Back to the Future

Let's face it, 2020 has been a year that most of us would prefer to forget.  After more than 100 days of being C-19 free, it's reappeared in NZ again.  At the time of writing this, it's small and confined to the Auckland area but who knows what's going to happen next.  The one good thing is that the authorities are onto it with appropriate measures - no dicking about, locking down our biggest city and other measures within 24 hours of discovery.   At present, we're not locked down in our region so apart from reintroduction of social distancing measures and some other sensible precautions, we're pretty much unaffected.

Following the first lockdown in March, I was quietly concerned that my motorcycling days were coming to a close.  The lockdown itself was easy to deal with as there was always plenty to do.  However, when it ended, I wasn't jumping out of my skin to go for a ride which was a bit disconcerting.  I don't really know why this was unless the winter weather influenced my indifference.  I guess you can't predict psychological effects, even though I consider myself calm in unusual or difficult situations. However, I've recently had two cracking rides in brilliant weather which have thrown off any doubts about continuing riding - yippee for that!. 

The first outing was a trip to south Auckland to check out some new routes for putting IAM riders through their Police Roadcraft Advanced Tests.  That's well and truly stuffed now with the Auckland travel restrictions but it was a glorious day out with the discovery of some new, challenging routes.

A quick stop by the Waikato River

Great views over the countryside

One of my mates who lives in that area suggested that I check out a particular highly technical road on the way home which I duly did.  To my horror, there were extensive road works with wet clay, cement dust and lime over substantial stretches of the road and I had a recently-cleaned pristine bike, the bastard!  He claimed no knowledge so I might have been uncharitable with my initial thoughts.  It's the sort of thing which good mates would do to each other!  Guess how I spent a few hours the next day.

The second decent outing was at our monthly regional IAM ride last weekend.  The meeting point is at a cafe some 160 km away from home which means I leave home before dawn in single digit (C) temperatures.  As with the last early start, heated gloves were a godsend, with an ordinary pair being carried to use later on.  I must say that the Michelin Road 5's stick like glue in all conditions and I'm glad I returned to using them after all the punctures I had on the GSX-S 1000.

At the meeting point, we also had a potential new member turn up for an initial assessment.  An IA gives the rider a no cost, no obligation opportunity to see if they enjoy the process, as well as allowing the IAM mentor to check the general standard of riding as a start point for a personalised development plan.  On this occasion it was Libby on her Harley Davidson who thoroughly enjoyed her day and was itching to join at the end of it.

Libby with some of the IAM team

Libby's beautifully prepared Harley Davidson

Having Libby join has been great for several reasons.  Firstly, she's the first female IAM member in our region, even though we've existed for 4 years.  I hope we get lots more now as female riders I've helped to mentor in other regions have been a delight with their positive attitude to learning.  In Libby's case, she had already taken the government-sponsored Ride Forever courses (details HERE ) and wanted to keep upskilling.  Secondly, she's only the second H-D rider in our region and one of the few nationwide.  Good for you Libby!

Fellow IAM members Bruce and Neil with their adventure bikes - they dwarf my KTM!

Jennie has dibs on our single basement garage for her car and my 4x4 sits under the decking on the upper storey of our house.  The bike sits in a covered area just outside my workshop.  The only disadvantage is that to keep it hooked to a battery tender during periods of non-use, I have to run a power lead from inside the workshop.  Not a big hassle in the scheme of things but recently, part of an old solar-powered external sensor light failed, leaving me with a spare solar panel.  I already have an externally accessible battery connector on the bike for my heated gloves which tucks away neatly when not in use.  All I needed was a compatible connector for the solar panel and we were in business!  I've successfully used the same system for our boat for several years and it's worked a treat.  Marine batteries ain't cheap to replace!

Solar panels on shed roof

Solar panel connection to bike

The next challenge is C-19 permitting, having a cataract removed later in the month.  Everyone tells me that it's simple and fast these days but the thought of a scalpel hovering above my eyeball isn't exactly a comforting thought.  At least it shouldn't disrupt riding for more than a day or two.

