greg_in_london

Okay - it's so hard to be sure these days.

You're right - British humour is different to what they have in America, but sometimes even the English can't tell when other people are serious. tell me - is this for real ???? http://tribuneherald.net/2013/06/26/texas-legislature-fails-on-abortion-passes-masturbation-bill/

Just a daft question - you know the battery is charged because you had a tender on it ? Because it was charged two weeks ago ? or because you had the battery off and replaced it ? Or you've checked it with a meter ?

Good luck.....

I can be a stick in the mud, but I would love to have fuel injection and a fuel management system. I've had my carbs apart so many times, which is different to years ago when I never thought about it at all. Carbs are getting more and more complicated and susceptible to little glitches (mind you - my bikes are all 20-30 years old - but they are more complicated than an Amal Mk 11). This sounds a bit like discussions about points versus electronic ignition. People said how they could fix their points at the side of the road and wouldn't know how to fix an ECU, but after a couple of years to learn to make them (and a few dodgy after-market attempts) the electronic ignitions just didn't go wrong. Some people have complained that their thirty year old ECUs have sucked up moisture, but eventually relocating them cured that. Not many points or condensers last that long. So - a modern fuel injection system that will give me better starting, fuel economy and performance and won't gripe if I have to let it sit for a while sounds good to me, even if I have to replace the lambda sensors every 10-15 years...

I must admit that I thought that I undid the air hose from the shock absorber itself, so there was no threading to be done. Overall access isn't too bad, except for that top bolt, which I found was murder to put the nut back onto when I reinstalled it. What was major trouble for me was getting the top bolt out as it had rusted in and a hammer and drift couldn't shift it. I ended up using a rotary hammer drill and Hilti bit to drive the blessed thing out - hopefully you won't experience that !

I would also buy some proper penetrant, rather than WD40, which was made to protect exposed surfaces, even if it is handy for a lot more than that. If you're going to tap the nose back in, obviously clean the surface up as much as possible first and smear it with MS2 grease. As you can get in, you might be able to put some big spanners into the gap and then put a bar between to prise it out rather than rely on a hammer, but that depends on the spanners and access that you have.

When was the last time you bought Mobil1 ? For either cars or bikes ? It has been that price or much more for years over here.

That was funny - did you see the video on page 50...

Amongst people I know Dreamweaver is the number one program. I could have a pirate copy but want to stay legit. Those I know that use it don't use php, so I wasn't sure how that side worked. It costs about £450 over here, so I suppose I've been frustrated that there isn't something else between free and that price that does what I want. I'll try the alleycode one when I have time to look at it properly and I have met some deadlines.

Well done - when I saw that you called a 2 lb hammer a sledge I wondered if you were hitting it hard enough !

It all gets a bit mind boggling when you start to hear the acronyms roll out, but a lot of time it is just jargon talking about quite familiar things. HTML is just the way the pages links to things, like other parts of the forum or pictures. CSS is cascading style sheets, so you write down in one place what style you want the pages to be in and that flows (cascades) over other pages, so if you can choose another 'skin' for the page they will all be green instead of blue - whatever you choose. PHP stands for something, I don't know what, but lets you program in things like forms and lets a site collect your membership information. Now everyone is an expert... I've been reading up on some of what people have suggested: Seamonkey/Compozer is similar to Kompozer, but won't help with PHP. FrontPage2002/3 is good, but getting old and unsupported, so if I have to buy a new laptop which has Windows 8 might not work. I could dedicate an old machine to it (and might do that) but I'm trying to get something that I can use for the nest ten years. Microsoft seemed to do a number of updates that were free, but with all the useful features stripped out - you do wonder what MS are doing. WebEasy sounds like it has the same problems as Quick and Easy (can't edit HTML ??) Realstudio sounds good, but at around £500 would be quite a plunge for me, especially without knowing much about it. It does have a 30 day trial though, so I would have to wait until I was really ready to invest time in it. I worry about all that wasted effort if I don't produce anything in that time and don't like the software :-( The alleycode one looks promising as it at least refers to CSS and PHP. The download site says that it is unsupported and a legacy product. Whether that means there is an improved version I don't know. If no-one else has an even better idea, I'll have a look at alleycode over the weekend and report back. In the meantime, I think I should say something about Quick and Easy: I mailed them and said I wasn't happy - a web editor that handles html should be able to open, edit and save html files. I said that there was nothing on their website that would lead me to suggest otherwise. I had played with the software a few weeks ago to see what the features were, but hadn't used it to actually change my live web pages. They wrote back to say that their webpage was quite clear that it was not an HTML editor. Fortunately I had not shut the laptop down and could still get a screenshot. Can you spot the difference I wonder ? One is from yesterday, the other is today. http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/originalpage_zps0143028a.jpg http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/amendedpage_zps98fedf99.jpg [sIGH] At least they listened to what I said I suppose. I've sent them the pictures, so I'll have to see what they do next. It's only $25/£19, so not worth losing sleep over, but annoying all the same. [And how does everyone else get those thumbnail pictures working - I always get the big pictures filling the screen :-( ] [EDIT] - I had to threaten that I would ask for a recharge, but they've agreed to refund the money. It really is a reminder just how much you have to use software to know if it will do what you expect though.[/EDIT]

