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May 18th, 2014

5/18/2014

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On the hottest weekend of the year, when it seemed all the bikes in England were out in the road, mine was sat in the garage getting dusty. Not that I'm complaining as I had a great weekend. I got back mid afternoon today and after spending an hour or two catching up with things, I decided I had better get on with these track fairings. The first job was to repair the tabs on the belly pan, two of which were broken. I cleaned up the tabs and looked at ways to secure and reinforce them. I picked up some proper fairing clips at the end of last week for this very task, but when attached to the taps, they simply left no room to really attach them back on. It was then that I tried putting one on the last remaining tab and that, well frankly disintegrated on me. That was it, stuff it! I certainly wasnt going to fight a loosing battle with soft second rate plastic. The problem was, I still wanted to use the main panels, including the nose and tail, so I decided to give the normal (non carbon) belly pan a whirl instead and I'm very pleased. So much easier if I'm honest and it looks pretty good too. I just have to hope they go onto the bike okay. 
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Whilst rummaging around I found my original integrated tail light. Those of you who have read my blog over the years, might remember that I had to change it over as one of the four clusters of indicator LEDS stopped working, which isn't good enough for road trim, but for track duties and that one journey each way at each end of the day, it will be fine. The original idea was to put some stick on indicators inside the tail unit, but with this solution I don't have to and have saved myself a little bit of wiring. The problem with mounting the light is still there and following the issue with the belly pan, I wasn't really in the mood to start building up a tab and than having to find a solution regarding the thread. So I drilled a hole, just a small one to start with and as I thought, it comes out right under the seat cowl. The plan now is to either bolt the light in using the original gromets, but with a much longer nut and bolt which will then sit recessed under the seat, or by using cable ties. Now I know what you're thinking;  this is serious bodge territory and you absolutely right, but lets see what happens.
Going back a few days for a second, on my way up to Birmingham on Friday, I had a more than enough time for the journey, so instead of just sitting on the motorway, I decided to drive my biking route which is much more engaging. Along the way I knew that I was due to pass a Triumph dealer www.hughendenm40.co.uk which is on the A40 just before Oxford services. So, I got out and had a look around, which is when I saw this.
Its a 14,000 mile 2002 CBR900RR FireBlade, the last one designed by Tadao Baba, the father of the FireBlade. The price is okay and I've sent out a few emails to see if I can get a test ride later this week. If I like it, this would be perfect for me, but the only problem is I still haven't sold the Monster.
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    Me

    My 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.

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