IXXRA......The Home Of The Superblackbird

by **Akira** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 6:57 pm

Hi guys, just a couple of quickies. I park my bike outside my window, chained to the house, (no garage) but my driveway doesn't come all the way up the front garden so I have to ride over about 15 feet of grass to park up. It's so bloody easy to slide on grass, I locked the front up today, but it didn't go over. What could I put on the grass to help the bike grip? I was just going to chuck down a trail of sharpish gravel on the bit I ride on, has anyone tried this or anything like it before? The other thing is probably a stupid question, but is your bike headlight supposed to dim when the bike's idling? It brightens up when I rev, but I don't like it.
Cheers mucka's :-)

by **XXAndy** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 7:58 pm

Mine used to dim on idling.
Get some flagstones from B&Q, they are only a couple of quid each or alternatively a big bag of redi-mix concrete to make a little path

by **bezzer** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 8:51 pm

Wouldn't bother with gravel, too little of it and it'll just get pushed in the soil and be no use, too much and it'll bog the bike down and you still have front slide problems with it. Best bet is as Andy says just a single row of cheapo flags, sink them in a bit and they'll cause no problems to your mower either.

by **Akira** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 8:54 pm

Didn't really want to have to exert myself, but I reckon you're right. Ickle flags it is then.

by **Marxx** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 10:06 pm

Akira,
With reguards to lights dimming when the engine is at idle this is perfectly normal, the alternator gives just enough power at idle to run the bike with lights on and trickle charge the battery etc.. as the revs increase, so too does the voltage/amperage to the regulator thus giving you 13(ish) volts and enough power to operate all the circuits required.
Saying that if the headlight dims to side light brightness your in trouble :bigcry:

Hope this makes sense, and is of at least some use to you

Mark

by **BirdAddict** » Wed Oct 29, 2003 10:59 pm

You could also put down some scafolding planks to make yoursels a little drive, however wood can become quite slippery when wet.

by **XXAndy** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 11:20 am

BirdAddict wrote:You could also put down some scafolding planks to make yoursels a little drive, however wood can become quite slippery when wet.

Yes I must agree, my 'wood' gets very slippery when wet too

by **TazCBR1100XX** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 2:01 pm

XXAndy wrote:Yes I must agree, my 'wood' gets very slippery when wet too

Wood = Head

by **Bristle Hound** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 3:02 pm

TazCBR1100XX wrote:Wood = Head

Head = :knob) ! lol

by **darkangel** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 8:55 pm

come on girls ! word association is in another place! stop it! lol

by **Ladybird** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 9:35 pm

Definately I would personally go for the flagstones/paving stones etc....We have part of our car parking space covered in gravel, and every year we chuck a bit more on because, as Bezzer says it just sinks in. If you're a bit tight on the readies (dosh), then contact your local council, they may have second hand flag stones for sale, or is that just a northern thing?

by **Akira** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 10:33 pm

There's a place I know of that does the 2nd hand flags and stuff, so I'll try there. Trouble is, now I've mentioned it, the mrs wants the whole thing flagged now! :bigcry:

I'd like it myself, but I wouldn't like to pay for it. Where the hell is the ground force team when you need them?

by **Shuggie** » Thu Oct 30, 2003 10:59 pm

If you decide on flags, why not make your own. All you need is a flat board onto which you can make your own shapes - round flags by bending a strip of thin plywood to the correct depth, held together with string round the circumference. Fill this with a concrete mix and BOBs yer uncle.

Square flags can be made using any timber, again cut to the correct depth. The beauty of these are that you can adjust the size of the flags to your own preference, and with the addition of some cement dye they can be whatever colour you desire.

I have tried these before and they do work, all it needs is a little time and effort and a sound base to lay them on

Best of luck- :-)