Shadowfax-ST Blog

My Son had been nagging us to get his bikes to his Aunt's so we surly loaded up his KX85 and CRF100 on the trailer and gave him an afternoon out on an airstrip's apron. He was timid on his Honda fist time round and reluctant to have another scoot so I placed some items out to lay out a circuit around which he happily navigated. His Aunt and I meanwhile blatted around on the '85 and I explored the powerband, which felt like riding the CB1000F the other day; fun but too soon "done that". My Son got quicker; and started to worry me. His circuits got more and more extended and we realised this is because he's still not using brakes! On the return leg to his Aunt's my Son asked when we were going to take Shadowfax out together again. With all this commuting I've had little energy for such treats and my fear factor of falling with him on board is very strong. I just can't imagine crawling over to him if he was hurt through being on the bike with me.

Chippings I throttled back out of Droxford to rid myself of a brace of annoyingly slow Micras and noted a vibration at 90, which Honda Portsmouth told me wasn't there. Once home I inspected the rear wheel and found a 1cm sharp pebble embedded in the (new, damn it) rear BT021R. I'm guessing this affected the balancing; well it would, wouldn't it? Soft Rubber The thing is, this rear BT doesn't half seem soft compared to the favoured Pilot 2s. It's training up a bit like a racing tyre, too. To be fair I'm riding a little harder and more quickly than usual / before but these Tyres are meant for that style of ride. I do wonder if that's not a factor (being softer) in picking up stones, though. I'm due a new front soon and need a match for the BT. I just hope these observations aren't indicators of faster wearing, or anything. All the hype on these BT020 replacements suggest they're Pilot2 beating but my feeling is far from that. I was happy with the

Testing Times Shadowfax came with an MOT put on him by MGM motorcycles on the day I bought him and Tax I'd bought only minutes before; insurance was just a phone call away. A year later and all three costs coincide with a needed 16,000-mile service and only 5-weeks following the last expensive rear puncture. Testing times indeed. The Bennets Insurance I raved about last year has shot up to over £300: that's over a 50% increase and I know I am not alone. Utter thriving bastards! On phoning them it seemed my milage did for me, too. Although I am gaining experience with every mile each one penalises me as a higher risk. Bastards, again. So, if I ride 1000 miles in 3 trips over a year I'm less a risk? Fine, obviously the fact I'm "new" to the bike each ride has no stock in this? Idiotic. I digress, but I'm also pleased to not I had 3 quotes from £135 to £175 FC; not bad and they come with similar packages and a lower excess than Bennets. I follow this lead up

Speed Limits We're a Nation, if not a developed World of time watchers; speed, efficacy, ease of learning; no time, need to do it now; to have done it 10 minutes ago. A new model is coming out. It's under development but I want to see it now. Human kind is going to Mars; are they there yet? The train leaves at 0713hr (not bloody 0715; else we'll be late). Just tap those Ruby Slippers together 3 times and you'll be as good as back at home without so much as the need to blink through the transdimentional pathway as you instantaneously appear in front of your microwave to cook chips inside 3-minutes flat. This isn't a new state of society; I remember Brains Faggots* heated in a gas oven was the height of convienience in the early '70s, and to my math that'd put 60 to 70-year-oldsters in the realms of instigators of haste; the inventors of rush, and the executers of swift time. Then why must these not-yet-old teats swan about in their safe Nissan Micras at 35 a

The Great Friday Charge What was that about bimbling up and down the route? This morning I flew up the A32 and only paused occasionally on the A339 for (more bloody Micras) slow cars in the twisties. The A33 was soooo sloooowwww it was frustrating and despite passing a few cars and trucks there was no great advantage. Reading was pedestrian, too :( So, a good initial run became a slow one and I had only 10-mins in hand to change before desk time. A bonus today was that it was cooler - and it even rained. The road up the Meon Valley was soaked and I had a while to test the mesh strides in the light rain and minor spray: no ill effect. I don't doubt they'll be pretty uncomfortable in a major down pour but there weren't many drops that landed on anything but the visor today, anyway. It was dress-down Friday at work. No one told me. It was at a 2pm meeting my Line Manager explained why everyone was so scruffy. It'd make no odds to me. I have to pack the work gear in a bag f

