Spudpants

I guess it's something that those of us who have been riding a long time take for granted, but these are good tips for newer riders. There's no use in being 'in the right' when you're in a hospital bed, best to ride like no-one has seen you and never assume they have or will give way as they should. While there have always been people who don't look, I do think people's attitudes on the roads has gotten a lot worse over the last 10 years or so. People seem to take it personally now if they are held up due to the fact other people are on the road and have a high sense of entitlement. Also bikers are becoming a less common site and so people aren't looking for them as much. Another good book I can recommend to newer (and older) riders is Roadcraft (the police handbook) which covers a lot of advanced riding techniques and some good points on frame of mind. Sometimes our ego and 'seeing red' can get us into big trouble, and it takes a lot of effort to stay calm, but it really helps with control.

As mentioned, I'd forget about it as you can't know what he was on about. You mention he had a pillion, so for all you know he has an intercom with them and the pillion asked him a question to which he replied no and shook his head, which was at the time you passed and took it to mean he meant something you did wrong. If it's something technically wrong (from what you describe) you can filter to the front but you're not meant to 'overtake' the first vehicle (everyone does so don't worry about it and I think this is just pedestrian crossing, would need to check). If he's a bit of a do-gooder, which it he could be as you mention he was 4 cars back so maybe doesn't approve of filtering, then that could also be the case. Riding a bike sometimes involves bending the rules to stay safe. I always 'push' to the front if safe to do so, so that I can pull away quickly and avoid having to overtake that first car. Also they know you're there when they've got you stood in front of them.

Sounds good - I like the fact you're concentrating on getting the bike mechanically sorted first though. So many people buy bikes to do this and simply bolt a few plastic bits on and forget the basics.

Looks better without that awful bikini fairing thing - those are cheap bolt-ons from ebay, much better with the dominators on Not sure about the twin pods on the ram air ducts though. Is that to replace you're main filter element or just to stop debris going down? I would have thought just two small pods would be quite restrictive to the fueling as you have 4 cylinders pulling air through just those 2 pods. I'd probably go for some fine wire mesh which won't be too restrictive but stop flies and the odd rogue bird getting sucked into the airbox and keep the air filter element in the air box. Just a thought though, looks a nice solid bike