BMW Drivers

As everyone know the Majority of BMW drivers are w*&%ers (with the exclusion of Streak) now i used to think that it only applied to car drivers but I was wrong.

Yesterday I was on my way home and this short f*(kwit on BMW 1200 something or other was at the lights infrount of me. We both took and got past the traffic, then I got past said twat, at this point I was only thinking he was a bit of a prick as he had bought the bike matchign BMW canfus protective gear and helmet that matched the bike. Then as I was going past traffice that was stop he was right my ass. I mean his wheel was a cm from my back one. This is a bit off putting as I had reached a point where i decided that I didn’t want to be in the middle going onto a round about he did. So he blows past me.
Being on a sports bike I pass him on the next streight and then he sits between two cars trying to pass them both, to get passed me again and then he switches lane with only inches to spare.

Then this morning another BMW (online using the in good weather) rider blow past me, after blinding me on a streight that realy is very dangerous. This rider had thought I must show I a c%$t and buy all the BMW gear as well.

If you want to ride motor bikes get a desent one and not a f*&^ing BMW.

Back in the saddle again.

Ok so its about 3 weeks since I did an inpression of a young clark kent learning to fly.  Since then I have driving 4 wheels.  Yes it was nice to have metal around me for safty and the ability to listen the music on the way to and home from work.  BUT THANK GOD I’m back ont two wheels.

So my dad very kindly (or stupidly on my last years recond) has lent me his limited edition 1987 yamaha FZR 750.  This is a lovely bike, a race at hart and soul with no signs of age (give a few months). 

On the way to work this morning while getting use a not only a new bike a different manufacuter altogether I notice that I was leaving more of a gape and my speed was down a bit.  This wasn’t deliberate it was just happening.  I didn’t tey to push my luck at all in any situation or two reason.

1) My wife isn’t over the moon about me being back on a bike.  This was proven by when she told me that her dad had give up ridding a motorbike when he came off and though that you only have so much luck, and she didn’t want to be on her own.

2) The bike is on lone.  It not mine.  I am aloude to use it until I can afford to get a new bike or fix up the very very very badly damage 600 that is in his garage.

So hears to a new start on the bikes.

Is it a bird? Is it a plain???

Nope, it just IB doing his supperman impression,  again.

Thats right foke I did it again.  I came off my motorbike in style.  This is what happened.

I was driving home from work and in true Northern Ireland style it had been raining from about mid day ( I said driving,  it was more like aqua plaining with skill).  So I was crusing along a 1/2 mile streaight only doing 45-50 mph in a 60 zone, mostly due to the weather but also I was a bit consurned about the trye pressing in my font tyre.  So I’m cursing alone aobut 20 feet (maybe more) behind a Honda 4×4 and happy with the way things are going.  Then I see breaks light of the honda come on.  by this stage he was was the end of the straight and I thought that some in front of him had paniced when they came to a connor  and I start to apply my breaks, as you do.

That when things strated to a wrong, badly wrong.  Remeber I’ve been riding from about 2004 and it always raining in Nothern Ireland so this shouldn’t be a problem right??  WRONG.  As I start to break I feel the bike slide, now I’m think S*&t I might hit this car in front (bering in mind that 20 feet in the wet will close down pritty quick when you’r sliding). Nope that not going to happen,  about this time I can fell the back end start to come round, now Im thinking oh f%^$. I know at this stage I should have let off the breaks, grabed the cluck and started to apply the breaks agian slowly, but I panic, I didn’t any of this because all I could see in my mind was that I was going to go into the back of the honda, not about 15 feet away and I appeared to be stopped. 

The back wheel keeps comming round and now I can feel the front start to turn as well, at this stage I knew i was off.  next thing I know I’m hitting the ground and my head is rolling arround in my helmet, all I can hear is the gravel hitting the out side of my helmet , after about 5 second I’m motionless and the world has stoped spinning, I know I’m not dead as I’m still breathing and sound is comming in thought the helmet.

Next thing the guy from the Honda and the girl from the car behind is comming over check if im ok.  Which I must admit is very nice of them.  They wouldn’t let me get up at first incase I had a back injury, which luckly I didn’t have, I knew this as I could wiggle my toes.  I then took the helmet off, I know it was the wrong thing to do but it was the only way I could answer the man from the honda’s questions. He asked my if i need an ambulance and said no, as I didn’t see the point in wasting the ambulances time.

