Gerontious

Ive never so much as sat behind the wheel of a car, let alone driven one. I did have a close call once. former boss (long deceased) was going to pay for me to have driving lessons but fortunately I got head hunted by a virgin and so had a lucky escape. story of my life.

Im back at work tonight with the rampaging schizophrenics and should be in bed asleep.. I thought looking at and reading this article might help. it didn't. though I did giggle somewhat while reading the specs. until I got to the seat height and came over all of a judder.  Good job I'm sitting down.

They both have brembo brakes and no sign of a silly beak. thats about as positive as I can get. also the colour way of the Guzzi doesnt look like it was designed by an ex employee of lego. so thats an improvement over those weirdly coloured 850 wotsits from 7 years ago.

Brembo brakes...  I do think about them often. I come over all wistful and nostalgic and that.

£850 I call that a bargain. if only I hadn't already earmarked the cash for something I don't really need. life - its a constant struggle.

38 minutes ago, Nick the wanderer said:

Yeah agree, well on the Yamaha it is stored in the clocks, thought most were.

maybe.. but it does strike me as a bit odd that all the info comes from the ECU and then this one piece of data - mileage. is stored in the display. maybe its stored in both locations and fitting a new display will overwrite the 000000 when it boots up for the first time' or as one armchair expert states. "The Dealer should be able to rewrite the odo, armed with a laptop plugged into the ECU." We'll find out.. assuming the full display has to be replaced.

I did come across this, which might be good news. posted back in 2020. Though it's a bit shameful that its still happening.

The fiche says its a single piece. Im not convinced that the data displayed on the instruments will be stored within the instruments, its probably too modern to have a mechanical ODO. so changing it shouldn't affect anything. Its an expensive part though. £1.015 retail.

Lets hope its not a single piece and its just a dodgy cover.

Its still a warranty claim nonetheless. hopefully the dealer will fight your corner with H.O.

This was a fairly common occurrence for the 18 Africa Twin. common enough but not ubiquitous.

The electronics were completely sealed so they were safe. however there is an outer cover and water managed to get inside that, so I got water droplets and so on on the inside. Honda replaced it.

not really something to ignore as its likely to grow mould. or leave a haze of dissolved solids from the water as it dries out and then repeat the next time water gets in. Honda agreed to replace the screen the same day. Dealer said there was a moulding problem and the gasket wasn't seated properly.

Its not happened again.

Just now, S-Westerly said:

As for things I don't like - buttons and switches on bikes which are close together and when wearing gloves are too liable to be inadvertently operated. EG on the Guzzi the cruise control is right next to the full beam light switch. There's been a few folks thinking I'm flashing lights at them when all I'm doing is trying to set the cruise control. 

I agree. my bike isn't busy by modern standards. the buttons and paddles are mostly naturally placed. aside from the horn. but as I never use the horn this doesn't really matter. But the newer version. when I first saw the cluster on the left side I laughed. I laughed. And where they put the headlamp control. The most unnatural position known to man. on top and set back. Obviously because being able to answer the phone is far more important. Obviously.

8 hours ago, JRH said:

I can kinda relate to this. Though I don’t dribble as much as this guy does.

31 minutes ago, Nick the wanderer said:

Ouch.. what happened there, why isn't anyone picking it up?

Because the priority seemed to be a photo.  I arrived and went straight to my hotel room to use the loo, while the rest did some usual faffing about. I heard the bang and rushed out to the balcony to see what happened and almost immediately the shouts came. PHOTO. So, I took a photo. That photo. I didn't see what happened. I assume Bonio didn't put his side stand down correctly and it doesnt take much for a heavy bike to go out of control and go over. sometimes letting it go over can be the best option in these circumstances as the risk of personal injury from trying to hold it up can be very high. especially if you are in your 60s. (which we both are)

In the event the damage wasn't severe. a few broken bits - yes. But these could all be repaired in full. And the bike would not show any signs, any marks afterwards. So he got off lightly. The engine bars did their job - up to a point.

The guys did a quick assessment. no fuel gushing. no horrible pool of engine oil forming. so a photo first then it took a bit of time to work out how to lift it as the KTM needed to be moved first. There was no rush because there was no need to rush. The KTM was hit (very slightly) and needed to be moved. so that had to happen.

