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PAL 643M. Oldest photo I have of my previous bikes.

In my early days at the council there was a legendary character, known to most people as Grouty, or Len of Bow. He worked at that time for our Highways Construction team, but spent most of his time either in other offices giving his opinions which were always right and varied, he thought he knew everything about every subject. He also spent a lot of time doing his own private work. He was our union shop steward as well, which is probably why he got away with so much. In those early years when I was still a trainee he would sometime be lent me to help him, supposedly carrying out levelling surveys. Usually I would be left guarding the surveying equipment whilst he nipped off for a few minutes, these minutes usually ended up being a few hours. He had a van so awful looking that once he went away on a foreign holiday and the council towed it away as an abandoned vehicle and crushed it. BUT it did have the advantage that he would just pull up and not bother locking it or even winding the windows up on a hot day. He was married to a Finnish girl at that time, nice lady met her all the times we had to call home on the way to a site so he could collect or drop off things to do with his private work. After a few years he moved, or was pushed to various other departments. He spent a while in our Structures team and so took his turn doing tunnel and bridge inspections. Seeing an overtime opportunity followed by a day off, he volunteered for the unloved night time tunnel inspections around the Brick Lane and Petticoat Lane areas. He would open them up so that people like BT or Gas board could get down to their plant, then check they were undamaged and lock them back up in the wee small hours. He did this for quite a few months. Now these areas are where Jack the Ripper did his work lowering the prostitute numbers back in 1888 and although he is long gone, the ladies of the night still thrive. The first week or so, they would walk up to him sitting in his car waiting for BT and ask if he wanted female company. He would gently explain he was only there to do work and tell them what he was doing. By week 3 he was on first name terms with them and they with him, they even got him coffees and he got them some in return. All was well until his wife suggested she could come to work with him one evening as she hardly saw him these days. He spent so long talking her out of it that she sulked for ages. But as he told me, what if she had come along and a procession of prostitutes had walked past, all gaily greeting him by name and asking him if he wanted his usual yet (coffee). Many years later he went a step too far workwise with something and got suspended. He was escorted from the building and the contents of his desk were seized to check for financial irregularities. They had no chance, I'd seen his desk, he couldn't find stuff he knew was there, they had no chance. He ended up off work on full pay whilst the investigation went on. This at a time when he was doing up a house from a ruin as well, they couldn't have timed it better! He got his own back against the man who had him suspended. He was in our Drainage section when it got taken over by Thames Water and they took most of the staff over as well. Now he didn't work for us he could stand for councillor, representing the Labour party. He won as well. He was doing that for 4 years, he made that man's life a misery until he finally left, became chief exec at some coastal authority I think. He got the sack from Thames Water in the end, kept forgetting to turn up for work I heard. Grouty is still about, now he works for himself lending his huge knowledge to local developers. He's on wife number 3 or 4 and child number 8 I think. I have to go to meetings with developers about works he is involved with and he is banned from them because he has put formal complaints in about almost everyone I work with. I'm alright though, I think he likes me. Historical note. I did hear that his father took the rap for a certain crime family's misdemeanour in the 60s as a favour (See Tom Hardy's film list for the family name) and got given a pub as a reward. His father went to prison for their crime and his mother moved another bloke in to the pub and told him she never wanted to see him again. His father hanged himself in prison. I've been in the pub and it has a very strange extra bit of triangular wall in the kitchen that shouldn't be there, I am sure there is someone walled up behind it. It mostly catered for market workers having their lunch at 2am, but is now a trendy wine bar.

Here you go.

Sounds like an advert for feminine hygene products.

No thanks I see enough of him don’t want him on film as well, just imagine a fucking turtle with two hearing aids walking upright with a mouth the size of the Grand canyon and you won’t be far off the mark.

Don’t need to go anywhere, the fat bastard is out there now with his fucking HUGE gob shouting and bawling.

I sent them an e-mail once axing when they will name a storm Tym, so far they are ignoring me.

They've got it all wrong giving that storm a French name, the French usually run away at great speed at any hint of trouble.

There are still characters about, there are certainly many on here, the motorcycling fraternity is by it's very nature full of contrary, stubborn and colourful people. When I left the structures department for a new job in a devolved council I was asked if I would still work weekends for Structures as they had lots of drawing work and very few draftsmen. Being low paid, I jumped at the chance. There was a bit of a row with my new employer over it, but the head of Structures sweet talked him and it was allowed. Time and half on Saturdays, double time on Sundays, happy days. My first weekend working session I met my Structures replacement for the first time, a young Arab looking lad called Abed. He was later to be called Rabid Abed or sometimes Mr Bean. The last nick name was because he owned an Austin Mini. He was not the full shilling. He was a Rotring short of a full pen set! He apparently kept a spare engine in his front room for the Mini just in case! At this first meeting we were introduced by the manager and then left to start work. Abed asked me if I had a degree and when I said no he never spoke to me again, just blanked me from that point on. I didn't care, I just put my Walkman headphones on and wacked up the volume to Nirvana and ignored him. Years later they recombined the council and cutbacks in staff were made. Rabid Abed by this time had upset a lot of people with his strange behaviour and loud rages, so he was made redundant and put on the list where they would try to place him in a different job if possible. When I heard they were interviewing him for a job where I was based I'm afraid I might have put in a bad word or three for him. Interviews were carried out in a small narrow office. One of the people doing the interview had strange ideas. He put some maps and other posters up on the wall upside down to see if anyone commented. No one said a word apparently. Last one in was Rabid Abed, I think they were looking forward to him after my comments. I needn't have worried about them giving him a job. The first thing he did was ask if he could move his chair a bit, then turned it 90 degrees and sat with the side of his head to them through the interview. I don't mean he twisted his neck to look at them, I mean he never looked at them at all and they spoke to his left ear throughout. The last I heard they put him on a front desk dealing with the public. That only lasted a day or so, he went off on one and he ended up being made properly redundant.

