Throttled

WinstonR has the right attitude. There is a risk, you minimise it and when it happens, back on the bike and keep riding

Find somewhere to practice, like a quiet car park. I failed all my Mod 1 practices with the swerve, I hit the cone each time. I then past the test no problems.

Update after five years of ownership and 23k on the clock. The bikes finish has held up well to five years all year round use and being kept outside. Keeping corrosion at bay was limited to the pannier racks. Faults - metal rims inside the coils corroded and the coils needed replacing. The exhaust cracked where it joins the silencer and was replaced. The reset button for the trip failed. All are known faults reported by a number of Versys owners. The clutch cable was replaced after it had virtually seized. Annoyances - three different screens and none were particularly good at keeping the wind blast at bay. Motorways were 60-70mph before it got intolerable with my head like it was in a tumble drier. The fairing buzzed occasionally. Good bits - very comfortable (below 70mph), mechanically it never failed to start or let me down. It is versatile and was fun on the twisties, but would also tour with a pillion. fat midrange torque meant it could keep up with bigger bikes.

It looks like you have gone for a carbon fibre effect. Have you got any close-ups?

I am getting a proper charger fitted to my bike and have some usb batteries, so should be self sufficient this year when it comes to phone charging.

Bikes fall over, end of. Any off which results in being able to get back on and ride off is par for the course. To expect to ride a bike and never end up on your side at some point is pretty unrealistic. From that starting point, the aim is to reduce the chances of damage and injury. You did that by taking it slowly. Think of this off as part of being a biker and you managed to walk away with a bike you could still ride, which is a good result. The only way to keep going is to keep going, back on the bike and ride off.

I must remember the 36/42 and check my tyres. Thanks for that post.

Mine has the rear facing seats, which I would happily sell to anyone who wants to come and remove them. I have used them once, with teenagers as a joke and they are just dead weight in the boot.

For me this election means; 1 - the SNP have to accept the Scottish people do not want another referendum and are happy in the Union with devo max as the preferred option. To lose 21 seats, mainly to the strongly remain Conservatives, is a massive "no" to independence. 2 - the Conservatives had the Lib Dems by the balls during that coalition. The DUP, by being better at negotiating (years of dealing with Sinn Fein) and not entering a coalition, now have the Conservatives by the balls. They will be much better at getting what they want. That will make NI politics very interesting and I wonder if Sinn Fein might decide to start appearing at Westminster 3 - two no overall majority parliaments in three elections, the people are starting to make it clear to the parties that seeking consensus and cooperation is the way forward. 4 - hopefully we will see the rise of the nice, honest, open, politician (Corbyn) who people can relate to, and the born to it, fields of wheat toff will die away.

It was noted on the Last Leg election special that the public got hacked off with the media for picking on little daft moments and awkwardness, in particular by Corbyn. People like him and if anything those moments make him far more human than May, with her running through wheat comment, can ever do.

There are new riders, as in new to the whole being out on the road and there are new riders, as in new to bikes, but not being out on the road. The latter are less likely to make the anticipation etc errors of the former. As one of the latter, my most common error was mucking up gear changes and forgetting what gear I am in. Plus not cancelling the indicator.

This is just an indication of how tyre pressures are set. I have a 1995 Volvo 940 estate. The manufacturers tyres pressures are quite low, which is attributed to the Swedish desire for more grip, especially in crap road conditions. In the USA, all of the tyres had their pressure increased because that reduced rolling resistance which increased tyre life and (slightly) better mpg. The UK went with the Swedish pressures, but many owners like me, increase the to the USA pressures to get the benefits they give. I also get no more comments of "you need to pump up your tyres".

Thanks! A quiet day, had to work and then a takeaway.

