My eye! Sweet Jesus, Ouch!

[wilfire]

Last time my card got used for fraud the guy rang up (actual real human or Nationwide have managed to pass the Turing test) asking me about the last three transactions. a phone top up (I'm on a contract) a donation to the world wildlife fund and a soldering iron (which was actually mine)

 

The thing I thought was weird if your going to take some ones card details why would you only use it for a phone top up and a donation to a charity? Seems like a strange thing to rob some one for. Maybe some one with delusions of being Robin Hood. Also you would think a phone top up would be quite traceable if the bank could actually be bothered to do any thing about it.

[Brick]

I got a visit from the local plod, they had done a random check of a few outlets and it turns out my card had been cloned. They informed my bank (who cancelled it and sent me a new one) unfortunately not before I had rather a large order cancelled cos of the cancelled card and it was only after that that I got the notification. (nice of them to visit though).

[Desolation mkII]

Ironically, a few years back, a little worse the wear, in Amsterdam, I got a call from the credit card company asking me what my last transaction was & if I know where my card was. I was so stoned, I couldn't answer either of those questions. Lucky for me, they canceled the card as it was being used to buy things in Taiwan. I had in deed lost it! The card that is.

 

There was a classy one when I was in Amsterdam. There was me, two Americans and an Aussie guy and none of us knew each other, we were just in the same hostel at the same time so went around together. anyway, long story short, the Aussie dropped his phone in the canal, so he was quite annoyed, as it meant he then had to go buy a new one in Holland on a dutch sim. Anyhow, we go to get some money out to do this, and I don't know what went wrong, but the machine ate his card and it was just the luck on his face as he sort of stood there gaping at his machine with no money and no phone (and of course no numbers) 7000 miles away from home. I felt very sorry for him.

[Azubi]

The thing I thought was weird if your going to take some ones card details why would you only use it for a phone top up and a donation to a charity? Seems like a strange thing to rob some one for. Maybe some one with delusions of being Robin Hood. Also you would think a phone top up would be quite traceable if the bank could actually be bothered to do any thing about it.

 

You think that is silly, we were talking about this at work a couple of week back and one of the lads was saying his card was used to buy car insurance. Needless to say they got the idiot straight away.

[greg]

Anyhow, we go to get some money out to do this, and I don't know what went wrong, but the machine ate his card and it was just the luck on his face as he sort of stood there gaping at his machine with no money and no phone (and of course no numbers) 7000 miles away from home. I felt very sorry for him.

Which is why experienced travelers, always go into the bank, to get money out! That & slightly less chance of being mugged.

 

Simple thing really, no matter what happens, the cashier will usually let you have your card back, especially if you are desperate & away from home.

 

 

Greg.

[GuzziHero]

Guzz, as most of your rants are Guzzi related, ever thought about getting a Honda?

 

 

AWW HELL NO! I'd rather drive a BMW than ride a Honda!

 

Guzzis are great, just...character building.

 

For example, today's rant...I have finally learned how to ride the Griso 1100...like a 2-stroke.

 

It pulls like a horse from 4000rpm, but I like engine braking to stabilise the back end. And that doesnt come in till 6000 rpm. So I rode yesterday from Stoke to Sheffield only using 2000rpm of the power band. Turns out, the fuel injection has a stepper motor so it reduces the engine braking. I'm getting rid of that ASAP!

[Stealthbomber]

Guzz, as most of your rants are Guzzi related, ever thought about getting a Honda?

Would you consider living on microwave meals just cos cooking a proper dinner is sometimes a hassle?

 

FWIW, I don't really buy into the whole "unreliable" thing.

The main difference is that a Bike like a Guzzi (or my Ducati) will usually let you know it's feeling poorly and then leak fuel, oil or electricity from somewhere to tell you why it's sick.

 

By contrast, a Honda will just sit there and stubbornly refuse to run without giving you the vaguest hint of why.

 

I currently have an R1 at my disposal and it's positively schizophrenic.

Sometimes it goes like stink and other times it can barely get away from the lights without stalling.

There's a procedure for interrogating the ECU which will sometimes show a fault but then, the next time you look at it, it's not registering a fault any more.

The digital instruments also do this odd thing where you'll roll to a stop at the lights and the speedo will still be telling you you're doing 35mph and the temperature gauge just sits at 65c or whatever.

If you turn off the ignition and turn it back on again it starts reading properly again... until the next time.

