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Just as I managed to tick bike related 'things to do' off the list, more appeared to take their place. The ignition light decided to play up by not going out properly after the hard run back from Bristol last month. The next day it seemed to working fine so I tried to ignore it in the hope that it must have been just a poor contact at the brushes. There are plenty of cautionary tales about the folly of  believing electrics have the ability to self-repair, so when it occasionally returned over the next couple of weeks I decided I really must have a look inside.

Any self-respecting BMW owner would be appalled at my reticence, as it a simple job to get at the brushes - just whip off the front engine cover and there they are. However, when you have your way impeded by a sidecar mounting designed by Heath Robinson in collaboration with the local scaffolding contractor, it does put you off a bit.

When I got to the brushes they looked fine, - a bit near to the end of their wear limits, but still ok. The mounting they sit in wasn't quite square on its fixing, so a good clean up and re-alignment seems to have done the trick.

The next trip was to North Devon over the Mayday weekend. A great trip to an area that I bypass too often on leaving the West Country. I do love the A39, even the naff touristy bits go through some of the most beautiful places.

Another little glitch with the electrics when it refused to turn over on the starter button - just went clackeddy-clack - had me worried for a moment. It bump-started easily and there hasn't been another hint of a problem since. I have bought a back-up battery for the trip just in case. I think it may a problem with the alternator over-charging, which may explain the problem in France when the previous battery boiled dry. It's something to sort out when I do the timing chain, methinks. In the meantime I shall drive with the lights on, to hopefully pull some of the excess charge off. No doubt someone who knows about these things will tell me that that is a pointless measure, - I look forward to receiving any wisdom on the subject!

In barnstaple a man came up to me outside a pub that he managed in a little street just outside the town centre. I am often approached like this, and I always enjoy sharing a few moments of bike-and-sidecar chat, apart from the ones who can only manage "WHERE'S GROMMIT THEN!!??" - I don't particularly mind the comment if it really makes their day, but somehow it just doesn't show any effort on their part at making conversation...
Anyway, this time, I was amazed to be told that he used to own the sidecar, and had sold it to the person I bought it off. We spent a very happy half hour exchanging information and stories about the old Palma. It was he who had fitted the mini hydraulic brake, the rack, rollbar, and towbar, and who had also had the 15" car rim made up that was now on the rear of the bike, - although it had a different bike in his time.

I had previously heard what I thought was a legendary tale of someone once managing to turn a sidecar over at speed, - and it was him. He recounted the details to me which involved a high speed tyre blow-out on a motorway with his friend in the chair, sending himself clear of the bike, but trapping his friend between the bike and the chair as it hurtled along the road wheels pointing to the sky. Luckily they both survived with only minor injuries. A real sidecar enthusiast!

The final weekend preparations included
- fitting the new front tyre - which has made a fantastic difference to the steering and general handling
- re-aligning the front calipers - they went out of alignment when I took the wheel out to fit the tyre
- putting a new sidelight housing on the front of the sidecar - identical to the original which was held on with glue which made changing the bulb a bit of a hassle
- re-aligning the sidecar (again) - I think I'm getting the hang of it now
- and of course the tappets  - 0.0005" down on both exhausts, so I'm happy with that
- oil change - not quite due, but better to do too soon than leave it too late
- refixing the rear indicator (again) - this time with a new nut and bolt that won't budge.

So that brings me up to date... All ready to go; new tank bag; new maps; a tank full of petrol and, ohh yes - and a Spanish phrase book...

Will let you know when I'm back - hopefully with a few pics...

...asta luego!

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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!

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It was an adventure of discovery and rediscovery of places and people I love. There were also adventures of the mechanical kind that give me the sense of journey that define my relationship with this hunk of metal. 

By the time I took it for it's first run after the engine rebuild, it had a much smoother and resilient engine, with a new starter motor to get all the new bits spinning. The old one tried but just didn't seem to have the motivation any longer. Hardly surprising when I took it out. I say 'took' it out, but it was more like 'pick' it out, as it was literally cracking up, poor thing.