I called everyone to let them know what happen, so in the 15 -20 minute it took my dad to get to me the man stayed to make sure I was ok, which I was glad of.  I also took a look at the bike.  I could list whats wrong with it, but it’s short to list what right.

The bike engine runs, the break leaver and cluch leaver are in tacted, wells are good and the fame is sould.  Appart form that it totally f*&$ed.

And to top it off I have to use a car for the foreseeabel.  At least I’m getting at a supperman impression, but I still need to work on the landing.

Wake my up when November ends.

Ok so November has just past.  Probable not one of my grater months this year.  It had some really good hi points, and on the other hand it a few lows.

As I’m one of these people who doesn’t really see the point in good news first lets start with the LOW.

I only made it to about 3 training sesions, due to a number of facter mostly life getting in the way.  On one occation I was in england removing the computer from a company that had gone under.  Missed another two training sessions due to have a havey cold and I couldn’t breath while walking let along trying to run.  The rest tie in not so nicely with november.

What else went wong.  Last week I fell off my beloved motorbike.  OK so it the replacement bike I’m riding while mine get the engine over hall, bit I love that bike as well, it is ssssooooo sweet to ride and is a bit of a huligan when its want to be. 
Anyway I fell off due to hitting the brakes to hard. I took my eyes off the road for a split second in rush hour traffic and then i look back the brake lights of the 4X4 in front came on, I hit the bracks, the bike start to lock up, I release them to stop a slide. Thought to my self more back and less font I can controle this. But I paniced (classic school boy error) pulled on the front to hard and lost the font end.  On some damage to bike, like the gear leaver, indacators.
  To put it onto perspective i was only doing about 10-15 mph.  Luckly I didn’t put the handle bars into the petrol tank.  I got the bike start and had fot it into first gear, that was a fun rider for about 8 mile with only first gear only getting to about 20 mph.  I walk away with a few bruses but a least I walk away.  And to top all off it was Tuesday night, yet another rugby taining session missed.

Then on Thursday of last week my Shower started to leak.  I got a call from a very distrought wife as it was leaking into the kitchen.  As her dad was collection her for work (due me having the car because I felt like jumping off my bike on Tuesday) he agreed to come round on thurdays night to look at to.  We tryed to see if there was any way it would be selant around the shower but no joy. We then realize that we would have to lift floor boards but due to Lynsey dad having to work a strang shift patter for BT that week we left that until the weekend. 

So when he was round we decied to bleed a readitor (due to Lynsey’s distrust of my DIY stills) all went well.  That was until firday morning, there was no hot water.  I though this was odd as we have Pheniox gas, then it came to me Bleeding the rediator depressises the system and we have to put the press back in to keep the flame lit.  Now this is at 6.45 in the morning and I’m due in Befast at 8.30. So Lynsey hears my banging around the house and asks whats wrong, I tell her and then off to my fokes house as they have two shower and are on their way to work. 
So I get after work I get home are put the pressure back in the Gas system and all is good.

Saturday Morning rolls round Lynsey goes to work and then her dad appears to help figure out where this blood leak is.  So floor boards are lifted in the bathroom, dry a  bone, where the hell is the blood leak. We notice loose floor board in the landing and decided to take a look at those to see what is going on.  Lift them on theres the blood leak all right and by the looks of plaster board its been leaking for some time.  Still cant find it in the shower, we ask my dad to have a look.  By now it 2pm on Saturday.  The rest of the day is spent sealing the shower and the taps on the shower until we are happy theres no way in hell water is going any where other than down the drain.

Ok now for the good points of November and compaire to the lows it really wasn’t a bad moth.

Fist off I turn 29, yes one more year and I’m 30. To be honus getting older doesn’t bother me at all, after all I dont feel any older then when I went to uni, and I think I act the same way.

Also I Celabrated my first wedding aniversy with Lynsey.  Not at anything has really changed since we moved in togther about 3 years ago.  Except the mail now reads Mr and Mrs instead of Graham and Lynsey. 

Taking all things into condideration November wasn’t really a bad month. OK apart for the jumping off my motorbike and the shower it was ok.

