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For a couple of weeks now, my wife has been looking for our table napkins, which had mysteriously gone missing. We were quite chilled about it though, and thought they would show up some day - they couldn't have far. How wrong I was. Because today, I got an unexpected delivery from Sportsbikeshop, and there inside were the napkins, with this note (I did wonder about putting this into "nob of the day", but I thought SBS deserved their own thread title)

Once upon a time there was a scruffy, leather jacketed, denim cutoff, jeans and bike booted young tinkicker. This was pretty much his entire ensemble. The jacket lived draped over a chair in his kitchen, his helmet and gloves lived on the kitchen table and the well worn, almost carpet slipper comfortable boots lived at the side of the kitchen door. Jeans were always worn. So lets go out on the bike.. Jacket on, boots pulled on, helmet gloves and keys picked up and out to the garage, unlock it, fuel on, ignition on and be riding in less than three minutes from switching the telly off. Fast forward 35 years. Still a scruffy creature, that particular foible never changed. This time it is scruffy for comfort, not a lifestyle statement. Jeans gave way to fleece joggers, leather jacket gave way to t shirt and sweatshirt. Bike boots are now trainers. Time to get the bike out for a run. OK. Unlock the shed, turn off the alarm, unlock the chain and disc lock. Remove the dust sheets. Remove the battery tender. Grope under the tank with a specially bought for the purpose, very long screwdriver to switch on the fuel via the completely inaccessable fuel tap. Refit the seat and seat cowl. Start up the bike, check the tyre pressures, roll out the bike through two extra layers of security into the driveway. Stop the bike, and switch off the ignition. Pocket the keys. Upstairs bedroom to change into jeans or more usually, combat pants. Spare bedroom to collect armoured jacket and boots. Take downstairs put them on the kitchen worktop. Into conservatory where I keep the helmet, take it out of bag and place with jacket ect. Put on my stiff as hell tactical boots. Make sure the escape artist dogs are where they should be before opening the front door, if one sneaks out without me seeing, it will be away as soon as I open the final gates onto the road. Armed with jacket, gloves and helmet, I slip out of the front door, lock it and go to start the bike. Where is the key? Upstairs in my jogger pants pocket is where. Unlock the door and wrestle with three dogs intent on getting out, to get back in. Go upstairs, find key, come back and wrestle with three dogs intent on getting out into the front garden once again to get back out the front door. Lock the front door and zip the keys into a pocket. Start up the bike to warm it while I put on the jacket, helmet and gloves. Open the final layer of security - the main gates and onto the street. Start to finish, a full 30 minutes or more. Many is the time when I have fancied a ride out and did not go because I could not face the rigmarole of getting everything ready. Modern life is so much more complicated than it once was.

I was a bit of a nob today. But I had to laugh at myself. So I bought this electric outboard motor. Looks great actually! And without reading the manual I plugged the charger in. And ES appeared on the display. I thought that has got to be an error code. So I looked at the back for errors. And couldn’t see anything about ES. And then it changed. And then I realised I had been looking at the display upside down! And it was 53% charged. Now 54% charged! Actually now fully charged. Itching to try it on my inflatable tender

Good morning, Posted on my socials, but I'll also post here. I went and got married! In the photo is me and the new Mrs Fozzie. I like this photo as behind us by the sea is the hotel where we held the reception. It's also home to our favourite restaurant on the Isle of Wight. The hillside behind the hotel is the path to Tennyson monument, near the famous "Needles" rock formation. The cliffside there is where I proposed.

My friend Gavin died yesterday, from an allergic reaction to eating heart burn tablets. I can't believe Gavisgone

Good afternoon, Been a more positive announcement at work. Sounds like there's a chance I'm going to get my hands dirty again, leading some of the design for inhouse built items. I'm glad I kept the old designs now. A library of electrical looms, ignition controllers and control schematics. I'm fairly confident that if put to the task, I could quickly develop/build a new hydrogen or natural gas fired engine/generator set that was grid parallel compliant. Hopefully be a more "fun" time. Also means I need to be in the office more... Which I'm using to justify the purchase of a retro-cool bike like a Royal Enfield Hunter 350 or maybe a Scram 411. Ugly ducklings. But cool ones.

