Erik Buell - interesting story

Was just surfin and came across fascinating page about the man behind the very popular BUELL Harleydavidson Motorcycle click here to link

Segway - Way cool !

WAY COOL ! I SAW THE SEGWAY WHILE ON HOLIDAY IN FLORIDA SO I DID A QUICK GOOGLE AND CAME UP WITH THIS INTERESTING BLOG ENTRY ABOUT SEGWAYS.

Check it out...........click here

pirate video

I bought a dvd advertised as region 1(or was it 2 ?) from ebay. The Title was The history of the Hells Angels. It arrived in a home styled cover and the label on the disc was paper and matching design. It turned out to be a straight 'Copy' of the History Channel Documentary made in 2005. The disc wouldn't play without disruption on DVD or on my PC.
When I moaned to the seller about it being a pirate she claimed it wasn't ...... as the film is in the public domain......? ? ? I'm sure History Channel think different.......................in her 'e'mail she also points out matter-of -factly' that I should check my facts, and that she has sold at least 5 copies nad never had any faulty ones.

I also bought a 2003 onwards Harley Sportster workshop manual.from another seller.........didn't read the whole advertisement and lo and behold a disc arrives.

" Hang in There"

Whilst surfing the other day I visited http://www.bykuz.com/ and clicked on the pages for the Harley Sportster. Here amongst other useful stuff I uncovered a true gem. The site talks about an old TV series featuring a Sportster riding hero.

Then Came Bronson is a short-lived adventure/drama television series that aired on NBC from 1969 to 1970, and was produced by MGM Television. It began with a movie pilot March 1969. The series was greenlit for one year and began its first run on September 17, 1969. The pilot was also released in Europe as a feature film.The series featured Michael Parks as the protagonist Jim Bronson, a newspaperman who becomes disillusioned after the suicide of his best friend Nick (Martin Sheen) and, after a heated argument with his editor, "working for the man."In order to renew his soul, Bronson becomes a nomadic vagabond searching for the meaning of life and experience what life has to offer (as revealed in the series pilot). During his travels, he shares his values with the people he meets along the way and lends a helping hand when he can. Bronson rides a Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle and, as such, was viewed by some as a modern version of the solitary cowboy wandering the American west.Curiously, though the opening promised a journey of self-discovery, the premise of each episode was that Bronson enters someone else's life at a crucial point and acted as a catalyst for change. When Bronson encounters an Amish community, for example, a local boy becomes enraptured of the outside world and steals Bronson's bike to run off to Reno, Nevada. In another episode, located in Reno, Nevada, Bronson meets his cousin Eve on her wedding day and lends her money for the wedding service, but she runs off to the casinos and blows it.Yet, Bronson is committed to pacifism and often redirects a competitor's anger into self-examination. Always, like a true catalyst, he rolls out of every episode unchanged.The show sometimes faced the perception that it was a knock-off of the movie Easy Rider, but it actually preceded the release of that movie.Scenes were mostly shot outdoors, which made for spectacular views, and Michael Parks employed the low-key "James Dean" method of acting. Some shows were funny, some sad, some serious.The bikeBronson's bike figures in the many episodes; Harley-Davidson Sportster 1968 XLH 883. In one episode he entered several bike races; in another, he made an emergency run to fetch a doctor. But in some stories the bike was merely transportation. Full specs on the various bikes used in the filming can be found at the website The show was controversial in that it featured a motorcycle "biker" when images of Hells Angels and Vietnam War protesters were on the minds of many Americans. Bronson proved to be a gentle soul who seldom got angry or raised his voice, and he helped people improve their lives with guiding words or a sympathetic shoulder to cry on. In that way, he manifested the hippie's ideal of leading and living a good life by example. Rather than seek to convert people to his values, he sought to lead them to their own true knowledge and to "do their own thing in their own space and time."CastMichael Parks, had acted on television and starred in three anti-establishment movies, Wild Seed, The Happening, and Bus Riley's Back In Town. He went on to a steady career in drive-in horror movies and TV shows. He recorded three pop/jazz albums: Long Lonesome Highway, Closing the Gap, Blue, and several gospel albums.MusicThe opening instrumental theme song was titled, "Then Came Bronson" and was written and performed by George Duning. The closing vocal theme for the series was titled, "Long Lonesome Highway," sung by Parks and written by James Hendricks and was a Billboard Hot 100 hit reaching #20 1970. The pilot movie was released in Europe as a theatrical film that included a topless scene when Bonnie Bedelia strips off her wedding gown.Series openingThe opening of the show served as a metaphor for the premise of the show: getting away from the "big city" and leading a more simplistic life. The opening begins with Bronson driving up to a red light in San Francisco and he briefly chats with a commuter. The scene also introduces Bronson's signature-phrase which he used often in the episodes, "Hang in there."

