In 5..4..3..2..1…..twiddle thumbs.
Weekly Update 9 – 11/10 – 31/10
Well people. For the first time in 4 years of motorcycling, for the first time since I started, I will be putting my beloved motorcycle to bed for the winter. It’s been a short time coming around and I feel slightly bummed about it, but then I immediately remember the GSR and how much it cost me to run it throughout winter. And not forgetting the volatile riding conditions that once made me feel elite, now make me feel cold. I always said from the beginning, as soon as I start to not enjoy riding my bike I will pack it in. I have held that view throughout and now, despite my perceived “elite” status being relegated, I am giving it a rest over winter.
Last winter was particularly harsh if you lived in Scotland, certainly one of the worst in recent times. This led to my GSR needing yet another £500 worth of replacement parts and another large dent in our already beat up wallet. So after the GSR was sold earlier this year, I made sure that the MT wouldn’t be tempting to ride during the colder season, mainly by only getting 6 months of road tax, but also by running the front tyre in to almost oblivion. I have a story for you.
Last night I was heading home in the dark, as now it’s dark when I leave the office, which is just unbelievable. Anyway, I went for some petrol and then on to the bridge (after nearly being side-swiped by a Renault Clio) and off we went. The usual braking/accelerating tactics continued over the bridge and we got to the other side. I switched to the inside (overtaking) lane as a lot of the cars come off at the first junction after the bridge, causing a bit of braking action.
Once in the outside lane, I was following a white transit van, older generation model and as we came off the bridge they all started to speed up. It had been raining a lot so the surface was damp, bit of surface water here and there but generally ok. Then out of no-where the transit van did an emergency stop. We were travelling roughly 60mph by this point and unlike all other cases of slowing down after the bridge, this was a complete halt manoeuvre.
Instinct took over as I saw a wee puff of either smoke or water from the Transit van in front. The van was closing in quick and I was increasing the front brake pressure subsequently but then the rear wheel locked up (damn right foot instincts are slightly more meat fisted than they should be) so the back end started weaving about in a slow smooth side to side action, and as a result the engine stalled. It felt silky that’s for sure, totally controllable, yet completely out of control……..doesn’t make sense. Anyway I kept increasing the front brake, but the van was braking more and for every second that passed I got closer and closer to hitting him.
As a gauge to the amount of time I was in full braking/weaving mode, I was able to audibly say to myself, “Come-on Gordon, let’s get some stopping action here, come on… come on…come on…”
I would say it was a good 6-10 seconds duration from the moment of brake introduction, to the point at which I was absolutely sure I was hitting the van.
Add on to this scenario of silky weave, hard braking and me talking to myself, was the knowledge that my front tyre only has about 1.5mm of tread on it, so any surface water that would be dealt with, wouldn’t really be that efficiently dealt with in my current condition. As luck would have it, at the point at which I had submitted myself to be picking my bike up from underneath this Transit van, the van released his brakes and accelerated a touch. This gave me the life saving break as our wheel/bumper nearly kissed.
After starting the bike again I quickly down-shifted a few and shoulder checked to the left, shot off up the inside lane and had a wee glance back at the van driver, who then flashed his lights in a weird moment of complete understanding.
I let out a rather embarassing “WHEEEEEOEOOOOOOOOEOOOOOOOOEOOO WHEE WHEE WHEE, BLIMEY CHARLIE!” in order to release the insane amount of adrenaline that was being readied for a complete muscle melt-down, and got on my way. I find screaming or shouting stupid words after a life-threatening moment diffuses the adrenaline’s impact on the muscles (you know, that debilitating slunk that you get in your legs and arms, as if you are about to faint). That and sheer bloody determination to get on with the journey home. If you had a mic in my helmet and listened back to it, I’m sure it would be a good amuser, but for me it seems to be a good way to deal with the adrenaline.
I got in and told Emma who did her usual “…….I hate it when you ride your bike in the rain”.
It would have been a bit of a downer had I hit the van as it might have caused some damage to the head bearing area which could result in a write-off if the frame is damaged, but hey ho. So on Saturday 30th October 2010, the MT-01 will be in the garage, washed and dried, prepared for its storage for the next 4-6 months. In that time I will change the now bald front tyre, change the oil/filter, perhaps install a new chain and sprocket set and generally get it nice again.
The question now is, what will I write about in the meantime? Well I am now going to be getting the train every day, so I have no doubt that I will descend in to some mindless rant about fellow commuters and their idiocy, perhaps write about the failings of the public transport system in Scotland, or just shoot the breeze, with intermediate updates about the MT. Who knows. Perhaps YamYam will turn itself in to a Golfing blog over the winter periods!? Write in if you have a suggestion.
It will be sad not being the select few still on their bikes in Nov/Dec/Jan but then again, I might enjoy not having purple toes and some frostbite to the forehead.
Till then, for now,
Gordon
It’s up and down really. Mostly down.
Weekly Update 7 – 17/09-02/10
I am not feeling overly positive at the minute, and it’s something that I can’t shake off despite some good things going on.
