Smithers

[mention]gsijay[/mention] Cracking bike you got there

What's the prize for the winner of the quiz? I reckon for the ladies, it should be a blind date with Stevie Wonder.

You're right people will always break the law if they think they can get away with it. It's the consequences if you're caught or in an accident or worse that has to be the deterrent I reckon.

όμορφη βίντεο [mention]mallllias[/mention] ευχαριστώ!

This is where having an alcohol limit falls down, everyone reacts to alcohol in different ways. I've no doubt lots of people can drive perfectly safe after a drink, but there's also lots of people who cant. I would just hate to come across the latter when I'm on two wheels.

This debate has been doing the rounds for years. I like a pint as much as anyone, I've even driven under the influence in the past. I really believe it's time for zero tolerance with alcohol and driving. The scientific evidence is now overwhelming over the dangers of drink driving, coupled with the rapid increase in motor traffic, it makes it harder to justify any alcohol in the blood. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-7236619/Just-ONE-pint-glass-wine-make-unsafe-drive-Scientists-question-drink-drive-limit.html. What's the consensus on this forum?

I'm a Michelin pilot road 4 fan at the moment, but when they wear out I'm going to try the Michelin road 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCDEpHHzUCA

I accidently came across this little gem of a video. So for all the nostalgia freaks, have a look and enjoy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HESIjHvOjtw

I bought the Klaisen plugs, very similar to yours. Great for live concerts but found them rubbish for bikes, they just did not cut the noise down enough.

Spot on; Industry, bikes, and loud music didn't do much for the health of my hearing. Even if your hearing has been damaged, it's important to save what's left.

I never had the need to use comms, Mrs Smithers won't get on a bike. I just hope she will never change her mind

My post was just a guess; Mississippi Bullfrog's explanation seems more like it. The smell should give an indication from where it originated from.

It looks like a filter housing that's supposed to be fitted in a certain direction. Is there a strong smell of fuel anywhere?

Strangely, that's the one thing about sponge plugs I really like and that's the vast noise reduction you get. I'm just hoping my new ones give that same or similar effect.

WARNING. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION MAY CAUSE DEATH OR SERIOUS INJURY.... Filtering is a practiced skill and everyone will have their own techniques and levels of comfort for doing it. I look at stationary or slow moving traffic queues as if it's a concertina. When the first or first visible in the queue starts to move, the line slowly starts to open up and that's when I get going, always looking for the gap I'm going to slot into when things get a bit tight. It's always important to look out for that twitching wheel that may want to pull a u turn in front of you as covered by a previous poster. How's the foot these days [mention]fastbob[/mention] ?

I'd be very happy to report them on here when I've used them. I spoke to the audiologist at my local Specsavers and he reckons they'll beat the sponge plugs easily. Main reason for change is the consistent and easy fit of them. We'll see??

Who uses custom made ear plugs? For my whole biking career, I've been using cheapish sponge plugs. They're OK but I decided to splash out on some custom made ones today, I've had the impressions taken and will have them on the 30th July. All for the eye watering price of £115 or should I say ear splitting price? What's the pros and cons?

It's a plane boss! it's a plane!

I reply to you with great respect, I'm not into picking arguments for the sake of it but I see too many times, riders/drivers unwilling to cross solid white lines and causing unnecessary hold ups. It is quite legal to cross solid white lines under certain circumstances. This does not reflect the original post, just a separate but related comment.

If it was me, no oncoming traffic, lots of gaps opening up. Yes I would.

[mention]Breadsnapper[/mention] Nice looking machine bud

Oh come on . You're not just going to leave it there are you ? Yes, it was just a cautionary note. You're absolutely right [mention]raesewell[/mention] there's a such a lot of bollocks that gets spouted on forums, and of course the occasional good bit of advise.

I still love the smell of two strokes.

[mention]Gerontious[/mention] To be honest no real signs of drop damage that I could see. The riders were knocking on a bit and I doubt they could have matched the strength of that young girl in the video But had the bike been fully fuelled and loaded with max luggage the young girl might have found her match. I'm not knocking the GS, I still like them apart from the hefty price tag they command. As for test riding a GS, that would definitely put the NC in the shade and I'm not sure that would be a good idea.

Although I've never owned a BMW bike, I've always admired them and often had thoughts about seriously looking into buying a GS. What changed my mind and decided I won't bother was at a certain venue famous for it's biking clientele I had a ride out to today. There were 4, more or less identical GS's parked alongside each other (obviously all riding buddy's visiting) all with the obligatory square shaped luggage strapped to them. They were all kept in decent shape by obviously proud owners. So, sat outside in the sun sipping my builders strength tea, I watched the owners go to their bikes ready to resume their ride. All 4 of them needed to mount their bikes stood on the foot peg with side stand down. It was obvious why, they were a bit on the short side and not particularly burly or agile looking. The first thing that stuck me was, if one them were to make a mistake and drop a fully fuelled and full loaded bike, (which nearly happened) it would end up a fairly serious spill. All their riding buddies would have to go through the dismount procedure and rescue the unfortunate rider, who if lucky, was not crushed to death by this behemoth of a machine. I looked across to my NC750x and thought, why would I want to get rid of that. It ticks all the boxes and it's not so far to fall as the GS if the unthinkable happened. I really must get round to doing a review of my bike on here one day. It's one of those bikes that's like a good bit of Stilton; The older and riper it gets, it just gets better and better.