Stay safe everyone!

Out of lockdown!

NZ has moved to level 2 and although there are still many restrictions, going for a ride isn't one of them any more!  The 11000 km service for my Duke 790 was originally scheduled for 2 days after lockdown started so that didn't happen.  Now, on the first day of level 2, I could get it done.  The dealer is a round trip of 350 km away so it was a good opportunity to bring my riding up to scratch again.

Awoke to wet roads and gusty winds which wasn't exactly ideal after a layoff but a good opportunity to take it super-easy.  The first 50 km of the journey is comprised of tight twisties along the coast and I felt surprisingly out of sorts.  The KTM 790 isn't nicknamed "The Scalpel" for nothing and my reactions seemed to lag behind its rapid response to steering inputs and throttle control.  I thought about this later and reckon that my situational awareness wasn't as sharp as it should be and as a consequence, my inputs to the bike were a bit slow and clumsy.  A quick stop in Thames to top up the tank actually paid dividends.  In the past when I haven't been riding particularly well, a short break to do a mental reset has paid dividends. I think that the gas stop was one of those occasions as the rest of the journey was a delight.  Drying roads helped too!

  Front of house at Boyds - now Yamaha agents too

Parked the bike outside service reception and for Covid-19 contact tracing purposes, all visitors were required sign in by log book or QR Code.  Strict 2 metre distancing was in play with sanitiser everywhere you looked. Really impressed that they were on their game, albeit low key.

790 waiting to be whisked away, along with an 1190 Adventure R

The team at Boyds know that it takes me a tad over 2 hours to get to their place from home so they started work on the bike within a few minutes of me arriving whilst I wandered around their showroom, keeping an appropriate distance of course.  Even had to do another contact trace in their separate parts, accessories and clothing department when I picked up another can of chain wax.  Thought I'd take the opportunity to share a few photos I took whilst wandering about.....

The  photo below is the dealer's beautifully restored Yamaha TT 500 .  A real classic manufactured from 1976 to 1981 and good ones fetch serious bucks.  I'd happily have one in the shed.

 Elegantly simple and bloody gorgeous!

Boyds picked up the Yamaha franchise late last year.  I was just wandering about looking at the various models and happened to notice the plumbing on the MT-09.  Thought it looked quite arty!

Sexy pipework

This is the first time I'd seen the adventure version of my 790 in the flesh.  Undoubtely a really competent machine but with all the plastic, it looked too bulky and unwieldy for my taste.  I'd sooner have the smaller 390. 

The 790 Adventure

Now the bike below is a beast of a machine - the 1290 SuperDuke.  Doesn't really need 2 wheels on the move as pointing at the sky on the back one in any gear is its normal modus operandi.  A seriously frightening machine.  If the 790 Duke is the Scalpel, this must be the Sledgehammer! Love it.

A real beast of a bike

I guess everyone on the planet must know how popular Royal Enfields have become through the world with both singles and twins being really popular in NZ.  The 650 below offers good performance at a very modest price.  Can't go wrong really.

Uncomplicated, attractive and well-priced

The last bike that attracted my attention was tucked away in the area which used to be for customers to chill and enjoy a coffee.  It's a Sur Ron electric bike powered by a 6 kw electric motor.  I reckon it would be huge fun in the gnarly back country.  In fact, anywhere near us, come to think if it.....

The Sur Ron electric motorcycle

Coming back to the KTM, the 11000 km service cost NZ$314 (US$189, AU$293, GBP 154).  Not only did it include all the items listed in the handbook for that distance, it also had a computer software update and new frame bolts replaced under warranty!  I have no idea what the latter replacement was all about as under the circumstances,  it wasn't possible to chat with the technician at any length.

And finally, yet more expenditure coming up.  My front Bridgestone T31 tyre is toast at 8500 km which is a lot less than sport touring tyres on other bikes I've owned.  I have some theories about this but will do a proper review of the T31 in due course.  Wear on the right hand side of the tyre is particularly noticeable as can be seen in the photo below.  There's a reasonable amount of life left in the rear T31 and could just replace the front but being ever inquisitive, there are a couple of other brands I'd like to experiment with so need to replace both hoops.  More on this in due course.

