InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

I guess this includes women/ladies as well and anyone that identifies as any gender imaginable. I wasn't going to sign up this year as May 23rd seems too early for a mass gathering. Even on bikes and in the outdoors. https://www.gentlemansride.com Then I saw there is an option to ride solo and take part. So I signed up to do that. I think this will be my 6th or 7th... I have raised the massive sum of £31.  Most of that will be me "seeding" the pudding as it were. My page is  https://www.gentlemansride.com/rider/invictamoto Donate!!!

I saw on a club website that it is possible to check the MoT status of your (or indeed any) vehicle by going to a government website. Pretty easy to get to  https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history and have a look. I did the Rocket   and it shows the last two years it has been done and that it has expired now. Then I tried Suzi.  Nothing.  I'm sure I have had an MoT since they went digital in 2005! Seems very odd. I will have to get the paperwork out and see!

My insurance renewal isn't due until mid-June.  It will be a time to shop around and get some quotes before my renewal notice from Carol Nash Select arrives.  As usual I start early and build up a little checklist of the comparison sites and what the premiums are liable to be. It seems to add the Kettle to the existing policy I had for the Rocket was pretty expensive.  In fact with a full no claims discount (NCD) the Kettle shouldn't have cost so much to add. So for the sheer "fun" of it I hit the comparison sites today. Starting off with Go Compare. You can only use the NCD on one policy. So I decided to look for separate insurance for the Rocket and claim the NCD, and for the Kettle and choose zero NCD. You can only get quotes up to a month before the start of the policy.  So the end of April had to suffice. It was quite eye opening. The cheapest cover for the Rocket was with Carol Nash Select at £82.61. That's with full NCD. The cheapest cover for the Kettle ...

The countdown to Easter has begun.  Not because I am religious of anything like that, but because as of April 1st 2021 I am on holiday/vacation/staycation.  My term-time only contract with Islington means that come 4pm on Wednesday, this week, I am not working until April 19th at 8am. What to do with all the glorious time off.  No chance of a lie-in with a dog, Reggie, that barks and cries to go out at around 6am every morning.  Sometimes I get up and sometimes Claire gets up. Either way there's not much opportunity to catch up on sleep. So where to go? What to do?  I intend to get the Rocket MoT'd and taxed for this year.   I intend to get the Kettle "Suzi Triplo" out a few days for a ride and to start with the elbow grease and solvol to get the rust off the rear end.  I may even fit new indicators. We are still under lockdown over the holiday weekend and although there were some relaxations from today in England, it looks like another Easter whe...

Transport for London (TfL) and Greater London MAG met again to formulate  a joint initiative to deliver TfL’s road safety objectives in regard to  motorcyclists. The theme was rider safety and the impact of traffic  management schemes on bikers. In a further sign of the development of an evolving partnership, Cathy  Phillpotts, from Greater London MAG, led a delegation including Lembit  Öpik and Colin Brown at a roundtable meeting with TfL experts to explore  how rider’s safety can be improved in the Capital. This event forms part  of a regular, quarterly arrangement that seeks to secure joint effort on  the comparatively high accident rates in the capital, which both sides  believe can be reduced by intelligent and collective attention to the  factors influencing the accident statistics. Bikers experience high injury rates as a user group in the city.  Locations of particular concern include Hyde Park Corner; the junction  bet...

In F&H and even when it was known as Shepway District Council, motorcycle parking is free.   You can park freely in any designated motorcycle space although to be honest, there are few ans fad between. You can park freely in roadside parking spaces controlled by "pay and display" machines and similarly in spaces in car-parks as long as the car-parks are showing the maroon/purple times and charges board and that they are run by Folkestone and Hythe Council . Check out the website and feel free to check their signage at council owned and managed car-parks.  I have written several times as the signage has forgotten about motorcycles.  On ALL I have visited there is no mention that motorcycles can park freely in a marked car space.

