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RE: A Corner To Rant In

alamin9273 — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 13:36:12 GMT

What a nice post it is ! :lol:
Really attractive post for the visitor.
Thanks for posting this.
I want to see so much other post about this here.
Carry on.

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Mon, 12 May 2008 22:48:44 GMT

That's pretty bad luck. But how much more fed up would you be if every time you looked at the bike now there was a sticker saying "Remember not to lose your keys"?!

Replacement HISS looms go on eBay for anything between £250 and £500, so you could get hold of one, or perhaps try selling it on cheaper to someone who doesn't mind tinkering with that sort of thing.

Alternatively, it might be worth contacting these folks http://www.twiggersmotorcycles.co.uk/motorcycle-accessories/88-Motorcycle-Key-Services.html as they advertise a HISS replacement key service if you send them the ignition barrel. Never used them myself, so no idea whether they're any good or not. Keys start at about £30-£40 plus whatever work needs to be done to tune the blank to the ignition chip.

Good luck.

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Jonmac — Mon, 12 May 2008 12:13:23 GMT

The only useful warning sticker I can think of should go on Hondas about lost keys - mine was worth about £2000 before I lost my keys over the winter period - its worthless now because of the HISS.

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Sun, 11 May 2008 21:34:16 GMT

It's true that couriering's neither the best nor the highest-paid job in the world and you do get to meet some astonishingly annoying people. I have a certain amount of sympathy for dizzie riders, for example, after my younger brother made his living doing that for a while. But having sympathy for the individuals is no reason to let the companies off the hook: they take payment to make deliveries and that, really, is what they are obliged to do. If there are problems, it should be their responsibility to deal with tem, not mine to put up with the consequences!

As you may have guessed, it didn't turn up at all. Again. Waste of a whole day, when all I really wanted to do was get out and ride. B*gger! Not only that, but I had to spend my Saturday trawling the shops for a replacement and now have to somehow wrestle a refund out of the original company I ordered from. Double b*gger!

I'm a big fan of Internet shopping, world at your fingertips and all that, but when it goes wrong, it really does go wrong.

Cost me an extra £20 to buy the same present in the shops, but I'd willingly have paid that in the first place to avoid this particular hassle...

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Ems — Sun, 11 May 2008 17:05:45 GMT

Fortunately for me, i have had only good deliverys. Not exactly on time, but good enough not to waste 10 hours of my time!

I know what your saying though. But i do have to say there are a lot of stories i've heard about why they go wrong!! And that was from having old mates that used to do the job. It all starts off with one thing. Traffic being the most obvious. And then other customers giving the wrong address or details. Like for example, someone ordered a sofa from Homebase years ago, only for the van driver to discover once he got there that it was a block of flats with no lift. Another with slightly diff situation, but the damn thing wouldn't fit through their door. People checking goods before signing takes time too. It's a sensible thing to do (and everyone should do it), but it takes time. Esp if the item is damaged and the driver needs to get to the end of the customers abusive words before he can go! They're assigned so many drop offs a day, but if one goes wrong, they all go wrong!!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Fri, 09 May 2008 14:40:30 GMT

Absolutely nothing to do with motorcycling per se, other than what's in the package, but an undeniably appropriate subject for a rant!

Couriers.

What is it with bl**dy couriers? It's the easiest job in the world: take this from A to B and give it to somebody. It's all they do, all bl**dy day long. So why aren't they any good at it?

Yes, I'm sitting here on this particularly lovely day, wasting my annual leave, waiting for a delivery to turn up. I wouldn't mind (that much), except I've been waiting for several days for it. Yesterday, eventually, after three attempts and several hours listening to the most annoying "please hold" messages ever made, I spoke to CityLink. They tell me they've already tried to deliver it twice and left cards both times. I explain that if they've actually left any cards, they're at somebody else's house because I certainly never got them. They make noncommittal noises. I point out that it isn't rocket science, it's not like I live in a trackless jungle somewhere. You can see my house on Google Earth, for goodness' sake! They tell me it's not their problem anyway, as they've sent the parcel back to the sender. Fine. Thanks. Appreciate your efforts.

So, on to the senders, who couldn't have been more helpful, promised to send another package out immediately, for guaranteed delivery tomorrow.

