Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

New battery to be fitted tomorrow. It's a gel battery, like the one it's replacing. The old one has been on the way out for a little while now and this winter has seen it off.

If the weather is ok tomorrow I may just give the bike a much needed, thorough clean once the battery is fitted.

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

New battery fitted this afternoon. The bike now starts instantly at the first press of the button. Once I'd finished, I made the most of the warm weather and took the bike a few miles down the road to a garage and (very carefully!) gave it a jet wash.

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

Absolutely. I'd hard it SORN'd since January to move the tax/MOT costs away from the new year/xmas period. It was great to be back on two wheels this week!

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

Having fitted the new battery, and cleaned the bike, I shall get out tomorrow and give it a good coat of ACF50, and squirt some GT85 into all the switches.

Then hope for some dry weather to go for a bit of a ride....

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

This is the thing, the weather this year has been quite the contrast to last year.

Because I'm a sad git, I note my bike's mileage throughout the year. From Jan 1 to the end of March 2022 I'd done just shy of 2,500 miles, largely because late Feb and March were unusually dry and warm. I was out on the bike pretty much every day.

In the same period (1 Jan - 31 Mar) this year I've only managed 1000 miles, and the next week or so isn't looking promising.

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

Bike is now clean, shiny, and coated in ACF50. Looks so much better.

https://i.imgur.com/QYFRxG4.jpg

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

Looking very good, Gary - you'd never believe its age nor its mileage!

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

It’s a bit scuffed in places and some of the paintwork is decidedly shonky Craig, but overall it’s not bad.

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

Bike looks great Gary :cool::D Will have to have another try at sorting mine out now its getting a bit drier out.

Reads like a description of myself :p ;)

Re: What have you tinkered with today?
 

Got my bike out of hybernation. Could have gone smoother...

I was pulling it by the wheels to slide it accress the conservatory floor and line it up with the door. Then it just fell over onto the window/ledge cracking 1 pane of the double glazing, scuffing up the left Rizoma mirror to match the right one. Slight scuff on the tail panel.

So I had a little cry, why me etc :smt022 then lifted the bike up to work out how it had happened. The side stand was on a puck and the floor is smooth so the stand shouldn't have just buckled. This is how I always manouvre the bike into position over winter.

Then as I kicked the stand back down a washer fell onto the floor :smt104
And I noticed the stand wasn't at the right angle it should be at...

Turns out one of the bolts was AWOL. Nowhere to be seen. So it has been sitting there all winter on one bolt. It must have rattled out last year at some point :scratch:

Anyway, I put the mirror back in position, pumped up the tyres, lubed the chain, replaced the missing bolt and loctited both of them. Checked a few others to make sure they hadn't abandoned me, then went for a nice ride.