When I did my apprenticeship and worked in the factory there were some real characters around, but where have they gone? I guess that some of the stuff we used to do or have done to us would get people sacked these days.

My third bike.......must have been around 1977.

What a coincidence this turned up today on FB.......though I would say the bird needs to he holding onto you!

If they was to shoot them all dead that’ll be less unvaccinated people to spread it.

Fecking a the French will never go away. Henri went west, stalled now is going back over a second time this is the eye still nice and clear, not so round, Connecticut fucked the round part up.

I rode a new one recently that belongs to a friend, hell of a machine and designed to be modified, it is one of the few jap bikes that could tempt me.

I reckon I was on my second Suzuki Hayabusa 17 years ago. Awesome bit of kit and I’d have another in a heartbeat This is me on a track day at Donnington Park, surrounded by proper track bikes and I didn’t give a shit………my grin was wider than the Atlantic Ocean. ‘Kin ‘ell, that was faaaaaaast

It's a shame that Covid-19 isn't weeding these fuckers out!

That would be @Tym's dream job!

Well he is a cunt.

The only bike I could ride for hours and get off feeling as fresh as I did at the start.

Strange isn't it, I didn't get on with my GS1150 at all.

That pic would get you some TOTY votes for sure Ray!

Gay

I resemble that remark

Done!

You've gone from that to frolicking in swimming pools with all the other geriatric slapheads!

There’s a first time for everything

Donington Park....the newspaper I worked for had a hospitality box near Redgate......it was very busy one time and to get out they took us round the track to another exit............but behind a marshal car to stop us from turning it into a high speed run.

We were younger and fitter......apart from the weight, the CBR was a fast, comfy old bus......it was still on the road a couple of years ago.

And we never thought about weight back then.

Of course I loved riding pillion as a kid. I think I was on a bike before I could walk....lol But in the 25 years I have been riding, I have only rode pillion once for a period of time, when we were commuting from the city to the Coast during the winter over big freeways and onto ferries. The conditions were bad and it was better for us to be on one bike. I would hit cars and keep them back while we rode through the city. The night rides were dark, wet and cold, so it was nice to share the body heat. It was a bit crazy, but we managed, we were young! That was about 20 years ago now, since then I have not been a pillion. I prefer to control my own ride.

I've probably had 15 or so bikes since then but all of them have been trail bikes (big or small). This was one of my favourite bikes in that period ...........

Back seats are for birds! There were times years ago that I had to give a lift to a mate but I fucking hated it. I used to tell them......sit right back, keep your feet on the pegs, and don't fucking touch me. With a bird it was sit forward, and hold onto me if you need to. If they weren't up close and holding on then it required some sharp braking so they'd rub their tits in your back! Simple pleasures back then!

Depends on the rider. I had a couple of mates who I completely trusted and went pillion on their bikes many times quite happily. But then I had another mate who was nearly blind in one eye. He should have worn his glasses when riding, but he couldn't get them on with his lid on. So, his 3D vision was a bit impaired and, coupled with his failure to take into account the extra weight on the bike when taking a pillion, we ended up overshooting several junctions. How we didn't get killed I don't know, but I only went pillion with him the once!

Used to confined spaces, with working down the pits. Noises!!!!......I can't hear bugger all anyway........most I could make out was a low hum!.

Well I’m just sat waiting to go to the hospital fo the camera down the throat, I’m starving then they ask have you lost any weight, yes I wonder why.

Last one gone.

Just realised I bought the wrong car, should have got this one

I was going to go out to the garage and start the bikes but Ersilia put the kybosh in that, she says we can do it tomorrow. Ah well , it's back to this then , only another 100 odd pieces to go

I was out for an hour......but it's overcast and very humid......so not ideal conditions. Filled up with petrol on the way home (I always keep a full tank) and I used €8 worth to do 160kms/100 miles this weekend. That's cheap motorcycling.......over 70mpg I think.

WTF is the matter with people?

I didn't look at the link as the heading looks bad enough. I'll hold them down, you stab them the wankers

Picked up the new toy today, had an hour out after prepping it for tomorrows ride. Its a Beta 300 X Trainer Jury is out for the moment its certainly more agile and easier to ride on the dirt than anything else i have but the gearing is stupidly low, first and second gears are useless for the kind of riding i do at the moment and the front suspension is going to need some work to get it right for me. The seat height is low and i can flat foot both feet when sat on it which is going to be a great help in the technical stuff the XR is a sky scraper in comparison to it. Lets see how a proper ride tomorrow goes

Out early for a couple of hours.......first time for two weeks. Headed south into Almeria and the Sierra Maria country park!

A Rod Stewart wig?

Its funny how bikes can get your mood up and down after all it is just an object unless your @XTreme who discards them every time the brake pads wear out been feeling down since the the 650 threw a wobbler then sold the CB, so i bought something this week which will hopefully pick me back up

I am one happy Grasshopper! I had a fantastic ride on my Himalayan today, the first in awhile. The weather was great, the roads were quiet and the bike was running super smooth. I might even put together a small ride report tomorrow.... Then later in the day, I just HAD to go out for something, so I took a spin on the Honda. Life was good today! Have a great weekend everyone!