At last. The Kettle gets ridden! https://projectkettlerenaissance.blogspot.com/2021/03/first-ride.html 

I had already set up Fuelly to expect a new bike in the stable.  So once I had noted the mileage on the odometer at Tesco and took a receipt from the pump, I was able to enter the details into Fuelly. As this is the first entry it simply makes a note of start mileage. On the next fill-up it will then start to calculate miles per gallon etc. As I have said before, with a Kettle and a Rocket III, the petrol/gas mileage is not too important! I also need to start recording start and end mileages of rides out.  This is simply to ensure that I don't exceed the 6000 miles I have set for my insurance.  Oddly enough, they never asked for my start mileage! The first fill up will be worth waiting for!!!!

It has taken what seems like a lifetime to get my first ride out on the bike. What with having my eyes operated on six weeks apart and not being able to ride for a fortnight after each one, plus the knee injury.  It seemed like I would never get out and have a go. Today with the odometer showing 75594.5 I set off for the first ride.  Wow! I mean that in a sorta good way.  You forget how basic it is to sit on the bike rather than "in" like on the Rocket.  It felt strange to be up high!   With the tank refilled from the can I had about 5.5 litres in it.  The funnel has a mesh filter to catch the rust and crap I got out before. I set the tap to prime to get some fuel through.  It took a few goes on the starter to get it to fire.  Eventually rather than kill the battery I attached the dbPower 600A unit and switched that on.   Suzi fired up.  Still in the garage.  I had to switch off as it might have appeared...

After much Google activity I found a place that will replace the prescription  lenses in my Ray-Bans.   They won't be genuine Ray-Ban lenses as no one will admit to having access to the genuine article for re-glazing jobs. As I said in a previous post, what happens if you are wearing your £100 plus Ray-Ban sunglasses, looking cool and then you drop them.  They end up scratched?  So you junk them? Seems like a load of bollocks.  Someone thoroughly taking the piss. Anyway I have entrusted the Ray-Bans to Reglaze Specs in Heywood near Oldham. It will cost me £30 but a much better option that junking the current frames and then buying new Ray-Bans. I'll see how they do and maybe send the Oakley's to them as well.

T he Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has welcomed news that the number of  dedicated parking places for motorcycles in Manchester car parks has  more than doubled – and they are all free! A review of motorcycle parking within the city showed that demand for parking exceeded the supply and that, as a result, a considerable number  of motorcyclists were parking unofficially, and sometimes illegally.  The Manchester City Council Highways Team has reacted by providing more  spaces for motorcyclists.  They consulted various motorcycle community  groups and organisations including MAG.  We said that having spaces in  car parks and on the ground or first floors, making sure they were  well-lit and having CCTV coverage was important, along with anchor  points or rails for chaining bikes to. All of these suggestions have  been adopted.  There are now 127 dedicated motorcycle spaces; a mixture of on-street  (63 spaces) and c...

So now that my eyes have been operated on and I no longer need spectacles for distance wear it seems a waste to junk the Ray-Ban and Oakley frames. After all, these are a premium brand each.  So I had the idea of checking for both company's customer services online and dropping them a line to see if they could suggest a reglazer for the frames. Firstly Oakley UK replied:  " Thanks for contacting us. I can see that you would like to convert black lenses to the frame you owned.  But, we don't offer a pair of alternative black lenses for this model: OX8026, apologise. If you are looking for the sunglasses, we recommend you purchasing a new pair directly. " Helpful?  Not really. Then Ray-Ban UK replied:  " Unfortunately, currently we do not offer this service as we only sell entire pair of glasses on our official website. We recommend contacting the retailer or other authorised opticians in your area and ask for assistance there. The easiest way to fi...

