Bonniebird

Why don't you post your location (general location), there may be someone on here local to you that could take a look. Megawatt should be online at some point - he's normally got some good ideas. Does sound like loss of compression

Me too!!!

Me and Tango are planning on go on the Friday.

Think twice before buying any 'special bike-specific tools'. There's usually another way of doing a job. I rebuilt a moped engine with just standard tools and managed to avoid Aprilia flywheel removing devices etc.... Just took a bit of inventiveness. The Haynes manual also often has work-arounds. Also don't forget to label things when you remove them and taking photos is quite a good idea too. Mind you, I'm probably not the best mechanic in the world. The engine was running nicely when I got rid of the bike but then the electrics packed up (and I gave up!)

Cat and fiddle - Its local and famous(ish) Ponderosa - North Wales is stunning Tan Hill - Highest pub in England with great roads Seaways at Fridaythorpe. Any cafe in Hawes Hartside near Penrith Squires, Newthorpe, Sherburn in Elmete Coastriders Cafe, Wimbourne, Cropper Road, Blackpool, Lancs. FY4 5LB LONDON ROAD INC, 63-65 London Road South, Lowestoft, Suffolk, NR330AS The Green Welly, Tyndrum, Perthshire FK20 8RY The Pit Stop Diner, The Pier, Arrochar, G83 7AB Carbeth Inn, Stockiemuir Road, Blanefield nr Glasgow G63 9AY willingham woods just outside market rasen Ace Cafe, London - crap roads but fantastic atmosphere and food

My jackets have built in back armour but I'm not sure how this compares with a separate back protector which look more substantial - I've never had one. Can't say I fancy yet another layer..... unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Think this happens quite a bit - if the CBT overruns they generally just charge bike hire for subsequent sessions tho. Anyway, water under the bridge, Congratulations!!!

Gotta work Sunday Going to Birmingham ICC to set up for an exhibition. I'd go on the bike but I have to take 2 orchids in pink flowerpots for the stand - somehow I don't think they'd survive the experience.

Good luck for Wednesday. Looking like the weather's going to be good down your way next week at the moment. 'Cause the Met Office never get it wrong

It's worth checking the Sharp ratings on the lids too. The Shoei has a 5-star rating: http://sharp.direct.gov.uk/testhelmetli ... ontinued=1 At the end of the day, the fit has to be right though and some makes suit some people more than others.

Bought one of these for my daughter this year - BTW LOVE the furry dice on the back Cost £270 with full year's roat tax and MOT from ebay. It was a 'buy it now' and I couldn't resist it. Bad points It's an older one so has disc brakes which are a bit rubbish Lights are a bit dim Could do with a side stand Not exactly stylish - fortunately my daughter isn't bothered at all Good points Too numerous to list but here's a few: Runs on fresh air as far as I can see Starts on one kick normally Although I'm hoping not to have to do this much, it is easy to work on and parts not too hard to come by (and cheap). sounds gruntier than a lot of 125cc (misting over with nostalgia at this point) I'm told it is comfortable and easy to ride by the owner - Tango may dispute this as he rode it back from Chesterfield and his '@rse was cracking nuts' apparently. However the fact that you CAN ride it from Chesterfield to Huntingdon is testimony to its reliability. Bob didn't want to let me have a go on the second leg when we stopped at Grantham. He said it was because the brakes were cr@p but I suspect he was enjoying himself. Rhiannon just added that 'knowing Honda has made other people want to be bikers' - Her BF is now looking at getting a bike.

Yeah, wimped out Went for a ride around the lanes instead, got a bit wet and met Tango later for a coffee. Could do with new boots but will have to wait for the NEC

