mealexme

so, ive left money in my pocket at work, twice. The first time it was £170 to go towards rent (over a year ago). It was stolen out of my pocket at work. The second time it was £4 in coins (this week). It was also stolen at work. To be honest, its not the money that bothers me, its the fact that someone is going through peoples pockets and taking what ever they can get their hands on, and seemly have been for over a year. I mean, my pockets are full of crap too. I think there is an old lace in there, receipts, and house keys (I dont leave the bike key in there though) and all sorts of shrapnel that they have to dig past to find anything, so its not as easy as dipping your hand in to check, they properly went routing through. So what can I do? I mean, obviously money will be going in the locker again, as it usually does, but I want to catch/get payback on who ever it is. Is there any way of doing this? I mean, does anyone know of any tracking devices that look and feel like coins? Or is lots of used needles and sharp blades left in the pocket the best way to go? My manager will be informed about it when I go back, but when £170 got stolen, there was nothing he could do, so I doubt he can do anything about the £4

and hope nobody is watching whilst you do.. it could be quite entertaining for the neighbours

http://i1223.photobucket.com/albums/dd519/mealexme/stu_zpsfm8oorcg.png I'm currently doing driving lessons (for a car) with a full motorcycle license. There was no need to get a "provisional" as the full licence already acts as one

'aye?

I appreciate this is a motorbike forum, but I know a lot of you drive cars as well, so I want to share a few tips I've come across in the past. Please note - you CANNOT lie to your insurance, but these tips should help reduce the cost of premiums. (I will only be showing fixed rates, not quotes from black box services) For me, personally, a ford KA, third party only, kept in a locked garage and only used for up to 1000 miles a year with the cover starting today would cost me £1,101.96. Keep that figure in mind before we start messing around with the options. First tip: millage. as I said, you CANNOT lie to your insurance company, so look at the wording. If you are likely not to use the car much (why would you if you have a bike?) and your insurance company asks you what millage you expect to do, but give the possible answers with the wording "up to", you could, in theory put "up to one million miles" and not be lying. The following is what I have found for said ford KA, but the same pattern is seen with any car: UP TO 1000 miles - £1086.70 UP TO 2000 miles - £987.23 UP TO 3000 miles - £944.93 UP TO 4000 miles - £929.61 UP TO 5000 miles - £933.39 You can clearly see here, that UP TO 4000 miles gives the best result Second tip: where the car is parked overnight In a locked garage - £929.61 In an unlocked garage - £916.87 in a carport - £916.79 On the driveway - £916.79 On the road at home - £916.87 In a residential car park - £916.87 in a secure car park - £916.87 in an unsecure carpark - £916.87 The two main points to pick out from above are between a locked garage (presumably the most secure) and an unlocked garage. I have been told in the past that you pay more to keep your car in a garage, and this proves it. Presumably because if a thief has to break in, they are going to take what ever is in there, even if they don't know whats in there before hand. Nobody is going to break into somewhere and then proceed not to take anything. Third tip: cover level So, you may be thinking, comprehensive cover is going to cost me so much more than third party only. You may be right, or you may be wrong. I have heard of cases of comprehensive being cheaper than third party only, but in my case, the following applies. Third party only - £916.87 Third party, fire and theft - £916.87 Comprehensive - £916.87 All three are exactly the same, yet you will receive much more cover from comprehensive. Last tip: date of cover start Cover starting today - £916.87 Cover starting tomorrow - £856.37 Cover starting in 7 days - £733.52 Cover starting in 14 days - £733.53 Cover starting in 29 days (maximum) - £735.64 Remember that original price we were given? £1,101.96. Now we are at £733.52. That's a saving of £368.44, plus the added bonus of comprehensive cover, over the original third party only, just by LEGALLY changing four options on the questionnaire. Unfortunately, the same changes to the millage don't make a difference to bike insurance, but it just goes to show, you shouldn't presume anything. Have a fiddle with the options next time your looking for a quote, BUT KEEP IT LEGAL

