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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)

The saga is over.

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

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

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.

I just post this here as its on local biker FB groups.. Following the horrific crash at Oulton Park yesterday St Peter's church in Little Budworth will fly the Union Flag at half mast as a sign of respect until Thursday (when it will rise to honour the fallen on VE Day). The church is open 7.00pm this evening for anyone wanting a quiet space to reflect on the sadness following the incident at the BSB event.

Saw one brought down by a kid with a bow and arrow once after it was annoying the whole campsite. Gave us all a good chuckle.

Today I went out to grab a tag, but I had to leave myself enough mileage to go out again without going too far over the 600 break in, oil change. I've not got it in "baby (rain) mode" anymore, although it's a very good throttle curve, I found that for fast dual carriageways, and motorway type roads like the A14, I needed a bit more of a response. It gives it in bucket loads, and that's just standard response, I haven't tried the most responsive mode yet. I've had the ABS and traction control keep me upright, it was getting dark the other night and I got to some road works where I had to pull out of a junction and accelerated away across gravel and grit, the darned thing just dealt with it, not so much as a flinch, just got me out of trouble. Anyhoo, today was a trip from Haverhill to Downham market, grabbed a picture or three at Denver windmill, and then headed back. The surface of the A10 was atrocious from Ely heading north, it was so bad I just rode in line and didn't overtake, I honestly thought I could be thrown from the bike. On the way back, I diverted east to Mildenhall, that road was worse . I stopped at R&C Motorcycles for a chat and a sausage roll, then headed home via Newmarket, it's a great ride, done it a few times recently. Got stuck behind some exhaustless twat on a bike, horrendous bloody noise, he must get a headache.. Took me a few hours, but had a very good ride out and back, if not pretty sweaty in places, thank goodness my jacket has the facility to fasten the collar back, and the left lapel too, gives lots more ventilation. Disappointed with the Nolan in this respect, it has awful ventilation, and being white made little difference to my head getting hot, even with the vents open.

Thanks guys! Sorry for delay in replying I was allowed to take myself off fishing and just got back. My kind of birthday. Cheers Ian

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

Another day in Yorkshire. Northwest England. #4 Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop#5 Mae's Tea Room's and Gallery. #6 Whinfell Park. #7 Hutton Lodge Pottery.

Same in Egypt. Friends of mine were once in a taxi in Cairo, when the driver took a left turn in the dark (no-one in Cairo actually turns their car lights on unless they think they're about to hit someone) and so they ended up driving along the tram lines. Problem was, the tramway at this point was bollarded off from the rest of the road and was laid as a proper railway line. At first, while they were just bumpty-bumping over the sleepers, it wasn't so bad, but when they heard the horn of the oncoming tram in the dark, they decided enough was enough and opened the doors of the moving car and jumped for their lives. As it happened, the tram stopped in time. However, no-one could persuade the taxi driver to leave his car. And of course the tram wasn't going anywhere, either.

North West England. #1 Fewston Farm Shop and Cafe. #2 Route 59 Cafe. #3 Bridge House Farm.

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

Shakedown ride #2. Same route and same conditions as previously. Only difference was I absolutely caned it through the gears down a quiet,1.5 mile long straight with no turnoffs close to the village, one ear listening for backfiring if the new pump could not keep up with max engine demand. Of course MLud, I never exceeded the posted 60 mph limit. Whistle innocently.... Then parked up in exactly the same place as before, engine idling as before and took a pic. Two differences in this pic. 1. She is wearing her seat cowl this time out. 2. No puddles of fuel under the bike which is quite a novel experience so far this year. The seat cowl is not the best Honda design ever. It is held in place by two screws and if you need to get under the seat, the two screws have to be undone, then the seat unlocked and removed.. The toolkit lives under the seat... A great catch 22. You need the tookit to remove the seat, but you cannot get to it... I carry a large plate washer in my jacket pocket to undo the seat screws. Of course, since honda in their wisdom did not fit carb float bowl overflows, if they do overflow due to a bad fuel needle valve, the fuel drops straight down the carb mouths and fills the cylinders and sump with raw fuel when the bike is stood a long time. To prevent this possible occurence, you have to switch the fuel off at the fuel tap if the bike is not going to be used all week. The fuel valve is right underneath the tank and the only way to access it without removing the bodywork is via removing the seat and using a very long screwdriver on the tap lever screw. Again a pain if the seat cowl is fitted, although it is only a two minute job. Another silly honda oversight. If only they fitted a vacuum operated fuel tap... Seat cowl fitted and no puddle of fuel. Both novel ideas this ride out. As for the rest of ride. Absolutely superb. I can well understand why I knew I made a big mistake when trading my original one in for a Blackbird. Perfect. Not many people realise that Honda lost £100 for every VFR750 sold. They could not charge the punter enough to cover the manufacturing costs and still maintain enough sales to make the project viable. The entire VFR project was a face saving exercise after the VF series camshaft and camchain debacle in the 80s.