smallfrowne

The Nikken was quiet, and didn't get to see how fast it was because it was in another group, but I'm sure it would've been a laugh. I'm sure I got a one of them bearings when I did the Dr's notchy bearings moons ago. It was for the top. It didn't give a good fitting seal I seem to remember, or it mightve, but something was off. I don't think I could get the seal off and in the end I put the old bearing back on so the original seal / washer type thing could be used. The notch must've been in the bottom because it wer fine after that.

Oh and the oil dipstick has gone from full to just about registers in about 200mile, I suppose 90 or so of them "hot testing miles" mind

Nice, straight back on the horse! Is that Cadwell? It was! Ankle still swollen and bruised but obviously not that bad and the big vif was up for it. Lovely day for it as well, though it started off in thick fog around cadwell. In fact they delayed the start until it cleared but half the track stayed misty for the first few sessions, which helped me anyway as I was late. Good selection of bikes being chucked down the track, side of track, and some pushed back from the track. Lots of red flags. Cb500.. ZX11.. Nice old R1.. Assorted gixxer k7s or whatever.. Ducati 848.. Ouch. And this thing (it didn't crash thankfully, so many forks to bend)... https://i.imgur.com/5dpuR60l.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> But aye, good times. I feel like a weakling though, the weight of the vif sadly did not dissappear at speed, if anything it got heavier Got passed a lot, only once somewhat aggressively but he waved sorry which was a nice touch. Had fun with the older stuff and the cb500s though and a poor old blade (with number plate) which just sailed on through to the grass after park straight... Man, it looked like you had it saved as well. Always amazed at how sticky sticky rubber is https://i.imgur.com/ZWy9jgvl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> (obviously on way back to scrutineering to get weighed) https://i.imgur.com/3UPYeMZl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Beer time for the hero blobs.

https://i.imgur.com/DZ70qk0l.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Good old comfy big vif. First time in medium group. Not too bad. Only going steady, looking forward to sandwich and a kitkat. Clutch is slipping up top. Ahh

Well good thinking. I doubt bike policy will budge much, Footman James never seem bothered. Car would go up £25... Hmm over 5 years I suppose maybe about a hundred or something. Rough cost for parts so far I reckon is about £570 without any sanding and painting. But then replacement gear will eclipse that slightly... Plus 260 for more boots (I'm quite peeved about the new speed hole) and some new non shredded waddyproof trouse. Or maybe the boots can be repaired but goretex lining... And then Helmet... I mean it seems fine, few grazes on it but feels like the done thing is to distrust it following a bump. Bah. Hmmm. I'll see what she says to £1100 which is being nice really because I hate sanding and painting, and glueing. I reckon insurance job.. When listed out it almost feels like I'm taking the piss but I didn't appear out of nowhere on purpose

Cheers all. Blessings counted, excitement worn off and whatnot, plus bike is back so I can chill out now. AA man seemed to take forever, must've stopped for a cheeky maccy dees. Time to make a list now. The lass wants to avoid going through insurance but I don't think she realises how much all the "superficially" damaged bits cost. And the boots. On closer inspection of said boot there is a nice imprint of that fairing lug 'ole and matching abrasion on me ankle. It's almost done a better job of making a hole in the leather than the Chinese hole punches I got the other week Fine Italian leather boot with a divet, never right. Insurance have been notified anyway so it might be a bit late for that now.

Came out of tesco, just topped up, heading north (green line). At junction there was a big black pickup on the left waiting to pull out and a shiney blue thing to the right, which didn't see me and possibly sped up to nip out after dithering (conjecture). Bike ended up in front of that pickup on its left side (to give that side a good going over too), possibly hit it a bit. I ended up in the gutter more than slightly miffed and threw a glove at the bike for some furious reason. The driver did come straight over actually but I was too busy being dramatic in my gutter. Loads of others were helping out, because obviously I was trying to lead the rescue effort of the bike whilst being told not to move by an off duty fireman. Felt like I'd had the Misery treatment, sledge hammer to the ankle. I've got the details of the driver from the copper that turned up, so I suppose I'll have to start faffing about on the phone tomorrow. Will all be a bit better when the AA man turns up with the bike Spent too much time in the back of the neenaw to get any names and numbers of witnesses or pictures but fingers crossed it just goes swimmingly. It shouldn't cost a lot to sort but the effort... And the pre booked track day on Monday too... Bah.

