Wrench'n Ride'n

My poor BM has not had much TLC of late. Too much working and commuting long distances means she has been ignored. That all changed this morning. New parts ordered from Munich Motorcycles arrived yesterday. New YSS mono shock. The Koni that came with the bike was on it's last legs when I bough the bike in March 2008. Spine crunching at times it was. I had planned to replace this when I got the bike but found the bottom eyelet bush had welded itself to the mounting bolt. Rust welded. So with lots of WD40 and some gentle hammer blows the bush at last came off. Vice grips doing their gripping work did most of the work. So now Sophie (as Jan calls the BM) does not have a saggy bum anymore. Once the rain goes away I will take it out and play with the rebound and pre-load. New choke cables. Choke was not closing off when the choke lever was closed. Found out that the piston that all 3 cables connect to is broken. That will have to be ordered. So bike has no choke at the moment. New high...

Last Saturday I was going over the bike as you do. I found a crack in the frame. A crack in the major bracket that holds the rear sub frame together and just near the top mount for the mono shock. Not good at all. To make things worse I was riding from Gosford to the Blue Mountains and back again to start my move to Gosford. I am moving in with Jan, my partner. I knew I could weld this but did I want to risk blowing a big hole in the frame. Yeah why not. it has been well over 25 years or more since I last did any welding. So after helping my sis and brother in law load furniture up to go back to their place/my parents place I decided I would have a go at fixing this crack. My Dad has a stick welder. One setting. Full bore. Did a wee bit of practice on an old mower blade and it was time to blow up the bike. Both battery terminals disconnected. Frame Clamped back together. Paint removed from cracked area. Fire up the welder and a welding I went. Took 3 passes with a weld bead. Read looks...

10th January. One of my last rides as a resident of the Blue Mountains. Jan and I had been up at my place sorting through some of my things. I am preparing to move in with Jan up on the Central Coast. Sunday morning dawned with an amazing sunrise. The air was clear. All setting the scene for a good ride of around 230 kilometres. We would head west first to Mt Victoria. Then over to the Bells Line of Road. Down to Windsor for lunch at Stir Crazy and have our fave Singapore Noodles. Back roads past Scheyville National Park through to Berowra Waters ferry. Then up the Old Pac to Gosford area. Most of these roads have been written about on my blog before. I will not bore you all over again. What I would like to show you some photos from several places that have such stunning views. A small dirt road turn off just before the heavy vehicle checking station between Katoomba and Mt Victoria. There are so many little villages and hamlets hidden away in the mountains. One such place we found was...

As an ole sidecar rider myself I still have one big soft spot for the third wheel. Even more so when the chair is slung from an old BMW. I found this outfit while surfacing the net. I have nothing to do with the shop in the UK that is selling. I get no money for putting it up here. Bowbury Engineering & Motor Works. This is their blurp... This outfit was built up as a "green lane special"; a bike to have a lot of fun on. It could also be painted up as a "military" machine, for those into re-enactment. For that, it would not be too authentic, but what the hell! When this machine came in, the engine was rattling like a bag of rusty old nails. This engine was not the original, so the numbers did not match. There were also, numerous electrical problems, including the usual, faulty coil. Another, fully reconditioned, to "as new" engine has now been fitted, and all electrical problems sorted. As a result, it now runs very sweetly. This is a fun machine, to b...

Geoff has allowed me yo show his great video taken by his son on the back of his R100RS... "Some camera work by my son from the back of my RS on our trip last week. This road is from Omeo to the Blue Duck inn at Anglers rest, Victoria. Probably my favourite race track but boy, don't two up, loaded for touring cramp 'yer style! As usual the audio is a bit/lot crap, but anyway. Must find a better mic system to stop the wind noise."

Just a little note to say Merry Christmas to you all. Ride safe over the holidays. Proof of how good BMW's are. Even the famous ride them....

Seeing as I basically now live on the Central Coast it is time for a Roaming of the Central Coast ride. Today the weather turned on a very hot and sunny day for us. No set route. Just go for a ride. So we headed off to Somersby Falls first. Having never been there this was a real treat for me. Having Jan as my human GPS we could not get lost. This is her stomping ground. She has lived up here all her life. You can tell we are still in the grip of a savage drought. The Falls are but a trickle. Jan said as a kid you could swim at the bottom of some of the falls. Not now. In places there are pools of black stagnant water. Yet the Falls themselves are still very pretty. My poor riding legs are screaming after all the stairs we have descended and then climbed back up. It is stinking hot too in jeans and a leather vest. We have both been just riding in shirts. The sun has been frying our skin bright red. Before you scream at me as to why we are not wearing all the right gear let me just say ...