Newbie

[AleXBR]

Hi, new here, so trying to learn how to post.

[AleXBR]

OK, seem to have managed that bit.

First question: why does one have to follow up through the verification faff each time a contribution is made? Especially when you're already logged in!

Also, tried to download a couple of photo's from my files, only to find my stored image files are too big.
I haven't a clue how to deal with that...I can use spanners, not computers.

Also, Firefox flags this site as not secure. Is that true?

[Moto63]

Hi Alexbr. Welcome to the TC. Sorry I can’t help with any of the above questions as I too am not computer savvy 🤦.
Cheers Michael

[themoudie]

Aye AleXBR, welcome to the minority forum!    Like the handle!

First question: why does one have to follow up through the verification faff each time a contribution is made? Especially when you're already logged in!

Not a clue "Why?" I tend to remain logged in, in perpetuity and don't have any verification faff.

Also, tried to download a couple of photo's from my files, only to find my stored image files are too big. I haven't a clue how to deal with that...I can use spanners, not computers.

MMmmm! Because this forum is run on a budget/shoestring and maintained entirely gratis by SteveH (thank you  ) there is a limit to the size of the images that can be posted and the number attached per post, as they take up server space and server space costs money and maintanence. I use a piece of software to manipulate images so that their size is reduced, without losing their quality. However, different software is required for either AppleMac or Windows machines and I am such a Luddite that I don't have a "smart" mobile phone of either type! So not the best to advise on this.

Also, Firefox flags this site as not secure. Is that true?

I too use Firefox and DuckDuckGo for web browsing and neither have flagged the site as being "unsafe". I would suspect that it is because your device has been set up with some more "security" settings in place than mine?

Hopefully, SteveH or one of the more computer savvy operators on the forum will be along to give you some tutoring.

In the meantime, enjoy the craic.

Good health, Bill

[AleXBR]

Michael/Bill, thanks for the welcome.

My two regular bikes are a B31 I've been wearing out and re-building multiple times over 22 years.
This last summer, due to knee surgery, it was suggested to me to find something with an electric leg, so I bought an XBR (H '87) in pretty good std condition. A bike I've always wanted.
Once home I quickly found the fuel tap was inoperative when I tried to isolate the flooding carb.
Of course that meant both needed sorting. Carb kit from Japan and tap kit from the states, which took forever to arrive. Then I discovered what fun it is removing said carb.
That could be a saga itself. Anyway, eventually got it all back together, valves checked/adjusted, oil and filter and a good once over of the rest.
It's took a few rides to get used to how it likes to be ridden, but once I got used to it I'm delighted. Nice quiet motor and goes like the proverbial.
Managed to get 500 miles behind it before winter arrived. Established 48mpg on back lane riding and it hasn't used a drop of oil. Not bad for a bike this age and 43,600 miles.
S Yorks resident and visit Squires regularly. Me and my pal are coming up to 70. He has 2 Vincent's and 2 Brough's and Norton Domi, used regulaly among others, so a little cred between us.

Before I can submit this I'm having to go through this rigmarole of verification, how many wheels? and when did I last fart none-sense. So if someone can tel me how to avoid this it will be appreciated.

[mthee]

Hello Alexbr,
In the next box over from the one in which you enter your password, there is a drop down box in which to select the length of time for which you wish to login. Select the "forever" option and your difficulties  may be over. Google Chrome browser also doesn't  report the site as unsafe.
Congrats on the XBR which doesn't use oil! Cheers, Matt.

[Itsme]

Hello Alex

Welcome to Thumper Club. Wearing out a B31 for 22 years and buying an XBR500; you were born to be a TC member! What year is the B31? I used a 1952 A10 Golden Flash outfit as my daily transport for many years and of course wish I had not sold it. I found the XBR500 I had was a fabulous bike once I'd realised it didn't 'plonk' like a typical big single, but rather liked to be kept in a lower gear and revved a bit.

I really enjoyed my SR400 as it seemed to have a lot of torque for a Japanese single, as does my current bike, a 1993 Suzuki GN250 known as The Mighty Midget. It happily spends a lot of time wandering slowly around the little back roads of Derbyshire at a relaxed pace whilst I admire the views.

One of the many Ians (almost as many Ians as XBR500 owners now)

[AleXBR]

Matt/Ian, hi there.

The drop box referred to was ticked as suggested when I began...so that isn't the solution, I'm afraid.

The BSA is a maroon 1956 relic.

Dad was always an A10 combo man. I have a story of when 7 of us +Alsation dog piled into onto one of his heaps for a trip to Filey. The chain only snapped twice!
Different times, eh?

I've a long history of stories if anyone is interested.

