EOSM no show...

(un)fortunately, due to work and being away from the (still) 42 degree
midday sunshine and heat here etc, it looks like I won't be making it to the
EOSM.

My apologies to all, especially BGN who will have to put his own fucking
tent up this time round and to the Spibys who will have to make do with
uglier men....

Anyway, I do still think the NS5 should make the trip......

So is there anyone who thinks I might trust them enough (and is stupid
enough) to take my not-really ready to ride, over-powered, under
suspended/braked/tyred 20 year old 2 stroke to the EOSM if only so 50 people
can stand around and slag it off/piss on the seat etc...?

Obv, volunteering will involve agreeing to the usual "break it, pay for it"
clauses, but special dispensation will be allowed for seizures which happen
if the bike was fully warmed up first.

Form an orderly queue after this post if you want to (a) ride the beastie to
the Black Horse from Stanley and (b) want to meet my parents who would have
to hand over the keys...[1]

Dave

[1] (b) is the more worrying prospect.

 

Bear emerged from their own little world to say

RAC Personal cover only 1375 Tesco Clubcard points

 

Sir needs a current account that includes "free" breakdown cover.

Bargain.

 

Offered to the 'young' man with the dodgy beard/ponytail and trenchcoat!

Let it tick over on the choke for a minute. Run it at *no_more_
than_6000rpm* for the first couple of miles and make sure you build up
gradually after that in each gear before going bok. The drop it back to 2nd
and headbut the top yoke first time you whack the bugger open. Then again
in 3rd. then just be a bit scared it's going to blow up/kill you in every
subsequent gear.

I have. It doesn't. The only 'big' problem is the "sometimes it
does/soemtimes it doesn't" ,"fuel pissing over the tank/rider from the fuel
filler" problem under hard deceleration with more than 5 litres of fuel in
the tank (of course 5 litres is more than enough[1] to get you from my
garage to the BH, so you shouldn't have a problem....)

Dave

PS. If this does happen make sure you take the Rothmans one from the garage
rather than the Movistar one..

[1]TBH, its only just enough if you ride hard after warming it up..... Well
it *is* about 15 miles.....

 

It's about the only decent thing those useless shites at LloydsTSB have
provided me in 20-odd years of my custom with them.

 

The Co-op do too - but you have to pay around £60 per year for the
account so not really free but there's other stuff as well.

 

If you've got a "Gold" or better account then chances are you've got
free AA-cover, too. I have. On the occasion I had to call them,
recently, I had no contact details so rang Lloyds' helpline thing and
they gave me the "special" AA number. All I had to provide them with was
my name and address and Lloyds a/c number.

 

Well, yes, I s'pose the amount of cash Lloyds make from me in the form
of charges probably more than covers it...

 

Upgrade to a Gold or Platinum account if you haven't already. Costs
a tenner a month and they throw in phone insurance, travel insurance
for two, AA cover, and a bunch of other goodies. Oh, and about 4% APR
on your current account balance if you take their Plus account deal.

I had something similar recently. I had to start using my credit card
for a change during a period of unexpected expenditure. Having no idea
what the PIN was, I signed a few times before digging out the letter
and changing the PIN to something I could remember. Then all of a sudden
the PIN stopped working, explained a few days later by a letter arriving
to say "we've noticed you didn't use your PIN a few times, so here's a
new one" - I change it, they change it back. Cheers LTSB!

That aside, LTSB have never been anything but great to me over 23 years.
I've had additional accounts with other banks a few times over the years
and never found one that was anything less than A Bit Shit.

YMMV. But read that bumpf, you might find you're already covered, or
could be just with a quick phone call.

 

It's been my experience too, they've been good to me.

They do piss me off when almost every time I move a reasonable sum of
money from a deposit account to my current account (to cover a cheque
I've written) my 'personal account manager' phones me and says "We
notice that you've got a large sum in your current account that could be
earning interest in..." They don't seem to notice that I'm sticking
money into my deposit account every month to cover these cheques.

Still I suppose they have to justify their fees somehow.

 

For some reason I am never tempted by these sorts of offers. I'm not
sure I really want to give a bank any more of my money.

Aren't card tracking security computers wonderful?

If I used a credit card these days I imagine alarm bells would sound in
any of card issuer's systems.

Well Lloyds have been fine with me for years barring a complete cock up
with my date of birth being incorrect in their computer systems and thus
in all of the credit check systems. Makes high value purchases such as
motorcycles an interesting experience - I always take my passport these
days and then end up being put on the phone to the credit check person
to explain that Lloyds got the data wrong and if you ring my branch they
can retrieve their letter of apology for the cock up. The transactions
always get authorised.

I work on the basis of my branch being 270 miles away and having as
limited an interraction with them as possible [1]. It's worked so far.

[1] awaits accusation of being a banking sociopath

 

I had a friend with a split screen VW beetle that had a race tuned lump
in it. He used to say that the engine was made of glass when it was
cold, which was a good analogy.

 

The travel insurance saves me some wedge, and the AA membership has
come in useful a couple of times of late. Doesn't include european
breakdown cover though.

Ah. I have a permanent 4500 quid overdraft facility. Whether I use it
or not is my decision.

 

It's pretty much my attitude. My bank's in deepest darkest somerset
around 80 miles from where I work during the week so I'd agree with your
attitude completely.

Does that help?

 

Mine's about 80 miles from where I live and work, and I haven't been
in the branch since the mid 90s. Internet banking and phone banking
suffice, with my local branch available if I need to pop in and sign
any forms.

 

ogden emerged from their own little world to say

Does the LTSB travel policy cover bike riding?

Alliance & Leicester provide travel insurance with their Premier account.
There's no monthly fee. Only problem is that they do not cover injuries
sustained whilst riding a motorcycle over 125cc[0]. Saves money on non-
biking trips abroad though.

[1] hiring a scooter in Spain & riding in shorts is fine. Riding your own
bike in full leathers is not allowed. Twats.

 

ogden emerged from their own little world to say

My bank used to be based in Leeds. Since they bought Girobank from the
taxpayer they have moved to Bootle. There's no way I'm visiting the
fuckers.

 

I looked through the policy details and couldn't find any reference
to motorcycles at all. I don't remember specifically asking them at
any point.

 

So I get to sleep past 6 am, but who's going to make my coffee ?
Have fun, I'll keep your tents till next time.

BGN I've still got your tent if you want to use it or are you doing the
"Hilton"

Northern Girl

 

Bear emerged from their own little world to say

I use the £59 policy from www.quotelinedirect.co.uk as a benchmark to judge
the value of breakdown cover included by the likes of Carol Nash, banks
etc.

It's European cover, underwritten by EuropAssistance. It is vehicle
specific rather than personal. However, you can change the vehicle as often
as you like by logging onto their website, entering a new reg. no and
printing a new certificate.

I've never had to test the service levels but I'm led to believe that they
are as good as the others who use local agents i.e. it's pot luck based on
who is the closest to your point of need.