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Posted

Went a bimble to the Piston Club with some mates - quite a few there today.

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£12.50 for a small fry up with coffee, bit pricey in my eyes, but I was Hank Marvin.

  • Like 6
Posted
15 hours ago, oldgrump said:

Well I went to go out for a ride on Friday,  didn't get far,  2 miles and I picked up a front wheel puncture!!!!

New tyre's on order 🤑

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Bummer

Posted

It gets worse trust me. Especially once you get a bigger bike there's an even bigger sandpit to play in. Long distance tours, track days, off road days etc. 

  • Like 5
Posted
1 hour ago, ChrisBiggsUK said:

Gave the bike a clean ready for getting a new front tyre fitted tomorrow morning.  Upon cleaning it, I looked up at the sky, which was bright and blue, and decided to go for a ride.

125 miles later I arrived back home, realised the bike was filthy again but that I had ran out of cleaning products, so hopped back on the bike to go and get some cleaning stuff.  Came home, cleaned bike again and then, as a reward for cleaning the bike twice in one day, my brain stupidly told me that I should go for a quick ride down some country lanes, ostensibly to dry the bike after being cleaned, but also as a reward for being a good boy.

Home again and I'm not cleaning it a third time in one day.  It can have its tyre changed tomorrow morning in the filthy state it is now in.  Well, not filthy, but less clean and shiny than I would like.

Why did nobody warn me that riding would be so addictive?  I blame each and every one of you for not warning me.  YOU SHOULD HAVE WARNED ME!

 

Chris, you really need to get on and do your DAS!

  • Like 2
Posted
21 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

It gets worse trust me. Especially once you get a bigger bike there's an even bigger sandpit to play in. Long distance tours, track days, off road days etc. 


God willing, I won't be getting a bigger bike for quite some time yet.  Bigger bike must wait until, hopefully a long way in the future, the mother in law passes and we take over her house which has a nice big garage which, coincidentally, is having a new, and very secure, door fitted to it in the coming weeks.  Going to sound bad, and I don't mean it to sound bad, but I'm planning ahead and chose a door for her garage (she wanted me to sort a replacement) that would be nice and secure for when, again hopefully a long time from now, we have her house, and I then have somewhere more substantial to store bikes.  Yes.  Plural.  

Doesn't mean I haven't been looking at the moment though.  I have my eye on a couple and already know that given my size, shape, and ever increasingly weary middle aged bones, a cruiser or similar shaped bike would be most comfortable for me to ride.

I have plans.  Many plans.  Perhaps even one or two schemes.  Just, you know, don't tell the Wife.  She doesn't approve of me scheming.  

 

2 minutes ago, Hairsy said:

 

Chris, you really need to get on and do your DAS!

 

I'm looking at taking steps toward a big boy license some time around Easter.  Going to have an initial nice casual ride out with an instructor on my current bike, get him to tell me what I'm good at, where I need to improve, generally how I'm getting on and then take things from there as we will know where I'm at and what the next steps are and whether he feels I'm at a suitable level to move on to a bigger bike.  I've done more than 2,000 miles on my current bike with no issues whatsoever, so although I'm fairly certain that I'm fine to move on, I don't want to rush it.  Baby steps.  Spent 43 years as a pedestrian, and now coming up on five months as a motorcyclist, so again I'm in no rush.  But yeah. Easter time things will start to happen.

  • Like 1
Posted

I have a cruiser, although haven't actually ridden it that much. 

 

Comfort is subjective. On the plus side, the riding position is quite laid back and seat height is low. And they're pretty cool and whatnot.

 

Longer distances though, you're kind of stuck to the seat without much shuffle-ability as the feet-forward thing doesn't let your legs take your weight, even temporarily. Don't get me wrong, a couple of hours and it's fine, but you do need to stop and put your feet down every now and again.

 

Handling-wise, a bit more forward planning required. They will go round corners, but much prefer the long straights...

 

How far away does the garage... I mean mother-in-law... live?

 

Is there a bit of spare room in there?

  • Like 1
Posted
5 minutes ago, Fiddlesticks said:

I have a cruiser, although haven't actually ridden it that much. 

 

Comfort is subjective. On the plus side, the riding position is quite laid back and seat height is low. And they're pretty cool and whatnot.

 

Longer distances though, you're kind of stuck to the seat without much shuffle-ability as the feet-forward thing doesn't let your legs take your weight, even temporarily. Don't get me wrong, a couple of hours and it's fine, but you do need to stop and put your feet down every now and again.

 

Handling-wise, a bit more forward planning required. They will go round corners, but much prefer the long straights...

 

How far away does the garage... I mean mother-in-law... live?

 

Is there a bit of spare room in there?


