Last Sunday I was belting down the A30 on the homeward run after a weekend in Bristol, pondering what the effect of catastrophic disintegration of bevel box internals might be at a tad and a half over 70. It may not have been wise to put the broken bits back in, but it seemed to work ok, - so far. I eased off the throttle for a while, but soon the other little voice comes on the internal intercom "Oh sod it, just get home and worry about it later"
So this week the evenings have been mainly working myself up to fitting the reconditioned box that arrived from Motorworks the day I left for Bristol. I'm sure that all the bits that matter - inside, are all perfectly good, but for over £200 I wasn't expecting such a grimy grotty housing, still with the previous owner's road grit, grease, and instant gasket remnants hanging round the mounting studs.
In between scothbrite and WD40 sessions, I have been gathering thoughts of where to take the bike at the end of May - if I can everything sorted by then. Spain won't go away from my mind, so a few searches around on the Internet, and conversations with friends have led me to The Decision.
It's going to be... Spain, to Santander on the ferry, then, well, Spain, - returning through France and back via Roscoff. Two weeks.
That's as far the plans have got - except I have booked the tickets, which has made it real.
It's a good feeling. However, all those little niggly things that have occurred as needing to be sorted 'sometime' and then get forgotten, now all reappear as a long checklist, with lots of unticked boxes. Front tyre is getting close to needing replacing - will it last 2500 miles ( I expect to cover at least that) - so have ordered a new Avon SM Mk2. Deliberated over pros and cons of replacing the current SM with an Avon Triple Duty Sidecar tyre - the classic choice for sidecarists (if that is what we are). No-one around to advise me, except a salesperson telling me the difference between them (apart from the price) is the long wearing qualities of the Triple Duty. That made my mind up to go for the SM, - on the grounds that it will probably be more sticky, and I could do with all the grip I currently have. Spike recommended the SM originally and it has lasted about 5 years, so enough deliberation...
Today I put the 'new' box in, and it all seemed to line up etc. No reason why it shouldn't, but you never know. Frighteningly, when I emptied the oil ot of the old one, chunks of metal (I mean big bits, not just fragments ) fell out. The magnetic plug looked liked a miniature Christmas tree with iron filings clinging in a conical pattern and larger fragments of metal interspersed like decorations.
It took me back to last Sunday's thoughts on the Bodmin bypass, - if I had known then what I saw now, I think I would have stuck to a quarter of the speed I was doing.
The next task of the day didn't go so well. I knew I was taking a bit of a chance renewing the wheel bearings as the received wisdom seems to be to leave it to specialists on account of accurate shimming required to set the correct preload on the taper rollers. However, since I came back from my Spring trip, the play in the back wheel is worryingly large, so needs to be sorted before the trip. Motorworks reckoned that the new ones go straight in most times, as they should be the same thickness as the old ones.
It was the first time I've had a go at this, and it took ages to figure out how to get the old ones out safely and cleanly (despite consulting Haynes, and Snowbum), - and making sure I know the exact position of the countless, collars, spacers, sleeves, washers... and God knows what.
That was as far as I got when I had to pack up for the day. More tomorrow....
On that note, I hear rain falling!
