Dodgy advice

[Ratti]

You know what frightens me about some of the posts in this forum?

That a very young noob will take on as literal truth, some of the potentially risky suggestions about how to handle certain situations. An example of this is when I Was told recently of a post where someone had suggested spraying crc on squeaky brakes. eh???? funny to someone who knows, but what about those of us who are innocents in this game?

As a returning biker, I have forgotten a lot. I find it helpful to read the newbies section as it jogs my memory. I dont always agree with what is written here,as is my absolute right.
When I dont agree it's usually because I have recalled a situation where said advice would have lead to a screaming disaster. WIthout those memories garnered in 10years of riding as a youngster and 30 years of general driving, I'd be mince by now.

Just a thought for the earnest young and notsoyoung newbies...
Much of what you read here is opinion not fact

[Spearfish]

Its just like real life really, some advice is worth a pinch of poo others is gold, usually anything thats a "sticky" at the top of forum sections has the the "best of" advice in what ever topic its in.
The advice about CRC on the brakes is different, liquid wax to polish the bike has a similar but temporary effect.
Cleaning off all the chain lube to stop the bike getting dirty is another
Jiff takes dead bugs off a visor...
If you dont have cables to do a jump start just take the good battery out once its started and fit the dead one to charge it...
Jump off the bike just before you hit the side of the car... takes practice tho?
you could have seeded a best of the worst advice for new or returning riders.

[sinfull]

Jiff takes dead bugs off a visor...
.
You owe me a new visor ! Damn

[Little Miss Trouble]

I believe its called 'sarcasm' or 'pisstake' most human beings, by the time they are allowed to get a drivers license have gotten pretty good at figuring out the difference between this, and genuine advice.

And sadly theres alot less of it on here now than a few years ago

[DEATH_INC.]

Ha ha, I remember an article ADB (australasian dirt bike magazine) ran quite a few years back about using Cambells V8 veggie juice to boost power....they got hate mail for months coz a lot of people didn't read the glaring pisstake signs......
BTW, DON'T try this, or NOS energy drinks in the fuel either...... (just in case....)

[Tank]

Its easy to see if the info is lousy or not.

Simply look at the tags at the bottom of the page.

If it has the work "dangerous ......" in it - best ignore.

example "dangerous mechanic"

[pc220]

Its easy to see if the info is lousy or not.

Simply look at the tags at the bottom of the page.

If it has the work "dangerous ......" in it - best ignore.

example "dangerous mechanic"
Or any advice posted by your old mate DB.

[Ratti]

thats my point guys...how is a noob to know what is reliable and what is a load of rubbish?

[avgas]

Reading about ridin motorbikes is not faact.
Point.
Nor is drinkn fo the matter,,,,,,,,,,,, I recomment trying something off the manual.
Wordks for me

[dipshit]

Ha ha, I remember an article ADB (australasian dirt bike magazine) ran quite a few years back

https://www.motomummy.com/store/product.php?productid=17061&cat=25

This here is a pretty funny leg pull as well... :whistle:

[Berries]

thats my point guys...how is a noob to know what is reliable and what is a load of rubbish?

Any and all advice taken off the interweb, from a forum especially, should be taken with a big pinch of salt. Sad as it seems, there are people out there who get kicks from handing out dodgy advice on subjects they may know absolutely nothing about. If it could be life threatening, like loosening the bolts on your brake discs to stop the squealing, etc etc etc, then get a second opinion from someone you know or someone down your local bike shop.

Buyer beware and all that.

[Mom]

I think that generally someone with half a brain will realise that a pisstake has taken place. For me the most dangerous advice comes disguised as knowledge. Now, that really scares me. I always make a point of stating my opinion of a post that I deem dangerous or plain friggen stupid, if no one has got there before me.

[pritch]

Any and all advice taken off the interweb, from a forum especially, should be taken with a big pinch of salt.


Exactly. It's not just KB, it's a problem over the whole Internet.

On KB though there is a tendency, when discussing equipment or techniques or whatever, for posters to swear by the particular item or method they use as being the one and only correct choice. Many of the people making these bold assertions may not, in reality, be all that experienced or knowledgeable. If that's all not bad enough, none of us is perfect and we all make mistakes. Then there are the people suffering from a variety of personality disorders.

