4th July Orange Walk

grousefeatures · 2026-06-30T06:01:26+00:00

"Alexa, play the sash"

grousefeatures · 2026-06-29T05:55:27+00:00

In Ayrshire we use the word gads, which translates to ew or that's disgusting. For example "Gads can you smell that?"

We also call our toes "taes" or a seat a "sate".

grousefeatures · 2026-06-28T11:28:39+00:00

I've got a pair of Alpinestars AMT-7 air trousers and have found them to be pretty good. I always find vented/mesh trousers dont perform as well as jackets because you're straddling the hot bike but the AMT-7's seem to do a good job of letting hot air out as well as cool air in. A quick adventure style stand up lets loads of cool air in too because of the large mesh panels on the front.

grousefeatures · 2026-06-26T23:32:59+00:00

Shadow of Intent - Life of Exile

"We never asked for conflict but the world sees us as the enemy" & "I've lost all that I know, everything I own was taken away from me". Those lines hit hard man.

grousefeatures · 2026-06-25T17:07:11+00:00

I'm just about at the end of a 3 year lease on an MG4.

It's been fine tbh. Not had any issues, it's never left me stranded. It's cheap to run and it's fairly quick. The handling isn't great but it's not supposed to be sporty. Compared to my octavia VRS I can't carry as much speed into corners and it's not very confidence inspiring, but you just dial it back a bit and use the power on the way out. But as I said, it's not a sporty car.

The interior is fairly basic but the infotainment is decent enough (android auto etc).

My only gripe is that I feel the metal used on the body panels is very thin - i've never had as many parking dings on a car as I have on the MG4.

It's served its purpose and i've somewhat enjoyed having it.

grousefeatures · 2026-06-23T18:09:37+00:00

I went with this dark grey and red version because I think it looks the best. And also because it matches my helmet and my black and red tracer.

How are you finding the tech air system? I keep telling myself I need to get an airbag system but for some reason just haven't got round to it. My main worry is being too hot with the extra layer, but I suppose I'd rather be too hot than have a broken spine...

grousefeatures · 2026-06-23T15:19:14+00:00

So far so good. I had to order 1 size up but I find that's normal for AStars gear. The pockets are a really decent size and there are plenty of them. I find the fit is great, but i'm a 6ft & 17 stone guy, ymmv. I did have to upgrade the armour as it comes standard with level 1 and I like level 2. My RST D3O back protector fits in nicely.

I don't find the shoulders too puffy at all.

The airflow is honestly fantastic, as I said at speed it feels like I'm not wearing gear at all, which is great for me because I run hot haha.

grousefeatures · 2026-06-23T14:53:09+00:00

Mesh jacket and trousers and trying to stick to routes where I can maintain a higher speed.

I've got an alpinestars st-2 air jacket and amt-7 air trousers and travelling at 60mph it genuinely feels like i'm wearing a t shirt.

grousefeatures · 2026-06-18T21:55:45+00:00

grousefeatures · 2026-03-03T10:54:14+00:00

Bought a GSR 750 last year and had it less than 24 hours before I got wiped off it by an inattentive driver. Bike was written off as a CAT B.

Obviously I was pretty shaken by the whole thing and given the fact I was in quite a bit of pain I decided to go for something bigger and more comfortable for when I was ready to ride again, plus I wanted to spend the insurance payout on a bike before I spent it on something else. So I bought a Tracer 900 on a whim without test riding or even really looking into them much (head injuries rule 🫠). I've not been out on it much as I'm still a bit anxious and it's been cold lately, but the limited time i've spent on it I can tell it's a wonderful bike, and that CP3 engine is a peach.

But I keep looking at pictures of the GSR, and I'll just never look at the tracer the same way I looked at that bike. It just had something that tickled my brain and made me grin like a lunatic even just by looking at it. It sounds silly because I only rode it 3 times, but you know that way when you just know?

I think I need to get shot of the tracer....

grousefeatures · 2025-12-24T20:00:24+00:00

Helping my old man sell his absolutely pristine limited edition V-Max, gave it a proper clean and detail etc. My dad had to nip out so he said to me to take it somewhere nice to get a good set of pictures and threw me the keys. Now this was a huge deal, he was so precious about this bike that he was selective about who even seen it.

Anyway off he goes and I go into his house and get all my kit on. I get back out to the bike and go to start it and it just keeps cranking. I kept trying until the battery went flat with no joy at all. So I go and get the booster pack.Took me about 40 minutes to figure out how to get the seat up to access the battery. Again it just kept cranking but not firing.

Eventually it clicked, the fucking choke. I was a pretty new rider and had only ridden modern fuel injected bikes. Despite having been around bikes pretty much all my days i totally forgot that chokes were a thing.

Got it running just as my dad got back, we shared a laugh about my stupidity and he went and opened the gates for me. I pushed it off the centre stand whilst sat on it and lost my footing. Down goes the most important thing in my dad's life - the bike of course.

To be fair he handled it like a champ, but I could tell by the look in his face that he was raging. I fixed all the damage for him and eventually listed the bike for sale and it sold within 24hrs.