Ian, you're correct about the Honda not being a plonker.....to my mind that alone disqualifies it as a 'thumper'.
Though when it's on song it feels like a well sorted unit 500 triumph...but a bit quicker.
In fact I've already surprised my mate on his Vincent and Norton. Actually, that astonished me too! Not what I've been used to.

Bought the (maroon) XBR unseen on fleabay from a retired teacher who hadn't been using it much. MOT, new battery and number plate done on the day I collected it (van).
From a yard away it looks new....the more I look at it I've realized all the tank/mudguard/panels/seat have recently been re-done to a very high standard. Inside the cavern of a tank looks new too. The frame has been heavily touched up with a brush.
Brand new standard exhaust system and what appear to be new fork stanchions.
Amazed to find I'm the 11th owner.
Came with documentation going back over more than 10 years, many of which show an annual millage of no more than 1.5k. Plus owners and original workshop manual.
Well chuffed so far.

[iansoady]

Hi Alex and welcome. Good job you're not another Ian as Ian AKA itsme says....

The "insecure" warning is because the forum doesn't have a security certificate so has an http address not an https one. It doesn't mean it's unsafe. As said, it's run on the cheap (and all the better for it) and a certificate costs money....

The best way to include photos is to have them hosted elsewhere eg Flickr or similar. I have the luxury of my own site so can put them there. Unfortunately when they're uploaded directly here they disappear after a time.

Re fuel tap - I bought one from ebay (albeit to fit the CX500 tank I'm fitting) for less than a tenner and it seems fine. Carb bits from NPR - https://nrp-carbs.co.uk/ although I appreciate these tips are a bit late.

My small fleet:

[AleXBR]

So much space Ian....I wish!

Just opened a flickr account...will have to learn how to use it.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52563548578_0fef931f29_q.jpg
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/52562998626_8574f31fe0_q.jpg

[AleXBR]

Flickr doing my head in, but have managed to put these two photo's on a photostream but haven't worked out how to put them here yet.
Which is a bugger as I'd like to post images regularly.
I'm sure I'll get the hang of it eventually.

[iansoady]

Alex:

Copy the image location (right click on it and pick "Copy image location" from the drop down menu). Although flickr may have an easier way...

Then press the "insert image icon (bottom row extreme left above message text. This will insert {img}{/img} (but with square brackets not curly). Paste the image location between the inner square brackets.

You'll get:



although for some reason that's a tiny image.

Re space - the camera makes it look bigger than it is although it's great to have a bit of room. I used to have a damp cramped single garage.

[Steve H]

First question: why does one have to follow up through the verification faff each time a contribution is made? Especially when you're already logged in!

What do you mean by faff, what verification process are you having to go though ?

Also, tried to download a couple of photo's from my files, only to find my stored image files are too big.
I haven't a clue how to deal with that...I can use spanners, not computers.

The file size is limited to reduce storage space etc, also there is little point in uploading a huge high resolution file only to have it resized before being displayed. I increased the size a while back which helped. Google Facebook etc make this easier by resizing before uploading, the forum doesnt offer that option (or didnt last time I checked)
There are a few online tools available.

Also, Firefox flags this site as not secure. Is that true?

Its flagging that the site does not support https, this would encrypt the content end to end. Technically if someone was looking at your internet traffic when you signed in (using username and password) they would be able to see your password. So I would recommened you dont use a password for this site that you are using elsewhere.

[AleXBR]

Guy's, I do appreciate the patience you're sharing. Thank you.

Ian: I've tried to use the available flickr tools (as I see them), but couldn't see any way to copy from there and paste here.
The 2 links I inserted are sh-te and have no idea how they appeared; however, I did later manage to establish the beginnings of a photostream with them, which contain 'normal' size images.

To be honest, in 10 years of working on other forums I've never encountered these issues.
I accept this forum is a shoestring affair, so is different to what I'm used to, ie just copying and pasting.

A confession;- I'm dyslexic, both alphabetically and numerically. So stepping outside my comfort zone can have me confused. Experience has taught me to find unusual/oblique strategies to understand things that normal folk see straight away.

Steve: I discovered the 'faff' was due to me not being logged in properly. Though elsewhere you can't write a bunch of stuff until that's done. Here you can!

Whatever problems I'm having, I'll get around them; where there's a will etc!
Until then I'll just have to stick to babble, ramblings and observations. Sorry to waste all this space.

Back to bikes; after living with the BSA for so long, then jumping on an XBR, was like a kind of culture shock, which illustrates the development progress between them. They both get there, but differently.

I've also got a Ducati F2 replica, which I had built in 1984 at a time when I was all year round, weekly commuting to London on BMW' (R's & K's). That was like falling off a sofa onto a bicycle!

Had enough for now....but I'll be back!

[AleXBR]

Any better?
[img]