WAMT....what annoyed me today!

[Cobra]

When I first saw the ads popping up on my phone (in free games apps)

I don't use those, I try and keep my phone as "Clean" as possible.

the Chinese government, because domestic demand has stagnated/fallen, appear to be pushing their export economy very very aggressively!

I think you and I are about the same age, so I'm sure you are old enough to remember the phrase "jap crap"
Mostly toys that started appearing back in my childhood days.

 

[Nod]

And early Japanese motorcycles! Mainly because they were anything but crap but were killing the far less forward thinking British bike industry.

 

[Cobra]

And early Japanese motorcycles! Mainly because they were anything but crap but were killing the far less forward thinking British bike industry.

Horrible whiny things initially, but yes they did take the market by storm, once they got a foothold.

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Horrible whiny things initially, but yes they did take the market by storm, once they got a foothold.

I remember my Lambretta Cento being blown off by a Honda Cub at some traffic lights, in London's Finchley Road, during the 1960s.

 

[ancient_mariner]

Horrible whiny things initially, but yes they did take the market by storm, once they got a foothold.

They also had a very non-British characteristic of not breaking all the time, which was a key part of their attractiveness. I've had a couple of British classics in the past, and had seized engines, broken crankshafts, lubrication system failures, electrical issues, where a Japanese bike of similar age would not normally do that. And they did go well too, with 500cc performance from 250s etc.

 

[Cobra]

I remember my Lambretta Cento being blown off by a Honda Cub at some traffic lights,

Its Italian, what did you expect?

They also had a very non-British characteristic of not breaking all the time, which was a key part of their attractiveness.

My first bike was a Bantam, we did a lot of miles together, just a few minor irritations in that time.

 

[Cockney]

Its Italian, what did you expect?


My first bike was a Bantam, we did a lot of miles together, just a few minor irritations in that time.

My first was a 250G2 Matchless. It was VERY heavy and s*** quite frankly.

 

[Nod]

My D7 was fine until it sheared the Woodruff key on the crankshaft and ate all the ignition and electrical charging system. Being a glutton for punishment, I quite fancy a '63 Brit of some sort but Bonnies are too expensive and Batnams (sic) too slow! I've got used to bikes not leaking oil too!

 

[Cockney]

I've got used to bikes not leaking oil too!

You mean automated foot warmers.

 

[ancient_mariner]

My first Brit was a Bantam B175.

 

[Nod]

You mean automated foot warmers.

BMW twins!

 

[Tigger.ufo]

BMW twins!

Oh yes! The fun to be had at the Dartford Tunnel when handing the 20p toll to the guy in the booth from the top of the cylinder ...

 

[Nod]

I preferred the Hatfield tunnel with 2" straight throughs on an 88" Shovelhead. With me a few bikes behind! Later on, when I was looking after it, it would set off car alarms in enclosed car parks!

 

[Nod]

WAMT is that the antibiotics I'm on at the moment make me feel like poop! Only a few days to go before the course is over though. At least the pills seem to be working.

 

[Tigger.ufo]

I preferred the Hatfield tunnel with 2" straight throughs on an 88" Shovelhead. With me a few bikes behind! Later on, when I was looking after it, it would set off car alarms in enclosed car parks!

Loud pipes save lives ...

 

[Box Brownie]

Loud pipes save lives ...

There is loud and loud.. .......about once a week a biker comes down the nearby (approx 200ft away,) 40mph main road and we can hear it coming from about 400yards away at the roundabout. Not only loud but the rider blips the throttle resulting in even louder 'reports'.

Surely he(?) has open pipes....... illegal???

 

[Cobra]

Loud pipes save lives ...

And scares the crap ( at the very least wakes them up) out of motorists, if you pull up alongside them and blip the throttle.
( or so I've heard )

 

[Pixbarmy]

And scares the crap ( at the very least wakes them up) out of motorists, if you pull up alongside them and blip the throttle.
( or so I've heard )

I can't hear them any more. Listened to too many! The tinnitus drowns them out!

This was my first! (500 Comet). Sold it for £55 (and made a profit!) Doh!

 

[Nod]

Loud pipes save lives ...

You do tend to get fewer phone zombies step out in front of you if the vehicle makes a bit of noise!

 

[Box Brownie]

I don't use those, I try and keep my phone as "Clean" as possible.


I think you and I are about the same age, so I'm sure you are old enough to remember the phrase "jap crap"
Mostly toys that started appearing back in my childhood days.

I certainly recall the low esteem associated with Japanese goods but the game changer IMO was the motorcycles and then the cars.

In discussion with an engineer (sometime between I think the late 60's to early 70's) he spoke of the likes of the BSA Bantam......"rider pulls up to garage asking for oil...... forecourt guy says, should I put it in the engine or just pour down your leg to save time... "

He went on to explain that UK engineering post war was still using 1930's tolerances (likely not helped by almost zero investment in new machine tools post war) so compared to Japanese engineering being rebuilt post war with USA loans (similar to the Marshall Plan that set up German industry for the future), with its vast improvements in engineering tolerances compared the UK in the doldrums of improvement.

