THE GOOD BUCK

I’ve been waiting on the call from the agency to do my assessment. The money was running low as it’s been over 4 weeks off work. Then I killed the Bonnie and the Harley was running crap, so I was looking at cycling in, and being a sweaty mess, if they called me. I was pretty stressed. The spacer arrived for my back wheel, so it was a quick job to slide that in and fit the last bearing. Then I had big issues with the back brake. When the light was stuck on I did a test of all my electrics to see if everything else was working, I pressed the back brake pedal to test the light, forgetting my wheel was off, so there was nothing to stop the brake pistons from pushing right out. I forced them open and fitted the back wheel, which is a bastard of a job by itself, but then the back wheel was stiff. I tried a quick lap but my brake disk was hissing when I splashed water on it, so I had to take brake caliper off and do a proper job on the pistons. I was elbow deep in grease and sweat finishing that off when I got a call from the agency, asking me to go for an assessment on Monday (today). I’ve taken the bike for several long-ish spins and the disk is warm, but you can hold your hand on it. I’m hoping it will bed in. We’ve been going through a heatwave so I’ve not done anything else to the bikes. I went for my assessment today, thinking I knew the roads around there, (literally across the road from where I used to work), so no worries. Ha! The test route is hellish! So many tight bends, traffic-blocked roads, and almost impossible turns. Kudos to the driver trainer who worked out that route. Awful. I passed, but it was bloody focusing. I’ve got my induction on Friday, then I should be earning big bucks again. I’ll be commuting 100 miles a week so I’m trying to finish off the Bonnie jobs before I start. I’ll take the front wheel to fit the new tyre tomorrow, and fit the M handlebars. When the rear tyre and chain and sprocket set arrive I’ll fit them together. I’ve ordered the lead to plug into my bike’s computer, when that arrives I’ll buy the engine remapping software and install it. I’ve just ordered a long front mudguard and new oil and oil filter for a service. Apply all that and that’s it then. The bike should be good for years. Interesting development with the Harley. I thought it was possibly running awful because it was low on petrol, but when I took it to the petrol station it only took 6.8 litres of petrol. I ordered some SeaFoam to clean out the carbs and such. I read how much to put in the tank. It said 10ml per litre, […]

After me banging on about how faultlessly reliable the new Triumphs are, and how I’m waiting until we have money before I do the other upgrades, I decided to start the upgrades. And killed my bike. I thought I’d just do the donkey work while I’m off. The hard bit is removing the air intake baffle, the rest is 2 minutes to swap a part and then follow the instructions to apply a software update. To remove the air intake baffle I had to remove the back wheel, seat, tank, side panels, rear mudguard, left hand side foot peg and silencer end can. Just to get the air box out. Then it was undo a few screws and it just pulls out. I did all the donkey work, got the baffle out, rebuilt the bike, but could not get the spindle through the back wheel. It was a nightmare. I finally forced it through, but it looked wrong so I took it off again. The goddamn cush bearing had fallen apart. I ordered a new set of bearings and seals. I tried to knock out the other bearings in preparation for the kit’s arrival. Nope. There is a long spacer tube between the two bearings. I ordered a puller but there is insufficient gap between the spacer and the bearing for it to grip. I tried battering them out. The spacer get half destroyed, but again I couldn’t get any purchase on the bearings to move them. I’ve ended up taking the wheel to the shop for them to get them out. That was unnecessarily stressful. The other thing was the back light. To remove the air box you have to unplug the rear light while taking the mudguard off, unplug the electrical connector to the tank, and remove the battery. I put them back and the back light was on. With the ignition off, key out. All the other electrics were working, and turned off, but the light was on. 2 connectors and a battery. I just couldn’t understand why it was doing it. I was awake for literally hours in the middle of the night stressing out. I thought I must have shorted a wire out. I sold one bike because I couldn’t find a short. I thought I’d totally killed my beautiful Bonnie. The next day I took the mudguard off and examined the wiring (good job, there was some cowboy wiring that needed sorting) but the light stayed on. I tried the battery charging thing on different terminal, then removed altogether, the light stayed on. I took the cable for the heated grips off… SUCCESS! The light went out! I was giddy with joy. I put the wire on the other terminal. My heated grips worked and the light was out. So, so happy. Hopefully I’ll get my wheel back from the shop tomorrow. The bits should arrive over the next day or two, I can pop the new spacer and bearings into place, put the […]

After 3 weeks of no money, and me ringing the agency every few day to be told “You’re definitely not sacked, we are just waiting on a date for your retraining.” I got a text. I’m sacked. Well, I’m agency, they don’t want me back, same thing. Super. They did do a follow up text though, saying they only deal with Royal Mail, ring a different branch and see if they have any local jobs. They gave me the number so I rang it straight away. I asked if they do the contract for Sainsbury’s, he said they did, so he’s getting me in for assessment next week, he said. I’ve seen multiple adverts from different agencies for Sainsbury’s. I got the distinct impression it was back to the old bullshit. Them hammering you with shifts, at the time and pattern they choose. I asked what the shift pattern is and he said “It’s whatever you want, really.” I’ve got a good feeling about this. All the other agencies treat you like their property, ‘you are doing this shift, or else’. I thought the deal with this agency, where you tell them when you are available, at what sort or time slot, was just down to RM making them treat you fairly. If that’s the company-wide agency ethos, I am laughing. He asked what sort of start times I was after, I said days, preferably. He said they have a few, but they have loads of agency lads wanting them. The start time they were always looking to fill was 01.00 – 04.00. Which is what I was expecting when I asked about the gig. The only good thing about 01.00 starts is all the road closures will already be in place and the traffic will be minimal. I hate the 21.00 chaos as they try to close lanes on still fairly busy motorways. I’ve just found the actual job advert from my agency. £18- £30.60 p/h, 10 – 12 hours a day, single deck box trailers, maximum of three drops, full time availability, overtime after 48 hours, possible temp to perm. Wendy had a good idea. While I’m still agency, do 4 on 3 off. That way I can still do training and see a bit of Wendy and such. I’ll see if that’s acceptable, and what the money is like. It would mean I won’t be getting the overtime rate. The bottom fell out of my stomach when I got the text, but this could be really good. It’s good money, not too long shift, and possible temp to perm. I could end up on a winner. I’ll have to wait and see how it shakes out. Assuming I get the job. The best thing is, it’s a fresh start. The driver trainers at RM taught me some valuable lessons after my bumps, which I took onboard and which have made me a much better driver. Sadly, it was too late. I’d already blotted my copy book. The […]

