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[ST] Various Items for a new member to the list...



As a new member of the list I have taken great interest in the daily
mailing from the list - makes for good reading off-line sat in bloody
airports :)

Anyway here are a few thoughts/happenings I have been meaning to add to
the list:

1. A few weeks ago I had the 'pleasure' of attending a training course
in MA to allow me to obtain my bike license (you can do a road test but
I am away M-F so this was the best option open to me) - I am a recent
visitor to these shores and the RMV (Registry of Motor Vehicles to my
fellow Englishmen) in MA decided my 23 years of riding bikes in the UK
did not qualify me for a MA bike license (please, don't even get me
going on the RMV/Road Tests/Road Manners/Anything to do with the road in
the US) so I duly took my eye test, written test (joke !!) and I then
had a permit.  This entitled me to ride any bike as long as I didn't
carry a pillion passenger, didn't go out of state and was tucked up in
bed at night and not riding - crazy crazy but as I said don't get me
started.  Anyway I digress.  The day was hot and there was a lot of
stopping and starting in the car part doing stuff - added to the fact
that the instructor insisted we turn the bike off via the on/off switch
and then turn the ignition of - which I neglected to do :( although it
was only like this 20 mins at most, meant my battery died on me.
Wouldn't bump so we had to start it with another bike battery (guy with
a Kawasaki stayed to help, the HD ***holes sodded of and left me).  Got
it going and I found the engine light stayed on and the speedo didn't
work.  Got home and the battery had charged and started OK.  Left it a
week (hence reference to airports and being away) and it started first
time - I then drove it to the dealer for its first service - speedo now
worked but the engine light was still on.  They serviced it and reset
the light and it appears fine now.  

2.  Filtering/Lane splitting /Whatever you want to call it - not sure if
it is legal in MA but people had told me not to do it and I hadn't seen
many people do it while I was out driving my truck - I put it down to
most of the bike being HD's being ridden by fat b******s in t- shirts
and shorts who needed 4 lanes to get by.  First time I tried it couple
people cut me up - don't ever recall this happening in the UK (see above
re: road manners - and please don't tell me it is just MA drivers as I
travel a lot (airports !!) and it is the same, IMHO, everywhere in the
US).  Very sad really - good job I hadn't lost the use of my finger
though - not very PC I know but made me feel better, the d***k was
driving a pickup (which I also do before you begin to tap the keyboard)
- - and as a previous mailing pointed out, they all seem to have a #3 in
the back window somewhere (Dale Earnhardt connection I believe not being
a follower of NASCAR - give me F1 but without Schumacher any day or WRC
without McRae wingeing).

3. Way too many HD's on the road - their marketing is on a par with
Microsoft as they get people to pay $20K for a piece of s**t bike whose
design is 40/50 years old now.  People buy into the
hype/marketing/lifestyle/bad ass image - and generally the people who
ride them are complete d***heads - exceptions do exist as with most
rules.  I can't believe people get caught up in the hype for this piece
of crap - big thing is it is made in the US (no offence intended at all)
and people drive it because they are patriots - they then hop into their
Camry's and Accord's when it's raining (have you seen how much chrome
they put on these things.)

4. After I got my bike back from the first service I noticed that it is
leaking oil from what I can only assume is the oil pressure switch on
the left side of the engine.  It has slowed down and is, obviously, much
worse when on the side-stand for some time as opposed to the center
stand.  I can't imagine why the shop would touch the switch (not had a
chance to speak to them in person) so I am wondering if they simply
over-filled it and the problem will eventually disappear - taking it
back for this problem would be a pain but I will do it if I have to.  It
does appear to have slowed down to the extent that I thought it had
stopped and so cancelled a visit to the shop to get it looked at but on
my last ride it appears to have come back again.

Anyway enough ranting - it's not all bad over by any means here as gas
(petrol sorry.) is almost so cheap I laugh when I fill the 22 gallon
tank on my pickup and the majority of drivers are fine - the bike is
absolutely fantastic which just about makes up for my rants above.

Cheers,

Kevin

____________________________
Kevin Dicks
'02 ST BRG


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