Happy Holidays to you all

The heading says it all I hope you have or had a great holiday. I'm looking forward to some time of work and if the weather allows a ride out or two. Here's to a prosperous year ahead. Take care out there.

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Human Wikipedia! (Man Remembers Everything)

Just a thought

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Put away for the winter

I have had to put the bike away for the winter in a nice warm dry garage. It means i cant just decide to use her for travelling to work or just out for fun. but at least she will be safe and sound over the winter and ready for next year when the weather brightens back up. Shes going to need a new pair of tyres and a oil change between then and now so i better get saving. I think i will buy Michelin tyres again as these PR3's have done about 8k miles now and its the front that's more worn out than the rear. I still haven't had the rear shock adjusted because of my weight loss will have to do that in the new year as well.

We have had some good weather for a few days.

The weather here in Essex has been quite nice for the last week so i have used the VFR every day to come to work. Its been a little chilly in the mornings but not uncomfortable and really hot on the way home which hasn't been so nice. Viffer has in the last few days rolled onto 98K miles. My new front brake pads i fitted a month ago are still squeaking when rolling the bike around slowly but they are working very well now having bedded onto the old discs that have covered 65k ish miles. Im starting to feel sad that its getting near to the time of year for putting the bike away for the winter. But on the bright side i wont have to fit new tyres till next season, the PR3's have done nearly 7K miles and the rear still has a lot of life left in it but the front is nearly worn out. Since i have lost 2 stone the rear shock is over sprung so im riding the front tyre really hard at the moment. I really need to go get the rear shock adjusted but haven't had the time to get to MCT in Stowmarket where i bought it. Until next time ride safe and enjoy whats left of the better weather.

Had a little ride

Yesterday was bank holiday Monday and I woke early so decided to Go for a ride out to get some breakfast. Me and Viffer went by ourselves to the stradishall cafe Tubby T's. We had a nice ride in dry conditions all the way there but when we left it started to rain. Luckily It was just patchy spots so I never got wet. It was nice to ride on my own instead of with the clubs I usually ride with as it meant I had to make my own decisions rather than lazily follow the bike in front which happens all to often.

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A Nice Weekend for a Ride

Me and Viffer went on the social ride with Essex Rospa Advanced Motorcyclists on Sunday 190812. The trip was to Grafham Water where there is a big lake for water sports and a nice cafe for us to get some lunch. We meet at the BP in Boreham and left about 9:45 and our first stop was at a McDonald's on the A505 which i think was on the outskirts of Cambridge. I decided while we were there that i would turn around for home from there as the weather was getting Very hot already and it wasn't very comfortable in bike gear. I took the same route back mostly and had a great ride home which took about 1hr 20mins in total. The new front brake pads that i fitted on Saturday afternoon had stopped there squeaking after the 100 ish miles trip as they settled onto the old discs. As usual the bike ran a treat and didnt miss a beat on this little trip out evan though she has nearly 98K miles now. I get asked all the time what i will replace her with when shes worn out and at the moment i can honestly say i think i will just keep replacing the worn out items as there needed as there really is nothing i have seen or ridden that's as good at everything as the old Viffer. I wonder how many bike owners have fitted the same bike for 5 1/2 years and in that time fitted 4 sets of front pads and i think 11 or 12 pairs of tires 4 chains and 2 sprocket sets and then there is the other bits that you may never need replace again like the Exhaust collector and rear wheel bearings. These items are not breakages but items that wear out so in the 65K miles i have done i think shes been a great machine. the only breakages have been a small cooling system hose in the center of the V engine and a oil cooler feed pipe that started to drip a little. Im looking forward to taking a picture and maybe video of her rolling onto 100K miles  maybe it will be this year.

