Recent Posts

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21
650 Interceptor & Continental GT / Re: Touring
« Last Post by Turbofurball on Today at 12:00:16 pm »
I'm going to chip in simply to add context, since I live near Barcelona and have done a lot of touring.

The bike can manage the distance, it's a good idea to ask your group how much ground they want to cover every day and over what sort of roads.  You can then try to replicate a typical day of riding to their preferences to see if you're going to have problems - bearing in mind that for long distance touring people generally get aches and pains for the first couple of weeks, at 2000 miles you're unlikely to get beyond that stage so you don't want to be at your limit for the duration.  There's no shame in just going partway with them and then heading back, or just planning your own shorter tour that you can do at your own pace.

Ask yourself what you want to get from the experience.  I remember bumping into a father and son on a pair of Triumph sportbikes on the ferry from France to the UK, me and my partner had covered 1000 miles over 10 days by that point while stopping and enjoying the scenery, food, trying to talk French, and doing activities we couldn't at home.  The father and son had covered the same distance in 4 days, mostly on motorways, camping by the side of the road. and eating "cold pasta" because they hadn't stopped for the night until after all the eateries were closed.  Neither pair of riders would have enjoyed spending time on the road with the others.

As for Barcelona, parking by the beach might be tricky.  What one can do is to ride up the C31 from Sitges to Barcelona (a windy cliff-edge road that unfortunately now has a concrete safety barrier ... nice if you pick a quiet time of day but even if not the views are lovely) and grab a photo near the end from a "mirador" (lookout place) with your bike and the city and ocean in the background.  For me personally, I don't enjoy riding the city or anywhere near the coast because the roads are always busy ... inland it's possible to find extremely windy mountain roads that are traffic-free.
22
I think the rubbing is more than is acceptable at the moment. What I don't understand is why, because the pads are not thicker compared to the old ones. I compared them before putting in the new ones, there was no significant wear.
If you push the pads/pistons back in like I did, the pistons should adjust themselves after you pull the lever a couple of times.

But when it stops raining overhere (will it ever...  ::)) I'll go for a short test ride and do some braking and see if it gets better. Maybe this weekend...
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Bullet Electra & AVL / Re: Maiden Voyage II report
« Last Post by tooseevee on Today at 11:04:57 am »
AFAIK the sprag on these is a licensed copy of a Borg Warner part - maybe track down an original for better metallurgy?

A.

           Once mine finally exploded it came apart like a $2 suitcase; pieces all over the place once I got all unjammed & apart. The replacement from Hitchcocks was a thing of beauty.

           One thing my explosion proved (the whole story is elsewhere on this forum) is that it was not over-use that caused it. It was a low battery unable to push the piston over TDC.

           If I didn't hate the whole selling process so much, I think I would sell it. All it does is aggravate me more that I can't ride it.

       
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650 Interceptor & Continental GT / Re: Touring
« Last Post by Tukemeister on Today at 10:48:57 am »
Thanks Folks, much appreciated. Bike is new but will have full service before setting off. Shocks will be fine, I'm a light weight. I have ordered a fly screen from Pyramid plastics.
Weight lifter gloves ? never heard of using those, whats that all about. I have always used specific motorcycle gloves. I learnt through bitter experience a long long time ago, and will not wear a open face helmet from the same experience.
We are keeping off motorways, that was my condition on going.
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Bullet Iron Barrel / Rear Wheel adjusters
« Last Post by BruLan on Today at 10:01:43 am »
I was never convinced by the original Snail Cam adjustment of the back wheel so fitted some of these adjusters well worth the outlay and faff to fit them. Also being from Hitchcocks they were delivered promptly fitted correctly & were reassuringly expensive
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Quote from: Re-Cycle
Now when I turn the wheel the brake rubs. This is not because of thicker pads, I checked and the new and old pads are of similar thickness. I did spread the pads after I mounted them, so pushed the pistons back a little.

Is this something that will sort itself after a few km's or should I have a closer look first? (and remove the wheel again).
Ofcourse I will keep a eye on it in the beginning.

It's OK for the brakes to rub a little.
It's not a bicycle, these brakes always have a little drag.
The floating caliper and the floating disc have to center themself, take it for a ride and bed in the brakes.

Quote from: Scott Hillson @ mechanics.stackexchange.com
This isn't unusual. I'd go as far as to say I'd be suspicious if I had a shop replace the front brake pads on my motorcycle and didn't hear them skimming the rotor a little. It's normal for the pads to touch the disc a little, and it's especially audible at low speed and after a fresh install.

Now, that said, if the pads are indeed rubbing enough to slow you down or become hot when you're not using them, you should be concerned and seek to rectify the problem.
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Campfire Talk / Re: Україна і Родина
« Last Post by him a layin on Today at 07:34:39 am »
ever played "monopoly"? capitalism in a nutshell. one player wins, everyone else loses.
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350 J Platform / Re: Hitchcock's J-350 performance cam
« Last Post by Stephan on Today at 06:25:35 am »
See reply #21 - a dyno chart showing a slight reduction in torque below 3250rpm. Whether or not it's noticeable I wouldn't know.

Thanks ;)
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350 J Platform / Re: Interesting old catalogues
« Last Post by beanbean50 on Today at 05:28:27 am »
Model No. 350
£51 delivered to your nearest railway station.. wow!
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Campfire Talk / Re: Україна і Родина
« Last Post by AzCal Retred on Today at 05:12:53 am »
It's likely a cultural thing. People aren't supposed to know or talk about money. Coincidentally this keeps them working cheap and keeps them broke. Kind of a good thing if you are looking for working folks to keep your Company coal town or textile town making record profits. Only a stupid guy would spread the word about dealing with money. Generally the Golden Rule folks don't rewrite the rules to benefit the unwashed masses.

When I was a kid high schools had shop classes, music classes, home ec, civics, foreign languages, etc. All the things that make well rounded citizens. Marginal tax rates were near 90% but we built highways, bridges, paid for schools & not a single millionaire went to bed hungry. The money people rewrote the rulebook to reduce their taxes, conveniently eliminating a lot of "costly" opportunities previously afforded the lesser people. Dumbing down the workforce seems to go hand in glove with lowering corporate costs & jacking up profit.

The only "enemy" here is the time-honored tendency for money to self-protect, accrete and concentrate power over time. Getting the people at the bottom to fight each other over crumbs is just the entertainment. Short term, self-serving thinking is bad for the country. Lack of critical thinking ability is also bad for the country. Creating and living in an alternate woo-woo reality is likewise bad for the country. In the words of Ann Richards "If your hair's white, you can't say you don't know it."  It's really looking like we're going to have an all-hands effort soon, so we all need to be on the same page.



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