Whilst it gives us a chance to bang the drum for the UK's roll out of the vaccinations again Covid, it doesn't look good for foreign travel to the EU! They have barely begun to vaccinate their populations and many are entering a third lockdown.  Depending on your political affiliations I guess you'll view the EU's lack of coherent strategy and blame culture differently. First they don't order the OAZ vaccine. Then they complain they aren't getting enough supplies despite not actually authorising it for use. When that's done Macron and Merkel decide it's no good for over 65's.  Then they change their mind.  Now they are attacking the UK as we have vaccinated about 25 million adults.  They are way behind us. Now they want to ban exporting OAZ from EU countries to UK! Both Claire and I have had the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine. We are both 65+.  We had the first jab back in early February.  We have had no major side ...

During the pandemic people are supposed to support local businesses if they can.  we have been going to the local microbrewery for quite a few years mostly in the summer.   It's a nice walk from where we live along the Royal Military Canal to West Hythe.  "Unit One" is situated on the south side of the bridge over the canal in West Hythe..  There is indoor seating as well as a spacious outdoor area.  From April 12th the lock down should ease and allow people to visit and eat and drink outside. The Hopfuzz Brewery is behind it. Currently they can only sell for takeaway and no alcohol!  Why that is must be a nightmare but no one sees any sense in it. Open or closed.  Simples. In the end I was running out of beer, my Czech collection bought at Christmas has long gone and so I thought I'd support the locals and bought a dozen bottles of their lager. I have had it before. It's 4.6% ABV and has to be drunk nice and cold.  It ...

So rather than waste my time with the dbPower unit I decided to call the RAC.  We buy their breakdown insurance most years and it's not as though we use them very often. The technician arrived just before 11am and I gave him the details.  He connected all his gear and the battery was showing about 5.5 volts.  My dbPower is 600 amps and with his 800 amp charger connected it the electrics worked but there wasn't enough to turn the engine over.   So with it connected to the van it started okay first time.  The computer went through its checks and showed that the battery was about 12.8 volts. The charging system was working fine, it just looks as though the battery had well and truly had it. As we stood there looking at the display it was discharging and way below 11 volts when we disconnected the computer. He had one on the van and although it cost a little more than maybe at a local dealers or car parts place, it wasn't too bad. Plus ...

Our expedition to Hythe was delayed as the car, my car, was as dead as a dodo. At first I thought the battery had run flat in the key fob. When it didn't work with the spare it was obvious a bigger problem. It was too late to do much about it. With a total shutdown where even the door locks don't work I guess it's a battery problem.  With the key in the ignition it was completely dead as well. I have charged up the dbPower unit and will see if it puts some power in it in the morning.

Today's dog walk was along the familiar track on the north bank of the Royal Military Canal. With lockdown we very rarely go anywhere else. Apart from a visit to the physio a fortnight ago when I managed to get into both Waitrose and Sainsbury's supermarkets, life has revolved around the house and the dog walk. Today I was interested in trees and the blossom that is beginning to show on some of the bushes. The Burmarsh Road swans were around again. I took the Sony Cybershot with me today. I have not forgotten my Lockdown Project film cameras, but this is easier to use one handed with a dog lead in the other. The Lockdown Project will continue once we have a relaxation and we can go further afield. Keeping within a few miles of home is tedious. Over the years the Military Road has been restored and then in places left to fall into partial disrepair again.  Possibly as out in West Hythe we are the poor relations. In Hythe the paths ...

It's about 52 hours since I had my left eye operated on. This time I seemed to be under the influence of something strange!  Maybe the local anaesthetic contained some hallucinogen! On the chair and leaning back they put a huge mat over my face, with an air pipe so I could breathe. It was sticky on one side and stuck to my face and beard.  Then the surgeon cut the hole where he was going to be operating.   At this point I had to look straight ahead into the lights on the gantry that was pulled down over me.   For some strange reason the cluster of three lights looked like a face. Two eyes and a larger open mouth! I likened this to an "Angry Chimp". I stared into it and it seemed to move nearer to my eye and then blur and then go away again. Back into focus it lost the angry look. Then it moved in the for kill!  And it was all over. Wow! I sat up as requested and found I had the clear plastic eye guard on. The nurse took me to the ad...

