Motorbikes are brilliant

[The Guvnor]

1 hour ago, Col city fan said:

I don’t see it as age mate. Genuinely I do (Although I don’t turn 50 this year).

The big Suzuki is fantastic at what I need it for..commuting and then the odd longer distance ride. It’s comfy, it’s got shit loads of luggage and storage and it’s automatic. It’s literally the best bike I’ve owned for what I want it to do. If I wanted just a speed machine, I’d get one. But I don’t really.

And that’s what biking’s all about. A Suzuki Gixer 1000 would be no good for my purpose at all. I’d not get my laptop in it, work bag in it and would probably lose my license riding through town.

 

I was only kidding Col , horses for courses, I am sure they are a great practical commuter ,very comfortable to ride with a bit of pep if it's needed. Most bikes i've owned with the exception of the Blackbird and my latest VFR have been alright for a Sunday jolly but as uncomfortable as fcuk for any distance.

[The Fox Covert]

My accountant is a keen biker.

There is this sign on the wall outside his office which I think is really cool.

 

 

 

[Col city fan]

2 hours ago, The Guvnor said:

I was only kidding Col , horses for courses, I am sure they are a great practical commuter ,very comfortable to ride with a bit of pep if it's needed. Most bikes i've owned with the exception of the Blackbird and my latest VFR have been alright for a Sunday jolly but as uncomfortable as fcuk for any distance.

I know about the uncomfortable nature of most bikes mate. I suffer from numb ass syndrome and it seems to kick in very quickly with me. I’ve never owned a bike where I’ve done 100 miles or so without my bum feeling like rock. Even with the big, wide seat of the Burgman, I can’t go too far without my air hawk cushion.

Corbin do a memory foam seat for the Burgman 650, which is meant to be the dogs, but literally for the seat and a backrest is a cool grand. 1000 quid... so I’ve not bothered.

I have been looking at a VFR 1200 myself... one of the very rare DC autos. All in red, with the GT toys. But I think i’ll stick with the Burgman.

[Nick]

10 hours ago, Col city fan said:

I don’t see it as age mate. Genuinely I do (Although I don’t turn 50 this year).

The big Suzuki is fantastic at what I need it for..commuting and then the odd longer distance ride. It’s comfy, it’s got shit loads of luggage and storage and it’s automatic. It’s literally the best bike I’ve owned for what I want it to do. If I wanted just a speed machine, I’d get one. But I don’t really.

And that’s what biking’s all about. A Suzuki Gixer 1000 would be no good for my purpose at all. I’d not get my laptop in it, work bag in it and would probably lose my license riding through town.

 

 

 

You keep telling us and yourself it’s a Big Suzuki. 

 

 

 

[Nick]

7 hours ago, Col city fan said:

Even with the big, wide seat of the Burgman, I can’t go too far without my air hawk cushion.

 

Oh stop Col, you’re killing me ? 

[Col city fan]

How I imagine @Swan Lesta and his biker chums..

 

[Nick]

7 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

How I imagine @Swan Lesta and his biker chums..

 

54 BHP.

 

Thats 54 BHP for the big ‘burgervan’ did I spell it right this time?

[SpacedX]

12 hours ago, The Guvnor said:

Now all joking aside that truly does terrify me, Amalgam fillings , Terry Pratchett believed Mercury fillings were to blame for his Alzheimer's disease, quite a few countries banned them years ago , the biggest cover up in the Western world.

Hardly. 

 

12 hours ago, The Guvnor said:

Read the evidence it's all out there.

There is no "evidence out there". No causal link between mercury in fillings and Alzheimer's has been established. 

 

Amalgam fillings mean that mercury is amalgamated with other metals and is therefore rendered inert. However, long term exposure to mercury may produce Alzheimer like symptoms through a probable biological mechanism through which mercury can destroy neurological brain function in humans. 

The EU ban is linked to disposal issues more than health and the drive to reduce the use of mercury to bring it into line with the 2013 United Nations Minamata Convention against mercury pollution. Mercury is also found in some species of food fish and in energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs. Methylmercury (the organomercuric compound found in fish) is the most toxic and is absorbed through the digestive tract. Mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants also enter the food chain. The heavy metal evaporates at room temperature, turns into a gas, enters the body, crosses the blood-brain barrier and gets trapped inside the brain, where it accumulates over time.

 

An attempt to discuss all possible scenarios whereby mercury’s role in pathological brain development and other neurological and physical issues vs. the use of mercury in medicine would be exhaustive and require hundreds of longitudinal epidemiological studies, as opposed to post on a football forum. We are surrounded by such harmful substances throughout our daily lives. As I said earlier in this thread, I'd be more worried about the link between traffic emissions and neurological diseases - in particular pm2.5s. 