The MT is going well and has comfortably taken it’s place as the best workhorse for my journeys to work and back. I’ve been getting more and more used to it’s characteristics and am now able to throw it around town easier. It’s a damn heavy bike but if you know how to handle it, the weight soon disappears and you feel no different than if you were on a 125.
Jed Heath got in touch about the recent article I wrote regarding his utterly terrifying crash at Knockhill. You can read that here if you like. He’s a-ok and it was great to hear from him after his daughter initially got in touch! Anyway, enough of the positivities…I’m winding up for a bit of a rant.
I am growing increasingly intolerant of the people who have accidents during rush hour. It’s just the complete lack of ability to concentrate for an hour without hitting something that gets to me. This evening, like a few others over the past few weeks, was an accident on the rightside lane leading up to the bridge. Now anyone who drives this route daily will know that the lanes leading up to the bridge all race on to the bridge only to brake wildly as the cars all slow down in front, leading always to a last minute concertina of cars braking like mad. The sensible thing to do is to keep back and allow all the nobs to race on to the bridge and by the time you get to them, they’ve all got the late braking out their system and you can all proceed as per normal folk.
Tonight however was a 3 car/van fender bender at the very entrance to the bridge, causing much annoyance. But it was short lived as luckily it had just happened, so the queue hadn’t managed to form yet and once I got past it, there was no traffic. I got home 15 minutes earlier than usual which was great. Anyway.
The lack of ability of car drivers to concentrate irks me. The lack of awareness of their surroundings has reared it’s ugly head several times in the past few days, when twice some stupid woman has pulled out in front of me, or indeed never seen me at all until I am either horizontal with their window or suddenly appearing in their rear-view mirror. Then it’s the baffled look of “oh….where did you come from?” with my response being, “I was here all the time you stupid woman, you just never took the time to glance to your right, otherwise you would have seen me sitting in this lane for the past 40 seconds. Instead you relied on your mirrors to give you the full picture”, usually abbreviated to a peep of my horn and a shake of my fist, usually in the direction of my head to signal my disbelief of their stupidity.
This irk is one of the main points I make when people say that motorcycles are dangerous. Cars and their drivers have so many distractions that it’s almost a certainty that they will lose concentration. Whether it be heated seats or their radios, the chunky pillars either side of the windscreen or cruise control, cars are designed to be comfortable and to keep occupants safe.
The solution to this problem is to make cars like bikes. Dont have plush leather in any car. Don’t offer heated seats. Don’t give drivers the option of cruise control or radios. In fact, make the seats in cars out of bare metal and have air coolers not heaters, and make the steering wheel out of glue. This way the drivers are not comfortable and thus all their attention is on the road ahead and what’s going on around them.
Its never going to happen, so the only realistic solution is to shoot anyone who has a fender bender at rush hour…Maybe the threat of absolute death will get them to concentrate, because when you think about it, the threat of having an accident is so small these days due to all these implied safety gizmos, that people really think they can get away with not giving a shit. And what’s worse is, they usually do. It’s the poor suckers on bikes, pedestrians and cyclists that get the raw deal. Make driving cars “dangerous” and maybe then people will not have accidents. Ken?
My. What a rant.
I’ve been playing a lot of golf lately. I love it. The sale of my GSR has allowed me to get out in the fresh air nearly every weekend since and I am so happy that I made that decision. My game is coming along nicely and I am especially excited to be playing Gleneagles this weekend…that’s right. The big time. Forget Celtic Manor, the 3-ball Fraser clan will be tearing up the hallowed ground with some plunks of metal on sticks.
I’ve also been enjoying the feeling of progression in something. I used to get this feeling from riding, but I’ve kind of flattened out with regards to learning on the bike. It’s nice to get something fresh to concentrate on improving.
The weather is shocking at the minute and pretty soon the MT will be cosied up in Dad’s garage for the first ever non-biking winter since I started riding in 2007. I’m a bit down about it, but in a strange way I am relieved. No longer will I be forking out £800 in January to replace the parts destroyed by salt, and no more will I have to deal with Emma worrying about me wobbling about on sheets of ice and snow.
I’ve finished watching the Ryder Cup highlights after a bum clenching day at work listening to the radio coverage, so now that I have enjoyed that, I am going to listen to some music and then head to bed.
I thank you for enduring my silly rants, and I look forward to updating YamYam soon with my very first DIY bike service, with a blow-by-blow account.
All the best for the coming week y’all.
YY
The Pope is in town, and it’s the easiest commute to work I’ve ever had.
Weekly Update 6 – 30/08 – 16/09
Hi all,
I have a few good stories to tell you but I want to say firstly how quickly this year is going! Blimey guv, it’s whipping past at an incredible rate and boy I’m losing touch. The air is distinctly colder this past week, so much so that my face has been chilled by the time I get to work. If only I could fit my lunch inside my helmet, it would be an ideal fridge.
Yes, the Pope is in Edinburgh today for his runaround in the PopeMobile™. We have been warned the past week through email to “AVOID EDINBURGH” because it’s set to be so busy, you can hardly move your eyelids. Get the train, get the bus, get a plane or walk because what you don’t want to do is get stuck in the 50 mile long tailback and never actually reach work in time.
