Michel's Motors

[Michel]

Well, another day, another MOT passed. Two in two days must be a record for me.

Advisories for worn front tyre, which I knew, rear brake pads low, and a worn clutch lever.

On further inspection, the clutch lever is entirely my fault. It started raining heavily in spring when I was fitting the levers. Found the old to compare with the one on it today.

I forgot to swap the bush over. All done properly now.

[mickthemaverick]

Well done Michel, peace of mind for another 12 months!!

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes, nice one Mike, one less stress...

[Michel]

Well, it's been a while. My Citroens just keep working. I've lurked for ages, without much comment as I've rarely anything to add!

Back in June I'd decided to give up motorcycling, mainly for financial reasons. I arranged to sell the Yamaha MT09 to a dealer in Newport. £300 less than I paid for it in 2019, which I couldn't complain at, and they'd pick it up as well. I stripped all the extras I'd added - screen, rear box and rack, levers and a few other odds and ends. I sold them, and didn't really lose out at all!

THEN, I spoke to my old friend Kimberly, who was 46. My first real girlfriend. 2nd May, I spoke to her and told her we'd speak again when I got back from holidays in France (Biscarrosse, just before the awful fires!) Oddly, she never replied to my messages from France. When I got back, I looked on FB and found out to my horror that she'd collapsed in pain, been taken to hospital again in California where she lived with her husband and 2 young kids. Undiagnosed cancer, collapsed and died on 18th May. I found this out the day before my bike was being picked up. Mrs. Michel told me to not sell the bike, but the deal was done. I spoke to the dealer, and arranged to trade the MT09 in for a 2016 BMW F800R..

F800R is a much saner motorcycle than the MT09. It's got ABS, TC, ESP, electronic suspension and handles superbly, it's by far the best balanced bike I've ridden. It's "only" 90bhp, but it tramps along at speed, and accelerates very well. I think it's a keeper. I'm getting old, and the modern things make it very nice to ride.

[Michel]

The C3 took us to Biscarosse. I had planned to take the old Xsara Picasso, as it has a towbar, and my bicycle rack is a towbar mounted one. So, getting it all ready the Xsara Picasso aircon decides to pack up, I take it to regas. It holds the gas, but the compressor doesn't come in. Aircon man comes, tells me compressor is knackered. Damn. This is the day before we go. I don't do hot places with no AC in the car, so the C3 has to go with us. I ordered a towbar, which arrived the day we left for France. It was missing a fitting clip. Luckily, HellRazor James informed me there was a C3 Pic with a towbar in the scrappy, so off I went. I got the bits I needed by removing that towbar, then coming home and fitting my towbar kit to my car. Then it was time to do the wiring. Again, James to the rescue with a multimeter. Some considerable time and a lot of swearing later, we finally got it all back together. 11:15pm. We left for Dover at midnight! All went well with the holiday apart from the car battery dieing and me having to buy a new one, plus a socket set from the local Lidl to fit the thing.

[Michel]

Ready to go Saltburn!

A very old friend from school who lives in Stockton-on-Tees has been pestering me to go and see her for years, and to take her for a ride on the motorbike. So, a couple of weeks ago I rode the motorbike up there, and took her for a spin out to Saltburn-by-sea for Fish and chips! After riding from Reading, I then left Stockton about 7pm and blasted through Harrogate and over Blubberhouses back to my brother's house in Rossendale. 417 miles in one day is the most I've done for many years. Amazingly, not a single ache or pain. Great bike, but only 53mpg when being thrashed all day long!

[bobins]

Nice bike I'm sticking with my V-F-R for now - 23 years old and owned from new and just about run in now It'd been off the road for a couple of years but pump the tyres up, bit of fresh fuel and a clean and it went straight through the MOT. Earlier in the year I had to help out an older chap who came unstuck near work on his motorbike - he 'failed to negotiate' a bend and ended up in a hedge. His Triumph was a little bent but nothing that a new front wheel and brakes.... and handlebars...... and a gear pedal.... and headlamp....... and a little light plastic repairs wouldn't fix. The shocking thing was when I phoned for an ambulance I got the recorded message along the lines of: "You're being held in a queue, your call is important to us, please hold" After a minute or two the call handlers answered my call. It's not until you get that sort of response to a 999 call that you realise what state the ambulance / NHS is in It wasn't even a busy time of day - it was about 3.00pm on a boring weekday. Just over 3 hours after the incident I finally managed to say farewell to him as they took him off in the ambulance. All was well with him in the end - battered and bruised ribs and various other components. It does make you think though - there but for the grace of god and all that