 

I think it needs a man in a white coat to come and plug a laptop into it.

Me, I prefer bikes I can fix with spanners.

[Spudgun]

The DVLA. Oh God, do I hate the DVLA!! I want to Register my imported Enfield Lightning 500. I have to supply an original piece of paper that states the date of manufacture. I supplied it with my application. The DVLA rejected my application. They wouldn't accept the aforementioned piece of paper because it had the dealers name printed on it instead of Royal Enfield! Just how petty can you get? I was so angry, I made crank phone calls to the DVLA for the next three days (Fonejacker would've been proud).

[GuzziHero]

Would you consider living on microwave meals just cos cooking a proper dinner is sometimes a hassle?

 

FWIW, I don't really buy into the whole "unreliable" thing.

The main difference is that a Bike like a Guzzi (or my Ducati) will usually let you know it's feeling poorly and then leak fuel, oil or electricity from somewhere to tell you why it's sick.

 

By contrast, a Honda will just sit there and stubbornly refuse to run without giving you the vaguest hint of why.

 

I currently have an R1 at my disposal and it's positively schizophrenic.

Sometimes it goes like stink and other times it can barely get away from the lights without stalling.

There's a procedure for interrogating the ECU which will sometimes show a fault but then, the next time you look at it, it's not registering a fault any more.

The digital instruments also do this odd thing where you'll roll to a stop at the lights and the speedo will still be telling you you're doing 35mph and the temperature gauge just sits at 65c or whatever.

If you turn off the ignition and turn it back on again it starts reading properly again... until the next time.

 

I think it needs a man in a white coat to come and plug a laptop into it.

Me, I prefer bikes I can fix with spanners.

 

Ironically, I recently went from having microwave meals to cooking my own dinners because apart from the quality being so much better, I prefer having some input into my input if you know what I mean

 

Very true on Japanese bikes, too. Yeah, the Griso speedo sensor died, but its a known fault, and is sortable with ease. The Yamaha RXS died and I never found out why, the Suzuki GSX400FX never wanted to work despite going through a complete fault finding routine on it, and the FZR was just finicky as hell.

 

I consider that spannering a bike is part of the whole ownership package and I feel a lot more confident doing that on a Guzzi or a cheap Chinese bike than I do on a Japanese. Anything went wrong with the FZR, it went to the repair shop. Whereas Im happy to disassemble the Guzzis myself. If I moan more about the Guzzis than my older bikes, its because I'm doing stuff for myself for a change.

 

It is exactly why I got a Cali with carbs, instead of fuel injection. Its tech that I know

 

---

Spudgun, does the dealer slip not actually say the make and model on it? If so, the DVLA are indeed knobs!

[Moriquende]

Managed to slice palm open using a box cutters yesterday, needed 4 stiches.

 

I usually wear gloves, but this one time I didn't for some reason and naturally I managed to cut myself.

 

 

A pic of the result.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v507/Moriquende/IMG_6041.jpg

[Hedganian]

Them thar gloves exist for a reason...

 

Like the stylish blue stitches, by the way...

[Spudgun]

Spudgun, does the dealer slip not actually say the make and model on it? If so, the DVLA are indeed knobs!

 

The Certificate not only has the make and model, it's got the frame and engine numbers and date of manufacture as well as those details that you'd find on the Specification page of the Owners Handbook.

[Moriquende]

Them thar gloves exist for a reason...

 

Like the stylish blue stitches, by the way...

I did have the choice of yellow, pink and black aswell, but I'm more of a blue guy.

[mattmanic]

I am now seriously considering giving myself a bad cut for some pink stitches...

[Hedganian]

On any other day, that would seem strange

[Skarclaw]

semi related, I was cutting a muffin (breakfast sort) and I cut my thumb, in the intrests of science, I put some malt vinegar on it, which didn't sting at all, then rubbed some salt on it, which did sting a bit, but it stopped the bleeding. I have no idea why, but there you go.

[mattmanic]

Mabe your body was thinking, "What the *fruitcage* is he going to put in me next? I'd better stop bleeding."

 

On a similarly semi related note. I was filing/nibbling some aluminium today, and I got about 4 splinters And not easy to get out, just find some pliers, splinters. They were of the really painful stuck under the skin variety.

[Hedganian]

Ooooh.... Aluminium poisoning....

[greg]

1, Would you consider living on microwave meals just cos cooking a proper dinner is sometimes a hassle?

