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New Z1000 And An Update – I went to look at Kawasaki’s new range yesterday. The new Z1000 seemed to have everybody’s attention in the store but to be honest i’m not impressed on first impressions. Apparently the ride quality is excellent but the looks are a little extravagant. Sort of like last years Suzuki Gladius I suppose – you either love it or hate it. The colour is what really puts me off and the fact that it just looks kind of “fake”. It doesn’t give a look of character like many of it’s rival such as the Speed Triple (which is actually cheaper) and Ducati Streetfighter/Monster.

Your thoughts anyone?

I just though that i would give you a quick update. I will have an article up for you probably tomorrow although my reviewing has hindered my ability to actually create articles on here over the past week or so. This and the fact that i have a lot going on at the moment. Anyway,enough complaining.

I just thought that i would tell you that a guy cut me off today pulling out of a casino looking the wrong direction for traffic. I sounded the horn as normal and he didn’t even hear, he just carried on driving like nothing had even happened. When he pulled up to the lights i was just stood staring at him through his window as he sat there doped out of his mind staring aimlessly to the front. What a jackass. I don’t really know what the point of telling you that was, it’s a dangerous world out there when you have pot smoking casino goers driving around in red vans looking the wrong way for traffic. I was in no real danger as i had anticipated his movement a while ago and i had slowed down because i had seen my friend walking . Random eh? Update tomorrow!

One more thing – Royal Mail!? Would you mind knocking on the door and delivering my graphics card instead of shoving one of your pathetic excuses of a letter through to tell me that i have to wait 48 HOURS to pick up an extremely expensive graphics card when the depot is less than 1 mile away from my house! I was in, but they didn’t even bother knocking, i just heard the letter box go and the next thing you know the van goes shooting off up the hill. Lucky it isn’t one of my review items or i would be in deep shit.

Also i got these £250 ($450) earphones the other day (Creative Aurvana Air). The pouch they come with is made of Kangaroo leather and they are gold plated (i reviewed them but the company doesn’t like me to post here as well):

Viper RS-V121 Bluetooth Helmet Review: The Viper RS-V121 Bluetooth helmet was an interesting buy for me. My first flip-up helmet, my first Bluetooth helmet and my first helmet bought specifically with commuting in mind. Viper are a pretty new brand on the market which specialise in Bluetooth helmets and judging on the impression it has given me I am quite impressed.

Safety:

When buying a helmet which is produced from a company that is not well known I do some research before just to make sure the helmet won’t fall to pieces when I accidentally nudge it with my foot. So far I have never been let down and in fact one brand (KBC) has made me a life-long supporter.

The RSV121 has a 4* SHARP rating (the UK’s new advanced helmet rating system), this is frankly incredible for a flip-up helmet and to put that into comparison both Shoei and Shark flip-up’s which will set you back around £400 only scored 3*. Fortunately I have not had the first hand experience of crash testing this one but I am pretty confident that it should hold up. One more point is that the helmet is ACU Gold approved which means that you can also use it on track while talking to your buddies who are sat in IKEA’s kitchen department because they spent their money on a wedding.

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I decided to make a “Get Psyched Mix” (courtesy of HIMYM) for those days when i am feeling slightly less awesome than usual. There are some pretty awesome songs in here and some pretty strange ones which are designed more to make you “move” rather than pump you up. Obviously i can’t host the files here but i will create a CD link on some hosting site in the morning (2:43 AM here), if you don’t want to wait or only want some of the songs then feel free to just check out the list and choose the ones you’d like.

1. Scorpions – Rock You Like A Hurricane

2. Twisted Sisters – I want To Rock

3. Kenny Loggins – Highway To The Danger Zone

4. Bon Jovi – You Gave Love A Bad Name

5. The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again

6. Poison – Nothing But A Good Time

7. Ozzy Osbourne – Hellraiser

8. Loverboy – Everybody’s Working For The Weekend

9. Quiet Riot – Come On Feel The Noise

10. Iron Maiden – The Trooper

11. Smashmouth – I Get Knocked Down

12. Steppenwolf – Born To Be Wild

13. Guns And Roses – Welcome To The Jungle

14. Lynard Skynyrd – Preacher Man

15. 3 Doors Down – Kryptonite

16. Limp Bizkit – Keep Rollin

17. The Cardigans – My Favourite Game

18. Stacy Q – Two Of Hearts

19. Mickey Avalon – My Dick

20. Chesney Hawkes – I am The One And Only

Engine Misfire – Spark Plug Issues: Seeing as i have yet to complete my reviews yet (i get delivered my review catalogue tomorrow as well… finally back after the Christmas break) i thought that i would solve an engine misfire issue and add this to the riding tips category. Although not really a riding tip I believe that anyone who operates or owns a vehicle be it a motorcycle, car or whatever you’re into should have some basic knowledge of problems and solutions associated with that vehicle – preventative maintenance . Most of the information is generally straight forward which you can learn by simply observing the problem. But why not add a helpful resource to the site anyway?

The other day i started up my bike to let it run while i was giving it her a Winter polish. The temperature was around 0C (34F i believe) and after the bike had been running for a couple of minutes the engine suddenly started to run rough and uneven. A few minutes later and some fiddling around and the bike was starting to only use one cylinder (V Twin bike). This is commonly referred to as Engine Misfire and is easily and cheaply resolved. Generally engine misfire is caused by spark plugs which have become black and worn out (basically), although this is not the only reason for engine misfire – 99% of the time it is. So what do you do?

My Used Spark Plug

Simply take out the spark plug and check to see whether the thread is black (you’ll probably need some sort of specialised spanner). If not then you have another issue on your hands which may be more serious. However if your bike has gone for a length of time without the spark plugs being changed then it is most likely going to be this anyway. How do you fix it then? Buy some new ones. There are kits which can clean the plugs but for the price it is much better to simply buy some new ones. They are usually around £6 each ($9) so it is not the end of the world. A more troublesome problem if you use your bike as the only form of transport like myself is that parts take a couple of days to ship in and while the engine is misfiring it is not advised to run the bike as damage could incur to the engine. Just don’t do it. Well, luckily most motorcycle shops keep a wide range of spark plugs already in stock so all i did was go out the same day and buy two. Problem solved. Fitting the plugs takes all of a minute so no worries there either.

A New Spark Plug

I know that this information may not be helpful to those arm chair critics out there but i hope it can help some people and i hope that others will add to it below if you have any alternative advice. I’ll be back to normal writing asap but for today that is all!

P.S. Feel free to email me, message me on twitter (preferred) or comment below for advice or any other grievances.