Black smoke from a 106?

I can well believe it Guy!

Like many of the things sold on eBay .. often much cheaper elsewhere if you are in the know. Sometimes though it's just not worth the effort looking elsewhere ...

All the best ..

T i m

The message from T i m contains these words:

I was looking at rainwater diverters from there the other day. Cheaper from Screwfix even without the postage.- indeed, next time I'm in there I might buy a few and flog 'em on eBay.

LOL!

That's the idea Guy!

The other thing I have seen folk do it buying a complete (new) item and selling it in parts, when new spare parts maybe difficult to get.

I think quite a few importers of machinery do similar now days, I know that's what the Royal Enfield motorbike importers did. The concept is ok for a short time and with low numbers but there always seems to be at least one vulnerable item that breaks and we all want so those bits so they run out fast.

Like when we were racing 12th scale electric touring cars and generally raced clockwise. You buy front wishbones in pairs and always had plenty of right ones spare! ;-(

All the best ..

T i m

T i m ( snipped-for-privacy@spaced.me.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

SWMBO *much* prefers driving the 2cvs to the XM.

I can understand that Adrian!

But god forbid it ends up between a truck and some armco. ;-(

The bottom line of course is *most* of us are aware of the risks and we offset them against the pleasure / whatever. I know riding a motorbike is more 'risky' than driving a car but still do it .. but .. as I get older and especially since we have had kids the risks get re-assessed and sometimes lifestyle adjustments are made accordingly.

So, 'as I ride a motorbike' *I* might be happy in the kitcar (questionable in a crash etc) as I know the risks are still possibly less than being on a bike. Would (knowing the 'risks') be happy to put my inexperienced daughter in the kitcar or rather something that

Similar with the idea of her riding a scooter. She has done quite a bit of off-road work since she was about 6 years old on both an Yamaha PW50 (twist-n-go-minimotocrosser) and then a Yamaha TY80 (4sp manual trials bike). She's also a good cyclist (solo and tandem) but would I

All the best ..

T i m

T i m ( snipped-for-privacy@spaced.me.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

I don't _really_ want to be there in the XM, either, to be perfectly frank...

I know enough people who've been in bad crashes in 2cvs (including one who had an HGV change M25 lanes onto him - the car wasn't even a write-off), but not one person who's ever been seriously injured in one (with the exception of a friend of SWMBO, who was killed 2cv racing years ago). OTOH, I know of too many people killed in "safe" cars.

;-)

And 'in general' wearing a crash helmet or safely belt and having crumple zones and airbags are a bad thing then?

Do you ride a motorbike Adrian?

All the best ..

T i m

T i m ( snipped-for-privacy@spaced.me.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Of course not - but they certainly help to breed complacency.

Not really, but only because I've never got round to doing DAS.

(I'm not counting my VeloSlowlexes as a "motorbike" here - and, yes, I do cycle - but not as often as I ought to, but that's more due to gradients and indolence than traffic conditions)

You make your own safety, purely by awareness, positioning and observation.

They *can* do that, but not always ...

Ok ..

Interesting .. nearly bout one on a couple of occasions . ..

;-)

Those are important of course, however I'm not sure even the most aware and well positioned rider will always be ready for black ice, diesel, rouge animal, the car on the wrong side of the road / jumping the lights or hitting you whilst stationary? (I'm not suggesting that (say) a crash helmet will ensure you survive but there will be cases where it will).

All the best ..

T i m

T i m ( snipped-for-privacy@spaced.me.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Ummm, yes, they certainly bloody *SHOULD* be.

(As for this mysterious rouge animal - is that just foxes, ginger toms and red deer...?)

Less easy, I'll grant you, but still not impossible.

I'm not sure how one can though Adrian, especially if one likes to make 'good progress' (for the conditions etc). If it was impossible to get caught out sometimes then Valentino Rossi would never be sat on the tarmac?

That's the badger. ;-)

There will always be times when the 'unexpected' will happen. I know you will say that if you are paying attention etc you will never be caught out but I suggest in the 'real world' we all are taking what could be considered 'risks' (with hindsight) whist actually driving with due care and attention.

Take the local unlit stretch of unlit derestricted dual carriageway going through some woods. To be 'sure' you could safely stop if say a Muntjack ran out in front of you you would have to be traveling less than 20 mph. However, even those of us who even consider such instances will try to compromise between 'good progress' and the ability to stop. If one was to travel at 20 mph *you* would then also be at risk from those doing 70+.

Hmmm, by staying at home you mean? ;-)

All the best ..

T i m

Don't forget that 20BHP mod from Ebay - the little Pug needs all the help it can get.

The message from Conor contains these words:

And the "run your engine off water" mod, which apparently uses the 66% hydrogen in the water to make your car go.

T i m ( snipped-for-privacy@spaced.me.uk) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

Easy. Open your bloody eyes, and think.

Black ice rarely happens in the middle of summer.

Diesel's most common just after filling stations or bends, where it can slop out - and it can be smelled, vividly.

Animals tend to run out of hedges on rural back lanes at night. (anyway, only LARGE ones tend to cause problems, and they don't just slip out of undergrowth). Yes, there's a minimal risk from the Muntjac that you mentioned on a d/c near woods - we get quite a few of 'em round here - but they tend to have a very strong self-preservation instinct.

People jumping lights don't just appear from nowhere - they can be seen before reaching the lights at the vast majority of junctions.

Mmmmm. Good progress where you can't properly observe doesn't tend to fit the "for the conditions etc" caveat, does it?

I'm not aware that he tends to on the road - and the track's a very different kettle of halibut.

Experience says that's not necessarily true, the only time I've fallen off due to it I was on a pushbike, on a straight road in the town centre.