Jerry_Atrick

What was wrong with knowing where the filler cap was located before getting in the car. I had no idea about the arrow/bowser indicating where it was. Never had a problem locating the filler cap yet.

I take your point on the off road learning.. and I also think, for example, spins and probably basic aeros or at least upset prevention and recovery training should be taught as part of the PPL syllabus. But syllabus content is not the question. I was using scooter as an example of a bike a 16 tear old can ride. A 16 year old with a CBT (learners permit) can also ride a 125CC bike, of which wheel size (except for width of cheaper ones) is comparable with bigger bikes. Mind you, it is more the behaviour of the riders than the size of the wheels they are on that is the issue. My stepfather happily rode a C90 to and from work in Melbourne and the only times there were problems were other drivers or himself.. and those darned tram tracks. I happily rode my 11bhp CG125 around London and even on the motorways - although it was embarressing being overtaken by laden tippers on uphil sections... Although I can see there could be situations where not having enough power coiuld be dangerous, in the c. 6 months daily riding in all conditions before going onto the unrestrcited licence training and taking the test on a Kawasaki ER5 and moving straight to the VFR750, I never encountered any such situation.

Probably should start another thred... I don't intirinsically disagree as things are rarely black and white and we should try and cater for individuals where possible. And I agree that a blanket CC limit is futile - the pre-2011 unrestricted Aprilia RS125 could easily hit 170kph... But so can many of the approved Vicroads LAMS models. The BMW G650GS is onme approved bike... According to Google it also has a top speed of 170mph. The difference is that in a larger bike, the torque usually provides much better acceleration and smoolther ride, masking the feel of speed to inexperienced riders. Also, in the UK, it is nto a blanket 125cc limit. The bike cannot exceed 14.6bhp.. period. The other thing to bring into the equation is that the risk of an inexperienced rider having a crash, if insurance data is at all reliable is a lot higher than that of experienced riders. Even if the power/weight ratio is the same, the consequences on a heavier bike have the potential to be much higher than a lighter bike thanks to Newton's second (force = mass x acceleration) and 3rd law (every action has an equal and opposite reaction). Collisions will by definition be subject to greater force if the mass is greater. I would be surprised if too many learners would think bigger bike such as a G650GS, let alone a Pan European or Triumph Trophy is going to be light or zippy as a scooter. In the UK, you have to take the test on the class of bike your licence level permits you to ride. Before you are permitted to ride a class of bike on the road, you have to have experience and proved you can safely handle it. Admittedly, the classes are probably too narrow.. For the driving environment in the UK, which is very different to Australia, except probably for some inner city suburbs such as Port Melbourne or Brunswick, I think a 125CC/14.6bhp bike is generally too small even for a 16 year old (let alone the 18 year old minimum in Vic - at least it was 17 years and 9 months when I did it). I think, for the UK, a 250cc of the ilk of a Honda CB250 would be adequate. In Australia, where the closed ion congested environment is by far the minority of the driving environment, LAMS seems more appropriate. I liken it to flying. Very few start ab initio training in a complex fast single (I understand Cirrus has a program). Most start in a light and simple beast, albeit rarely nippy; get familiar with the basics and progress.

I have to admit.. sometimes aftert the long rides I do, to stretch the legs a bit, I let them dangle as I come to a stop. As I am of shorter stature, there is little risk of them inadvertently contacting the tarmac until I want them to.