The first time I drove the outfit up the track to try it out, I did so without the body on the sidecar. I can't remember if there was a rational reason for omiting this rather vital component, other than impatience to get the feel of my new engine. Just to the end of the track, I told myself - until, of course, I got to the end of the track. It sounded lovely and there was no way I was going to turn round and come back. Suddenly it seemed important to at least put it through all the gears, so off we went down the road, minus the body. It felt light and rearing to go. At the first roundabout, I hesitated for only a moment before taking off up the bypass which goes up a fairly gentle but sustained hill for about half a mile to the next roundabout. It flew up, and my heart soared with it.

By the time I got to the top, and recovered my senses, I had completely re-entered that feeling of being on it and part of it. Only a very small part of me was keeping an eye on all the things you should watch for after a re-build. Momentarily I had the sense to focus on the newness of everything as I exitted the roundabout to bomb back down the hill to home. I made a sweeping inspection of the bike before my planned triumphant blast homeward. Oops, the battery, normally held on a rack braced against the sidecar body, was hanging perilously on the edge, about to drop off. I slowed but not soon enough to stop it toppling on to the road, bouncing, and sliding to a halt, dragged along by the cables that held fast.

"Bloody good wiring" I thought to myself as I sheepishly restrapped it to its holder, and made my way gingerly home, reminding myself that there was a lesson to be learnt here...

By the time it came to go way everything seemed to have settled down nicely, and I set off on the weekend that the storms were forecast for most of the country. I had new oil, and full set of tools, clothing and camping equipment, - but not much fuel. First stop for petrol, and I remembered my cautionary tale about checking everything. What else could possibly need checking, - aha, tyres I thought. They were fine, but I am so glad I did, for the sidecar wheel was a bit wobbly. A bit wobbly?! This sounds like an ingredient for a scene from 'Wallace and Grommit meets Buster Keaton'. Images of flying wheels, spinning outfit, - and hospital beds, filled my mind for a few self-admonishing moments, although the potential for humour didn't escape my slightly warped mind.

So half an hour later, I set off, with a properly adjusted wheel bearing, and 130 miles to my next destination. At traffic lights in Taunton I became aware that the back brake was not functioning as well it should. Nothing was visible, so I decided to carry on with a promise to inspect it properly at the next opportunity, which turned out to be the next day, when I discovered a small amount of oily grease leaking from the brake housing.

I holed up the next day and took it all apart to find the oil seal in the bevel box had failed. It was the day of the storms, so it was a good time to take it apart. I cleaned it all up, and decided to carry on but run the bevel box low on oil to reduce the chance of it leaking, until I could replace the seal when I got home. It worked, well almost, and didn't give me any more trouble until the last few days, when I got used using the sidecar brake for routine stopping rather than only for getting round left handers in a hurry.

The trip took me round Dorset, and Wiltshire and to Oxford, then to the Cotswolds by a cicuitous route, and up to the Peak District, returning to Cornwall on the A39 from Glastonbury. I love that road, romantically called The Altantic Highway as it follws the North Devon coast down to Cornwall and on to Falmouth. On the last day, I found myself exploring Exmoor in fabulous weather after camping on the edge of the Quantock Hills.

The day before I had got extremely cold. By the time I had got to Glastonbury I realised that, although I knew I was cold, I had stopped feeling it. In fact I didn't feel very much at all apart from a fearsome headache, so I stopped for hot soup and tea. Half an hour later I realised I was starting to feel cold again, and reckoned I must have been experiencing signs of hypothermia. So I spent a happy hour or more walking around Clarks village and felt myself coming back to life, bought a lovely tent (to replace the completely useless the one I foolishly bought recently from a well known motor accessories chain store) and a set of ludicrous thermals! But boy, was I glad to have them! 

The trip was marked by some great riding experiences, not least of which was the A361 down to Avebury and on to Devizes. It was one of those rare occasions where just everything comes together, - the road, the weather, the bike, and the other traffic (or lack of it!), so that it was sublime.

Since coming back, I took apart the bevel box to discover the horror of a sheared off shaft on the crown wheel. It seems it has been like this for a while, the jagged irregular faces of the the surfaces being held in place by the housing. What with half worn splines, and the difficulty in fitting new parts to these boxes, it has come time for a replacement unit. I new it would happen one day, but didn't expect it so soon. Perhaps I really should stop taking it round corners on two wheels.

I have ordered a renovated box from Motorworks, together with new timing chain (I can hear it rattle a bit), which I am now waiting for.  In the meantime, I found the rear wheel bearings need replacing, and the front brake light switch has failed.

