Back in motion

Bike in for MOT @ Smiffy's Superbikes in Acle. Passed (of course it did), one note to keep an eye on the rear brake pads as they're 2/3rds through, so no worries, there. Ashley checked the battery, sure enough it was knackered. The good news is that the regulator/rectifier's ok. Phew.

In to Norwich, P&P in Roundtree Way to buy a replacement battery: A moment's concern when it appeared that they may not have a suitable battery, but a search through the catalogues revealed that there was a suitable alternative. Phew II.

Now I can't wait to get out and use the bike instead of spending money on it! Next week: Classic racing at Cadwell!

That flat feeling

The VFR is known as a reliable bike with only one major weakness. The Regulator Rectifier. This result in a flat battery or for the battery to boil, depending on what's actually wrong with the RR. Replacement RR's are, allegedly, more reliable than the original fitment on the 1998 bike (there's a definitive article on the Bikers oracle VFR website) and, having had my original replaced a couple of years' ago, I thought I should be ok for a while, yet. So, yesterday morning, I pulled the bike out of the garage and hit the starter. The starter barely turned the bike over. It was fine when I put the bike in the garage a couple of weeks ago. Is this a symptom of the dreaded RR problem? The battery has been flat on a couple of occasions recently - I assumed it was because i'd left the heated grips on or it was causing some sort of drain on the battery but I've removed the fuse so it can't be that. Looks like the battery's given up the host. My multimeter isn't accurate enough to indicate whether the RR's bust, although the reading looks about right (just under 15volts - or amps, I forget which - charge). So, tomorrow, into the workshop for MOT and battery / RR check. The MOT should be no problem as the bike's only done a couple of hundred miles since the major work earlier in the year. I'm just glad this happened now, and not en-route to Germany in three weeks time (more on that later).

Cadders Hill - Lyng - Motocross

My first time watching Motocross since I was a boy, and it was called "Scrambling" in those days. A lovely way to spend a day, especially since the weather was so kind.



To give an idea, this is a long, tight left bend which seemed to have a preferred line that the rider in front is taking. However, as the following rider, and subsequent picture shows, it wasn't the only line.





And following this ...

They have to ride off the edge of the earth (well, that's what it looks like from where I was standing).

It was all go - and, yes, I really was that close to the action.

Close racing. And some spills, though surprisingly few.