Davidtav

I met him on the ferry between Portavadie and Tarbert. I don’t know him

Hey I met this guy on the ferry between Portavadie and Tarbert a few weeks ago. Very engaging guy. I don’t have any relationship or anything. But I think his channel is interesting It is called Caledonian Biker mods remove this post if not allowed but I don’t have any links with this guy other than speaking on the ferry

Why not fit a steering wheel as well while you’re at it?

So yes I understand that an advantage of having a motorcycle is the ability to filter. And in my previous incarnation as a motorcyclist 20 years ago I filtered like a demon. Across London … these days I just don’t do it so much. Sometimes I do it because I think I ought to. For example today I came through Glasgow. And I didn’t really filter much. I could have done. Just wondering if I am totally out of tune with everyone else

Well it was the RAC. And eventually after emailing directly the CEO. They paid me £100. I can’t wait for this subscription to end. I would never use these cowboys again

Slightly off topic. But not entirely. I used to have a 2 stroke outboard motor. And marine grade 2 stroke oil is available. Highly recommended by manufacturers and on boaty forums etc. .… of course it is double the price of anything you might put in a motorbike engine. It is claimed that because the marine environment is a harsh one that special oil is needed. Never believed a word of it myself. The environment outside the engine might be severe. But inside not a lot of difference to the average lawnmower I reckon … I always used some standard 2 stroke oil. Caused no issues as far as I could tell.

I’m not meaning to be argumentative. And I’m not a chemist. I’m sure your information is correct. But surely there is a massive difference between oil to be used in a suspension set up. And two stroke oil added to fuel. Personally I can’t imagine that the basic properties of the oil would diminish due to a bit of storage. I agree that the additives might become less effective. Although I reckon that’s unlikely. And I believe the additives are more about clean running and emissions than anything else.

I can’t see why it would be a problem? It’s oil. It was hundreds of millions of years old before it went in the tank … yeah I know it’s probably semi synthetic these days but you get my point. I would just use it without too much thought.

Yeah. The thing is the ones locally are just black tarmac. No markings. Maybe there were markings once. But worn off now. No issues really in daylight. But troublesome in the dark. … I do just think that designers of road furniture don’t really consider motorcycles

This is probably just me. But I have a strong dislike for speed cushions. So not the old sleeping policeman type that go fully across the lane. But the things that are about 4 foot square with sloping sides on all edges. No problem if I’m in the car. But I once caught the sloping edge when on my bike and nearly got thrown off. I was doing about 20mph. Since then I’ve been so careful to either miss them completely. Or go over the centre. They seem to have a lot of them here in Yorkshire. The ones locally aren’t marked very well if at all. It isn’t so bad during daylight. But at night quite problematic. It just seems to me that whoever thought these were a good idea had no thought whatsoever for motorcyclists. .… never heard of anyone else complaining about them though. So probably it is just me lol. Rant over

I did actually feel embarrassed that I had posted this. I did ask Stu to delete it. But he thought it just reflected real life. In truth I agree with him. I’ve been through the mill lately. Some folks say I live in the past. Well sometimes the past is better than the present. Or the future

Yeah. My wife was a proper cool dude. I try to tell my daughters but they just know her as mum. She was a proper cool lady back in the day. No idea how I pulled her. Except I might have been a bit cooler myself in those days

I know I said that as a joke but actually my wife died 12 years ago. I really miss her. She was an expensive ornament. But an amazing person. I’m never going to meet another again. I know. I will try to attach a pic

In my experience it is generally the wife who is the expensive ornament

I would be tempted to try wrapping those parts in carbon fibre look film. No doubt a fiddly job. I’ve never done it. But might make the bike look amazing

I understand that. But the buffeting was happening before I fitted the crash bars

So I have a Suzuki V Strom 650. New in November. Done 2000 miles on it. I like most things about this bike. But the wind buffeting is so annoying. It shook my old helmet so much that the vent fell off and was lost. Slightly better with a different helmet. But my head is still shaking. Tried the screen in every position. Tried a eBay wind deflector. Nothing really sorts it. It does bemuse me that Suzuki have made this bike for 20 years plus and haven’t sorted this. I actually think the problem is from below. Not the screen. By moving my hand I can feel a blast from low down. I’m thinking of fabricating acrylic deflectors to attach to the crash bars I fitted. What do you reckon?

Have you tried getting a quote from Adrian Flux? They advertise that they provide cover for people with cancelled car insurance. I think they cover motorbikes. Worth a try

Just in response to a few points. The car is a Mini Cooper convertible. There was never a spare wheel. There is no location to carry a spare wheel. I haven’t actually tried it but I don’t think a wheel would fit in the boot. It is a very small boot with the hood. I would have to carry a spare wheel on the back seat I think. I’m considering that for trips up to Scotland. The recovery agent was adamant that they couldn’t help. I think though that she was mistaken or maybe they had changed the policy. The faq section on their website details how they would assist in this situation. I have printed this out and included it with my complaint.

It is a very major organisation but I am not going to name them on social media at this stage

So I bought a car in 2015. And it didn’t have a spare wheel. Never supplied with one. And nowhere to fit one. So I joined a recovery service advertising that they would rescue you if you were stranded and your car wasn’t supplied with a spare wheel by the manufacturer. … all good until I hit a pothole a few weeks ago. In a fairly remote location. And the recovery service just point blank refused to come out. Why haven’t you got a spare wheel. Blah blah. Yes we used to covefr that but we don’t anymore. Well they didn’t tell me. Basicayi couldn’t get anyone local to sort this. I did get it sorted by paying £350 to a national company . I have made a complaint. What do you guys think j should do? I’m thinking of court claim

I did realise that my post had a double meaning. But I meant financially

Mr S Westserly you are very welcome to sail on Scorcher

I could probably afford a Moto Guzzi if I sold Scorcher lol

I remember you saying. It isn’t cheap at Portavadie. But it is amazing. But I’m widowed and what else should I do? I drive a 12 year old car to afford to keep Scorcher at Portavadie.