When I first got my motorcycle learners permit in Vic in the early 90's, there was a blanket 250cc limit for learners. Given the nanny state Victoria is, I was surprised to see what the current rules are with repect to LAMS. I am not entirely convinced it is applicable here for a few reasons: I am not convinced sticking a 16 year old (that is the age you can get a learner permit here) on a heavier machine even if limited to 46bhp is a great idea. Many of their bodies, although better than mine no doubt will not be used to hurtling a biogger machine in traffic, pedestrians, etc. They are basically expected to come off their bikes and handling the heavier machines to me sounds not like a great idea. There are plently of low top-end (bhp) bikes with ooldes of bottom end (torque). Yeah, they may not be able to get to 100mph, but they can get to speeds awfully quickly. Do they have enough experience to manage twitchy throttles and not cause mayhem. The UK ia 1/33rd the size of Australia with over twice the population. Outside of dual lane A roads and motorways (of which learners are not allowed on the latter), the streets and ropads are crowded, congested and claustraphobic - often with not enough room for two cars to pass when there is a parked car. In the cities, having rvrn 45bhp is not really required, but providing the power in the hands of inexperienced is a recipe for disaster. Most of the fast food delivery is done on motorbikes/scooters and by perpetual learners. Imagine if they were allowed to race around the streets on much more powerful bikes... I agree that for touring, even for learners, it is a better idea to have a more powerful bike. But even in Aus, what is the proportion of learners that tour or go on longer rides? Certainly in the UK, it insn't many that would go for a ride greater than a couple of hours. But if you think you can't tour comportably on a 125 - and a lower powered 125 (this is 11hp as opposed to the 14.6hp), then check this playlist out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbYb-grfUfY&list=PLgGFg0Z6OmSj6FhGj7POJUnHAoY_RbyNr I think it is horses for courses. In Australia, it makes eminent sense to have more power options open to the learner rider. In the UK, I think it should be 250CC and maybe a max of 33hp or something like it, because of the different environment inexperienced riders operate in. And lets be honest, most young make riders, especially those buying bikes like my son, are going to be boy racers. But also over here, licensing is different. It is almost as complicated as flying licenses, but generally: From age 17, you can get an A1 license. You are fully licensed and can ride anywhere - including motorways - but are still restricted to 125cc and 14.6 max bhp. My son's Yamaha R125 will comfortably do 70mph, hand has a top speed of 80. From age 19, you can get an A2 licence. Again, you are fully licensed, but restricted to a bike with a max of 46bhp. It can be a bike with a max of 92bhp with a restrcitor kit fitted that takes it down to 46bhp. From age 24, you can have an A licence - full licence; no restrictions. For the A2 and A licence, you have to have achieved your CBT (learners) and do the test on a bike that is rated at 46bhp (or greater for the A licence) as well as meet the age requirement. There is no other experience requirement. Most schools will run a zero to hero course to get you your CBT and test ready for the A2 or A depending oin your age and then you will do the test. My son is 10 months from being able to get an A licence, but he has not indicated a desire to get a bike bigger than 92bhp. He doesn't want to move to Australia without having his A licence for some reason (Australian states recognise the A2 and I think will put him on a P plate if I recall correctly). We have no concept of probationary drivers/riders here. My understanding is the test requirements are virtually the same for the A2 and A, and if you have an A2, you have to do another test for your A to mke sure you haven't developed bad habits. Some if it is clearly nuts, some if it makes sense.

Dang it.. they have alreadt taken it down from their site and the ads they put omn a couple of classified ads.. We have to wait 2 weeks to pick it up befoe I can photograph it. The pre-delivery inspection and service requires mechancs who get back from hols on Monday week.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of positives to celebrate lately.. So, here's one: (https://www.bournemouth-kawasaki.co.uk/2024-yamaha-r125/) Son just put a deposiut down on it. I test rode it and it certainly screamed more than a 125cc bike - the max xx(14.6bhp being max power) for a learner. Got it for a bargain and not quite what they advertised it for... and it is in mint condition... Watch out for the gripes thread as we go to insure it..

The holy bit is in the stories by the sounds of it

That was very clever

Funny how the security cameras weren't working at the time of his death

The cafe seige in Sydney I think was a lone gunman who did not have any affiliation with any terrorist group - in fact, I think he wasn't born as a Muslim. The links or not of the Bondi shooters to terrorist organisations will come out in due course. Until the official information comes out, I don't take too much notice of social media hypothesis of whether there were terrorost organisation links or not. Some of the Islamic attacks in the UK and Europe have been directly attributed to local terror cells of middle east based terrorist organisations - some to domestic terrorist organisations, and some to lone wolves. The fact is, as for example wit hthe Bondi klillings, these terrorist organisations are cheering and celebrating this, which sends a message to other wannabes that you will be immortalised. The second point is - from the video I posted above - unless you think the clips of the preacher-type calling for Jihan, murdfer of Jews, etc was faked, is that through, no doubt a minority, but a network of fanatical religious leaders they are calling their flock to war - for their flock to impose violence on others that don't hold the same values as beliefs as they do - in the name of dog all bitey - and he is biting at the moment. So, whether or not they are orfficially involved in a terrorist organisation is not really the issue - it is whether the movement as a whole - or a part of it - is grooming its flock and inciting violence. And the evidence seems to be, there is at least part of it that is doing so. Allu Akhbar seems to be a common chant when these things are happening.. This is not limited to Muslim extreism, by the way. The right wing, or lets call them for what they are - the neo-nazis are on the rise in the western world, too. We've seen the mosque shootings, and it is a frequent occurence that we are reaing or seeing on the news further mobilisation and swelling of numbers. Yes, people are being opprtunistic to push their agenda, which further intensifies divisions in society and inflames those who, let's be honest, can't think for themselves. However, trying to brush it under the carpet is not going to help. Trying to say it is not factual when it is is brushing it under the carpet. We have to confront it, amd work through the root causes of it to come to a solution. All it will do is give air to those that uise it for their agenda pushing and the longer we leave the problem to fester, the harder it will be to solve it, and the more air we give to those nutjobs pushing their agenda. Failure to tackle and make very public that tackling of any hatred emboldens those whose hatreed is not being tackled. And tackling only one form of hatred (e.g. right wing nutjobs) and brushing under the carpet another form of hatred (e.g. islamic nutjobs) will further isolate and intensify the people who feel they are being singled out. How the NSW Police came to the conclusion that the more fanatical Palestinian Action protesters were chating is "where's the Jews" is beyond me unless almost evey other non-bleeped out version that I saw was doctored. We have the issues over here with the grooming gangs in Rotheram - was too politically correct to call them out for what they were.. Only one person was - Tommy Robinson;l a right wing bit of a nutjob. Guess what? It finally came to light that the Pakistanu Muslim grooming gans were grooming 16 year old girls systematically to virtually enslave for their sexual pleasure. Apparently infidel wormen are worth less - to UK authorites, it would seem as they didn't even attempt to investigate - reportedly for fear of being labelled racist. (that is not the official reason - I don't think an official reason has been given). The ramifications of that are that more and more people are turning to those of Tommy Robinson and Nigel Farage's ilk because they now have lost confidence of the traditional political parties on both sides of politics. If you don't confront it, you can't fix it. And you gove more air time to the nutjobs who sell snake oil fixes. The UK government has now tried to put together some parliametnary inquiry for it (we don't have royal commissions - not that they seem to achieve anything anyway looking at the last 5 or 6 of them). They can't even get a chair to hang around for more than 10 minutes and the inuiry has yet to start, with victims being further left in limbo. Who do you think they will turn to, and a great deal more people. Stephen Fry put it well.. the rise of the right is because of the failure of the left's fasilures. Bill Maher put it another way - you can be too woke (and i hate than term) and turn people to the right.