And I'm still waiting for Spike to let me know when he is ready to take it in to sort out the front sidecar mounting.

So, plenty to keep me going, and guessing whether it will get me round the next trip...

Before I go and post this on the blog, here, as snow and sleet fall all over England, is a reminder of what is just around the corner. No, I don't mean I'm just round the corner, it's the song, or at least the tune that goes with the song, - oh never mind... it's just me and my new tenor uke, ok?:

Bye for now...

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http://www.youtube.com/user/DickAskew

If you like it let me know!

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This is my route through France, - the orange text shows the places that I stopped ovenight - each place just one night except Seillans where I stayed 3 nights.

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Well actually I've been back for over 6 weeks, so I'm sorry this is a little...well, shall we say... late, ..so to speak. Never mind. I thought I'd start with the picture I took to celebrate arrival at the mediterannean near Sete on Day 4 - nearly 1000 miles from Maenporth beach where I took the pre-trip pics at Easter. The contrasts are striking...

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This is going to be very short (makes a nice I hear everyone say!) as my target time for leaving is 6pm, - I have plenty of time for the ferry, but the weather is so perfect for a gentle ride up to Plymouth it will be great to do while the sun is still shining.

I feel like I should, at this point, be making some kind of speech, where I  thank my Agent, my Friends and Family, without whose support etc etc etc. It would be a bit OTT though so I won't, and it's 5 past 6 now,...so I will say cheers to All, and leave you with the image I started with...

Au revoir...!

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I have been confident the bike was ready for a week now, and have kept going over it in my mind throught the week trying to think of anything I have missed, but there has been nothing. I checked it on Wednesday and everything seemed fine. So I planned to get the last few things I need today (including tent pegs!), bring the bike over from it's residence, pack, and spend a leisurely day tomorrow chilling out and making my way to Plymouth for the night ferry early in the evening.

You will have guessed by now something isn't right (there's a clue in the title). I went to collect the bike this afternoon and the rear tyre was flat. Now so disastrous you might think but it isn't entirely straightforward to fix. By the time I had the wheel off, and took it to the nearest tyre place,everywhere was closing for the day, and few will be open tomorrow. So here I am with part a day left and minus a wheel. I could see the whole of my trip, my dream dissolving before me. Both places I went to basically told me I'm stuffed. The tyres (same as 2CV car tyres) have become rarities, and no one can even start sourcing one until Monday. I may be able to get away with just an inner tube, but that may be as difficult to get hold of on a Sunday in Cornwall.

I pumped the tyre up and air hisses out 3 small incisions roughly equally spaced on the outside wall, each about the size of the tip of an electricians screwdriver. I can't help but be suspicious of foul play...

Right now I am absolutely gutted, almost too much to write this.

So..I have to look at some options.

It is not impossible that, with determination and a lucky break or two, I might just find someone who can fix it tomorrow and still be on my way by the evening. Even if it takes until Monday or Tuesday I can change the ferry ticket and go a bit later. Or I give in gracefully and take the car to France instead of the bike, so at least I get away in time to meet up with my friends next weekend.

I will give it my best shot.

If no more blog entries appear over the next couple of days, assume I just made it by the skin of my teeth, and had no time to tell the outcome, or that I didn't and I am in a complete state of utter dejection!

On that happy note I shall go.

If anyone knows of a source of 2CV tyres/inner tubes within easy reach of Truro Falmouth tomorrow, - do let me know...

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Lots has happened since I last wrote a just over a week ago. The weather has been absolutely appalling and I succumbed to leaving the bike at it's other home - under cover. That's usually an ideal way to make the weather improve, but not this time.

So this week I have mainly concentrated on getting all my camping gear together. Quite an education having not frequented outdoor type shops for - ooh, about 30 years or so!

I now have:
A Tent: borrowed not bought
Sleeping bag
Airbed - no, not just because I'm a softy - its smaller than a sleeping mat 
Stove
Mug
Billy can
Torch

What I haven't got:
State of the art knife fork and spoon set - I shall use a single spoon + my trusty Swiss army knife.

I took a pic of me with my gear for your edification on the art of self sufficiency. It included the Swiss army knife my daughter bought me many years ago. It may not be a genuine SAK, but it has served me well. Admittedly, the cork screw broke the first time I used it, but who needs to open bottles of wine when you can dig stones out of horse hooves - and more?