We’ll as always, I throw caution in to the wind and didn’t listen. And I am really glad I did. Not a queue in sight, not a panicked motorist or wailing horn. No pumping fists or swerving abusers, revving engines or flashing lights. It was by far the most uneventful and delightful ride in to work I’ve had in the 4 years of doing it. It was like coming to work at 4am in the morning. Except it was light.
So my suggestion is that the Pope comes to Edinburgh every day for a year…I don’t think that will fly somehow.
The MT is running well despite a funny knocking sound from the front of the engine. I am of the opinion that a suspension tune would benefit both myself and the bike immensely, so I’ll have to have a word with someone as its not just a case of spanner turns in the MT, it’s an unlock this bolt first, turn this one and then measure….complimicated.
So.
In commuting life you have two kinds of car commuter and they can be broken down in to folk who accept bikes, and folk who don’t.
Folk who accept bikes move over in traffic, they flash you back in to lane on the motorway, they turn and wave, often thumbs up or generally don’t mind you going past them. I love these kinds of commuters.
Folk who don’t accept move over in traffic, but the wrong way. They flash at you, but not to let you back in. They turn and wave, but it’s more of a gesture. It certainly is not a thumbs up and is almost always accompanied with a red face. They will do absolutely anything, until the point of metal to metal, to make your life a living misery. I do not love these kinds of commuters.
Which is why this next story is so funny.
I was coming in to work in really good time actually. I was early! I know!
Travelling up to the Barnton junction mess, I was filtering between the stationary cars, as I do every single day of my commuting life. I got so far up and the cars were too close together, so I came to a halt flicking the MT to neutral and sat waiting for the lights to change. I watched the usual lighting sequence play out and prepared myself to continue by flicking the MT to first, looking over my shoulder to make the guys in cars know I’m thinking about something. (This is a great tip subsequently for any keen biker. If you are moving your head, people will expect you to do something. So if you are planning a manoeuvre it pays to move your head (shoulder check works) and people know you are about to do something) Anyway, the cars in front move off and I wedge myself in to the right between 2 cars. I check my mirrors to see how far the guy is behind and he’s right up my arse.
I always keep tabs on guys like this, because at one point in the very near future I will be in a position to move forwards when he can’t. And I like to let them know this by either waving or turning my head to look at their burning faces. Anyway, there he was behind me quite close, and I saw an opportunity to dart in to the left hand lane, which I did and got about 50 yards forward from the man who was in front of me. The key to successful commuting progress is taking your chances. However this opportunity turned quickly in to a dead-end and as I turned my head to see if the gap was still available for me to quickly move back to the right, I checked my mirrors to see this bloke winding up to close the big gap I was about to fill. Seeing this happen I quickly whipped across to the right hand side and the bloke let rip on his horn as he travelled the remaining 40 yards to my rear tyre.
Nothing on the face of the earth irks me more than un-necessary use of a car horn. It could be peeping to say goodbye, hello or using it to release aggression, it’s all enough to get me going absolutely berserk. I slammed my brakes on with the biggest fist full I could manage, enough that the guy behind me had to move to the right in order to stop himself rear-ending me (this is how close he was) and his bonnet ended up parallel to my footpegs. He peeped his horn in one, very very long drawn out release of anger and I kept myself facing forward. I had my dark visor on so he couldn’t have seen my eyes firmly affixed on his but I was watching as the following scenes unfolded. Much to my absolute delight.
Once he had managed to prise his fist off of the horn area of his steering wheel, he then started talking to himself, albeit with a very aggressive jaw movement and a sharp shaking of his head. His right hand was whizzing about at his side as his window started to wind down. His seatbelt came off with the other hand and flew across his body whilst his face went absolute red. There is no redder shade of red in the world.
All the while my head hasn’t moved but my eyes have went from the right hand mirror with this berk filling it, to my left hand mirror where I make a note that traffic has ceased from the left and it’s clear.
I come back to the right hand mirror where by this point the berk has managed to lever himself out of his bucket seat (this was a Subaru Impreza) and he get’s his head out of the window but doesn’t stop until his whole upper torso is clear of the window threshold. His mouth seems to be winding itself up now as his words start forming in his mind.
And at the point of his release, (the very point that he is about to unleash all the pent-up aggression, the frustrations of life, the universe and everything, the point that his throat, lungs and tongue align with the stars to vibrate the air around him with such force that birds start dropping out the sky, the absolute moment of glory) I perform a flawless (thank you) MotoGP race start in to the now clear left hand lane. As the revs rise I hear the falsetto scream of a demented man shouting some garbled profanity faster than his mouth can form, but slower than his brain can generate.
Now amidst my anger about the whole situation, and the slight weakening of my muscles due to the “all too close” braking moment adrenaline which I must agree was totally stupid and I was lucky I got away with this one, I couldn’t help but find the scene I just left extremely amusing.
In my mirror I could see a car at a 45° angle across the right hand lane, with a driver hanging mostly out his car window shouting something at the top of his voice and shaking his free arm wildly, to a motorcycle now 200 yards away. What’s funnier is he would have then had to get back through his car window, in to his car, put his seatbelt on and then stop at the now red light in front of him, all the while fuming about not getting his release that he deserved thus making him even more angry. I only hope no-one at work looked him in the eye when he arrived because the force of his now doubled aggression would have instantly evaporated anyone in the vicinity.