PS as for age I have another big '0' next year to look forward(?) to next year

 

[Cobra]

PS as for age I have another big '0' next year to look forward(?) to next year

You have the edge on me, but only just.

so compared to Japanese engineering being rebuilt post war with USA loans (similar to the Marshall Plan that set up German industry for the future), with its vast improvements in engineering tolerances compared the UK in the doldrums of improvement.

Absolutely
I remember my Dad saying, when I was a lot younger, regarding this, on more than one occasion.
"Who actually won the war?".

 

[Box Brownie]

You have the edge on me, but only just.


Absolutely
I remember my Dad saying, when I was a lot younger, regarding this, on more than one occasion.
"Who actually won the war?".

Our industries post war were so damaged both physically & financially, so when you combine that with the debts the UK had accumulated such that we were in hock to the USA for many decades (IIRC reading that we finally paid off the debt around about the late 1980's

Compared the defeated aggressors whose industries had been so destroyed that only newer modern machinery was installed, we were industrially impoverished for a very long time........and that legacy possibly exists to this day

 

[Nod]

The biggest problem most Brit bikes faced as far as oil leaks go was (and still can be!) the vertically split crank cases, meaning that any slight ding in the mating faces could end up in a fairly constant leak. Combine that with porous castings (ever wondered why Vincent bottom ends were enamelled black???) and low investment in modern machinery and the end of that era was all but inevitable.
Interesting that one of the oldest manufacturers was sold off lock stock and barrel (appropriate for a gun maker!) to India survived when the rest sank here.

 

[Dave Canon]

Yes the Japanese did set high standards. A US company ordered a 1000 integrated circuits from Japan and specified that there must be a failure rate of no more than 1%. This was normal in US industry where a few failed chips would get through. The order arrived in two packages. One contained the 1000 chips required and the other small packet contain ten failed chips with a note. We are not sure why you wanted failed chips but we have located ten for you.

Dave

 

[woof woof]

It's not all good news from Japan. I could tell you some horror stories.

 

[Jelster]

It's not all good news from Japan. I could tell you some horror stories.

I dabbled with Italian bikes twice, never again..... How Aprilia managed to take some parts made by Honda and make them fail regularly is beyond me....

 

[woof woof]

Today's annoyance is a tent and getting it back into the bag. After its first use it took me three goes to get it back into the bag and once we got home it needed to be unpacked and cleaned and dried and then put back in its dreaded bag. It's not just tents though as very often things can be a very tight squeeze when getting them back into their bag or box.

Is the amount of box and bag material really so expensive that they have to be micron tight with the thing inside tight?

 

[Earley Man]

Today's annoyance is a tent and getting it back into the bag. After its first use it took me three goes to get it back into the bag and once we got home it needed to be unpacked and cleaned and dried and then put back in its dreaded bag. It's not just tents though as very often things can be a very tight squeeze when getting them back into their bag or box.

Is the amount of box and bag material really so expensive that they have to be micron tight with the thing inside tight?

A true story regarding getting sleeping bags back into their, equally tight, stowage bags. I used to be a volunteer at the local branch of the Salvation Army, I still support them as and when I can, but age takes it toll.

In 2018 we had group of approximately 10/12 rough sleepers in the local area and during that winter the seven local churches got together and set up camp beds/ sleeping bags in each church one night a week. At the end of the winter all the sleeping bags had to be returned to their stowage bags.

Now I have never gone camping in my life, but when I saw the assistant to the Officer in Charge struggling to get the sleeping bags into the stowage bags, which were the same green colour as the sleeping bags, I offered to help. However we were still unsuccessful, now, being a Cornishman I have a dry sense of humour and can be a bit quick with it. Getting frustrated I said "This is worse than trying to get a condom on the Incredible Hulk" this produced a howl of laughter and caused her to run to the toilet.

 

[woof woof]

Our sleeping bags went straight in as did our matrasses but the tent is a real fight.

It's not just bags of course, some things that come out of boxes + their packing seem to need Voodoo to get them back in.

 

[Gremlin]

A few weeks back when mu fixed electric rate ended I went inline to see what was on offer. Before I had even completed the original form had a phone cal from a woman who couldn't seem to understand that I didn't need a gas quote as I don't have gas, she still kept telling me I would get a better deal if I transferred both. She wanted to sign up there and then but I refused and asked for email of the details which I deleted has a couple of emails s since but they go straight to junk. She did try to ring a few rime but got ignored
Yesterday phone rang, [picked it up and after a few seconds delay an Indian sounding male announced he was from utility warehouse, told him I wasn't interested, ended the call and blocked the number
Today mobile rang, different number, went to ansaphone a message telling me yesterdays call wasn't spam and they would try again,
I still won't speak to them

 

[Dave Canon]

WAMT tested positive for COVID again.

