On the Road Again!

Whilst we were away in France on holiday Robinson's Foundry sent me three letters reminding me of my MoT and annual service. I have only done 4000 miles or so since I bought the bike and so I don't think it is necessarily ready for a service  I think we can get that done when we get back from Aragón. As for MoT she is booked into Cheriton Motorcycles on July 26th. Gulp.

After the distinct failure of the last seat cushion with air bubbles when on the Czech trip, I decided to give it another go... This time I bought one that is more foam pad. This one isn't very thick and has two straps to hold it onto the seat and a non slip base. If this doesn't work, I'll need something like a seat rebuild or to see if I can get a full replacement. I went on a short run today for Meldrews' Sunday but didn't fit it. I'll see about it tomorrow.

Today was a planned ride out to a new to me café at Brookland in Kent. It had been advertised on the V-Strom Club UK Facebook page and the club's forum.  It was a cold day. Dry but temperature hovering around 6°C but once on the go it was okay for a ride. I tried the Yamaha My Ride app and once again it didn't work. I am loathed to uninstall it as it has some historical rides on it.  I tried the new Detecht app. That worked in both directions, but doesn't have the same depth of data collection and presentation as My Ride. I suppose it's suck it and see. I arrived at Jo's just around 1030am. The car park seemed very full. The café though wasn't. It would appear all the cars were for the adjacent model car racing circuit.   On the way in there are two big potholes filled with water. Easy to avoid but might catch out the unwary. There were no other bikes. I went in and there were loads of tables. I chose one where it was easy to be seen. Ordered a coffee and a Tun...

 

I should be collecting Vera V-Strom on Thursday around 11am.  That's when I am booked in to collect her. With the weather taking a turn for the worst since the red hot days of late July I am hoping that my first ride back from Canterbury isn't in wet weather. I will take my waterproof over jacket and over trousers with me of course. In England you can never be certain that the weather will stay dry. Vera comes with a Suzuki branded (Givi I think) top box and so there will be somewhere to put them for the ride home.  I may invest in a small holdall that can be moved from bike to bike with waterproofs and spare gloves. The Kettle having a Kappa 48 litre box of its own. I am starting to get a little excited..

Called Carole Nash this morning to insure Vera ready for collection on the 5th August.  Not a problem answering all the questions about mileage to be covered etc, whether I might carry a pillion.  Then the premium. More than the Rocket? What? Yes, it cost more to insure a 2018 V-Strom 1000 than a 2015 700lb 2300cc Rocket III. Oh well.  Not much to be done until renewal. Then back to the "meerkat shuffle" or the fat opera singer site....

More great service from Mad4Bikes . The flange arrived today when it was expected mid next week. It's the BF50 that the Givi website lists as the alternative to the BF18. Better hope it is as Vera is still two weeks away ...

The two bits I need to buy for Vera are the Givi Tanklock flange that goes around the petrol filler and then later something to mount the TomTom to. The first was sorted after a visit to Givi's website and that lead me to the BF18.  A quick Google and my old suppliers Mad4Bikes had it in stock.   It should arrive well before Vera arrives! The tank bag I had to buy for the Rocket was the XS319 Tanklock. It's a small bag but the one I had before and had to sell on eBay was too large. Even this one has a bit of contact with the bars on full lock. Hopefully a better fit on Vera.

The test ride was this morning. I was out for about an hour and half and managed to find a route (that even though at times I had no idea where I was!) that took in A and B roads, country lanes and the A2 Dual Carriageway.   I stopped at Gibson's and was going to have a coffee and give the bike a good looking over away from the Robinson's. In the end the queue for coffee was too long and so I gave the bike the once over without a drink. The muffler has a couple of small scrapes but nothing too damaging.  Tyres are good. At three years and 8700 miles getting a showroom condition bike isn't really going to happen. At first the seat seems to angle a little forward but after the Rocket's armchair and the Kettle's plank then maybe it is just different.   What was a surprise was the clutch.  Both the Kettle and Rocket needed a strong hand, this one is light as a feather. The gear change very light and accurate. I have given her the name Vera . I am no...