https://i.imgur.com/3Rv4fAcl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Hello likle bike. I'm just having an interview with the roz, back in minute. https://i.imgur.com/r9zEO7Cl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> https://i.imgur.com/tAtCafsl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> https://i.imgur.com/KwPHqTPl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Bit bent. Foot was smashed on this side. Probably right where that fairing mount lug is (smashed). https://i.imgur.com/lVaA6JNl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> The cable tie holding the fairing on where the mirrors would be has gone missing, can I claim for that? https://i.imgur.com/brSuRJ5l.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Oh no, the last bit of the original castrol fairing! https://i.imgur.com/TEbgqKPl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Couldn't retrieve the bag of duct tape, subframe a bit squished. It's 3M stuff, if it gets wet I think I'll claim for that too

The 400. Running like a dream ah well. Bag of peas or actually sweetcorn, and a beer time

Haha thanks. Yeah I'm alright, got a badly ankle since it was smushed between some car and the bike (side swiped!). Was all at low speed but the bike should magic itself home tomorrow. Currently it is at the back of the (at the time) local rozzer shop. Quite a few bits bent, but hopefully not them forks lol! Buggggger

Knocked off the thing. Bugger. Nearly made it to Cadwell an' all. Annoyingly the clutch lever snapped clean off and so it's been abandoned 40miles from home with no roof over its head.

Really though. I've ridden the cg up a few flights (OK about 6 steps) of stairs. How difficult are green lanes? Aren't they just what horse people like to gallop around on and walkers like to turn into footpaths?

I seem to always be riding home at dusk, in a westerly direction. Perfect for being very annoying but good for the squinting muscles.

Cg125

Finally got round to having a fettle with the 400's forks. I'd bought some valves and springs last year, and it turns out quality control at ktech ain't great. They probably got a bad batch of damper rod tube because even from looking at the unopened bag you could see bits of 'dust' in it. Which isn't a nice thing to put in your fork, as generally people are a bit obsessive about having a nice clean, grit free fork, there's no oil filter ya see. https://i.imgur.com/ROhOzbNl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Gritty. https://i.imgur.com/mLgeS7zl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Err, not great. I did take them back, and off the went back to ktech. When they came back they still weren't great, bit of a once over with a pipe cleaner from the craft section of the Range maybe and a drop of oil. I should really complain again but I really wanted to shave some tenths off my laptimes and give them a go. Bah. Must try to not be so British about it next time. So, I start to think about how to clean a rod that's about 400mm long and 6mm in dia. Tried to ebay a nice bit of sturdy looking wire pipe cleaner but nothing that wasn't thousands of miles away in the east. Tried a bit of rope, well it sorta fit but just didn't do a lot so I glued some sand paper on it. Now it's too tight and just bloody hard work. Google what people use for gun barrels but nothing abrasive enough. Hmm might as well run a drill bit through it maybe.. so a 6mm bit in extra long dimensions was aquired. https://i.imgur.com/KnF58rdl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> This worked well, but still quite a bit of nasty stuff present when squinting down the barrel into the light. https://i.imgur.com/rVzsZLgl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Then I came up with this setup where I was squeezing a piece of wire wool betwixted the drill bit and the 5mm ally rod (came with the kit) and reciprocating it hither and tither. Hard boring work. https://i.imgur.com/cYxspHul.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Tha just needed a bit of help from a drill and an old speedo cable, sacrificed in hope that I don't actually need it and that this was the very reason it was [strikeout]chucked[/strikeout] stored away on the shelf. https://i.imgur.com/2oz7VUnl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> The doing end. Packed just right for maximum cleaning vs minimum wire flayling. Not bad at all now. So on with building up the forks. https://i.imgur.com/SkBpWGpl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Valves and cartridge body. I remembered I had to acquire another set of forks because my cartridge bodies had been unrounded by some clouter of a numpty, that must've wanted to stick the oil lock piece on to the end by braying some notches in it - which still didn't work! All so that you maybe you dont have to insert them into the fork upside down. I just don't understand. https://i.imgur.com/wxZMSzAl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Mmmm not fer road use HRC oil seals. Use at own peril. Perfect. https://i.imgur.com/FXRDLI8.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> No other pictures really, because I wanted to get to this stage.

Rich, you might be right, but there is also the black hose! James, what hoses were connected to the petrol tap? They might be OK, as long as silicone hasn't been used for the fuel inlet into the carbs. The other hoses will either be air hoses (vents for the diaphragms under the black caps) or some sort of fuel overflow/drainage. Oh and possibly a vacuum hose for the petrol tap if it has a vacuum safety whatsit. But fuel hose is just nitrile rubber, usually plain old black. There's a few different grades and sizes (thicknesses) and qualities but don't get started on that if what you have is OK.

