The last few days, the weekend included, have been a little crazy. As you already know I was expecting to be able to collect the freshly painted tank and nose cone on Wednesday, but this was delayed until the Friday. I had to drive to Wales for a wedding, so I had to quickly head out of London, pick up the tank and nose cone, drop them off at home and then head off. I was initially very pleased with the results, but noticed a less that ideal finish on the nose cone on Sunday when I started getting things together. More on that a little later. Anyway, I wasn't prepared to leave the tank 'loose' by the bike for a few days so I quickly connected it all up and popped it back in place before I headed out into Friday traffic and headed to Wales in the car.....which took nearly four hours, culminating in a £6.20 fee to cross the Second Severn River Crossing. Yeah, welcome to Wales.
After a rather hectic Saturday and a detour to Ross on Rye with Sarah on the Sunday, I headed back to London via the A40 and Gloucester in the early afternoon. The journey went quickly enough as I was listening to the radio commentary of the Open, which is just me harking back to my former life, a time before I was ruled by two wheels and an engine. When I have a few days, I could quite easily head back that way on the way, heading into South Wales and some great riding roads.
I finally managed to get back home around 17:00 and during one of the warmest afternoons/evenings of the year. Slowly but surely it all started to come together and you can see my progress in the photos below. As I mentioned earlier, the finish in one area of the nose isn't perfect, but this may polish out, so the next time I clean the bike, I'll pay it some serious attention. I had some real trouble with the left fairing, mainly due to the Samco hoses, which make the internals a little wider, and the side panels also seemed a very tight fit due to the additional paint layers on the tank. Finally at 20:30, I tightened the final screw, wheeled it out of the garage, fired it up and rode it the 200ft down the road. All seemed well so I went to bed happy. Hot and sweaty, but happy.
After a rather hectic Saturday and a detour to Ross on Rye with Sarah on the Sunday, I headed back to London via the A40 and Gloucester in the early afternoon. The journey went quickly enough as I was listening to the radio commentary of the Open, which is just me harking back to my former life, a time before I was ruled by two wheels and an engine. When I have a few days, I could quite easily head back that way on the way, heading into South Wales and some great riding roads.
I finally managed to get back home around 17:00 and during one of the warmest afternoons/evenings of the year. Slowly but surely it all started to come together and you can see my progress in the photos below. As I mentioned earlier, the finish in one area of the nose isn't perfect, but this may polish out, so the next time I clean the bike, I'll pay it some serious attention. I had some real trouble with the left fairing, mainly due to the Samco hoses, which make the internals a little wider, and the side panels also seemed a very tight fit due to the additional paint layers on the tank. Finally at 20:30, I tightened the final screw, wheeled it out of the garage, fired it up and rode it the 200ft down the road. All seemed well so I went to bed happy. Hot and sweaty, but happy.
So yesterday was the first time I rode into London for work in a little over two weeks. It was also the hottest day of the year. At one point, the external temperature sensor indicated it was 34 degrees, with the internal sensor claiming my bike was up to 110. I thought both my bike and I was going to explode in a ball of fire and sweat. Thankfully, that never happened and I got home safe. It felt great to be riding, but I realise that I really need to tweak the suspension, making it a little softer for the city riding. The plan is to make this a temporary measure as the City is no place for a big twin, so depending on my situation come October and the amount of money (not very much) that I may receive from my insurer, I may start looking for something as a winter ride. A ZX9? Another Hornet? a KTM? There's no rush thou
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