This morning I have had my second eye done. Seemed to take longer than before when I had the right eye done about 6 weeks ago. So here we are. In about a month's time. No more spectacles to wear. Just reading glasses maybe. Left eye done!

A great idea from being a Facebook page that attracted thousands of members. And now the website. A superb job. https://ukbikercafes.co.uk There is an app just out for iOS phones and sometime in the future there will be one for android users.

Arsenal have been drawn against Slavia Prague in the quarter final. We play at home first.   As long of course as long as a Czech team are allowed to come to England due to coronavirus lockdowns. In reality it could be played anywhere other than at the Emirates. The last time we played them at home we managed to win 7-0. I very much doubt we could emulate that this year.

After winning 3-1 away a fortnight ago in the first leg, I guess Arsenal fans could have been mistaken in their belief that a 100% record (so far) in this year's Europa League would be maintained. Instead we saw the usual wasted opportunities to take the goal scoring chances and were made to pay for it when a shot was deflected past Leno.  El Arabi, the player was the player that scored the winner. He has not scored against Arsenal in three consecutive Europe league games for Olympiacos . At least this time, it wasn't the tie winner. It was all pretty insipid and even after they went a man down in the 82 minute Arsenal didn't look like they would score at all. The only bright spot in the evening was rivals Tottenham Hotspur ( see NLD post ) managed to go to Dinamo Zagreb with a two goal advantage and lose 3-0! Still, they have the Carabao Cup Final to contest against Manchester City. So we go into the draw for the quarter finals later today. What's the betting w...

I have been securing my bikes with one of these for a number of years.   It's very heavy and comes in a bag that is supposed the fit on the rear seat or rack.  Over the years I have tended to have it in the top box (where fitted) or latterly in one of the Rocket's panniers. It also takes up a lot of space.  I bought it as it got good reviews and has passed a couple of theft tests. Nothing is 100% safe from the scum that steal bikes but the time it takes to break or cut this one means they are exposed to being seen for a long time. I paid about £80 and I see that they haven't gone up much in the intervening years.  Amazon selling them on Prime for just under £85.  A big chain is great when used alongside another lock such as the disc lock or a U-Lock.

After 10 days Reggie seems to be back to normal.  Diahorea seems to have passed and so it was 84 quid well spent. There is still that unease when he starts barking at 6am or so every morning.  Is there a cleanup needed?

The Motorcycle Action Group (MAG) has called on its members and all  motorcyclists to get stuck in to election debates.  An updated MAG  Elections Handbook has been published with handy tips to help riders  influence the outcomes of the May elections. May 6th, 2021 will be a busy day for democracy across the UK.  With the elections originally scheduled for 2020 having been postponed to 6th May this year, there is no shortage of opportunity for riders to exercise their right to vote. MAG Chair, Selina Lavender, said: “I have a growing sense that motorcycling in the UK is at a crossroads.   Recent events and future goals and ambitions for the UK have demonstrated that we are at the centre of some fundamental shifts. Policy decisions made now will be key to creating a better future.  This is why it is vital that we as motorcyclists make our voice heard. Motorcycling has a bright future and a critical role to play - now and in that brighter tomorrow w...

Hopefully as my knee is much better I'll get the chance, weather permitting, to get Suzi Triplo out and on the road for a first startup of any duration and first ride out. There are a few odd things I found from when Phil put it together. Somehow one on the brake lines is outside the fork leg instead of inside it! To fix this needs the front wheel coming off and the brake caliper unbolting from the fork leg and it all putting back together.  For some one that keeps his spanners in shopping bag that might prove a little tough. As Suzi is a historic vehicle she doesn't need taxing or even running through the dreaded MoT.  Although. I might see about booking her in at the local former Suzuki dealers for an MoT anyway.  She has been to Alford Brothers in Folkestone several times over the last 22 years since I moved down to the south coast.

