Most people I know don't seem to bother, but setting up your suspension (existing or upgraded) properly can make a big difference to a vehicle.

Dirt Bike Suspension Set up.

It does takes time to get it right, but good forks/shock badly set up incorrectly won't help.

Anyway, ride a hardtail and you've only got half the suspension to worry about.

But if your foolish enough to carry it in an airport in your hand luggage then that's a different matter.

I was foolish enough to have my Leatherman in my hand luggage when I boarded a plane, but nothing was said to me.
-It was an internal flight in Argentina though…

On our return to Europe we had our

(bought at the Buenos Aires Duty Free) confiscated though 😆

sharkbait – Member

Gordini: Saw a girl who had one for a while – she was a bit nuts but a great shog. Don't remember much about the car

Bunnyhop – Member

I owned a Renault Gordini turbo.

Friends Reunited?

The simple fact is that the daily mail agenda of lock 'em up and throw away the key simply does not work –

Indeed. Look at the USA.

…………….actually Mike, any night in Durham during term time

Apart from the weekend, when they're all scared the locals will beat them up.

I once ventured into the legendary Fighting Cocks with another student(but Geordie, so slightly local-ish) on a Saturday night. We were 'be-friended' by an incomprehensible local who looked like he would like to rip our arms off. To be honest, coming from a fairly rum northern town myself, it didn't seem particularly dodgy.

And yes, Durham was full of rah-types, which isn't a problem in itself, but I was glad to get away in the end.

Aristotle
North(west)erner
Mildert, '96-'00

I witnessed him speaking at our university union society about 15 years ago.

He was very impressive and interesting. A very intelligent man of integrity.

Does it ever claim any non-vague-'celebrity' victims?

Radio 3 appears to have dis-proportionately large budget, although possibly less dis-proportionate than Jonathan Ross, Anne Robinson or Graham Norton…

And the weaklings are going to get it. 6 Music isn't worth saving – there is not enough about it that has made it worth saving.

Unlike BBC3 & BBC4 (should just be on BBC2), 24hr rolling 'news', 1Extra, BBC Parliament etc. etc.?

I agree. Please do take the time to fill in the form on the BBC Trust website.

I did it last night and it didn't take long. There are 12 sections (including filling in your name, ethnicity etc.) each of which is fairly brief.

Don't forget George Lamb

That's the only silver lining I can find in all this…

Maybe he could 'take one for the team' and do what a defeated samurai would do, but with his fog horn. It may be enough to save 6Music.

Early Antarctic exploration when it went wrong (and when it went right):
g

Look up Ernest Shackleton

Anyway where are the facebook haters, they should be here by now.

not hate, just apathy

The cynic may say that that 6Music has been offered up as a (blatantly non-commercial….)sacrifice to appease their commercial rivals, saving their truly commercial MOR-pop-plugging flagship stations R1 & 2.

I wonder if they anticipated the scale of the backlash?

Listening to the radio through the TV? Huh?

It's not radio/'wireless' in the traditional sense and it may appear akin to witchcraft to the un-enlightened Luddite, but take a leap of faith and try it.

Or do as we do:

Cable box to an amplifier to speakers, bypassing the TV altogether.

Fight the Power on now – brilliant!

I requested that, along with many others!

Next year, apparently, although it will presumably be run-down as people leave/are made redundant.

Edric 64 – Member

Well so far I like the sound of 6 so maybe I care .It's a shame I can't get it in the van

You've just about hit the nail on the clichéd head.

DAB didn't take off so 6Music didn't get massive listener numbers, but the BBC aren't really promoting it anyway because it might be 'too competitive' if it does get more listeners.

to use another annoying cliché: Go figure.

Not sure I understand your point. XFM is ok as well, if you could get it where I live I'd probably listen to it. It's like 6Music only not as good.

XFM (as received in Manchester) has far too limited a playlist and devotes too much time to football at the weekends (or it did before I gave up on it).

Only available through a DAT radio or computer is not easily accessible. Not to me anyway.

It is available via the following:

DAB, Iplayer, Freeview, Sky, Virgin Cable.

Many people will have access to at least one of the above.

<Radio1 is> Still the only (easily accessible) radio station playing new, cutting edge music. Admittedly 80% of it is bilge, but the 20% would be a big hole.

May I introduce you to 6Music[/url]?

7.something million listerners to Chris Moyels

700,000 (rounding up to 100,000) listerners in total to 6music.

Unless it's total budget is <10% of Moyles wage, how can they justify it?

Read my post above. the DG says that if 6Music did increase its listener-ship then it would then be competing with commercial radio. which he presumably doesn't want to do, despite pushing Radio 1 & 2 to do exactly that.

Explain this.

Just because the majority want to watch very vaguely known former soap actors ice skating doesn't mean that that we should get rid of everything else. Some people enjoy being stimulated and informed.

