Life on a Honda 2008 CBF1000A purhcased on Facebook Marketplace. A Flog's Blog

[Jerry_Atrick]

Defo.. I touch the downpipes when I think I think it is ready

[Jerry_Atrick]

Day 2 of ownership and I took the bike this morning to the shop - in 2 degrees grey muck with a little drizzle thrown in for fun. First of all, F! it is a heavy bike with a dry weight of 251kgs. We have a stone parking area of the driveway and I had to drag the bugger back with a bit of resistance before I could get onto it and go. Around a tight curve then down the steep bitumen driveway, holding it in first and using the brakes to stop it rolling away. A tight left onto the road, a shallow left, followed by another tight left and up a country lane, where it is quite hilly and s biy of debris around:

 

The top red line is quite hilly, with an especially steep and narrow road deading south into Milverton. Past Milverton, it is more undulating, but narrow and some quite heavy traffic, wtill with a lot of muck on the road and it was getting wet. Also, as I reached Wellington (Tonedale is a suburb of Wellington), my hands were noticeably cold. For the lower red line, a van had to be patient behind me as I was not taking it too fast. I am still getting used to the lump of metal at the moment. But, into Wellington, I was able to filter past stopped cars and the van was eventually left well behind.

 

Foolsihly, I said to my partner to head off ahead of me as I will catch her in no time. Famous last words as she had been waiting for a "few minutes" for me to arrive. Looking at the bottom right of the map, the red dot marks the location - Foxmoor Business Park. Coming south along the road, you had to drive to the round about at thejunction of the M5, and dow a yewie back as no right turn is allowed from that road. 

 

When I dropped the bike off the  mechanic was working on a pristine Harley of some sortwith a fantastic side car. Ithad a blue andwhite colour scheme and looked the bees knees. 

 

Anyway, I received a call - I was a day early for the MOT renewal - it is due on the 18th Decemeber, but can only be renewed within the month it expires, which starts on the 19th of December. Apparently, it sailed through with no problems. It had a full service and a check over, and all is OK. That was a relief. Heated grips and storm guards are fitted. 

 

It is tucked away nicely in the shop, which is great, as it is chucking it down today. I may well park it in the coach house overnight, a dilapidated garage on site that is still largely watertight.  It is also at the bottom of the driveway so not such a pain to get out. In addition, there is a slight downslop to the garage, so I can "back it" into the garage ready to be ridden out immediately. Problem is, it is a 50m walk or so to the top of the drive, which will be a pain in the wet and lugging luggage up. 

 

That reminds me - fitting the top box tomorrow.

 

 

 

[nomadpete]

I think Jerry's in lerv. I haven't seen him this chatty for .... ever.

Judging by the readability of recent posts, the bike is good for his alertness (keyboard accuracy is up) too. 

[Jerry_Atrick]

16 minutes ago, nomadpete said:

(keyboard accuracy is up)

Are you sure:

2 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

it is quite hilly and s biy of debris

 

But, yeah, luv the bike so far...

 

Edited Tuesday at 07:50 PM by Jerry_Atrick

[Jerry_Atrick]

Day three of ownership started for me wit a trip into Taunton for an eye test before next week's class 2 medical. I am happy to say my eyesight has improved since the last test Not sure how, but there you go. In the morning, it thow blowing a hoolie - much faster than forecas 15kts. And, contrary to the forecast, it was raining, though nnot too heavy. The car beeped at me and when I looked at the message it was warning me the outside temperature was less than 3 degrees(celcius). To be honest, I was looking for an excuse to delay picking up the bike until tomorrow as I was not looking forward to riding it back in that muck. 

 

When I got home, my son told me about a super sale Triumph was having and we should go to the local dealer to try on some clothing. Darn it. In their website they had some ripper deals, with £650 jackets down to £190; £180 gloves down to £22 (yep that is not a typo) and £400 trousers down to £90. So I took my son down to the dealer - it is the only main brand dealer in Taunton with the others either in Bristol, Exeter, or both. The dealer wasn't participating in the sale, so we came home, not long after almost buying a Speed 400: https://www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk/motorcycles/classic/speed-400/speed-400-2024. That would be for my son on passing his A2 licence, which allows up to 47bhp bikes. But I had to remind him, first bikes tend to get dropped so a brand new one is not on the cards. 

 

We came home, ordered my son a jacket, trousers, and two sets of gloves (one for me as theyseem better than the ones I spend considerably more on). They didn't have my size in jacket or trousers or I probably would have bought them as well as they seemed better than mine that I paid about £40 more for and that, too, was on sale. I guess when Triumph has a Black Friday sale, they really have one. 

