Whats The Last Thing You Bought?

Me too, wanted one that is. I love the air version in black with the gold stripes down the arms, but as I already have a leather jacket and a Triumph mesh jacket I can’t really justify it.

Your new jacket will suit your bike perfectly. How’s the paint plans coming on?

 

I really don’t understand it either, their gear’s normally really well thought through.

 

Shelved for the moment as I have some more immediate health issues, Paul. Not forgotten though.

 

Water will get into tubework whether you have bungs in the end or not. What you need to do is provide an escape route.
A few discreet drain holes of say 3mm diameter, planned now for the lowest point whilst they are off, will provide a better long term solution and easier access before final fitting.
Naturally you need to touch in the bare metal with a drop of paint.

 

It should be possible to get a properly watertight bung in those bar ends. No reason to drill holes that I can see, and they'd just be an unnecessary area of weakness.

 

You have it your way @learningtofly but been here a number of times over the yesrs and done engineering all my life.
So are you suggesting a couple of strategically placed drain holes will affect the overall strength more than hidden internal corrosion over time?

 

Sorry to hear that, as usual you'll be in my thoughts and prayers.

So was the jacket retail therapy?

 

Thank you, and absolutely! (Ignoring the jacket posted for sale, I now have 11 - 2xTriumph, 2xRev'it, 3xBelstaff, 3xMerlin and 1xKnox. I'm genuinely embarrassed.)

 

Just saying it's not needed, and I wouldn't consider it. And yes, it would be a weakness with regard to spray hitting the holes head on and then lurking inside the bars. There wouldn't be any internal corrosion with properly fitted bungs - one could even use a little clear silicone sealant for added reassurance (a far better idea than drilling holes, IMO).

 

The Motone bars, including the black ones, appear to be made from stainless steel so corrosion should not be an issue. Still a good idea to plug the ends though, to stop them filling with water.

 

Oh dear I didn't intend to start a debate or call people's knowledge into question.

Anyway, I had thought of the drain hole idea and rejected it for the same reason as @learningtofly. My engineering training was more electromechanical, with the emphasis on the electro part, and being in the MOD we were always encouraged to ask the question "would I fly with what I'd made?"

I went with Triumph's Frame Caps because I think that if the Frame Caps are good enough for Triumph (and if you added a mudguard delete to the bike then the frame ends would be very exposed to spray etc) then its good enough for me.

Triumph's Frame Caps are (or rather will be when I fit them) a very tight fit, they have ridges that grip the inside wall of the frame tube, are pliable and shaped to resist getting the bungs out again, so I'm confident it will be a secure, water tight seal.

But to add further corrosion resistance to anything that might get past the Frame Caps, I'll be giving the inside of the crash bars a good soaking with MucOff's Harsh Conditions Barrier spray. Its very waxy and sticky and should coat and therefore protect (a bit like waxoyling a car chassis) the inside surface of the bars. I'll also smear the interlocking bar with silicon grease to create a seal at that join as well.

Given that the new bars haven't been out of the house since I received them and they'll be fitted in a dry garage, they should remain dry. I'll post photos in the new year to show how fitting went and how they look on the bike.

Thanks all.

 

No issue if a good grade of stainless is used but I had assumed, possibly incorrectly, that they'd be mild steel tubing powdercoated for the cost/price point.

 

It seems they do polished stainless or black coated options so must have decided to stick with stainless steel for all fabrications. I think it might be 304 grade stainless steel which is austenitic non magnetic so could test it with a magnet to confirm that it is a decent grade of stainless.

 

I can't see them using a magnetic grade (martensitic etc) so as @TRIPLE X suggests a magnet could soon put your mind at rest..... or not

 

So, my friend Mo and I had been planning to ride in and around Tucson, Arizona to beat the cool weather here in Albuquerque. As the day got nearer and weather reports kept forecasting colder and colder temperatures with some snow we started talking about options in terms of getting down there. Albuquerque is the "other" mile-high city (the most famous being Denver), my house being at just a little over at 5,300 ft above sea level. Despite being in the Southwest USA we get our share of cold weather, sometimes below zero Farenheit, and sometimes plenty of snow.

Being old, both of use over the six decade mark, we decided to do something about this. We went halves on a Utility trailer which was quickly converted to a motorcycle trailer.

Sandi T. if you're reading this we're heading down tomorrow.

trailer by Marco Wikstrom, on Flickr

 

A very sound idea, I did something similar in the 1990's but mine was bigger than yours