The only snag is it's tomorrow now and I'm still waiting, have no idea whether the replacement did actually get sent, or if it's going to turn up at all. And on Saturday, I'm supposed to be handing it over to my bro, whose birthday present it's meant to be. Hence, spleen and lots of it!

If anyonne out there does suffer from low blood pressure, though, I thoroughly recommend phoning the CityLink parcel tracking service and just listening to the recorded messages. That'll cure ya!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:42:07 GMT

I don't, as a rule, mind BMW riders; it's only the bikes I detest (and even then I'd be less critical if they'd stuck to their guns and built something radical and peculiar for WSB...)!

Sensible choice letting the super retards go: it's just not worth having their accident with them. Karma (or natural selection) has a way of levelling these things out...

Have to disagree about legislating protective clothing, though. There's enough of a nanny state mentality around already, without encouraging 'em further. There's a thread covering some of this elsewhere, but I would always support the individual's freedom of choice to be responsible for themselves and that includes deciding what is appropriate to wear. Crashing isn't inevitable and if you're not actually falling off, you don't really need the protection. Just be aware of your level of vulnerability and ride with an according degree of concentration and caution.

Personally, I don't need to imagine what it's like to come off: I've been down the road on my a**e a few times! But I'm still quite happy to commute/ride around town in jeans (maybe even a T-shirt) during warm weather, rather than boiling in my leathers. Longer (or faster!) distances, I always wear full safety gear. To me, though, the benefits of being comfortable outweigh the risks and consequences of having an accident - and I'd like to continue to be able to make that choice!

If you mean you don't like folk riding like tw*ts in T-shirts and shorts, I wholeheartedly agree. But I suspect most of them would continue to ride like tw*ts whatever they were dressed in...

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Ems — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:42:41 GMT

I'm going to 'accidently' forget my gloves when we go out Mazz. Thats if you wake up this time

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Mazz — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:41:29 GMT

Someone isn't fond of BMW! I don't have a gripe about them tbh. Fortunately riders of BMW bikes don't have the same mentality of BMW drivers.... as in "I rule the road so I will swerve without warning, won;t use my indicators and use my mobile to let my wife know I'm coming home late"

Someone really pi$$ed me off on SUN. I went to the show in Brooklands (bitter disappointment) and on the way home we passed three lads on super motard/Trials bikes. This pratt decided to wheely all the way up the road behind me to the roundabout that I had stopped at. If I hadn't of moved, he'd've gone straight into the back of me! I was livid! he narrowly avoided a car and shot off in another direction. I hate it when riders put their lives at risk, but to put other peoples in risk as well is just down right inconsiderate. I had a good mind to charge after him and give him a damn good talking too and punch in the Kidney, but then I'd be contradicting myself, so I didn't.

Actually, that's another thing. 'Ped riders that wear T-Shirts... or anyone that wears T-Shirts and shorts on their bikes while riding. When I was a kid, I came off my pushbike and it bloody hurt! That was at 5-7mph... imagine doing that at 20-30! I think the law should change so everyone has to wear protective gear. It's not enough that it's just helmets that are compulsary. Oh yeah, and those that wear the leathers or protective gear.... but no gloves. that bugs me more!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:09:42 GMT

I'm going to give an honorary mention here to BMW, those purveyors of over-expensive, over-engineered, weird-for-the-sake-of-it lardy Teutonic ditch-pumps. I can honestly say that some of the most genuinely loathsome two-wheelers I have ever ridden have been from Bavaria - everything about them, from the cement-mixer "charm" of the engine to the frankly infuriating switchgear, from the auto-flip-up (sui-)side stands to the supertanker dimensions sets my teeth on edge.

And this week, dear old BMW have revealed their 2009 WSB contender.

Have they stuck with their company trademark shaft drive? Those annoyingly vague Paralever and Telelever suspension systems? That diabolical flat-twin motor, or even the Flying Brick 4? Have they, hell. They've produced an utterly conventional across the frame 4 that looks like a Ninja with an SP2 fairing bodged on the front. And the message, one can only assume, is an admission that (outside of their own one-make series) none of their fantastic "alternative" techno-weirdness is even remotely competitive when lined up against...well, pretty much anybody else. Hope they have the decency to feel some shame about it...!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:59:56 GMT

I think, to be honest, the insurance companies just make it up as they go along, then add ten per cent or so. How else would they always be able to offer a deal if you phone up and strop at them?