I've decided the picture is really naff so here's a picture of my crash helmet instead, resplendent with it's new visor. Many thanks to Claude Agius for supplying it - the helmets are no longer made so it was quite a job tracking one down.

Beauty!

That's it for now...

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With just 2 weeks left before I'm due on the overnight ferry from Plymouth everything is nearly in place. The bike is running ok and the time has come for me to start treating it with a little more respect for it's age and stay within it's stress limits. Bother.

Last weekend was spent fiddling with the front sidecar fixings to raise the back end a little to stop it scraping on the ground. With a lot of head scratching, assorted bricks, scraps of wood, borrowed spanners and a measure of BFI*, the solution emerged as a relatively simple matter of twisting various brackets to push the front end of the sidecar downwards by a very small amount. This had the effect of raising the back end enough to stay clear of the ground on all but the bumpiest of surfaces.

A week later and everything seems to be pretty much in the same place as when I had tightened it all up. Some, more mountainous, speed bumps still give rise to the tell-tale graunch of metal on asphalt - unless I angle my approach slightly to take the more severe ones obliquely.

I took one last long run to satisfy myself nothing else is on the cusp of breaking, seizing, slipping or falling off. Glad I did, because it didn't sound happy the following day. I admit to running it at full belt for maybe a lot longer than I should, and I have to learn that I can't expect to do this without consequences.

Yesterday was pre-tour oil change day anyway, and I took the opportunity to check over general adjustments. The exhaust tappets had closed again. No wonder it wasn't sounding happy. It doesn't make sense to me, unless the valve seats I had fitted not so many miles ago aren't up to the job, but even then I would have thought it would take longer than that for the valves to work their way back into the head.

I have decided that in the short term I simply have to run the engine more respectfully, which won't be difficult on my trip as I will be avoiding long streches on autoroutes, and will only need to cover 200-300 miles per day. There will be no need to rush and plenty of lovely scenery to enjoy at a leisurely pace.

A further potential disaster in waiting became apparent yesterday. The upper left hand spark plug was loose - not a major problem except on closer inspection it was bringing the collar insert with it that had been fitted as a repair for the previously stripped thread in the head. The insert itself was threaded, so I gingerly tightened it as much as I dare. Luckily it seemed to go up fairly tight, but it will be something I must keep an eye on. I dare not try to remove the plug because it is going to bring the collar with it, so I will have to be in a position to take the bike off the road for a while if it turns out that the head needs further attention.

I have the feeling it will come to that eventually, but in the meantime it is a calculated risk that I won't need to remove the plug while in France. They are new this year so shouldn't be a problem.

The front brake is now bedding in nicely, especially since I realigned the front wheel in the forks again.

And I have fitted a nearside mirror so I will have an offside one in France - being really sensible now that the time is getting near.

That's about it for now. I was going to do a separate entry about the route I shall take, but it is essentially:

- south from Roscoff as far as poss or until I get fed up (2-3 days)
- turn left and go west until I get to Cannes or thereabouts (2-3 days)
- hang around there for a few days, meet up with friends unless I get lost, delayed, or distracted beforehand
- return by a different route (5 days)

I'm even thinking of not bothering to take a map - mmm - but that would be stupid - it is an idea though...

More next week I hope

*BFI - Brute force and ignorance.

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Since my elation at getting the bike back on Saturday, something's not quite right.

Before I rode it away from Spike's place I tested the back end with the customary standing on the rack and jumping up and down - and it all seemed fine. It's always been a bit close to the ground at the back, but never a problem. A couple of years ago, when I took brother Paul on the back, with Lydia in the sidecar from London to Trowbridge on the A4, it did scrape once or twice. It was fully laden with all my stuff as well as them, and it only happened a few times. Apart from that, it's never been a problem, - as long I remember to keep the tyres pumped up!  (Hope no-one from the BMW Club reads that - they'd be appalled at the very idea).

Anyway, it was great to have the bike back, and on Sunday I took it over to Stithians, only to discover that the back end was scraping on the ground again. Everything looked as Spike had left it, but the chair was definitely angled slightly upward to the front - and so down at the back. Nothing was coming adrift but something's been was going on, which I need to get to the bottom of.

