Throttled

Last two IOM tags done

Greens Cafe and Cafe at The Sound, IOM

Manx SPCA Tearoom and the TT Grandstand

My Scottish wife is a 2nd Dan black belt and my gym sessions now total 34.5 tons of weights lifted. We have to be tough to survive the harsh winters and constant drinking.

Don't know how to post photos from my phone but got the tag at the Half Moon Cafe in Heysham and now on the Isle of Man to do the tags here. Surprised to be the only biker on the ferry and goodness knows how they deal with thousands arriving for the TT as they could barely cope with just me. They queued all the cars up first and were surprised when there was no space for me to go to the head of the queue. The bike was tied to a railing for the trip. No tie down points like Cal Mac ferries or the NI one. It's as if the staff had never seen a motorbike before.

Today I prepared my bike for a winter tour, to a place that will make @Hoggs very, very happy......

The engine noise of the CF Moto 650GT was horrible and that alone would stop me from buying it. When I replaced stock exhausts on two Kawasakis, that had come apart, with exhausts from a company called Black Widow, the sound was like a WWI machine gun, which was fun, but got tiring on long journeys. I could also not cope with a really loud exhaust, for long journeys. My favourite so far is the Akrapovic that came with my present bike. It is nice and quiet on start up and pottering about, but then howls as the revs rise.

Cafe/pub #1 Cafe/pub #3

And brake fluid reservoirs.

I was attacked by a Bully XL at work. The owner was there to pull the dog off me, but the point where it sank its teeth into my arm, I knew how much stronger it was than me. I ended up with bite marks that healed and a tetanus booster at A&E. That has made me more wary of that type of dog. It also inspired me to go to the gym more often and today I bench pressed my own weight for the first time. I have had various dogs jump on me and run at me at work and do think that if dog owners want more sympathy and understanding from the general public, they need to be better at keeping dogs under control. However, I suspect that is as likely as persuading cyclists to stop jumping red lights!

Remember any number can be made bigger by adding a half to it. So infinity and a half, is bigger than infinity.

I suspect the police attitude would be you need to be stopped to safely clean your visor and anything more than a wipe across the visor with your finger is failing to properly control your vehicle. For bad weather riding, I use a glove with the built in visor wipe and if that does not work, stop.

If it is in really good condition, with lots of evidence of servicing and care and it has been traded as people try to make a profit on it because of its rarity, then no. Otherwise, yes.

I started the DAS process at the end of 2010 and passed the Mod 2 in 2011. The whole process of CBT, theory, hazard awareness, Mod 1, Mod 2, all the lessons and the kit I bought brought the total cost to just shy of £1000.

Any idea about washing when the bike is still hot? I am wondering if I have made a mistake by hosing the bike down whilst the engine and exhaust is still hot and if that will take off the coating?

I prefer hard cases to soft panniers, in part because of the extra security. When I do use the Lomo dry bags, they are attached with bungee cords that use carabiner clips rather than hooks. That makes them harder to figure out and unhook, hopefully adding some deterrence to thieves.

I did use soft panniers, but then got bikes with hard ones and would not go back to soft. For camping, I use Lomo dry bags on the pillion and never any issues with them.

That must be the most tags on day 1 for years. Brilliant start.

No chemicals were used on the exhaust, it was just polished. He also cleaned and lubed the chain. I saw him spraying the bike with the ACF50, two coats, one standard and one corrosion block, which came with that unmistakable smell. https://www.acf-50.eu/corrosion-block

I have got the rest of winter for that and I will resist the temptation to do anything more than hose the bike down with water.

A day later and the exhaust headers have turned bronze just from the ride home.

It will be interesting to see how long they stay like that, before they go the bronze colour I thought they were supposed to be! I wish I had stayed to see how he did it.

I usually do this myself, give the bike a good clean and cover it in a rust protection for use during the winter, but got this as a Christmas present. I can see me doing this every year, because the £85 it cost for the advanced clean and protection has made my bike look brand new. Indeed, I would recommend the service if you are selling or trading in, as I am sure you would get your money back with a better price for the bike, as it will look like you have cared for it. https://allyearbiker.co.uk/ Booking is simple through the website and I used Craig as the nearest person to me. My bike was cleaned the next day, as I got lucky as he already had a bike to clean in Paisley, so I took mine to where he was. I thought the bike was quite clean and all he would need to do is jet spray off the winter crud. But, no. Craig said to come back after 2 hours, I waited till it was 2 1/2 hours and he had only just finished the cleaning part. The exhaust polish and chain clean made them look brand new. I opted for a double coating of ACF50, so that was another hour. In terms of the clean part, the photos show the results are spectacular. There is no doubt the ACF50 has the best surface to adhere to. I rode home with salt and grit all over the roads, so as recommended, hosed the bike down, without any detergent. I am to avoid Muck-Off and use car shampoo if it is filthy. But the crud just washed away, leaving water beading all over the bike. It should last the rest of the winter and well into the summer.

If you do not take your bike with you to sea, you are not an all year biker who goes out in all conditions.

This is what will I do to my bike tomorrow and the answer is... https://allyearbiker.co.uk/treatment/ Paid for as a Christmas present. That means, for the first time in a few years, mainly due to the pandemic, there will be a winter bike tour.