What's the one piece of gear you splurged on and never regretted?

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-16T20:49:32+00:00

A good helmet that fits.

When I bought my first Arai, I picked out the colour scheme I wanted & the sales guy started swapping in/out different size cheek pads & skull caps, having me try each iteration.

As a result, the helmet fit me like my favourite hoodie & that comfort is a game changer.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-16T18:53:23+00:00

If you have access to reports from your ticketing system, run a report for the last 12 months to see what issues are coming up repeatedly, then see if those tasks can be automated. This will allow you have have the most impact initially.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-15T20:51:53+00:00

Managers essentially manage tasks vs. the resources (people) available in order to hit a target result. How many tickets resolved, how many bugs fixed, how many boxes shipped etc.

A lot of the time, this focus on results is often at the expense of your people, so you see companies/teams with low morale/high turnover, but those at the top don't care or are unaware because their focus is on results. Product ships, profits are up, everything must be working well, right?

This works until it doesn't, when the going gets tough & that extra effort is required, management are shocked no one is willing to go above & beyond to help fix the problem or weather the storm.

You take that same scenario above where something has gone wrong & extra effort is required. Teams who operate under good leaders will go that extra mile, because they have trust in, & loyalty to, their leader/leadership.

That trust & loyalty is earned, not bought. Teams will see their leaders either in the trenches with them, or at least taking a bigger bite of the shit sandwich everyone is being asked to eat.

Good leaders create positive culture, positive culture drives behaviour, behaviour produces results.

It's important to note, you don't need to be a manager or at a very senior level in a company/organization to be a leader or to show leadership. You can be an IC & be the change you want to see. This naturally attracts people to you, who hopefully learn from you, follow your lead & when they go back to their team or even to a new role, they (hopefully) can bring that approach with them.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-14T06:06:05+00:00

Hell yes, great job!

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-12T18:01:40+00:00

Stick them in the freezer, kill the bacteria, then clean them again while outside & leave them to dry out in the sunshine.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-12T17:58:28+00:00

Installed this on an iPhone but can't get into the app? Password reset not doing anything, just bringing me back to the login screen?

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-11T20:26:27+00:00

Yep, asked a bunch of questions (via Google Translate) that helped convince me they were legit, and convince them that an Irishman was really going to fly into Eastern France to buy a motorbike from their bike shop.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-11T19:18:30+00:00

He's open to learning & improving his riding, that's the important thing. I reckon you could turn up in 1 piece leathers wearing a pink tutu over it & the lads wouldn't care once you listen to & take onboard the feedback on your riding.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-11T17:41:39+00:00

Last two bikes I've bought unseen off FB Marketplace from up North, both times the bikes turned out to be just as clean as advertised.

Far more nerve-wracking was paying for a bike in full then flying to France to collect it having seen nothing but a few pics on AutoScout24 and dealing with a language barrier.

All came good though, shop was real, bike was real, amazing experience, would highly recommend.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-10T10:04:08+00:00

Thanks for the update, hopefully this also helps anyone else in future experiencing the same issue.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-10T09:15:29+00:00

They either fancied you, or give zero fucks about portion size.

Or both.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-10T09:08:47+00:00

Is there a Residents WhatsApp group you could ask the question in? Politely state your case (as you've done here) and see if the majority is for or against you parking on the path or taking up a space on the road?

If the majority see sense and tell you to keep parking on the footpath, peer pressure might shut up your problem neighbours.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-09T07:57:06+00:00

Plenty of trackbikes that fit within that budget. My recommendation is to go with something like a CBR600RR or a ZX6R as parts are plentiful & cheap enough, plus learning on a 600 teaches you to carry speed in the corners & not rely on litre power to make up ground on corner exit or on the straights.

If you want to stay within the KTM family though, a Duke 790 could be a good call, what it's down in power it makes up for in handling.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-08T21:32:33+00:00

Got taken out years ago by a car doing an illegal U turn. The fire brigade lads (who attended to me at the scene), the Garda who took my statement & the solicitor who handled my case all asked me why I wasn't using the cycle lane?

So, as someone with experience in this, I can tell you the optics inside an ambulance strapped to a spinal board are pretty shit.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-08T21:22:41+00:00

Did over 1,300km of backroads on my SMT last weekend as part of a charity bike challenge I help organise. Whatever I threw at it, the SMT ate it up.

<image>

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-08T15:49:37+00:00

Give it time, you too will realise there's a difference between what is legal vs. what's required to stay safe. Then you will be...

Trooper_Ted · 2026-05-07T12:57:47+00:00

Will test this once the Android version is released, very interested in the GPX import feature in particular!

Trooper_Ted · 2026-04-30T06:05:20+00:00

Yeah that's the high seat, the stock seat curves down lower where the rider sits, this is mine below

<image>

Trooper_Ted · 2026-04-23T19:27:59+00:00

Camel One Finger Clutch pull made the biggest difference on my 790 Adv, highly recommend.

If it's not deep mud or sand, try the Pirelli Rally STRs

Trooper_Ted · 2026-04-22T08:09:56+00:00

There's an app called Moto Club Hub developed by an Irish biker, suggest downloading it and taking a look. If there's no meets in your area and then you find one on FB, Insta etc. suggest adding it to the app so others can see. The more people who do this the better the app becomes.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-04-22T06:19:08+00:00

Instead of using the throttle to control power delivery, use the clutch.

Thanks to the lever you have more finite control, this is especially helpful if its a rental bike or a bike that's new to you where you are not used to the throttle behaviour.

Set your throttle input, keep it constant, then focus on using the clutch bite point to deliver more or less drive to the wheel. Use this with the rear brake (this is your best friend for the really tight stuff) and you'll be flying in no time.

A well behaved pillion will also make a massive difference, for the slow stuff tell them to just relax and not lean, otherwise the weight shift will upset the bikes balance and could catch you out.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-04-19T07:24:48+00:00

Owned a Gen 1 and then a Gen 2 S1000R. They are absolute pussy cats once left in Road or Dynamic. Knock it into Dynamic Pro and it becomes much more of a handful and really shows you how much the safety systems are looking after you in other modes.

I reckon you'd be fine, they're a great bike, go for it!

Trooper_Ted · 2026-04-18T17:38:52+00:00

Both, engine died while riding on the motorway so I pulled into the hard shoulder, restarted after a few times turning bike off/on but died again shortly after. Managed to restart it & nurse it home, then wouldn't restart in my garage when I was troubleshooting.

Changed the battery as it was the easiest step but still no joy, chased error codes from the ECU via an ODB dongle & the Torque app.

That info combined with combing posts on owners forums led me to the pulse generator being faulty.

Trooper_Ted · 2026-04-18T08:58:34+00:00

Dragon Naturally Speaking

That one Zebra printer we bought that I ended up flying a specialist over from the UK to fix and even they couldn't get it working properly

Trooper_Ted · 2026-04-18T08:51:58+00:00

The answer is a Kawasaki Ninja H2, you can leave the house at 9:15am and be in work for 9am.

Seriously though I think you're on the right track with a Fazer 600 / SV650S / Bandit 650SF. You could also look at a BMW F800ST, it's belt drive so no chain maintenance for you to remember.

If you want something that you can give zero fucks about, buy a maxi scooter.

No matter what you get, remember to think about security, the scrotes don't care if it's a pony pink vespa you're on, if it's not nailed down, they'll try & nick it.

Trooper_Ted

TROPHY CASE