the amazing JRA[/url] have just moved to york

Can’t comment as am on a pre abs 1150gs which suits me at the moment. Am looking to update hopefully and will be testing gs GSA and xr, be interested on your thoughts allthegear?
At present am happy with air cooled lumpiness and the fact I can service it with the original tool kit in my garage without the need for a computing degree! Also I can take it offroad (have done) and not wince every time I go over a bigger than I thought step!

I’m enjoying a cotic escapade after possibly 20+ years of nothing but mtb’s
I love it’s braking capability and to me it’s fun and comfy and everything I wanted (including thru axle front and hydraulic brakes). Rear sliding dropouts are an acquired taste and can cause mutterings when changing tyres or getting the wheel out.
Plus it’s pretty loud.

ahwiles, I haven’t a clue. I hope it’s that, although the star (reputable I know) has a bit about the plant winning an award not long a go!
It looks very serious from what I saw. I hope they don’t damage the deer population.

glad I asked!

I really enjoyed to kill a mockingbird, not long but a good read.
loved the hundred year old man who climbed out of a window and disappeared. give it time!

Love ours to pieces, it’s a 63 plate estate, petrol and it’s perfect for us. On a run to Pembrokeshire, four times a year, get low forties mpg. Round Sheffield I get low twenties but then enjoy the acceleration and handling.
The boot is incredible, front seats very comfy, back ones are comfy but the view out isn’t great. I have winter tyres for ours and they don’t do anything to the mpg but make it into a capable snow car. The water pump played up on ours but replaced under warranty and never been a problem since. Doubt I’ll have anything else unless I win the lottery…id still keep the vrs though.
Oh it’s a manual btw.

Jv, I hear you but all things have their place, centimetres place is in the bin.!

Having done this for a living once upon a time. Keep it simple and fun. I did a session over four weeks, two hours a week, and got the little blighters to drawer, sketch, think and talk about engineering. We ended up building little cotton bobbin motors, pencils and rubber bands.
Possible pitfalls, depending on the school some of the language engineers see as normal will baffle the kids and the teacher alike. Don’t expect them to write loads. They will use centimetres, grrrr. They will, depending on the school or the teacher be cheeky and look for your weaknesses. Don’t give any opportunity for them to get a head of steam.
Pictures paint a thousand words, PowerPoint is great for starting conversations. Have a starting point, they know little or nothing and a point where you’d like them to be by the end.
Again keep it simple, stamp on discipline, have something they take away from the session (if it’s something they’ve made it will be with them for longer).
Good luck

buxton is ok, quaint and a bit odd. the museum is odd but good! not obvious.
macclesfield have the treacle market…..

The simple answer is yes, the full answer is yes but it takes time and mistakes. Having survived being a design and tech teacher and seeing what students can come up with when given freedom was amazing.
If you’re good on cad I’d suggest buying some pencils and paper! My old lecturer said creativity slaughtered at the alter of productivity. Cad is a brilliant tool and I teach that now at college but it limits you. It limits you in a way the stifles the flair, that’s why many car designers still do the clay model thing. Pencil and paper gives more freedom of movement, it can be turned upside down but still be facing forward and added to modified.
Play about with shapes, I’d get my students to have a sheet of a3 and scribble with their eyes closed, nice flowing big scribbles and use the whole piece of paper, no sharp movements. Once they’d done that take a few minutes and see what shapes they could see.
Get inspired, books are great, better than the Internet, take time turning the pages and really see the designs. The internet is too quick! You scan over stuff and don’t take time to take it in. Look at the classics, gaudi to me is superb and flawed, Bauhaus is fascinating, to me, but restrictive. I love rennie mackintosh or the feel of it but it can be fussy. Make your own way.
Look at the material you want to use, is there a clue there? Oak was used for war ships partly because of its strength but also partly because of the way it grows. Look at natures way of creating strength if you’re doing a structure, there millions of years of practice there.
Play. Enjoy it don’t force it.
Yes you can be creative, it just takes time and open eyes,ears and brain.

Vw touran. Berated on here by many for being boring, I loved ours. No it wasn’t an inspiring drive nor was it quick and it didn’t attract the opposite sex. But it was blooming great as a family car and would fit three kiddie seats across the back with loads of room in the boot for all their associated stuff.