It was spectacularly funny, but also very sad that someone can get that wound up about driving his car.
Anyway, these are some of the fabulous things that motorcycling can offer!
Winter is soon to arrive, and that means the MT is garage bound for its first big service (by me!) and a good once over.
Thank you all for reading and commenting. Please keep it up!
Gordon
It’s a sound unlike any other.
Break the mould just this once.
This isn’t a weekly update, but I am compelled to post for many reasons. The first of which starts with the photo above. There is several things wrong with this photo. I wonder if you can see what?
No? Yes? Let me tell you.
The first thing you can see is that this is a motorcycle, obviously. And it’s travelling on gravel. Now, that’s no big deal, but let me elaborate. This, as you can see by the screen identification, is a man named Jed Heath. I’ve never met Jed so I don’t really know much about him. But I know that he shouldn’t be on a motorcycle like this, in some gravel. And he especially shouldn’t be travelling at the speed he was travelling at when he reached the hairpin gravel section of Knockhill Racing Circuit, near Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, UK. You’ll also note, he’s not braking.
I was at Knockhill this weekend with Rossy Boyo for the Jock Taylor Superprix, a celebration of Mr. Taylor winning the sidecar world championships in 1980. There was the usual support series including the GP400′s, which is what Jed Heath was riding.
We had started the weekend at the pit straight, followed by the bottom of the Seat Curves and the Scotsman, taking photos and getting our techniques in to shape. We drove around eventually to the “Carlube” corner and found it to be a bit lax, although the loudspeaker system which pumps out some irritating twat fumbling his way through times and interviews at obscene volumes was broken, so it offered us a bit of a rest. Following the completion of the Superstock 600′s in which our very own Stuart Jackson (of Jackson’s Bikes) was racing, we headed around to the hairpin for some closer in action shots, and some shade from the sun beating down upon our (or at least my) reddening faces.
The sidecars spun their way around and finished quickly. A man with a small boy turned up with a Nikon camera (with a stumpy looking lens) and a laptop of all things. No bags, just those two items…and his wee boy.
The 400′s, Forgotten Era’s and the 125′s headed out on track at once and I decided to switch to black and white on my camera to try and get some nice oldy looking shots with the Forgotten Era bikes. I was shooting in JPG as well, meaning these black and white’s were baked in to the files (instead of RAW where you can remove the black and white setting should you want to…)ANYWAY. I mention this only to make it clear that I didn’t translate these following photos in to black and white for “effect”, for impact or show. It was just unfortunately the setting I was in when this happened.
So they went round a few times to get their tyres warmed up a bit and the grid set up and off they went. I moved a bit further up the hairpin whilst Ross stayed close to the outer edge of it. The man with the small child/laptop was in between us. And then it happened.
I was locked on to Jed which was strange in itself as I had been resting my now knackered arms in between the Forgotten Era bikes going past. But I had my camera to my face and was locked on to Jed and I was immediately aware that something wasn’t right. Usually by the time they get to the hairpin you can see the front diving and the sound of hard braking, rev’s getting lower possibly some tyre screech. With Jed however, when I locked on to him his bike was still going as fast, there was no dive of the front, no reduction of engine pitch.
My camera was on continuous shooting mode but for some reason it takes two very quick photos, there’s a wee pause and then a third photo. It’s not really “continuous” in any sense of the word. I took the first of the two quick photos as he entered the sand trap. The next quick photo captured the photo above. The next photo, after the short pause, showed him or rather a wheel of his bike, sticking out of the now seriously inflated air fence.
Jed hit that fence with a sound that, like all things of horrific nature, isn’t heard anywhere else. We all knew how serious this could be and my initial reaction, after the air fence impact photo, was to turn to Ross who looked at me with such horror that I swear I have never seen before in anyone. The sound was that of a motorcycle going past you, flat throttle with no increase or decrease of pitch, with some gravel noises thrown in and then a hollow “boffffffffffff”. Then silence. No “OH MY’s” or sweary words. Just silence.
We watched together as the marshals whipped across that gravel barely touching the surface and were in that air fence before the fence came back down. Red flags were being waved ferociously as the other racer’s continued on unaware of Jed’s fate. A few seconds later, after rooting around deep within the tyre fence, a man emerged and stood up, resting himself on the airfence beside his impact point. A collective sigh of relief washed down the spectators box and Ross walked over, shouting how certain he was that Jed was dead. “You can’t go in to a fence at that speed and survive.”
And he was right. Jed was travelling at full speed when he skipped across the gravel and hit that fence. It’s a long straight leading up to that hairpin and these 400′s are quick. How he is standing there, talking to the paramedics, who had arrived shortly afterwards, is a miracle.
We had a moment of reflection, Ross and I, as we watched the bloke get his laptop out the case, and then proceed to upload a photo, presumably of the crash, to somewhere. Instant coverage…
Our day was coming to an end anyway by this point but we watched a few more races and then headed back to the paddock to speak to Stuart before heading home.
I got home and after having a shower and my tea, I sat down to transfer my day’s catch on to the computer. I was interested to see how the black and white ones came out, as well as my longer exposure ones (the really blurred fast looking ones).
