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Flying Broomsticks

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Hit by Chips Tractors performing hedge-trimming duties have featured on our commute quite a bit of late. I've even noted how they can hog the whole roadway on a blind bend quite legally because they have a flashing yellow beacon on them, which gives licence for them to do ANYTHING they freaking well want. I love how they can spill their debris across the carriageway and how that debris has lots of sharp bits you couldn't walk barefooted over so must be dangerous to the flesh and maybe even the tyres? But it's okay; they have the yellow beacon licence to do what they want, of course. A twist then, rounding a corner past the Privet junctions I saw a yellow winky-poty through the hedges and slowed expecting a licenced obstruction in my path but was relieved to see it was trimming the hedge from the side of the field. Excellent, throttle on, I thought. Then I got hit by the shrapnel of trimming from an unprotected blade set at just the right angle to spray me with 7.62mm bore h...

It just fell off

No licence While slipping Shadowfax's wet and heavy cover off there was a moment of resistance. I tugged harder and the snag came free, accompanied by the plunk of the licence plate dropping to the floor. The sticky pads are just not up to the job in this weather (each covered in fine grit and wet grime) so I'll have to work out where to drill the plate without spoiling the custom effect I paid for. In the meantime, I re-drilled (or, carved) the rear fender's fixing holes and old plate to a wider diameter with a screw-driver blade and I helped the environment by recycling a couple of packaging bolts from Phut-Phut's crate (the Sanya 125 came as a kit, you may recall?) It looks crass but it'll not be falling off too easily.

More Motorcycle Mechanic

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Manic Moment "Hi, It's Pat; the white ST. You called a while ago?" "Yes" , replied our fella from Motorcycle Mechanic, " I've read your blog..." (Shit! I thought. What did I write? I thought it had been quite positive and forward looking; now I was worried if I had offended.) "...and I just thought you might like to know I've still got the tyre if you want it." Now, if that doesn't endear me to the business I don't know what will - except a night out with some lush lap dancers,a couple of pints of local-brewed real ale, and a pre-paid taxi. (Or is that just pushing it a bit? ;) Gregg thinks I should repair it and flog it and Ka doesn't think I should make a clock out of it. More on that later, I'm sure.

Too low for Zero

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Taste of Winter After another thorough muddying on the way in to work I put in a long day and left work again at 8pm. Obviously it was dark and as I made my way from the office to the bike I felt the characteristic nip of 4-degrees in the air; I pride myself on sniffing out the potential for snow. As Shadowfax was ignited, his temperature gauge showed 3-degrees. It was going to be cold as the Meon Valley has proven a rule of being at least 2-degrees colder than at either end of the commute. My glasses misted up first and I had to put my gloves on by touch. As we commenced the ride the glasses cleared by the length of the car park so I lowered the visor part way. It misted up. Hmm. One of "those" nights again. I took it really steady - the weather had had a jump of 3-hours on me without any warmth of the Sun so the chance of ice was quite high and the tarmac was greasy slick with damp in any case. By the Bently by-pass the temperature read 2-degrees. A fine misty rain became a...

Filthy Helmet

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Badger Pooh Showers We've never felt so dirty! It wasn't torrential rain; just some light soaking type stuff that lay across the mud left on the road at EVERY field's gate and spray from an artic', which kept us too out of the play to see far enough to overtake. My dirty helmet The visor became opaque at the close of the A32 and I was grateful for some heavier rain to cleanse it a little for the latter part of the A331. The damage was done though as I'd had to ride with the visor up for a patch and I knew I had road detritus all across my nose. And that was just on the way up. The way home was worse. Filthy badgers This is an element of Winter I've experienced before but been able to wipe-free by the squirt of window wash so I hadn't figured just how awful it could be on the bike; not really. At least I've kept his lights clean Even NIkki's gift wiping finger was useless against the muddy spray. I'm looking at putting a water bottle with spray at...

A Number Two

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The 2nd Rear Michelin Road Pilot 2 Punctures really are shit! Not to be caught out again I'm going to recce the area for someone that can swap tyres on demand. In the meantime, I'm stung for a new tyre where the punctured one wasn't even out of its diapers yet. Bonus was to find a more local mechanic for when Droxford is too long a haul. I was up against time and I had to make a decision. I read loads of tyre info on the Web to be sure I should repair the puncture and called Motorcycle Mechanic in Fareham to see if he'd take a look at the problem. Sure, he agreed. Far left corner...but the tea was to the foreground I re-inflated the rear from 15psi to 42psi and made my way with caution to the Kiln Acre Industrial Park on Wickham road and rode along to the workshop tucked away in the far left-hand corner. Our fella came out, looked, and sucked teeth. I was convinced a cheap repair was possible while he was uncertain of how "centre line" the nail needed to be ...

We got nailed!

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Hole in our rubber It's devastating news; Shadowfax is lamed out by a freaking miss-placed nail in his rear £140-Michelin Road-Pilot 2 tyre. I pumped up the tyres and noted (as I had on Tuesday, if I'm honest), that the pump's pressure gauge was a little erratic inflating the rear. On the road I was convinced by Thursday that the rear was low but I was locked out of the Lanny and couldn't access the pump. By home-time on Friday I was feeling cautious, but no more so than when we've chanced riding at 34psi, which is 8psi lower than the best-guess if the tyres are similar to the BT020s (42psi each); +/-6psi is the outer limit of being an idiot. The £?? nail Feeling Flat Interesting - 15psi and the puncture stabilised and we rode in an acceptable attitude. Not bad in support of the tyre's safety and all-roundedness, but poor form when you account for the internal damage water can cause when injected through a puncture by riding in the wet - and it's been very w...