I grabbed an hour to fit the SW-Motech crash bars. Or, to be really honest, my SW-Motech crash bars come expensive light mounts.... Those two small bolts where the bars meet in the middle were so fiddly, and were the most frustrating part of a very simple task.

A nice little bimble to here: East of England - The Blue Egg The cakes in this place looked great - I didn't get the opportunity to test them, but might go back at a later date!

Lunch stop at the Bishop's house. We havent lost anyone so far.

Tea and cake before we set off today.

Some years back, when I was commuting in the dark over miles of deserted country lanes, I thought some better protection wouldn't go amiss. So I got a Helite Turtle 2, and wore it pretty much all the time thereafter. Then, when covid came, I stopped commuting, and so sold it on, thinking I didn't really need it any more. But I had got so used to it being there, it felt wrong riding without it, so much so, I bought another. I use it nearly all the time; occasionally I don't bother, especially if I'm going somewhere where it's going to be awkward to store it away. I've only forgotten to unclip it a couple of times, and it was no hassle - just a tug on the shoulders to remind me to do it. More often, I used to forget to clip on, but I soon got into the habit of checking the tie after setting off, and got quite good at clipping on while riding. But now I clip on before I set off without thinking about it. It's fired a couple of times, once when I came off crossing slippery ford, and another time when I fell over doing a maladroit U turn on a camber. Each time, all it needs is a new canister for twenty quid to get the thing is up and running again. I now have a spare canister that I take with me if I'm going away for a few days. When I came to buy the second time, these are the things that made me go for another Helite rather than anything else No batteries; if it's clipped on, it's on and working Quick to re-arm after firing: just unscrew the canister and put a new one in Works with every jacket Better neck protection than anything that has to unfurl from inside a jacket or a collar And these were added bonuses Cheaper than most alternatives No subscription fees Cheap to re-arm (£20 a pop)

Village preparations for this evening's VE Day event.

After watching some videos, reading some posts, and letting some people hear the bike, the conclusion was reached that the carb needs cleaning and adjusting a bit. Given the tyres, oil, brake fluid, battery and so on that hadn't been touched in the near 20 years before I bought the bike, it is understandable that the carb could do with a little TLC. Although I am a god-like super mechanic, I am wary about having a go at that myself right now, so took it off to get it looked at professionally. While the chap was looking and listening, he agreed that yup, could do with being looked at more thoroughly. He then, quite accidentally, and while the bike was on its centre stand still running, knocked my handlebars all the way to side whereupon the engine started to rev something crazy. Turns out, there is some sort of throttle cable issue too. Bloody typical! I'll be honest, I hadn't noticed anything while riding. Then again, it is extremely rare that I turn the handlebars fully to one side or the other, with that usually only ever happening at very low speeds and wile controlling low speed manoeuvres with clutch and brake, so if indeed it did start revving out of the ordinary I probably wouldn't have been any the wiser, would have probably thought it was a quirk of the bike, and would have compensated with more brake and clutch control. Now that I know it does it though, just you watch me notice it every time! Bike booked in for the 17th to sort the carb and the throttle cable. While yes, I could probably do them myself, and have done quite a lot of things myself so far, I'm just not quite 'there' yet for messing with the carb and certainly not with something as critical as a throttle cable. Baby steps. That wasn't very ranty of me. I came on here to rant about it. Erm. Poppycock! Balderdash! Have at thee or some such! Going to go for an evenings ride in a bit (They said the bike is still perfectly safe to ride, I just go a little zoomier when I turn right) to calm down as I'm clearly rather worked up. Well, I'm using that as an excuse for an evenings ride. Wife doesn't need to know I'm sanguine about it all. If she thinks I'm rather hecked, then an evenings ride to 'clear my head' is needed. If you see someone zooming super fast round every right hand bend with a gormless smile on his face, don't worry. Its just me. Non-rant over!

Rode the "Thetford Loop" with a couple of others from the local trail riding group. Ah my legs! They hurt today and they will hurt more tomorrow. I started doing this because I was looking for a challenge. I think I've found it The CRF performed faultlessly, and the suspension coped well with the wild sandy rollers. Here it is, at one of the a places where we crossed a tarmac road. And here I am, back in Suffolk, on the way home.