 

Then, into the car with partner and off to pick up the bike. Coincidentally, the clouds cleared, the temperature shot up to 5 degrees, and the wind died off to about 8 knots or so. When I got to the ship, the bike was sitting there resplendent in the sunshine with new heated grips and storm guards. I went in to pay for the work which included:

• Fitting the heated grips and storm busters
• Full service including:
  • 4 litres of semi-sythetich 10W40 oil
  • Oil filter replacement
  • Air filter replacement
  • Bleed and replace the brake fluid in the brake and clutch cylinders
• MOT (RWC) inspection
• Some other consumables
• 2.5 hours labour
• VAT (sales tax)

 

He commented that although not concourse, it is a great example of a very good bike. I told him I was using it for commuting to London and he advised me on how to look after the bike. He spent a half an our showing me in detail what to do using a bike on a lift; what to buy and where from for the best price for quality. He could have kept going and I thought that was fantastic - someone who take interest in their clients because he loves bilking (he races them). So, I am certainly going to stick with him. 

 

I felt far more confident on the ride home this time. I stayed on main roads as much as possible, which took longer, but was far more enjoyable. I didn't put the heated grips on to test the storm guards and they do a pretty good job. Hands didn't get cold like they did yesterday. 

 

The good thing about htese heated grips is the controller is integrated into the left grip - no big box for vandals to rip off,which has heppened to me in the past. 

 

There are a few people in the village that have motorbikes, so I looked up Halse Motorcycle Club on Google. It must compete well with another well know motorcycle club:

 

Edited Wednesday at 05:45 PM by Jerry_Atrick

[Marty_d]

Going to wear a "Halse Angels" patch Jerry?

[Jerry_Atrick]

Maybe a False Angels patch...

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]

Dat 4 of ownership - the bike tood under covers all day even though it was sunny and hit 5.5 degrees!

 

Although, my son's jacket and gloves arrived today. He paid hommage to the roo that gave up its life for my son's safety...

And he is booked in on Tuesday for the CBT (learners permit). 

[nomadpete]

2 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

Dat 4 of ownership - the bike tood under covers all day.....

Good to see you are settling down... Welcome back Jerry.

[facthunter]

I remember the day I got My Licence. The Policeman said" ride up to the corner and come back".. I said Aren't you coming with Me?. He replied "Not Likely. You would NOT GET Me on one of those DEATH Machines".  I've ridden, worked on  restored & owned a lot of bikes since then.   You DO have to watch what you are doing when you're on them. Nev

[onetrack]

When I got my bike licence, the local copper came up to my workshop yard, asked me to do a few figure-eights on my 250cc Honda CM250, and after watching me for about 30 seconds, he said, "Come up to the station, and I'll write out your endorsement"!

That was 1982, and I got a totally unlimited motorcycle licence from that! So I rode bikes up to 1100cc with that licence all through the 1980's, then I gave up bike riding when I met SWMBO in 1990, because she hated them, and had been previously told by some psychic, that someone close to her would be badly injured in a motorbike crash. However, the psychic was wrong - at least for the last 40 years.

 

Then, sometime in the late 90's or early 2000's, the local licencing authority split bike licences into under 250cc and over 250cc (with a need for intensive testing for a bigger cc licence), and my licence was downgraded! - despite the fact I rode bigger bikes for years! Some bureaucrat obviously decided I was still a learner, and I'd have to sit the big bike course and testing!! I haven't bothered to, I'm well past my "motorbike stage" of life.

 

They are bloody dangerous things, and the greatest risk is from car and truck drivers who treat you like a second-class road user. And animals on the loose are a real threat to you on a bike. I hit a 'roo at about 80 kays on the Honda, but I managed to stay upright, while I cartwheeled the 'roo!

 

Edited 17 hours ago by onetrack

[facthunter]

You'll RUE the day you hit a ROO. (or any animal when it comes to that).  Go real fast and you'll likely end up as Chutney, If something goes AWARY. I've done some fool things in the Past. Going serious OFF road helps you all round with your skills. Been Knocked OFF a Bike near Paramatta about 1961 but that's the Only ROAD Bingle I've HAD . Riding in the Bush doesn't count.

.You have to drop the Bike on Purpose some times. Anyhow I've seen a lot of Places that I wouldn't have otherwise. Met many good friends. Been Lucky a few times. You are More (IN the WORLD ) than you are in a Tin Top. People who look down on you wouldn't know $#!t from clay anyhow...  Nev

[nomadpete]

Yes, times have changed. My bike learner's permit cost (I think) $15, filled out a form - address, name, DOB.

Off you go.

Three months later, if you survived, you return to the office, an assessor watches you ride away and return. Licence granted. For all motorcycles.

Life was simpler then. Darwin's theory of evolution worked.

 

We lived or died based upon our fast learning from mistakes, and luck. Some of us made our own luck with the aid of common sense.

Edited 8 hours ago by nomadpete
Last sentence added

[Jerry_Atrick]

For the CBT here, it is an 8am start - 2 hours in the classroom covreing  the road laws, bike basics, riding basics, and safety. Then it is as long as you need on site until the instructor and student are both comfortable on the bike and confident that the road will be OK. Then a minimum of two hours on the road. There is no pass or fail per se. You either get the certificate or you don't. If you don't, it is not recorded as a fail. You keep going as and when until you do (or give up trying). 

 

Here is a not very well organised syllabus from the guvmint: https://www.gov.uk/search/all?keywords=element+&manual[]=%2Fguidance%2Fcompulsory-basic-training-cbt-syllabus-and-guidance-notes

 

 

 

[Jerry_Atrick]