Motorbike Madness

Ok in the last 3 weeks I’ve had 3 different motorbikes to ride.
The first is my long time suffering motorbike, a Kawasika GPX 750R, It a butifull running bike and is a rocketship for a 20 year motorbike. The enginee is sweet, it delivers 106 BHp so easily and had always make sure that I return from my journy. I most admit there have been time when it has nearly been on ebay, but then I remember or I am reminder (mostly by the bike) why I don’t carry out that threat. Yes like any ageing machinical device it has issues, sometime it wont start, sometimes it losses a bit of power, but when it is going. GOD ITS A GOOD BIKE and I wouldn’t swap it for the world.
AHH I have you all cry! Then way have you had three bikes in 3 weeks??? Then answer is simply. After at leats 3 years of on and off run, and probably many before that, my dad has decided that it is time to rebuild the enginee to fix a crank change thing. I learnt some the maths and theory but every ask me to put it into practice as it a case of: Hand me that spring thingy with metal bit on it and then that thing that looks like a screw drive, what its call again, Oh yeah a screwdriver.

Onto Bike number 2. My Dad’s pride and joy, a Red, Honda BlackBird, 1100cc sports tourer. Ok its twice as heavy, about a third extra cc and so many hoursey’s that it took my eyes a week to leave the back of skull after the first ride on it. The Blackbird was the first bike to reach 200 MPH (road leagel) and keep on going. Now I’m not stupided enought the try to get it to go that fast, plus theres not enought streight road in Northern Ireland to let get to that speed and stop agian.
I degress, you can imagine my delight when my dad give the keys to his baby instead of the FZR 750R Yamaha he has. Well I road it for about two weeks. It was like going from a auid TT to a Ferrori, the responce of my dads bike was amazing, all you had to do was twist the throutal slightly and you where you to 60 in second gear and it want to keep going. Even in 6th all you did was twist the throutle and she went and want to keep giving you power, and the noise form the twin exchust. OMFG at about 3000 RPM it was the low bassy rumble, and it never and I mean never screamed at you, it just got slightly higher and growled as you accelerated. It was a noise that only god himself could have approved. If I was a petrol head I think I would have compaired it to sex, but I’m not so alought it was very horny sound it was nowhere near sex.
As you can gess I love the bike, but it does have down sides, like I was shitting myself incase anyone scratched the bike as the paint is in the fiber of the fairing an not ontop like most paint jobs. It is a really haevy bike when you are trying to get into its centre stand, but those are bout it.

Onto bike number 3. Back to a Kawasaki GPX but this time its the younger brother of mine, it a 600 R. This bike is in mint condition and for 19 year old it great. I’ve been on it for 1/2 week but it feel really nice, the power deliver is a lot smother then the 750 (hopefull this enginee rebuild will cure that). It handles really well, but that about it for 3 days riding. Like the others it does a downside, its size to start with, after my dads sports tourer felt like I had a small town between my legs, and my 750 not as wide as my dad but still not slim either, the 600 fell like I 125 or 250 in comparison, but is make it more nimble. Also I weighs a lot a less so I am able to through it onto its stand. The other downside is the note form the exchust, it not the dirty sexy noise of the blackbird its more like the noise of its big bother a clear fress sound. BUT I can live with that after all its fast off the line than the STIG in an F40.

Soggy Socks

Ok so its tipicall Northern Ireland October, wet windy and blood cold. It that time of year when most normal people take a look into the dark morning, watch the ran bounce off the window and work out how long it is giong to take them to run to their car and how wet they are going to get.

Like I said most Normal people do that, but then I’ve never like normal.  My primary mode of transport this a Motorbike and I love it.  This morning I woke up, look at the window and though “wet gear agin for the bike, at least it not windy”. 

All was going well until about 25minute into my jurny to work.  The rain bouncing off my visor and I’m think thank god I have my wet gear and rain suit on, I nice and worm and dry.  Or was I, I suddnley fell this coldness on the top of my foot.  Strange place I know but it doesn’t anoy my to much until about 30 second later when I realize that alough my head and body are nice and dry, me feet are starting to get wet.  Not the nicess of the felling for about 10 mile my feet get wetter and wetter and wetter. 

Eventually when I get into work my feet are sooked and I dont have a change of socks.  The worst of if is I have to go though it all again on the way home and at rugby tonight.

The mornal of this soggy sock tail is:  If your going to ride a motorbike in October, bring a change of socks.

Swingarm

Ok so after failing its MOT in style I’ve had to replace the swing arm on the GPX (my bike).  This has ment many hours trailing though ebay try to find a swingarm.
No my bike is nearly 20 years old, and If you an car or bike enthouists you will that getting these parts isn’t eary as the manufacture dont tend to make them so you are hoping to find one in a brakers or on ebay.
Well thats what I did and after they hours to trouling thought millions of parts and Kawasaki bikes I findly hit the jackpot there is one in Northern Ireland, which is the main contented and a few in england that could do the trick and a one is scotland.