Whatever, I'm not a politician or a lawyer. Prime Minister said this morning we've been too tolerant of extremism in our society and suggested change in law is needed, I don't like the woman on lots of levels, but I liked that bit. If its already there we need to start enforcing it. The fact is we have hate preachers in our country, we have demonstrations like the one Six30 posted photos of, we have these 500 cases MI5 are looking at, we have Muslim communities who are aware of extremism in their communities and turned a blind eye, we have British people who have travelled to Syria to fight for IS and come home and live free. None of it should be allowed to continue. Since all of that has been allowed to continue, I assumed the law didn't cover it. Assuming those in the image have not been charged, then the legislation which covers their actions is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racial_and_Religious_Hatred_Act_2006 The issue was, as Rowan Atkinson pointed out, make the abuse completely illegal and comics will not be able to make jokes about Islam without risk of being charged. I think that de-radicalisation programmes run by the Muslim community are the best answer. In the same way locking people up is not as effective as rehabilitation ate reducing offending.

It is more than likely that any provision you can think of is already there http://www.legislation.gov.uk/all?title=prevention%20of%20terrorism somewhere, in the five pages of prevention of terrorism legislation for the UK.

I remember us having a chat about the difference between a 600(ish)cc and a 1000cc bike and you saying the 600 will do 80% of what the 1000 can do. I now want that extra 20%.

When I got the 650, the 1000 had just come out and it was £5k extra for the touring. I will do a comparison, but I have already ridden a 1000 and the main difference is the engine. The seating position, ride and handling are similar.

Throttled Jnr is now 15, he started when he was 13. He is 5' 10" now. I also go out with mate's son, where between us the bike is carrying 34 stone, which according to Kawasaki is the weight limit for the 1000cc.

The Prevention of Terrorism Acts makes the preparation of an attack illegal, so an active terror plot can result in arrest and convictions. If the evidence can be legally obtained and is admissable in court. That reads like you are suggesting we abandon the rule of law.

34 dead in 3 months in the UK an outstanding success rate would be none, we need to take as hard a line as possible with these fuc*^ers , as said changes in the law needed. None would be best, but perfection is not a realistic aim.

That's 500 being looked at, and potentially another 500 in the pipeline, NOT 497 prevented. They can't be prevented as the law doesn't currently allow any action to be taken. Theresa May said in her speech this morning, which started just after my post, in the last 3 months, there have been 3 attacks, and 3 prevented. Success rate is currently 50%. She also hinted strongly at very similar changes in the law to those suggested in my post. The Prevention of Terrorism Acts makes the preparation of an attack illegal, so an active terror plot can result in arrest and convictions.

So, 500 active terror plots and three happen. That is an outstanding success rate. Going after everyone for any suspicion of involvement will radicalise even more. It did not work in Northern Ireland, there is no evidence it works anywhere it has been tried.

IXS gortex gloves and boots, as waterproof now as when bought about four years ago. My Hein Gericke jacket and trousers are the same.

I rode one on a Kawasaki test day, when they first came out. The dealer was trying to get me to upgrade within months of buying the 650cc. It was in the rain, with the power setting on 3/4 and traction control full on. It seemed pointless changing then. Now it makes sense.

After five years and 23,000 miles on the Versys 650 Touring, finally a change, but not a big one, well big in one way, the new to me bike; is the bigger Versys, the 1000cc Grand Touring. I do not want to give up the benefits of the Versys, primarily its very comfy touring and ability to bomb about, commute and that versatility Kawasaki suggested with the name. I had decided and thought that a muscle bike was the next one for me. Turns out that the 1000cc Versys has the power, torque and mid range grunt the likes of the Yamaha XJR1200 has and reviews suggests in the 40 to 70mph range it out drags most bikes, period. So, I get to keep the advantages of the smaller bike and add what was missing. I had also not realised just how much bigger than the 650cc it is. The seat is massive, great for Throttled Jnr who is growing rapidly. Finally getting a centre stand is a joy and I am looking forward to trying heated grips properly for the first time. There are also great reviews about the odd looking Givi Airflow screen and how quiet it makes the wind noise.