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OP - it can be fun getting her to improve. I throw some strange words and sayings at my wife and she does her best to understand the usage - does pretty well really. She's really good at understanding nuance and irony.

We were once out for a meal with a friend and his friend. The guy was a two week millionaire boorish loudmouth who was giving us his expert knowledge on all things Thai, specifically about Thai women. His assumption was that the women present either didn't understand him or if they did, they didn't care.

My wife was fuming and eventually after listening to a piece of diatribe from him (the diatribe being irrelevant), she says to him "So Kun Chris, in your ever so bumble opinion, which I see you're not backwards in being forward about, what do you think would be the case if.......blah blah blah". And she made a few good points and shot this dude down.

All of those phrases I'd taught her previously, and she told me later that she had to really try hard to recall them before she used them that night and even checked a few of the words on her phone dictionary at the table.

Needless to say, the American was speechless, my friend choked on his beer, his wife didn't know what the hell was going on, and I just sat back and smiled.

Edit: Just to clarify. Her English is nowhere near that level but when she hears me use different words/sayings and hears them repeatedly, she often asks what they mean and how to use them.

Yep. When I go home my son always tells me off for talking pidgin.

He got really annoyed when we were shopping at a mall and I saw something that wasn't priced. I "waved" the shop assistant over with the Thai wave, pointed at the item and said "This one, how much?".

As to correcting your GF's English, you'll be doing her a favour if you get her to improve her grammar.

OP - Firstly, why did your wife even pay the 450 Baht marked price for the trousers? She should have negotiated a cheaper price.

Secondly, why didn't she tell the shopkeeper to go and euphemistically give themselves an orgasm when she was asked for the extra 200 baht?

My wife wouldn't and doesn't tolerate that sort of <deleted> - to the point that she tells the vendor or service provider prior to the point of establishing a price that if they try and rip her off because she has a Falang husband, they better readjust their attitude or a thousand problems will descend upon their family.

Jeez.....even I'm scared of her!!

Mr Griffiths, you have let the side down badly. I thought most Kiwis had a bit more street smarts than this.

You should be deported across the ditch where you would fit in better.

I've thrown a couple of parties for my last two birthdays. I make a point of introducing myself to the freeloaders that I've never seen at the bar before who sit on a water or a beer for 30 minutes while gobbling down half a pig plus the trimmings.

I usually manage to embarrass them into buying me a drink.

Don't send him back we have enough of them here to deal with .Send him to England where he originated from.

My Aussie mates reckon he's a Kiwi.

Although there were some other comments about people from Morwell, which are probably not appropriate for posting on this forum.

Mate, he's got an Aussie passport. No self respecting Kiwi would ever want to change to an Aussie passport.

The only ones that do are the ones that are super low IQ, Bogans and dole bludgers. And us Kiwis send them to Australia to raise the average IQ of both countries and improve the Aussie gene pool.

Sportsbikes (nor scooters for that matter) are not toys. It's a tough way to learn that lesson.

Yes it is funny. Of course, I don't recall any of these things happening back in Farangland.

Leave the lavatory.

Wipe hands on the nearest passers bye T shirt.

Saves you soiling your own.

My mates wonder why I frequently slap them on the back

Steering dampers do different things on different types of bikes, but the essential science is that they reduce the ability of the steering to move in any direction, thus dampening and slowing the movement. If the front wheel triers to dramatically alter direction, say with hitting a pothole, the damper slows and limits the speed of that movement.

A simple damper is just like an oil filled suspension strut. The oil is allowed to pass through valves, and under heavy movement the oil struggles to move through the valves, thus impeding the steering movement.

The benefits are multiple. On the road they generally give a more comfortable ride as minor deflections of the front wheel from the road surface are limited and give a more comfortable ride especially on the arms. If a seam in the concrete makes a non-equipped bike dance, a damper equipped bike will handle it better. The same applies to potholes etc. Although having a damper doesn't mean you can ignore potholes.

On the track they can sometimes prevent a tankslapper from occurring and also limit the affect that it has. However, they do not totally prevent them, especially if your suspension is not tuned properly. They are most effective under WOT and the front wheel gets light or even off the ground - if you bring it down slightly off-centre the damper will (normally) quickly and efficiently centralise the steering for you. They also serve a purpose under heavy front braking in a corner and will limit the number of times your front wheel pulls itself down.

In the dirt they do essentially the same things but probably the biggest benefit is the comfort factor. A day in the dirt on a non-equipped bike is sheer hell compared to one equipped with a good damper. Once you've had one you'll never go back.

Most modern after market dampers of any repute are multi adjustable. You can adjust the amount of dampening in one or both directions from centre. On the dirt for example you may only want to dampen in one direction depending on the track rotation or track surface. (EDIT: Or you may want to limit the movement away from centre but allow the steering to be centralised back to centre with no/less impedance.)

On the road/track, some become more progressive based on speed - more dampening at faster speeds. This is a great advantage because you need freeer movement and usually more movement of the steering at slower speeds. Yet at higher speeds when a tank slapper is more likely, they give progressively more dampening.

Dampers do not make anybody bullet proof, but I wouldn't ride a bike without one. Actually considering getting one for my scooter .

DO NOT buy a Malaysian or Chinese Kamikaze brand. They are (should be) precise pieces of equipment and a cheapy could be more dangerous than none at all. I fitted a cheapy to an old school RD400 and it did the trick, but after a long ride the adjuster managed to vibrate and tighten up, making the steering almost seize.

When you install it, follow the tuning instructions carefully. Don't be inclined to have the dampening set so high that you can "feel" the effect too much while standing still. Do this and you'll find yourself drifting very wide at your first fast bend.

You can't go past Scott's IMVHO. And you can unbolt them when you sell the bike.