I have stared and stared at it, and slowly a theory emerges. Logically the slight change in configuration must be to do with the repaired fixing. I will now put it ot the test, by comparing 'before' and 'after' pictures (such as I have) of the mounting.

I have to pause here and go and hunt among the pics...

Spot the difference!

                   The New        
compared to..         

                 The Old

Heath Robinson could not have thought up a more bizarre way of connecting a sidecar to a motorcycle - but there again...whoever thought up the idea in the first place?

If you look at the bar that comes from the sidecar (that's the end of the 'swan's neck' fitting) it was fixed beneath the intermediate bar, that was on the same level as the frame fixing.

The new fixing has it all roughly on the same level, i.e. the front of the sidecar is fixed higher than it was before. And therefore..by deduction my dear Watsonian..it's arse is on the ground.

I can't understand how it was OK when I picked it up...unless it has shifted since I collected it. Hmm...something to do with showing off to the kid in the car on the Carnon Downs by-pass? More likely a right hand slide methinks. I MUST stop DOING that.

So.. to solutions:

Loosen the fixings; jack up the rear (oh for Gods sake behave!); get the chair level.... and WELD everything in place. That should do it until Spike takes it back in the winter for a proper sorting out. Any thoughts.?....

All suggestions welcome...

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BMW Diary March 2007

I booked a week’s annual leave to get the bike ready for the MOT that’s due on 4 April. Last year Spike passed it, but I could tell he was not going to let me get away with minimal maintenance indefinitely. He had been very thorough, including checking the tow-in, which turned out to be ‘tow-out’ – a novel concept for sidecar set-up.

He told me to clean up the wheels and spokes, suggested I convert the old hybrid cable/hydraulic front brake to an all hydraulic system, and to correct the tow-in (out). When Spike advises, you shouldn't ignore him. Not if you want your next MOT certificate. Spike giveth and Spike taketh away.

So here I was a year on, with none of it done. My recent trips to Bristol and Gillingham had prompted me to do an oil change, and to check the tappets. Oil was black as it comes, 2 years old. Not good to have left it so long – not as a pedantic BMW owner should anyway. The tappets have been very weird since the top-end rebuild 2 years ago. It hasn’t done many miles since but how long should it take for new valve seats to settle in? I adjusted them before going to Gillingham, only to notice, on the way back the engine go quiet and lack oomph. At the time I tried to convince myself that it was my imagination, but sure enough they closed up, - in less than 300 miles!

If I’m going to do my trip to France, I’m going to have to make sure everything is about as right as it can be. There is so much that could or must be done on the bike, I decided to concentrate on getting it through the MOT and to worry about the rest of it later. Minimum standards will do for now.

Last week I bit the bullet and ordered a twin disc conversion set with handlebar hydraulic reservoir, and a pair of handlebars. A lovely big box of bits arrived from Motoworks a few days later. It was like peering into a big box of meccano – so many bits to choose from! Lovely shiny stainless steel braided brake lines – I almost squeeked with excitement.

On Monday, Day 1 of my week off, I stripped down the front forks to replace the right hand lower leg for one that will take the second caliper. To my horror found that the top washer was completely missing from the right hand fork leg! I always thought it looked a bit odd, but put it down to disintegrated rubber mounts on the headlamp brackets. Rather pleased though to find something that might improve the wheel wobble without major expense.

Not long after getting down to work, I was just rearranging some tools and stuff to give myself better working space, leaned over to grab something from a box, and bloody well pulled a back muscle. Ain’t it great being 50! It’s not the immediate pain that is excruciating; it is the realisation of the impact this is going to have for the next couple of weeks.

I discovered more parts that needed replacing during strip down:
·         gaiters – split or going that way;
·         S/S bolts (luverly!)for mudguard mounting  - (old ones completely seized in situ, and quite honestly couldn’t be arsed to fiddle around with heat and penetrating oil to get them out on the leg that was obsolete);
·         rubber bungs for the bottoms of the bottom legs.

I started arranging the new handle bars and thinking about routing cables etc.

The bars are magnificent.

I got rid of the the master cylinder beneath the tank, and fitted the second disc to the front wheel. By the end of the day thought I only had a few other jobs to do other than refitting everything and setting up the new brake system.