Actuallky it was Nice.

Actually, it was a prediction I think. I have no idea if they will or not, but the fact is many Islamic terror attacks - especialy the lone wolf ones that may be mentally unstable people using Islam to justify their day of grievance retribution - have used knives, cars and, in Paris, on Bastille's day, a truck as I recall. Historically, there is some accuracy ikn what GON has said. For the EU: For the UK: Note, I haven't verified the AI summary, but I do recall specific attacks. Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia of the Manchester Synagogue attack: Car and Knife. No gun or ecplosives needed. Why are people in denial about it?

This one wasn't covered in the western MSM.. but it is telling of a mindset that really is from blind indoctination:

That was very naughty... Good heavens if a 16 year old read that... They could probablyu tell me what it means.. 🤣🤣

What philth have you posted to the forums (our new online safety act came into force banning the display of explicit images unless the site uses minimum standards to verify all users are over 18): 😉

I didn't knio ICE was spelled IDC (or what looks like it on the door of the vehicle). Maybe they employed my signwriting company.

Once to the [alleged] victims was complaining there was nothing in the files that mentioned her nor her complaints to the FBI (I think it was). There is no way el Chumpo would allow the files to be released if they implicated him or his cronies... Otherwise, all of the files would be released. This is an incredibly shameful period of American society, seeming to allow it to pass through to the keeper and call over.

I read, I think it was in The Age, that people from northern climes in Australia are moving to southern climes to avoid the oppressing and dangerous heat in the north thanks to climate change. The Crikey its Wet and Climate Change Debate continues threads seems like the could be joined as one ands the discussion would be the same topic.

Maybe you hate unions, but the changes Aussie unions led - 8 hours sleep, 8 hours play, 8 hours work led to the miggest productivity gains excluding technological improvements. I agree that unions went too far at times.. Norm Gallagher being one.. and of course, the CMFEU or CMFUE, or whatever they are called but generally speaking, absent of corruption, those countries that are unionised and respect progressive labour laws are far better places to live than the two I can think of that don't - Good ol' USA and Chy-nah! (trying a Donald Chump accent). In fact, would you want to live in the far too many places that oppress their workforce (and the majority of their population)? Nah.. Australia ain't so bad after all and you can still make a decent living as an entrepreneur (sp?) like yourself, but don't have to have the workforce being supplimented by welfare.. like the UK, for example. And then you would complain about the higher taxes. In terms of hating Labor, that is cool. .but on balance, would you prefer SFM or Albo.. I guess form mining, Albo is a little less appealing, but if you were into rare earth stuff, maybe not so... Kindest regards, The Devil's Advocate (or Avocaat) , Esq.. with a NZ mate of mine (Wolfie has made himself so rare these days).