My policy documents arrived this morning and they'd managed to exclude rather than include business use (oh, good). Phoned again, was slightly less polite about it than last time (they wanted, initially, to treat it as an amendment and charge extra!), sorted - hopefully - for good. I may be changing my mind about whether I'm still a loyal customer next time around, though!

Have to say I'm only prepared to go to a certain level of cheapness these days. When everybody else is charging £200-£300 premiums, taking on a policy with neverheardofthesepeople.com for £130 rings alarm bells - best to bear in mind that you may actually want to claim against it at some point and you don't want to end up dealing with web-only cowboys that never reply to your e-mails...back when I could only afford the cheapest of TPF&T I spent one entire year without ever even seeing my policy document, all I ever got from the firm in question were extended cover notes and excuses that their printing system wasn't working properly. In the end, I just lived with it and hoped like hell a) I never needed to produce my documents for the plod and b) nobody nicked me bike!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Ems — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:33:46 GMT

Sounds like Direct Line will be losing out quite a bit in the future now then. I personally think the comparasion sites are great, and use them every year. Yes it's easier to just stay with who your with, but if i can get the same cover cheaper elsewhere, i will!. Besides, they keep all your personal info after you've first used them anyway, so you only need to put the correct vehicle details in and search!!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Mazz — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:11:59 GMT

Good going! I don't know why, but why is it you try to get a quote for your new bike and you get quoted silly money (£990 FC for my Fazer when I first got her) from one place, but you check out somewhere else and they are willing to insure you for nearly half the price? Varience is a good thing, but to have an identical quote vary by such a massive gap is weird.

I think that's why all these comparison websites have sprung up all over the place. But what makes it funnier is now Direct Line have said that you won't find them on comparison websites because they can be cheaper without the need for one... how many more will go the same way?

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 23:55:04 GMT

Not strictly a part of the manufacturing process, but time for an honorary mention for Insurance, or "daylight robbery", as it might be more aptly described. I'm happy to say I've only ever made one claim (theft of a GSXR750 from my garage by some low-lifers) and it's not an experience I would care to repeat. It took months of increasingly heated exchanges using words like "deliberate undervaluing tantamount to defrauding your customer" before anything like an acceptable settlement was reached. Lucky I had a spare hack, otherwise I'd've had to cave in much earlier for some utterly rip-off offer.

Anyway, like most I pay my premiums and hope never to need the policy in anger. So, on saturday I received my renewal notice, stating in black and white "we recommend you accept this renewal quote as it represents the best value for money we can obtain for you". Does it indeed? thinks I, logging on to the broker's own website just to check. Some time later, I am on the phone explaining that 1. The premium they are asking for on my 600 is £40 more than last year's cost for an NU17 1000 2. My "business use" clause seems to have vanished 3. The excess has rocketed to more than double despite my insisting every year that it is kept to the absolute minimum possible and 4. Their own website is offering me a premium £60 less than my renewal quote. I suggest that their recommendation didn't seem to have involved much checking of value for money at all. Quite possibly none, in fact. Shortly thereafter (surprise, surprise) the internet quote was matched to within a couple of pence. They still weren't the absolute cheapest, but I tend to stay loyal and they have always been good in their dealings with me, so I accepted. After delivering a lecture about showing somewhat more loyalty to their existing customers.

And the moral of this story is twofold: first and foremost, it is always best to assume that insurance companies are vile capitalist swine intent on wringing every last penny from punters using every sharp practice in the book. Secondly, five minutes on the 'net saved me £60, £300 of excess and legalised my business trips: it's always worth checking the small print yourself!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 23:56:13 GMT

Sadly, no legislation in the world can cater for the truly stupid...and it's always depressing when people try to work to the lowest common denominator. I think manufacturers should supply the stickers separately with iinstructions that the complete dimwits who need them should stick them on themselves! In fact, I may just write in and suggest it...

