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Rod's Blog or blethers about a Bike 2009

5th April

Norton Challenge time: the weather is fine and the G11 has petrol so lets go. As the Norton House Hotel and the Norton Quarry are only a few miles from my home I did not take long to get there and get some pictures. Afterwards a quick run through the back lanes of Broxburn and Winchburgh and I had clocked up a pleasant and enjoyable twenty miles. I did get "Burned Up" by a couple of more modern bikes and had to crank up my revs to squeeze a very willing 70+ to try and catch up but they turned off and slowed down but I think I made a credible effort.

10th of April

I replaced the oil tank yesterday - I mean how hard can that be? Well yes its only three bolts and two hoses but my life is never quite that simple. Well wouldn't it be boring if everything was straight forward? First thing to do is to weld a nut on to the rear fixing bracket as it is a fiendishly awkward job to get a loose nut up the space between the seat rails and the mudguard while getting it lined up and attempting to turn the bolt on the other end -then you have to pick up all the bits again when you drop them for the fourth time as they scatter all over the garage floor. While I'm on the topic has anyone ever caught the gremlin that steals your hard to make or obtain custom nuts and bolts when you drop them on a clear concrete floor never to be found again this decade?

Getting back to the oil tank; after welding then cleaning and repainting the weld area you get back to the fitting. Of course it does not line up (well I expect you do a trial fit first but whatever order you do it in it does not line up) so you compare it to the old one measure the fixing holes and check it all out - guess what?- its the same. Eventually after the obligatory skint knuckles you persuade the brackets and holes to line up and your off and away the jobs done. But when you come to affix the oil tank cover with two little 1/4" screws you only can find one as the gremlins got the other.

So three happy hours have passed and its now dark, so enough for today.

11th April

Moved Bikes around swept the floor and no fixing screw, however a trawl through the big box of assorted crap (which might come in handy one day) comes up trumps and I have a spare.

So after filling up the oil its off on the Queens highway again for me although I do wish that the Queen would get our local council to actually repair the highway at more frequent intervals than the 20+ years we currently seem to be getting. Top up at the local fuel station and a quiet potter round the lanes and along the front at Queensferry where the visitors are already congregating. The weather is fine and bright and the sky is blue although the temperature are still not very high its a great day to be on your Bike.

12th April

Another nice day and off we go for a working trip. I have some extra items to return to Screwfix and some new bits to get so why not combine this with a spin on the G11? - why not indeed. Helen also came along and we then carried on to Corstorphine Hospital to visit my Dad who expressed no surprise at my means of transport and then through the Edinburgh sunshine and traffic to Colinton and a visit to Bill. After this a small detour through Currie and Ratho on the way home and we have had a very successful trip. The G11 is pulling well and with no visible leaks from the new oil tank we are looking good for next weekend.

18th April

Shock horror I realised when I woke up this morning that I had not sent in the section notes for the May Jampot so I sent them in this morning 2 days late so we shall just have to see whether they get published or not.

Eddie Pennycook is 80 next week so Irene and Steve have organised a surprise run with the regular rally team. We all met at Steve & Irene's house for a nice buffet before going out on our run. Eddie was well surprised and very pleased that we had all had come to celebrate his eightieth. Barrie had made it all the way from Haddington and it was really nice that Mike & Jen and Victor & Celia also came. We had eight bikes with five of them being AMC iron. It became apparent that some member are not entirely prepared for the new season as mechanical problems meant they did not have a working bike on the day.

The ride out was very nice with a run over the Lomond Hills to Falkland and round past Loch Leven to go home estimated distance today for me approx 100 miles. Was a bit unhappy as the G11 has blue smoke from the left pot on the overrun I think this means the valve guides are worn, that or I've a problem with piston rings.

26th April

I was determined to complete all the local Nortons today so it was off into Edinburgh on a really nice Sunday morning. I'd been putting this off for a while. My idea of a good Bike ride does not include sitting in traffic waiting at multiple traffic lights, however what the point if you don't go and visit them all. The journey to Norton Park was straight forward as I knew exactly where to go. Norton Park was a school in Leith, once an independent town now swallowed up by Edinburgh, now the school has gone and the building is a rather impressive block of flats. The area according to my researches on the net was once the site of the Norton Park Glass Works and before that (1827) was owned by a family called Norton.

Picture duly taken I made my way through the now moderately heavy traffic of Sunday drivers on the way back out of town. Not being an accomplished town commuter I don't filter through the traffic as a matter of course but, on Ferry road at a point where it was quite wide I overtook 7 or 8 cars before realising one was a police car. Now I had been careful but might just have strayed onto the dashed white lines which act as a central reservation. So driving much more circumspectly I made my way gazing nervously in the mirror until the police motor turned off into the police station, the perils of a guilty conscience!

So another nice 20mile run on a nice day what could be better?