Tuesday turned out not as straightforward as I thought it would. It is quite amazing how I don’t learn from previous experience. How many times has it really worked out as planned? It was a day of problem solving –in a 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycling' sort of way. I assembled the new handlebars, with the levers etc just to see what they look like. Wow they are great, just as I imagined they should. Luckily the left hand wire loom that I made a couple of years ago was just the right length. Phew. I was expecting to have problems with the right hand wiring, but was pleasantly surprised to discover that the actual wiring was nothing like as bad as the original left hand side had been.

Was a bit worried about a 1-off fault that occurred on the journey to Exeter 3 weeks ago. The indicators had decided to act as hazard warning lights at the services on Dartmoor. At the time I did the normal wiggling of switches and wiring, which for once actually worked. It has never re-occurred, which is good except that knowing it has happened once, there is always the thought in the back of my mind that it will happen again. At first when something like this happens you are on the lookout for it, which is a bit of a strain in itself, because if it does happen when you are going along you need to do something about it pretty well straight away. It creates anxiety, or at least a preoccupation which distracts from the moment you are in. “Don’t worry - It may never happen” but “...it probably will”. Now, whilst poking around the switch gear, I couldn’t find any obvious cause.

However, one of the wires came adrift from the switch block. This may seem like a minor inconvenience, as the obvious thing to do would be to PUT IT BACK. If only life were that simple, - where the wire was soldered to the terminal originally was now knee deep in grease and close to the plastic switch body making a DIY solder job impossible, even if I was good at soldering - which I am not. The only way to definitely sort it out would be to send away for a new cable and switch and to wire it in to the main terminal board in the back of the headlamp shell. I really did not want to do all that for the sake of one little loose wire.

About 5 years ago I impulse bought one of those miniature drill kits for doing fine drilling and modelling etc. It was very cheap, and not good quality. I have only used it about 5 times, but of those at least 2 occasions have made it worth the outlay. The first time was when Oska accidently broke a pendant that his Dad had sent him from NZ. There was no way it could be glued so I drilled very fine holes in each surface, less than 1mm in diameter, broke the drill bit into lengths to use as dowelling and glued it all together again with the drill dowels as pins holding it together. Brilliant fix. Needless to say Oska lost interest in it shortly after. 

So back to the bike. I got the little kit out, still pristine in it’s cheap plastic case and found a suitably fine drill bit to drill down into the terminal giving a tubular hole just big enough to squeeze the bared wires down, and then crimped the tube giving a firm connection. It was pure dentistry!  

28 March 2007. 3^rd Day of working on the bike and still more to do! Parts arrived but gaiters don’t fit. They looked much less meaty than the ones that came off, although they are genuine BMW. When I tried one on to the stanchion, it was a sloppy fit round the top of the bottom leg, but worse, the top was far too big to clamp on to the stanchion. Motorworks explained straight away – you have to buy spacers to go in at the top – obvious really. They will send them today, post free which was good of them, although they didn’t guarantee I’d get them the next day. Spent the day cleaning and greasing wheel spokes, front and back. Just as Spike told me. A favourite job! Hasn’t been done for far too long.

I realise over and over again what a mistake it was to degrease so much of the external machine way back after I first did major work on it. Every part that hasn’t since been thoroughly greased up again has gone completely rusty. Not good for spokes, although by the looks of it, they were pretty much on the way to it before. I continued to suffer excruciating back ache and I’ve had enough of grease and mechanics. I

At times like this I want to give up and get a shiny new machine that I can just jump on and ride off. But it doesn't seem right somehow, at best unfulfilling, and at worst cheating. Like it’s just too easy. There is probably a deep and meaningful explanation of this that points to a severe flaw in my psychology. If so it really is about time I sorted it out, bought a modern trouble free machine and forget maintenance. 

Anyway I'm not going to sort out my character flaws before I get the here and now mechanical ones sorted. Apart from cleaning the rims and spokes I had the back wheel off. Brakes linings are thin but good. Ok for a few thou I should think. If I get twitchy about them going to France  I will change them, but probably pointless. That is what I’m finding about so much of what I have attended to in the past – it’s still good. This only goes to show just how little must have done in the last few years before I got it. Splines on the back were still well greased up, and I feel confident in that end of the transmission now.

