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I went out on the bike this morning to go buy some ratchet spanners.
On the way to Tool Mart I was in a line of traffic heading up the middle of the road. After we had passed the parked cars I decided that I'd cut in as I was turning left just up the road. I indicated, checked behind and moved. Exactly at the same time a car, two or three in front, did exactly the same. I just managed to swerve round him Only bit of me that hit him was my right knee and that was just a light brush.
To be honest I think that the car's passenger got a bigger fright than I did. Hopefully she gave the driver a mouthful!

I didn't go too far on my ride today as I was watching a pair of forks on e-bay. I actually won them this time!
They're 49mm wide forks from a V-rod and the listing says the legs could do with polishing. As I'm probably going to powder-coat them black anyway, that shouldn't be a problem. For under £200 I couldn't let them go by. So, even if I can't use them I will refurbish them and re-sell them.
Even so, I've got that feeling, down low in the pit of my stomach, that somehow it's too good a bargain to be true. Fingers will be crossed until they arrive. Then it will take a bit of working out to get them to fit my bike. I reckon they are about an inch and a half shorter than my stock ones. Hopefully if I get thicker billet yokes that will account for the difference. Then I'll need to get a custom axle and spacers made up.
Once I've sourced some brakes I'll take the lot along to Area 51 to see what they can do.

quiet times

The run to Dunoon, now two weeks ago, was the last longish ride I've managed to fit in. Weather and work have conspired to keep me grounded and my wheels in the garage. I've got nothing planned except maybe a HOG rideout in October. But then again, looking at the forecast, there may just be something in the offing for tomorrow!
I have been out on my usual round the block (which can be anything up to ten miles!) blasts, just because I haven't ridden for so many hours.

It's getting to that time of year when I'm coming round to thinking that it will soon be necessary to check over the bike lift for the winter work ahead.
Although my head is still full of so many ideas for how I want the bike to turn out, I'm not going to be anywhere near as ambitious as last year and will keep my plans in check somewhat.
I will definitely powder-coat the high drag bars so that will mean rewiring and extending the controls. I've got the wire and connectors I need and have bought extended cables. The only thing still to get for that job is an extended brake line.
I'm in the process of selling some camera gear that I haven't used for some time so that will help fund the carb/exhaust conversion. The carb is on a shelf waiting. Just to buy the AMP ignition and black drag pipes.
I'll keep buying bits for the front end customisation as they show up on e-bay but as the forks will be the biggest lay-out, I'll need to be patient. I've missed out on a master cylinder and brake callipers a couple of times so they do come up. As I have definitely decided that I want 49mm forks they may need to be a new purchase! Within any sensible budget, I could either go for second hand Harley or new after-market ones. I'll research which would be cheapest.

An interesting few months lie in front of me.

cured itself?

I went for a run yesterday.

Rode for nearly two hundred miles all in, stopped three or four times and guess what? Yes, the bike started every time. Maybe, just the fact that I was carrying a spare relay was enough to ensure that there is nothing going to go wrong with it.

I really enjoyed the ride. As it looks like the weather has turned wet and nasty once again it was well timed. The sun shone for most of the day and the only sign of the rain, promised by the weather forecasters, was a couple of spots as I was going down the hill into Dunoon. But, that could even have been no more that drips off the trees.
There were loads of bikes on the roads through Argyll though not many other harleys. Probably all, like me, trying to make the most of the good day before it went back to the way this summer has been looking for months.

I was beginning to get a little sore by the time I got back home. My bum was a little numb but the real stiffness was beginning to develop in my shoulders. The stretch to the bars is probably what's doing it. Made me think about getting apes instead of the drags. But today, when I got round to trying out the higher drag bars (once again!), I'm pretty sure that they'll make a difference as they will bring the grips back a couple of inches. That should be enough to relax my arms a bit without changing the riding position drastically.

Here's a pic of the bike on the front at Dunoon.

bl**dy relay

(again)

The last couple of times I've been out at the bike it's not fired up every time. It's running OK when it does start but on occasions I press the starter button and nothing.
Only because it's happened before and I've spent a bit of time looking into the problem, I'm slightly more familiar with what's going on. I'm pretty sure that it is the relay.
What I don't know is whether the starter relay was changed when it was in the stealership a couple of months or so back. As that repair was done under warranty I didn't get an invoice. If the starter relay had gone then it would be a bit more worrying as twice in such a short time may mean that there's something more underlying than just a faulty relay. It could well have been just the system relay that went as there was no sound of the fuel pump starting up at that time.
So what I'll do is order a starter relay but until I get that I'm going to be thinking twice about riding any distance as I haven't yet figured out a get you home repair.

e-bay blues

I tried to buy a set of forks on e-bay and although I had the highest bid, I still didn't win as the seller had placed a reserve.
It was fair enough as the sale included forks, yokes, callipers and master cylinder. I'll need to keep an eye open to see if they are re-listed.
Talking about master cylinders. A twin disc set has just shown up only a week or two after I bought one.
Just like buses. None for ages then two turn up in quick succession!