But first.. the most important thing. document it - for posterity. kids eh. and the worst kid being the owner of the toppled bike with a big silly grin on his face.

Maybe he wasn't referring to this event. if he was alone and his bike went over - I doubt very much if he could lift it without help. being over 60 does that to a man.

1 hour ago, skyrider said:

that's not funny

you’re right. It definitely was NOT funny. At the time. Quite a bit of damage to the bike and could easily have been a show-stopper. I felt sick.

15 minutes ago, bonio said:

Ouch. I know how that feels, and it's not good 

The bang continues to haunt me. I kept a brave face, but I was deeply traumatised - at a distance.

23 minutes ago, Tiggie said:

@Bender  Thats my hopeful aim. Shed a stone off and see what a new test says. Not wanting to go on statins unless absolutely necessary. Doctor wasn't impressed when she saw last time I'd been in was 2015 and that I'd never had a blood test (or any other kind of test) show up on my history 

 

oats. lots of oats. which might sound silly, but is the best thing you can do aside from losing weight. ready brek, if you can't abide porridge. basically anything with oats in the ingredients. and oats are in a remarkably large number of foodstuffs. oily fish when/if you can. Olive oil.

really, its all about reducing the amount cholesterols in your blood and having them where they belong - in your brain and nervous system. And it doesn't take a huge change in lifestyle to achieve. its really just little things. with just a smidge of self discipline.

On 14/01/2024 at 17:27, Mawsley said:

That was unexpected. 
 

We reserved a Fudge. 
 

 

Best thing you can do after the loss of a dog. Don’t mess about, get another. It doesn’t entirely heal the pain, that takes time. But a new dog and especially a new puppy (with all that goes with that) does kinda take your mind of the painful past. And I’ve found that if the recently lost dog was originally your puppy, then the new one just brings back all the old memories of happier times. The minor triumphs like when it recognises and reacts to its name - for the first time, or does its business in an appropriate place - for the first time. And starts to ask to go out. Or fetches and brings back a ball for the first time. All the little things.

its never nice when a bike suffers from heatstroke in a synergistic ecstasy of sympathy for the owners suffering. Too hot it was. Too Hot.

35 minutes ago, smallfrowne said:

Well, I fancied checking the valve clearances at 6k miles, which is a bit soon by the book. Turns out 3 inlet valves were too tight, and the last inlet and two exhaust valves on the lower limit. So, I had to get the cams out to change the shims and in doing so revealed a bit of wear on a part which should see no wear at all.

 

KTMs... glorious.

Not done anything aside from building a selection of 'set piece' routes, for Germany and France. so I have options if the weather is iffy.

First thing will be to sort out my passport as its now basically defunct, it expires in April. So, I'll wait till then to sort a replacement. Still undecided whether to just get a new (not) blue UK one. or a surrender, project fear, Farage would not approve, EU one. I guess at the end of the day it doesn't really matter.

Tunnel can be booked either April or early May. no worries on that score.  And then it will be booked again for September, probably mid July.

For the first trip, its just 150 days to go. so I tend to hold off the excitement until it clicks over 100. For September, that's 230 days in the dim and distant future.

Meanwhile I have other priorities.

12 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

See above - there is nowhere to stop on the M57. 

 

Just to repeat. I carry a spray of Muc-Off visor cleaner. I carry a microfibre cloth. When I can stop I use these to clean my visor.

 

But there are times I can't stop and the visor is so dirty it is hard to see clearly. 

 

I've been riding for 40 years - I have a little bit of knowledge about riding in winter conditions and the need to clean the visor when it is possible to stop.

The M57 is 10 miles long, so even at the crappy speed of 40mph on a motorway - that's just 15 minutes. Ive ridden in some pretty shocking conditions, usually made so much worse by spray kicked up from other vehicles. a wipe of my visor with the finger wipe (essential during winter) and then a stop at the earliest convenience to give it a better clean when appropriate. and allow more time for this. Thats always been my strategy.

Allow more time for stops. that's all.

On 14/01/2024 at 18:40, S-Westerly said:

Obviously I have strayed in to some alternative universe where the language spoken is "English but not as we know it Jim".

Pretty normal for me, working with the rampaging schizophrenics. often the best strategy is to look interested and nod vigorously, while backing away slowly with an escape route in mind.