I love ours. It’s a fantastic car. Thought it a little harsh to start with but soon got used to it and find it incredibly comfortable except on some of Sheffield’s worst roads. More than makes up for itself on welsh mountain roads though.
We tested the diesel and ordered one but ended up with a petrol. Very long story. The diesel is a stocking motor so much addictive torque, loads of fun. The petrol isn’t quite as torquey but has more bhp, lovely and quiet, fast, stable, will slide if you’re lead footed in the corners or crack handed but I’ve managed some rediculous corner speeds with no under steer, the fancy inside wheel braking system helps with that.
Adaptive headlights are simply superb, looking round the corner where you’re going, makes night driving safer and quicker. We’ve had ours coming up for two years and it’s still on original pads, original tyres (have got a winter set too but neither are near replacing any time soon).
It has loads of room in it, the seats are comfy and supportive. The only negative for the seating is the rear passengers don’t have a very good view out the front as the front seats are quite big and solid.
Fuel economy isn’t great on the petrol. Round town, being sensible I can get low thirties (very sensible), being in a rush brings that way down to high teens! Out in countryside though thirties to forties is the norm even being enthusiastic.
Oh and you can get a 29er in the boot, wheels out, saddle down, with the parcel shelf in place and the back seats up! Do that in your beemers!
Negatives, view from the back (I’m the only driver in our house so not an issue!), some of the trim is too shiny on sunny days causes the odd reflection where I wouldn’t want it. People who are small in the trouser department say why didn’t you buy an Audi…..
All in all I love ours, test one I’ll be surprised if you are disappointed at that price.

Sorry but I have to rise to the troll that is Tom. It’s rare even on here that someone is so insensitive and rediculously pompous that it makes me angry.
Bullheart and Keith are living examples of spirit and good souls who don’t rise to door handles like you. Gents I salute you and hope you’re doing ok.
I think I wish I’d had toms foresight and then wouldn’t have been able to read his comment and respond as I doubt they have wifi in the afterlife.
Oh and to answer the op, I did a reasonable amount of crying, lots of hugging and being with loved ones. Five years ago….

Cheers spawn but I’m sure it was thomas and Roche rolling their sleeves.

Our sounds fab, nowt like a v8! It’s a brilliant car, nothing fake about it, quick handles well huge boot (takes a 29er full sus, wheels out, parcel shelf in place seats up!) very comfortable, petrol not so economic but cheaper and mucho fun. Love the details like the steering headlights and the fact it has a proper handbrake!

I have a question. Why did the sky riders hide the flags on their sleeves at the bottom of the climb?

border terrier here! it’s fab, it’ll run all day (so long as its not too hot) doesn’t take up much room in the car when we travel to pembs from sheffield. it’s fairly stubborn (has character), is great with the kids and can be trained but you have to be really consistent with training.
Negatives, it’s stubborn (terrier), it’s grumpy on the lead, it chases sheep when it gets the chance and due to it thinking it’s a big dog when it has a scrap with a boxer it hurts it’s back and has to be lifted everywhere for two weeks.
It’s right as rain now and having been reserved about getting a pooch I have to say I love the damn thing and wouldn’t be without it!

Torq rhubarb and custard. Really gentle on my gluten/pine nut/beef sensitive stomach!

OLD is how I feel! Just going on standard engineering abbreviations. OD outside diameter, ID internal or inside diameter.

I may be missing something here but the original post asked about the OD of the hub ends being a certain size. Now being a pedant, OD To me means outside diameter and there fore the round bit around the aperture in which the axle passes.
Having done a fair, too much, amount of research into hubs and standards etc there aren’t any, I’ve found, which specific the outside diameter of the flange. It’s getting better for the front as many manufacturers are putting recesses into the forks to hold the hub in the right place for making fitting easier.
The rear often doesn’t get this luxury, although it needs it.
If you’re asking about the overall width of the hub then everything above this post makes sense.

Love the look of the tesla and the idea of a high class alternatively powered vehicle.
I don’t believe electrickery to be the future though, just a stop gap til someone does true white paper thinking and comes up with something properly better.

they’re not mussels you know. I tend to bite them and break the shell.

