Eunos Chump

I've spent a very pleasant couple of days dismantling, cleaning and servicing the ZZR, ready for it's return to the road in April.  I'm guessing the air filter has never been changed then... That said, reaching the filter does involve a lot of dismantling.  Oil and filter changed (weirdly Kawasaki recommend a special tool to torque up the filter, as it needs more than normal hand pressure - I just did it up tighter than normal), as well as coolant, brake and clutch fluids (latter was like oxtail soup). Just need to book an MOT and it'll be ready for it's primary mission - which is delivering me to Poole to stuff my face with ice cream.

I should be in Snowdonia, taking part in the annual Gentlemen's Tour of Welsh Chip Shops, but the combination of rain and illness (other 2 guys sick), means it was cancelled.  Not to worry though, 'cos this means I have more time to hang out in remote lay-bys with my mates from the RAC. The rear tyre on the CBR suddenly deflated when I was going fairly* quickly, which was an interesting experience.  The valve had split - I have a theory that the big metal valve caps it wears were the cause.  Anyway, RAC man superglues it together, and I ride it home with him following. Had a trip to Swindon earlier in the day to visit the bike porn warehouse that is Blade Motorcyles. There's a lot of really tempting stuff in there, especially the Suzuki GSX-S1000F.  I don't have the necessary £10K though, and I've got a rule about not buying anything on-tick unless it's absolutely essential.  Being really, really pretty and awesome isn't enough.

First proper ride-out of the year; Loomies, then Goodwood.  It was quite cold, there was sleet at one point, but there were sausages and cake so it was ALL GOOD. Plus, it dragged me away from Stardew Valley for a few hours.

MX5 has been BASHED.  A Fiesta failed to stop at a crossroads and ran into my rear quarter as I drove past.  A visibly-shaken old boy gets out, apologises and admits he'd not seen me at all... He offered to go through insurance or pay out of his own pocket, but he couldn't walk without my assistance and it was clear his days of independence were coming to an end... so I told him to forget about it.  Neither of us needs the hassle for the sake of a tatty old car.  It just needs a rear lamp cluster, everything else is just cosmetic - and let's be honest, it was no beauty beforehand. In other news, the VFR is finally back on the road.  I did a lot of riding last weekend 'cos I'd become shockingly rusty - my line through bends was like a 50 pence piece.  Done a couple of hundred miles now and seem to have gotten the hang of it again.   3 weeks to Gentlemen's Annual Wales Weekender!  Everybody has fast brand-new bikes, except me :(

I've been well bored this weekend, until I discovered Lego Digital Designer : I used to build all of these back when I was a sad child.  Chappy there looks impressed with the 1300 base (blue and white one); if only he could afford the exciting 2.0 version next to it, or even better the RX sports car! I need a week off work to play with this thing now, I've got a lot of childhood to catch up on.

FED UP with constant rain, wind and cold, it's just been relentless for weeks now - worst winter for biking I've ever know.  OK, I've only know 4 biking winters, but anyway -VFR MOT repairs were completed last week (the 'leccy rattle gun dispensed with that massive hub nut in under 5 seconds, incidentally), but I've not even bothered booking it in for re-test yet. I'm planning to SORN the Rover at the end of the month and fix all the niggling problems it has. I'm getting very attached to that old thing, it had better not betray me by spitting out it's gearbox or suchlike.  There would be tears.

The combination of shite weather, Netflix and World of Warships has prevented me doing anything meaningful on the growing collection of broken vehicles outside.  Latest casualty is the VFR, which failed it's MOT a couple of weeks back on rear wheel bearings, rear brake pads, and leaking rear exhaust downpipes. Oh, and illegal rear tyre... everything on the rear of this bike is busted, it seems. First job is the leaking exhaust.  They're leaking at the joint where they go into the collector box; you can see the stains on the swingarm in the pic below: Replacing the seals means they have to come out, but they're an absolute pig to access - it must have been built by tiny children!  I've had to strip the rear of the bike right down to reach the bolts and get enough clearance to pull the pipes free.  The alternative was to remove the exhaust completely, the bolts for which are all heavily rusted; this way is less risky. Nearly finished this, then it's on to t...