Hi SilvrT - this is what I've used: Way back in the dawn of time I used the aol easy web editor and then FrontPage98. I used nVU for a while and that was then replaced by Kompozer. nVU had been okay for making simple changes (like updating text) but Kompozer seemed more limited and messed up any .css formatting I tried. It also messed up in-page formatting. I had paid someone else to set up some pages, but Kompozer was just messing up their work and I had to make corrections in Notepad. I downloaded and deleted a couple of programmes that I now can't remember, but I also tried phpEdit v4 and v4.0.5 and Bluefish. They had some php capability but were only one step above Notepad in the wysiwyg stakes for HTML. Someone else recommended Quick n Easy Web Builder, which when I downloaded (trial version) it seemed to have some useful functionality, so when I wanted to update the music web page to advertise St George's Day I thought I'd pay to activate the software and use that, only to find it opens and saves files in its own format and not html pages ???? In between times I've either used Notepad for very simple changes or used the website wizard in 1&1 (which hosts my webspace) which is called Click and Build. That is based on a template, however, and is limited on size of site, whereas I really just want to be able to create my own web pages with tools that assist, but don't limit or control me. Hi Meach - How many features did seamonkey have and does it work on modern platforms ? Netscape Navigator makes it sound like it will struggle today in the same way that I can't install or run software that had been quite useful in the past. Did it help with the php and scripts ? I know I'm going to have to put quite a bit of effort into learning new software, but only want to do that once.

Okay - absolutely nothing to do with bikes, but I have to do web pages now and then for work and hobbies and have been getting frustrated with modern software that can't do what I took for granted 10-15 years ago. I just paid to register some software (after downloading the trial, which I obviously didn't have enough time to check thoroughly) only to find it won't open or save .html pages. How is that a web editor ???? (For the less technically capable, that's like a photocopier that won't copy or print onto paper.) I've mailed their support, but will have to see what they say. Anyway - what I'm looking for is a package that I can learn and use thoroughly without needing to upgrade to another package (and learn again) in a year's time. I want to be able to open and save html files so I can choose what web-space I load in onto without being tied to somebody else's 'wizard'. I want to be able to use .css I want to be able to preview the page without publishing it online and also look at the HTML Mostly though I want some way of being able to include php or javascript objects in the page. (The php editors are one step above notepad and make the html difficult.) It would be really good if the software made it easier to work with a database, so you could import forms and link them to the database fields so you could just query them and make the information interactive. A way of automating uploads and checking links would be useful, but not essential (Frontpage98 did this 15 years ago...) None of that should be difficult, yet I can't find software that does these basics. I could keep randomly downloading software and see what works, but I don't have the time to experiment with each, don't like filling the computer with useless software and don't have the money to keep experimenting with high end software (I don't want to buy pirate software, but £4-500 for Dreamweaver is outside the budget.) I know a lot of people won't need such software and will be happy with their facebook page and/or a homepage for their pics, but there must be a few members who do a bit more online. What are you using ? Can it do this ? What does it cost ? http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/trailer.gif

I recommend the HID conversion - it is not that much work, it doubles the light output and uses less electricity. It also generates less heat so nothing in the headlamp unit melts. Mine is old and I point it down a bit to reduce dazzle, I understand that as time has gone on the design/focus became better, but I don't think it's that big a problem (if you adjust properly) these days.