Love mine, attention to detail is superb and the feel is fabulous. Now have a reverb on another bike and would replace with a Thomson in a flash.
The reason I went Thomson was they do a 27.2 which is good for a bigger bloke. Rather than the cheaper ks. Glad I did.

use copper slip or an anti seize grease not just a normal one. The original maxles are reknown for sticking and they make bikes shops a lot of money removing them.

Not watched any but read them all. There was a step change a couple of times, like the stories were almost starting again as they introduced new scenarios and new characters. I don’t know where the story is on the box but the books ebb and flow and I cant wait for the next one to come out.

Octavia here, had a touran and really loved it but love the Octavia more, perhaps because its a vrs version so no remap needed! found that I can get a trek remedy 29er in the boot, wheels out, parcel shelf in place and rear seats up in the car! great when leaving it overnight. touran was better fuel wise but then the Octavia is more grin inducing.

Never had so many replies in such a short space of time……

Dan Wyre was at the top of the world cup descent, I haven’t found mine on his site yet but the link is here[/url]

Funky, have you driven one? It’s not a ferrari but for a reasonable size family car with a huge boot, comfort, practicality and cheap insurance it’s brilliant. It’s very quick, it corners incredibly well and puts a smile on my face every time I drive it. I drove the diesel on a test drive then have the petrol.
If you haven’t driven one how do you know what you’re talking about, if you have driven one what sports car are you comparing it to?

Vrs is superb. Just wrote a review but iPad crashed. It’s blooming brilliant.
Huge boot, winter tyres for six months. Economy not so good but it’s an absolute hoot to drive. Little things like the adaptive headlights make everything easier.
Drive one, I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

My heart and thoughts go out to you. You have been and remain an inspiration to many, me included and I hope you understand how amazing you are.
Sending you hugs and love. Manly type obviously.

Great thread, one of the most interesting here for a long while. My daughter is playing u11 and wears a scrum cap, mostly to keep her hair in place. The protection it offers is minimal but it’s safer than her having a pony tail.
Love the comments about halfpenny, brave but foolish. And the choke tackle, having spent Easter being beaten to a pulp by my seventeen year old nephew, sixteen stone and six eight I wish he’d never learned it!
As for what does a cauli ear say to an employer, depends on the employer. My old boss had two cauli ears and if you played for the right team you got part way through the interview talking about rugby!
I love the game and my daughter enjoys it immensely, the best thing is the respect the players show each other and the ref. yes it’s hard and dangerous but it’s honest and honourable.

I agree with woody, my dad has one of the older versions and it’s nice but the boot is small and the space in the back is tight. How old are the kids? Mine are 13 and 10 and when they go out with grampa they have to think about how much stuff they take to the caravan for the weekend. he does tow with it and has said its good for it but check your axle weights!
It’s been really reliable and still looks nice, goes well too.
Hate to throw a curve ball in there but have you looked at the skoda yeti? Bigger inside, and great build quality. We have an octavia estate which is brilliant and has a huge boot which swallows all the associated kit caboodle and dog an active family needs for a week away. But it’s not four wheel drive. That said winter tyres on and haven’t been stuck all winter and we live in Sheffield which seems to be reasonable hilly.
Good luck

I can whole heatedly recommend the polar v800. I only went for that over the 400 as the 800 has a vibra alert and as I’m half deaf I never hear beeps from my wrist.
Battery life is, I think great, use it as a normal watch every day and run bike twice a week with it on gps and charge it every two or three weeks. It charges when you upload your training so that probably helps but I’ve been very impressed with the lack of charging I’ve HAD to do.

Why would you? Stiffer and safer and in sme cases quicker to use. Why would you go backwards?

Thomson, lovely, well made and lovely to use. Oh and seemingly rock solid under my seventeen stone (fully laden) frame.

That is very cool. It won’t replace 3d printers as the accuracy isn’t there but as an art tool or a tool for getting an idea across its brill. Wonder if you can do lost wax casting from it?

just a note on the lighting, If you intend to have a lathe in there, wood turning or metal turning, make sure you have a seperate light source for it which has a none flickering light. Tubes and some LED’s can give a strobe effect when using a lathe, leading to epileptic episodes or thinking the chuck is still when it’s actually turning.

At 16.5 stone or whatever it is in new money I looked at the ks but was put off by the weight limit. Have gone for a Thomson and am so happy with it. It’s beautifully made and so smoooooth in operation I use it in the corners as well as the steeps it’s a game changer!