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I agree about lack of sympathy for people doing stupid shit... as well as my own luck in surviving doing stupid shit and 50-mile lane-splitting commutes through Los Angeles. For the record I do not count lane-splitting as stupid shit. I think it should be legal nation-wide. But it's cool how this topic has turned to parenting. My dad once said (in a threatening/controlling way) that I could have a motorcycle the day I moved out of his house. So I left. I had some small Hondas for my daughters. XR70 and 100 when they were younger. I've taken them all on street rides on various bikes, and now we have a TW200 that they ride with me on dirt roads. It's always been safety first and full gear even for short trips or hot days when gear is inconvenient. They no longer ask "Do I really have to wear the boots." My two youngest daughters still enjoy riding in the dirt with me and I have encouraged both of them to get their permits and licenses. Mostly so we can legally ride on dirt roads or into town for gas and lunch. But so far they have not done that and I don't push it. However, when we are in a car together, I enjoy their banter about other motorcyclists' attire or behavior. They always start with "My dad would never..." and then go on with things like: ...let me wear sandals. ...go that fast between lanes. ...ride in shorts and t-shirt. ...let that ho-bag on his motorcycle. They get brutal. They're so funny.

Peter S. I am the original owner of bike 18. I bought it from M&S M/Cycle. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. I was the guy who tried to log all the members and was in contact with Keith Davies of 3 Cross M/c who's idea the Dr John was. He supplied me with the engine Nos etc. If I can be of any assistance please get in touch. I sold the bike to a chap from Ilkley West Yorkshire.

My late brother-in-law had a theory: everyone who wants a driving licence for a car should have to ride a motorcycle for at least a year before being allowed to drive a car. That would ensure that the really stupid ones would cease to be a problem. The "Darwin" principle, so to speak... I can't say that I would be for that, but he had a point. I often think about whether we were more stupid than the the idiots these days. I'm not sure if anything has really changed in the mindset. The bigger problem is that the bikes these days are so much faster. Riding flat knacker in the early '80s (my time...) was just not as silly as riding flat knacker on a modern sports bike. I've been here a couple of times https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=13/51.3959/11.0761 Kelbra, at the north end, is a fairly pleasant ride, just over an hour, from Leipzig, and the squiggly bit from Kelbra to Bad Frankenhausen is really good fun. There is a cafe at the Kelbra end http://www.cafe36-online.de/ All very nice, but one really doesn't want to be there on a weekend. Overrun from maniacs, and one can't help thinking "did they all leave their brain at home?" However, in "my" time I was in Melbourne. The meeting point was the Yarra Boulevard (has been mentioned here already...) https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=15/-37.7957/145.0187 We used that bit of road, in "the middle of town", as a race track. I heard that one bloke lost it in the curve south of the freeway, and his bike went over the railing of the bridge and landed on the freeway. One bloke I met there a few times had a Suzuki GSX 1100 S Katana. One time he was complaining that he had skinned his knee because he got the knee down in the corner and he was only wearing jeans. Another story was someone that got t-boned as he went to do a u-turn from the curb and didn't see the bloke that was coming past. Madness, with the only difference that the bikes weren't as fast as the ones these days. The irony of fate: For years, decades even, I have always told young riders and prospective pillions "whatever you do, always wear an appropriate jacket, boots, and GLOVES!!! Imagine how awkward it would be if you couldn't wipe your own arse for a couple of weeks. When I had *my* accident about 5 years ago, after about 35 years of motorcycling, guess what happened. Right forefinger left wrist left hand and a damaged vertebra that was fortunately stabile. It was only a week or so before I could look after myself, but still...

I'm gonna imagine that they keep trying to get the balance of "gelande" and "strasse" satisfactory for the majority of their customers. Soon, for me they will have to include a wheelchair ramp or a booster of some sort. And I know; I spent 8 years and 90k mi. trying to kill a '95 GS which still lies nearly dead in my garage...

A week or so ago someone on WG linked up a YouTube vid of some 24 carat dunce who decided to film himself riding from Denver to Colorado Springs on his Gixxer. T-shirt and tennis shoes + helmet. I looked up how far that was on Giggle Maps. The trip took him 20 minutes or so I think. Hopefully his distinctively painted bike could be identified and some things will happen to him. It was f*cking insane.