There was a period of time, in the 1990s where the 125cc license only lasted 2 years and then lapsed for a year. So, if you didn't pass the full test in that time - you were off the road and your bike was just an ornament. imagine if they brought that back and the impact it would have on all these delivery riders. carnage.

Its not unknown for mechanics to make a mistake. The general rule of thumb is that when refilling, the coolant is added to the upper line. then the engine is run and if necessary top up once again to the upper line - once everything has settled. This must all be done with the bike upright. if you are concerned about this then I would be taking it back to him for reassurance. This would, at the very least mean you dont have to go out and buy coolant yourself.

If you were looking at the level when the bike was on its side stand that can give a distorted impression.

Casting my mind back, I honestly cannot think of any occasion or circumstance where cornering ABS might have come into play. Normal ABS - definitely. 2 events stick in my memory and will likely stay with me for the rest of my life. But on a corner or bend? never. But, Ive always stuck with the old advice. on bends only go as fast as you can see. eyes always on the vanishing point. riding like that has definitely saved me a few times. Had I been going too fast for the bend then it might not have ended well. So is that the point of cornering ABS? it allows you to go much faster and not worry so much if you suddenly encounter something that might ruin your day?

Its not something Ive ever really thought about.

its 90 days in. 90 days out. so it could be possible to stay within the normal standard. depending. not many people go on tour for over 12 weeks at a time (or repeatedly in quick succession) except RTW and they live in a different universe than the rest of us. Adrian Flux is quite good at non-standard policies. Im pretty sure that if this is not a mandatory EU thing for 3rd countries an insurer will be able to do it. at a cost. but, its likely not something you will find on a website as its quite unusual. it will mean speaking to them - direct.

A cheeky way out is simply dont tell them. if your (plus) 90 days is split between trips then how will they know? if its over 90 days or.. say, you want to go for 15 weeks. that's when you would need this specialised cover.

I wonder. if you make a claim for 3rd party do they demand to see your ferry/tunnel tickets? I have no idea!!

6 hours ago, Steve_M said:

When I had my VFR I tried a variety of tyres from different manufacturers. I did notice that the recommended pressures occasionally differed between tyre brands. I always went with the tyre brand recommendations - it was  a couple of PSI different as I recall, on the basis that they knew what they were doing and had carried out sufficient testing to ensure it was the best figure.

If it works for you then I’m not going to argue. But it does seem doubtful to me that the tyre makers test their tyres on individual bikes - all of them. Their recommendation will be based on a per tyre and per size basis. You might easily have two completely different bikes. That take the same size tyre but are wildly different in weight. Yet the recommended pressure is the same. Both ways seem to be a one size fits all. I do think though that the maker of my bike will know what suits it. Rather than a tyre maker who might easily have designed their tyre before my bike even existed. Pressures are really just advice - they are not rigid. “This or you’re gonna die” a few pounds either way isn’t going to hurt and if a pressure works better with your specific bike, but is a tad higher or lower then that’s not going to be a problem  There is no right or wrong. I just go with what Honda recommends. Just as I used to with BMW.

1982 a couple of months before the test changed. On my KH250, which I thought was the bees knees. A 2 stroke triple. I was a tad more flexible then with an uncanny ability to fold myself in 3 to get aboard. Took the test in my home town Walsall. I remember the man doing the test looked like Harry Worth. Armed to the teeth with a clipboard and stopwatch. And wore a trilby. I kid you not. Emergency stop took two attempts as the first time I was overtaking a stopped bus and the genius thought stepping out to stop me in front of a bus that was preparing to pull out - was a great idea. The bus driver sounded his horn which caused me to wobble and swear profusely, like I wasn’t nervous enough. He made me go round the block again, The test involved me just riding round a block in town. I only indicated left. I only turned left. (Aside from when I overtook the bus) I don’t think I ever went faster than 20 as it was a very busy street. thinking back now, it was completely insane. I never had any lessons. The only prep I did was reading the Highway Code.

nobody died.

Obviously (or maybe not) when the test changed. So did everything. 250s became mostly worthless as there were so many of them and nobody wanted them, really. They were mainly learner bikes and that was over and done with. Of course there were exceptions - a few.