Steve_M

Sorry to hear of your loss. As @onesea said, look after your self.

Would red suit sir? Bought off eBay after a night at the Norwich beer festival. Oops. I do like the look of them, which is why I bought it. Riding it is a slightly different matter, though.

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That was my previous house. The garage had been reduced by half to make a utility room, so had limited space. This house, though... no excuse about space other than needing to spend ££££lots on house renovations.

Yup. I have that tee shirt. One had to go because there wasn’t room to keep all three.

The ideal number of bikes is N +1.

Err. That would be three bikes. Yours, Mr VeryRetiredNotLoadedInTheSlightestDecidedlyOld

They’re fun to ride, too. I had one as a loaner while my GS was being serviced so had a play around the Norfolk lanes. I would have one if I didn’t tour.

I always thought my Tiger was a nice looking bike. But the 916 is such a gorgeous bit of kit.

And the Guggenheim museum agrees,...

My 1998 VFR used to be a bit snatchy at low revs which I put down to it running lean. It wasn’t a problem once I’d adjusted to it. My other bikes since then have all been fine. Or maybe the adjustment I made to my riding means I just don’t notice.

Unlikely to be tropical where we are. Our garden in Norwich had some tropical plants which survived very well. We’ll be planting a few acers this afternoon to make a start on creating an “acer grove” just below our veranda.

Good morning. I may have to hide my good lady’s debit card. I’m not sure of the exact figure but she’s spent somewhere in the region of a thousand pounds on plants for the garden. This week! To be fair, gardening is her main hobby, and that sum pales against how much I spend on my motorbike. Of course, now I have to help her plant the damn things

I have that. Must read it again.

Yup. She’s nearly as nutty as her other half. In a good way, that is. Note to self. Must watch Mondo Sahara again.

The only official night “shift” I’ve ever done was 31st December 1999. My best ever hourly rate. My contract of employment was “hours as required” which meant I would occasionally return to the office late evening to see how things were going. Most notable of these was when I had been out on the town with some mates one Friday evening. I was expecting to follow up on the Saturday morning but, around 1am as we were all going our separate ways, I popped in to the office. It was a good thing I did as it was all going pear shaped, with the software install on the server hitting multiple problems and the technician trying workarounds to make it happen. For me a technician trying workarounds sounds very much a bodge job happening so I got him to explain what he was trying to do. Yup. Bodge job. A short, curt exchange followed where I instructed him to leave it until the designer / programmers had chance to look at it. It was, by this time, 3am, I’d had a couple of pints and had been partying earlier, and had to send an email to senior management to explain why the install hadn’t happened.

Cumbria, after a relatively safe first lockdown, was hit hard after the tier system. We had high numbers invade the area from their high tier to their holiday homes etc. This last spike has resulted in quite a focus on people not from the area.

Priority parking for motorbikes, a decent cuppa, a good value all day breakfast and friendly staff. It would be a bonus if they had kit for visor cleaning available. I’ve only encountered that once, in Scotland, and it made a significant difference. Just a soft sponge, a bucket of water, and some kitchen roll.

Good morning. I’ve spent the last hour trying to find a supplier for 19mm (finished size) x 100mm (ish) tongue and groove V joint timber so I can make new doors for our stables. No, we don’t have horses. The previous owners did. We just use the stables as storage facilities. The doors, though, are knackered and I thought I’d enjoy making new ones.

Is this 9 grand better? “Yes”.

My good lady leaves all that stuff to me. I am, apparently, a responsible adult capable of making my own decisions I’d already started thinking about bikes when we went to the Goodwood Festival of Speed. There was a display of bikes which, naturally, I had to sit on, and get the pillion seat tested. Her favourite was the Aprilia Caponord...

That’s a tricky one. I tried a whole range of bikes before I made my choice.

Still, for those who want a good touring bike, it’s still a decent choice.

Both pre-FJR. As a generic comment. The Japanese manufacturers have been building and selling bikes to the West for over 50 years. They, by now, must have learnt that westerners tend to be a bit bigger than themselves so know to fit more appropriate suspension. They employ western test riders who give feedback, surely they learn from that. But apparently not with the FJR. I’ve just seen their price new. Nigh on £18k.

It was never a problem on my VFR800 nor my ST1100.