Friday The 13th Strikes Again!

I was wandering out of work practically dancing for joy as I have a week off to relax and chill after a hectic few months, so I go to my bike parked in the car park.. I start her up to get the engine warm, put on my crash helmet and my gloves and on I get..

I grab hold of the bars and go to paddle her backwards out of my parking space… and nothing…. She’s not moving at all…

So I push a little harder… Still nothing… No movement at all..

WTF!!! I think to myself…

I get off thinking there’s summat preventing one or other of the wheels moving and notice I’ve got a flippin flat tyre

I go back to work, swearing my head off (as you do on occasions such as this!) and announce that I’m not going anywhere.. My boss very kindly offers me a lift home, via Kings at Kidlington to pick up my boyfriends birthday present and I make it home..

When my boyfriend goes back to the office to pick a few things up later he takes a look at my tyre and notices I have a rusty screw poking a good 2″ out of my tyre!

So now I’m at home, my bike is 20 miles away in the garage at the yard and now I have to somehow get her home to our local shop to get the tyre sorted out..

I’m not impressed..

Bloody Friday the 13ths!!

I flippin hate them!!!

Brrrr.. It’s Getting Colder Out There!

It’s definately getting colder out there now and some mornings my poor fingers are so cold after the 20 mile run into work that they ache.

So my sweetie of a boyfriend bought me a set of the Oxford Sport Heated Grips for my bike, and they arrived in the post yesterday.

Woohoo! I can’t wait for the weekend so I can get them fitted.

I’ll let you know how I get on with both fitting and using them.

Traffic Lights On Amber, What do you do?

 

To the majority of road users the sight of this in front of them means the light is going to turn red, which means to slow down and prepare to stop, right?

I can’t believe the number of people who will simply put their foot down and gun it to get through the light, which is normally red by the time they go past it!  I see it happen every day on my journey to and from work, in fact I saw the driver with a bus full of passengers do it yesterday on my way home!!!! The light was red when he went through, not even amber anymore!!

How come nothing is done about drivers who do this?  We see the police and cameras targeting speeding motorists but how often have you see any kind of presence at traffic lights where the red lights are being jumped? Probably as often as I do….. NEVER!!!

 

 

 

Italian Guzzi Rider Gets 383mph Speeding Ticket!

Turina and 383mph speeding fine

Imagine this……..

There you are, eating your breakfast in the morning when the post pops through your letter box. You pick it up and when you see a letter containing a speeding ticket your automatic reaction is “Oh Bu**er!”

You open the envelope and immediately burst into hysterical laughter!!!

Well that would have been my reaction to this speeding fine

Apparently Paolo Turina, 26, has been charged with doing 383mph, yes you did read that right 383mph on his unfaired Moto Guzzi!

As you can imagine he is appealing the charge claiming the camera must have been defective, and he is also disputing the £200 fine the police have issued.

He says

"If I could go that fast I’d enter my bike in the MotoGP world championships. Valentino Rossi would not stand a chance. What did they think they were clocking – a jet fighter?"

"If the court rules the fine will stand then I’m going to send it to the Guinness Book of Records – after all if the court says its true then I should get the credit for this remarkable feat."

The bike he was riding has a top speed of about 115mph, which is nowhere near the 383mph claimed by the police.  The Italian Police say they suspect a ‘clerical error’ is to blame for the outlandish charge and Paolo Turina is awaiting the appeal courts decision on the matter…

Now, where can I get me one of those 383mph bikes

Yamaha Motorcycles – Owners Manuals

This is a bit of a handy find for those of you who own a Yamaha bike released since 2000.  The Yamaha website has a page where you can download the owners manual.  They are available in English, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch & Portuguese.

Here is the LINK for the page.

Hmmm…. That Was Different!

Riding home for the first time after the clocks went back at the weekend!

I left work at half 4, the sky seemed bright enough but boy oh boy did it get dark fast!  I’d completely forgotten that the clocks had changed and it was getting quite dark by the time I got home!

I really must remember tomorrow

I Hate… Tailgaters Flashing Me On The Motorway

I’ve been running up and down part of the M40 for about 3 months now, going to and from work, and the attitude of some drivers has me amazed!

Tailgaters, for example, are a flipping nightmare!

Picture this.. I’m riding down the motorway, going with the flow of traffic, in the overtaking lane while passing the cars and trucks in the middle lane.  I’ve left a space between me and the car in front of me so I have some stopping room, just in case like, and some t**t comes up behind me, proceeds to drive 6 inches off my rear tyre and starts flashing their lights at me to get me to move out of the way!!!

Ermm… Like where the hell am I supposed to go?

