Yesterday actually. Donington Park trackday, and a wet one. Rained most of the morning, it stopped before lunch in time for the last session, then pissed down all lunch hour. Stopped raining then, and the track started to dry as the sun came in and out, the track was semi dry for the last session. I reckon half the riders had gone home by lunchtime, one chap in our garage went out for one session, did a couple of laps, came in, then packed up and went. And his bike had rain mode too, but must have been around £15,000 worth. I could well have been the only rider to ride all seven sessions right up to the chequered flag. Strange though it may seem, I really enjoyed the day, only had one arse clench moment. Id gone down one on the front sprocket for a bit more punch out of the corners and wound it on a little too much for the conditions exiting the Melbourne Loop, bit of fishtailing for a few metres but stayed upright. The Fazer was faultless all day.
Monday I rode from Portsmouth to Croyde in North Devon, but, as I wanted to surf in the evening, I went the quick but boring route up the M3 and A303. Annoyingly, I saw an RAC van which would have let me complete the FOC-U Bike Picture Challenge, but I don't think it would have been a good idea to stop on the motorway hard shoulder to take a photo...!
Yesterday, rather knackered but happy after some good surfing, and it being a nice sunny day, I rode back the fun route (A377 to Exeter, then A30 to Salisbury), although the last section on the M27 was dull because, although they've finished "upgrading" it to (not) Smart Motorway, they'd stuck all the speed limits at 60mph. In a way that was good actually, because I was running on reserve by then, so keeping the speed down meant I was conserving fuel.
Even so, I was 25 miles into the reserve by the time I tanked up. I know that, theoretically, I should have about 40 miles on the reserve, but I've never tested that and it was a little worrying.
I stopped off to vote before I got home and, just as I was leaving the Polling Station, I spotted an AA van, so snapped a photo of that. Now I need to think of something for the next Challenge...
Made arrangements late on Wednesday for a whizz out yesterday. Our favourite B roads were devoid of traffic, and had an excellent ride down to Beryl's cafe at Rye. The sun came out and whiled away a pleasant chill out after breakfast, with copious pots of tea.
The road beckoned, so the fun and frolics continued to our mid afternoon pub stop, for shandies and more sun. My pal on his MT10 had been todays leader, with the Fazer giving a good account of itself,as always. As much as I'd like an MT10, as they are truly bonkers, I know which one I'd choose for camping and long distance trips in general though.
Only 135 miles clocked up today, but a very enjoyable day indeed. With a holiday approaching and the need for a new rear tyre, I expect this will have been my last outing for a while, until I go to Spa next month for the 24 hour endurance. On the subject of tyres, prices have really shot up with my next Roadtec 01SE going to be £190 fitted on a loose wheel. The guy I use is mobile so saves me having to drive anywhere to get it done, and he's meticulous with his work, which certainly matters to me.
Whizz kid sitting pretty on his two wheeled stallion.
Balanced the front wheel and went for a jaunt with the wife, what a difference a new front tyre makes, had a supermaxx on it from when I bought it and I have to say they are the worst tyres I've ever experienced, nice new BT023 now it glides round bends ?
*Disclaimer*
Nothing I say should in any way be taken as a good idea ?
Out last night for a quick back road sortie detouring to a nearby town for fuel. The one and only petrol station had diesel only :rolleyes . I had to decide where to go next with the reserve counting up. The next nearest town normally has two fuel stations (were five when I started riding in the 1980's) but one is closed for redevelopment. Last week the remaining station had run out of diesel and my car was also on dregs so I was not confident but my choices were not good as the next town along is a good way out as was heading home. Fortunately I filled her up with £25 of Shell V-Power and went on my merry way.
Tonight I fitted a new rear tyre. It was not terribly worn but had squared off and felt terrible when gently tipping in. First time I have ever used tyre irons and done it myself. Interestingly enough the demarcation of the dual compound was pretty defined on the old tyre. I also took a few readings with my durometer (hardness) tester which gave some interesting results. Its probably all academic as it only really matters when at operating temperature but I would have expected the five year Angel GT to be harder than the 2022 tyre.....I also stuck it into my track bike Supercorsa SC2 rear just to compare.
Its fairly biblical weather here tonight so I will have to wait for a better day to scrub it in.
My new-to-me FZ6 had one black key and the red key. Bought a cheap key off eBay (£8) and had it cut (£12.50) then used the well-googled method to program the key. Then found out that the original key wasn't recognised. So only one key working at a time.....
More references to Uncle Google and now have two working black keys and the red key safely packed away again.
Oh, and I sanded down and black barbecue painted the side plates of the radiator. They now look much better.
Fixed the non-working dual headlight mod that was already on the FZ6. Ordered new lamps, swapped the HE out but no joy. So chased the wire to a spade connector and unwrapped it of its electrical tape and cleaned connectors. Chased the wire further and hoped it was the pin mod and not the splice mod but it's the splice mod. Unwrapped that and was pleased to see it had been soldered. Checked that and all was well so fired up the engine and the dual lights work fine. Taped everything back up and checked once again and the lights still work together.
Cleaned it from front to back with a combination of standard car wash shampoo, then a dilute G101 mixture and then finished with an American plastics enhancer and now the blacks are black and the rest of the panels and screen are shiny.
Swapped the aftermarket longer screen for an OEM standard one. Slightly more wind buffetting but nothing serious.
Oh, and fitted a Denali Soundbomb Mini and can now scare the local population from around 5 miles away.
Still need to get springs and oil/dust seals for the front forks but that can wait.
Tried getting the FZ6 on an Oxford Big Black paddock stand but definitely needed Mrs Smutty to help. Not at all confident about getting it up there without her help......oo-er missus.
(02-06-22, 12:47 AM)ChrisJones09 link Wrote: New plugs, dropped the oil, changed the filter and replaced the oil.
Considering it’s my first bike and am in not mechanically savvy in any way whatsoever, it’s going well so far!
Those are good starting points to get into doing your own maintenance :thumbup
From there, a few other simple jobs to give you confidence:
Replace the coolant
Check and replace the air filter
Check and replace the clutch cable
Replace the brake pads
Change the brake fluid
Clean brake calipers and replace seals if needed
Once you get a feel for these jobs, other stuff becomes less daunting
(08-05-22, 11:48 PM)beuleux link Wrote: Balanced the front wheel and went for a jaunt with the wife, what a difference a new front tyre makes, had a supermaxx on it from when I bought it and I have to say they are the worst tyres I've ever experienced, nice new BT023 now it glides round bends ?
In fairness, any brand new tyre will immediately feel a lot better than a worn one. The BT023 also has a very rounded and deep tread, so you'll notice the improvement even more.
More people are born because of alcohol than will ever die from it.
