The day starts with an air filter change, so yes the tanks comes off again, it was pretty straight forward, undid 7 threads and off it came, new filter in, copper-slip the threads and back they went, "simples" as they say.
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| Up and away! |
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| Not Christina Aguilera dirty but still.. |
As you can see the old filter was not that dirty but its been in since i had the bike, so its 6 years old. I thought a new one will give me piece of mind.
To quote the old saying "Make hay while the sunshine's" i pretty much did, after everything was bolted up, i was off out hunting down the B5013. A steady ride through Cheadle and the surrounding area was calm and some what relaxing as the SV thumped along. As i was plodding past JCB World Parts i heard something that sounded like gravel being thrown under the rear of the bike, i thought nothing of it a continued (i think that was the number plate "doing one"). After clearing Uttoxeter i got onto the B5013 and the fun starts by sitting behind a car. I had to clear a VW Golf before i could stretch the legs (within the national speed limit) of the SV, once that had been achieved, and humming The Race by Yello in my head, it was sweeping bends and pure biking fun. The road was living up to the hype, i was quite lucky as there was little traffic on the road south bound, it felt like everybody wanted to get out of Rugeley on the other side. This was another road where you have to turn off it to stay on it (sounds weird, i know) but soon after the turn you get a spectacular view of Blithfield Reservoir from top of the hill you come over (Google Maps/Earth it).
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| The clouds remind me of Now That's What I Call Music 33 or The Simpson's I cant decide |
Most of the bends on the B5013 are gentle lefts and rights with minimal tight bends, so i can see the appeal of this road. I was changing between 3rd & 4th gear for most of the bends as the road was unfamiliar to me, err on the side of caution and all that! A tight left bend coming into Colton was entertaining, as what i thought to be a 3rd corner ended up being a 2nd gear corner at the last moment because the already tight bend tightens and narrows with a lovely brick wall greeting you on the offside of the road as you go round. The bend to the right soon after is a long 3rd gear corner, its brilliant, just watch for vehicles merging from the junction midway through the bend. With being on a V-Twin, getting the right gear is very important, as upsetting the bike mid-corner can be a day ruiner. Soon after i was at the end of the run, i stopped at The Yorkshireman pub to turn round and head back up the road again.
Crossing the reservoir again i pulled into a parking area (love that word). Took some photos then came to look at the back of the bike and noticed the plate had f***** off. "Not again" i said. Yes it happens every couple of years. No wonder everyone at the parking area gave me odd looks, not just because i was faffing with my phone.
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| Desktop wallpaper anyone? |
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| There's a big yellow legal requirement missing in this picture, can you guess what it is? |
After the talk of number plates, Blithfield Reservoir and cup of coffee, i took the opportunity to do some general maintainers on the SV. The left mirror has never sat flush with the hole. So after taking the mirror out and cleaning some gunk that was on the thread, i noticed there was the some s*** in the hole, now came the task of removing it. As i said in my last blog. I've been watching Delboy's Garage on YouTube and something he said on a video stuck with me, "be methodical" which translates to "take your time" round here an that's what i did. It was a case of wind in the thread, wind it out again and blow the crap out of the hole, each time got the thread a little further into the hole. It was a total of 45 minutes till i got all the way to the bottom of the hole but the birds and the local cat got entertainment out of me cussing and pulling faces. I got a lot of delight out of completing that task, I feel I've gained confidence from it and now i know what to do if a situation like that comes up again "take your time".
I'd also noticed that the chain on the bike was a bit slack, so again i tasked myself with tightening it, guided faithfully by dad. I've never done much maintenance on my own bike (i always got dad to do it) but since I've left home and hit 30 I've become a bit more involved in cleaning cars & bikes but also looking after them mechanically as well. I suppose you could say that's what comes with having a mortgage, outgoings and a boring desk job. If everything is looked after and working, it wont tend to break which means it wont cost to fix. I'm all about saving money, means more money for cake!
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| Yes the back wheel needs cleaning, i know |
With all the jobs done it was time for lunch and then for me to disappear back to my own dwelling and crack open a Belgium beer.
So i might go quiet for a while as the bike is off the road till the number plate holder gets made. Might see if i can get out on my dads Bandit 1200, see what the hype about Bandits are (lol).
As always ride safe and eat cake
Lardy
Here is the route I took.