All hail the mighty ratbike

I bow down to its ability to never let me down[1]

I decided to take the battery off charge and try starting it. It hasn't
been started since October and it's been left outside fully exposed to
the elements.

On the button.

The first thing that struck me was how bloody stiff everything was but
it all worked, bar a slightly dodgy rear brake light switch which can
probably be fixed with a bit of emery paper or wet and dry.

I think I'll wait 'till the end of the month and buy some tax for it. I
deffo wanted to take it out then and there but when a bike looks like
that, you just have to have all the paperwork in order.

[1] Yet

 

Traf Pol just never seem to understand do they. You're bike can look like
a bucket of shite but is perfectly safe and legal. It's the shiny and new
means it must be good mentality that seems to be taking over everywhere.

 

Whinging Courier wrote:

I would agree in principle. In practice however, I've found plod in
cars tend to leave me alone on the ratbike.

Why?

I reckon most coppers see it, and realise I probably have a greater
understanding of the legalities of it than they do.

The few over-eager youngsters that have pulled me, have ended up
looking more than a little daft with their 'motocross tyres', 'no
indicators', and 'it's just illegal' accusations. In fact, at one
point, Mouse and I were actually going out in an effort to get pulled,
so we had stories to laugh about at club nights.


I've been pulled by 2 or 3 bike cops over the years, but they usually
just want to nose at the bike, take the piss, and query how it handles
on FO knobbly tyres. One even wanted to ride it round a trading estate
while I waited for a fry-up from the pig wagon. I let him, but he
wouldn't return the favour. Heh, ****. Anyway, he returned, seriously
concerned for my safety, but understood perfectly when i mentioned risk
compensation and riding within the bikes limits.

Bike cops are a sensible bunch, IMO.

 

gazzafield wrote:

I knew there had to be a plus side to living in S.Wales.

 

Cammo emerged from their own little world to say

You were sent to a school that taught you to write coherent English?

 

Vey neva lernd me nufink, rite.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Cammo belched forth and ejected the following:

They've (London) left me alone, too. I got pulled over once near
Brighton but that was because I was doing 70mph through a village at 2
in the morning and not realising it was a plod car up my arse, promptly
whizzed it up to 140

I've had this. Actually, I said I never got pulled in London; that's not
strictly true. I was pulled near Sutton after coming off the M25[1]. It
was a tale of "good cop, bad cop". One was nice as pie and the other one
was doing his best (and failing) to get a rise out of me. After a chat
and a check, they let me go.

Well quite. There aren't too many really young ones round here that I've
seen but sod's law and all that..

IIRC, I've never been pulled by a bike-cop on the rat. Most of my
contact with bike cops was when I was despatching and used to get a tug
about once every couple of months - usually concerning the
state/unreadability of my numberplate.

Of course, anything else would be foolish in the extreme

[1] Speeding again. 57 in a 40. They pointed this out to me within the
first 30 seconds of the stop so I was on my best behaviour. They let me
go so thank heavens for small mercies.

 

In uk.rec.motorcycles, Cammo belched forth and ejected the following:

Woops. I missed this bit.

I think it's because they meet such a bunch of fuckwits during their
working time that they really can't be arsed iyswim.

If you're not being an utter **** then IME you can have a chat and if
you're lucky they'll even take the piss a bit, in a friendly, good
humoured way.