When I saw the post I thought someone had been listening to the international news. Over here there have been big scandals because traces of horsemeat have been found in beef products. They've gone mad testing everything and pulling products off the supermarket shelves - some beef lasagne ready meals had 100% horse - others just traces of horse DNA.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/newscartoons/cartoonists/mfl/lowres/mfln369l.jpg Remember - always safety first.

If I ever get over it would be great to take you up on that - thanks. Target shooting might be a bit different here - though some events like the Crecy shoot might look a bit more interesting (or just plain strange): Ranges are 100-185 yards and this event was only for longbows and barebows. http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/Archery%20-%20Crecy%20Shoot%202012/DSCF9999.jpg http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/Archery%20-%20Crecy%20Shoot%202012/DSCF9986.jpg http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/Archery%20-%20Crecy%20Shoot%202012/DSCF9976.jpg http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/Archery%20-%20Crecy%20Shoot%202012/DSCF9973.jpg The last one is an ordinary shoot: http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh10/greg_in_london/Archery%20-%20Crecy%20Shoot%202012/DSCF9336_zpsa1b11651.jpg PS - can anyone tell me how you get the page to do those little thumbnails so I don't hog all the space ?

You don't have that ? Sometimes from here I can hear the foghorns of the boats on the Thames. We're still just about allowed to defend ourselves (though when I used to be a teacher I wondered if it was worth the risk to my career...) - it's just fortunately not likely that I'd have to defend myself against a gunman. Some nutter going mad in a car, a dog out of control or even someone with a pool cue, but not a gun. Then again, you probably find the idea of tasty warm beer odd, so go figure.

You have no idea how weird discussions like these are to me - or anyone else this side of the Atlantic. I wanted to make some joke about it depending on whether you wanted to hold up a small post office, a large bank, assassinate or carjack someone. You just wouldn't have that conversation here unless you were in the army. Farmers might have a shotgun, or reenactors a muzzle-loading black powder musket, but that's about it. If you want to shoot at a target here you use a bow and arrow. Although I'm sure I'd enjoy having a go if I ever came over to visit, when I see some car driver flipping out with road rage I'm glad that the possibility that they might be armed just does not spring to mind. I'm not saying you shouldn't chat about it, just saying that it sounds REALLY strange.

If you do take the diaphragms off, I find that they're pretty tough and come out just fine, but then when they're sitting they somehow deteriorate (after being okay in all that petrol vapour for years) and sort of go gungy, with any folds sticking to each other. I might have kept mine as backup, but the idea went pearshaped. I don't know if that's just me and a sign of increasing age though...

I agree with plugging the tyre - it is a well established system and ther is no reason to expect it to cause any problems. Obviously don't ride the tyre down to the canvas, but you wouldn't do that anyway... I'd be happy to use a plug from the outside, but I understand others don't like them and that's their choice and they're entitled to it. Personally I wouldn't take the left hand silencer off though. If it does not come off the collector box easily, do not wiggle it to force it because as they corrode, the stubs weaken and you can break them off completely. If it slides off easily, then you're okay. That's a judgement call and replacements are much more readily available on your side of the pond than here. You can use goop or whatever it is sold as over there in motorcycle tyres.

I had a VeloSolex 3800 which was a French moped which sounds like what you describe. It was a laugh, but I sold it a few years back. For a while in pre-internet days getting tyres was difficult though. I'm sceptical about the claim that handling was good though..... All that unsprung rotating mass - bumps, corners and braking would all have been challenges...

That's good - I'm glad to hear that you're not having to rely on them - doing a rebuild with dodgy parts and waiting to see if they do the job, or if your effort has been wasted, is a drag.

Ouch - has someone levered it up with a screwdriver ? You'd have to look at it in the carb to see if it would affect the vacuum, but those diaphragms look as if they've seen better days. Good luck..