A well-knackered Bridgestone T31 front tyre (big flats on the outer faces)

The anatomy of a personal lockdown

The whole world has faced the unknown with respect to Covid-19 and whilst the approach of each country varies, we've all faced restrictions which we've not experienced before.  NZ went into a hard lockdown really quickly and this has paid dividends.  As of today, a total of 1283 cases and sadly 2 fatalities involving the elderly.  That early action has not only stopped the total from being much, much higher but it will enable some degree of normality to resume that much quicker.

I've never voted for the Labour Party as I've disliked the "nanny state" politically-correct approach of some past Labour governments but I must say that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has handled major crises during her tenancy with more compassion and decisiveness than I would have imagined.  The sign of good leadership.  I was surprised to see her attracting major overseas interest like this piece from CNN a couple of days ago.

Getting back to how it's affected Jennie and I personally at this stage, it hasn't been too bad at all.  Following her rapid return from the UK, we both self-isolated on our property for 14 days.  I did the cooking and cleaning for the first 10 days and then it was back to sharing.  To be honest, we were both expecting the odd argument being in constant close proximity but we've been able to have a lot of fun and laughter.  A certain amount of novelty in the situation I suppose. 

I've been staying fit by having my mountain bike in a resistance frame.  It's ironic that on the last day of our isolation, I overdid the pedalling and hurt a leg muscle.  Consequently, my first trip post-isolation was to the pharmacist to get some Voltaren rub!  One trip to the local supermarket to get some odds and ends went off without a hitch, as did a visit to the doctor to get our influenza shots.  That was pretty slick.  Rolled up in the car to the service lane behind the surgery and a nurse in full PPE administered the jabs through the open car windows.  All done in a couple of minutes.

Fortunately, the autumn weather in our region has been fine so far with temperatures in the low-mid 20's C.  This has let us go for walks on the beach behind our place and do some long overdue gardening.  We did get some welcome rain a couple of evenings ago but it only lasted for half an hour.  Nice double rainbow over the harbour though.

So far, haven't found the pot of gold

Whilst nowhere as good as riding, just being outside in good weather to do some gardening has been great mentally.  Thought I'd share some shots of a few plants in our garden that I've been tidying up.

We have a lot of bromeliads and whilst they don't take much looking after, a good thinning out was needed and a good start has been made on that job.

A colourful bromeliad patch

The bees are having a field day with our Dwarf Bottlebrush plants.  It would be interesting to see what the honey tastes like!

Dwarf Bottlebrush

Last year, we had very few Monarch butterflies in the garden .  We think that it was due to large numbers of paper wasps attacking the Monarch caterpillars but this year there's a lot of them with very few wasps.  The Swan plant below which the caterpillars feed on is about 2.5 metres high and will provide a great food source.

Swan plant with seed pods

The Vegepod we bought at the end of last winter has been wildly successful.  Produce grows much faster than in the garden and we've had a constant supply of lettuce varieties, rocket, spinach and so on.  The basil has been outstanding with heaps turned into pesto, leaves frozen for future use and so on.  Also very handy with it being just a few strides from our kitchen.

Australian-made Vegepod.  A real winner

I guess that being busy is helping our lockdown to pass with relatively little frustration but the background knowledge that the majority of Kiwis are helping to drive it in the right direction also helps enormously.  The only frustration is not being able to get out on the bike.  It's been polished to within an inch of its life with nowhere to go!  Maybe soon......

I'm also retiring as chairperson of our region of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.  After nearly 5 years in the position, we have some great people who deserve to make their mark on it.  I'll still be around as a mentor and examiner so no plans to give up riding yet!

Finally, whilst looking for something else in a storage box, I came across a Tamiya plastic bike kit of a Honda Blackbird that I built around 2004.  It had got broken forks but fixed it ok thanks to superglue.  I remember that it sent me almost blind painting all the tiny parts and matching the bodywork to my real one.  Still looks pretty cool!

