yen_powell

Tories it is then. Actually, I think it is already a Tory area.

My black neighbour moved out yesterday, I shall miss her, she had the fine art of parking just right so I could get my bike out of my garage without moving my car first. Where as the Polish family there before her parked so far over they were sometimes in front of my own garage door and partly on my drive. This later turned out to be because he had a motorbike to get out of his garage to go to work at 4am. It was a Honda and broke down a lot so in the end he moved to be closer to London. Now who do I vote for to get a new neighbour with decent parking skills?

I did a search and was surprised to see that you can still get Michelin Desert tyres. I would buy a back one again, but would opt for something different on the front. The front stopped me going round corners on the road till it was half worn, it had way too aggressive a tread pattern. But I ran them at about 12-15psi and they didn't squish, even with the weight of all my luggage. They were brilliant off road. The front was a totally different shape after 3,000 miles, the rear was still doing its job though. Further searching shows that they only do 18 and 21 inch now. But a few choices on link below for other road legal tyres. https://twotyres.co.uk/road-legal-enduro-tyres-guide/

Just seen this, how's that for a list of problems in the first year. https://londonbikers.com/t/one-year-old-today/113289

Oh yes, I get that sometimes as well. This is why I had to give up the tightrope walking.

Bob, Reading your balance thingy on another thread. I fall over backwards if I look up at tall buildings for too long, an age thing I reckon. Same with riding the bike, some days I have excellent balance and other days I can do nothing right. Anyway, screw a little plastic spirit level on to one of you legs, I think you know which one, you've always struck me as the sensible sort. Now you'll always know by looking down if you're leaning to one side without having to rely on your own in built balance.

It is actually on this thread already, quite a few pages ago. I didn't appreciate his voice when I was a kid, but listening to it now and he does a cracking job on this.

This puts a whole new spin on illegal hare coursing. I think the dogs need to be armed for their own protection.

I rode out on Saturday lunchtime to join a minibus full of people going to an open air music thing and then I rode home again last night just before it got dark. I left the main road due to a combine harvester doing 10 mph and taking up the whole road and took to the back narrow lanes near my house to get ahead of it. I was just coming up to a 3 way junction when what I initially I thought was a small deer was running across the road ahead. Then I saw the ears! Jesus, how big do hares get????? I've only ever seen them as a distance in the middle of ploughed fields before where there is nothing to scale them against.

Bikes take up less room in the garage on a centre stand. I can get more fuel in the tank when it's on the centre stand. Wheel removal is easier, especially on larger heavier machines. I can balance a cup of tea on the filler cap or top box easier as well.

My bike's number plate ends in KWG as well, this is a strange coincidence. It is the proper colour for a rear number plate though, not that nancy boy white thing.

I think they just split into two every 20 years or so and make a new ready formed Ginge. This and bright sunlight keeps their population in check and cuts down the need for culling........unless you still fancy a go anyway of course.

I saw the thread title and thought it was going to be a potted history of 66 motorbikes. I am disappoint.

I really don't know what to say, but I still watched it anyway.

I have actually ridden one of them, a hire bike on holiday, nice engine. My mate who bought one on the strength of the hire bike as soon as we got home loved the excellent fuel consumption but sometimes struggled to keep up on trips away when we were all loaded up as it lacked oomph at higher speeds.

You are not alone Pete, remember I have had to replace one of my headlight bulbs since buying my Yamaha so I feel your pain and anguish, bloody useless manufacturers. 21,000 miles on it now, what I used to do in a year has taken two, god bless working from home. Having said that I am going in this afternoon.

That BMW had a stereo system that plays M&S lift music as you ride? Very swish.

What happened to all the bugs? They were all in Pete's 1200.

My dad had a few RAF Association magazines knocking about the house. There was usually a funny story or anecdote in there somewhere. The two I recall are a Shackleton pilot having to constantly adjust his control surfaces during a flight as the plane seemed to be getting tail heavy and then suddenly it wasn't. Turned out his crew were playing a game of darts at the rear of the plane. The second one was reported from an an aircrew survival training course. A pilot was heard to say that he had an advantage over other air crew as he flew a Tornado. When asked why he said it was because in the event of a forced landing and no immediate help you could always eat the navigator.

I had a quick scan through and I can't see it, maybe I wrote about it somewhere else.

I only went in a helicopter once and swore never ever ever again. I think I wrote about it in my yen's Stories thread.

There was a major cock up here as well, one of the reasons my boss was there as they frantically tried and failed to address the issue. Previous pad was reachable by crane if removal of a dead helicopter was required. The new pad was so high up that any suitable crane could not negotiate the tiny surrounding streets without being in broken down into so many pieces it would be necessary to shut those same streets for a few weeks. Apparently just having a warning light refusing to go out even if no problem is found grounds a helicopter over London.

When they shut down the old Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, they built a new one with 18 floors right behind the redundant building. This heli-pad is built on top of the new building for the air ambulance. I thought you'd enjoy the photos I got off my boss today which I asked for when I found out he had been up there. I imagined a nice chunky handrail or wall to stop people falling off the edge but it seems I was wrong.