 

You say "read the evidence it's all out there" - we live in a post truth era enabled by the internet through which confirmation bias and indiscriminate use of a search engine can return anything we go looking for. If by "evidence", you mean online quacktitioners and garbage such as Natural News that come looking for you then you have no cause for concern. Conversely, if genuine evidence based practice and clinical medicine is your benchmark, then dental amalgam remains a safe and effective restorative material. However studies are ongoing and should they definitively demonstrate harm being done, the new regulations and guidelines will change to reflect this. Evidence-based dentistry will then change its protocols appropriately.

 

Sorry to derail this thread. 

[SpacedX]

1 hour ago, Col city fan said:

How I imagine @Swan Lesta and his biker chums..

 

This is the ultimate born again...quite literally straight out of the showroom.

 

https://youtu.be/Q9zNUPDmnz4

 

And this is doubtless how many imagine you Col...

 

 

[Col city fan]

28 minutes ago, Line-X said:

This is the ultimate born again...quite literally straight out of the showroom.

 

https://youtu.be/Q9zNUPDmnz4

 

And this is doubtless how many imagine you Col...

 

 

Bloody Hell mate, ain’t you got no sense of humour! That’s a bit dark isn’t it?

And if you watched the in-betweeners, you’ve completely missed the point. jay ain’t no born-again. He’s never ridden a bike.

Edited 24 March 2018 by Col city fan

[SpacedX]

5 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

Bloody Hell mate, ain’t you got no sense of humour! That’s a bit dark isn’t it?

And if you watched the in-betweeners, you’ve completely missed the point. jay ain’t no born-again. He’s never ridden a bike.

Ah the internet. 

 

That wasn't what I was thinking at all. I just found the guy on the zook amusing since born agains often come up on this thread. They are as a breed, far more prone to danger than new riders imo.

 

The guy at the dock is hilarious - and to clarify wasn't to wish any ill upon you. 

 

 

[The Guvnor]

4 hours ago, Line-X said:

Hardly. 

 

There is no "evidence out there". No causal link between mercury in fillings and Alzheimer's has been established. 

 

Amalgam fillings mean that mercury is amalgamated with other metals and is therefore rendered inert. However, long term exposure to mercury may produce Alzheimer like symptoms through a probable biological mechanism through which mercury can destroy neurological brain function in humans. 

The EU ban is linked to disposal issues more than health and the drive to reduce the use of mercury to bring it into line with the 2013 United Nations Minamata Convention against mercury pollution. Mercury is also found in some species of food fish and in energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs. Methylmercury (the organomercuric compound found in fish) is the most toxic and is absorbed through the digestive tract. Mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants also enter the food chain. The heavy metal evaporates at room temperature, turns into a gas, enters the body, crosses the blood-brain barrier and gets trapped inside the brain, where it accumulates over time.

 

An attempt to discuss all possible scenarios whereby mercury’s role in pathological brain development and other neurological and physical issues vs. the use of mercury in medicine would be exhaustive and require hundreds of longitudinal epidemiological studies, as opposed to post on a football forum. We are surrounded by such harmful substances throughout our daily lives. As I said earlier in this thread, I'd be more worried about the link between traffic emissions and neurological diseases - in particular pm2.5s. 

 

You say "read the evidence it's all out there" - we live in a post truth era enabled by the internet through which confirmation bias and indiscriminate use of a search engine can return anything we go looking for. If by "evidence", you mean online quacktitioners and garbage such as Natural News that come looking for you then you have no cause for concern. Conversely, if genuine evidence based practice and clinical medicine is your benchmark, then dental amalgam remains a safe and effective restorative material. However studies are ongoing and should they definitively demonstrate harm being done, the new regulations and guidelines will change to reflect this. Evidence-based dentistry will then change its protocols appropriately.

 

Sorry to derail this thread. 

 

It was a bit 'tongue in cheek' following Buce's comments about me responding to a post several months old ,and I did recall Terry Pratchett referring to this very subject, however an interesting reply, but now I have googled this subject as I understand Norway, Sweden and Denmark no longer use Amalgam and the EU are going to 'scale down' the use of it. Just imagine the litigation avalanche that could happen if Amalgam was ever proven to be responsible for any significant health issues, it would bankrupt most of the civilised world. As you rightly point out there is loads of information on the Web, some total garbage and some with an element of truth as there as there is on any topic.  I suppose at the end of the day, and honestly I am completely indifferent on this topic it all comes down to personal persuasion

[SpacedX]

24 minutes ago, The Guvnor said:

 

It was a bit 'tongue in cheek' following Buce's comments about me responding to a post several months old ,and I did recall Terry Pratchett referring to this very subject, however an interesting reply, but now I have googled this subject as I understand Norway, Sweden and Denmark no longer use Amalgam and the EU are going to 'scale down' the use of it. Just imagine the litigation avalanche that could happen if Amalgam was ever proven to be responsible for any significant health issues, it would bankrupt most of the civilised world. As you rightly point out there is loads of information on the Web, some total garbage and some with an element of truth as there as there is on any topic.  I suppose at the end of the day, and honestly I am completely indifferent on this topic it all comes down to personal persuasion

Huge amounts of dental research has been conducted over the past two decades in the area of dental amalgam and its effects upon human health. The medical scientific community is now in general agreement that patients with dental amalgam fillings are chronically exposed to mercury - a slight amount of mercury vapour is apparently released from a filling during chewing, tooth grinding, etc. The average daily absorption of mercury from dental amalgam is from 3 to 17 micrograms per day, which correlates to roughly 7-50% of the acceptable daily intake (depending on body weight and other variables such as toothbrushing, number and size of fillings, clenching and grinding habits, gum chewing, etc.).  Up to now, there is no documented scientific evidence to show adverse effects from mercury in amalgam restorations except in extremely rare cases of mercury hypersensitivity.