Unfortunately the idiots have more distractions for their hand full of brain cells nowadays.... Phones either talking on them or texting or browsing... Music blaring in their ears... Screens the size of an old style CRT TV back in the day on the dash... I've even seen them shaving/ putting on make up/eating! So very little left to deal with the task of operating a vehicle. Nah get them off the roads....

I think each era had its challenges. I was 16 years old when the Honda 750 CB came about, and of course, my dream bikes, the Kawasaki triples. I had the privilege to ride on a 500 Mach3, and this was my first real scare. This bike was just an engine with wheels, no brakes to speak of, a very wobbly frame but an acceleration that nothing else could match at the time. Then came the 750 H2 which nick name was the widow maker for reason. But again, the cars of those days were no match in acceleration or speed. And there weren't that many of them anyway. Speed is euphoric! it is so easy to let it take over reason and accountability... I think that has never changed. However today, you have many more four wheeled and eighteen wheeled vehicles that want to occupy your space of asphalt. In 1972, they had a Grand-Prix near Paris, where the new general market had moved. Following that Grand-Prix, every friday nights motorcycle riders assembled there to race using the same track. There were injuries at each reunion. The police started to show up, but as soon as they stopped coming, the racing continued. To put a final cap, they put speed bumps on the straights. I used to live 10' away from that market. I was there every Friday night, but I always remained within my limits and that of my bike.

You make a very good point about how we rode and drove in the 70's etc.... I still take a certain pride in Driving well and am appalled at what I see on the roads here too! Be quite happy for all licences to be cancelled and made to be re-taken with a minimum standard rigorously enforced before you got it back. Never going to happen but bloody hell it'd be good to get these idiots off the roads. If you want to play with your toys take the ****'in Bus /train. Cheers

My son recently got his motorcycle license and he has not been allowed to ride the v11 yet. He wanted to before he took the course, having completed the course gave him a newfound respect for motorcycles and his dad's advice & opinion on when he is ready to give it a go.

At the risk of this being a repeat...one of my favorite albums.

Gents replies much appreciated. Exploded view and photo just the job to figure it out It's indeed #2 - Fwd Sub frame(apologies my clumsy description) I'll have a good think before I go for it- with your good advise in mind. I'll let you know if I broke it!!! Thanks

I agree with GuzziMoto & Doc. I had to rotate my #2 subframe forward/up to remove the timing cover to replace my timing cover gasket. I supported the engine from underneath at the oil pan. However, on mine, the spine was supported up front by the front end (front wh, forks, etc.) when I disconnected #2 from the engine. And, the front wheel was in a wheel vise to keep the bike perpendiculer to the ground and stable. So, if you don't have the forks, front wheel, etc. on the bike, I would say that the spine has to be supported (suspended from above) too by way of a chain fall, engine hoist, etc. so that there is some stability to keep it from falling on its side And, the tank has previously been removed. I suppose if you had the rear wheel locked up in a wheel vise and the engine fully supported you might be able to get away without support from above at the spine....I guess.

I agree, especially the part about getting away with dumb stuff. The mindset of people on the road today is "it's all about me". It bothers me though, especially seeing the young woman as a passenger. She needed to be more assertive, for her own good. I know my two daughters would have.

I am no longer sympathetic to stupidity ironing itself out. My lament is that such stupidity affects me personally by increasing insurance premiums and bringing negative attention to motorcycles in general amongst the driving public and particularly law enforcement. I did my share of dumb s**t and got away with all of it, but at my dumbest I never did even once what these fools do on the daily. I don't know where it went wrong, the parents, the culture, the advertising; I think part of the problem is the death of amateur track racing. There is nowhere to turn anymore unless you want motocross.

They like to cause trouble & strife. Their tactic is to divide & conquer But they can’t conquer us when we stand together My Scura R smiles & nods in agreement What a great sunset!

I'm thinking kill switch is cause of problem. I will give it a clean when I'm home. Im not tempting fate by working on it while on trip. Bike didn't miss a beat today. Traveled 400k home to Dunedin via some back roads. Off to rally tomorrow in Alexandra which is about 200ks away.

This is serious Bill.