[mickthemaverick]

I said my final goodbye to my RF900 RW a few weeks ago, I miss it but I wasn't ever going to ride it following my own misadventure on a roundabout covered in wet leaves which were disguised by dark shadow on a very sunny autumn morning. That was 2 years ago and it took me till last month to finally sell my trusty steed!!

Suzuki RF900 RW - Own work

[CitroJim]

It's not until you get that sort of response to a 999 call that you realise what state the ambulance / NHS is in It wasn't even a busy time of day - it was about 3.00pm on a boring weekday. Just over 3 hours after the incident I finally managed to say farewell to him as they took him off in the ambulance. All was well with him in the end - battered and bruised ribs and various other components. It does make you think though - there but for the grace of god and all that

Sadly, my experience too... One could not attend me after my bike crash - I got taken to hospital in an SUV by a kind passer-by and it was not until I was examined in A and E it became apparent how badly injured I was!

Some while previously, I was leading a bike ride when tow of our riders crashed into each other rendering one unconscious Again, no ambulance available.. Her husband came and took her to A and E with a nasty case of concussion...

Basically, if the victim is conscious and not in any immediate danger of dying then you'll be lucky to get an ambulance...

[Michel]

In a completely non-motor vehicle related post, I thought I had to share this with you all..

This is Sid. Sid is 17 and belongs to a friend of mine. I fed him while their family were on holiday.

Sid

Sid used to be Max. Max was a rescue cat I got from a centre in Buxton back in June 2006. He escaped from my house in 2008 the day we moved to Twyford. Never saw him again until 2 years later, when I spotted him not far from our house and he encouraged me to follow him to a house. I knocked on the door at 9pm in sweaty cycling lycra, eventually convinced the blonde lady and her husband who answered that it was indeed my cat. He was happy there, I had another cat. The lady’s sister had been feeding him as a stray near the station for months, but rather than send him to another rescue, the lady and her family adopted him. I left it at that.
Never saw him again until I posted on the Twyford Facebook group a few years later out of curiosity. Turned out that the little boy in that house was now in Sammy’s year at school and I must have seen the lady or her husband most days at school pick-up without realising. The blonde lady is now my physio (if Carlsberg made physios etc) and I’m touched that they let me feed him - he was my buddy in a s**t period of my life, and it’s nice to see him again and spend a bit of time with him.

I didn't expect him to remember me, but there was clearly *some* recognition. At 17, my friend said that he'd got quite grumpy, especially with strangers, didn't really do sitting on knees, and wasn't very playful - all to be expected, I guess. First day I went, he came straight to me, rubbed round my legs, even gave me a little nip. The rest of the week he was waiting on the stairs behind the door when he heard the motorbike. I took a laser pointer and a bit of catnip. Had him chasing the laser pointer (kept it close as his back legs are a bit slower than the rest of him now), gave him a good brushing every day and a bit of catnip. Loved it. Even had him sit on my knee. Really nice to see him so healthy at an old age. My friend said it's given him a new lease of life, her little lad has gone out and bought a laser pointer, some catnip and a brush and gives him a lot more attention again.

Here he is in his box, back in 2006 in my house in Flackwell Heath..

[Michel]

I also got bored a couple of Sundays ago and went for a tour of puerile place names within a reasonable distance..

[bobins]

Ah, Balls Cross - many's the time I've had a pleasant time there, but I'd normally start or finish with Lickfold I wonder what they'd call their committee if the two villages were twinned

Lickfold to get to Balls Cross

[bobins]

Didling and Cocking normally go hand-in-hand as well

Didling and Cocking for pleasure

[Michel]

Excellent, more to go to next time!

[Gibbo2286]

A40 closed on my way back from Gloucester this afternoon, I'm told a serious accident between a motorcycle and a truck.