Knee jerk reaction

Family 'replaced by gang culture'
Family life has been replaced by gang culture based on drugs and violence for "almost feral groups" of young people, a police chief has suggested.
Barbara Wilding, Chief Constable of South Wales, said in some areas tribal loyalty replaced that of the family.
Her speech was made at King's College London in May, and reported in The Times, which obtained a transcript.
Ms Wilding said that family breakdown was the root cause of many problems for young people.
Speaking at the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, she said: "In many of our larger cities, in areas of extreme deprivation, there are almost feral groups of very angry young people.
"Many have experienced family breakdown, and in place of parental and family role models, the gang culture is now established.
"Tribal loyalty has replaced family loyalty and gang culture based on violence and drugs is a way of life."
The former deputy assistant commissioner for the Metropolitan Police also said more focus should be placed on tackling the complicated social and economic issues that lead to criminal behaviour.
"In an age of cost-benefit analysis... there is no appetite for solutions that have no visible return and no patience for any which will not bear immediate political fruit."
During her speech, Ms Wilding also said disaffected young people were a prime target for terrorist recruiters.
Story from BBC NEWS:

blondes have more...? ? ? ?

Blonde air traveller.

On an airline destined for Dallas the cabin stewardess spotted a tall blonde woman get up from her economy class seat and settling herself down in 1st class.
She approached the woman and told her she had to return to her economy class seat as she had not paid for 1st class.
The blonde refused and said “I’m blonde, I’m gorgeous, I’m on my way to Dallas and I’m staying right here !” and continued to read her magazine.
The cabin stewardess went to the cockpit to report the matter to the Pilot.
The co-pilot went out and repeated the request to the young lady. Again she refused, and repeated “I’m blonde, I’m gorgeous, I’m on my way to Dallas and I’m staying right here !”
Exasperated the co-pilot returned to the cockpit and asked the Pilot to radio ahead to Dallas and tell them they would need to get the police to meet the flight as they had a passenger who was refusing to co-operate.
The Pilot said, “wait a moment, I am particularly good with Blondes, I married one, I know how they think. Let me have a go first.”
A few moments later the young woman had happily returned to her economy class seat.
The staff were amazed and asked the Pilot what he had said to her.
“ oh it was easy I explained that first class wasn’t going to Dallas”……

and while I'm on the subject of Spark Plugs !

SHOULD YOU REPLACE YOUR SPARK PLUGS?
One of the leading causes of hard starting is fouled or worn spark plugs. When a fuel injected engine that normally starts quite easily has to be coaxed to life, it often means the plugs are overdue for a change. As the electrodes wear, the voltage required to jump the gap and ignite the fuel mixture goes up. At the same time, accumulated deposits on the insulator can drain off voltage before it even has a chance to form a spark. So the engine fails to start or starts only reluctantly after prolonged cranking.
Spark plug sales take off when cold weather arrives is because many motorists put off changing the plugs until they absolutely have to. The vehicle manufacturer's recommendations to change the plugs every 30,000 miles for preventative maintenance are ignored, so the plugs continue to rack up mile after mile until they've deteriorated to the point where they're causing noticeable driveability problems.
Emission checks will catch a lot of bad plugs and force motorists to change plugs that need to be replaced. But in areas where emission checks are not required, the only incentives for changing the plugs are the driveability problems created by the plugs themselves. So many motorists today think they're saving money on maintenance by putting off a plug change until it's obvious the engine needs new plugs. Then and only then will they begrudgingly spend any money on a new set of plugs.
WHY CHANGE 'EM?
What motorists need to be told today is why the plugs should be replaced according to their vehicle manufacturer's scheduled maintenance recommendations be it every 30,000 miles, or 60,000 to 100,000 miles in the case of long life plugs. So why not visit the Auto tap website for three good reasons why the plugs need to be changed: ( cos I don't wanna copyright infringe by pasting them here - sorry)