And then Jed’s sequence appeared on screen.
It’s been a bit of a thinker for me tonight as I cropped these photos for YamYam. In the photographs of Jed travelling across the gravel, I can see his eyes in one. I said to Em, “This would have a completely different significance had Jed not been so lucky” to which she replied, “you’re full of joy tonight.”
But it’s true. In any number of ways Jed could have not have been so fortunate. His bike could have skipped up at the last minute making him miss the air fence…etc. etc. And this photo would have been the last moment of his existence. His last point of being in the world.
On every Knockhill ticket it states “WARNING MOTORSPORT CAN BE DANGEROUS. Despite the organisers taking all reasonable precautions, unavoidable accidents can happen. In respect of these, you are present at your own risk.”
“…you are present at your own risk”.
I couldn’t help think that the risk involved for us isn’t getting hit by a flying motorcycle or car, it is having to possibly watch someone die in front of us. I mean, I enjoy racing, I enjoy watching it and despite the slightly demonic inclination, I enjoy when people crash (don’t try and take the moral high ground here either, I know you like a good crash or two). But as long as they get up I can feel ok about it, I mean they know what they are getting in to. Right?
Right. But in the same token, this weekends racing made me really think about what these guys bet every time they get on that track. This wasn’t a professional race, it was probably a Dentist or Accountant on his weekend thrill seeker. And the moments before his demise would have been crystallised in startlingly clear digital pixels on my amateur camera in my amateur hands.
Despite the enjoyment I get from motorcycle racing, I don’t know if I like the risks involved, if I’m honest with you.
Like a freight train, only smaller…
Weekly Update 3 – 28/07 – 06/08
It’s been an eventful week and a bit, more so towards the end of the week but nevertheless, eventful.
I was off for a week following 2 weeks of utter exhaustion. I was glad to get time off to get my brain pointing the right way, but it took 2-3 days for the transition. I did weekly update 2 during that time so was a bit spaced out. Towards the end of the week both Blair and I went out for a quick trip, it’s been a long time since our last outing and the weather looked ok.
We decided to head around the coast via Leven to St. Andrews, “East looks the brightest so lets go that way” Blair said. Ok.
Within 10 minutes of being on the bike I was soaked, we drove through a torrential downpour only to get to overcast skies. It did start to clear up the closer we got to the coast and dried up in time for us to get some fast corners in. We arrived in St. Andrews with the sun shining and we stopped for petrol.
“You going to give me a shot to the beach?” Blair asked.
“No, I want to rumble through the streets.”
And rumble we did, it was glorious. We got through the streets and got to the beach, where the remnants from the Open (golf tournament) still stood. We had a quick look about, Blair called his lady and I called Em to see how she was getting on but she didn’t answer. Probably because she was getting scoofed with her work colleagues in the middle of Edinburgh but that’s another story.
I gave Blair the MT for our ride home and he was loving it. Every time I got close he would tear away, leaving my open visored face reverberating from both the shockwave and the sound from the exhausts. He did sit really close to the middle line as I was trying to see the right hand side of the bike (the best bit) and he wouldn’t take the hint and move over, so I just had to make do with the left. A few dodgy manoeuvres from Blair thrown in to the mix as always and it was a good day out.
All he said was “yeah, it’s great” when we arrived at my house for the switch back.
That was Saturday, covered around 100miles.
Sunday came and I decided to head to Lochgilphead to visit my Aunty and Uncle. Em and I got ourselves ready to go, complete with tankbag and rucksack, love handles etc and we were off by 10:30am.
Quick nip in to Perth Broxden services for fuel, where the till woman came out to see the bike because “I’m just being nosey”, Em filled in that she had a bike too. A fella on a Ducati Multistrada rumbled in beside me before I ba-boomed the MT in to life. We were taking the usual route of Lochearnhead up to Tyndrum, back road to Inverary and up the coast to Lochgilphead. Stopping in Tyndrum for some chow, which was pretty good, the weather remained decent, with only a small spattering now and again. I had fish, Em had sausage…
We carried on West after our lunch and the roads were on off wet/greasy. Arriving just before Invarary I was suddenly aware of this small, slow moving thing going in front of my bike. Realising it was a frog, I could do nothing but hold my course…spllaaaafff.
I stopped at Inverary to fill up quickly and then finish the journey, which we did in about 25 minutes.
I love Lochgilphead. It’s just a fantastic place to be. If I had the chance, I would move there in a heartbeat. We had a quick bite to eat (read 3 different types of cakes) and caught up with both Aunt/Uncle and Mum and Dad who headed up earlier than us. They were surprised to see us (Mum and Dad) even though I told them the DAY BEFORE that I was heading up with Em. Oldies…
We then headed back, which was a total killer. Emma got a bit tired and was losing concentration (if you can do such a thing as a pillion….hahaha Em) so because we were following Dad in his car, I suggested/forced Em to relax and get in the car. She wasn’t happy at all with this, but later admitted that it was good to have a rest. I trucked on and headed in to a massive rain storm, arriving at Mum’s totally drenched.
Em quickly got her gear on at Mum’s and we nipped back to our house, 5 minutes down the road, soaked.