I’m overtaking the cars in the middle lane, most of which are tailgating each other anyway so there isn’t really a big enough space for me to slot my bike safely back into.. There are other vehicles in front of me so I can’t go any faster.  Yes, I know there is a gap between me and the car in front of me but that’s deliberately left there so I have a bit of stopping distance just in case the worse happens.. and I can’t move to the right as I’ll be in the central reservation!

And still they flash their lights at me.. WTF!!!!

On the occasions it has happened I’ve pulled over as soon as it’s SAFE for me to do so, NOT when they want me to.  I’m not going to argue with a car six inches off my rear tyre as I know who would be the loser in the event of an accident.

But….. I just don’t get it!  It’s not like these drivers get much further ahead, normally just a couple of car lengths until they come up against the next car and then they are caught up in the traffic again!  Obviously people who drive like this have completely forgotten about stopping distances and how their lives are at greater risk if something happens and they can’t stop in time to avoid a collision.  I’ve even seen cars tailgating lorries in the pouring rain, and seen how the spray kicked up by the lorries wheels makes visibility almost zero in the car!

It just makes me wonder what, if anything, is going on in these peoples heads!

End Of Season Sale Now On At Infinity Motorcycles

I got this news in by email (I just love mailing lists telling me of special offers and sales )

Infinity are holding an end of season clearance sale at all their 8 stores and on their new online store.

They have some great deals on all kinds of things from helmets and gloves to jackets and accessories.  They do say every store has varying stock and clearance lines but if you are looking for something in particular then give them a quick ring or pop in and they will try to help you

You can find more details, and a chance to win a R1 in a competition, on their new website

Scottoiler Mk7 Universal Kits On Offer for £49.99 At M & P

Bargain or what?

The normal cost is £69.99 but M & P (UK) have taken £20 off and are knocking them out at £49.99

I have one of these fitted to my Baby Blade, it’s a must on any bike for me now as it removes all the hassle about remembering to oil your chain away (and the mess too )

My O/H bought me mine on my birthday last year and it was fitted the following day and apart from filling up the reservoir every few thousand miles I don’t have to do anything to keep my chain in good nick.  My replacement chain, fitted a few months back, still looks like it was put on yesterday

He swears by them and has fitted them to every bike he has owned for the last 7 or 8 years, and now I’m a convert and recommend them to everyone as well.

SCOTTOILER Mk7 UNIVERSAL KIT

Features:

Simple installation

Increases chain life by up to 7 times

Improves performance

Fits all bikes including fuel injected bikes

Reduces maintenance

For on and off road bikes

Suits all types of chain including O and X ring
Revised design for improved summer and winter operation. The oil dispensing assembly can be bolted to the end, or glued to the underside of the swing arm and gives range of approximately 500 – 1,000 miles between refilling the RMV depending on the weather. The kit includes universal fittings and 500ml bottle of Scottoil (enough for approximately 5,000 miles). The Universal Kit over the past year or so has had over 20 technical improvements, Dynojet T100 testing and extensive retooling.

Huge Sigh of Relief In The UK

Apparently, in response to an online petition on the No. 10 website, Gordon Brown has stated that the UK Government will not be looking at reducing the power output of motorcycles to 100 hp, as happens in France.  The French Government is of the opinion that reducing the power output on any bike to 100 hp will result in fewer fatalities. 

Hmm.. A 15 hp 125cc bike will still kill someone if things go badly wrong!  

Thankfully it doesn’t look as if those in power in the UK agree with them.  In a statement, them in charge said that while it supported any measure to reduce deaths and serious injuries, "each initiative needs to be considered on its merits and the relative costs and benefits measured".

The statement went on to say "The Department for Transport is not aware of any evidence to support the introduction of a maximum engine power limit for motorcycle as an effective measure to reduce accidents, and so does not believe that limits on the maximum power of motorcycles are necessary in the UK.

What’s needed is better training, and I’m not just talking about rider training here, but car drivers as well.  How many of us have accidents which are solely the fault of a car driver?  How many of us hear the immortal words “Sorry mate, I didn’t see you”. 

We on bikes know how vulnerable we are and the vast majority of us try our damndest to make sure we don’t end up as a roadside casualty.  But car drivers are a whole other thing, cocooned in their metal boxes, they don’t really understand the vulnerability of less well protected road users. 

In recent years the motorcycle test has been overhauled in an effort to make us safer riders!  How about this for an idea, I know loads of riders think it’s a good one How about if all new car drivers had to ride a moped for a few months to teach them road awareness before they ever sat their bums on a car seat?  Would that make them more aware of us riders..

I can pretty much guarantee it would!!

Without experiencing the things we riders face, sometimes on a daily basis, how on earth will car drivers ever understand what its like to feel vulnerable!

Will it ever happen?  Probably not  

Bikers are in the minority and easier to target