As soon as it get one of the swingarms and a electrics sorted out it should Fly thought its MOT.

I hope

No really I dont need transport this month.

Ok so yesterday was probably not one of my betterdays in life.  I phone the MOT call center hopping to get a cancellation around the 12th of the month and got one for 9.05 that morning (this was 8.20) no problem. Phone work told them what the plan was, left Lynsey to work and over to Ards to get the car tested.

Everything was going well until he look under the car, and thats when the sh1t hit to fan.  He was looking very intensely at the front right wheel and then he called me over, told me to look at the left hand side and pointed out a bolt (i thought to me self yes thats definatly a bolt I would reconize one anywhere) then he pointed out the right hand side and no bold, first think I thought was oh f*&^ thats not good.  Streight away a fail, but even worse I wasn’t aloud to take the car home as it connected the seption to the tracking control arm.  So I call up my dad tell him whats happend and he tells me to get a new test date (which is today) and tells me its only a fve minute job.

I get a lift back to my fokes house to get my motorbike (the only real from of trasnport a person needs) and onto work by which time its nearly 10.45.  Tell the boss whats happened.  He had aggreed that I could leave a 4pm as my bike had its MOT that afternoon.

Get home about 10 past 4 and start to wash the bike.  my dad calls my to let me know he’s fixed the car and it can be driven.  4.30 head to MOT centre again.  Thinking the bike will pass my dad had a look over it on Sunday, its all good.  I get called into the test centre and the guy starts to look round the bike, he notices that the chain is really (and I mean really) loss, then he looks at the swing arm and the chain has started to cut into it.  FAIL.  Not good then we move onto the lights fine, indacators left one dont working properly, an intermittant fault, same with the front brake light.  Get the papper that it needs to go for a retest, go to the car tell my dad the problems, Chain is sorted in 2 minutes as he had the full tool box with him.

So not a good day, on the bright side they didn’t notice the water pissing out of the bike and they let me ride it home.

Good Ideas in Theory

I spoke to my dad the other day (when he was doing the brakes on the Kawaker) and told him my idea for stripping the bike and spraying the frame.  The look tole me every thing followed by the words “dont be stupid”, the was after asking how hard it would be to take the enginee out. 

With my dad knowing that he would probably endup doing most of the hard work, I new it was time to drop the supject.  So instead I’m just going to paint the few sections of the engine that are visable, and degrece the swing arm and polish it up.  The wheels might get done but that is still up for debate. 
But before all that I have to get it through the M.O.T and stop the exchoust melting thought the bellypan.  Unfortinatly the only time that I can help my dad work on the bellypan is Sunday and thats the day before Lynsyes birthday and she want to do something special that day. 

So I can do one of two things. Work with my dad on the bike, learn more about machanics and have a happy life with my bike OR drope the bike at my fokes house, leave my dad to sort it (after all he will be doing most of the work anyway) and keep Lynsey happy.

It was good in theory work on the bike on Sunday.

I hate THEORY, it never talks to reality.  Do you think they got married at the  dawn of time, but now hate each other but refuse to get decoriced as they cant decied which get the hang out with Time????

Motorbike

So my poor GPX 750 R is currently sitting in the garrage not a happy bike.  Its MOT date has passed and I have to get parts to sort it out before I can get it MOT’d.

This is got me thinking of a winter project to keep my bussy.  I was thinking of taking the bike appart and spraying the fame black again as there are a few spots where rust might be try to poke though.  This then lead onto the wheel rims gold being turn gold, as it will look good againts the black of the body. 

Now last night was try to sleep but couldn’t I was thinking about the project and more importantly getting a new screen for the MOT as my was shattard when it roled ino the garrage wall (ok so i droped it as it wasn’t on the stand properly). This then brought me to the Belly pan which part of it has melted thought as my exhoust must have touch it.  Do I try to fing a new belly pan on ebay or do I use fiberglass to fix it???

So my little project of repainting the frame and cleaning up the engine, (in my head) has now turning to a compleated rebuild of the bike, which is what happened last year. 

Do I do all the work and get the bike to look sexy for a its 20th year on the road??  Or do I just do the basics and get her to remember that she old???