Shadowfax's Silky Main

Full (Main) Service

I rode away from Nige at Taylors Garage some £275-lighter and stopped at the Alpha I had to abandon at the Village Hall car park to cross-load the panniers from its boot. It was only 100m away but already I felt something new in Shadowfax.

Leaving the village - and now not wearing ear-defence for the 16-miles home - I immediately recognised the new matching front tyre had been fitted to match Shadowfax's recent fitting of the Michelin Road Pilot 2. (Nige wasn't going to fit it yet as there was still service life reckoned of the old BT020 front but on a more thorough inspection we'd met the wear indicator. Given the miles we do, Nige made the executive decision to swap now rather than later after it'd turned itself and possibly me bald.)

The bike rolls as quickly as a Typhoon jet; there's bags of confidence in the new tyres and without the squaring off of the old tyres switching left bank to right is noticably smooth.

The engine always sounded a little gravely. I don't know if its just the fresh oil or if Nige did play with the balancing shaft adjusters, but Shadowfax's whole demeanour has switched from that of a second-hand but still eager mutt to a regal and pedigree stallion (steady on, Pat).

The throttle was more responsive and the engine note could almost be described as sweet; though it is nowhere near as "big bike" in sound as a Ducati or monster 900 CBR I think it can hold its own and announce our arrival on some granny's exhaust pipe with a suitable fanfare of, "get out of my way - coming through!". (I think some big bikes rev their big engines rather unnecessarily with a, "fuck-off-out-o'-m'way-bitch" note that, in comparison to Shadowfax's cultured pitch and accent, makes them now seem rude and adolescent, frankly.)

The next day's commute was a joy; first to get back out of the car (which is still quick but the "astonishingly quick" no longer seems to fit) and into the freshening air. The tyres don't track the ruts as savagely as the previously worn set and the lean-confidence is going to unseat me if I don't get over the novelty soon.

Nige has put this down as the 50,000-mile service. We were just on 48,970. That's 30-miles before my Alternator, Clutch, and Engine-Main 3000-mile Warranties ran out. Nige gave him a thorough checking through and found no issues. It's a relief, but the Warranty was sound piece of mind while it lasted.

Overall my ride is living far closer to its potential now. He's silky-smooth all over and we're ready set for the Autumn-Winter changes. My only disappointment is that his left-hand-side fairing still doesn't sit right leaving it a little skew-iff and closer to my shin than is the right-hand-side. Something for the weekend, perhaps?