In the  reverse fixture back in November I said that after a good win in the Papa John's EFL Trophy a few days before that confidence was high that we could beat a team languishing in the even lower depths of League Two. Confidence or optimism turned to crap as the Latics lost 2-0 at home. Tonight is the reverse fixture with Oldham travelling to Scunthorpe. A town near the picturesque east coast of England.  Or so I am told.  It does look like a place from Hell , or at least somewhere nearby Hell. It used to be a steel town. So will optimism be misplaced again. After sacking Harry Kewell last week, new manager Keith Curle managed a 0-0 draw away at Port Vale, another team from the basement of League 2, and then the stunning 4-2 defeat by Cambridge United on Saturday. Conceding four goals after leading by two inside ten minutes was really poor.  So there is no optimism for tonight's game. More later I guess. Update Oldham scored on 48 minutes.  A 50% strike...

We're proud to say that name..... Yesterday was the North London Derby.  The opponents were Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs) .  An enmity between the two clubs was born in 1913 when Arsenal FC moved from Woolwich in South East London to the current Highbury area. The reason given at the time was that Highbury was on the London Underground Piccadilly Line and this would give the club more opportunity to attract supporters and correspondingly, more money.  Even over a hundred year later the London Underground hasn't been extended to Woolwich or the surrounding area. At that time, despite their claims of being a North London club, Tottenham was actually in Middlesex. Middlesex really only exists as a postal address as it was swallowed up in the 1965 Local Government review.  Tottenham then became part of the new Haringey local authority and part of London. So to be pedantic, Tottenham Hotspur have never won the English League as a North London club. As they...

Last Monday Reggie was struck down with a belly problem.  His usual routine of eating then "bathroom visits" changed and he was suffering with diarrhea. All too often resulting in a clean up job in the louinge.  Luckily the laminate and handfuls of large paper towels and disinfectant floor wipes means a speedy cleanup operation. The smell is another thing altogether! We took him off the complete raw food he has been eating for many years to something a little more bland.  Chicken and rice and white fish. That didn't work. SNAFU. By Wednesday it seemed worse and he was coughing up mucous and what looked like blood, described to the vet as "raspberry ripple" looking. Some £84 later we left with some capsules to give him twice a day for five days and some sort of kaolin stuff in a tube to go in his dinner until it ran out. Five days up. When it seemed he needed his bathroom break in the night we covered the floor with newspaper.  He didn...

Logged into the computer an hour before kick off.  After much messing about to buy my ticket for the game finally on the live feed.   Twenty minutes before kick off. Blank screen.  Loads of clicking, off the site and back with 17 minutes to go eventually get the live stream.  Whether it is my computer I don't know.  I can recommend anyone that sees a "Dell Inspiron 17 3000" for sale, walk away, fast!!!  It is rubbish.  Despite 8gb of memory and an Core i3 intel processor it is slower than the ten year old one we had before. Hopefully now that I am connected to the live feed the game won't be too much of a disappointment. Update. It was a disappointment. Two nil up on 10 mins. Lost 2-4. Personal mistakes. Shoddy defending. And another home loss. Didn't help at 2-3 Davis KD had a chance for a hat-trick and 3-3 with a penalty only to fluff it and the keeper saved it.

It was a year ago today that I last went into work in the office. I left a little earlier than usual at about 4.30pm and didn't realise at that time that it was my last day in that building. Since we have been away our office has been cleared and the entire floor has been leased out to someone else. So what now?

