One for the girls

[johnofgwent]

That's a bigger engine than my car has got.

Must be like riding a car engine on two wheels.

Bet it goes like shite off a shiny shovel.

Any fool can ride one in a straight line

When you get to a bend, riders generally fall into two classes

One class say "if i lean over another inch i can get round this bend at fifty"

The other class says "leather or not, if i come off at this bend it will take a month, maybe six, to grow the skin back"

To nick a paradigm, there are old bikers and there are bold bikers, but few old bold bikers.

My brother was taught to ride and passed his test in the 1970s, when the test was a joke, he signed up for one of those advanced courses and found he knew sod all about riding when a couple of guys from the army despatch riding corps who ran the course he took showed him what he really needed to know about staying alive on two wheels. His last bike before he gave up two wheeled riding was a Fireblade. God knows how big the engine was. I tried it and it scared the shit out of me.

[johnofgwent]

A moped has peddles I believe, a scooter not.
I have a BMW K1600GT straight 6 which is neither 😆

Yes, although the days when they needed to be an effective means of propulsion are long gone

A moped (formerly class E when i last looked at my licence) also had max speed resctictions and could be ridden from age 16. I dont think it had gears but there was a Yamaha FS1E that was classed as a moped that could do well over fifty which caused the law to be changed to force mopeds to 30 and below.

I had a Honda Camino D139 LBO (brand new, that will give you the year) when we lived in our first house, it did 100mpg and you laughed all the way to the bank (or A&E resus if an artic failed to spot you on the roundabout)

I was going to say a scooter had no gears but I'm sure my great uncle toyed with one that DID have in the mod sixties. All I really know is back in 97 when I finally got round to taking my CBT and Group D Test for my MZ one of the class already had his own 125cc Honda and two had vespa and piaggio scooters on L plates and they all passed and had a ceremonial peeling off and burning of the damn plates outside the test centre.

I ditched the MZ and bought one of these. Not quite as fast as Nick's but Bloody Good Fun and the only way the wife was letting me get my leg over anything hot black and throbbing (ill get my coat)

[Nick]

That's a bigger engine than my car has got.

Must be like riding a car engine on two wheels.

Bet it goes like shite off a shiny shovel.

It's actually classed as a sports tourer, but it does go like the proverbial 😆. 

[srb7677]

I have a BMW K1600GT straight 6 which is neither

That's a bigger engine than my car has got.

Must be like riding a car engine on two wheels.

Bet it goes like shite off a shiny shovel.

[Nick]

At last — I've found someone who differentiates between a scooter and a moped — or have I?

By scooter, do you mean a motor-scooter, or one of those two-wheel stand-on and scoot modes of personal transport that seem to be taking over from skate boards and even being used by City worker types...?

PS — I'm not referring to those electric-powered two-wheelers that are even more hazardous than push bikes to other road and pavement users...

A moped has peddles I believe, a scooter not.
I have a BMW K1600GT straight 6 which is neither 😆 

[patman post]

After a drive down to Sevenoaks today, I believe all cyclists should be banned or, at least, be identifiable, so that when they disregard the Highway Code their steeds are taken away and crushed, along with their arrogant egos...

[papasmurf]

At last — I've found someone who differentiates between a scooter and a moped — or have I?

By scooter, do you mean a motor-scooter, or one of those two-wheel stand-on and scoot modes of personal transport that seem to be taking over from skate boards and even being used by City worker types...?

PS — I'm not referring to those electric-powered two-wheelers that are even more hazardous than push bikes to other road and pavement users...

I mean a scooter as in Vespa or similar. (Escooters as in powered skate boards should be banned.)

[patman post]

The bus service in Cornwall from the point of view of going to work by bus is rubbish. A car/motorcycle/scooter/moped is an essential not a luxury.

At last — I've found someone who differentiates between a scooter and a moped — or have I?

By scooter, do you mean a motor-scooter, or one of those two-wheel stand-on and scoot modes of personal transport that seem to be taking over from skate boards and even being used by City worker types...?

PS — I'm not referring to those electric-powered two-wheelers that are even more hazardous than push bikes to other road and pavement users...

[Streetwalker]

Ok I took my time answering this but haven't they just introduced even more restrictions in the younger players game around heading the ball ?

I know there have been limits / restrictions for a while but have they not recently increased those ?

If so then it is not the same game, although I am obviously in favour of not giving young players life changing injuries ...

Yes they have reduced  heading the ball in practice / training for the younger age groups .Its all pretty advisory at the moment thoughHeading in Football | England Football I wasnt really talking about Kids though but more young men whos age groups U17 /U18 and U23's  have won international competitions in recent years which blows the claims of the girls 'footballs coming home ' out of the water .

