klingelton

water in oil emulsifies into a thick white paste and is not much good for anything.

good luck with mod 2. It's a breeze!

I'm dying to know how it went...

Not quite the same, but I used the universal "after you" gesticulation. Examiner said it was nice to see polite people. (If held the door for him despite him saying that it was ok, I was brought up to hold doors for people!). I also remembered to thank people and nod to other bikers! (But we're not getting into nodding)

Skinny little tyres, you get a surprising amount of grip from them. You can really throw this little bike around the road!

Good luck for tomorrow!

i think this is what happened to me. bit of hair in the ear causing the itch. no amount of helmet shaking was going to sort this one out! 30 mins i put up with it before reaching work. it was driving me nuts!

the guy with his nose pressed up against the windscreen of his cage. he was in the wrong lane, (furthest right to go onto the m1 south/back around the round about). instead of going round the roundabout, he cut in front of me (who was in free flowing traffic) then barged his way across to another lane where he proceeded down a 50mph limit road at 25. You are a menace and you will kill someone.

work shirt, jumper rst slice trousers and jacket. i have a buff and gloves. havn't needed any more, and havn't felt cold. I have heated grips on the bike, which keeps my hands toasty.

Thanks for the help. I know there is a debate about the red rubber grease contaminating the brake fluid and my apologosies if I'm bring up old arguments. I was planning to just use the red rubber grease around the outside of the piston, that way almost all of it should get pushed out to the outside by the dust seal when inserting the piston, (should give it added protection). I could still use new brake fluid to help put the seals in though. That all sound ok? the argument about red rubber grease is fubar. the the seals are working properly, the grease won't get into the system, it will be squeezed out. It will just help things move along a bit smoother. A dash of brake fluid does a similar thing. Important thing is that the seals are nice and moist.

I started off from home this morning. 2 miles down the road, I had an itch in my ear.

sure i could join in on occasion as well. Only a quick blast to get to the wrong side of the Pennines

it's between 70 and 100 for the frame and 30 - 50 for the swing arm. that depends on material as a metallic finish will cost a bit more.

it's my understanding that after you factor in several tins of rattle can, and blasting - powder coating comes out at a similar price! I'd go with powder coating any day,

i had one of those for my first real bike (i.e. not one that was a bag of spanners). great bike.

Controversial, but you can smear some lube around the piston before pushing it back into the caliper. It won't mix with the brake fluid because the seal will push it out, but it will keep the dust seal nice and moist. Delboys garage trick!

ha! was posting a reply along the same lines! Brakes are pretty easy things to work on really.

I second this. I failed my Mod 1 (quite spectacularly) due to nerves mainly, being too tense and feeling rushed. The second time round my examiner made me put it in neutral after each maneuver and I took my arms off the bars, sat back and took a couple of deep breaths before doing the next part. Made hell of a difference and I flew round with 0 minors. It's what got me through it as well. Also - talk to the examiner. If you're unsure of anything, it will put doubt in your mind. if you have a question, ask it. That is unless the question is "which lever is the clutch?"!

deep breath before every manoeuvre. don't set off until you're ready. Don't rush.

you can have mine for £3k...

check your brakes for any leaks. replace the fluid. Might as well while you're messing around with the brake fluid! change the suspension out as soon as possible. motorcycle clutches bite quite after you let the clutch lever out quite far. This is normal behaviour. the little jump as it goes into first from neutral is also fairly normal.

congratumalations!

Just interested to know how many bikes people are hoarding. What qualifies as a bike? Frame and Engine. Push Bikes are not part of this question!

Pull over , get off the bike, and give them a big round of applause as they drive past... get back on the bike, overtake them, pull over, and repeat step 1. If they got cross at me filtering to the front of traffic lights, they would be apocalyptically spasmodic at me overtaking them following a rapturous applause. Risk I'm not entirely willing to take. People do funny things when the mist descends.

NOTD goes to the chap in the white ford fiesta. He didn't approve of me pulling along side at the lights and gunned it away. He wasn't going to keep up in his 1999 fiesta zetec. I accelerated, reached the speed limit of 40 and stayed there. he caught up to me 10 seconds later, horn blaring and lights flashing. He attempted a poor overtake but realised his mistake and pulled back in (still flashing the lights and blaring the horn, gunning the engine etc). The road was wide, so he tried to get down the inside of me. not enough room - he realised his mistake and reverted back to plan A (horn lights probable lude gestures). the lights ahead were red, so I slowed for them. he slowed too, but made his best effort to join me as a pillion rider. the lights went to green and he actually tried to get round me (traffic island, queuing cars to turn right etc). failed that one. Another couple of hundred yards and the light and sound show continued. He indicated right and turned off the road. Had I held him up? no. Did I offend his primal alpha male instinct to be the head of the group, the leader of the pack? Most definitely yes. I was tempted at one point to pull over and let the twunt continue on his reckless way. On the same ride, I had some woman who failed to follow the road markings and turn left on a straight only lane. I was in the lane to the left of her. She was oblivious to what was going on.