klingelton

good work ollie!

a couple of nobs over the last couple of days. 1. yesterday a chap moved into a lane on the left, only to decide that he didn't want to be behind a lorry. so swerved into my lane, nearly into me, with no indication. The traffic lights ahead were red, so i asked him to roll down his window. I then asked him to check his mirrors, blind spot, then indicate before changing lanes in future so as to save people's lives. I think he was expecting some kind of massive road rage incident! he apologised and we both went on our merry way. hopefully - he will check mirrors and blind spot before pulling a manoeuvre like that again! 2. couple of days ago in heavy traffic, filtering down the inside of a car when everything stops. There's not enough room to filter safely, so I stop as well. the car in front moves off, so I continue to filter. What I failed to notice was the traffic lights directly behind us had changed to red, and there were now cars approaching from the left. I carried on regardless and gave the woman to my left a big fright. So sadly, on that journey - the nob of the day was... ME! sorry to that woman that I panicked.

where abouts are you based? (update your profile with your location please)

Places do it different ways. ultimately, you're the customer, so you know how you want to learn. If they don't offer what you want, go elsewhere!

age thing - do DAS. don't bother with a 250 though, you will quickly find it lacking. go straight for a 600 or higher. you're inbuild preservation system will keep you alive!

yep, does sound like a snapped throttle cable. are you able to order one from the intermawebs? it should be a pretty simple job to replace it. secondly, you will need to properly adjust it. for this there are a wealth of youtube instructional videos. best of luck! (btw, before the admins say it, introduce yourself in the newbies section!)

You could use the stick on pad. That would solve the bracket problem.

You will need some training in order to pass mod 2. Some more than others. You won't really know until you get out there with an instructor and he points out your shortcomings! In my experience, people learning to drive cars tend to pick things up a little slower, because they're not as interested. People who learn to ride bikes read every bit of literature, post in forums, chat to their bikey mates, read magazines and are more interested in becoming a good biker. This generally means that the instructors need to impart less to their disciples. There are still some people that view having that A classification on their license as a right, not a privilege and expect to pass. These people are fools who will probably fail!

delboys garage on youtube. he does a good fork seal and oil replacement video including do's and don'ts on how to get them apart.

I think im gonna have some long weekends to myself where I go and capture some of these!

get it replaced for one of the dual tone super loud fog horn types. about 10 quid on amazon, easy job to fit.

tent pole!

if you book online, you can choose your date and time and pay on the spot. better still, turn up to the test centre in the morning and they will probably just put you straight in. I arrived an hour and a half early for mine and i was in within 5 mins of reading the information.

You'll be fine. grab a Haynes manual and you can't go far wrong.

loose connection. check your wiring back to your battery with a multimeter. I hate anything electrics!

just googled that sinnis cafe 125 you have there, Glorian. Why don't the big Japanese manufacturers make a bike like that?! it's a very attractive bike.

You heard wrong lol - cheers. i was on internet forums, so i guess that's how a myth perpetuates (one muppet passing it on!) in other news - ignore me.

cheers buddy, i just removed as much crud as i could. I will bear this in mind for next time.

Do not use wd40 it is not a lubricant and it washes grease and oil away Your chain will wear a lot quicker using wd40! wd40 brand chain lube, cleaner and wax. should have qualified that. NOT the general purpose lubricant!

notd goes to silly man who indicated at the very last possible moment coming onto a mini-roundabout to turn across my path, and turned anyway. I gave him the gesture which I thought best indicated what I though of his driving (akin to shaking a clenched fist) and he responded with a 2 finger salute. Obviously didn't understand the error of his driving.

search back through my posts. i posted a guide on checking your chain. failing that, there's plenty of guides on youtube. You don't want a slack chain!

just what it says in the title! Over the last couple of weeks, i'd detected a little brake squeaking, so i decided to strip them down, clean them and, if needed, replace the pads (if the friction material was running low). tools needed for this task will vary from bike to bike, but for mine, i needed hex socket set, normal socket set, screw drivers, brake cleaner and copper grease (if replacing the pads, you will need new pads to fit your bike! i bought mine from wemoto.com). I started on the front. remove the bolts attaching the caliper to the fork. With a little gentle persuasion, the whole assembly then comes away. Be careful not to stress the hoses connecting the caliper to your brakes. There is a small retaining clip on a pin to the trailing side of the caliper that is removed, along with the pin. this allows the pads to rotate forward. if replacing the pads, undo the screws covering the brake fluid reservoir and gently, but firmly push the pistons back into the caliper. The reason we do this is as you use the brakes, the friction material wears away. we need that space for the additional friction material on the new pads. ok, so now we have a caliper with no pads in. check the condition of your disk. It shouldn't have a lip. if it does, time for a new one (and more detail than i have experience of at this moment!). clean all the road dirt from your calipers (being careful around your pistons). on your new pads, put a pea sized blob of copper grease ON THE BACK of your new pad (not on the friction surface lol) and spread it around (i used an old rubber glove to do the smearing). This stops the brakes from squeaking. put your calipers back together and place back onto the disk, ensuring that the 2 sides of the friction material are either side of the disk. do up the bolts. you will have tensions in the haynes manual. if not, tighten then nip up. screw the reserviou once practiced, it will take you 10 minutes per caliper. Doing this yourself is not only fun, it will save you many pennies. It's really not that tricky to do.

I've heard that excessive white smoke can be valves. do you get a loud tick tick from the engine - could be that the valves need adjustment.

I use the WD40 stuff. little bit cheaper than the muck-off stuff and can be procured freely (at a price) at my local halfrauds.

not a bad place if you're in a spot - if you can, avoid!