trapezeartist

My original plan was Twinshock but I've been seduced by Modern. I follow the Facebook page, and that has guided me to the events I have attended. Unfortunately I've forgotten which clubs they were. I'll try Gasserguy's recommendations. Thanks.

How about getting the load space dimensions off the Ford website and applying a bit of geometry (as you can load the bike diagonally if necessary)? I have a much smaller vehicle (Citroen Berlingo car version) and I'm hoping to be able to fit a bike in that. If I can't, I'm right up S__t Creek because that's what I bought it for.

Hopefully I should finally be getting a bike soon and then starting to compete. So I need a club membership. My reasoning at the moment (possibly flawed) is to join one AMCA club and one ACU club, in order to give a wider choice of events. I live near Bristol so both Cotswolds and Somerset are on my doorstep. I'm already a member of Golden Valley (AMCA) so I'm assuming that entitles me to enter any AMCA events. Right? Which ACU club would people recommend? Will I need to join one in the Wessex Centre and one in the South-West Centre? I've been going to a number of events in the last few months and observing, but to be honest I've forgotten which clubs were running them.

I have no practical knowledge of flywheel weights, but thinking through the theory leaves me sceptical. While the weight will significantly increase the inertia of the moving parts of the engine, when you add in the weight of bike and rider it will be largely insignificant. Now someone, tell me I'm wrong.

I just learnt that the 2013 onward 200s are based on the 250 engine, whereas the earlier 200s were based on the 125. What is the practical significance of this changeover? If I was hovering between buying a 2012 and a 2013, how important would that change be?

I do think it's a bit of a stretch, but it just had to be said. There is a little bit of a serious point to my comment: one should never assume that a company with a good reputation is bombproof. Indeed, reputations both good and bad are usually an exageration of a valid reality. Honda really can't duck the fact that they have made a complete pig's ear of the F1 project and McLaren can't duck the fact that they likely just assumed "It's Honda so it will be good".

I'll ask Fernando Alonso.

Where else would Cornwall be? Unless Mebyon Kernow are planning their own indyref.

Why not contact Montesa and ask when he will be there? You've nothing to lose.

320 lb is actually 145 kg.

And so you should! Ten, if it was possible.

It just seems a no-brainer to me. Michelin tyres hold their pressure. IRCs leak or come off the rim. Why on earth would you buy an IRC?

Has Europe become a better place because of the writing of that over-complicated waffle (in 15 languages)? I doubt it. If you're wondering why we want to brexit, this may be a good starting point.

I must be misunderstanding you. You seem to be saying the thief has to have the app in his phone and be standing near the bike in order to transmit the tracking data.

I was thinking about the box idea too, to, in effect, extend the load platform. I'll come round to that when I have the bike and work out the details. I believe the van version has an extra steel panel in there that covers the rear footwell and pushes the load platform right up to the back of the front seats.

I felt somewhat the same. That was for a new fully-fitted bar with a model-specific electric kit. If I had chosen to go that route I felt it was safest to have the pukka electric kit because modern car electronics are very complicated (and very expensive to repair if you blow something up!). If I was putting a bar on an old nail I would have bought the complete kit on eBay (new, unless I happened to stumble across a good s/h one) for £70-£100. I would have fitted it myself and scotch-locked the trailer electrics into the main loom.

Sorry. I haven't got the bike yet. Having checked measurements though, I reckon I'll need to remove the small rear seat completely, then tuck a wheel into that corner and put the bike diagonally across the space. That looks like it will work with a decent safety margin on the measurements.

I worked my way through all the options before actually making a purchase. I started thinking about a trailer, because I've always had a bit of a passion for trailers over the years. But I don't have room to store one conveniently so it would have to be a collapsible. So that was going to be over £300 for a Dave Cooper (unless I was really lucky and found one secondhand). Then I was quoted £500 for a tow bar for my car . So that was going to be £800 in total and minimal residual value. Then I considered a rack. Same problem with the cost of the tow bar on the car, and the racks I've seen look pretty flimsy. I helped someone load up one day. Once it was on he patted the bike and said something to the effect of "There, that's all nice and secure." It actually flexed something horrible. So I came around to a van (doubling as a second means of transport). I was only planning on spending £1000 or so and everything I saw was awful: high mileage, diesel, battered outside and filthy inside. Finally for £900 I bought a Citroen Berlingo van. It's a petrol, clean inside and out, and "only" 98k miles. I've now been using it for about a month and I'm very pleased with it. It's far from a luxury motor, but it does the job.

Strictly, I suppose you could be liable to an "insecure load", if the bike isn't secured properly. But that would be no different to carrying a load of wood, or boxes, or whatever. I have a Berlingo (same platform) and that has six load-securing points so tying the bike down safely shouldn't be a problem.

Yes, I know they're used but it really is not good engineering. The various suggestions of annealing copper washers seems good, especially if getting some new ones is going to be a lot of trouble (it's not a lot of expense). After heating, the annealing process requires the part to be cooled slowly, so definitely air cooling rather than quenching.

I've never liked the use of banjos on brakes. Best kept for low pressure applications. But if you have to keep it, putting PTFE tape on the threads won't do anything because the thread has nothing to do with the sealing. I don't much fancy fibre washers on brakes either. Have you checked the four surfaces that the two washers bear on? If there are any scratches there, that could be the leak path. Also new copper washers may help, especially if you don't know the provenance of the ol ones. The copper work-hardens.

What have you done to soften the power?

£117 was what he told the long haired chief of staff.