And that concluded the weekend. Too fast.
The following week was good until Wednesday night, when I got to the roundabout at Kinross and I was quickly aware that the bike felt weird. I ran a bit wide on the first corner, got to a mini roundabout and the bike was all over the place. I stood up on the pegs and looked over the front to see if the front wheel was ok, as it felt like it was going to come off. All fine there, so that left only the rear tyre as the next logical place to look. Pancake doesn’t quite say it.
By the time I got to the turn for my street the tyre was as flat as you could get a tyre. The MT is a heavy bike (quarter tonne) so even when the tyres are inflated it’s hard to shift it round corners. When a rear tyre of this gurth (190 section) is flat on a bike this heavy, it’s near impossible to steer it. Aye you can try turning the bars, but the rims were pretty much on the deck if it wasn’t for the rubber squeezed between it and the road.
I trundled up the street passing many a teenager, feeling like a total muppet. Got home to see this:
The silver scrapes on the rim are from Hagon re-truing the wheel after the SB farce.
So pretty annoyed, and had to get the bus the past few days including today when I was stuck on the bus for over an hour due to the most anti-climatic “serious accident” I’ve ever seen. Tailbacks to dear-knows where, ambulances up the middle of traffic (2 of) and numerous police cars, all for a 5 car fender bender. I have footage. Here it is:
So that’s been my week. New tyre is being fitted today, a Metzeler Z6 which is fundamentally the same as the Pirelli Diablo Stradas, bar the fact that the Stradas have “better technology and grip” in them. Stuart doesn’t seem to mind, so that means I don’t either.
Can’t wait to get my beast back. This is a taster though of what it will be like in winter when I sell my GSR…more on that next week.
Thanks for looking all, keep doing it or I’ll not have the motivation.
All the best for the coming week,
Gordon
50,000 miles and counting
On Sunday the 2nd May I crested the 30,000 mile mark on the GSR, just over 2 years after buying it. It was a weird feeling really, I was excited about it, enough to show Emma whilst we headed down the motorway sliproad (“Aye, very good” she said)
But at the same time as being excited about crossing another milestone I couldn’t help but remember what 30,000 miles has done to the GSR’s health. Anyway,
Since Jan 2007 I have covered over 50,000 miles on 6 different motorcycles: Yamaha MT-03, Buell Xb12Ss Lightning, Kawasaki ER-6N, Suzuki GSR600 and my latest Yamaha MT-01. It’s a good feeling knowing that I am beginning to get in to territory that relatively few bikers (in the UK anyway) reach, and I’ve only been riding for 3 and a half years.
It’s funny how I’ve come full circle from first getting my MT-03, and then swearing never to return to Yamaha after the way they treated the “incident”. But I am so glad I did, because my excitement for motorcycles and love of being a biker has been reignited, and it’s raging out of control. I had become complacent and the daily drudge in to work on my bike resulted in it being just another day whenever I sat on it.
I am also glad that I chose the MT as my new steed. It’s crazy how many people have gone out of their way to comment on it since I got it 2 weeks ago. I’ve never had anyone come up to me like that since owning the Buell 2 years ago. I think it’s something to do with the V-Twin roar, or the oddball looks but whatever it is, people warm to it.
So I shall continue on and on, sitting upon 2 wheels every day as my A to B.
I must say a little word about the tragic death of a biker just down the road from me. Saturday was a glorious day to be out on the bike, and we were out as well. It seems that no matter how nice the weather there are still people dying on their bikes. I always feel sad for these unfortunate people, but always always sceptical. I don’t know why really, but whenever I hear of a biker dying, I always think of the biker doing something wrong or riding beyond theirs or the conditions limit. Sometimes its just a freak coming together in the middle of nowhere.
My scepticism isn’t helped much after witnessing a bunch of high-vis clad bikers wobbling all over the road on Saturday, one of which left his indicator on for 10 minutes. I want to stop these bikers and slap their dishes. Get a grip. Ride safer. But then why should I?
Take care out there please, and keep your head screwed on.
Onward.
YY
YamYam’s Top 10 Posts Ever.
So whilst I await the melting of the Fife Ice Caps, I shall collate some data…Geek Style.
I am always amazed at how sparse reviews are for products, or how biased a lot of reviews seem to be. Motostrano Blog said it excellently:
“I rarely read product reviews these days. They are all advertisements and we know it- pure fantasy. On the other hand, there’s the ‘discussion forums’ where you can read countless essays written by lonely males holed up in their mancaves about the products they’ve purchased, sharing with others the ins and outs of why the product they invested in is so great. Of course it’s great, you bought it and you’re actually wasting life hours writing about it. We beat our chests about the little gizmos and gadgets we’ve been able to scrounge up on our hunting and gathering missions out in the shopping wilderness. Heading back to camp with our gear speared on a stick- which is really a lonely little desk away from the kids or wife – we review the goods, inspect it, try it on, pose in action shots in front of the mirror, perhaps in our underwear, perhaps dressed up in our leathers in the garage. Then, as if to map out a terrain that no other fellow savage has explored, we set up to transpose our inner most thoughts on digital paper about whatever it is we just bought, signaling to other tribe members where to go and what to see along the adventure.”