I just heard a quote from Mark Thompson DG of the BBC, along the lines of:
"If we were to double, or treble, the listeners <to 6Music> then the demographic would be competing hard with commercial radio"

I beg your pardon? Is he saying that Radio 1 and Radio 2, with their extensive TV and bill-board advertising don't compete with commercial radio??? Presumably BBC1 and BBC2 don't compete with commercial TV either.

So the DG of the BBC doesn't want more people to listen to 6Music?

Is this slightly odd or am I missing something?

Why doesn't he just dis-band the BBC completely? The less-than-superb quality of the low-intelligence, tacky, mass-market tosh dished-out by Sky and ITV can step-in and take over completely then.

Yes, look at ITV ….We rarely do.

6Music-Lite with adverts = XFM
ie. 10 mainstream indie chart songs, a bit of The Smiths and adverts.

http://www.petition.fm/petitions/6musicasiannet/1000/%5B/url%5D

simonfbarnes – Member

I must admit I'd never heard of it till this row started…

That is more a result of the lack of publicity given to the station than as a result of the station's output.

The row has finally brought 6Music to the attention of the masses.

6Music:
Informative, entertaining, intelligent, presented by credible enthusiasts, non-commercial, an un-rivalled breadth of new and old music.

All for the cost of 1.5 Jonathan Ross' types…

Why on Earth would it be cancelled?

Fight the Power!

Get in touch with the BBC Trust to raise your objections:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/index.shtml

Hora, you seem to know your stuff. Are you a seasoned professional?

An 80s 531 hack road bike with narrow flat bars, spd/flat pedals and Conti Ultra Gator 28mm tyres.

Rack with mudguard and a DIY crud catcher.

It looks rough, but it's quite nice to ride.

PeterPoddy – Member

And here's a better comparison to the 2.0TDi VW graphs. A 2.0TSi – Petrol Turbo

Exactly.

My petrol turbo also had a flat torque curve like that. It was fantastic to drive. My TD has a flat spot off tickover, a delay and then a lump of torque which gives a bit of shove, promises a lot …and then fails to deliver as it dies off fairly quickly.

At ~2000rpm in high gears it does pull quite well. 80-100mph (where conditions allow) is quite quick probably as it stays in the 'powerband' for longer in higher gear, but at medium speeds on back roads it's not that quick.

I'd much prefer a non-turbo 3.0 V6 petrol, but the fuel costs are prohibitive. I'll stick to a tractor for now(and re-consider the petrol/diesel issue when I look to swap) and the purity of a motorbike, which is much more fun.

Are you in complete denial?

I'm as keen on toys as the next man, but I suspect that you (& myself) may have less time to devote to them in the next couple of years…

A small coupé is not useful for carting things about, as you well know and an elderly hot hatch is for a keen spannerman.

A 3 car garage with toy room, a lift and every item from the Snap-On catalogue.

There's always next year.

Or am I dissecting the programme too much,instead of enjoying what was for once,a cracking episode?

Possibly, but they need to drop the pretence that it was a 'challenge'.
It was a drive around some woodland with some good bits, then over the Andes, mostly on a bus route. The dune part looked fun, although we used to ride down steeper slag heaps on cr*p mtbs as kids!

Me and the wife did much of the kind of thing that they were doing (apart from the jungle log bridge/winching stuff) in a Ford Ecosport mini SUV whilst on holiday last year. It was great, but we weren't pushing back the frontiers of expeditioning.

They could have cut the boat bit and shown more of the area they were in and maybe shown them (or their mechanic) fixing the cars a bit rather than the miraculous recoveries from mechanical failure that appeared to be taking place.

in the shot they showed next,with the wheel ripped off,the undamaged lights were clearly still visible,in situ,atop the roll bar!!

The wheel had come off very neatly too…

Proper South American off-roading in Range Rovers, helped by a Land Rover:
Blashford-Snell on the Hundered Days of Darien

ALthough it wasn't filmed for TV with 'hilarious' bits.

I've got an original hardback that my dad bought at the time -Looking at the second hand prices maybe I should sell it!

Much better than the rest of the series. The (absolutely not) 'hilarious' staged bits were unnecessary. The film didn't need it.

I dont think that the part where Clarkson was squeezing past the white Landcruiser on the 'death road' was staged

I suspect the white truck was one of their crew cars and the cameraman 'somehow' abseiled down the hill to film the gravel falling away from beneath the tyres just as it was all happening. Don't believe all you see on TV…..

I've just had a quick look on the www and that Krav Maga sounds very interesting.

For fitness and conditioning, boxing (western or Thai)at a good gym is probably hard to beat.

Indeed. It's a statistical fact that everyone (especially men) are above average.

I'm not that great a driver, just keen, interested and like to be aware of my surroundings.

I'm less heavy with the right foot now too. Less is more 🙂 and smoothness is the way forward, even if it is less fun than sliding about.

I've seen a lot of terrible driving in the recent snow though.

I'd consider myself to be a decent driver, only one accident in the seven months Ive been on the road

😆