Tamiya Honda Blackbird

Kia kaha everyone - be strong.

First official day of lockdown

We've actually been in lockdown at home since I collected Jennie at the airport on Monday but this is the first official day nationwide and boy, it's quiet!  So far, everything is working out really well, we're keeping a reasonable distance from each other, separate bathrooms and Jennie isn't allowed in the kitchen at present.  This means I'm doing all the cooking but on the positive side, it keeps her away from sharp knives if I get under her skin!  She's busy catching up with her passion of genealogy (family history) and I've been doing motorcycle maintenance with gardening and other domestic stuff yet to come.  We had hoped to take the boat out fishing but apparently, that will be frowned on despite the isolation that comes with fishing.  I'm a member of the Coastguard should I ever need their services, but received an email from them this morning.  Roughly translated, it said "Don't expect to be rescued for at least 4 weeks so don't go on the water".  It's a beautiful day too, flat water, warm and sunny - sigh......

View from our front deck today

Once our immediate 14 day quarantine is up, we are allowed to go for a walk, keeping the regulatory 2 metres from others and visit essential services such as supermarkets, pharmacies and so on.  No need for that at present.  As it happens, new brake pads for the KTM arrived yesterday so today was always going to be earmarked for fitting them.

EBC HH pads - serious stopping power

I love EBC HH pads.  I fitted them to my Blackbird, Street Triple and GSX-S1000.  Far superior to the OEM pads on all those bikes in terms of stopping power.  They're not snatchy and they're kind to disc rotors - what's not to like and why aren't pads this good fitted as standard?  I found a UK supplier on eBay advertising a full front and rear set for GBP84 (NZ$172) including delivery.  A sight cheaper than NZ so it was a no-brainer.

This is where my ABBA  bike stand comes in really handy as both wheels can be lifted off the deck at the same time by using the attachments.

Both wheels off the deck

Getting both wheels off the deck is particularly handy because as well as swapping the pads, it allows me to easily de-glaze the disc rotors to maximise stopping power and bedding-in.

Essentials - pads, brake cleaner, wet and dry paper

First job was to remove the old front pads which were in "as new" condition.  As opposed to some other bikes I've owned, access to the KTM pads is a piece of cake.  Pop off a circlip  at the end of each pin, unscrew and withdraw the 2 pins and spring strip - the pads just lift out.

Removing the tensioning spring and old pads - piece of cake

Next job was to break the glaze on both faces of each rotor.  Sanding block, 400 wet and dry paper used wet.  About 5 minutes per face.

Wet de-glazing with a sanding block and 400 wet and dry paper

Glaze removed, disc thoroughly washed, calipers cleaned with brake cleaner

New pads inserted followed by tensioner, pins and circlips

A quick pump of the brake lever to reposition the pistons and job done.  The rear single caliper and disc was done in the same manner.  Only a single pin so really quick.  Next job is to go out and bed the pads in with a series of high speed, elevated temperature stops.  When that happens is in the lap of the gods at present.  Nothing else needs doing to the bike so tomorrow is a whole new day!

What a difference a few days make....

Jennie has been in the UK to see her sister.  For obvious reasons, things turned to custard pretty rapidly and an announcement by NZ's Foreign Affairs government department for Kiwis to get back to NZ asap was the spur to get her home pronto.  Easier said than done and without going into detail, there were several sleepless nights trying to get it sorted.  Some pretty serious price-gouging by some airlines or their agents which was morally unacceptable, if legal.

Bless our travel agent, he burned the midnight oil for a couple of days and got her a flight home with Qatar Air.  London-Doha is a little over 8 hours and Doha-Auckland is about 16 1/2 hours.  Cattle class is not good on the body when you're in your 70's, not to mention close proximity to others.  He managed to get Jennie what's known as a business-class Q Suite, where you can actually close a door and isolate yourself.  A picture is worth 1000 words ..... We've been told that it was the last but one flight by Qatar to NZ and is now virtually impossible to get back to NZ by any means.  The reverse is also true - there are still a lot of tourists here who look to be stuck.