Good evening

No tickets yet…

Update; Fitted one plug, kept another as a spare and the final eight have now all sold on eBay netting me a tidy profit. Biking isn't just fun. It is profitable!

Over the weekend I fitted some LED bulbs! Lots of parts to remove to get the headlight off and bloody hard work getting everything inside the headlight! I must say the way the bmw fairing fits is a bloody work of art!

washed the Indian and invited quality control to check the work! Cheers Ian

It is in the workshop getting its PDI and accessories fitted and I get it after work. Then straight up Loch Lomond for a ride.

Good evening. Still in the lake District

When I did my CBT, it took me a few goes before I finally passed it. I had never ridden or indeed driven before, so being in charge of a motor vehicle, and being on the road, it was all completely new to me. After coming off on a roundabout on my first attempt, the instructor called it a day for me and I ended up going back for some additional one on one training. More time on the bike. More getting used to something new. More building confidence in myself. He himself said after my initial failure that in his view, all I needed was more time on the bike. He was right. He saw my weaknesses and my strengths, saw where I was doing well and where I wasn't, and worked with me to get me not only over the line, as it were, but to give me that confidence to be able to take on the world. You don't just need a good instructor, you need an instructor who is good for you. If things simply aren't clicking with your current one, then find a different one. As for geared or automatics, I would say stick it out and go geared. One of my big sticking points right at the start was gears. I knew, even before I started, that I would have difficulty with them, and I did. I was *this* close to simply tossing the towel in over my frustration with gears, but I persisted. Time, practice, and a bit of tinkering with my bike to move the gear shifter to a more comfortable position for me has worked wonders. Everything is second nature to me now, and it has only been a little over six months. And in that time, I've done close to 5,000 miles on the road in all weathers and at all times of the day and night and have loved every minute! I am in no doubt that if I had a different instructor, I wouldn't be riding or, that I would but would be riding a scooter (no shade to scooter riders, to each their own, but they aren't for me or my portly, middle aged frame) which just isn't for me. Keep at it, look for a different instructor who can work with you and wants you to succeed, and don't be afraid to take things slowly and at your own pace. You've got this!

Finally found and ordered the correct OEM fittings for the 175 tail lamp bracket in Singapore of all places. Not cheap. Perhaps a poor business choice since it is up for sale but I cannot help myself... Besides, the chance of it selling in todays financial climate is slim to non existant, so I still view it as an ongoing project. The flat washers and socket head bolts are wrong. They should be shouldered hex head bolts and cup washers on the tailight and the tail light bracket to the rear fender should be a dome headed nut. I figure that this will make her around 96% original.

I give stickers to my grandchildren. Drives their parents nuts when they have to peel them of the walls.

Met with a few mates and rode to Chester, on to Old Stores, then to Berries in Wrenbury. Cracking weather. I was leading and had an interesting encounter at a T junction when a motorist waited until I was right on the junction before deciding to pull out. I had a feeling she hadn't spotted us so was on the brakes in good time. It became a non-event as I was able to stop before she crossed my line of travel, but her elderly passenger was clearly berating her quite vociferously.

Well, it was a nice day so I thought I'd have another stab at loving the Thunderbird. (To ride, not just to look at). So added it onto the second insurance policy and took it down to SRT for a quick MOT. 74 miles since the last one - a far cry from the 14,000 miles we've put the Explorer through. It passed. So this year's mission is to move house to somewhere with a bigger garage, and buy a big red toolbox for the stickers I keep collecting. And ride the bike more!

Oil change on both bikes. Blimey - oil is getting expensive these days. They both get annual oil changes despite the mileage being much less than the service intervals.

First " destination" ride of the season after a couple of 30 mile circular rides round the local area to chase down any faults that occurred over the winter layup. Of course, it was a ride out to my favourite destination for a bacon buttie and can of fanta. Breighton Airfield. Unbeknown to me they had a celebrity attending. One so breathtakingly beautiful that the hair stood up on the back of my neck. Enter the Boeing PT17 Stearman. And the real star of the ride, resting after a faultless and very enjoyable performance. Cannot believe how much dust she collected on her wheels after a 60 mile ride. Roads must still be filthy after winter.

