Fiddlesticks

F9's recent video on motorcycle backpacks - he's always worth a watch..

Best of luck with your search. I just used my Swiss Army rucksack with a dry bag inside. Always wondered if a fully waterproof bag would be too sweaty to wear.

Agreed. Not sure what he's on about.

My dad was a machinist who worked on railway rolling stock. He would use millimetres and thousandths of an inch in the same measurement.

... Aaand a Mesh Jacket. The last one in the shop. Enjoy the hot weather while it lasts.

Most of my bike jobs today revolved around stands. And glue. Probably not an ideal combo, we shall see.. First job was that nasty clang, the sound of metal on metal when the centre stand springs upwards with the force of a medieval catapult. I had some spare rubber cabinet feet in the cellar. A quick modification with a hacksaw and Bob's your mother's brother. The second job was the sidestand puck, which came with a metal bracket that is supposed to clamp around the foot. It didn't, and I wasted far too much time and energy with a hammer trying to persuade it. In the end, I just scuffed up the surface with sandpaper and poured epoxy into the recess. The bike is proving to be a useful clamp while it dries. It will either work or it will fall off. I'm not going to lose any sleep over it. Lastly the phone mount, mostly because I'm too cheap to buy a sat nav. Here, I chopped off the handlebar clamp, shaped, sanded and painted the metal edge, and screwed it to the Triumph mount that came with the bike, with a bit of thread lock for good measure. There's about 2mm free with the bars fully turned, but it seems solid. One concern was that I found a spot of dot 4 fluid had leaked from the clutch reservoir. I checked it when I got the bike a couple of weeks ago, and it was very full. Either I've not put it back well, there's been some expansion in the heat, or a bad seal somewhere. Will keep an eye on it. After the tyre change we have messy black tyre lube all over the Axminster. My mate happened to have an old carpet he was disposing of so, to the vexation of Mrs. Fiddlesticks, who does not believe in carpets in garages, much less ones that have been liberated from skips, it is being "fitted" tomorrow. (The term is used loosely, more "thrown on t'floor" ). Night all...

That's a fair point. I've been commuting 45 miles each way with a rucksack. It's certainly doable, but I have succumbed to a top box.

If you want the full licence, CBT Theory MOD1 MOD2 Handy flowchart here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-routes-to-your-motorcycle-licence Personally, I'd just go for the DAS / "A" License then you're covered for everything. The electric bike looks good. Not for me, but if I had a ahort city commute it might be different.

Gravity is a myth, the earth sucks.

Fitted a top box and back cushion. Maybe get a bit of a tour in before the end of the summer.

Hi there, welcome to the madhouse.

Fitted a rear tyre to the Triumph.

Wow!

2 helmets 1 Textile jacket 1 Textile trousers 1 One-piece textile suit 1 One-piece waterproof (allegedly) 1 Leather jacket 1 Pair armoured jeans 4 pairs Gloves 1 pair waterproof overgloves 1 pair thin undergloves 1 pair boots Assorted snoods, neckwear, skullcaps

In the cycling world they would quote the "n+1 rule" : While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

Congrats! It's a great feeling.

Just bought my second!

Hi there

Don't know about Banbury but good luck anyway. I stalled on my MOD2, just out of the test centre. Still passed though.

Those extra 5m would probably make the difference in my case. On a good day I can read the number plate at the required distance, but have been known to get it wrong. Wore glasses to my MOD 2 (Chester) as a precaution.

A reminder popped up on my phone yesterday. Time to tax the Volvo. Oh well, nothing so certain in life as death and taxes, so they say. I go online, where the first thing it wants to know is, do you have a reminder letter from the DVLA with a reference number on it. - I don't. No matter. You can use the number on the owners document. That's if you have it... Cue a complete reorganisation of the home filing system and a minor falling out with Mrs. Fiddlesticks when I put her childhood letter from the Queen on the wrong pile of papers. -I don't have that either. Hmm. No problem. You can just use the new keeper Green Slip, which of course will have been given to you when you bought the car last August. - I think you can see where this is going... Now this situation is starting to interfere with my ordinarily calm and peaceable demeanour. Despite my momentary lapse a minute ago in the case of Regina vs. Fiddlesticks, I am usually meticulous when it comes to record-keeping. - Question everything. Well, maybe not everything - there is, after all, a big ugly Swedish station wagon sitting on the drive. But the heretical imperative suggests that we should always allow our underlying presuppositions about the universe to be challenged. Coupled with the words of Sherlock Holmes - when you have eliminated the possible, etcetera... I begin to ask myself whether, in fact, this was a snafu perpetrated not by myself, but 12 months ago by a certain salesman who lacked a keen eye for the details. Did we ever have the V5C, or in old money, the log book? The more I thought about it, the more I was sure we had not. Although the dealer had taxed the car at time of sale, somehow someone else had been collecting my parking fines and speeding tickets for the past 12 months. Well, lucky them. The multi-layered telephone menu system at the DVLA connected me to a young lady who confirmed my hypothesis in the most delightful Welsh accent. You say Swansea Joke Factory, I say Smooth FM. There was only one thing left to do. I had to choose between paying £25 and requesting a new Log Book at the Post Office with a V62 form, or I could call the aforementioned sales guy and try to get this whole mess straightened out. My inner Yorkshireman took over. I'm not spending money where I don't have to. I placed the call. "Oh yes", he said, "for some reason it's not registered to you"... Before I could invoke Shelock in reply, he started punching details into his keyboard to rectify a year-long wrong. Registration... Tax... The inner Yorkshireman flew once more into action. "Whoa.. before you do this, it's the 27th today. I don't want to be buying 11 months' worth of tax for the price of 12." "Oh", he said. "You're right. If I do it today you'll be charged from the first of this month. Best to call back on Monday. We'll fix it then." And with that, all was well with the world once again. The filing system was fixed. Mrs. Fiddlesticks was no longer worried about being arrested for tax evasion as she pinged the ANPR cameras in the Mersey Tunnels. And I could make a start on a mountain of shredding. Turns out, I keep far too many useless and random bits of paper.

There's a difference between accessories and modifications. This page is quite helpful, I guess other insurance companies have similar. https://www.devittinsurance.com/motorbike-insurance/modifications-explained-accessory-or-modification/?amp=1

+1 for leeching off the neighbours wifi. Invite yourself round for a cuppa and when they're not looking take a quick photo of the back of their router where the wifi code is printed.

The Department of Transport are currently consulting on a proposal to ban sales of new non-zero emission L-category vehicles sales by 2035, and 2030 for other specified vehicles. Seeking opinions as to when the UK should stop selling new non-zero emission L-category vehicles. L-category vehicles include the following and their sub-categories: L1 – light 2-wheel powered vehicles (including mopeds) L2 – 3-wheel mopeds L3 – 2-wheel motorcycles L4 – 2-wheel motorcycles with sidecars L5 – powered tricycles L6 – light quadricycles L7 – heavy quadricycles Survey closes on 11:45pm on 21 September 2022 https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/l-category-vehicles-ending-sales-of-new-non-zero-emission-models If you are interested, please add your views (survey takes about 10 minutes) so that they can be duly ignored in line with the established protocols and procedures.

I have a pair of Forma FORC50 's on my wish list. Can't vouch for them as yet, but they look all day comfortable.