The only effective defence is a built-in bullshit detector. :whistle:

[mister.koz]

I think that generally someone with half a brain will realise that a pisstake has taken place. For me the most dangerous advice comes disguised as knowledge. Now, that really scares me. I always make a point of stating my opinion of a post that I deem dangerous or plain friggen stupid, if no one has got there before me.

such a good mum:love:

[pritch]

On giving the problem further thought the following occurred to me...

If in doubt I look at the person's profile which gives the option to look at their previous posts and any threads they started. You should be able to get a feel for the quality of their contributions from their previous postings.

In a general sense I'm not a fan of the reputation system, some people court green rep, some people lack a sense of proportion. If somebody has a lot of red rep though that could indicate that potentially a problem exists.

The fact that somebody holds a senior position on KB, or is a mentor, doesn't mean their utterances are gospel. Nor are anybody elses, including mine.

Reading that it seems a bit simplistic, but it works for me. I hope? :whistle:

[mister.koz]

I don't think its wise to take anyone's advice as gospel. Even pro's fall off.

I know myself that there have been times (not on the bike - I'm still noob) where i have been quite satisfied and unquestioning of my knowledge for years and then realised i was wrong all along.

The moral of the story is to listen, test and prove before adding things to your knowledge and still question it.

Its a bit like your favourite intersection, a car approaches from your left and doesn't appear to be slowing down, do you take it as gospel that they are going to stop? Hell no.

[Hitcher]

Great Uncle Walter was a great provider of advice. There was never a scenario created that he had not had first hand experience of and was quick to proffer an encouraging word in relation to which. Great Aunt Maureen, however, suffered from selective deafness, a cultivated ailment that was unfortunately to be the end of her. Indeed it was actually a seagull, not a duck, not that the top half of the stable door was particularly interested in that fact.

[tigertim20]

You know what frightens me about some of the posts in this forum?

That a very young noob will take on as literal truth, some of the potentially risky suggestions about how to handle certain situations. An example of this is when I Was told recently of a post where someone had suggested spraying crc on squeaky brakes. eh???? funny to someone who knows, but what about those of us who are innocents in this game?

As a returning biker, I have forgotten a lot. I find it helpful to read the newbies section as it jogs my memory. I dont always agree with what is written here,as is my absolute right.
When I dont agree it's usually because I have recalled a situation where said advice would have lead to a screaming disaster. WIthout those memories garnered in 10years of riding as a youngster and 30 years of general driving, I'd be mince by now.

Just a thought for the earnest young and notsoyoung newbies...
Much of what you read here is opinion not fact

yep, there are so me really dangerous bastards on here with some very fucked up ideas on what passes as good advice. it worries me, knowing a large number of people who are new tobiking, and are willing to ask around for advice, fuck knows what stupid ideas are being put into peoples heads because either 1) The advisor is a brainless fucktard, or 2) the advisor is saying something that most of us know is dumb in a toungue in chek manner (like 'just spray some crc into your carbs, itll clean it right out) and the newbs reading it dont have the bike or mechanically related experience to know that it was toungue in cheek.

It is on people who ask for advice though, to not just take the first bit of advice they get, but to wait for a dozen answers, egt a consensus, then do a google search based on that info to confirm it. As somebody else mentioned, ANY advice, on ANY subject, obtained over the internet should be taken with a grain of salt

[Smifffy]

That's all well and good. What it does show is that rather than this site being a great resource for people to discuss their great love of motorcycles and motorcycling, with the aim of encouraging riders of all levels, some would prefer it to be just a great big group wank of piss taking.

It means that for many this would be the last place they turn to for advice, rather than the first.

That's a shame.

[Kickaha]

Any mechanical advice should be asked in the appropriate mechanical forum, if the moderators are doing their job they are drivel free and anything not related to the topic should be removed along with any misleading or dangerous advice

Anything and anywhere else, it's pot luck

[Ratti]

Thanks for the opinions. as usual, they are varied and interesting.