Comparting Islamist fundamentalism and Jewish Zionism to quantify and defend against allegations of systemic violence in a population is quite disingenuous as they are fundamentally different. Maybe saying something liek not all Jews wanting toi unilaterally wipe out Arabs would be a bit more accurate a statement.. and the difference in the two populations not wanting to unilaterally wipe out each other is going to be significantly different - and probably in a way that would not support the disigenuous comparison you make. I am not sure how you came to the conclusion that the majority of violent crime is carried out by white Anglo Aussies. Statistics are not collated by ethnic background - only by whether the perpetrator is forieign born or not. However, AI, which you have to take with a grain of salt in these cases, has an interesting answer (this is Google's AI): ------------------------------------------ Official statistics in Australia generally report crime data based on country of birth rather than self-identified ethnicity, and comprehensive, recent national data comparing all ethnic groups specifically for violent crime offending rates is limited. General Trends and Statistics Australian-born vs. Overseas-born: Overall, historically, first-generation immigrants have had an overall lower rate of crime than the native-born population. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported data indicating that migrants were just over half as likely as the Australian-born population to be victims of physical or threatened violence. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: This group is significantly overrepresented in the Australian criminal justice system. As of June 2024, they accounted for over a quarter of all prisoners, despite making up a smaller proportion of the general population. They also have much higher rates of homicide offending and victimisation compared to the non-Indigenous population. Migrant Groups: Migrants from non-main English-speaking countries generally reported lower rates of violence victimisation than those from main English-speaking countries. Historically, individuals born in certain countries (e.g., Russian Federation, Romania, Vietnam, New Zealand, Turkey, and Lebanon) have shown higher arrest rates than the Australian-born population for various offences. The highest proportion of alleged offenders processed for violent offences in a specific Victorian study were Fijian-born individuals. Studies have found that while there may be overrepresentation of some migrant groups in crime statistics (e.g., Sudanese-born in Victoria), Australian-born offenders still account for the vast majority of actual crimes, including serious assault. Data Limitations It is important to note the following limitations in the data: Ethnicity vs. Country of Birth: The primary data collection method used by agencies like the ABS is country of birth, not specific ethnic group or cultural background within the Australian-born population. This makes precise breakdowns by ethnicity challenging to obtain. Media Portrayals: Criminological research often highlights that media coverage can create a misperception of a link between certain ethnic minorities and crime ("African youth crime wave") that is not supported by overall statistics, which show that white Australian-born offenders commit the majority of crime. Complex Factors: Statistics often reflect complex socioeconomic, historical, and systemic factors, rather than a direct link between ethnicity itself and criminal behaviour. For more detailed statistics, you can refer to reports from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and the Australian Institute of Criminology (AIC). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Interestingly, it found some evidence to say that rates (i.e. per capita), white Aussie males may not be the worst of them... My point is don't demonise people to support a point of view when there is no evidence of it.. it is part of the reason groups of people are mobilising in ways that are not positive.

I love the smell of nepalm in the morning.

As I recall, IGA wasn't terribly much cheaper when I was there. I forgot about Aldi - they must be giving Colesworth a run for their money. The problem with them here is that they are a little inconsistent with their supplies outside the real mainstream. And if you want something that is not mainstream you are unlikely to be able to get it. Both of our kids had a mild intolerance to lactose, so they were brought up on goats milk and cheese. We couldn't get goats milk at Aldi nor Lidl (Aldi competitor), and we could only get the soft roll goats cheese, which is as bland as the wrapper it was contained in. So, we always ended up in one of the majors. Australia is expensive - no doubt. But also, salaries are higher than most parts, and Australia has a small population over dispersed widely, real estate is artifically inflated and has a high cost base. Yep, the CEOs get good bonuses. With a total revenuwe of over $70bn, $24m is a drop in the bucket. Whilst the corporates are charged with price gouging, it would be interesting to see what their cost base is and their profit magins. According to AI, their operating profit margin was 1.29% - for every dollar they took, their profit was 1.29 cents. I would suggest that is about average for an operating profit and wasn't much different at coles to when I worked at Coles Myer at the Tooronga Zoo (the head office in Tooronga, Melbourne, was affectionately known as the Tooronga Zoo by employees). Of course, they may have maginificent margins and baked in ineffeciencies they have little reason to change.. but somehow I don't think that is the case. Our parliamentary committees are also a little behiond the 8 ball. They asked why Woolies sold Tim Tams for more in Aus than the UK was selling them. Of course the answer would have been to ask the manufacturer, hopefully for obvious reasons. What hey should be focusing on is the numbers - and looking for lagesse within the firm. The supermarket industry is highly competitive in teh UK and there may be more incentives for local buyers to drive a much tougher bargain, also on potential market reach and overal profit than there is in Australia I was thinking if supermarkets are so proftiable in Australia, why don't other cashed up competitors enter the market.. It may not be as good a return as made out by the press.

In a live feed on The Age's website, apparenlty another alleged terror plot... but thankfully it has been foiled

What are the alternatives to Colesworths?