So it’s with great satisfaction and indeed pride, that I have been complimented on my reviewing technique and detail. This is probably why (and you will see soon enough) my reviews are the most popular out of my posts. Naebody cares about me seeing a plane almost hitting the Forth Road Bridge. They want to know why I think the Puma Desmo’s were the best boot ever made.
Anyway, lets move along. I give you the top 10 favourite posts on YamYam ever (in descending order):
#10: Review: Respro “Foggy” Anti-fog Mask
#9: Review: Puma Brutale Gore-Tex Boots
#8: Update: AGV GP-Tech Helmet
#6: Review: Shark RSI “Eden” Helmet
#5: Yamaha MT-03
#4: Review: Puma Desmo 800 Boots
#3: Tutorial #1: How to change grips and handlebars
#2: Kawasaki ER6n
The most popular post on YamYam ever is, surprise surprise:
#1: Review: AGV GP-Tech Helmet
So there you have it. I think the reason is I got the GP-Tech really early, as in first batch. This allowed me to get a head-start and offer the viewing public a chance to see what this new helmet was like before going out to purchase it themselves.
It’s a good indication of what people are after when looking around the interweb for motorcycle type stuff.
I hope you enjoyed reading the top 10 posts, but also have a wee look around the archives at the non-review stuff. You might be pleasantly surprised…or endlessly bored.
All the best
Gordon
Gentlemen, Start your engines
Work finished at the usual 5:30pm and I was quick in getting away from the office due to me wearing my Hardas and Furygan. It was typically uneventful and the warm breeze was nice as I tottered along.
As I approached the curve on the A8000 the traffic was at a standstill and in front there was a CBR thou which had passed me earlier on. We began filtering through the cars, which were stopped, pretty strange even in the worst queue to the bridge.
As we headed along the big straight I glanced up at the overhead info sign and it said “Forth Road Bridge – Closed.” What? Did I read that right? Closed? It’s not windy…hmm
So we continued to filter, but at a quick lick, both of us knowing that there was an accident somewhere along the way. It was quite cool filtering with the CBR boy as he was quite fast at filtering, so we were weaving in and out of the cars, which were standstill still….still… when we finally got to the front there was around 30 bikers all standing around with their helmets off chatting away. It was bizarre! I pulled up behind the CBR and a bloke on a Transalp started chatting to me, asking what was going on and I was like, “I have no idea!?”
So after a few minutes we both shut our engines off and got off and started chatting about commuting to Edinburgh and my GSR, which he said was in great nick! Cheers matey! He asked what it was like and I said it was good and once you get over the throttle issue its great.
We continued to chat for 10 minutes, all the while some car driver is peeping his horn unintentionally as he tries to get his jacket off, without getting out the car. By this time the CBR bloke had his helmet and gloves off and was nodding along to the Transalp boy who was in full flow.
And then, what can only be described as an exact replication of the Suzuka 8 Hour endurance race, the lights changed to green and all the bikers ran for their bikes! I had kept my helmet and gloves on so that when this time came I could get going but you should have seen some of the bikers grappling at their gear to get away quick.
I got on my bike and started it up, Transalp getting his helmet and gloves on quite quick. CBR boy was taking ages and did a redliner as he tried to get things co-ordinated. I said cheerio to Transalp and then 30 bikes shot off from the lights. It was breathtaking and such a cool feeling. The variety of engines was amazing too, from deep harley twins to the litre sporters, we were all in full swing and it was glorious.
We then adopted a staggered formation all the way across the bridge, me being about 4th from the front, and cruised across the bridge. It was something else I tell you and I wish I had got my camera out (like one bloke did) and took a photo.
Anyway, I then headed home and noticed that my screen that I had fitted back on last night was ace. Takes so much of the wind blast off my chest and makes the bike more slippery through the air, which in turn makes accelerating quicker. Brilliant!
Turns out that a lorry had crashed and from what I could see, took another 4-5 cars with it. Hope no-one was hurt.
A great moment however and I am sure most of the other bikers were loving it too. This is why we do it!
Cheerio for now,
3 days to go!! HO HO HO HO HOH OH O HO OO HOHO I can’t wait!
Gordon
Last Chance Cafe & Crash update
Hello all,
Firstly the quote for damage to my bike has came in.
After I dropped my bike off etc I gave Stuart a call back the next day and we chatted about what to do. The options were that he orders some of the parts and he plastic welds and paints the fairings, or just orders all the parts except the fairings and tries to make them look as un-broken as possible.
So the option two was better because 1: it was £200 cheaper and 2: Stuart is a wizard and I’m sure he can make it look presentable.
The parts list was a new front brake lever, a new right hand peg, a new engine casing, new rear brake lever and a new gear shifter. This all comes to £212, with labour etc totalling it at £284.
I was a bit surprised as I got a quote for the peg and lever at Edinburgh Kawasaki and it was £60 for the peg and £30 for the lever. Which means that for £122 I am getting the engine casing, rear brake lever and gear shifter…I got a new rear brake lever for the MT-03 and it cost me £15, so say another £15-£20 for the gear shifter and it leaves £92 for the engine casing. It is a cast lump but £92 for f*ck sake. OEM parts eh…
So yeah it’s all good on that front, I was expecting at least £400 of work, but I suppose the fairing would cost a bit anyway.
