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I'm thinking about getting a trail bike in the new year. Initially it's to get used to using a bike off-road as I've only got limited experience but I'd like to join my local trf group and go out for a play. I've been inspired by a recent talk to our local IAM group by Austin Vince and really like the idea of doing some longer trips. The two bikes I'm considering are a crf250l and an xr400. Obviously one is quite new and has a small engine and the other is older and has a bigger lump. Has anyone got experience of the two bikes and can give me an idea of the relative merits of each one. I guess the main question that I'll only solve by going and sitting on one is the physical size but I'm torn between the idea of the old bike that has and will keep going through most stuff and the newer bike that is, well, newer. Any advice/experience gratefully received. Thanks, Mark

I don't think the two numbers are comparable. I believe that they either use different units or a different scale or something like that. Multigrade oil is definitely thinner when hot in my experience. You can tell that by the way it pisses off my hand and all over the floor missing the oil catch container.

Based on recent experiences with a blackbird the first thing you should do is ensure all your earths are good including and most importantly the earth block in the loom. Do not ignore the earth block if you can't find it, do a search on google as corrosion builds up in it and causes all sorts of issues. You can fix these things for free. Only once you've done that should you start spending money on other components.

I'd want to take a look at the rear linkage as it looks a right state (sorry) but if it keeps passing mots and doesn't feel bouncy or grindy maybe it's ok. If you don't mind it looking like that then I think that the only difference the state of it (sorry again) will make is that every job will take twice as long because you might not be able to get it apart without breaking something. I can't see the point in doing anything like that preventatively though as you may as well just do the bits you need to when you need to do them. If you do want it to look nice then I think that that horse may have bolted some time ago as it screams neglect I'm afraid (sorry again, again).

Before you do all of the above check all of the earthing points on the engine and the frame and ensure that they're clean. Also google to see if there's a common earth block on your bike and check the condition of that. The checks are free and gives you a good starting point to then start thinking about replacing bits.

Of course, I have a wife and two daughters so I go in there and leave the light off and hope that they can't find me.

That looks brilliant. I saw her TED talk on youtube and it was extremely interesting. Went to a talk this week that her husband (Austin Vince) gave which was superb also.

Sign yourself up to the emails from places like M&P. They seem to frequently do pretty good deals on stuff like this and last week I got an Oxford Oximiser delivered for £18.99. I'd like to the offer but it's expired now I'm afraid.

There's only one thing I hate about Halloween, which is...

Get a Bob Heath Vee/Visor Wipe. Got my first one this year and can't believe I've only just bothered. Brilliant thing. Only 6 quid if you don't like it. Regards, Mark

Taking the phrase 'do you you bloody well want' at face value never ends well in my experience. I'm always on the look out for new loop holes though and the best one recently was 'why do you keep buying old bikes that require so much work?' pretty much opened the door to buying my relatively new KTM. Chicken dinner.

Any oil I have lying around. At the moment I've got an old bottle of scotoiler oil that I got with a bike that had a scotoiler that I quickly threw in the bin. When that's not handy I'll use engine oil, gear oil... pretty much anything. Apply with a paint brush and wipe off with a rag.

This is my 2003 Fuel-Injected CBR1100XX Honda Blackbird. I bought the bike as a commuter in the summer and spent a bit of money on bringing the sub-parr bits up to scratch and it's generally a pretty good bike, mechanically excellent with poor bodywork. I have a new bike so I'm selling this bike. The bike has just shy of 50,000 miles on it. Good points... - Refurbished forks with brand new seals, bushes and oil - New hyperpro fork springs and rear spring, rear shock shim raises the rear by 6mm and front lowered on the forks by 10mm. Handles very very well compared to when I got it. - New radiator and complete flush of system and replacement of coolant - New brake discs all round (front and back) and new EBC HH sintered pads - Brakes delinked with an EBC delink kit. This makes the brakes work like a 'normal' bike and also makes bleeding the brakes much simpler - New heavy duty x-ring did chain and sprocket kit fitted - New front Bridgestone BT-023F to match good rear - New levers as the adjusters didn't work on the old ones - New cover screws for the brake and clutch reservoirs to replace chewed old ones - HID low beam front light - Voltmeter fitted - MOT until 16 July 2019 - New Givi rack, no top box included. Bad points... - The bodywork is a mix and match of original and replacement panels. There's marks on all of them. There are cracks on the tail unit. They is a piece missing for some reason on the right hand side main panel requiring a washer to hold that bit in place. The screen has been painted to cover the horrible mirror finish that was scratched. The bike looks best at a distance. Basically, cosmetic issues not withstanding this bike goes like a train, handles far better than most blackbirds and stops extremely well. This bike was originally listed with an electrical fault. Following advice I diagnosed this an a problem with the common ground block (common problem). I have replaced this block with a better solution and the bike is ready to go. If you buy this bike you've got yourself a superb winter bike. This is a video of the engine running that also shows you the bodywork... "> If you have any questions please ask. I'd consider a DRZ400 (not an SM) in exchange somehow but if we do that and you come to my house and my wife is there, you'll have to back me up that it was your idea, not mine and I've definitely accepted it because it's easier to sell on and not because I made a mistake selling my TTR250 and I'm probably going to keep it. I'm looking for £2000 for the bike. Cheers, Mark

The most important thing I've learned in the rain or the dry is keep looking ahead. If you start to look just in front of the wheel for diesel, potholes, manhole covers, etc just push your view back up, out and ahead. Unless you go nuts your tyres will take care of most things and if you're not too close to the guy in front you'll see manhole covers in plenty of time to avoid them. Cheers, Mark