Qatar Q Suite business class (Qatar photo)

Anyway, her flight arrived in NZ this morning at 0500.  All the airport buildings had been closed to everyone but passengers so I met her in the big car park outside the terminals.  It was pitch black, hardly anyone about and seeing her in the headlights sitting on a suitcase waiting for me to turn up was surprisingly emotional.  Must be getting soft.

A 2 1/2 hour drive home and we're both in isolation for 14 days.  We can go for a walk and I think taking the boat out fishing is fine but no other close contact.  Today, it was announced by our Prime Minister that total lockdown of NZ is imminent, apart from essential services.  This is going to be tough on a lot of people but it needs to be done.  I'm just hoping that I don't irritate Jennie to the extent that I get stabbed or pushed overboard.   If the blog goes quiet for a substantial period, please contact the authorities and state your suspicions!

Onto bike stuff, I can't get my KTM officially serviced as part of its guarantee because of the closures but that's of no consequence as I won't be riding it far.  Whilst Jennie was in the UK,  I set to and did a wheel alignment on the KTM with an adaptation of the laser rig I built for the Blackbird in 2003.  This isn't a tutorial but the basic principles can be found HERE .  I've simplified it a little since then but the basics still apply.  

Laser light just kissing maximum rear tyre width

Measuring the offset at 2 points on the front tyre (and on both sides)

Cutting to the chase, the differential offset of 8mm was more than I was happy with and with a bit of judicious adjustment, I pulled it back to 3mm.  Trouble is, I don't really know what constitutes an acceptable dimension for road riding of the sort I do.  I know that top race teams normally spend a bit of time on this aspect though.  I suppose it's the anal engineer in me coming out, sigh.......  reliable data has been central to my whole working life.  I will add a comment though.  If you can't measure something, then there's no basis for objective discussion.  I do know from past experience that tyre dealers or bike shops can be pretty rough and ready.  I prefer to know for sure.  Interestingly, I took some measurements at the adjusters on the swingarm before re-adjustment and superficially, they "looked" ok.  However, with the tolerances between each component compounding the error, you can't tell without actually measuring at the tyres themselves.  Trust me on this.

Finally, some comments on my Bridgestone T31 sport/touring tyres.  These replaced the OEM pure sport tyres which I was unhappy with in cold, wet conditions.  I've now covered 8500km on the set  and both wet and dry weather performance is excellent in terms of grip.  Ummm...excepting the walking pace drop outlined in the previous post.  No tyre would have prevented that.  Speed of turn-in is probably not as good as the OEM tyres but it's still acceptable.  In terms of wear, the rear tyre still has an excellent profile and lots of tread.  End of life will be around 10000- 12000 km which I'll be perfectly happy about.

Bridgestone T31 rear tyre at 8500 km - good profile, plenty of tread

The front tyre also has a decent amount of tread in general.  However, it has badly lost shape with substantial flats on the side extending to within a few mm of the tyre edge.  Less than perfect front suspension is one contributor.  However, I've experienced the same thing on all my front tyres irrespective of brand, including bikes with high end suspension.  The most likely cause is where I live in terms of ultra-twisty biker paradise roads which require aggressive countersteering at a reasonable pace.  Something I'm going to have to live with unless I do a 2 front for 1 rear replacement strategy.  I like the T31's very much but haven't decided to replace the front yet as I might look at the Continental Road Attack 3's, just out of curiosity.

To inject a note of reality into the tyre discussion, most tyres from major manufactures have a performance envelope that exceeds the abilities of most of us riders provided we've identified and chosen the type properly in the first place (pure sport, sport touring, adventure etc).  It comes down to personal preference and "feel" after that.

Bridgestone T31 front tyre at 8500 km - big flats towards the side

Finally, every good wish to anyone reading this blog.  There are going to be challenging times ahead and keep safe. Equally importantly, keep a sense of humour and be kind to each other!