What Have You Being Doing With Your Non-triumph Today?

Martine, I’m asking on behalf of a friend, so please excuse this potentially impertinent question...

Do you have a sister, and does she like bikes, engineering and hanging out at breaker yards too?

Thank you.

 

I commuted into work today for the first time in bloomin ages (I mean even way before covid ages) on my V85, was great to do although was over 5' both ways, won't be so nice in the snow/ice that is supposedly on it's way, but with no car anymore, needs must

 

My commute is over 5 feet as well
But right enough, I ditched the car for 1 full year and tried bike only. Was actually pretty good during the winter but there was a few days I didn't show up... my local roads dont get salted. I set off on foot a couple of times and the boss came and lifted me

 

Soz, don't know where to find the degrees button ... but my commute is pitifully close to 5' lol, I live 5 miles from work, which is why I hardly ever used to commute as it took longer to kit up and get the bike out than it did to just jump in my car and drive in!

 

I have four older sisters but HH says none of them are like me...hmmm, I don't think that's coming across right...(shakes head to dispel those thoughts). Anyway, three of us do have engineering degrees but nobody else rides...they are missing out!

 

There is an old VW graveyard near me that is similar, and the owner will let me go through looking for parts. There are old VW vans, SuperBeetles, Ghias, notchbacks, the works. He even let me do a photo shoot one day. I think I posted some of these pics a good while back, but hope they are worth another look.

 

And a great warped sense of humour too, what a catch , I nearly spat my coffee at that description . We are very lucky to have you in the forum family Martine

 

What an fascinating family. Amazing so many have Engineering degrees.

If it’s not to nosey, how have those sisters used their qualifications? Are you (without giving any personal details away) able to explain how you all got into engineering?

I am interested in D&I so trying to figure out what for some people makes traditionally blokey subjects interesting to a wider audience is really important to me.

 

Didn't even know what "D&I" means so I had to go to Google. Interesting questions but a potentially lengthy discussion best for a different thread in the Lounge, I suppose.

In the meantime on the bike front, here's a pic of those recovered gauges installed on the Yamaha by HH while I was inside baking cookies

 

I decided to make an Addition to the Family . As the nearest Triumph dealer is now a 90 minute (minimum) ride away, and the TFC is a rare gem, I decided to get a stable mate with similar power and equipment, and a bit more excitement. The dealer is great ( I bought my FJR from them) and close, and will even do minor service work on the TFC. Looking forward to her arrival from Italy. A 2021 Ducati Supersport S . Like the TFC , it's been a lifelong dream, and as I'm pushing 66 it was now or never...

 

Congratulations! That is a beautiful ride. Looking forward to hearing about it.

 

Decided to convert my tubed spoked wheels on the CB1100 EX to tubeless. They will be sent off to BART Factory in Italy to be professionally done. I'll be keeping my own spokes and rims, but they can supply those as well if needed/desired. Glad I opened them up, the inner tube valve was quite rusty.

 

Congrats on the new addition to the family, @Greywolf55! Beautiful machine. Looking forward to more photos.

 

I finally picked up my H-D Low Rider S from the dealership yesterday after it was there for a month. Yes, a MONTH! I looked back in my iCal and I dropped it off way back on January 12th. Sheesh. Lots of COVID-related parts back-order and shipping issues along with the service department being swamped. I was starting to get used to that empty garage space again. Just kidding...



My bike is now the proud bearer of Biltwell "Murdock" pullback risers. They are 2" taller than stock with a 2" pullback. They felt good on the ride home yesterday. And they felt great on our Sunday rideout of about 60 miles today. My favorite service advisor took this photo for me back in the service area after the risers were on and ready to roll.

In addition to the risers, I had a DLX adjustable brake bone put on because the stock brake arm isn't adjustable and was set so low that I had to crank my foot forward to even begin to get any braking action. This allowed for enough adjustment that my rear brake is finally functional. Made a cosmetic switch of the stock timer cover with a plain gloss black one. And, hurray, my bike now shifts perfectly with the replacement of my defective shifter pawl which had led to sporadic missed shifts primarily downshifting from 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to 1st.


I rode the Low Rider S the next day on our Sunday ride which has been a small group in the Age of COVID. Today it was even smaller than usual for one reason or another. Just Mr. Sandi, our buddy GH who rides a 2008 Triumph Rocket III, and me. We were bundled up against the cold 50ºF with a stiff breeze when we hit the road.GH was smart and wore chaps. I had on my long johns. Mr. Sandi resisted...and complained of the cold. He gets teased by folks in our ride group regularly for having empty saddlebags during our winter rides when they could have warm gear packed away "just in case".


Yep, some of these places are probably starting to look quite familiar to some of you. They certainly are to me! Again, the Age of COVID. We are really grateful to be able to ride and to socialize a bit over breakfast or lunch but there are only about three places that we're comfortable with the seating (outdoors) and COVID protocol. Today it was up to the Oracle Patio Cafe again. We did realize that it had probably been at least a month since we'd been there. It was a bit cool to sit outside at 50ºF but we stayed bundled up and we sat in the sun.

Our black bikes (the best color, right?) parked in front of High Desert First MC Service which is closed on Sundays. From left to right---Mr. Sandi's 2017 Street Glide, my 2020 Low Rider S, and GH's 2008 Rocket III.


The cafe added a few nice touches for Valentine's Day like this bow on the post in the front and they had some really nice daily specials, too. I almost chose the soft-shell crab po' boy but went for the waffle (with a side of bacon) which was delicious!






Something that was really delightful about today's trip to the cafe was that there were lots of dogs! We're still missing Annie something fierce so it was so nice to be able to meet and pet a few sweet doggies. The owners were quite happy for us to pet their dogs--and the dogs were quite happy to be petted! And one gentleman even got his little guy (the fox-like dog) to pose for me.

This is Berto with his special hand knit sweater.


I didn't catch this little guy's name but he was on high alert pretty much the whole time we were there.


And this tiny, cute puppy is Sage, an 9-week old cattle dog--heeler, I think. Her owners had just had her for two weeks.

 

Count yourself lucky there Sandi! Since before Christmas I've only managed 1 lucky outing of about 60 mile due to an essential appointment

 

Managed to get the boat out for first time in 2 years after broken windscreen
Was good weather and fishing

 

Geez, I feel for ya, @andyc1. This year I can empathize with being off the bike more than ever and know how hard and "lonely" it is. Hope you can manage to make and travel to another "essential appointment" in the near future. Or that the lockdowns and stay-at-home orders are lifted soon.

 

There's always people in a worse situation so I can count myself lucky in that regard. I'm not used to being off the bike for so long and its quite depressing. I keep forgetting about your accident so you know full well what its like. At least the best biking weather is on its way and the situation is beginning to look up with the way the vaccinations are being rolled out here

 

Is that Snapper, used to love it when I was living in NZ
My uncle used to make the batter with beer.

 

Yes, Australian snapper, and I too use beer batter. The cold of the beer plus the bubbles make a great batter.
I like crispy so use 1/3 corn flour to 2/3 plain flour.
Cooked (no batter) some gurnard and albacore tuna last night, Kahawai sushimi I tonight