Highly Explosive And Temperamental Nah; that's not a description of me but of a good 30-dozen or so car drivers around the roadworks section of the upper reaches of the A33 entering (and tonight, exiting) Reading. What a bunch of selfish unforgiving lunatics we allow to control cars these days! I didn't quite hear what one small truck driver shouted at me and a handful of other motorists caught out by a traffic jammed set of lights on the M4/A33 interchange (albeit we were now 6, not 3 lanes deep) because a. I had my plugs in, and b. I still have a deafened right ear. Suffice, it was not pleasant and to be honest it was entirely uncalled for. Most of the 4+ wheeled traffic had been at a standstill for a fair time anyway, and despite the few of us "blocking" his egress into the M4E he certainly didn't need to swerve much for a fat bloke, either. There was also a Masda driver who saw me (eyeball contact) in his near-side mirror filtering intelligently through th

Commuters And I thought I’d lost the charm of the A32 for ever! We’re back; Shadowfax and I are commuting again only this time it’s further, longer, and harder than ever before. But don’t worry, I have new M&S second-skin trunks to assure bottom comfort and a snatty new pair of Hein Gereke mesh strides and mesh gloves. There are a couple of drawbacks to the new kit, mind. But this requires a recap of the past few days; it’s not a long story but, well. You know me! New Summer Kit The mesh strides I imagined would stop my waterproof Behring strides filling up with my body fluids (sweat, mostly) and give me some degree of comfort in these balmy heat-wave temperatures we all knew were coming. The thing is, if you think logically about why I survived Winter commuting with Shadowfax it’s the fact he’s got such great rider protection that comes out as a major contributory factor in our success. So, if you sit on him with waterproofed strides you’ll not feel much air; unfortunately, e

I'm Back Shadowfax and I took a break from blogging for a short while and from the commute, too although this is a permanent break while I re-align the career to something more vocational in the education sectors. Thanks to those concerned that we'd stumbled in the snow - we were fine, but everything got leary at work at the same time, is all. That's not to say we've not been out and about or up to anything useful but life has been enjoyably slower with time to catch up on some DIY (squanderd on alternative distractions) and learning new softwares and brushing up on XHTML, CSS2, and JavaScript while introducing a look-see at iPhone applications, database solutions, and Flash applications (translate, I bought some books I might read). The next handful of posts will act as a catch-up and then we'll get back into some regular swing although I don't see us riding 100-miles every day any more. There's bitter sweetness in that. Sure, the commute could be a bind

Day 2 Commuter Mayhem (Yawn). It was morning and although the snow had lingered overnight and had crisped up the Sun broke through the stormy-hued clouds and broke the cold snap's grip on the hedgerows and trees. It presented a steady thawing trickle of water droplets splattering noisily onto the steeled ground and gave hope to all creatures fancying a trip out to earn a crust, or two. "I'm riding", I thought. I got the long-johns ready. It began to snow; just a flurry but it heralded the end of the Sun's brief influence in time to see the kids off to school (miserable every other bloody school in the Land had closed except theirs). I swapped Shadowfax's keys back for the Lanny. My enthusiasm was low; this was going to be a long and slow trip and I was bound to see bikers left, right, and front as I became ever more steeped in bloody traffic. I dug the Lanny out of this latest smattering of snow flakes. On the road the latest snow layer had already turned to a

