Yesterday's 'FOT (Long)

I got to the Horse & Jockey just before 11am. Loz turns up with
Kathryn and Claire just after. We hang around, having a chat and a
smoke and await the late entrants.

All is going well until Claire's exhaust decides to make a brake for
freedom but that gets sorted in no time. Back to the task in hand.

The z400 had been down on power recently but was not too bad (1)

About 20 miles into the run, on the A421 dual carriageway, the the
bike struggled to reach 60 and I thought uh-oh. When I tried to put
the power on on the other side of the roundabout the z was having
none of it and died a slow death. 'Arse' said I. I pushed the bike to
a safe spot on the other side of the road and made an attempt to
start it again but it was having none of it.

Hey ho, out with mobile phone and get on to recovery service only to
find I don't have recovery on this policy(2). I figured then that I
would give Loz a quick buzz to let him know what has happened and
then my phone dies a hasty death. Double arse.

I figure I'll wait a little while in the hope that one of the front
runners may do a quick check as to my whereabouts. The sun is shining
and it's lovely and warm so I lay back on the bike and relax. The
little while is up and now it's time to call someone else. Phone is
definitely dead.

I walked over to the Sunday market with the intention of buying
myself one of them emergency power packs but end up with a little
wind up generator thing that's supposedly just as good. Off I trot
back to the bike. I hook up the power thing and wind and wind and
wind and wind only to find the fucking thing doesn't fucking work.

Hey ho, the sun's still shining. Back I go to the market and got a
refund. 'Right' says I, I need a car charger and some wire so that I
can get a charge off the bike battery. The car charger was easily got
but the wire proved more difficult. It was closing time at the market
so there weren't that many stalls left standing and the few that were
left didn't sell wire of any description. Arse.

Time to put on my 'McGyver' thinking cap. I buy a shitty Swiss army
replica with all the toys and then set about finding the cheapest
electrical item to rip apart. I find a hand held radio and they want
£3 for it. The stall owner seemed most displeased when I threw it to
the ground and asked him to dump the broken bits.

Back to the bike again and I molished up the charger and attached it
to the battery and the phone begins to charge. This lasted for about
20 seconds. I figured I must have accidentally disconnected it so
tried again but got more of the same. I figured the phone was fucked.

Five minutes later a couple walked by and I asked directions to a
phone box. They did me one better and offered me the use of their
mobile which I was really thankful for. I would have been even more
thankful if the number I was trying wasn't engaged. They pointed me
in the direction of the local pub which was five minutes away and
happened to serve rather nice Guinness. Ahhhh, sunshine and a pint.

After another 30 minutes of trying I finally get through to my SIL
only to find that DP is out on scooter. Credit to him though, he
picked me up in his car within 2 hours of the original call being
made. This gave me enough time to have another pint and spend quite a
bit of time chatting to a rather attractive barmaid.

Got back to Watford and picked up the window lickin' bus and off I
went to get the bike. It was a bitch to get on the van but I got away
with only a small scratch on the tank which should polish out.

Went back via the Pixie's household where it took 3 of us to get bike
out of van without damage. Loz wheeled bike onto the patio and Pip
switched on the Uberlight. Much spannering to bike fails to reveal
problem. Pip serves coffee. More spannering. Bike does not want to
cooperate much.

Loz looks at Pip. Pip takes a deep breath and sucks through teeth.
Final diagnosis seems that something is fucked and it requires the
top end removal for exact diagnosis. It's too dark and late to do
anything about it now.


Loz and Pip(3) have agreed to have a good poke under the cover. Back
into house for another coffee and a chat with Elly, then I head for
home.


(1)I could only get a max speed of 75 instead of the usual 85
(2)I thought I did, oops
(3)Them two are complete stars

 

Last time this happened it was the carb diaphragms splitting. I replaced
them, but they *may* have split again.

Symptoms are a perfect running engine, nice and quiet, but a complete
inability to pull the skin off a rice pudding.

 

I fear it may be worse. There was a severe lack of compression in the
RHS cylinder.

 

Yup, I can vouch it seemed to be going quite nicely until that dual
carriageway bit.

See, when I went past Paul who was tail end Charlie at the roundabout,
and nodded, he set off after me, assuming (quite understandably) that
being a newbie with a fucked exhaust, I would be bringing up the rear.

<snip tale of woe>
This is where I feel really bad. Given that you had helped me out
loads, and I'd been the last operson to pass you, I guess I should
have made the effort to at least go and look for you.

But glad you got a couple of nice pints down you anyway!

Seems to be a common theme...

AONTL.

Good luck with diagnosis and fixing.

 

Burned out valve maybe?

--
Muck
Bandit 600n(With added ducktape); CG125(MSOTHPR)
"I've got a CG125, and I'm not affraid to use it."
DS#1 ; DOMO#1 ; SH#2 ; ICQ: 166144431
Remove _TEETH_ to e-mail

 

In news article: ,
petrolcan wibbled

snip tale of woe

Can't believe you weren't missed by any of the others.

Sounds like you are very resourceful, what with the likes of mobile phone,
cheap radio & army knife. God knows what I would have done, apart from the
pub option.

Hope you get it fixed soon.

 

That's what we're hoping - and that it hasn't taken the seat with it.

 

"Wik" spoke of petrolcan who yammered:

Baggsy the GTI and the Beemer!!

 

The Older Gentleman says...

Umm, I haven't.

 

I was but the mobile died before I could respond to the text that Loz
had sent me.

Well I was lucky to have broken down near to a market so all the
tools were readily available.

So do I.

 

Make wid der Book of Lies den, Moichael.

 

Tomorrow evening, Sir.

 

Have you met him? That *might* clarify a few things...

 

Er, that could be your prob, then. Recommended every 3000 miles, IIRC.

 

Well I've only done about 3k miles since I got it. Did you not say
that you had done it not long before it changed ownership?

<reaches for warranty documents>

 

I have access to semtex

 

and....

<best norn iron accent>

I know where he lives

</bnia>

 

In news article: , Bear
wibbled

Fairy nuff

Meeeooow

 

In news article: , Power
Grainger wibbled

Indeedy, it is