Always-on lights are another thing. I'd like to choose when conditions need me to be more visible, not have it forced upon me. Plus I'm absolutely convinced that it's less safe in town: the number of times car drivers still pull out from side junctions in front of me, I can only assume they mistake the results of suspension travel on bumpy roads for me flashing them to let them out. Either that or they still haven't seen me despite the headlight, making it rather pointless having it on in the first place.

With a lot of bikes these days having fox-eye style lights, It's really annoying that dipped beam only works on one bulb. Not only is it a waste, when you could have an intermediate option of two dips, but people constantly poin out that one of your lights is broken! I suspect it's cheap, though: the main-beam only reflector would have to be cleverly sculpted to allow that without scattering light too far over into oncoming traffic.

Other drivers may not appreciate main beams, but whenever oncoming vehicles have their fog lights on (when it isn't foggy), I make a point of turning the mains on. If they're not prepared to show consideration (and behave legally) to fellow road users, I see no reason why I should put up with it unquestioningly. I'm sure most of 'em don't have the faintest idea why I'm doing it, aren't even aware they're doing anything wrong and think I must be some kind of inconsiderate tw*t, but, hey, you have to stay angry about some things!!!

PS: Night riding can be a lot of fun, honest. Complete darkness is OK, in fact - you get accustomed to it quite well. It's variable dark/light and oncoming glare that can be a problem...

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Ems — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 13:42:16 GMT

Mazz just basicly put my answer in more detail!!

As for the lights, welllllllllllllllllllll, i do have one thing to complain about on the CBR. The lights are always on, which i agree with, as it is very sensible coz of those damn blind people out there!, but they don't get brighter when it get's dark, and tbh i think thats shite!!! If they are allowed to be that bright in the day, then surely they should be a switch to make them brighter at night right?!! I only have the full beam headlight switch, and i'm sure other motorists won't like me using them!! Even so, i haven't yet been out on it in complete darkness yet, and i won't!!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Mazz — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:09:54 GMT

Hahahaha..... and what's the deal with airline food?!

No seriously though, the reason for those stickers is a simple one. If you see a stupid sticker (for example "WARNING: contains nuts" on the side of a packet of peanuts!) you know it's because some idiot has less common sense and intellegence then Paris Hilton and has sued them becuase they weren't given "Fair Warning". It's absolutely ridiculous.

Case in point. American bloke (only in America can this happen!) goes and buys a Winner Baigo or however it's spelt. You know, one of those big moblie home type things. Bigger than a caravan but smaller than a Coach and you can live in it. Anyway, he's just bought this thing and whist driving it home he spies the "Cruise Control" button. Now, we all know what cruise control does, (and if you didn't, it basically keeps your vehical going at the same speed without you pressing the accelerator so you can rest your legs) however this bloke presses it...... and then goes and makes himself a cup of tea in the back. He believes that Cruise control means just that... the house with wheels will cruise itself home... not realising that it won't steer! Roads are quite straight in the USA so it takes a minute or two before the inevitable happens. Writes it off and he ended up with cuts and bruises and a broken wrist or something like that. No-one else injured thank goodness!

Anyway, he sues the company for not explaining what cruise control means/does... and, of course, he wins! No the Winner Baigo (SP?) company now has to explain everything like "Don't stick your fingers in a plug socket and turn it on" etc etc. So when you next see a stupid sticker, it's because the manufacturers are covering their asses because they know that some pratt will try and sue them for something very very stupid!

Or the woman who sued McDonalds because her Coffee burnt her when she spilt it.... for F**K SAKE! It's Coffee you idiot, it's served hot! She sued and got a massive pay out! Now every cup of coffee McDonalds sell has the warning "Caution: contents will be hot", as does every microwavable ready meal and anything else that have to heat up. Funny you don't see a warning on a plate saying "This crockery is not edible" I'm sure it's not long.

should we really blame the consumer for this madness though? Personnaly, I think they are complete idiots who need to go back to school to do basics again. but if you think about it, if they had lost their case, then the warning stickers wouldn't have been put on. If the gudges had declared that the consumer is a complete pillockand needs to sit down and think about what they've done then I reckon we'd see less of these of dumb warnings and less of these "No Win, No Fee" law firms who are out to make a quick buck.