Bike should be ready to go this week some time. I can’t wait because it means I will be moving on for the final time. And this time I have to get the right bike.
I was looking at the Z750 before and I was totally dead set. I had read the reviews online and they all pointed to a nice bike. But then I read my BIKE magazine, which I respect 100% and they said the Z was completely crap, bottom of the table in a shootout with a Street Triple, Hornet, Fazer and a GSR600.
They said the forks were crap, the power was pretty gutless, the handling was good but the whole experience was disconcerting and very uncomfortable. I was really disappointed. Then I read the reviews for the other bikes and although the Street Triple didn’t really come out top in anything tables wise, it was their pick of the bunch. Fair enough, but they forgot to mention the ludicrous pillion pegs. This was a one person bike from the off, which was also disappointing.
The I looked at the Fazer, which had a pretty duff write up as well. But it was closely matched to the GSR600. Which my brother has.
Upon reading the review the GSR was left in pretty good light, with great power, great handling and great looks, but fell on tank size and snatchy throttle issue.
It left me thinking…What do I want from a bike?
I want:
• Comfortable
• Fast
• Stability
• 180 rear section
• Comfy 2 up riding
• Good dials
• Good lights
• Nice posture
• Quality build.
The GSR has pretty much all of those, with exception to the tank range, which tops at 140 miles by BIKE standards, which is what I am getting with the ER6 at the minute so no change there.
I would have had a GSR off the bat had the throttle issue not been there. Basically when going from no throttle to introducing the throttle there is a lurch. Going from Positive throttle to rolling off the throttle, there is a negative lurch. This not only is annoying but it unsettles the bike mid-corner and can be quite dangerous should you forget about it.
However upon reading the GSR forum for a bit, I came across the o2 sensor eliminator fix, which you buy for £18 and it fixes the snatchy throttle. It does this because as a standard bike the GSR runs lean, to pass fuel emission regulations. This means that at low throttle openings the bike lurches about. This o2 eliminator tricks the bikes ECU in to running rich, which removes the lurchyness.
If this works, then I think the GSR would be a great bike.
But with all this said, I have to remember one thing: This will be the very last chance to get it right. I have had 3 bikes in a year and I can’t go on like this. So I think I will go for the GSR, which will make me have the same bike as my brother but I like the looks, it sounds amazing and has everything going for it. But should this O2 Eliminator not work, I could have to put up with it for at least 3 years. Anyway, I am just glad the ER6 is going, because it’s unsafe.
Sorry for the long post folks!
Thanks for looking again,
Gordon
Update & Good Deal Ahoy
Hello all.
A wee update. Dropped bike off at Jackson Bikes and called the owner of the Motorcycle Repair division. He said he had already faxed the pricing list off and I should hear by the end of the day, which I would have if I hadn’t been so busy at work. So tomorrow I will know the damage money wise.
I am really sore today, arms are killing me, as well as a sore back and neck. It’s wierd that it has taken this long for the pain to show. Ah well.
I will try and get the bike restored to former “glory” in prep for trading it in.
I ordered stickers a while back, 20th Dec I think and today they arrived! I am really pleased with the results, fantastic quality and superb colour representation. See pictures below for an over the top look at them!
Basically for 20 stickers at 10cm x 4.3cm, glossy finish and thick vinyl material it was £12.10 inc P+P! Unbelievable value!
So without further adeau (Click “Read the rest of this post” to see the rest)
Thanks for looking!!
YamYam
Aircraft…Motorcycle Investigation.
So having studied the forensic evidence, I have come to the conclusion that on the night of January 8th, at around 8:30pm, YamYam had a road traffic incident for the reason: He was an idiot.
There were many contributing factors to why I crashed yesterday. Lack of food, FR bridge being shut, the cold, the rain, the lack of visibility, tiredness. I should have went slower when I couldn’t see properly, but hindsight is always better.
It was a split second decision to follow what I thought was the road and it took another split second to realise it wasn’t actually the road I thought it was. These 2 split second decisions led to me flying through the air and coming less that 1 foot to either serious injury or a fatality.
I have compiled an official report of this incident and I have included it below. Please note, this is an official road traffic accident report and is to be read with care and attention.
So there you go.
Having inspected the damage further it seems like the only serious damage is to the gear shifter. Which as bent upwards. The other stuff is mainly cosmetic, the engine case, the front fairing, the crash mushrooms and the front mudguard. All of this will hopefully be taken care of with minimum expense with the local garage.
I’ll keep you updated as I get info and will hopefully still keep to my schedule of January 24th for my new bike, which is a shock decision….a Suzuki GSR 600.
Next post will be why.
Thanks for looking folks and thanks for the support from the UK GSR forum, www.suzuki-gsr.co.uk
YamYam
YamYam Motorcycle Accident #2
Hello everyone.
Last night I had a pretty major accident. I made a video of the damage and explain what happened. I’ll add a diagram of it in a mo.
2nd day on the bike in 2008 and a major crash notched up already. Bring on the rest of the year…
