Hi Chaps, My bad luck with bikes continues... I purchased a new cb1000rr ABS from Fowlers in Bristol in March 2012 as a replacement for a ktm rc8 that blew up. It is still under warranty. The bike developed a fault with the brakes some months ago. The symptoms were spongy brakes with no power and the lever biting point not consistent. The lever occasionally comes back to the bar unpredictably with no application of power. The brakes are generally spongy. The bike has been back to Fowlers 4 times to fix this. Every time it is returned, they swear they have fixed the fault (air in the system, bled it 7 times, leaking caliper seal where they were replaced) and every time the vehicle returns to me the fault quickly re-occurs (1 or 2 days). I have been unable to use the vehicle for some months now, as it has been either in the workshop or waiting on a workshop slot to become available. There doesn't appear to be any understanding of the cause of the fault or ability to test if it is rectified. There is also the issue of my safety. It's brakes FFS! Clearly, I can't keep being a guinea pig and I'm getting incredibly frustrated at the lack of progress. I have involved Honda customer services, but they don't seem to have any solutions or sense of urgency. Could someone offer advice? (Note, this seems to be a theme with the Honda ABS sportsbikes if forums are to be believed... it's not so simple as a leak from the brakes, the abs system is an incredibly complicated setup that relies on flow modulators and is linked front and rear - the modulators are about £1500 each...)

Japanese car recall: how are UK consumers affected? Toyota, Honda and Nissan are recalling 3.4m vehicles worldwide after discovering a fault with front passenger seat airbags Japanese carmakers are recalling 3.4m cars worldwide after discovering a fault with some airbags. Here is a guide to how UK consumers are affected. What is the problem with the cars? The affected models have all been supplied with front passenger seat airbags by the same Japanese component supplier, Takata. Some of these airbags have been found to have safety defects. There is too much pressure in the bag so that when it is deployed it goes off with a bigger bang than necessary. This can lead to bits of plastic and metal flying into the windscreen and footwell, according to a Honda spokesman. All the manufacturers affected are keen to stress that there is no risk to passengers from the airbag if there is not a crash – the bag will not inflate accidentally. There have been no incidents in the UK to date. The problem was highlighted following five incidents in the US and Japan. There have been no reported injuries resulting from the fault. Is my car affected? In the UK there are 76,000 Toyotas affected, 15,400 Hondas and 59,058 Nissans. The Toyota recall involves models produced between November 2000 and March 2004, and includes the Toyota Corolla, Yaris, Avensis, Avensis Verso, Picnic and Camry. These vehicles will have "X" to "54" registration plate identifiers. The Honda models affected are those produced between 2001 and 2003. The bulk of these – around 15,000 – are Honda CRVs. The other 400 are made up of the Honda Jazz, Civic and Stream models. The Nissan models were built between 2000 and 2004. The vehicles affected are: X-Trail, Patrol, Almera, Almera Tino, Terrano II and the 4x4 Pickup. What do I need to do if I think my car is affected? Toyota, Honda and Nissan will all be writing to affected customers within the next 30 days. However, you can check before then. Toyota has set up a facility on its website that allows you to check whether your car is one of those affected. It will be fully up and running from the afternoon of Thursday 11 April. Alternatively, Toyota, Nissan and Honda owners can contact their local dealership now to ask for an appointment to put things right. http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/apr/11/japanese-car-recall-uk-consumers