Rant over!

The best warning I ever saw was on a Toothpick box... actual instructions on how to use it. It's H&S gone nuts!

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 00:28:37 GMT

And today's topic, inspired by the late-night mist on the hills, is the humble headlight, in all it's various guises.

Question one: why do bike manufacturers have very little idea of what constitutes acceptable nightlighting? Granted, they have got a little better of late, but so many bikes make do with a feeble yellow letterbox of near-illumination cast about five feet in front of the front wheel. Couldn't they at least fit full halogens as standard? It can be done properly: the RR1 Fireblade had incredible lights: turn them on and small nocturnal creatures would assume they'd made a mistake getting up and settle back down for a nap. Full beams had low-flying pilots suffering flashbacks to the anti-aircraft searchlights of the Blitz. More like that, please.

Question two: is it asking too much to have something that works in mist or fog? LEDs or projectors mounted low under the nose, or clever reflectors, or something? As it is, dipped beam works somewhat less well than usual (see Q1!) and main beam is just white-out central, diffusing off the vapour at more or less exactly eye level. Never mind roadbike traction control and other such "innovations", get the basics sorted out!

Bonus question: why is it, if cars can have windscreen wipers that know when it's raining, aircon that knows what temperature it is and parking sensors that can tell where every object for miles is located, why can't they have one that knows when it's not foggy and turns their sodding fog lights off?

RE: A Corner To Rant In

rebelman — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 13:45:21 GMT

Only stickers I ever put on was to the Nolan Guardsman's rear and they were those big black and white eyes you could buy, looked cool (I thought anyway) against the black and gave people a laugh. Can't remember taking any off.

RE: A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 00:32:38 GMT

's true, it is silly.

One of my friends had a Harley for a while: the front page of the owner's manual bore the crucial piece of advice "No part of this motorcycle is edible". Fair play to 'em for keeping that nonsense hidden in the book rather than stuck all over the bodywork, though!

Hairdryers are a great help if you ever do feel the need to remove the offending articles. Heat and peel, then rub over with some lighter fuel to remove any glue residue afterwards and job done. (Brought to you by Mrs. Beeton's 1001 Household Tips).

RE: A Corner To Rant In

Ems — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 09:52:12 GMT

Lol, i have one of those stickers on my CBR, and haven't bothered to peel it off yet.

Tbh though, i think that even the manufacturers prob don't like putting them on. They do it coz they're required to do so to protect themselves from us suing them for being silly! Like riding without a helmet!. It's like the nut allergy warnings on peanut packets!! Really silly, but at the end of the day they're only doing it to cover their pockets.

A Corner To Rant In

endemoniada_88 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:05:32 GMT

Here's a mild starter - rubbish stickers.

Even now, in top-secret R&D bunkers all over Japan, technicians are finalising their latest CBGSRXYZ10000RRR hyperbikes with the following checklist:

- Does it carry more electronic gizmos than the space shuttle? Oh, yes

- Is it dripping with hyper-trick race-derived exotica? Absolutely every component now has full racing pedigree

- Can it do 95 on one wheel in first and is it only the rev limiter stopping it from breaking the 186mph limit? 97, actually

- Have we made it as wind-tunnel pointy and dangerous as an Exocet missile? Surely have

- Is it painted in either ultra-cool stealth-fighter black or in-your-face dangerous primary colours? Body shop's worked overtime on this one

- Right, then, it's ready - best get Akira from 'elf'n'safety to plaster it with them stupid bright orange warning stickers before we ship it! Righto, boss

And so, every flat surface carries a superfluous warning of some sort: "Always Wear Your Helmet!" (in case people don't know it's the law???), "Ride Safely" (thanks for the tip!) and my particular favourite: "Use Warm Water And Soft Cloth To Clean This Screen" (what, you mean sandpaper wouldn't be a good choice?).

It must be a joke, surely? Hard to carry off that bad-to-the-bone hardcore race rep pilot look when the most prominent things on your vehicle are stickers reminding you to ride slowly and only use soft cloths. Oh, and try to remember not to put diesel in the tank.

Stop doing it, lads. It isn't funny and it takes ages to peel the damn things off!