Tango

Nice!

The black XT then?

I reckon it's Pete's wife. It's all part of his plan. Pete: Look love, I asked on the forum who's the person stood behind me and encouraged me to press on with the forum, and they all said it's you! Pete's missus: oh, that's lovely. Why don't you go and buy yourself a new motorbike? Pete: oh, well, if you insist, love. This is all part of his game plan! He's so transparent you could read a newspaper through him!

I didn't know that his mum had passed. Hopefully he's not been too badly affected by that.

Went to a spring fair at a local vineyard earlier, but we didn't hang around too long because it was too hot in the sun. 29C here this afternoon. BBQ tonight, but we'll probably not sit outside for too long, as the mozzies are also about!

Hosepipe ban next week then!

Buckster?

Here in France the testing stations are independent from garages, they purely do the tests and nothing else. And, yes, they are trying to get the current stations for cars to do bikes too. Some testing stations have said that they simply won't do bikes, because they don't have the staff available to train. It's a mess! Coupled with this, the government haven't set a price for the tests, so those stations that will do bikes can charge pretty much what they want!

Yeah, decent changes, nothing too over the top.

So, the Controle Technique (CT) for motorcycles comes into force in France from 14 April 2024. In true fashion it has been poorly implemented. Many test centres have not trained their testers on the bike roadworthiness tests. Bike specific test equipment has not been identified, let alone installed in the test centres! Many of those testers that have been trained are complaining that they're worried about dropping bikes or not being able to get heavier bikes onto the testing platforms unaided. Although the French government are trying to justify the tests on safety grounds, one section is what they call the Nuisance tests, which include measuring the noise and exhaust emissions on the bikes. And it seems that the noise limits proposed are pretty tight! Obviously, bike groups are up in arms about this and are calling for a boycott of the tests. However, some insurance companies are saying that they will insist on seeing a pass certificate from the CT before insuring a bike. This has also incensed the bike groups, as this is not required for getting car insurance! Anyway, lots of protests have been called for today (13 April) by the bike groups and I think that it's pretty inevitable that there will be things getting torched and possibly punch-ups with the police! I'll be watching the news with interest!

Nice! Looks pretty clean and not blinged up too much!

OK, cool. Some of the earlier era ELO stuff. A good collection of tunes there! I kinda went off them after Out of the Blue.

Cheers, Six.

In due course, Pete!

Which album is it, Fred?

The first 7" single that I bought with my own money from my Saturday job. I still have it too!

Comparisons could be drawn! However, I'm not a ginge!

No need, it's got a flip down sun visor.

Yes, I guess that song has been somewhat tainted now! But, the song is really about Marilyn Munro, and that's how I still see it.

The only downside to the bike so far, is that it's got a custom seat on it, because it would appear that the previous owner was a short arse! So, at some point I'll need to look at either getting this seat modified or getting a standard seat to put on it.

My face is in shadow though. I have got a photo where my face is clearer, but I just couldn't bring myself to subject you all to it!

This was from the BMW dealer in Narbonne. The Triumph dealer in Montpellier took the piss when I looked at trading in the Scrambler for a Tiger 850 Sport, so I walked away from them!