Not a good. Day today....pyramid seals sent me the wrong dust seals ahhhhhhhhhhhhh spent all morning trying to fit them to find there 1 MM. To big. I tried Everything to get them in... No way would they go. I can't blame them really I found out after that Triumph fitted to different forks to the Thunderbird one set is 43mm / 54 ( mine). And the other 43/ 55 MM ( what they sent). if only I knew....... It's one of them jobs where you have to give the vim number to know what forks you have. You live and learn ....
lovely day and coz i have been a good boy the mrs said get yourself out on the bike for a good run. checked the tyre pressures and both slightly down which is usual for my bike. got the compressor out and using the new 90 degree angled valve extenders, pumped the tyres to 36 and 41 psi. Bike started first time , as usual, and ran real sweet,pulled away and thought how good she was handling, no whitelining or movement on ridges in the road. I had to stop for fuel so filled her up and pulled away again,still great,so smooth and perfect ( for a 95 Sprint) handling. Got about 8 miles and suddenly she felt kinda weird, top heavy and awkward. I was on a bendy country lane and it was hard work. I stopped and checked the tyres as best as I could, the front was very low. Grrrrrrrrr. the 8 miles back to the garage seemed a lot more, she kept wandering and was unpredictable. I went straight to the air lne and put my 50p in. Connected the line and noticed it had 21 psi in, I pumped it up to an indicated 38 as I didnt have my gauge with me. I rode towards home and the nearer I got the weirder the handling. I made it to my garage,just, and put the bike on he centre stand to see if I had a puncture. All was good so i looked at the 90 degree angled valve. it was loose so I turned it by hand to tighten it. Jeezus, the valve itself where it screws into the wheel was loose, the locknut took a good full turn to get even close to tight.mmmmm Got spanner out and nipped it up, compressor out and pumped up to 36 psi again and left it for 20 mins before rechecking. Phew it was ok. Think I will just carry the angled valve with me in case it is needed, not sure i trust it now, tho dont know if it was the cause of the problem or not. bloody cheap ebay crap. Finally got myself out for a blast round warwickshire. she is handling great again , after all the crap I had she feels like a fireblade,lol. I really enjoyed it once I got my confidence back. yippee
Sack the 90 degree angled valve extenders-i'm sure they are only made so you can get your moneys worth out of them coz you need to keep putting air in the tyres!!!
Woke up early(bloody body clock doesn't know it's a Sunday) to a crystal clear morning. Decided to take advantage and go for an early ride. Bit cold with a few small fog patches but the roads were clear. One and a half hours later I'm back home and she's just getting up.
UPS and downs day today with Penelope. While waiting for Monday to chew the pyramid sales guy about the wrong dust seals, I decided that while the forks are off I would remove the white powdery corrosion off them and tart them up a bit. They don't look to bad now, ( will post a pic later) while I was doing this I had some bits hanging in the shed that I had painted earlier.. While I had my back turned working on he forks the cat thought it would be fun to see how far they would swing if she tapped them. The next thing I heard was a clatter. And the cat bolt out of the shed like someone had kicked her up he Arse, which was just as well because she would have been when I See my still wet painted bits on the floor, ahhhhhhh!!!!!! Bloody cat. Other than that it's not been a bad day going by the bikes flying passed my house today.
Got up, brewed up. Gin clear skies so out with dog then off on a semi-glorious bimble through the Lake District on the Speedie only to be spoilt by the day trippers and tourists dragin' along in second gear and lycra clad tree hugger types through Windermere and up to Ambleside. Nuff said. Through Ambleside and Rydal and a nice steady cruise over Dunmail Raise, past Thirlemere then all the way home, shame I forgot my camera.
