Sadly there still hasnt been any concrete news about the state of my Ducati. I know that Artur has been looking into the problem and test riding the bike to see if there is a solution. Whatever the outcome, I'm giving the X Max back tomorrow, mainly because I'm off work for nearly two weeks and don't need it to get to and from Central London. Today's ride home seemed to be filled with drivers darting out of each and every road junction. That coupled with pedestrians standing in the middle of the road, certainly made for an interesting journey. Could have been worse thou, the news was running with reports of a 100 vehicle accident on the A249 Sheppy crossing in heavy fog this morning. I really hope that no bikes were involved.
I spent a bit of time this afternoon populating my facebook account with photos of my bikes. Some good memories there. My aim is to keep it very bike-centric and not to stray into talking about muffins or politics. If I do, please give me a little nudge to get me back on the correct path.
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Well today I finally got around to setting up a Facebook account for the website, where I have popped some photos up. I don't intend spending my whole life there, but its just another good way of advertising the site. The link is up on the menu bar above.
In Ducati news, it looks like the clutch problem has been caused by a melted clutch hose (how hot must that have gotten) that was fouling the system. I know some of my friends through the fluid was contaminated, but this is ridiculous. Hopefully it will be sorted in a day or so. It may just be me, but I've been finding that what you ride and what you wear has far more effect on other road users, rather that the way you ride. When I took out the little CBF a few years ago, I found that more people would pull out in front of me that if I were riding the Ninja. I don't have any scientific proof of this, no study that says X percent of people are more likely to do that, that or the other. When riding the Ducati and filtering through traffic, people do tend to try and get out of the way. This could be down to the noise, or it could be down to any number of other factors. I bring this up as today, whilst riding this X Max thing, a van driver tried to hit the back of my head with his wing mirror. Now I had filtered to a point where I could go no further, with the van behind me on the right. There is no way the driver couldn't see me, so therefore his actions were intentional. I think he saw me as just another scooter rider. I very much doubt he would have pulled such a shocking piece of behaviour if I was on the Ducati, fully leathered up, or riding a Harley with the attitude to go with it. It's a sad fact, but anybody on two wheels is vulnerable on the road. It doesn't matter if you're 6'3 or 4'11 in a fight with another vehicle, we will loose. Its just a shame that this idiot of a driver didn't care enough about anybody else. I hope that it doesn't cost somebody their life one day.
The weather here in England this afternoon was fantastic. Nice and warm without a cloud in the sky. I was out walking after work and took the time to wander up the road and buy a new torque wrench. I do like a good tool. Some new Carbon parts also arrived and I'll get them on the bike soon, probably after next weeks trackday.
This afternoon I have been having a really great conversation with a reader from Seattle. When I started this site up nearly a year ago (wow has it really been nearly a year), I thought the only people who would read it would be friends and family, but I'm really glad that it finding a global audience. Being a motorcyclist truly is a universal language. We are part of a community that doesn't seem to get divided by religious or political barriers. Bike meets are filled with a rich diversity of people and it really doesn't matter what you ride or who you are. It could be a premium Italian Sportsbike, a Harley or a little 125. You could have been riding for 60 years or you could have just passed your CBT, personally I don't care. You are a motorcyclist. Welcome. After watching the superb MotoGP at Silverstone today, I found myself in the unusual situation of washing somebody elses bike. The X Max that Im using for a few days was filthy, and as a sort of thanks for letting me use it, coupled with my hatred for dirty motorbikes, I got ready with a hose and some muc off cleaning spray. Now the scoot is all clean and I can see through the windscreen. Hoorah. Although its nice and clean, its not going to stop me reaching for the tinted visor tomorrow.
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MeMy name is Matt Brown and I'm a UK journalist formerly based in London, but now calling the South of England home. I've been riding bikes since 2007, but got hooked straight away. Nothing gives me the feeling of freedom, even when stuck in a city. In 2010 I became a RoSPA gold rider, but when it comes down to it, I'm Just a normal man, riding his bikes as often as he can. Archives
April 2019
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