Since I got the Bonneville I’ve been loving it more and more. It’s just a joy to ride. You don’t have to be going for stupid speeds or scary lean angles, just open the throttle and hear the roar, it’s gorgeous. I’m actually enjoying tootling around just for riding’s sake. I don’t have to have somewhere to go, I just want to be out on it. I took it to Lymm Dam the the other day for a picture. It says AI generated content because I used the amazing software on the ‘phone to remove some posters from the railings and the arse end of a car that was in shot. I should have then cropped it, but here we are. Random guy gets to stay in the shot because he’s echoing the blue of the bike. The Bonnie is not without faults. The seat is too thin and uncomfortable. I’ve ordered a second hand one off a different model of Bonnie. The handlebars feel too high. and the bike is too small. I’m hoping the bigger seat will lift the feel of the bike. I’ll see what acer bars would feel like when I’ve fitted the seat. The bars are only £62 and are a straight swap. Then, instead of a sit-up-and-beg position, you’d be leant forward over the tank. I think that would feel more natural, give a better feel for cornering, and it would allow you to lie over the tank, out of the wind, at motorway speeds. The only other thing is the cramped footrests. Again, I’m hoping a taller seat will cure that. If not, somewhere down the line, fit a set of rearsets to move my feet back. I read an article on improving the engine by de-restricting the factory fitted impediments. Take off the air induction system (already been done by previous owner) remove the air sensor from the exhaust (already done) take out the air restricter and snorkel and fit a free breathing air filter. That is something that I can’t see without a few hours of stripping the bike. The other two jobs have been done, so I’m hopeful, but if not I’ll have to take the bike off the road for a few days until the parts arrive. I’m not stripping it twice for the job, or buying bits I don’t need. Then, it’s just an engine remap. That will set the injection for the free-er flowing engine, and is supposed to iron out the snatchiness. So, fun times ahead for the Triumph. The Honda VFR750 sold, yay! On Saturday I got a missed call from the Harley garage, saying they had to talk to me about several issues. I rang them back but they’d closed. They have Sunday and Monday off, so I’ve spent all weekend dreading the call. “Several issues”, usually means untold amount of new jobs and money to be spent. Work still haven’t got back to me, so I was dreading massive bills. I rang them […]

It’s been an interesting fortnight. I took my Harley into the shop and I was all set. Money in the bank, Harley to be fixed, Honda to be my reliable bike. The Harley shop still haven’t got back to me. Then I clipped a road sign in my truck at work, so I’ve been off work, without any pay, for 12 days while I wait for them to put me in with the driver trainer for retraining. Then we had a beastly hot heatwave, so I wasn’t sleeping and I was tired and grumpy. I got bored and started perusing bikes again. I saw a (modern, -2010-) Triumph Bonneville for sale. Only 22 miles away. £2,650. Over a grand cheaper than similar bikes. I was up after 3 or 4 hours sleep on the longest day, reading bike reviews for models of Bonnie. Everything said this was the one to get. It was so cheap because it had done 54,000 miles, but everything I read said that as long as you changed the oil and checked the valve clearances on time, modern Triumphs are good for well over 100k. They are a well engineered bike, that is under very little (67bhp) stress, so they keep running. This one had a full service history, so it met the criteria. I was losing sleep obsessing, so I tried to convince myself my VFR750 was a superior bike. I was awake from before 03.00 so I got up at ungodly o’clock and rode to Keswick (230 mile round trip) for some pasties. The bike was awesome and the pasties were nice, but they didn’t remove the taste of Bonnie obsession from my mouth. Then the guy updated his advert. He said he’d just done a 200 mile run out to a Hairy Biker run thing, and he dropped the price to £2,390! Which means the bike is a good ‘un. Nobody sets out for a 200 mile ride on a bike they don’t trust entirely. And it was a steal. It will come as no surprise that I cracked and gave into my my obsession. So, no money, VFR750 that nobody is buying, no work to make more money, but BONNIE! Yay! Look at the attention to detail. They are trying to do a modern, fuel injected bike that’s also supposed to look like a 1970s classic. Just look at it. Air cooled engine (with a radiator for an oil cooler, presumably), with fuel injectors hidden inside fake carbs! On the other side their is a fake choke lever that is the enricher for start up (so basically it is a choke). I drove to the bike, in Bury, then rode back. Wendy followed me in the car. Which was awfully nice of her seeing as she’s so scared of motorways, and driving in general. It was raining most of the way home, and I was keeping it slow for Wendy’s sake. It seemed like a weird bike to ride. A very low […]