sunny

The weather was so summery today it probably was summer.

I headed up towards Stirling and then over to Callender to meet up with another two riders club members who were on a run through from the east.

It was the first real ride I've had on the bike and the new seat and riding set up took a bit of getting used to. Theres almost no padding at all on the seat but hopefully it will break into the shape of my bum over time and will become easier to settle down for longer distances.

The hardest thing was riding with no speedo. Not only do I have no idea if I'm breaking the limit, I hadn't a clue how many miles I had gone. At least I have a half decent reserve on the fuel cock.

I had no idea how difficult it is to try to judge speed. I can tell if I'm going really slow as the bike starts to wobble! I also know if I'm going really fast as other vehicles get tiny very quickly in the wing mirror.

Apart from that I'll just have to go along with the flow.

 

riding in Scotland

I spent a bit of time checking the wiring to the ignition unit and found the problem was a wire which wasn't held into unit properly and was causing the problem starting. So I fitted the saddle, put on my jacket and helmet and set off. That was when the sky dumped a whole weekend's worth of rain on me before I had got to the end of the street. I was going to persevere but it wasn't easing off so I headed back to the garage and got under cover.
From the distance I did go everything feels OK though I will need to spend a bit more time in the saddle before I can decide if it's going to be comfortable.
As I was back I decided to fit the rack. That took a bit of trimming of the electrics cover and a few dropped circlips before I finally got it all together. I then tried out the luggage. It al fits but I will need to fit the panniers back to front to get them to fit.
At least I'm ready to go camping at the end of the month.

Here's a photo but as it's taken on my phone it isn't that good.

nearly done

I spent a good few hours today fitting the rear mudguard.

That sounds simple but it also meant wiring in the sparto tail-light, trimming and fitting the cover for the electrics box, wiring in the light for the side-mount plate and lining up the sprung seat.

It all went remarkably well! Wiring the lights and indicator took a bit of guess-work but I managed to get it right at the second go. I only needed to reverse the wires to the indicators as the wiring diagram I've got shows both indicators to have the same colour wiring. This is because the indicators and taillight have their own mini loom. I then spliced in the wires to the LED on the side plate.
I fitted the brackets for the panniers and lined up the bags. I think I may need to use them reversed from their normal way in order for them to fit. There is just enough space between the electrics cover and the sparto to take the connecting strap. I was thinking it may need a bit of trimming but with a bit of luck it will do. Tomorrow I'll drill a final hole in the top of the mudguard to fit the cut-down rack which I have painted and should be ready to fit tomorrow.

The only trouble came when I tried to turn the bike over and it wouldn't start! It could be the battery has been drained too much with all my trials of the lights that it just doesn't have enough juice left to turn the engine over.

Whatever, I've lifted the battery out and put it on charge and will try again tomorrow. Then I can get the seat fitted and see what it's like to ride under its latest incarnation.

rack and not ruin

I have been in two minds about finishing off the rear mudguard. I almost decided to leave it for a while and get some miles under my belt.

Then a work-mate's son offered to cut and weld my luggage rack for me. That would mean I wouldn't have any way to strap on my camping gear if I kept the stock guard. As I'm heading off for a weekend at the beginning of June, I could do with it.

So, I'm going to bite the bullet and spend some time next weekend wiring the rear lights and fitting the guard.

Hopefully it will get done reasonably quickly as I'm pretty sure about what's needed.

back on the road

The bike's passed its MOT and is displaying a brand new tax disc. (the last one ever, due to the change in the law after October this year!) So now all is legal and I can get out and ride.

Apart from the ride to and from the MOT station, I've only been around the block a few times So, today I'm going to take a longer run to see if there are any problems needing sorted. One I do know about is the speedometer. The sender does not seem to be sending any info to the unit so I don't know how fast I'm going! I'm not sure if I'll be able to get the VSS on the gear-box to work so I may need to but a different type and mount it to read the wheel studs.

Apart fom that I've still to fit the read mudguafd, side-mount number-plate and the sprung seat.

I'm hesitating to begin that job as I don't really want the bike off the road any longer.

I'll decide soon, but for now, I'm off to ride.