk about drinking the kool aid.

Nice that the picture on the front is the bit before it hurts

Just fitted up the Optimate solar in (and on I guess) the shed. The only faff in the whole thing was siting it so that the lead could easily reach both bikes without having to buy an extension cable.

I guess I'm lucky that I only have a mild interest in music - a fair chunk of what I'm happy to listen to is on there, for other days I'm at a computer and just use YouTube

I think that used to be the case, but the greedy f**kers at Amazon separate it now to get more money. Basic prime - shopping + Video (+tv packages) +Music +Audible +Kindle Etc etc Prime membership - £79 a year or £7.99 a month - includes the next day delivery, music, video, photos, book library etc. You can pay extra for Prime Music unlimited or Kindle Unlimited. But the standard Prime membership definitely includes Prime Music. https://www.amazon.co.uk/amazonprime https://www.pocket-lint.com/tv/news/amazon/141120-what-is-amazon-prime-and-what-do-you-get-for-your-money

Well that was a busy one today. Took the kids to their weekly cycling group. Family motorbike ride to meet up with some fellow motorbike friends for fish and chips. Then straight in the car for a three hour round trip with the eldest to buy him a new bicycle as he's outgrown his current, his first adult frame too Give it a few years and he can do his CBT, which is a pretty scary thought.

So I've had delivery of an Optimate solar charging kit for when the bikes are in the shed. The instructions (which aren't exactly the easiest and most thrilling read for a relatively normal person) are very clear, if connecting up with the battery in situ with the crocodile clips, connect the positive connector to the battery, then the other to a metal part of the chassis/engine block away from the battery. Yet all the pictures on the box, on their website etc show you connecting the black lead to the negative terminal. Further if you want to leave a plug situ, you can connect the ring terminals/y lead with the weatherproof connector. Not that the info will change much, I'll be using the ring terminals on our bikes, but it's just for my idle curiosity as I haven't a clue about these things. Why would grounding the crocodile clips on the chassis be suggested, yet the ring terminals... and pictures of the crocodile clips in use.... go straight on the negative terminal?

Plusnet is owned by BT, albeit a different customer services team so you may get a better experience with them in that regard.

If you have Amazon Prime then you should also have Prime Music? (unless I've misunderstood)

Potentially perfect, I'm not really one for riding with others 'just because' (doesn't mean I'd refuse to, more I'm just as happy not to!) but do like the stop off for a coffee and chat moments. I'm SW so whilst I'm sure many times you're out I'll end up having a prior engagement if the stars align.....

There was some light surface rust on the odd bolt on my bike when I bought it, so spent a relatively short time with a wire brush and some WD40 sorting it out.

My daughter just tells [mention]Magpie84[/mention] that she's a banana when she's queuing at the till....

I agree with [mention]Mississippi Bullfrog[/mention]. My first bike was leaking at the valve and I didn't know. Riding one day and it felt like a barge. Got home and it had post a good seven PSI. It was only when I took it to a mechanic and they checked it they confirmed the valve was leaking - to that point it had dropped a couple of PSI every time I checked it but it being my first bike I didn't know for sure if that was unusual (especially since advice is check pressures weekly). When he told me I realised that I hadn't checked the rear for over a week. I wouldn't be surprised if type of bike and tyre size can make a difference. This was a 125 on a relatively thin tyre