Ho Hum......how incredibly boring the Easters seem to get.............I never seem to have any money to do anything or the energy to take up the various 'free' ways of enjoying oneself in this great capital city. Working at the Local council is , i imagine like being in a coma. A big new change in the Parking regulations is imminent and our office is struggling to even get the existing IT to work half way decently. The on -going saga with the Harley - for which I have lost all motivation, was kick started(pun intended) when, after the problems on the tin box proved to be no more than a set of HT leads, I figured the symptoms were identical in the problems I was having with the bike. After several visits to bykuz.com I found a quote for the Voltage reg at £95-100 which scared the bejeepers out of me. So at the 11th hour having just stalled at pressing the order now button for a £120 voltage regulator I figured I'd replace the Spark plugs and leads first (intended replacement anyhow) before splashing out on the regulator.....yeeh hah ! saved myself £120 ! runs like a dream. anyway back to the office of coma hQ. later.

Aol stiffing me again !

One website I used for a broadband test gave the result ' Ouch...are you on dial up or something'



Try clicking on the box to do a broadband test for yourself.

Lamb chop 2 Custom Bike

Having spent so much time watching discovery Channel biker build offs and the showcasing of American custom builders it was so refreshing to see a great example of British engineering and design. Check out the Lamb Chop 2 created by Larry Houghton featured in this months BSH (March 2008)

or check it out on larrys website www.wmf-uk.com

Rat the Bike Rat the Car

I know some enthusiasts will think....'Sacrilege' but as one of the wheel trim discs was missing I decided to scrap em all and am going to 'satin' black the steel rims instead.
Yeah it will make the car look mean but kinda suits me as a biker.
Gonna be selling the 3 hubs on ebay or on the Volvo forums

Volvo Post script

Well, after the hassle and rip off that is EUROSTAR Garage in Tooting SW17 - the good news is that the outcome was sucessful once they were given the Elbow.
Thanks to the efficiency of EURO CAR PARTS( Mitcham Branch)

The new HT leads were fitted (Good price too – Eurocarparts), The old BKR6EKUB plugs which were on the car when purchased worked well but there was still some ‘weakness’(mixture ?). With nothing to lose and working on the reverse logic that as I couldn’t afford the expense of a proper’tune-up’ I needed to try to replicate the set-up that worked with the current carb (fuel/air) Settings. Euro Car parts offered the Denso Plug K20TXR at £10.29 inc vat.

Bought – Fitted- ………………….heaven………..Job done !

Car now runs well and the grin factor is even there.

SUMMARY : - Volvo V40.

EUROSTAR GARAGE TOOTING – CRAP ! Cowboys. AVOID AT ALL COST.

EURO CAR PARTS (BRANCHES) – EXCELLENT ! USE AT EVERY

OPPORTUNITY !

VOLVO FORUMS – EXCELLENT – USE AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY

Crap local Garage- Rip Off Merchants !

A cautionary tale,

I Bought V40 1996 estate.2.0i which Ran like a pig even after usual ‘cold’start should have passed.

Based on previous experience with same problem on other Volvos I Changed HT leads. From the Spec cards in HALFORDS……… and Routinely changed the plugs from the NGK BKR6EKUB on there to new NGK BKR6ETUC recommended by my local Auto factors.

Still running badly and at times lacking power I called several garages and opted for a local garage which does MOT’s Services and claims diagnostics and tuning.

The ‘Garage’- EUROSTAR , of TOOTING,LONDON , told me (at a cost of a £ 88 Diagnostic !) that he thought they were the wrong HT leads (no certainty there !) and that the BKR6ETUC plugs I had fitted to replace the BKR6EKUB on the car when I got it were the wrong plugs. He was very disgruntled at my informing him I could change the plugs and HT leads myself (rather than pay him the £75 +vat p/h), and handed me a piece of paper with NGK BCPR6ET written on it telling me these are the plugs I need.

I changed the HT leads but replaced the old BKR6EKUB plugs as they were visibly in reasonable condition. Problem Solved.

Luckily before I returned to the Autofactor shop to raise hell or bought the ‘Correct’plugs as per the Eurostar Garage Tooting I visited the NGK product website and did a cross reference check on all the plugs mentioned (including Eurostars erroneous type).

OK it confirmed that the BKR6ETUC is the correct Plug for the car model,/year/engine size and offered the BKR6EKUB as an alternative.

Incidently, on the NGK Web site it returns the following vehicles for the NGK BCPR6ET Spark Plug.