Oh no, we must reduce the speed limits (http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/40mph-limit-country-roads-Plymouth/story-23150187-detail/story.html) And then catch everyone speeding with sneaky cameras (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... ivers.html) Because roads in the UK are sooo dangerous buuut... lets make the tests easier... fml, what a piss take

no NO NOOOO I get p*ssed off with all the people sitting IN the f*cking ques. You are ALL MAKING IT WORSE! I actually witnessed it today too, and wondered why the hell people are so weird. Oncoming traffic was at a stand still on an A road with two lanes (the sort that have 2 lanes for maybe half a mile), but NOBODY (apart from two lone motorcyclists) were using the second lane. Everyone wanted to que. Anyway, on the way back, a similar thing happens, but this time there was a BMW in lane 2, speeding through a 50, overtaking everyone who was sat in lane 1 doing 30 in slow moving traffic until he released that actually, there are road works up in the distance, so instead of using lane 2 any longer, he jumps straight into lane 1 and slows down to 30mph like everyone else. Why? Why do people do this? Why don't people use both lanes for as long as they can? Councils have actually got to the stage now where they put up signs saying "use both lanes" Using half of the road available only increases the length of the traffic jam, which in turn (especially near roundabouts/side roads) causes unnessesarry jams on those roads too

Why is it that its getting pulled anyway? I would have thought doing a quick edit for some "specials" would be a good idea until things were sorted out. I mean, surely they don't do ALL the filming the week before. I mean, looking at the trailer which aired a few weeks before it aired, it showed them testing the new jag, pulling the landrover up the damn, theres stuff I dont think thats been aired yet in there too. Anyway, in any business, if someone gets sacked, no matter who, the business still runs, so why should top gear stop just because it lost on of it's stars?

its a 20 minute job. My local garage charges £60 an hour I believe and only charges by the hour, therefor they would charge £60. It depends on the garage though, Im sure some would charge you £20 But, to be honest, you might as well do it yourself because all you do is remove your fairings, remove the tank, undo a couple of bolts and remove some washers. Well, thats if they are washers. Mine had its diaphragms changed to restrict it. I think thats the official FI (or whatever the comapny is called) way. Either way, look into it a bit and do it yourself. I did mine myself (largely because it was illegal to do at the time and I didn't want the garage asking to see my license) but its the first time I've ever opened up a bike and its thoroughly satisfying

Lets break this wall of text down a bit. So the issues are: 1. having to use the throttle on startup 2. the second time it took for ever to start 3. the bike struggled once you got to work. 1. Right, so in my mind, having to use the throttle on start up points to fuel starvation somewhere. Possibly blocked carbs/jets depending on the year of the bike (I think they made both carb and FI versions anyway) 2. You may well have flooded the engine the second time you tried starting it, especially if you were repeating the process over 15 times. This is when you open the throttle, so it lets fuel through, which doesn't burn (because the bike hasn't started) and it literally gets flooded with petrol. Letting it drain for 5-10 minutes is all it takes to solve that issue 3. If you were in a parking area, you were probably driving slower, with less throttle, therefor less fuel was getting through. Again, to me, this points to a blockage in the carb/jets. Personally, I would get some carb cleaner and try to clean it out, but it's probably worth hearing what the rest of the forum has to say before you spend any money

First, off, I have limited knowledge of engines, but I do have a bit of experience. Don't worry too much about it at the moment, I know once you first notice something like that, you can assume the worst, but if any major issues were going to happen, they would do so inside the engine and you would know about it before any signs were showing outside. Hitting the limiter for a brief period is ok, that's what its there for, its to stop you over revving the bike. As long as you dont hold the throttle open, bouncing it off the limiter or do it with a cold engine you'll be fine. A couple of things though. First, are you sure its oil, not just road grime mixed in with water, or a bit of WD-40 creating a rainbow effect? is the puddle near a gasket? - This is the most likely thing I think. A degraded gasket. Maybe you or a previous owner has taken the bike apart and put it back together without buying a new gasket, or maybe you've used a pressure washer at too high a pressure on it, causing it to fail. If the gasket is gone and is letting out oil from somewhere, it might be letting water in, and this is a bad thing. It's best to have a look through the oil sight and look out for a milky substance, this is water mixing with oil and means your going to want to change the oil The only other thing it could really be, if the gaskets are OK, you are sure its oil and its originated from your bike, rather than outside sources, is that there is a crack in your engine block somewhere. This would be easily noticeable though, very rare and I only really suggest it as a "I cant think what else it could be" suggestion. Bottom line, if everything seems ok, remove the oil from the surface and keep an eye on it. Look out for water in the oil, look out for oil on the engine and watch out for a puddle under the bike with a rainbow effect when it rains

Is it just the one cat? If so, we had a similar issue many, many years ago. The local vet at the time suggested a water pistol. Its not harmful, but its irritating to a cat that doesnt like water. It worked for us, the cat stopped shitting on our lawn, so it may be of use to you too