Talking of electrics, not my favourite subject on BMW’s, there was another strange fault that developed on the way back from Exeter that caused me a severe problem trying to figure it out. I was approaching Truro when the lights flickered and I thought I saw sparks from somewhere down by the headlamp mounting brackets. Thinking there must be a loose wire adrift I pulled over and had a look. The short circuit that was causing the sparks was between the chaffed speedo cable and the headlamp mounting. On the face of it this should be impossible, as both are connected to the body engine and frame and should be earthed. Either the speedo cable or headlamp mounting must be live. It was very weird. My ever helpful neighbour, Treve,  helped provide the answer with a fancy meter he has that shows you which side of a circuit is live. (I could have done it with an ordinary meter but he was there with his before I could even go and look for mine.) It showed that it was the headlamp mounting that was live, - and the headlamp case, - and the ignition switch! All these are isolated from the frame by the rubber mountings of the headlamp mountings. V lucky or the whole lot would have been shorted out.  At best I wouldn’t have got home, at worst there would have been a fire, and it would have been goodbye to all the electrics and possibly the bike. When I took off the headlamp front the short circuit disappeared. Yet another mystery fault. I inspected the inside of the headlamp shell and rearranged things to make sure the headlamp does not press on anything when it is screwed into place. Hope it solves the problem.

Thursday The spacers didn’t arrive but I didn’t worry too much as I didn’t do much on the bike anyway as it was Freddie’s retirement do at work.

Friday, they still hadn’t come so I rang Motorworks. They hadn’t put them on the system, apologised profusely, and said they’d send them straight away and wouldn’t charge me for them. They arrived Saturday.

Saturday worked through until 8 o’clock. Thought I was going to get everything in place, with only final adjustments to do tomorrow. It wasn’t to be though, for the casing of the new 3-way splitter split!

Can’t do anything until Monday now.

Monday 2 April
Ordered another 3 way splitter from motoworks

Tuesday 3 April
It arrived, but I really couldn’t be arsed to go over to Stiths to fit it.

Wednesday 4 April
Fitted the replacement splitter after work, and ran through as much fluid as I had. It works but is very squishy. Nothing for it but to get some more brake fluid, by which time some of the air bubbles should have settled out. To be continued...

Good Friday 06 April 2007
Very slow start today for various reasons, not least of which, sleep deprivation combined with the first truly soporifically sunny day of the year. After the rigours of the previous week at work, and the unfulfilled efforts of the week before that, I just didn’t have the oomph to grapple with the final push to get the brakes set up properly. I need not have worried though, because in the event it all went ridiculously smoothly, and I test rode it round the village at around 5 pm.

By the time I was confident to take the outfit out for a proper blow, my whole feeling towards it was transformed. I cannot believe what a difference the new parts have made.I took it for a most enjoyable hack to Helston and back. It feels a completely different machine, easier to ride, more controllable (hence less stressful!) and most of all it stops when I want it to. It bodes most well for a European tour (a la France). 

I continue to tell my friends what I'm doing, in order to make me do it. My friend reckons a 29 yr old outfit being got together for a tour is worthy of a story, - hence the blog! 

So it is slowly becoming a reality. 

10 April 2007
Yes, it's back to normal, - work, - but still a nice thought that it's another short week. I decided to keep the bike with me for the week as the weather looks like it's going to stay fine. It is a joyous way to begin and end the day - especially when it's running well. 

But...as so often happens when everything’s going well..something has to go wrong. A constant lesson in life to never take anything for granted.  On the way home from work I slid round a right hander and the back end of the sidecar started grounding horribly. I stopped and could see the back end was definitely lower than usual, and if I stood on the chassis it immediately grounded. I just could not work out what was going on.  I took it gingerly back to Stithians for a proper look and discovered that one of the sidecar mountings had completely snapped!

There are 4 mountings, so the chair wasn’t in immediate danger of parting company Buster Keaton style, but it is still a major systems failure – a disaster!  

It probably happened either when I went too fast over a level crossing with Tim in the sidecar on Saturday, or when I slid the bike round a right hand corner with Bethany on the back and Alice in the sidecar last night. I know... I KNOW it was not a sensible way to ride. It does serves me right...but it was great fun!! 

I won't be able to ride it until it is fixed, and it is a specialist job which I am not able to do myself. Damnbuggerandsod.  On the other hand, and in my defence, I do need to stress the bike beyond it’s normal operating parameters in order to expose any weaknesses before the trip to France. That’s my excuse anyway.

