fastbob

Last shift tomorrow . Hope I get to process some more Ukrainians . Lovely people and so pleasant considering what they are going through .

Here we go then . 1/ scarves comically signal 2/ rail clerk giggle 3/ funded grouping wolves . 1/ is a wide open field with a view of the London to Glasgow line , the young River Clyde , the M74 and the B7076 . If you are feeling energetic , all the nearby hills have the ruins of ancient hill forts on top complete with stone hut circles. There is also a fresh water stream for your morning coffee or even a wash if you're that way inclined. 2/ has a hardstanding for the bike and is on top of a steep slope with a panoramic view of Loch Ewe . This is where the mighty Arctic Convoys were assembled . There is a solid concrete block on top of a rock that is part of a complex of gun emplacements and observation posts that still dot this coastline . 3/ This was used more in desperation than anything but it's a nice , quiet little spot about half a mile up a lane behind the village of Lochinver . It's like a little driveway to nowhere with just enough grass to get a few tentpegs into . With all of these sites I advise arriving at dusk and leaving in the morning without trace . I'm off up there again in a few weeks and I intend to seek out more free camping locations . Hope this is helpful.

Oh ... One of those .

Servicing Costs .... Yes it does

Well you've obviously never ridden a bicycle then .

Ok , the first one is actually between Crawford and Abington and I just use it as a stop over on my way up . Second is at Poolewe and definitely the best of the three because it's got a spectacular view and bike parking . There's even a seat . The third was up a lane behind the village of Lochinver but that was more of an emergency thing . I can give more specific details by PM if you are interested . Do you have What Three Words installed ?

You can edit your posts . Click on the three dots .

1/ Round the corner . 2 / Through the hedge .

Meet Kiera , a Staffordshire Akita cross and possibly the most gentle dog I've ever met . I will happily leave these two together unattended for hours .

That's not a lot of miles for an oil change . Is this some kind of Honda break in procedure ?

I thought jumping out of a moving car in a tracksuit was a popular sport , especially on council estates . I've seen it on the telly .

Initially I thought , Yes ! , I could do that . And then I thought about it for a minute . So let's assume I ride from Coventry to Blackpool for ten o'clock . That's four hours on the road at legal speeds . Let's say the ride , in the dark , to Scarborough takes five to six hours . So what are we supposed to do in Scarborough at three o'clock in the morning ? Assuming I stick around and wait for sunrise ( If it happens ) , I've now been awake for at least a day and a night and I've still got most of the M1 to ride . Well I might have been able to cope with this sort of carry on in my twenties but at my age I'd be a danger to myself and all around me . I should add that the only serious motorcycle crash I ever had was due in no small part to rider fatigue . So Happy Birthday old chap but I think I'll pass .

All metal , all motorcycle , all mine . Looks like a bike , sounds like a bike , rides like a bike .

Don't do it ! you should know what I'm about to say next ........

I'll be honest , I was starting to feel a bit jaded about getting out on my GSXR . Not only that , I was really missing getting the spanners out and getting my hands dirty . So I bought a horribly neglected ER5 to do up . I was going to sell it but I found myself really enjoying riding it . So much so that I ended up touring Scotland on it ( Twice ) . It was while trundling along at a nice 70mph in the Highlands that it dawned on me ( Apologies to those who know what's coming ) I wouldn't be going much faster if I had three times the power . So that was it . I bought a Harley . Originally I was set on getting a 1450 Dyna glide but my research led me to a 1200 Sportster . And I've never looked back ..

Many riders wear a fleece over the top of their race leathers . Personally , I do tend to wear any old shit now that I've got a Harley .

Well .... Actually that's not the final chapter . I'm sure he won't mind me bringing this up but I actually sold the bike to James in Brum when some scumbags stole his ZZR . At the time I did make it quite clear that I had only ridden the bike a few miles to the MOT and back so if there were any bugs to iron out I was unaware of them . Long story short , the bike started overheating and spewing coolant so we settled the matter by me buying it back again and no hard feelings . I had got James to rig a catch bottle on the bike and one sniff told me that there were combustion products in the cooling system . Not good . Over the winter I got a second hand head off eBay with a great set of cams , caps and even the oil pipes . It was cheap as chips because it had broken exhaust studs which I had extracted by an engineer . And so to the present . I fitted this cylinder head last week and fettled everything this weekend . I hit the button and it started immediately ( ER5s always do ) Once it settled down I balanced the carbs and gave it some vicious twists of the throttle . Wow , this thing is smooth and it screams like a four cylinder bike . So far there are no indications of overheating and no coolant leaks but it's early days . I need to give it a proper thrash . I'll keep you posted .

I've got a pile of surplus bits now that I've fitted another head . Loads of dowels , a good pair of oil pipes , a complete set of cam caps , head bolts and various head cover special bolts . Anything you want , let me know . I fired mine up on Sunday and It's running really well . Once it warmed up I yanked on the throttle and this thing really screams . So far no signs of overheating or coolant leaks . Looks like using the best bits from three engines has paid off . I'm already toying with the idea of doing a tour of Scotland on it before I flog it .

Don't know how I missed this . If you want some wild camping spots I can let you have a few of mine where you won't get any grief .

Probably best to join a scooter forum or FB page .

Sell me that old Harley and you get to keep the Busa . You know this makes sense .

Here's another little known bike that I'd love to own . The VT 500 FT .

Well not necessarily . The Ascot track in the US is named after the English Ascot .

I totally approve ! If I could still pick one up for £200 I'd build my own tomorrow .

Gears are more like sound effects on the Harley .