Saul

Cheap as chips really I think I paid £11 for mine. I have since bought another box of staples for £7 but worth it for the occasional time you might actually need it. First go at filling, just given it a dust coat of paint when that flashes off there are some spots that will need some fine knife filler but I am not going for perfection only tidy. I am sure you could get it perfect with enough time and effort. Not worth it in this instance.

Well it’s How High’s 19th birthday tomorrow so I have bought him some new mirrors and am fixing the crash damage on the right hand side of the bike best I can. I have got a spare indicator and in the process of patching up the fairing. I recently bought a hot stapler to stick the fairing back together. Works surprisingly well, much better than I thought it would. Still gotta patch two holes and fill the cracks but I am hoping it will look presentable from 10 feet once I have painted it satin black. Holes filled with fibreglass. Hideous mirrors, but it is what he wanted.

The Oxford Heated grips on my CBF were worn smooth and the controller was on its last legs so I treated it to a new set of the same. Also while I had it stripped down I fitted an upgraded Scott Oiler that I was generously given a few weeks ago. I will put the simpler Scott oiler on my Hornet. I bought the commuter versions of the Oxford grips as they are significantly cheaper and don’t have the smart controller. They only have 2 settings but I never used the 5 levels of heat on the standard version of the heated grips. Plus they have an on off switch rather than a load of buttons. I also took the CarPlay GPS off the bike as I just wasn’t using it. To much clutter on the bars.

Just got to do a valve check then the Sprint will be confidently on the road.

Finally got the chance to sync the carbs. Bike is ticking over beautifully. Throttle response is spot on and sounding very smooth. Short of getting a colour tune and playing with the air screws not sure there is much else to be done. As to the chinky gauges I am amazed at how good they are for £19.99. Not suggesting they are the best but the appear to be working very well.

I've only been out twice, once on my CBF600 and once on Shadow's bike. I will see if I can get something up before the weekend.

I do know that but thinking of you in a monkey suit made me laugh more Anyway the Monkey suit guy was Urko but still made me laugh

Fuck me that is a blast from the past, just laughed way to long at that. Definitely a 1970's reference

Going stir crazy today as I haven’t been out on 2 wheels for 10 days or more. Had to run a couple of errands so took Shadows bike for a run, she’s hasn’t been on it for maybe 2 months. She has had health issues and it’s hit her confidence a bit. Anyway not dwelling on that, it was good to go out on a bike even if it was a 125. Throughly pleasant little thing as long as you’re not in a hurry. It handles well with plenty of grip even in the wet, Not sure I could cope with life at mostly 50 mph. Just feel to vulnerable with next to nothing in reserve. Better than not riding though.

What a stunning pup, he looks a lot like my dog only younger . Congratulations on you new buddy

Living the Dream Skip

I have had mine for 20 years, used it for my BMW Airheads many times in the past (if you have owned one you will know how obsessive carb balancing can be with those bikes). It's a great piece of kit that works well. Anyway in the time I have had it the the pipes that came with it have aged to the extent that are no longer usable. I tried softening them with heat but they are past use. I looked at sourcing some new genuine Carbtune replacements and it is cheaper to buy a Chinky set of gauges with all the adaptors and pipes than buying 4 new pipes for my Carbtune. I can bin the Chinky gauges if I need to and still have all I need to use my Carbtune again.

If it were up to me I would put in a gravel path but my Mrs likes to call the shots in the garden . I couldn’t care less, she leaves me alone regarding bikes and stuff so that’s all I care about really.

Spent a few more hours on the Sprint this morning. When I got the bike the oil light worked but after a few starts it went out but sort of glowed when the motor was running. I didn’t worry to much it didn’t run badly at all, I thought electrical gremlin more than low oil pressure. A gamble I know but that was the choice. Anyway when I changed the clocks I put new bulbs in the idiot lights as there were some cheap LEDs in the old clocks. The oil light never worked again. I checked the oil light bulb again and it was fine. Oil pressure switch is a known weak point I was advised by the Triumph cognoscenti. So replaced that and no joy it made no difference. I got the manual out and studied the wiring diagram. Traced the wiring runs from joint to joint. All good until I checked the last one between the pressure switch to the first connector behind the battery box. So simple enough to fix, ran a new wire and replaced the connector. Covered everything in dielectric grease reassembled everything and the job was done. All technically simple enough but it took bloody ages tracking the different connections on the loom and making sense of the wiring diagram next to the bike. I got there in the end but what made it more of a ball ache was that some of the wiring colours were different to the illustration in the Triumph workshop manual. Yes I checked I was using the right diagram with the bikes Vin. Must have just been a random week that mine was built in Hinckley Works perfectly now though. Next job is to sort the low fuel light.