Bianco2564

Did the same mpg test on the R1, just riding normally on the same routes to work and home. Did 175 miles on 14 litres = just under 57mpg, not bad for a 150hp bike I thought. So @Stu was right, for better economy use a bigger bike.

@fastbob its a small world. I know who is buying the Harley.

I've even got a timewaster with some free stuff. Found a couple of new headlights for my old Cavalier, stuck them on gumtree for free. Had someone no show twice.

Yes hopefully it will improve the running. Not been out on it yet but started and idled better.

Signed.

YouTube clip of the start of the ride in. Son in law and me leave at 7.00.

Drove by Jacks Hill at Towcester on the way home from MK yesterday and saw the entrances all blocked off and signs saying it was closed down. A bit of searching online would imply its permanently closed blaming covid and on going roadworks and road closures in the area. Despite the cafe building being a bit run down, it was always a popular bike meeting place on Friday night's and over the weekend. Not sure how long its been there, sad to see a traditional road side cafe bite the dust.

Took the carbs off the 380 this afternoon, pretty easy job; tank off, side panels, airbox,throttle cables, undo the inlet rubbers and that's it, about 15mins. A fair amount of sediment in the 3 float bowls as seen on the blue paper. Two of the carbs overflow pipes were blocked. Dropped the pilot & main jets out and blew through with the airline. The old inlet rubbers were so inflexible, comparison photos between old and new. Also the inlet clamps were fully wound in on the old rubbers and couldn't be tightened anymore, probably causing an air leak and it was so much easier to refit the carbs. Fired back up and sounded nice and crisp, even though not fully warmed up, the idle was much smoother.

Fortunately I have no reason to visit London, if we did it would be for sightseeing and then I'd take the train and use public transport while there. Train is approx 1 hr from Rugby and services every 15 mins or so. Whenever we go anywhere near a city centre, we use the park and ride services, done this in York,Oxford & Chester. Much easier than trying to find somewhere near the centre to park and usually reasonably priced. Checked the clean air zones for the M3, R1 & SS125; M3 & R1 are free everywhere except ULEZ. SS is free everywhere inc central London. Buy a classic bike; no tax,MOT or congestion charge.

Parts arrived this morning from Suzytwo, very good service only ordered on Saturday. New inlet rubbers, kick start rubber and bleed nipple cap. This is what 47 years of kickstarting did to the old rubber, this new one should be good until at least year 2069.

After around 14 years I've replaced my favourite summer gloves, the Velcro had gone and despite an attempt to replace it I've called it a day. Went to the Sports bike shop at MK and bought a pair of RST, quite like their kit and fair prices.

Ha, yes I do remember someone speaking to me, but I couldn't hear what you said. A pleasure to meet you albeit very briefly.

All the good stuff is in the garage, Silverwing lives outside under a cheapo cover.

In anticipation of the 380 carb rubbers being fubarred, just ordered some genuine ones from here. https://www.suzytwo.co.uk/ Not heard of them before, almost bought some pattern ones off the bay for the same money.

@Ian Frog cheers, had a lot of interest in it, several "I used to have one of those" comments Did you see it at the ride in meeting place or in town? Sadly in town we were parked right out the way. Need to have a look at the carbs because it didn't run cleanly , idle was a bit hit and miss. In the first pic, the GS850 behind mine is my son in laws. We both had clutch issues on the ride in, they were both stinking hot when we parked up. Bigger turn out than the 300 predicted by the organisers.

If you are arriving after the ride in, its a bit of a free for all and people just park anywhere.

Wheeled the 380 out of hibernation ready for the Dav bike show tomorrow , not been run for a few months and started after half a dozen kicks. Checked all the levels and tyre pressures and gave it a wipe down to remove all the spray on grease I treat the chrome to. Remember these paper disc things, an original one from the last century.

With the ridiculous price of petrol and all that, thought I'd try riding the scoot very economically to see what I could get out of it. It's always done low 50s mpg, only used on the work commute same route 4 days a week, A roads mostly between Rugby & Banbury , minimal urban riding. So tried accelerating really steadily up to cruising speed of 50-60 mph max. The way the auto clutch thingy works is if accelerating hard from standing start, it will go right round to 5000rpm and stay there until about 60mph then the revs start to rise as you go faster. Accelerating gently would have the engine up to 4000 rpm but felt like a snail's pace to get moving. Only tried this on one tankfull so would need to do it again a few times to be convinced on the success of the test allowing for varying traffic conditions, calculated the consumption at 56 mpg which is better than normal but only saved about half a litre on the usual riding style. Still, half a litre is about 90 pence ,spread that over the year on my commuting mileage of 11k p/a would be nearly £90. Another reason for the test was to see if I could live with a smaller bike for commuting, maybe a 250 to 400cc, average speed along the A361 is pretty slow as a lot of trucks use it and traffic builds up behind them. Safe overtaking places are few and far between and its not unusual to get stuck in a train of traffic behind one truck all the way from Daventry to Banbury.

My Honda SS125 has a cam chain on the lh side of the engine; as suggested has it got the right engine? What is the engine number prefix? My engine looks like this.

Next weekend, similar format to Rugby show. I'll be going on the GT380 if the weather is kind, R1 if not. https://www.daventrytowncouncil.gov.uk/daventry-motorcycle-festival.html More info on their FB page. That's next SATURDAY

Link to the ride in, I pass by at 11.02.

Thank you all for turning up to my home event, these shows would be nothing without everyone's support

I said to OH I'd be back by 12 but actually left at 1.30, had to smooth the waters with a trip to a garden centre afterwards

@MikeHorton it seems to get more popular every year, big crowds along the ride in route, must be a fantastic sight and sound. @Ian Frog I passed a blue and silver Busa that had conked out as the ride in got into town, saw him a while later getting a bump start. Where did you meet up with the monkey bikes?

Great morning out today, big turnout. Quite a lot in interest in the Honda, lot of people didn't recognise it. Forgotten how slow it is and how rubbish the brakes are