queen bodecia

With regards to clothing, I'd always suggest going to a shop and actually trying stuff on. Poorly fitting motorcycle clothing is going to be uncomfortable at best and at worst offer paltry protection in the event of a crash.

Cheers Korb. Have been past there loads of times without realising the new Honda place is there. It just looks like an incongruous industrial estate from Fields Farm Road.

Where in Long Eaton is it Korb? Pidcocks Honda used to be in Mapperley with the Triumph shop. Not been to the new one since it moved. They've got a Beemer place in LE too as I remember, and a Kwak place in Derby.

Are joists the same as joints, or are you actually half human half building? If you suffer from painful joints, it may be you have a form of arthritis and your doctor should recommend treatment. I think keeping painful joints warm is your first priority as cold will affect them. You may suffer with RSI type pains, again a doctor should be able to advise more. Regarding protection on a motorcycle, armoured leathers and/or textiles should be seriously considered by all motorcyclists regardless of any physical conditions. Human bones are rather fragile after all. Good luck.

Wheelie kid, HG don't stock ladies Arlen Ness that's all, but plenty of other places do. I can think of one place in Leicester that does if you're anywhere near there. Hmm, just looked up Extreme Machine in Whetstone and their website doesn't appear to be live any more. It may just be down temporarily or they may be another victim of the recession.

Arlen Ness do make ladies leathers and if I remember rightly they come up quite small. I'm a size 12 Hein Gericke but probably at least a 14 in Arlen Ness. Your best bet is to try lots on. They all seem to come up different sizes and different fits. I've found that Dainese are very short in the leg and generally small all over, Hein Gericke a bit more generous everywhere, Spidi and RST generally small, Frank Thomas short in the legs and sleeves but wide round the waist. Bizarre that they all come up different sizes when they're pretty much all made in the same factory, but I suppose it's down to the templates used each time and the type of leather.

Rutland Water is lovely on a nice day and some ace roads round there. I would have joined you only I'm not free tomorrow sadly.

I have a large and a small wardrobe. The large one has all my usual clothes, shoes, boots and luggage stored on the top shelf. The small one has ski gear, bike gear and luggage. I guess I'm another OCDer. I never leave anything out, it's always put away where it belongs.

The best lid for you is the one that fits you best. With that in mind try lots on. They should feel snug to start with but you shouldn't have any pressure points. Sub-£100 is fine, there are lots of decent value lids out there but they're no good to anyone if they don't fit. There's a government approved test somewhere (you should find details on MCN website) that did a safety test of all major lids on the market and many of the budget lids performed better than the silly priced Arais and Shoeis out there although you will find better features on the pricier lids.

I'll be at work as usual. Pah!

If it fits him well, it's not the worst idea in the world. The real issue is that he won't know any history of the lid, but if he has no money beggars can't be choosers. I'm more cross about his refusal to get a job. What does he expect to live on for the rest of his life? There will come a time when mummy and daddy should rightly say, no more.

Unfortunately not. I'll be on my way back from Leeds.

Hi Jaxxx, I'm not that far away (near IKEA) but I don't tend to do rideouts. I can see why you would prefer to stick to riding with women, that testosterone can be messy stuff! There's quite a few of us in this area and lots of people go to MFN on Wednesday evenings. A good way to meet up with like-minded folk.

Sounds like a marvellous idea but with current job I can't take time off during school holidays (dates are reserved for parents of school age children) so it's an unlikely thing for me, but will keep an eye on this thread if owt changes. I'd have to stay in a hotel though. Snigger...

It's pretty much standard across all clothing industries. Whilst in Sri Lanka in 2004 I visited the Next factory where a friend worked, which was a nice air-conditioned clean factory, although they did work very long hours. However down the street was another factory, filthy, sweltering hot and infested with insects. I was shocked to see the clothing being packaged up to leave that factory; Bench, Diesel, Karen Millen, Ted Baker. Don't believe the label. It's a mugs game...

Soz peoples, am down south that weekend... I don't spose anyone will save me any pud...

Wanna, I would tend not to worry about buying 'cheaper' branded motorcycle clothing. Nearly all of the major brands, be it textiles or leathers, are made in the same factories under license (usually Pakistan and Turkey) and then branded prior to export and merchandising. So paying extra for a brand like Alpinestars or Dainese is not a guarantee of quality, you're just paying more for the brand name, but essentially getting the same thing. Therefore brands like Akito, Richa, RST, HG represent better value for money. There are a few exceptions to this. AFAIK Wolf is still British made, Furygan is French made and anything you buy made to measure (BST, Crowtree for example) will be just that. Happy shopping...

I said I didn't. As a rule I don't. Too many bikes, too much nodding would make me go dizzy, not to mention detracting from concentrating on riding. On a sunny Sunday round here practically every other vehicle is a bike... However, if someone nods at me I often nod back...

Not very often. I'm only ever out on nice sunny weekend days and when it's like that round here every other vehicle is a bike. If I nodded at all of them I'd have no time to concentrate on owt else...

Personally, I couldn't give a crap what nationality they are. I watch motogp to watch great motorcycle racing (clearly I am sometimes disappointed!) and if the winner is Italian, Australian, Spanish or whatever it doesn't detract from my enjoyment. It's not about some confused sense of patriotism for me, it's just about good sport... Be a good sport and watch the racing. We're all the same bar the passports you know...

Well, I get my bike back tomorrow and was going to go and do the 'Tag' thing. But the weather forecast looks poo so I probably won't...

Phat, some great roads around Melton...

I'm in a different bit of the midlands to you. I tend to avoid the main Derbyshire routes now. They're often jam-packed with death-wish nutters at the weekend and I'd rather not watch... Leicestershire and Rutland are still relatively untainted and contain my routes of choice...

I definitely don't have a problem with Casey Stoner's natural ability. It's stupendous and he does seem to be the only rider who gels with the Ducati... However, he doesn't seem to have much of a personality and this is where Rossi triumphs in the popularity stakes. He seems to be from the same mold as Pedrosa, a bit mardy when things aren't going his way and might crack the occasional smile if they are... For this reason the likes of Rossi, Lorenzo, Edwards, for example are always going to be more popular with the punters...

I tried to watch it when I got home last night but fell asleep. I did see the one and only exciting part of the race though...