30th July
Having picked up (& paid for - £200ish for both) the Ohlins yesterday, I arrived at Greg's place (Deacon) at 0930 in order to swap them back onto the Adv, having left a terribly long-suffering and sulky dog at home...
The bike was still surging like mad on the way over and, frankly, is becoming a trial to ride.
Greg has a huge garage, equipped with a bike lift, stereo, TV etc. Mental note to self - must buy lottery ticket.
We've soon got the back wheel off and I'm attacking the lower shock bolt when suddenly something begins to dawn on me...
Spotted the problem yet? No? Have a closer look...
That's right. They're different shocks. They've given me the wrong ones...
Never mind - we leave a message on the answerphone for the chap at GP Suspension to call and continue with the job. We replace the front shock, then leave the bike in a state of disassembly, ready for whenever the proper shock shows up. Greg suggests we go out for a ride - he's got some visits to construction sites to do, and it's far too nice a day to do them in a car. I point out my lack of 2 wheeled transport - no worries...
As I relax into the deeply padded seat, adjusting the backrest for lumbar comfort, Greg demonstrates how to operate the CD player and cruise control. It's another world...
We ride up to one of the most sought after areas of Portland, where Greg is just finishing a $1.8m house, overlooking W@nker's Corner, as it happens...
Shortly afterwards, we get a call from Dave at GP Suspension. We're only ten minutes away, so we go round. Sure enough, he's given me the wrong Ohlins - these were from a R1100RT. The bad news is he's given me the wrong pair of Ohlins - which means we'll have to swap the front shock again.
We return to Greg's place via another building development and Portland BMW's new showroom, where I buy a new visor for my helmet and notice this rather pretty R90/7 and it's fetching Vetter fairing, lurking in the car park...
We arrive at Greg's and, after a quick drink, get to work. Whilst working at the top of the rear shock, I notice that the plug on the sensor atop the airfilter is loose, with its spring clip almost undone. I re-attach it and make good the connection - could this be associated with my surging problem??
In just under an hour we're finished - we wheel the bike out and then clear up. Whilst we're clearing up I notice this...
It takes less than 15 minutes to pull back the tank, take out the front shock, replace the top spacer mounting, and torque everything back down...
I took this picture of Greg's expression as I pointed out we weren't quite as 'finished' as we thought we were...
Having got the donkey work out of the way, we felt confident enough to make a start on the new parts which arrived this week. Within the hour we'd got the main frame installed and voila...
...an end to water leaks, overstuffed panniers and any problems transporting groceries to the hotel - excellent!
I rode back to Jorge's house - what a transformation! The bike felt secure and planted from the moment I rolled it off the stand. I'm also delighted to report a marked reduction in the surging - too early to say it's cured - I'll take it for an extended ride in the country tomorrow - but it felt much better.
After a quick visit home to make sure Cricket hadn't slashed her wrists or overdosed on Bob Martins, I meet up with Greg and Connie in a local Chinese restaurant. Also there is the lovely Katrinka, a vacuum cleaner salesperson and part time dog shampooer. Quite what her relationship is to Greg & Connie is a mystery, although she manages to pass me her phone number by a sleight of hand which was far from subtle.
Actually, she's charming
and the four of us have a thoroughly enjoyable meal and chat. I return to Cricket, who seems to have got over her sulking period, and open a cold beer...
A good day
Having picked up (& paid for - £200ish for both) the Ohlins yesterday, I arrived at Greg's place (Deacon) at 0930 in order to swap them back onto the Adv, having left a terribly long-suffering and sulky dog at home...
The bike was still surging like mad on the way over and, frankly, is becoming a trial to ride.
Greg has a huge garage, equipped with a bike lift, stereo, TV etc. Mental note to self - must buy lottery ticket.
We've soon got the back wheel off and I'm attacking the lower shock bolt when suddenly something begins to dawn on me...
Spotted the problem yet? No? Have a closer look...
That's right. They're different shocks. They've given me the wrong ones...
Never mind - we leave a message on the answerphone for the chap at GP Suspension to call and continue with the job. We replace the front shock, then leave the bike in a state of disassembly, ready for whenever the proper shock shows up. Greg suggests we go out for a ride - he's got some visits to construction sites to do, and it's far too nice a day to do them in a car. I point out my lack of 2 wheeled transport - no worries...
As I relax into the deeply padded seat, adjusting the backrest for lumbar comfort, Greg demonstrates how to operate the CD player and cruise control. It's another world...
We ride up to one of the most sought after areas of Portland, where Greg is just finishing a $1.8m house, overlooking W@nker's Corner, as it happens...
Shortly afterwards, we get a call from Dave at GP Suspension. We're only ten minutes away, so we go round. Sure enough, he's given me the wrong Ohlins - these were from a R1100RT. The bad news is he's given me the wrong pair of Ohlins - which means we'll have to swap the front shock again.
We return to Greg's place via another building development and Portland BMW's new showroom, where I buy a new visor for my helmet and notice this rather pretty R90/7 and it's fetching Vetter fairing, lurking in the car park...
We arrive at Greg's and, after a quick drink, get to work. Whilst working at the top of the rear shock, I notice that the plug on the sensor atop the airfilter is loose, with its spring clip almost undone. I re-attach it and make good the connection - could this be associated with my surging problem??
In just under an hour we're finished - we wheel the bike out and then clear up. Whilst we're clearing up I notice this...
It takes less than 15 minutes to pull back the tank, take out the front shock, replace the top spacer mounting, and torque everything back down...
I took this picture of Greg's expression as I pointed out we weren't quite as 'finished' as we thought we were...
Having got the donkey work out of the way, we felt confident enough to make a start on the new parts which arrived this week. Within the hour we'd got the main frame installed and voila...
...an end to water leaks, overstuffed panniers and any problems transporting groceries to the hotel - excellent!
I rode back to Jorge's house - what a transformation! The bike felt secure and planted from the moment I rolled it off the stand. I'm also delighted to report a marked reduction in the surging - too early to say it's cured - I'll take it for an extended ride in the country tomorrow - but it felt much better.
After a quick visit home to make sure Cricket hadn't slashed her wrists or overdosed on Bob Martins, I meet up with Greg and Connie in a local Chinese restaurant. Also there is the lovely Katrinka, a vacuum cleaner salesperson and part time dog shampooer. Quite what her relationship is to Greg & Connie is a mystery, although she manages to pass me her phone number by a sleight of hand which was far from subtle.
Actually, she's charming
and the four of us have a thoroughly enjoyable meal and chat. I return to Cricket, who seems to have got over her sulking period, and open a cold beer...A good day