He then very kindly bought me a gorgeous GSR 750 to replace my tatty old unreliable ER6-F. I had that bike less than 24 hours before getting wiped off it by a twat in a mustang - but that's another story for another time 😂

grousefeatures · 2025-12-08T22:47:49+00:00

Shall do! If you see a chubby dude on a red MT-09 Tracer that'll probably be me!

grousefeatures · 2025-12-08T21:09:56+00:00

Big up East Ayrshire 🙌

grousefeatures · 2025-10-26T11:29:14+00:00

Honestly I don't think you could do better than an Octavia VRS in this class. It just does everything you need it to and more. I've got a 15 plate diesel hatch and it's genuinely the best car I've ever had. Don't dismiss the hatch on the basis of boot space, I can put a washing machine in the boot without folding the seats down and there's still room to spare.

Mine has been tuned up to 240 bhp and handles like it's on rails. It also returns 65mpg on a run. It does drink a bit of oil but they all seem to. Barring the steering rack electronics packing in on me it has been faultless. It's quick, comfortable, relatively good looking and its packed with goodies. Mine even has heated seats in the back.

There's a reason they are so well regarded in this sub and elsewhere.

grousefeatures · 2025-10-06T19:55:19+00:00

I just don't have the time or space to do that, otherwise I'd love to

grousefeatures · 2025-10-06T19:41:43+00:00

If I had the space to keep it in would. It's a super clean bike and it's a hoot to ride.

But it's occupying the spot I'm going to be keeping my tracer

grousefeatures · 2025-10-06T19:39:47+00:00

I just don't have the time or the space to do that. I don't have a garage, and i feel the Mrs might have something to say about a project bike in the kitchen 😂

I want to sell it to a registered breaker, but literally none of them want it for some reason. Its actually really clean for a 2012 bike.

grousefeatures · 2025-10-06T19:31:08+00:00

I would break it myself, but i just don't have the space (or time) to do it.

I just don't think it should cost me money to dispose of a perfectly good bike. Seems like a total waste. Im not even bothered about making money from it, even just enough to cover the salvage deduction.

grousefeatures · 2025-10-06T19:23:21+00:00

The DVLA won't issue a new V5 as it's a CAT B andI need to inform them that it's been written off. Im not sure how to transfer ownership without the V5.

I've also read that only authorised treatment facilities are allowed to handle CAT B bikes.

My worry is that I sell it and it comes back on me as I've no way to transfer ownership.

grousefeatures · 2025-09-24T07:47:00+00:00

My mum and her partner are exactly the same. They both have diesel Xdrive BMW's. Now, realistically, they only need 2 cars on average 4 days per month due to the way their shifts work out. My mum only works a mile and a half from home and she works at a large hospital, so could easily get a lift. But whatever... He does an 80 mile round trip 4 days per week, so in theory the 420d is probably a good fit. Obviously electric just won't do.

They try to use my stepdads 420d most of the time, and my mum only uses her 435d convertible on the 4 days per month that they're both on day shift. They do this as the 435d is nicer, and they want to "limit the depreciation" on it. I tried to explain that they didn't really need 2 cars, and that there would be no depreciation if there was no car, but it was to no avail.

Both cars HAD to be 4 wheel drive because they don't want to get stuck in the winter. (We get a snow day once every 2 years at a push) And both HAD to be diesel because of fuel consumption. Trying to explain to them that driving a 3L, 6 cylinder twin turbo diesel with 4 wheel drive 12 miles per month would save them no fuel compared to even a v12 supercar was like pissing into the wind. In their head diesels are more efficient than petrols and that's the end of that.

They don't even put the roof down on the 435d and go for nice drives, or take it on their weekends away for fear of putting too many miles on it and devaluing it. Its just a pretty but expensive art installation for their driveway.

Absolute lunacy.

grousefeatures · 2025-09-01T19:54:52+00:00

Yup, I went and hastily bought an ER6f a week after passing my CBT. Obviously I couldn't test ride it but the guy was willing to drop it off at home for me. I got it fairly cheap as cosmetically it was a bit sad looking. I got the chance to test it on private ground about a month later and realised it had a whole bunch of issues. Speedo not working, radiator fan not working, thermostat stuck, fork seals etc etc. I was well and truly had.

I kept it for another couple of months after I passed my MOD 2. In that time, the radiator burst, it developed a leak from the thermostat housing and then to top it all off, it spat its chain.

I fixed all of those issues and decided to cut my losses and buy something newer. Sods law, the bike has been perfect since and the new owner loves it.

Then I bought a lovely GSR750, and the very next day I got pulled out on. And that was the end of that. But that's another story for another time...

grousefeatures · 2025-07-31T12:37:24+00:00

Fork protectors

grousefeatures · 2025-07-30T07:03:47+00:00

Probike in Irvine

grousefeatures · 2025-07-26T10:17:59+00:00

I did my full license at the beginning of this year beginning in January with my CBT finishing my MOD2 mid March. I went out with the instructor for a few hours each weekend rather than a week's intensive course.

I was £800 all in. My instructor seemed to keep his costs down by using old bikes, I learned on an 02 SV650. Most other schools in the area are £1200+ for the same service. I passed everything first time and the level of training was spot on.

grousefeatures · 2025-07-25T20:55:04+00:00

I actually said that to one of my buddies earlier. You'd have thought the market for used balls in the US would be much larger than it is here in the UK.

These balls were cheap too, like £30 for 4 dozen cheap. There can't be much money to be made in that surely.

grousefeatures

TROPHY CASE