They might actually just be air hoses for the diaphragms and not for fuel at all. I now see there is a picture with the carbs resting on the wall and there is a black braided hose which is most likely the fuel inlet.. Hmm carry on

Not directly related to the problem at hand but is that blue hose the fuel hose? Looks like regular old silicone hose to me - only a guess - but I thought silicone hose was a no go for fuel or oil, and pretty much the only option is nitrile rubber. Anyway, not a problem right now but it might become one if the hose fails. Sorry to add to the list. It might be fine but I really thought silicone hose ain't a great idea. And if you ebay "blue nitrile hose" it doesn't come back with anything, so all I'm thinking is it isn't nitrile rubber. In fact thinking about it, it could be related to the issue at hand if it turns out the debris stuck in the float is blue...

Got round to fitting a new radiator, which is always a bodge job - nothing lines up, not the mounting lugs, not the fan lugs, hmm maybe the hose spigots do at least, but then hoses are more forgiving. Can't complain too much when they cost about £50 brand new. I think when you could get them from Honda they were £600, but it would be nice. Anyway it's bodge o' clock... https://i.imgur.com/10t1CPdl.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Over the years the radiator has gotten fatter and fatterer. Accidently ordered the superfat one (mounted) which had a bit of clearance issue with the right header (touching). In all there is one bolt in use here, there should be 5 in total. The bolt is needed to secure the ground wire for the fan switch and then everywhere else a nice lightweight cable tie replaces a bolt. It's kind of springy and rubber mounted and it really wants to rest on that header, it just needs a finger to hold it off about 5mm. https://i.imgur.com/wyothu8l.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Handy that there is an unused but well placed engine mount bolt hole to attach a slender steel finger, with gaffa tape tip. The jubilee on the header was bodge mkI but I was feeling fancy and didn't like the rubbing sensation of aluminium on hot metal. https://i.imgur.com/9ECzWE1l.jpg' alt='IMGUR>'> Annoyed the neighbours for a bit (definitely heard a sigh of exaggerated relief when it was shut off) but no leaks and fan still comes on and goes off. Radiator cap did let out a bit of steam though.

Captain's Log Tunnel: 92 31 74 03 Sunday 09:20 Saturday 17:50 Starting Mileage: 54,882 Saturday & Sunday Rained in last 30mile. Jack Soaked. Bloody schnitzel though. Beer now served in 30cl glasses. Big T fell off going for a piss after Dasburg. CRF1200 is quite big even fer 'im. Montag Stopped in a VOLCANO (Meerfeld). Went twice round Echfeld - ooh eck. Having kafe und cake. Johanisbeertraam. Bloody lovely. Very tart. This morning it was a bit chill. Went to the Mosel and had schwein curry mit rice and a radler. It got warm. Sun too bloody hot for fixing wiring. Brake lights & horn not working, but indicators are. Eh? Not sure if kebab shop open. [hand writing seems to get worse] Didn't manage to do Matt's Road due to an umleitung. Doh. Saray Grill. Shut. [redacted big T home address] - check for a TV. Picnic from Rewe / Aldi. Can't even buy proper schnapps. "Jack is a twat" CRF1000 has 98hp (at the crank) TRX850 Review "It gives nothing away to a 900ss it has but 80hp (crank) (but does have 80 torques) (pathetic girl's bike)." I'm thirsty. It's only Monday. Twisties. Mild sweepers. Hairpins. 55,620 Saw 'Drea for 10mins, but got a beer.

I wonder what they'd say for my style of security, leaving the front end off. Steering locks are bloody annoying though, it just wouldn't do to have to remember the keys when I need to juggle things round to get to the box of bits at the back - though I am getting better at just scrambling over them for a quick root around when you know roughly where the bit you need is, extra points if you mange not to ding a bar end into a tank.

Ah yes, the second time, that's what gets me

When I came back from Japan my suitcase was full of JIS screwdrivers, even an extra long one for the clamps on the carb rubbers deep in the V, some fancy pliars, lovely little woodsaw and a nice knife. It's just a run of the mill chefs knife but from a nice little knife shop. Once I'd bought it they said to come back later and went to work on the sharpening blocks. Only thing is it's not stainless, which is good for staying sharp but trying to tell arr lass not to leave it soaking in the sink...

Ahh lovely Nc30. I have one of those, not sure what to suggest though, apart from not scrapping it. I don't know what it's worth, best not to when you doing your best to rag it round cadwell. Engines are on ebay for upwards of £500...

I suppose the problem then is getting hold of the technical guys from within the inner company circle in the first place. I'm doing some work on my Nc30 forks at the minute and so I've been genning up on fork oil and stuff again. I've got a load of motul factory and expert knocking about and it's quite similar to the genuine "Honda Pro Ultra Cushion" oil... But it doesnt come in as nice a can; I want it just to sit on the shelf.