ALFA ROMEO33 1.706/90,CITROENAX 1.408/91 –> 05/,CITROENXM 3.0n/ , CITROENXM 3.0n/,FIATPUNTO 1 (94-->10/99) 1.403/94 –> 00,
FIATUNO 1.490 –>,MZ1000S 100004 –> Std Copper Core, SENATOR 3.0 –> 84

PEUGEOT405 1.901/90 –> 07/92,PEUGEOT605 3.009/90 –> 09/97

PEUGEOT605 3.009/90 –> 01/94,PORSCHE968 3.091 –> 96,RENAULTESPACE 3 / GRAND ESPACE 3.004/97 –> 09/98,RENAULTSAFRANE 3.092 –> 10/96

SKODAFAVORIT 1.393 –> 95,VAUXHALL/OPELCARLTON 3.0 –> 07/92

VAUXHALL/OPELSENATOR 3.0

NOT A MENTION OF THE VOLVO V40 2.0.i 1996…!!

If I can find out the correct stuff from the Net, Vardis etc how come the ‘professionals’ at Eurostar Tooting couldn’t get even close ?………….does this garage not have a clue or was it a surefire way of getting me back for more diagnostic charges ?

Size her up !

Size her up ! Turn Her On: Buy Her Sexy Lingerie!!!

So we’ve established that what she wants is sexy lingerie but we don’t know where to start, don’t worry guys I have the answers…….

There can’t be too many things that you buy for your other half but also get some enjoyment from. Okay, so there are CDs, Books and DVDs, especially those that you really buy for your collection but cunningly disguise as a gift for her. But if you are looking for something that’s unique and totally personal then nothing comes close to beautiful sexy lingerie – a gift guaranteed to win you brownie points and benefits galore.

From the plentiful selection of beautiful lingerie available on internet lingerie sites such as Interknickers.co, there’s no doubt that you will be able to find the perfect gift.

But the question on every mans mind is were do I start?. Don’t worry _ you’re not the only bloke in the world who’s worried about looking furtive or clueless in a lingerie dept. Buying lingerie gifts need not be the complicated or embarrassing experience that you might expect, particularly when shopping online. Click here for a selection of ideas

Let us help you into the world of something sensuous by offering a few essential dos and don’ts designed to make the experience as easy and successful as possible.

Invest wisely, not only choose garments that you would like your lady to wear but the kind that she might choose for herself. Size matters and if you do not know her size carry out a discreet preliminary investigation in her underwear draw. Make a note of her favourite bra if you can see it. If all the detective work does is throw you into a state of confusion( confused excitement ? haha!) use the simple sizing guidelines on the Interknickers.com site as most styles come in Small, Medium or Large.

An excellent alternative gift option is a chemise or camisole with matching knickers. This is sized in the same way as a dress and it is much easier to get right if your not sure .

Thong or brief ? the answer should again be lying there in her collection but if in doubt thongs are currently more popular and would be the safest bet.

however as beauty is in the eye of the beholder then the best advice is to go with your instincts and select the styles that capture your imagination the most. Click here for a selection of ideas

And then…………………………………… enjoy !

naughty !

Click here for a selection

Be her Valentine

be selfish -buy her what you want !

Sexy Lingerie

I know many men, myself included, dread this very stressful time of year. Research and our own desires tell us what we should get her for Christmas. But where do we start ?

Well it’s a tough job but someone has to do it………………..I’ll start with the academic approach to sexy lingerie and then at great personal hardship and stress I’ll research the subject –which could well involve hour after hour of net surfing and questioning the fairer sex about their lingerie desires……….” oh the sacrifices that man makes for his blog” - I hear you say…………

It's easy to just order online and the shops selling this stuff have really helpful (not to mention enjoyable !) websites Click here for a selection

Recent consumer research confirms that women love to both receive and give sexy lingerie as gifts. The survey showed that 38% of all women and 82% of 18-35 year olds liked to receive lingerie as a present, and that 32% liked to purchase lingerie as a gift for family and friends.

The survey also said that 29% liked to wear attractive and sexy underwear and that they have certain items of lingerie that they wear for special occasions. Women are more likely to have a “wardrobe of underwear” buying different styles and types for different occasions.

The report also found that 34% of respondents said they bought underwear to “treat themselves”.(no surprise there then !)

A key trend in the lingerie market has been for the sexy and erotic ranges to “come out of the cupboard” and into the mainstream market.

Sexy Lingerie - Click here for a selection