The Mini-Golf Open

Honda Fireblade 1000 Touring Edition Conversion

Trip to Yorkshire with friends

Hi all its Wednesday 30 May 2012 and on Sunday myself and viffer and a few friends returned from what was the best 1000+ miles of riding i have had in a long time.  On Thursday 24th i meet with Ian and Bernie his wife riding a fazer 1000, Terry on his fireblade , Colin on his fireblade , john also on a fireblade and Richard riding a gs1200 at the Birchanger services near stanstead airport to depart for a 3 night trip to Yorkshire. we departed the services with full tanks around 9.30am aiming for the Farm Cafe in         where we had a bit of breakfast and a cup of tea before continuing our northward journey.  we made a stop for fuel at about 140 miles and we all topped up and also decided to give Bernie the £1.25 we thought the Humber bridge would cost to cross it. when we arrived there at the tolls we were just waved though it turns out the Humber bridge was free for motorcycles which it never had been, we pulled up in the tourist parking area on the left just after the tolls for a rest stop and a stretch. This was i think the last stop before getting very close to the B&B where we all topped up with fuel so we were ready for a ride on the Friday. We arrived at The Black Swan pub and B&B by around 5ish i think, were staying here for the 3 nights and when entering the bedrooms i was very impressed with the quality accommodation we had for such a small per person price. We got a evening meal and breakfast included in the price and the food was chef prepared quality stuff which is always a good thing. A few drinks in the bar and early to bed for most of us as we had all had a early start and ridden around 300 miles that day in weather that was HOT. Friday morning were all sitting eating breakfast at 8 am getting ready for our day out which Ian told us was going to be a trip out to Hawes for a stop and then on to Hartside Top cafe. i have been to both these places before on my trip to Scotland but it was raining all day while riding so i couldn't get the best out of these great roads. No rain today though so we had a great ride and all day. a high light for me was the road up to the hartside cafe which was great fun in the dry. we left hartside and carried on in a big loop back to the B&B which completed our day out which i guess was about 250 miles if memory serves me right. Again a good night of listening to stories from the others about this and that coupled with a couple of drinks and a very good sirloin steak meal made for the conclusion of another great day out. Saturday morning arrived far to quickly and again we were of on the bikes but this time to Whitby using some roads through the moors this ride was a lot easier but still good fun. We rested at the cafe by the train station in Whitby with a piece of cake and a drink and then decided to make our way back through the moors towards Masham and then use some of the roads we rode the day before ( A6108) as they were so much fun.  We ended up in Richmond in the market square area at a snack van for a cup of joe and a rest before returning to the B&B for the final evening meal and night of banter between the guys and girls there was even a Million pound bet placed which i suspect will never be paid by the losing party as we could never decide who really lost. The route home was hard work as the Holiday blues began to set in and we were slowly making our way south. We did end up using the A1 from Newark down to Stanstead which was a very easy way of clocking up about 80 miles in a hour and a bit. By this point in the ride it was just me and Ian and Bernie riding together as the others were keen to get going home to see family.  To sum up the weekend i would say Great roads Great company in a super B&B serving good food made this a weekend i won't forget any time soon and im very keen to return next year and do it all again. As for Viffer she worked like a great bike should and caused me no trouble all weekend and even returned a very impressive 50MPG on one take of fuel on the first day.

My pictures are Here

Exhaust Repairs

The system was returned very quickly from Motad after the second time there to have the pipes resized and there a good fit now in the right holes. I refitted the system on Friday morning and now the VFR runs as quiet as it should be and the performance seems to be a tad better now. But most importantly when rolling along from high revs there's no longer a constant popping and banging coming from the bike like there was before. Thanks Motad for the work and quick delivery.

Exhaust repair update

Have received the collector back from Motad in record time was very happy when unpacking it. The pipe resizing has been done and they are a great fit, shame the two front pipes were resized the wrong way round! Motad did off cause offer to fix this error but i have found a local custom exhaust builder with a pipe resizing tool that can do it but at a cost of cause but then i know they will be right as i will over see the work. Take a look at the pictures, is it not clear which goes where? They are the right way in the pictures.

Exhaust Trouble !!

I have got to strip the Motad Exhaust collector of the vfr this weekend and send it back to Motad as the front downpipes are loose in the fittings on the collector. i called motad and they have offered to repair the pipes for free if i send them the parts.

It seems that the weather is starting to improve.

Went and ran the bike up for 10 mins on Wednesday. She's been waiting about 3 weeks to be run again and she started nice and easy and ran a treat. I need to fix an exhaust blow under the engine where the front down pipes link into the collector i replaced the standard set-up with the stainless Motad parts a couple of years ago and the joints are just one tube inside another and where the inner has vibrated over the years its made the fit quite loss and now i get lots of pops and bangs when rolling off the throttle. Hope i can bring her home soon and get some miles under my belt.

A little winter ride.

Went on the Essex Rospa Advanced Motorcyclists monthly ride yesterday which was lead by Jaques(er6f). There was also Ian (fazer 1000) and Morris (gtr1400) in attendance. We bimbled off to Cambridge. Myself and Ian didn't stay for a roast dinner in the pub as it was already 1.30 when we got there and we didn't fancy riding in the early afternoon cool down as the roads were pretty slick most the morning.

Scotland Motorcycle Tour 2011 Day 3.mpg

Scotland Motorcycle tour 2011 Day 2.mpg