When it is bright I have been wearing these sunglasses initially to protect my newly operated eye with its new plastic lens. I have worn them quite often and am happy that they have done their job. The frames and arms seem quite strong but I do get the feeling that the lenses are a little thin. They are also quite dark which is good in bright sun but a little too dark when just bright. But. Well worth the money. It was only £24 from Amazon Prime. I guess I could have gone the whole hog and bought Ray-Bans.  Although I have a pair of those already with prescription lenses in them. I wonder if I can get them re-glazed back to standard non prescription lens? I have had them for just over 5 years and my prescription hardly changed! I am on the lookout for a re-glazer,

I decided in my down time from riding (knee!) that I'd add Suzi to the Fuelly  website and app on my phone..   Each time I fill the tank I enter the mileage from the trip meter and the amount of fuel in litres  The app logs it and gives me the miles per UK gallon.   I do this for the car and the Rocket, so why not add the Kettle too? The problem I will have is that the trip meter on the Kettle doesn't work. In an accident decades ago the knob on the side of the speedo detached itself and although I pushed it back in, something is broken inside. I should have got Phil to have a look when he had the bike in his workshop. So I will have to make a note of the mileage on the odometer when I do the first fill and then from then on make a note of refill odometer mileage and let the app calculate the distance travelled and mpg. I posted on the Fuelly forum and it's suggested that entering the first full up will set the starting mileage. It's just for fun. It's...

I must be accident prone. Or maybe it is my age? Walking the dog on Saturday evening I slipped, or rather one foot slipped on some mud and extended my knee. Luckily I didn't embarrass myself going arse over tit, but it hurt. It still hurts and walking is painful. So my idea of a first ride to the petrol/gas station in Sandgate to fill the tank didn't happen. I had planned to get the eye check over in the morning and then tog up and get out on Sunday afternoon. Instead I was dosed with paracetamol, for what little good they did, and ice packs to reduce the swelling. Hopefully it will get better so I can get Suzi Triplo fired up and away!

I slipped walking the dog. My foot slid forward in some mud and I over extended my left knee.  As a result I am in a lot of pain and walking is very painful.  Paracetamol hardly seem to touch it! So the visit to Laguna Performance Centre for tomorrow noon will have to be put off until later in the month. I have a date for the other eye to be operated on to remove the cataract and so I need to get Pepé  tested either before 20th March or after April 6th. The latter would suit me better as that's when I am on leave from work.

Bugger. https://projectkettlerenaissance.blogspot.com/2021/03/t-and-gt-club-nederland-21st.html

CORONA UPDATE Vanwege de huidige – en de te verwachten corona maatregelen rondom evenementen heeft het bestuur van de Suzuki T & GT Nederland in overleg met de participanten besloten dat het Internationaal Treffen 2021 NIET doorgaat. Due to the current and expected corona measures surrounding events, the board of the Suzuki T&GT club has decided that the International Meeting 2021 will NOT take place. Aufgrund der aktuellen und erwarteten Koronamaßnahmen hat der Vorstand des Suzuki T & GT club dass das Internationale Treffen 2021 NICHT stattfinden wird. Update 1712h . Hotel booking cancelled.

Today was four weeks since I had my cataract removed and a new lens fitted into my right eye. I had to go back to the surgery to have an ophthalmic surgeon check that it was all good.  Everything is fine. I was then booked in to have the left eye done. I am booked in for that to be done on March 20th at 0945. Now I am used to it I should be able to recover with no problems. By the end of April I should have perfect distance vision in both eyes. I'll need reading glasses though.  But one step at a time.

After lunch we decided to take Reggie for his walk along the Royal Military Canal.  We are lucky where we live to the west of Hythe that the bridge over the canal is only a few hundred yards from home. The canal isn't one of the old working canals used for transporting goods over long distances but a defence against invasion "ditch". It was built from Seabrook in the east across the bottom of Kent and cutting across Romney Marsh to the western end near Hastings in Sussex.  This part of country is low and flat and would have given the possible invaders a beach head before they encountered the downs.  You can read more on the Wiki page . The reason it was built was to hold up any invasion by the French under Napoleon. During the early Napoleonic period the Crown and Government were obsessed with possible invasion. The southern or seaward side is much lower that the northern bank. The earthwork on the north bank would give a better firing position to the defenders as well as...