Malcolm Leick
Registered user
Just had to have a moan about the side stand switch again. I think I'm into my third one now (over the last 42K miles). Why can't they design one that is resistant to road crap?
In the past I have had them clog up and die with field mud, but the bike hasn't been off road for a while now. I took my girlfriend on the back for her first ever trip and it was supposed to be a gentle introduction to biking in preparation for Iceland in the Summer. After a soggy weekend in the Lakes we decided to take a 180-mile non-motorway route back to the Peak, which turned into many hours of even soggier, freezing hell. And then the engine started cutting out in the most awkward of places.
Fortunately I recognised the symptoms and eventually got to a garage to buy a can of WD40. After tightening up the 8mm nut on the back of the side-stand I squirted gallons of WD40 over the switch, which got us going again. Had to give the switch another dousing before we got home, chilled to the bone. My girlfriend’s lips had actually turned blue! I'll find out how she feels about future trips when she starts speaking to me again.
Guess I'll be off to Rainbow for a new switch, as I don't trust myself to remember to lift the stand if I disable the switch.
On the plus side, my new Garmin Montana was awesome! Got £80 discount at Cotswold Camping thanks to 15% UKGSER discount, plus if you trade in an old Garmin you get another £50 cash back direct from Garmin (which pays for the ATV/bike mount.) The Montana with 1:50K GB mapping comes in at just over £400 and I have already transferred a free, very detailed topo of Iceland onto it. (Thanks for the link Tim C). I used the Montana for getting to the Lakes and navigating in the hills on foot when there.
On the road you just tap the screen and it changes from the road navigation screen to the 1:50K so you can see all the land features around you. Or you can zoom out for a larger scale map. It took me quite a while to work out all the menus and features, but that's mainly because it's so customisable and does so many things. My Memory Map Adventure and Tom Tom Rider are now both completely redundant! So far I am well pleased.
In the past I have had them clog up and die with field mud, but the bike hasn't been off road for a while now. I took my girlfriend on the back for her first ever trip and it was supposed to be a gentle introduction to biking in preparation for Iceland in the Summer. After a soggy weekend in the Lakes we decided to take a 180-mile non-motorway route back to the Peak, which turned into many hours of even soggier, freezing hell. And then the engine started cutting out in the most awkward of places.
Fortunately I recognised the symptoms and eventually got to a garage to buy a can of WD40. After tightening up the 8mm nut on the back of the side-stand I squirted gallons of WD40 over the switch, which got us going again. Had to give the switch another dousing before we got home, chilled to the bone. My girlfriend’s lips had actually turned blue! I'll find out how she feels about future trips when she starts speaking to me again.
Guess I'll be off to Rainbow for a new switch, as I don't trust myself to remember to lift the stand if I disable the switch.
On the plus side, my new Garmin Montana was awesome! Got £80 discount at Cotswold Camping thanks to 15% UKGSER discount, plus if you trade in an old Garmin you get another £50 cash back direct from Garmin (which pays for the ATV/bike mount.) The Montana with 1:50K GB mapping comes in at just over £400 and I have already transferred a free, very detailed topo of Iceland onto it. (Thanks for the link Tim C). I used the Montana for getting to the Lakes and navigating in the hills on foot when there.
On the road you just tap the screen and it changes from the road navigation screen to the 1:50K so you can see all the land features around you. Or you can zoom out for a larger scale map. It took me quite a while to work out all the menus and features, but that's mainly because it's so customisable and does so many things. My Memory Map Adventure and Tom Tom Rider are now both completely redundant! So far I am well pleased.
