Fork Transplant II

A few weeks ago I removed the Maxton Suspension front forks from the Track bike and today I set about swapping them with the standard items on the road bike.
This required removing the upper and lower fairings, and the plastic ducting which funnels air from the inlets either side of the headlamp to the engine’s airbox and the rear-mounted radiator. I then jacked the front end up in order to remove the front wheel, before loosening the bars and triple-clamps and dropping each fork leg out in turn. The Maxton forks slotted back in easily, the headstock dropped 10mm lower than standard to improve turn-in, and the front wheel and brake calipers were then re-fitted.
With the bodywork off I took the opportunity to give the exhaust headers and any exposed electrics a coat of ACF50 anti-corrosion treatment. Washed the fairings panels and gave everything a good wipe clean before re-assembling. All went well until the very latest moment when I dropped the wing mirror, scratching the housing but thankfully not breaking the glass.
Eight hours in total and I now can’t wait to get out on the road and see what a difference it’s made.
The day ended with the best rack of lamb ever, on a bed of spinach, potatoes and butternut squash. And home-grown sweetcorn 🙂

The one-legged Alien look…

What it’s all about…

Royal Fry-up

Stephen Fry has been performing a series of shows at the Royal Albert hall, and due to public demand an extra night was added this Thursday. Smeeta managed to book a couple of tickets online, so we headed into London after work and were treated to a wonderfully witty evening of reminiscence and observation from the man himself.
His memoirs ranged widely from early school days, misspent adolescence, his determination to study at Cambridge and subsequent life-changing meeting with Hugh Laurie (courtesy of a young Emma Thompson), after which he read in full one of their early Footlights sketches: The Letter
There were also many anecdotes from the world of showbiz: Giulgud, Liz Taylor, Michael Jackson, Ben Elton and the BlackAdder years, and more. His ‘funniest man’ award went to the incomparable Peter Cook, and ultimate hero was Oscar Wilde, whose enduring relevance and ability to inspire was made abundantly clear. The evening ended with two quickfire gags from the late, great Tommy Cooper. Top night!!

Party Time!

This Sunday Smeeta and I headed off to Chew Magna to celebrate Joel and Kevin’s birthdays. It was great to see everyone, to have some time to muck around with the kids and to catch up with Jaime before his imminent 3-month trip to Antarctica. Travelled down in the big fat Citroen too and I was glad of it’s smooth and quiet ride on the journey home!

Alps’ Birthday

To celebrate Alpesh’s Birthday way met up with him, Bhavisha, Ravi, Shina and Bindi, plus a gaggle of Alps’ mates at Jimmy Spices in Epsom: an all-you-can-eat buffet style restaurant serving Thai, Indian and Italian fare.
I managed to stay just the right side of ‘absolutely stuffed’ but we ate extremely well and a good night was had by all. 🙂

Bennetts of Barnsley

I booked the Benelli in for a service with the genius Russ Bennett and his team in Barnsley, South Yorks. They do offer a collection service but I was hoping for decent weather and the opportunity for a nice long ride up through the east of England. Needing to be there for 9am Saturday I set off at about 6ish in the dark and started up the M1, intending to head off into Northants / Leicestershire once it got light. Unfortunately the weather worsened as the day broke, raining steadily from Milton Keynes, so I decided to stick to the motorway and just get the job done. Approaching Sheffield the sky darkened and I ploughed through an almighty downpour, only for it to clear as I came off at the Barnsley junction. I parked up just as Matt was unlocking the showroom, and pretty soon they were at work giving the Tornado a full service. Russ had his eye on the Dymags I’d swapped from the Track-bike: (“How much do you want for them wheels??”).
He’s has had a hard time with the premises being destroyed by fire the previous year, and now fully renovated but awaiting the necessary insurance payments and re-launching in the midst of a pretty bad recession. Bikes are mostly luxury items and sales are down, as well as the servicing and repair business. The revamped showroom looks great though, and I was able to chill out in front of the TV in the new waiting room area, equipped with PlayStation and coffee machine.
Apparently the rare Honda CX500 Turbo (?!) is virtually a family heirloom, having been bought as stock by Russ’ Dad, and he hopes to get it back on the road at some point. It is apparently pretty rapid, but brakes and handling are limited, as you might expect from looking at it.
The work was done by about 4pm and Matt took the bike for a quick test-ride: he seemed pretty impressed with the handling (those lightweight Dymags) though he suggested a 180 rear tyre would make it turn in quicker. I was able to set off in bright sunshine, heading back through South Yorks, Notts and Leicestershire on some nice A-roads, with only one brief shower to dampen my enthusiasm. I pretty much caned it all the way back until it got dark nearing Northampton, where I stopped for fuel before heading home through Milton Keynes and down the A5.

The Old… Honda CX500 Turbo

…and the new: Benelli TnT R160