Think I'm going to give them a try. I'll post of they make any difference

Bought the Bonnie from new in November 2004 after a long break from biking. The 54 plate T100 is the last of the 790cc engines before they swapped to the 865cc and I paid just over £5K, adding a centre stand because it only came with a side stand as standard. They hold their value very well but the good side is that most second hand Bonnies have been well looked after and have pretty low mileage. Insurance is fairly reasonable too (mind you, I am a bit old) Extras are a chrome rentec rack (looks good/v. useful), leather panniers (look good/totally useless - you have to put your luggage in a sock at a time!) and I have a colour matched fly screen which I haven't fitted yet. Oh, and I fitted a scottoiler. I suspect the retro Bonnies are subject to personal taste but I think that they look fantastic. Mine's green and gold which is one of the best colour schemes IMO. It isn't just down to the retro-look and chrome, the bike is extremely well balanced looking. It certainly gathers admirers when parked up and it seriously isn't that difficult to keep clean. Engine - frankly isn't going to set the world alight, the 790cc engine develops just 61bhp. The later engine has a few more and after market exhausts and retuning can up it slightly but I think the difference would be hard to spot. The engine has plenty of torque and will pull well in higher gears from 2000rpm although it will behave better if you keep the revs higher, between 3-5000 rpm. Redlines at 6000rpm!! so not too hard on your ears. Once going will accelerate nicely but not one for the speed junkies. Power is smooth and easily controllable with no real problem spots.To be honest, i've only taken the Bonnie up to just over 90mph and it wasn't particularly comfortable at that speed, the upright seating position means a lot of wind blast. Comfort - this is an generally an extremely comfortable bike to ride (except when pushing it - see above) although I think a bit low if you are 6ft+. The seat height is about 790mm, I think. I'm 5'5'' and I can almost plant both feet flat. The position of the pegs is fairly central and the bars a comfortable height so very little strain on back, knees or wrists. Suspension is pretty good too. We mostly do short runs but we've done a few longer ones and I can honestly say that it's pretty good all day. You have to stop fairly often though because the beautiful tear-drop tank isn't that big and goes onto reserve after about 120 miles or so. Its a naked bike so cold weather does get to you - pretty much no protection from the elements. Build quality - excellent. I don't only do dry summer miles and there's only minimal corrosion. No problems with the bike at all reliability wise. Handling - The Bonnie is a heavy bike (over 200kg) but it has a low centre of gravity so handling isn't bad at all- no problems with city riding either. Think you would grind the pegs to nothing though before you got close to getting your knee down so forget it!! I have to be careful manouvering in car parks etc.. because I can't plant my feet that firmly and a bit of gravel could be fatal!! I've seen a few comments that the Bridgestone tyres have a habit of road groove following and producing a 85mph wobble which I had noticed but assumed it was me - going to fit some Michelins which are supposed to be better. In summary the Bonnie is a great bike if you like the retro looks and riding around country lanes for fun but aren't hung up on performance. If I'm honest I'd like a bit more oomph but I'm too smitten to think about swapping her and I haven't the time or money for a 2nd bike.

Anyone had any experience of these? I'm going to replace the tyres on my Bonnie (she still has the originals so they are nearly 7years old now) and these seem to be popular with good reviews for handling and grip in the wet.

May be down a bit later. No Bob (Tango) though - just got a call to say he's still stuck at work

A couple of photos from Jayne (Seabluegal) - there were three files but two looked the same. Thanks Jayne

Looks like a lot of fun!! Tango and me are off on holiday on Sunday unfortunately (well not that unfortunately) but we'll look out for it next year

June weekends probably best to avoid running into school holiday times at the end of July - other than that, it's fairly open ended. My daughter, who will be 18 then, will probably be off with her friends sometime in June/July after A2 levels and I may be reliant on her to look after my 14yr-old son who I suspect (hope) wouldn't want to come. No room on the pillion anyway with tent etc.

Quite keen to do this, depends on which weekend, what Tango's up to, juggling the kids etc.. but never taken a bike abroad before and but have wanted to do it for a long time. Too many variable to give dates at the moment but, if we can, Tango and myself are up for it

Tango and me are off on our holidays on Sunday for a week or we'd be up for it. Have fun!!!

Tango and me should be there later - we'll bring some of our allen keys just in case

Tango and me ended up sandwiching a police car on the way back - sure does cramp your style!!!!!

You're keen, we've only been back for less than an hour. May be interested though - does it involve going up the A1 or do you have a more circuitous route in mind......?

Hi Jayne Try compressing your pics, they have to be under a certain size to load successfully. Picture editor, edit, compress to 'document size' and save