Dave

 

[luthy]

One headlamp blew yesterday so called into Halfords next to where I work to get a new lamp. Got to the till where I was asked if I wanted the £6 lamp fitting, I was aware that they charge for this so I asked how much it was. The response was £10 per bulb (I had bought a twin pack). Its a max of a 5 min job thats £120 per hour.
Needless to say I declined.

 

[Tigger.ufo]

One headlamp blew yesterday so called into Halfords next to where I work to get a new lamp. Got to the till where I was asked if I wanted the £6 lamp fitting, I was aware that they charge for this so I asked how much it was. The response was £10 per bulb (I had bought a twin pack). Its a max of a 5 min job thats £120 per hour.
Needless to say I declined.

I buy my offside headlight bulb from the peugeot dealer at their inflated price because they will fit it and it is an absolute a**se to fit. I buy and fit the nearside one myself ...

 

[boogie man]

I think depending on the size of the solicitor firm, though your liaison is with the principal it is not uncommon for the grunt work to be done by a clerk.....so yes, the principal will have many files crossing their desk (including ones that they are directly involved with) but IMO that is no excuse for poor level of service

It all depends on the clerk. A couple of years back we were moving house so I phoned around a few companies for a conveyancing price. One small local company got decent reviews so I tried them for a quote. Got a quavery old dear on the phone who honestly sounded like she’d dropped out of a Dickens novel and asked how much they charged.

“I’m afraid you’d need to speak to Mrs X for that and she only comes in on Wednesdays and Fridays.”

“Can you email me a quotation then?”

“Ah, I’m afraid I don’t know how to do emails. You’ll need Mr Y for that and he’s on holiday at the moment ”

 

[Cockney]

I buy my offside headlight bulb from the peugeot dealer at their inflated price because they will fit it and it is an absolute a**se to fit. I buy and fit the nearside one myself ...

My wife used to have a 206, I vividly remember much swearing while trying to replace the bulb.

 

[woof woof]

My mother died in September and since she died it's been absolute hell with my sister. This is a woman who hadn't so much as spoken to our mother for 15 months. The hell she's created is possibly worse than a bereavement as she's just torturing me. One thing I try to do is pick a point in the future at which this will soon be over and every day I live through is then one day closer to this hell ending but it is difficult to live through this.

 

[andya700]

At the beginning of November from the car insurance mob, saying they would send me a letter and email regarding my latest quote for renewal around two weeks before the renewal date on 24th November.
Well, I have heard nothing, so looked at my renewal email from last year and managed to logon to my account.
For the past two years my monthly payment has been around the £21 per month. Nothing has changed, no accidents no speeding, circumstances the same - renewal quote coming in at £35 per month.
So, I will be having a word or two tomorrow and they won't be very nice words.
I am totally sick of this country, using every excuse to extort ever more money from us.
How can they justify an increase of that magnitude?

 

[andya700]

My mother died in September and since she died it's been absolute hell with my sister. This is a woman who hadn't so much as spoken to our mother for 15 months. The hell she's created is possibly worse than a bereavement as she's just torturing me. One thing I try to do is pick a point in the future at which this will soon be over and every day I live through is then one day closer to this hell ending but it is difficult to live through this.

Sorry you are going through this, I can share your pain as I am having much the same problems.

 

[Cobra]

Well, I have heard nothing,

The previous mob I was with, never sent me a renewal notice, I knew when it was due, so phoned them a week before, and they said "it was in post"
The first time this happened the quote was the same, so I just let it ride.
The renewal notice turned up 3 weeks later!
The second time it happened, the quote was way over what I was paying, so I cancelled.
And you guessed it, the renewal notice turned up 3 weeks later.
( that's another bug bare of mine, auto renew, and 9 times out of 10 you have to phone to cancel)

I got on to the meerkat site, and saved a few quid on what I paid the previous year.
I always get a quote when my car insurance is coming up.

 

[Suvv]

I never allow auto-renewal for anything.
I wonder how much car insurance prices are rising due to theft. A neighbour had his car stolen from their drive. Fortunately it had a tracker fitted and it was recovered the next day about 5 miles away with no damage and nothing stolen. They keep their keys in a metal box in pouches but the police reckon that the car was stolen to order.
The thieves spot a car they are after and follow it until they are able to clone the key and find out where it is parked, they then steal it and leave it parked somewhere for a few days to see if it can be traced. After that they collect it and sell it on. The police advice was to fit a steering wheel lock and a bollard on the drive so that the thieves go after someone else's car!
It seems so easy to clone keys these days it must lead to increased thefts and therefore increased premiums fo everyone.