Setting off for the highlands in the morning. All packed up and promising weather ahead

So what we have established here is that horses are terribly dangerous and that bikes are perfectly safe and that @RideWithStyles brother is a anomaly in an otherwise perfectly smooth dataset. This isn't just a biking forum. This is a science forum!

I was given this as not working. Half an hour of tinkering and it's fixed.

Called in at Christleton last week, traded in the CB for a Triumph T100. Pick the little beauty up on Monday.

Ok - I'll stop trying and find another pastime.

South East England. #1 Twyford Waterworks.

This afternoon the KTM chain got a good going over. First gave the area adjacent to the action a quick wipe down Then gave the chain it a good scrubbing with a wire brush to remove most of the caked on crud and wiped it down I then used this, I won it in a raffle Here is the result after about an hour, a clwan lubed chain that no longer has a grindy sound when spinning the wheel. Just need to fill it with oil & it’s ready to go

My mum used to have a blue badge. My daughter often gave her a lift into Walsall, parking in a disabled spot on the hill where the market is (was?). My daughter used to get flack occasionally as she’s patently not disabled and her car was a Merc SL - not your typical car for disabled people. My mum would arrive, hobbling along with the aid of two sticks, and make it very clear that the complainers were way off the mark. PS. My mum’s now 95, and fighting fit. She’s had operations to deal with the walking issues and has given up her blue badge.

East of England Grimes Graves Visitors Centre

Being vaguely nautical - shiver me timbers!

I was writing a post the other day,and wrote I was semi retired. Auto correct changed it to semi retarded

Just to say hi. Someone had already taken the username Steve so here we are. Not sure what I can tell you. I grew up on a diet of fs1es and 2 strokes and still yearn for those simple days. I have short legs and can't ride anything later than 1998. Id love to go back to riding liquid cooked 2 strokes but the prices are just silly so 80s sports bikes with skinny crossplies are de rigeur. My wife hates bikes and refuses to get on them so tend to spend loads of time on them for some peace and quiet.

Here she is. What a bike, beautiful to ride.

Out and about over weekend. Southwest England. #3 The Walled Garden at Mells. #4 Thyme After Time Cafe. South Midlands. #1 Coaley Peak. West Midlands. #1 Stokesay Castle.

I only approved the post for it's amusement value

My first 2 wheeler was a Lambretta LI150. No battery lights were fed from the Magneto. First time out in the dark and as I rolled off the throttle for a very twisty section the lights virtually went out. That was fun. Not. Had to finish the ride in low gears to keep the revs up so I could see where I was going. Made for an interesting night ride.

Sins and Virtues. #1 Sloth, Lazy Jack's cafe . #2 Envy, Green man.

New pump arrived. Spent 5 mins swapping it over and testing. It pumps when it should and stops when it should. It is also gratifyingly leak free. Tools required to change: 1x 5mm allen key and a screwdriver. Both required to loosen the bodywork. The pump itself can be changed by hands only, depending on how strong your fingers are at undoing the pipe clips. Otherwise a pair of pliers also required. Also a new addition to the bike.. The bike has its original toolkit and owners manual under the seat and I found an important omission at the side of the road last weekend - the 5mm allen key required to remove the bodywork. The original must have been removed to use to assemble ikea furniture or some such in the 28 years since the bike left the showroom and never put back. So I was unable to loosen the bodywork at the side of the road. A n unexpected turn of events which has now been rectified. With tyres, carb leak repair and new fuel pump, I hope I have made sufficient sacrifices to the VFR gods to appease them for the rest of the season. Failed pump about to go in the bin. At three years old, it cannot have pumped much more than 20 gallons. El cheapo chinese tat, the cheapest I could find at the time, I think it was around £12. The new one may be identical, but at a premium price, or it may be better quality, who knows. At least they give it a five year warranty through ebay.

Good afternoon bikers. (14:30 Indonesia time) I had enough of this weather. Always hot, thunderstorms every day and to make it worse. Everything is dead cheap