Finally got around to fixing my exhaust leak. I got that when trying to adjust my chain tension. To do it properly, you need to take the exhaust off, so that you can tighten the rear wheel axe to the proper torque (I wonder how many people actually bother with that! Feels like an insane amount of work, just to adjust the chain tension). Anyway, when I took the exhaust first I did notice some silicone sealing there, but thought nothing of it. But after putting it back on, a tiny leak remained. To be honest, it really was tiny (although it certainly improved the sound of the stock pipes), but I reckoned it would eventually start ruining the chrome on the outside. So this weekend I took the exhaust off again, and applied a layer of RTV copper to it. Let it settle for about 10 mins, then slip the exhaust back on. Tighten a bit, let it settle for about 20min, then tighten it harder. I got a bit annoyed when I saw that when slipping it back on, most of the silicone got scrapped forwards, but I let it settle overnight anyway. Today I tried it, and not a sound (or feel) from that area. I could easily remove the excess silicone by hand. Probably really basic stuff for most, but it's certainly a big win for me! Slowly building confidence for bigger jobs.
It's all about having confidence Mischa,the more you do the more confident you get. Well done anyway you did good!!
Took part in the Bournemouth Distinguished Gentlemans Ride yesterday. Fantastic weather - sun , sea, a castle and a motorcycle museum - what could be better? The Enfield wouldn't start so the Trident got to go instead (well this is a Triumph forum afterall). Thank you to the guys at Triumph Three Cross Motorcycles who arranged a pre-ride meet up and provided coffee and opened the showroom for us. They then took out demo Bonnies and joined us for the ride down to Poole. (Probably not a good idea for my bank balance that they invited me back down to try out said demo bikes some time). Lots of lovely old Triumphs, a Brough Superior and a custom built bike with 2 cylinders from a radial aircraft engine - 5 litres and he kick starts it!
Yes, I went for it this time Dave, but felt positively underdressed compared to some! I rather like the tweed look for classic motorcycling - if someone could make it armoured/kevlar lined they might be on to something.
Today (Monday) I have been pricing up all the bits required to put my lovely Sprint ST back together again after taking a low speed tumble yesterday (Sunday). Locked the front wheel in trying to avoid a head-on with a Volvo and sent myself down the road on my side. Fairing, lights, clocks all knackered, but no damage elsewhere. It will be an insurance write-off, I'm sure of that, and I certainly can't afford the £4,000 that all the new bits of fairing, lights, instruments will cost. So, Gents, any ideas about some options? I could start scouring FleaBay for second hand parts, but I'm sure I'm not the first person to have found themselves in this situation! Should I just hang onto the bike and sell off the frame, wheels, engine etc separately? I cannot believe that the effing platic bits will cost more than I paid for the bike!!!!!!!!
Today, Monday, I took out the Bonnie I bought Friday for another gentle spin up the A6 to Rushden from Bedford to #1 daughter's to fix her punctured cycle tyre (frequently invoked clause of the Dad job description). Just getting used the current set-up before I start tweaking, and of course finding out what she can do. Definitely in mind to get a softer seat. Took her up to 90mph on the Paula Radcliffe Way - way too much buffeting at anything above 75mph for any long periods. Rides so lovely on the twisting A road at 60mph. At 80mph the vizor on my open face vibrated so much I was virtually blinded, so definitely going to invest in goggles. Thinking of getting prescription ones. Now before you sigh and laugh, remember I'm nearly 64 with dodgy hips, and I haven't ridden for 15 years or more, so a little tolerance here please - I also successfully completed my first single-carriageway overtaking operation, and not so far from a tight-ish right-hander coming out of Rushden, so patted myself on the back...okay, it was only a tractor doing 20mph, but as they say, you can only play what's in front of you. Got in a few more after that though
Sorry to hear your news mate .it depends on how bad the bike is and how much you want to spend putting it back on the road and how fast too. E bay and bike breakers will get most bits but although they are cheaper than new it can still add up. And then you have to have time on your hands. I don't know if you use the bike for pleasure or for going to work. If you think it's too bad the again your in no rush for cash then breaking the bike can be a good way to make somthing out of a bad day. but you will have a shed like a breakers yard . What I'm saying is only you can make that call my friend. But I wish you all the best with whatever you decide
