too hot ...

...for riding?

No but it was getting there today. I met up with a mate at Dumgoyne distillery and from there we headed over to Stirling. A couple of miles down the motorway to the services to see if anyone else was up for a wee run.

As there were no takers, we set off after a drink and headed up towards Aberfoyle.

Lunch and ice cream there then back to Glasgow. Nice wee, sunny 85 miles.

reserves

When I was out last weekend I put off filling the tank. I need to work out how much I will get to a full tank now that I've fitted the carburettor. The electronic fuel gauge, which tells me the mileage I've got left, is not functioning now that I'm only using part of the engine management unit. Sometimes it shows that I've got over seven hundred miles remaining. (Wouldn't that be great? Were it true!)
I also need to know how much I've got when I switch to reserve. It gets a bit scary riding and not knowing where the next fuel stop is, when you don't know when you're going to run out. So far I've not had the courage to push it too far.
I've spoken to mates who have got about another twenty miles on reserve. Then again, others say they've got about twenty yards. It's all to do with the height of the threaded part of the petrol switch - apparently.

So, I guess the best way to do it will be to carry enough petrol in a can to do me to a fuel station once it has completely run out. I've got a 5 litre can but don't really fancy running around for god knows how long with that strapped to my rack.

I'll beg, borrow or, at a last resort, buy a smaller one.

summer at last?

Tried out something I read on the web, when I was starting the bike this morning.

I gave the throttle a couple twists before hitting the start button. It fired up right away. Now I don't know if it was that or just that when I fiddled about with the choke cable I sorted something out with the way it was routed. Whatever it was, it worked.

I then headed off to Lanark Loch to meet up with a mate for lunch. 

I nice wee run of about forty miles which turned into a hundred and twenty after I got lost and just kept taking what looked liked interesting roads.

And. the sun shone!

a nice wee test run

Well, I did 222 miles over the weekend and the bike is running well.

At least it is once it has warmed up. I've still got the problem of having to open the throttle to get it to fire up at first. 

This could still be the choke cable routing. I'll have a look at it at the weekend to see if I can sort it out.

camping

Getting packed for my first camping weekend of this year and I'm going through the same old debates, with myself, over what I need to take and what should get left out. The bare minimum will win out as usual. I'm taking my bigger tent as the weather doesn't look as if it will be dry and I will need a bit more space to move around in.

So, first thing tomorrow morning I'm heading off towards Berwick. 

Report here when I get back.

the best medicine

I got up this morning feeling really flat. I still haven't fully recovered from the bout of flu I was suffering from a couple of weeks back.

I went out to the garage for a while, just to fit the new master cylinder cap. That took me half an hour or so as I had to try out a gasket I had bought for it. It didn't work properly and was leaking fluid. So then, I had to use the stock one from the old cap. That fitted OK once I had worked out how to remove the sight glass.
I've decided to leave the RSD logo off the cap. The bronze coloured one actually looks quite cool but I'd rather have it plain black. If I can do without Harley logos on my bike I don't really want any other ones.
I though about starting the bike up but, as I didn't have my helmet or jacket out with me, there wasn't much point as I couldn't go anywhere. Plus, as I tried to convince myself, I wasn't feeling too well and probably wouldn't enjoy it.
But, as soon as I got back into the house I really felt I should go for a ride.

So, I headed off out and when I came back, after about forty miles, I felt so much better.

I'm so glad I did. It really was a pick-me-up.