GMB

32 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

Buy a Chevy Aveo instead 

If you buy one of these we will need to re-title the thread from End of a dream to Beginning of a nightmare.😨

We're so poor that thieves feel sorry for us and leave range rovers in our driveway. Which comedian said that they thought all bedspreads had sleeves and that he thought cutlery was jewellery?

12 hours ago, RadicalCoupe-Fuji said:

Im surprised its not made from plastic

Yes, Plastic seems all the rage nowadays. Is that a good thing? Dunno.  This was an older car about 20 yrs and I think it was a renault 19 although we did not hang around to check. Plastic bends and does not rust but I wonder about the longevity. How many classics will be around in 40 yrs time with plastic panels? I think Lexus use a bit less plastic than most other manufacturers apart from the lower front and rear "bumper" panels.

The trend has been to use thinner metal in car bodies for quite a while now, using structural creases to give rigidity and strength, a bit like origami. The thinnest metal that I have come across was on Fiat, Renault and Citroen. Oh, and by the way, it makes them cheaper to make and slightly more economical ( lower weight ).  A little story: The Missus tripped over a kerb while on holiday and luckily there was a car parked at the crossing ( typical Italian drivers parking anywhere.) Fortunately she saved herself from a nasty fall by pushing on the car rear wing with her hands. The wing was severely dented in two places where her hands made contact. We quietly moved on without looking back.😉  BTW It was a Renault and No she is not overweight.😅

I have been advised to leave the trickle charger on all the time the car is not used ( only goes out in the sunshine - so not very often ). It works fine and once it reaches max it sits on "maintain" usually drawing 0 Amps most of the time, dropping from 14V / 2A to 12.6V / 0A once it has reached stability.

Before that, I would put the car on charge every fortnight. It would fully charge after about 7 hrs gradually reducing the current draw to almost 0.

Both systems worked but I think permanently on trickle is the way these chargers are designed to function best.

On 6/6/2024 at 10:01 AM, RONNIE W HODGEKINSON said:

Curiously, my home insurers have gone one step further and upped their premium by 118% Cheerio RIAS I'm leaving you after 13 years and having never made a claim!

Me too, no claims on any insurance just to be presented with massive hikes in prices - not fair is it? It's a pity really, to have paid them for 13 yrs and and only got a bit of peace of mind. What about burning the house down while you are still insured by them? Get all the valuables out first and replace it with old rubbish furniture maybe.  Oh hang on, we can't do that it's illegal.😔

2 hours ago, Boomer54 said:

And that's before consider the hazard from aging drivers driving V8's

It could be worse than that - ageing riders on Harley V twins with very loud exhausts.

Yes definitely Madeira - Just looked at the Daily expressrag headline ( yes they really are bonkers ) . Putin is going to drop an atomic bomb on Paris during the Olympic games. It must be true because the express says so.😬. Run for the hills!😮

Expect the worst then at least you won't be disappointed. I wish I knew the answer but I am afraid the world is going down the pan.

I might just consider an island with low taxation away from potential nuclear fallout and civil unrest. Madeira?? Hmm? nice biking roads. Good wine- sercial verdelho bual and so on...

Apologies for the "Carry on" double entendre style remarks. I just couldn't resist it. I think we should be talking about hairline??

  So the old joke goes -  ---    --  Like the bald sales chap that turned up at the door and my son answered and shouted " Dad! - There's a man at the door with a bald head.  "Tell him I've already got one" I said.😭

12 minutes ago, HPS13 said:

2 hours ago, RadicalCoupe-Fuji said:

I got my road tax reminder this week & it says in red writing that tax on hybrid & ev cars will be going up in 2025.

I received my reminder yesterday and unless yours is different to mine, the red writing actually says - From 1 April 2025, vehicle tax rates will change for electric vehicles and low emissions cars. 

Link to the Gov UK info on this - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/vehicle-tax-for-electric-and-low-emissions-vehicles#:~:text=From 1 April 2025%2C drivers,pay a fairer tax contribution.

It all looks a bit ominous for all of us🤨

Road surfaces make a massive difference. Whatever happened to those "quiet surfaces" that seemed to be all the rage a few years ago, brought in to make things better for local residents originally?

2 hours ago, RadicalCoupe-Fuji said:

I got my road tax reminder this week & it says in red writing that tax on hybrid & ev cars will be going up in 2025. At least it won't be £750 a year though.

