Solstice Burnout

Hi achternaam,

The other day I watched the full moon ride the hills of clouds as daylight buggered off at 5.30. Phew, that meant the days will start to lengthen and it wouldn't be long before it was viable to get away late afternoon with a bit of gear. The longer evenings allow me to meet a mate on the outskirts of town and make a campsite before dark, plugging in a extra night away. And that stretches the chilled feeling of a weekend away just that bit longer. Bring it on!

Not only did I get my shed somewhat sorted last month but somehow I got roped into helping a mate with her shed. I turned up one Saturday with a couple of coffees to find Kel in a minor tizz. She had to rescue her bike collection the following weekend and had nowhere to stash 'em. As I'd just dealt with the blocking excuse - "Where the hell do I start", I looked for the beginning.

That was the easy bit, we couldn't get into the shed for junk anyway... Start at the door and lobb stuff into the adjacent trailer! Long dusty story short, by that arvo we had the place ready for 4 more bikes to take up residence in a clean and tidy space. It struck me that a shed tidy (as opposed to a tidy shed; that's just sick) is good for the soul. Helping a mate is even better, watching Kel's face as I unearthed little treasures or made executive decisons to toss crap was great fun.

Make use of the dull evenings yourself and do the cave a favour, give it a spring clean Grasshopper.

Once the shed was empty, as ya do, it was time to fill it with the aforementioned bikes. This meant balancing them on a ratty, tiny tailgate lifter. A little chooky proved no problem and the VFR 400 racebike descened a tight diagonal fit. We all know that OH&S never takes a day off so we used planning and an old crutch to support the scaffolding panel Kel hung off the platform on the loading phase of the trip home. "It's how the truck owner does it" she informed me. Well... "If it worked on the way up, it should work on the way down, what could possibly go wrong?"

The moment the tailgate started to lurch jerkily toward earth the bike started to slide backwards, the front wheel slew to the right, on the damp panel (you can see the wet on the front tyre). A grunt, a drag and a dose of luck had the front wheel sliding the other way but the bike continued to bounce its way backward as the tailgate emulated a fairground ride.  Phew, a second later the whole plot came to rest in the place it was all supposed to end up in. Yep we took the VFR off in gear 'cause the brakes are clapped out. Sheesh, I'll engage both brain cells next time and Kel will hold the friggin' bikes!

Trek 3 Sleeping Bags Get a Rev Up

The fabulous Trek 3 Sleeping bag has had a make over. Mine has been a faithful servant for years and is without doubt the best bag I've owned (and I have a few). The hood now is more ergonomically curved and a collar sealing roll makes an appearance.

The liner fabric is designed to keep the down in better (I never had a problem), keep it cleaner and the outer to shed more drips.

Click here to visit the webpage

Get a Better Grip

By now I guess you've heard of these jiggers, maybe even a convert, Grip Puppies just got even better. Industrial chemists in the Old Dart have re-engineered the formula, allowing us to now offer a 5 year warranty. Let’s get this clear from the start; I didn’t come up with the name. Blame the Poms! Essentially, Grip Puppies are a high tech, UV stable foam sleeve that slips over existing hand grips. They provide a barrier that reduces vibration, increases comfort yet still work with heated grips. Simply coat the inside with a bit of soapy (not too much soap) water, slip them on, let them dry and Bob’s yer Mother’s brother… Done

Sent in by Clive, bag tester extrodinairre.

Shed Tricks.

Ever needed three hands, fingers the size of a two year old and the Dali Lama's patience to get a washer to stay in place? A tiny dab of Superglue'll do it. Naturally don't blame me if you use it in the wrong place or can't get it off again. Did you know that generally, the thicker the Cyanoactrylate glue the slower it goes off.

Painful Pinkies

Bang for buck, these superfine Merino  Icebreaker inner gloves pop above their weight. They fold away to seven tenths of bugger all, weigh less and work a treat. I always have mine in the pocket of my jacket. I have no shame when it comes to cold hands. Available in Small through to X Large Click here to grab a pair.

 SW Motech Update

The stocks of SW Motech gear have been squeezed into the showroom over the last couple of weeks. Over the years I've used their bash plates, crash bars, centre stands and a few other bits and pieces. I consider the majority of the testing to be done. The hard parts are usually a doddle to fit and are well thought out and finished.

What I hadn't trialled in the past are their tank bags so Tontine and I fitted the GS model to his 1200 GS and the City on my Bumblewee. We're using the tank ring clip-on style and again fitting was easy as filling a nappy. On rough roads I tape up the tank under the back part of the bag as it curves over it. With the weight of my camera in it I reckon it will bounce and scuff a bit. The clipping mechanism takes up a bit of the volume and it has to be removed to refuel (which ours don't BTW). There are pockets and little stash points all over the place back and it comes with a rain cover.

There are a couple of downsides.

• Removing the bag at fuels stops. It's not a difficult task, in fact it's easy as and it just pops back afterwards. My tank bags don't have to be removed so it's a very noticable point.
• The tank ring mechanism that fits under the bag does take up volume of the bag so allow for that when chosing one to suit.
• The rain cover is a bit primative and "baggy" but works fine.

So far the crash-bars, bashplate, centrestand and other bit fitted to the Bumblewee have gone on easily and the centre stand is the best I've used in a long time.

Check out the new lines here

A Bumblewee Update

The crash bars arrived after a prolonged sea cruise, Izzy at Suspension R Us has fettled the front end and wedged a Wilbers shock into the rear. Being a budget bike we expect to get budget suspension, which is not too bad straight out of the box to be honest... But, once you've had a bike with well set up suspension it's hard to go back to stock. I was chatting to a bloke in the shop the other day who had spent a prince's ransom on an Ohlins set up both ends. He's buggered now, he'll have to budget for that with each new bike from now on, nothing will stack up off the shelf. It reminds me of an older guy telling me not to touch hard drugs when I was a kid ... "they are just too good" he said... But that's a lot longer yarn. Naturally as we start to mix and match different bits the chances of them clashing increase. This occured as I wedged in a slightly longer shock to give me a bit more ground clearance. The bottom mounts started to prang on the centrestand brackets, not insurmountable but it did add hours of fettling to get everything co-operating again. Next video instalment click here

Moto GP Shop

It was never gonna last forever, the usual shop we use for the Moto GP Pop Up shop isn't available this year. That's meant we've had to move back down the street opposite the Woolies shopping centre, just over the road from the Caravan Park.

The all-singin'-all-dancin' shop you've come to expect will be up and running from Wednesday arvo.

Helmet Colour

There's more to the colour of a rider's helmet than looking good in a shop window as we ride past.

It's the highest part of the rider-bike profile and therefore the most likey thing to catch a drivers eye. Something that melts into the background like grey on a cloudy day or patchy black in dappled conditions might be the difference between a close call and one much too close for comfort.

The second consideration is heat. In a southern winter a solar heater on my head might be a useful thing but not in summer. I never cease to wonder at the thoughts that are behind riders who go down the Matt Black path.

While I'm having a spray... What's this with Matt colours being all the rage? Helmets, and bikes with the dull finish are so hard to keep clean. The lighter colours seem to attract grubby, it seeps deep into the pores of the finish and is a pain in RRs to get out. There are even warnings that the colours will fade with time.

       iKapture Photo, courtesy Triumph Oz

That's about all I have to write at ya for now.

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