Bikeless Commute The view out of the bedroom window at 1am was well lit; snow lay all across the back gardens in an iridescent-seeming blanket that captured every nuance of noise presenting a silent still life suited best to a European Christmas card. ("Hrmf!") At 7am my boss called describing the difficulty shed have on the trains from Devon to Surrey; should I even attempt the commute myself? I looked out front; more snow and a snowy-icy road but the main throughfare looked clear. A cyclist crossed the scene to confirm movement on two wheels not only probable but possible. Shadowfax remained under his cover and made no comment. ("Hrmf!") Morning snow The online and TV news were saturated with snow. Google Map's Traffic Layer showed red (stopped traffic) across the region from Southampton with its closed airport to Portsmouth with its cancelled bus services. The A31 at Farnham was described as being at 20mph and the A31 at Hogsback was closed. I began to realis

Weather Warnings I've ignored most weather warnings this winter but there's something unsettling about the ones being issued tonight. It snowed (briefly) today and large flakes settled without a problem; some even staying settled long enough to consider checking their Russian papers for a work permit. Worse, there are videos of snow-COVERED motorways and descriptions of the gritting crews expecting to break out ploughs - down here in Hampshire! Even the Motorways may not be safe? I'll leave my final decision on whether to ride, or not, to the morning but I am acutely aware the weather changes dramatically on entering and exiting the Meon Valley: just those few miles' difference can result in my being stranded at work if the snow continues throughout the day, or worse stuck on the side of the road incapable of maintaining forward progress. (I've put the Mrs on stand-by to come collect me (with the snatty new trailer if I come unstuck, or stuck depending on your point

What's The Point? Okay, so I made a late overtake in the dark – it was measured; I know the road and I had the right gears and I knew I’d be in in time enough not to endanger the approaching cars. It just needed a little accuracy through the road studs on re-entry and care to miss the grate on the close of the bend while keeping out of where the deep puddles would be. I had good vision through a clean visor and excellent road picture from Shadowfax’s extraordinarily effective HID front lamp; my timing was spot on. So, why did the oncoming car feel compelled to flash me? All they did was rob me of my night vision and dazzle out my views of the known hazards I was so far avoiding in a measured and planned manner. Tosser.

Footloose Shadowfax’s front foot rubbers were mightily worn, which bothered me cosmetically if not on the grounds of safety so I ordered a set off (you guessed it) eBay. Fitting them was straight forward and surprisingly “engineered” in their design. The ride is unaffected but certainly more sure footed!

Posh Backrest Ebay has a steady flow of Hondaline top boxes passing through it. Having a white bike presents the problem of whether to buy any top box in any colour and then re-spray it or get a red, black, or grey one that could just as easily sit on the bike without looking too odd. The normal price range is £160 to £230 second hand; David Silver Spares will set you back £275 for a new one. List is a little higher, of course. We bought ours at £160 BRAND NEW in the box and plastic bags!!! (See below - rough and upside down but at least it's complete!) The top box might have been brand new but the outer box was past its prime! This was an excellent deal but Ka still gave me a length of scorn over the price paid. It was a delight to see a second hand one go this week for £196 second hand from a bloke with a kitchen in his garage. The box was not the easiest farkle to fit; the instructions are a technical diagram with notes 1-5, which do not correlate with the order of fitting t

Clearing Vision Lucky bastards! I mean, those with screens they can see through. Shadowfax’s screen is so scratched up with microscopic scuffs and cleaning abrasion there’s no hope of looking through it in sunlight and zero in headlights. Mat recommended a product he’d seen at Heine Gerick’s in Aldershot, a polish called Xerapol. It sounds like something you’d spread on a sore anus but with a little elbow grease it works up into a superb restorative for the acrylic screen. Not only is the screen improved in its through vision but also the lessoning of scratches on which road shit can cling has given the screen the properties of Rain-X (to some degree). The rain just gets blown off as it does from the visor – not so as you can see through it, it still needs a screen wiper fitted (HONDA!) – but its a vast improvement on before. The screen looks “clearer”, too. £3-worth of packaging...thanks guys. 'Appreciate it. So for £8.99 plus £3 P&P (including a box big enough to take a