 

2, Me, I prefer bikes I can fix with spanners.

1, Yes.

 

2, Me too.

 

 

Greg.

[amateurstuntman]

Me, I prefer bikes I can fix with spanners hammers.

 

Fixed.

 

I have moved house.

 

The surveyor gave me a list of faults as long as your arm including a new boiler and a re-wire.

He (like me) thought the floor was concrete in the kitchen because there was a bit of concrete showing by the door and 20mm ply board over the rest of the floor.

I took up the ply board so that I could clean up all the mould and discovered that the concrete only covered ¼ of the floor.

Under the ply board on the rest of the floor was more rotten ply board, under that was rotten floor boards.

At that point I noticed the concrete was only 20mm thick and on top of more rotten wood.

I pulled the boards up to discover rotten joists.

Where the joists go into the wall the bricks are in a bad way too.

 

I am livid, you know sometmes you are doing a job and you are confident that you can do it then a few things go wrong.

That's OK, you can still fix it.

Then a few more things go wrong, now you start to feel a bit out of your depth.

 

I am well beyond my building experience now.

 

I'm going to fix it properly this time though, this house deserves better than the cardboard cutout *Ubar* that lived here before me.

I'm glad he got his house repossessed.

 

Repair the brickwork, fit new air bricks, all new treated wood joists, quality boards, self levelling epoxy flooring and a nice hard glitter impregnated epoxy floor.

[Habakure]

If you can't fix a house with a hammer, its time to move.

[greg]

My rant today (& it's only early) is the price of motor bikes.

 

They make no effin sense.

 

I'm currently contemplating another 'little' bike.

 

I usually do the luxurious thing of having a 'big bike' for best & a 'little bike' for general. But currently, I am lacking in the little bike area.

 

Previous 'little bikes' have included dt125, z250, klx250, rd350, you get the idea.

 

This time I fancied another off roader, trials type thing & sort of settled on a brand new Yamaha WR250R.

 

But, they want over, *fruitcage* SIX GRAND for it & can go *fruitcage* 'emselves.

 

I mean, six grand? Come on! It's a bloody 250. I can get a 2 yr old R1 for that sort of money. I just cant get my head round this. It's only 2 grand less than a CB1000r! It makes no sense at all. It's a 'little bike' for gods sake!

 

I think I'd better stick my head in a bucket & calm down before I hurt my self. This is ridiculous. Six *fruitcage* grand. They can stick it up their *fruitcage* *albartroth*. You can't expect any one to pay that. It's a Yamaha for *fruitcage*s sake. They are biodegradable. It wont last longer than 2 years. In 3 years, it'll be a pile of red & black dust.

 

I had about 4k laying about in cash & figured I'd nip down the shop & by a new bike this afternoon. & have change for the cinema. & chips.

 

Wankers!

 

 

Greg.

[Tinkerton]

buy a car

 

rant: cheap cars

 

bought my car for £50. laugh all you want, but i've been using it for best part of 4 months now, and its brilliant. squeaky heater fan but nothing dangerous.

 

now, after wondering why my brake fluid was leaking (had to keep topping it up every week or so) and the nearside front of the car was making an ominous squeaking noise, i decided to stick it up on a ramp one lunch time and have a look.

 

 

nearside front shock absorber: leaking

 

nearside rear wheel brake cylinder: leaking

 

offside rear handbrake cable: not working

 

all rear brake shoes: pretty much nonexistant.

 

 

ahh well, least i only paid £50 for it! still, it had to come just as i'm moving house.

[GuzziHero]

Cars are for people who dont have the balls or brains to ride bikes

 

Greg - check out some of the Chinese offerings.

 

http://www.chinesemotorcycledealers.co.uk/products9.html

http://www.superbyke.co.uk/

http://www.pulsemoto.co.uk/motorcycles.php

http://chinesebikesdirect.co.uk/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1_4

 

Maybe a Syperbyke RMR200?

[Stealthbomber]

My rant today (& it's only early) is the price of motor bikes....

I remember when the price of a new DT125 first crept over £1,500 and thought it was bonkers.

 

A mate of mine has just flogged an R-reg CBR600 for £600 and replaced it with a mint Blackbird he bought for £3k.

 

I know fuel economy and maintenance should be factored in but there's so many dirt-cheap middleweights around these days that I'd probably never be able to force myself to buy a little bike again.