14 April 07 

Nothing to be done all week, but on Friday Spike agreed to take a look if I could get it over to him. I rode it over to Spike’s on Saturday. Amazing how knowing the problem has a profound influence on one's sense of security. To think I was riding it with only 3 fixings intact for at least a day is quite frightening. At every bend or bump I imagined the remaining fixings flexing and fracturing along stress lines already weakened through metal fatigue. 

Spike was his usual laid back self. He reckoned he’d have the bits and pieces laying around. So I just had to wait...  

Saturday 21 April

This week I have mainly been concentrating on getting some of the boring paperwork preparations out of the way, in between work stuff.

I sent away for my European Health insurance Card, and it arrived yesterday. Then I set about getting breakdown cover for the bike (not me), starting with the RAC. Lovely person at the other end of the phone, when I said what I wanted; she couldn’t have been more helpful. Even offered to give me extra discount because she likes sidecars so much! (in a Wallace and Grommit sort of way)

However it was still over £95 – more than what I pay for a whole year for UK cover. I was sure I could get a much better deal on the internet.   I was disappointed. There were much cheaper deals, but no one would touch a vehicle more than 15 years old.

I then went to the BMW Club site and found a posting from a bloke who said he had his premium almost halved through RAC because he was a BMW club member. I went straight back to RAC and asked if could have a similar discount. At first they said no because the BMW club wasn’t on their list of approved clubs, but when I persisted and asked if BMF was, as a BMW affiliated club, she said it was – and I got my discount. QED! So that’s sorted - £55 instead of 95 – not bad.

This morning Spike rang to say the bike was ready, which I was very surprised at as I was expecting him to take longer to get to do it. He had taken it to his mate’s farm, made up a bracket to replace the banjo bolt that had failed; it had it all back together. Spike reckoned that the bolt used previously had been a gate mounting bolt, and that it had failed from the day it was put on. The fracture marks, he said, were old and rusty, and it looked as though the bolt had been held on by only the last piece of flexing metal for quite some time.

Holy shit, as they say. 

Anyway, the fix was done, even though not the best, as Spike admitted. He wanted to do a tidier job but doesn’t have all the bits and pieces to hand. He’ll have the bike back at the end of the year to do a ‘proper job on. In the meantime one thing for sure is, what he's done ain't gonna come adrift.

He said he had ridden it over to his mate's farm, justifying it by saying he didn’t like to leave bikes on the premises. It was not necessary; I was honoured that he had ridden it, and valued his opinion as a seasoned outfit rider. He didn’t like the awkwardness of the gearchange (but who does?) but otherwise rated it as 'a good ride'.  The BMW gearbox and footrest arrangements mean you have to weave your toes downwards through a forest of metalwork, which is a bit disconcerting until you get used to it.

It was blissful to get back on it again... My determination to treat the long suffering and probably  twisted frame  with more respect lasted about 500 yards. I just can’t help it. And a little later, on the road from Truro to Falmouth, I overtook a car with a small boy in the back excitedly looking at the bike, and of course had to do a little chair lift for him as I came off the roundabout on to the Carnon Downs by pass.

I went back to Truro to get a few ‘bits and pieces’ – like the mandatory spare bulbs, hazard warning triangle, GB sticker, beam deflectors etc from Halfords. I walked out the best part of £80 poorer! God, this is getting expensive.

I haven’t even decided yet about accommodation – it looks like a borrowed tent is going to be it. And as for upgrading my riding gear – ha ha ha! I might just about manage a new visor for my  helmet. And that’s IT!!

Now that I have stuck the GB sticker on the back of the battery case, - the only place I could find that didn’t completely ruin the colour scheme, and installed (albeit not wired in yet) the  12v power outlet (mainly for recharging the mobile phone), it really starts to look and feel like a touring machine.

There is something about an old fashioned oval, black on white GB sticker that evokes a pioneering spirit!

I took some more pics of the new front sidecar  mounting arrangement for posterity, and adjusted the right hand disc brake attack angle (if that’s what you call it – only ATE brake owners will have any clue as to what I am talking about -,and they will all nod knowingly). 

I then lavished several cc of new super duper wax polish on the paintwork just as an expression of my appreciation to have it back. So that’s about it for another week...

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