Portsmouth Motorcycles Service I’ve now paid up a fair amount of hard earned green and purples for servicing on Shadowfax and always in the belief the smaller garages will be cheaper – or at least better value than the main dealer network. I’m delighted to report I may have been wrong. Portsmouth Motorcycles conducted a full 12,000-mile service and rented me a bike for the day for just shy the £200 quoted. Sure, the evil bastard on morning shift who thought I’d have more fun on a rented CB600F than on a Deauville 700 is on my hit list of men whose testicles I’d most like to stamp on. Phut-Phut came to mind; naked, too low geared and totally uncomfortable and untrustworthy in traffic (although I did warm to the 600 a little more as the day wore on but there’s no way I could have done 100-miles commute on it). The unprotected visor also allowed the wind in and made me cry; most undignified! Anyway, for a few quid more than Nige at Taylor’s Garage and Mike at Motorcycle Mechanic cost

Cock It was a skid; it was for sure not what I expect ABS to feel like. 50m into the near-accident (incident) the rear wheel was doing everything it could to compete with the front, which was now under serious compression from the down force exerted through the forks. There were also 3-poits of sound; rear tyre, front tyre, and my arse. It was all over in 100m. This was lucky really; at that point the Transit was close enough to see the driver’s own efforts to stop and his mouth shape the immortal critique, “cock!” It was foggy and you may recall my triumph over my fear of fog some weeks ago. I had followed car drivers crawling at unreasonably slow speeds of 30mph in 60mph fog and around the waterworks I had made up some position in the road train of ailing crates by picking them off one by one within what vision I imagined I had of the approaching road in front. The last couple of cars were piled close to one another; clearly a difficult over-take requiring some space. As we en

Seeing the Light Cruising speed through the Meon Valley and I can’t help but develop a feeling of vast and fathomless euphoria. Corehampton Brooks The Sun’s shining down on a frosty vista and the cold wind is biting through my skin and warming my sole. It’s beautiful: the colours are more vivid than I recall ever seeing them along this stretch and I am oh, so comfortable at this speed with my visor part up sniffing in the freshness of the air. I stopped and took a picky, or two. The iPhone camera couldn’t cope; not really, but I knew that. I was just drinking in the eqarly morning winter’s day in the countryside listening to the jackdaws and cows squabbling in the field opposite. Shadowfax and I were on a new level and I hadn’t even had a drink; an epiphany. Shadowfax: his dismounted rider's epithany indicating Prozac is beaten off for (at least) another week Superb. If you don’t ride far or fear grabbing the bike out of the garage for fear some salt wise up, get out, and tak

Cold Reflections The ST-owners forum ran a thread about what to look for when scanning for ice. I put my penny’s worth in. I’m quite used to worrying about riding on ice now and my fear of slipping keeps me pretty sensible much of the time. Reversing the bike in the car park at work nearly had be off when my left foot connected with the only icy puddle on the site and I near lost balance but I’ve been pretty lucky else; just the odd “whoops” as the rear steps out. Looking cool However, on reading more and more accounts in the forum from those succumbed to black ice the more I reason I am lucky and not skilful. A case in point was on a country road with ice all over it – I was “practicing” my skills while staunchly sticking to a regular short cut avoiding Farnham. I stopped to take a photo of the icy lane when a car driver sped around the junction I had pulled up just short of – she nearly hit me as her speed was well in excess and her attention to detail (in applying a brake) was

Bike Braking As much as Mike’s now done some good work on the brakes the rear pedal is increasing its travel and has reverted to its double-tap requirement. The front brake is not linked to the rear when the front lever is pulled, either. It’s a job for the professionals. We’re booked in with Portsmouth Motorcycles and they’ll give me a loan bike for £10. The brakes’ll cost £45 to bleed; a full 12,000-mile service will take £200 from my account. It’s an early service, then.

