Throttled

I used an American site Motowerk, there is nothing on your list, but it is work a look; https://motowerk.com/collections/kawasaki-versys-v650lt I bought a few items to keep shipping down, but then got lucky and won a competition they were running and got pretty much everything for free. Motowerk stuff is well made and highly regarded on the Versys forums. I have since found R&G have a good range of products for the Versys (though by then I had the 1000) https://www.rg-racing.com/ I found the Versys 650 forum a good place to buy second hand, never had any issues. That is where I got crash bars from. A centre stand is problematic because of the exhaust design, so I did not bother with one. I had trouble with touch up paint, buying online and from a local company, and both times the paint match was poor. As for sat nav, there is so much variation I would not know any specific place to recommend.

2021 was a quiet year. I managed a couple of thousand miles, came 5th equal in the Challenge, but no camping trips and did not even leave Scotland, which is very unusual. The most notable event was the epic MOT failure of my otherwise wholly reliable 2012 Versys, resulting in it being replaced by a 2018 Versys.

Purchased.

You are amazing.

What winter? I overheated yesterday and am seriously thinking of ditching the thermal layers! As of typing this post, the thermometer at the back of the house is reading 11 degrees.

Happy New year to all and maybe, we will get a chance to see each other in 2022?

I had forgotten about Airfix. Those instructions are also a great example of clarity and easy to follow.

My son has just finished his first solo build, an Ikea chest of drawers. He has Aspergers and finds the Ikea pictorial instructions easy to follow. He is chuffed to bits!

Thanks for all your efforts Hoggs and to everyone who took part.

My experience of so many guides is that they miss out a step, where the writer assumes it is obvious to do something.

Got an email on Christmas Eve about my care job pay rise. I am to get an extra 4p an hour. During the clap for carers, I thought, bugger that, pay us more. Now I know it is 4p an hour, I think bugger that, I preferred it when we were appreciated.

Fitted R&G crash bungs, mirror extenders and a Kayoko throttle control to the bike today. It took longer to work out the instructions, than it did to fit each one. Whoever wrote the instructions for the bungs and throttle control needs shooting. It was not bizarre English translations that were the problem, it was the wording and phraseology, where references were made to parts without saying which part was referred to. Some YouTube videos made both clearer than the supplied instructions did, but many missed out parts of the fitting process. I have recently built some flat pack furniture, some from Germany, some from Ikea. Whoever does the Ikea instructions is a God like genius in the world of writing instructions. They are the only ones that were clear and easy to follow. Relatives ran a translation business and their work has included instructions originally written in German, being translated into English, for military equipment. Getting it right was a matter of life and death. But, if something is not fitted to a bike properly, it could cause an accident, which is a matter of life and death. Writing instructions is an art, that only Ikea has mastered.

I take it that it is OK to keep last year's number, since the tags will be new, so 54 for me. Thanks. Can I also put in a pre request for Scottish alternatives to pubs, petrol stations or whatever ends up on the list!

I do 99% of braking before the corner, but then entering the corner, I use the rear brake and rear trail braking a lot. I ride country roads that are twisty and often dirty, a lot. I encounter lots of walkers and cyclists on those roads and want, if I meet them, or mud, on a corner to be slowing already and be able to go round them. Anyone behind me probably thinks I am using the breaks a lot, but most of the time I am barely squeezing the lever, it is just engaged, so if I have to brake hard, am I not snatching at them. Hanging on to that little bit of breaking into the corner makes for more controlled braking if it has to continue through the bend. Braking and slow into corners has saved me a few times from hitting something just round a bend, or having to bail onto the wrong side of road without having had a chance to check for oncoming vehicles.

I have been warned to be careful on returning to the UK having driven on the right as people relax, but then forget to go back to driving on the left. My only abroad driving has been going from Scotland into England and over to Ireland. So no issues there.

I just search about on the interweb. I have found bike specific forums a good place for second hand stuff. Otherwise, a mix of ebay and buying from the likes of Ghostbikes and J&S. But, I recently put in an order direct to R&G, because that was cheaper than third party sellers.

I got the pet dryer version of mine, because it was £20 cheaper than the one marked motorbike dryer!

I got two in this years. Here is my contribution for 2022

My early police career was in the Highlands and I attended a few wrong side of the road accidents and had near miss with a French car on rural roads. Indeed, the very first accident I attended in my probation, was a German who drove off from a Highland hotel and managed 5 miles on the wrong side of the road, before he collided with a car coming the other way. It was a Dutch driver, in his brand new Morgan that he was touring in, having waited 5 years to get. He started to cry when it was lifted onto the recovery lorry and we had to take the German into protective custody. I was first on scene at a triple fatal, this time a Dutch driver turned onto the wrong side of the road, hitting a lorry. The driver's parents and sister died.

My local (car servicing) garage, who I trust, say they now add a fuel system cleaner as standard during services, due to E10.

Today I had a blast down the local motorway and bought my last Xmas present. I then went to pick up some bike parts that DPD had taken to the local supermarket for me to collect, as the driver had not waited long enough for anyone to answer the door when they tried to deliver. However, the supermarket (Morrisons) deny receiving any. DPD insist they were dropped off there and have a photo to prove it. Presently waiting for Morrisons to get back to me.

The garage access is on level ground. A car parks outside, partially blocking access, which I don't mind, as it suggests the garage is not in use. It would be easier to ride out through the gap, rather than have to walk the bike backwards.