Any tips? I have a removal tool, but because the spacer (or what ever it is) is in the wheel, and is the same diameter as the bearing, so even though the tool has a lip on it, it cant sit in behind and has nothing to grip onto, it just slides back out again So, to the screwdriver through the wheel to knock it out the other side technique. Nope. Hit it as hard as you like and the thing wont f*ing budge! I NEED it back on the road by tomorrow, I'll probably be working on it over night or a bit in the morning, so need help with it asap

I hate speed bumps. Not because of what they are, but because the council have a duty to set a standard of road where you can drive at the speed limit without damage to your car. So, for example, if you damage your suspension going through a put hole, the council pay out, therefor they should pay out from damage done by speed humps. If they want people to slow down, lower the f*cking speed limit, don't pile a bit of tarmac in the road. I have to do 15mph to avoid coming off my seat on a local 30mph road. If they want traffic to do 15mph, put 15mph signs up... The other thing is, around here you can see the marks left by cars bottoming out on top of speed bumps - again, vehicles should be able to clear them without damage, but some don't Lastly, they are never uniform. one can be a slight lip in the road, and the next can be a mountain. They are more trouble than their worth. I have no problem with lower speed limits, but they shouldnt be enforced with these abominations! Putting pinch points in the road so only one car can get through at a time is so much better. It makes people think a bit aswell ...Rant over

Oh, my bad. It must have been cut out when I copied and pasted it, moving it from one part of the page to another *ahem*... Was that believable?

so, this noise has REALLY been bugging me recently. It definitely wasn't there before I ran with a knackard (and way, way, WAAAYYYY too tight) chain for months on end. The noise is definitely coming from the sprocket area rather than any guides or anything, but I took the front sprocket off and ran it un-loaded up to "50mph" according to the speedo and volla, no noise. I guess that, combined with the fact there is no oil means its 100% not the bearing, unless it would only make a noise when loaded with the chain attached. Sorry, I get paranoid easily, especially when it comes to my pride, joy and only transport and when it can be something supposedly so expensive to fix that people opt to buy new engines rather than get it fixed Anyway, side note - my YBR used to have a little device on the front wheel to tell how fast it was spinning. Do "newer" bikes have it connected up to the output shaft and work out how fast your going vs which gear your in or something? Or is it just magic? Because I certainly wasn't going 50mph on my ABBA stand!

Thanks deso, I'll add it to the library when I have a bit more time later on

Happy birthdaaaay!

4 degrees? Thats warm, I've just got home and its minus degrees outside Glad you enjoyed your ride though

Unfortunately, I am using wordpress rather than actually making it myself, (I don't see wordpress as "proper" website design software. It's for people who don't know what they are doing, like me). The theme that I'm using at the moment gives a border around what ever image you have for the header and I can't find a way to reduce that border in the settings and I don't know enough css to go into the file and manually change it, meaning that if I make the text bigger, the whole header will become larger and I don't want it takingup any more of the screen than it already is Whilst trying to be "legal" with this site, I only have a limited source of images I can use. "unfortunately" the bandit does not make an appearance in my library, but if anyone wants to take a good picture of their bikes, I might find a way to put it on, if it runs with the theme of the page *hint*

if, by thread spacing you mean the distance between the peaks of the thread itself, then all M bolts are the same, so every all M5 bolts will have the same distance, all M6 will be the same etc It depends how you define "sort". It should glue it back together, but unfortunately you will be able to see the crack fairly obviously, but at least it wont be falling off anymore. The only way to get rid of the crack is to either buy a new one, or spend a lot of time sanding out the high spots, filling the low spots, sanding down the high spots again etc until it is all the correct level and re-painting the fender Personally, I would leave the crack in there. 125's are expected to have a bit of fairing damage. It shouldn't effect the resale value and depending on where it is, it might not even be noticeable when its back on the bike

Do you have a tape measure? I believe Yamaha use the metric system, which means you will need to look for bolts with an M before their name. The way you work it out is in mm, so if you have a 5mm hole and the bolt needs to be 8mm long, you are looking for an M5x8 bolt

Thanks guys, i hope your right. I'll have another look at it on the stands. I'm fairly sure the wheel is aligned as i reset it and aligned both sides equally when i put the new chain on Now all i need to worry about is the can chain tensioner and front wheel bearing (i have the parts, just need to fit them) Good damn service had eaten all my money

What's the numberplate of the bike? Presuming it's on the DVLAs database, we should be able to get info on it from that