Ive got over it now though , the return of real football (the mens game ) has made the fake excitment by some  generated by the media a distant memory . Some are still hooked on the womens game it seems ,a few short months after Wembley sold out and with Womens football on a massive high one of the major teams ,Arsenal played at the weekend to record crowds of  ...... 3,000 

[johnofgwent]

I get what you are saying but it is a rather London-centric perspective. London has 24 hour busses and tubes at low prices that are frequent and fairly reliable (when they are not on strike). Whilst getting about in a car and finding anywhere to park is an absolute nightmare, not to mention congestion zone charges. If I lived in London I probably wouldn't even bother owning a car and would use public transport.

Down here in Plymouth the situation is very different. Down here we have no tube. The busses do not run at night and are always very expensive, much more so than in London. And reliability is shockingly poor, busses not very frequent even if they turn up at all.

But there are no congestion zone charges for cars, getting about in the city by car is much easier than in London, and places to park even if you have to pay a modest amount are easy in most areas, and free in the majority. And once out of the immediate confines of the city you are on open riads with 60 or 70mph speed limits. My regular 15 mile there and 15 mile back commute to work is mostly on open roads and usually takes less than 30 minutes, including ten minutes through city traffic before I hit the open road. The only real hold up is the occasional tractor or slow lorry, plus pensioners driving as if they think the 60mph speed limit is actually 40, .

So an entirely different perspective. A car is essential for me to get to work, since outside the city public transport is utterly hopeless.

The problem with London centric viewpoints is the greens can't see beyond them.

I have mentioned before in here and elsewhere two killer facts on the matter. When the three petrolheads still worked for the BBC they brought the actor who revived Dr Who to do the car challenge and had to get an automatic as he'd only just passed his test. Yes the star of gone in 60 s cons didn't have a driving licence when he started in that film

In his own words he lived and worked most of his working life in London. He had no need nor time nor desire to travel outside London. When he did, his work covered the train, bus and taxi expenses. In London he used the tube or walked.

Perhaps his killer remark on the state of London's traffic was his challenge to Clarkson to drive the London marathon route on a Monday rush hour while he ran it on the pavement. He bet Clarkson he would finish first.

Clarkson never took him up, but years later Hammond took up the challenge with a chap not exactly renowned as a champion athlete. The runner who admittedly barely jogged parts of the course was comfortably in a caff having a latte long before Hammond crossed the finish...

[johnofgwent]

Would you say Youth football was the same sport ?

Ok I took my time answering this but haven't they just introduced even more restrictions in the younger players game around heading the ball ?

I know there have been limits / restrictions for a while but have they not recently increased those ?

If so then it is not the same game, although I am obviously in favour of not giving young players life changing injuries ...

[srb7677]

The bus service in Cornwall from the point of view of going to work by bus is rubbish. A car/motorcycle/scooter/moped is an essential not a luxury.

It's actually pretty much an essential for me too.

[papasmurf]

So an entirely different perspective. A car is essential for me to get to work, since outside the city public transport is utterly hopeless.

The bus service in Cornwall from the point of view of going to work by bus is rubbish. A car/motorcycle/scooter/moped is an essential not a luxury.

[srb7677]

That fast!?!?!

Where are we going to encourage and train our sports drivers of the future?

Currently, round London, you'd be hard pressed to find too many roads where you can put your foot down to reach a dizzying 30mph — most of those that aren't blocked off to through traffic are limited to 20mph!!!

Only 20 years ago, it was legal on some roads to get up to 50. Now the speed merchants are all on electric scooters done up to look like motor bikes...

I get what you are saying but it is a rather London-centric perspective. London has 24 hour busses and tubes at low prices that are frequent and fairly reliable (when they are not on strike). Whilst getting about in a car and finding anywhere to park is an absolute nightmare, not to mention congestion zone charges. If I lived in London I probably wouldn't even bother owning a car and would use public transport.

Down here in Plymouth the situation is very different. Down here we have no tube. The busses do not run at night and are always very expensive, much more so than in London. And reliability is shockingly poor, busses not very frequent even if they turn up at all. 

But there are no congestion zone charges for cars, getting about in the city by car is much easier than in London, and places to park even if you have to pay a modest amount are easy in most areas, and free in the majority. And once out of the immediate confines of the city you are on open riads with 60 or 70mph speed limits. My regular 15 mile there and 15 mile back commute to work is mostly on open roads and usually takes less than 30 minutes, including ten minutes through city traffic before I hit the open road. The only real hold up is the occasional tractor or slow lorry, plus pensioners driving as if they think the 60mph speed limit is actually 40, .

So an entirely different perspective. A car is essential for me to get to work, since outside the city public transport is utterly hopeless.

[patman post]

Can you imagine racing cars trundling around at 30mph?

Generally the faster something is the more exciting it is likely to be.

That fast!?!?!

Where are we going to encourage and train our sports drivers of the future?

Currently, round London, you'd be hard pressed to find too many roads where you can put your foot down to reach a dizzying 30mph — most of those that aren't blocked off to through traffic are limited to 20mph!!!

Only 20 years ago, it was legal on some roads to get up to 50. Now the speed merchants are all on electric scooters done up to look like motor bikes...