Riding gear

A couple of things have gotten me to ponder this subject.

First was the posting about rain and the other was from the other week while I was out and about. I'll start with the rain issue; even though I have ridden in the rain, I'm not a big fan of it. Besides the prats out there on suicide missions when it starts to rain, there's the thing of staying dry.

Getting caught out in the rain without raingear has happend on occasion and by the time I've gotten to my destination I ended up looking like a drown rat. But the idea is to have something to stay dry and if possible, warm.

With that, what are the choices? Is the new age textile stuff as good as advertised by keeping you dry, warm and stylish (if you're into that sort of thing)? Or do you go the other routes which are Belstaff/Barbour suits which will keep you dry and all that at a hefty price or go the cheap avenue and get an old storm coat, Wellies and hope for the best?

Personally I go for the Belstaff/Barbour gear made out of waxed cotton. It's been tested and proven over the decades.

The other thought was this: for everyday riding, depending on the weather of course, what's sensible and practical?

Do you wear just the bare minimum such as t-shirt, jeans, gloves and a helmet like Harley owners trying to look stylish or do you wear a leather/protective jacket as well even though it may be uncomfortable in high temperatures such as down here in Cactus Country? Or do you wear like some, t-shirts, shorts and sandals? These I see mainly on Japanese road scorchers.

To me even though it may be hotter than Africa during a heatwave, having the right gear on is the only right choice. Yes in extreme heat the jacket may get you hot and bothered (not like that my dear) but it's better than having severe road rash and scars for a while.

Plus, even on a hot day, there's always the chance of getting hypothermia while out riding without a jacket of some sort.

Sorry if this sounds like an editorial or promotional for some safety gurus, it's not, but it's something that I had been thinking about the past week or so.



  

It's on!!!!

The tickets are booked, a dry run of packing the bag has been done, now it's just two things to do....wait for the dates and get meself pysched for the trip.

What trip is that  he's rabbting about you is wondering. Why the trip home and up to sunny (?) Aberdeen area to take part in the 3rd Haggis Run of course.

This will all take place in the month of October when the weather will cooperate and be cool but sunny without any rain, gale force wnds or, and this is the big one, volcanic ash blowing around and being deposited on any and everything in sight.

This is the volcanic ash that's coming from some volcano in Iceland and wrecking havoc on airline travel in Europe.

Personally I think it's the Icelanders way of getting their ow back from the Cod Wars of the early 70s, but who can say for sure?

Anyway, the trip is on, I'll be home for a few days and then up for the Run to meet up with GBC, Kawa and whoever else. Hopefully Big Sid will be there with his AJS V-twin. I have got to see that.

A damp week

Been a wet and damp week of late. For the past few days it's been rain and the resulting chaos that results due to it.

I don't know what it is about the  people in this town, but for some reason, when it starts to rain, they get stupid. On the freeways and motorways they'll drive at 70mph (none of those metric speeds thank you) and then when it starts to get wettish, they go faster and start to tailgate.

And of course this leads to numerous accidents all over town. A good one happened near where I live; I have to take the motorway home, which is about 15 miles south of  town out in the country.

About a mile from my exit, it started tipping down for a few minutes and then I saw some vehicles on the shoulder of the central reservation. The rain let up and then I saw in the north bound lanes a school bus at the side of the roadway facing the opposite direction. Then the rest of the scene.

Here and there for about half a mile were cars and trucks at staggered intervals in various states of damage. The police and fire department was there along with a polic and news helicopters and both northbound lanes were blocked with a resulting tailback of traffic that stretched a good mile or more back.

It stayed like this for while I'm guessing as traffic was coming off the motorway and driving down the road where I live to bypass the accident.

As a result of the lunacy that's involved, I don't ride in the rain if I don't have to. It's not that I can't, it's that I prefer to stay in one piece AND alive for a little longer.

I'll leave it at this for now.

Choice of tires/tyres

While things are apart right now and before I get too carried away I'm gonna ask for your opinion on something.....when I rebuild Vicky, I'm split between using universal or trials/motocross tires and road tires.

As I live on 2 1/2 acres of sandy land with a few dips, loads of trees with a fallen one for good measure, the odd exposed tree roots the trials type tires would be the way to go so I could dabble a little at trials riding.

So an off road tire would be most suitable for that use. But which type?

However, as I'd also like to use her on the road and have the tread to grip it, road tires would be a more natural choice.

I'm very inclined towards the road tires so I can ride her on the road, in particular in the Hill Country west of here which has sme very nice twisty roads. My choice for tires would be Dunlop K81s (TT100s) but from 'net research, there's no such tire here in the Colonies.

And this is the reason for the opinions; which would YOU chose with the info just given?

So let's hear your opinions (keep it clean), no matter what they might be.

The beauty of the Interweb

Haven't really done too much work on Vicky lately. The other day I pulled one of the external springs off it's stanchion after a bit of working at it, while the other one fully resisted any efforts to loosen it's rusty grip.

Have gotten a couple things off eBay; a reprint of a 70s B44VS parts listing and a primary chain tensioner, both for around $20 each.

That's the beauty of this 'net thingy....even though there's no actual BSA dealers in existance here in cactus land, or anywhere else in the Colonies for that matter, ordering parts is easy enough by shopping on-line.

There's eBay of course, but there's also other sources worldwide that may have the parts, information, literature or whatever is needed at your fingertips.

I've found parts  for Amelia my Starfire in the UK, Australia, Canada and throughout the US and it's proving to be the same for Vicky as well.

This also applies to advice as well. I've gotten advice and information on a few forums I belong to as well as from researching websites

Some of it is BSA specific and so is more general info that is gleaned from discussion on a forum thread of some kind. And a really good thing is that any info from the web is gotten more or less right away versus having to wait days on end for any written word to arrive via the mail system. The only wait that invovled is when the mail service delivers an item to me that I've ordered.

So for now, I'll keep trawling eBay looking for parts.

Also, as my trip home has been postponed 'til possibly in October, I'll attend the '10 New Ulm Rallye next month, campping the weekend there. I'll try and get plenty of pictures of interesting bikes and write up a report to accompany.

Due to circumstances...

beyond belief, the trip home in May has been postponed until possibly October, which means that the British Singles Run may have to wait 'til next year.

The good thing (?) about that is that it'll give me the chance to get Amelia the Starfire on the road then and any gremlins put down.

Seems that the fuel pump on my truck has given up the ghost and the manny who is gonna do the work is charging equal to what my budget for the trip is gonna be. So basically it boils down to needing the truck and being in this situation 

as well as this:

   

But there is a silver lining in that the 2010 New Ulm rally is during that same time in May so I should be able to attend that one and for the entire three days as I can do the camping thing (no, not that type of camping) and can experience the whole tamale.

So let's see what transpires eh!?