[Richard230]

Great, thanks Richard230 - I did exactly all of that, apart from the baking soda...

To neutralise any acidic cause of crud, right? Next time I get the battery out, will do that.

A water solution of baking soda is slightly alkaline and will neutralize the acid crust that builds up on the battery terminals.  It really works quickly and does a nice job of getting rid of the stuff.

[Arizoni]

If the terminal crudded up like you say it did, there is a leak at the terminal that's allowing the battery acid to escape.

An old method of fixing this sort of leak is to buy a bottle of Karo Syrup.  As I recall, we used the "dark" kind.
For those outside the US, Karo Syrup is a moderately thick corn syrup used for baking bread, cakes and other good to eat sweet things.  You probably have something like it where you live.

Anyway, to fix the battery leak you pour a bit of the syrup around the joint where the lead terminal comes out of the plastic case.
In a few days it will harden and totally seal the joint.  (No, the syrup is not bothered by the acid but it is an insulator so you don't want to get it on the surfaces where the wires/cables attach.)

[Richard230]

Today I weighed my B5 using two cheap Chinese electronic bathroom scales. The scale under the front wheel showed 190 pounds and the scale under the rear wheel showed 228 pounds, with about a half tank of fuel on board, for a total of 418 pounds.

[9fingers]

I installed a Champion RNY9C spark plug to go with the Duracell Ultra battery I installed Sunday. My bike is happy and so am I.
9fingers

[symmo]

Your words Ergyd "so decided to choose the smallest, windiest route I could find on the map to head home. Ended up having my first ever off-road adventure - rocky gravel tracks/streams/mud/sheep/cows/steep gradients up and down." Same as what I do on my C5 whenever I go out across the Mendips, not long ago I did part of the South west coast path, the bike just copes with where ever you point it. Love the photo.

Yesterday, had the most varied day of riding yet.

Started off taking Harriet the B5 to work. Was running late, so I hit some of the main roads - 60-65mph no problem, and 70 when necessary.

Thick fog and rain came down half way into the hour long ride - I was soaked to the skin, and my boots were filled with water!

Weather cleared up by the end of the day, and had some time to kill, so decided to choose the smallest, windiest route I could find on the map to head home. Ended up having my first ever off-road adventure - rocky gravel tracks/streams/mud/sheep/cows/steep gradients up and down...

Arrived back in Cardiff, so some stop/start city riding, including a jetwash to get her nice and shiny again.

Treated her to a chain clean/lube, and an oil top up back in the garage.

All day long, she didn't miss a beat - was comfortable, trustworthy, exciting, and took everything in her stride.

Man, I love this bike.

[Ergyd]

Hey Symmo,

I'm actually going to be in the Mendips area sometime this week... Any routes or roads you'd recommend?

O

[longstrokeclassic]

Today I fitted a richer slide in my VM32. Latest settings are :- Air screw 1.25 turns out,   17.5 pilot jet,   3.35mm high slide cutaway,   needle clip position 3.75,   185 main jet.



Ergyd -  Cheddar Gorge is usually good midweek.

[symmo]

Cheddar Gorge as mentioned, If you have an OS map look for Velvet Bottom, Deer Leap, Ebbor Gorge, Prospect Style. You can probably find them on Google maps. I usually just go blind and keep turning off into lanes and unmade roads and see where I end up. I did Gospel Pass and Hay bluff over your side some time ago but that was on a Tiger XC.

[no bs]

down loaded workshop manual for the frankenbullet to facilitate gear train replacement(some type of clunk appeared during a short blast around the local roads).

[Ergyd]

Finished a week-long journey that's taken me all over the place. Some beautiful parts to these countries, which you'd never know about if you didn't hit the roads less travelled...

Some pictures from the ride below - including the moment I rolled over 6k miles, and some of the beautiful sights and views.

Apart from the bike being knocked over in a car park, no issues at all. Though, she doesn't seem to like being started on a very cold morning. Almost seems to lose battery voltage on cold nights... Thankfully, I carry one of those lithium jump-starter packs in my panniers, just in case.

Symmo - thanks for the Mendips recommendation. I had a lovely spin around there today. The little back-route by the Blackmoor Reserve was just the right amount of challenge... And was super impressed with how the bike dealt with it all. Looking forward to exploring more of that area in the future.

[Carlsberg Wordsworth]

Around 120 mile round trip in the Peak district (UK) today. With friends so I couldn't stop as much as I would solo for pics and ended up not taking any. But then you'd end up stopping every 5 mins lol. Enfield was on song the whole way, barking happily and the odd pop along the way. Stunning scenery and just a cracking ride  

[wildbill]

sold it!...LOL

[dickim]

so Bill I was close with my  Smartarse  "BakersDozen " 

[wildbill]

pretty close eh! plus one of them I bought twice...lol like I sold it and later bought it back off him
I will contact the dealer next week on any news of the 650's arrival date and go from there.
meanwhile I am playing with the idea of another hit at a metal detector.
cheap one is $1000 and the best one is $9500
ive already owned two $10,000 detectors and found nothing
I don't even want to find a big bit of gold either- just something which is gold and after 5 detector purchases finally find a speck!...lol
im gonna try again for fun -not for profit....lol

[dickim]

Do me a favour Bill - keep the 650 long enough to give me some feedback  getting the itch for the chrome G.T - will need to sell the Lotus Esprit (Sciatica is a bitch!!!!) but the Guzzi engined trike is coming along nicely, just trimming & painting and trying to fix a leak on a reconditioned Ford Cortina caliper