 

I do concede that the notion of having mercury in your mouth is a somewhat disquieting one, but to return to this thread, if you ride regularly on the roads you are hundreds if not thousands of times more likely to die or be harmed a motorcycle accident than you are through a filled cavity. I agree, our sense of risk perception is generally skewed. 

[SpacedX]

1 minute ago, Line-X said:

I do concede that the notion of having mercury in your mouth is a somewhat disquieting one, 

Never troubled Elton John though.

 

(Thought I'd get there before Country Fox or Costock Fox.)

[Daggers]

Pretty sure this thread was about motorbikes.

 

If we’re allowing burger vans in it then it may as well be opened up to include invalid scooters, wheelchairs and space hoppers.

[Col city fan]

Only on FT can a thread on bikes be so full of ‘biker snobs’.

It’s a real shame. It could be a very pleasant, educational read (and in some cases it is), but, imo, it gets ruined by the likes of fookin Daggers et al.

I should have known better.

Edited 24 March 2018 by Col city fan

[Daggers]

Anyone who’s ridden a bike for any length of time appreciates that having the piss taken out of your machine is one of the many joys of ownership. If you’re too up your own arse to appreciate a bit of harmless fun then I pity you. Are you this prissy irl?

[STEVIE B]

Anyone ever owned a Vespa ? Had a couple back in the late 80’s & through the 90’s. took them all over the UK, took one to Vienna & back. Closet mod l guess . Great times. Fancy rekindling my love at some point.

[Col city fan]

9 hours ago, Daggers said:

Anyone who’s ridden a bike for any length of time appreciates that having the piss taken out of your machine is one of the many joys of ownership. If you’re too up your own arse to appreciate a bit of harmless fun then I pity you. Are you this prissy irl?

No, I’d just rather have pleasant banter than have to suffer your nonsense

 

Edited 25 March 2018 by Col city fan

[Col city fan]

8 hours ago, STEVIE B said:

Anyone ever owned a Vespa ? Had a couple back in the late 80’s & through the 90’s. took them all over the UK, took one to Vienna & back. Closet mod l guess . Great times. Fancy rekindling my love at some point.

Riding a Vespa to Vienna and back is an awesome effort!

 

[STEVIE B]

34 minutes ago, Col city fan said:

Riding a Vespa to Vienna and back is an awesome effort!

 

It was great. Myself and 4 mates did this about 25 years ago. Took about 4 days ( camped in tents etc ), through France & Germany. We spent about a week in Vienna and came back. It was an organised ‘euro rally’. The amazing thing about it all, was that the scooters had no problems mechanically whatsoever 

[Daggers]

1 hour ago, Col city fan said:

No, I’d just rather have pleasant banter than have to suffer your nonsense

 

Yes, I can see how my single comment would be too much to over-sensitive types. When you’ve finally finished crying, try the mute function. You’ll find out how to use it in the instruction manual underneath your scooter seat, in the compartment reserved for dignity and testicle storage.

[Julian Joachim Jr Shabadoo]

I'd class talking about scooters in the motorbikes thread in the same regard as talking about Newport County in the Premier League thread. Technically they are a football club, but they're not really, are they?

[Webbo]

1 hour ago, Col city fan said:

No, I’d just rather have pleasant banter than have to suffer your nonsense

 

Col, mate. As someone who's on the receiving end of a fair bit of stick myself let me tell you,you've just got to ignore it. If you let it bother you you'll only get it more. Its only the internet, its no big deal.

[CarbonVirtine]

Semantics to an extent . 'Motorcycle'  is, for me, both a generic term for 2 wheeled powered machines AND a specific one for what people might call a 'proper' bike. So a 'scooter' is a class of motorcycle but it is not specifically a motorcycle. Looked at from the other direction, a motorcycle is both a motorcycle (general classification) and a motorcycle (specifically). To say a motorcycle is a motorcycle has a meaning that is not tautological. A motorcycle is never a scooter.

 

Confusingly , all are classed as 'bicycles' for road tax purposes. Hmmm.

 

Consider the sandwich. The same word is used both here and in the US for more-or-less the same thing, yet they are in reality very different things. One or other should have a different name. Can you image the look on the face of an American when presented with the ham sandwich they ordered in a standard British pub? The incredulity must be profound. Words can just confuse.