Shadowfax Bleeding Since Mike (Motorcycle Mechanic, Fareham) fitted Shadowfax's new shoes and had trouble bleeding the brakes I've had unease at the brakes' effectiveness. I rode through the "wear in the new pads" bit and still found no improvement. Applying the rear brake required "double-tapping" the peddle to feel effective pressure but braking was overall reduced. The front end would brake but not as firmly and dive was increased. Once New Year was out of the way and Ka and I had ridden back up to Oxford via a fairly comfortable A34 through Newbury's -1 degree white ice frosting and demonstrated the windshield up advantages to her I popped in to see Mike again. He was entirely wonderful and we set to bleeding the brakes according to the ST1300 protocols I found referenced on the Net and detailed in the poorly PDF'd workshop manual. Bleeding an ST wouldn't be straight forward, would it? And being Honda I quickly learned the brake system de

Motivation Cleaning Shadowfax on Christmas Day our Yammy 600 rider said to my Son in response to Kn's suggestion it was too cold to ride (his) bike and we should all go by car, "I don't have a car - I have to use the bike". And there's me all holier than thou art for volunteering to ride through the Winter; always reassured that if I need to I can take the car or, as threatened on a frosty January Monday this week to be picked up by a rescue mission mounted by Ka and the kids in the Lanny. I see bikes on the road and rejoice that I'm not the only idiot choosing to ride on such potentially hazardous days yet they, like Ewan, may not enjoy the choice of transport that I do. Some poor bastards have no choice but to ride in the bad weather Primarily, I feel some guilt at my self-indulgent reporting of how brave I am and how resolute Shadowfax and I have been to keep riding together through all weathers while others just plain get on with it. I've never felt so

Home via Andover Ka fought her new riding gear over her fleece and six other layers while looking keenly interested in the torrade of useful advice on pillion from our Niece, AJ. The other kids added their own flavours too, such as how to beat off a crocodile should one start to chase us and what have you. It was a relief to get outside into the mid-morning chill. Shadowfax was quickly checked over and warmed up while Ka made her good-byes to the crowd. It's a sobering thought that if I was to make an arse of riding Shadowfax on such a frosty day we could leave our kids in a right pickle. I shared the thought with Ka who shrugged and assured me I'd ride safely. I was a little irritated, I recall, as I know it's not how safely I ride but how safely we negotiate the millions of other safe drivers and riders out on the roads. If I'm honest I was quite nervous at taking only my fourth pillion ride and only first over 10-miles. We were looking to dropping down to Andover for

Judging My Behind Ka opened her presents with well-fained surprise; there was a pair of Baffalo over trousers, a 3-season jacket and the HJC IS16 helmet - in pink. It was a little grim not being well enough to take her out for a spin but I knew a long trip to Oxford was coming up and her time would come. The family drove to Oxford and I rode up with Nikki. Her aged GPz600 "lost power" mysteriously at the M27 / M3 junction and I lost Nikki. She caught up again at Eastleigh and later laughed how, where I'd slowed down for her to sort her self out all the traffic had slowed down for the "Policie" looking fella on the big white ST! Honestly, it was infuriating how BMWs and other 4x4 rubbish would peel up toward the gaggle of traffic surrounding me at 90mph then brake down to 70mph on clocking me before dipping into the inside lane in front of me at 60mph just to match my speed. I rapidly became aware my hi-viz jacket and Baboon's rear end were causing a regular

Christmas Morning SiL Nikki throws up at 3am; the kids are up hunting Santa at 3-30am, and I decide I'm too poorly for Christmas at 7am. No breakfast, no Dinner, and no goose. Bah. Humbug! But, Santa brought a sack full of motorcycle cleaning products from Muc-Off. By Boxing Day I was sufficiently on my feet to give the set a go and by late evening Shadowfax gleamed as new. Let's see how this micro-gizmo-coating claimed to keep the dirt off lives up to UK road salt.