Just paid £404 for 6 months. Ever get the feeling that you have been robbed? I did. I can't see living standards improving any time soon.  Just to cheer myself up I am going back to the hairy crack post on this forum.🤪

1989    -     179mph ( on the speedo ) on a TT spec V&M racing tuned Yamaha FZR 1000 Exup, de-restricted, gas flowed with Cobra straight thro' exhaust and free flow air filter.  Never again!!😮

18 hours ago, Sundance said:

Itheo was right, there is a hairy crack

Really sorry to hear about the hairy crack, but after studying the photo I can only say that I have certainly seen a few other hairy cracks which are far more interesting than that one.🙀

2 hours ago, Charlie Chaplin said:

there is a hairy crack

Sorry?  I beg your pardon?🤔

Maybe I am getting too soft but I try not to go over 100mph even for the shortest bursts of speed on "apparently" quiet roads as it is an instant ban followed by the insurance rip-off merchants jumping on the bandwagon. Too many cameras.

When I first got the isf I gave it a little test - kick down at 65 mph on the motorway. Before I knew it the thing had leapt up to 120mph and was still picking up speed very rapidly. I had heard that the UK export models were limited to 176mph - I will not be finding out if that is true.😉

Unfortunately they all seem to be jumping on the bandwagon, getting together and ripping us off. After 5 hours - yes - 5 hours of frustrating searches I finally went with Hastings for one car ( 30% up on last yr and £600 excess instead of £200 ).  Some wanted 70% and some were off the scale.  NFU spent 40 mins arguing whether the H&S catback exhaust system was performance or cosmetic, then asked for a stupid premium - no thanks.

3 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

Winter lasts until June 1st now

Correct.  In the UK it seems to, certainly this year. It's only just stopped raining since September last year.

20 hours ago, Mossypossy said:

Get those cars out of their garages and on the road

My ISF is back in business / on the road starting today after SORN for winter.  Sailed through the MOT, Ridiculous £ 404 for 6 months road tax!!!?* £ 600 Insurance ( up from £475 ) . I am sure that the road tax went up by about £20 for no known reason since last week? Next job is run it to empty and put fresh Vpower in it.  Still starts instantly on the button and runs smooth as silk - lovely! I asked the MOT guy, while the car was on the ramp,  to check underneath for his opinion on rust and the possible need for some kind of treatment. His opinion was that it was fine as it is and only superficial rust on some components which were very robust and not affected by it. Therefore carry on just keeping it dry and away from salty roads whenever possible.🫠. Now it is ready for the Italian tune up and blow the cobwebs out of it - can't wait!😃

12 hours ago, Linas.P said:

But what are the odds that same person crashed two cars on the same private plate and I happened to find both of them 6 months apart?!

The odds are probably a bit better than winning the lottery and a bit less than getting run over by a bus.☺️

Maybe I don't like too many uncertainties or doubts but you would not see me for dust anywhere near those cars. One cannot be sure of anything but gut feeling counts for a lot.  Buyer beware is the order of the day, at least for me it is😉.

Still beautiful after all these years. I paid just under £10K new, I think,  in 1986. I wish my Lexus looked as nice instead of looking like a tart's bedroom with all those curvy bits and pretend go faster swoops and gizmos etc. I actually saw it again about 10 yrs after I traded it in, it was well battered - such a shame.

A 1987 Toyota Corolla GT AE86 has achieved a record price of £46,250 on the Car & Classic online auction platform. This beats the previous US record price of $40,000 (£29,004) set in March 2021. Known affectionately by its internal chassis code of AE86, it's the most iconic member of the Toyota Corolla family

I bought one of these new from Doug Hacking M/cycles in 1975 for £1250. I should have wrapped it in cotton wool and kept it!

I was severely tempted by the old two stroke KH750 but it was even more deadly than the 900. Tries to chuck you off at over 130mph with a tank slapper when you tried to slow down/ roll off the throttle/ weight shifts over front wheel/ goes bananas. Scared me to death, never went over 120 ever again.

12 hours ago, dutchie01 said:

Is that a two stroke? Bit of a classic it will be easy to sell. Long ago i had an RC350LC twin 2 stroke. Hated that bike! The smoke on start up was enough for the fire brigade to panic and it was so peaky that below 7000rpm nobody was home and then all power came at once. Too difficult to ride for me you always had to mind the revs in corners make sure you are in the powerband or it will throw you off.  Hated it. Got a Suzuki GS550 4 cylinder after that. 

Maybe start a new topic " Cars that I should have kept that have gone up in price massively since I had one". Such as my old Toyota Corolla GT Twin Cam AE86 - worth a fortune now🙁

OMG Plumbers and nightmare comes to mind. What ever happened to lovely engines under a clutter free bonnet

I remember a friend tipping me off to mark the plugs and oil filter with a dot of paint to check that they had actually been changed🙈