She lives in Wallasey Village, so not too far away at all, but her garage is currently filled with decades of accumulated 'stuff' that she won't get rid of.  She is somewhat of a hoarder.  When the time comes, which again I hope it doesn't for quite some time, it is going to be a mammoth task to clear out not only the garage but the house itself.  Once done though, I'll have a nice big garage with separate attached workshop, split off from the main house, which I intend to make full use of.  For now, however, our quiet little cul-de-sac two up two down limits what I can realistically keep here, even with taking all reasonable security precautions.  

  • Like 3
Posted
On 25/02/2025 at 10:23, Fiddlesticks said:

Bike is sounding a bit rattley / raspy on the left side at 4,000 revs - almost like when kids used to put tags on their bicycle spokes. (Showing my age now). Barely perceptible, and maybe just a cable/connector rattling against a bodywork panel but...

 

Will keep an ear open for it on the way home. Old bikes. Who'd have one?

Mystery solved, 12v socket has lost its retaining nut and is now loose in its recess. Easy fix.

  • Like 5
Posted

A bright sunny day managed to coincide with a free day, so off out to get a few tags. Now sat in Touchdown cafe wellesbourne awaiting a sausage and bacon sandwich.  Just the thing to round off the day.

  • Like 5
Posted

Took the Speedtriple for MoT, passed with no advisories 👍

  • Like 7
Posted
On 03/03/2025 at 17:37, ChrisBiggsUK said:

  Just, you know, don't tell the Wife.  She doesn't approve of me scheming. 

Or murdering too, presumably.

Pity...

  • Haha 2
Posted

Got my bike out for the first ride of the year, a wee trip down the Clyde to Largs then back through the roadworks that have caused gridlock in my home town this week. Thankfully some had been removed so the hold ups were not too bad. The bike behaved itself perfectly 😊. Now I need to get my DAS sorted out but there's a new lady in my life and she's getting much more attention than the bike 🤣

  • Like 4
Posted (edited)

Went to grab a couple of tags today, but left it too late and only managed one. 

Deliberately avoided country lanes so I could just blat about on decent road surfaces, but had to deal with a lot of traffic, which I sort of enjoyed. The traffic kept me in tune with slow handling, and lots of filtering kept my wits in check. 

3 hours, but only 84 miles. 

Unlike @Mawsley, I used my winter gloves, and regretted it, but I took my top box, and was able to stash my jacket liner when I got so bloody hot.

Zumo was brilliant at telling me I didn't have much fuel left, then found a petrol station, then it even asked if I wanted to reset the fuel milage. 

As you can see, I tried to ride home without the GPS, but failed 🤣🤣

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Edited by Simon Davey
  • Like 5
  • Haha 1
Posted
6 hours ago, billysugger said:

There's a scary face in that route😱

Ha ha yes, I hadn't noticed that. 

Posted

Second day I've woken up to find the Met Office cocked up their prediction and there's no rain. So warm, I was riding in an armoured shirt and cut. God bless our local microclimate that cocks a snook at forecasts.

  • Like 3
Posted

Received a recall letter from Yamaha for the TPS on the MT09's, XSR900's and MT10's . Tomorrow will be giving mine a wash before a quick ride to the dealers to get it all booked in. 

Posted (edited)

Time for the acid test for the new method of storing my bikes away for winter.  Does it work, or will it be a lot of messing around as usual.

 

Little yeller is to be the guinea pig.  Battery fitted, fresh fuel in the tank, fuel tap on.  Give it a minute to fill the carb...  Kick.... Kick ring a ding ding ding.  Away she went. Success.

 

Pumped up the tyres, checked the lights, warmed her up and out for my first 20 miles of motorcycle hooning in 2025.

 

What a hoot to ride as ever.  45mph feels like 90.  What a sweet little bike.  I absolutely dwarf the tiny poor thing.  Seat does not come much higher than my knees.

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Edited by Tinkicker
  • Like 7
Posted

Went for a run with the West Mids TRF

Muddy / Rutty / Wet but most of all great fun.

here’s a pic - me & my KTM not included as I took the picture.

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  • Like 3
Posted

Quick blast up to Blackpool to see Ricky Warwick rock the Waterloo Bar. Popped into the town first as we had a voucher for various chain restaurants. 

Bella Italia - no walk-ins, we have a booking for 78 people later.😲

Pizza Hut. "Yes, come in. We don't take cash, order on the app." Ever get the feeling you're nothing but an inconvenience to these big chains?

Soulless. 

Grim. 

Expensive.

The only saving grace - I wasn't paying. Never again.

Contrast that with the Waterloo Bar. Awesome, unique venue, proper sweat box. Great staff.

Double Jack & Coke and a pint of Lemonade for under £10. Keep the change!

Motorcycles on the ceiling, beer barrels for urinals, posters and TShirts of all the bands that have played there. Memorabilia everywhere. A real old-school rock bar.

Back home, 58 miles in just about the same number of minutes.

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  • Like 7

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