Yes it's got a shite red-tinted screen (what is wrong with some people ?), which will be straight in the bin. Otherwise almost showroom, except for a few scuffs on backs of mirrors. Should arrive in a week.
My new acquisition has a screen (I like the tint - just dark to light smoke) that proclaims "Fireblade" (in tiny enough to not annoy me letters luckily) and a tank pad that proclaims the same. Unnecessary but I do like both the screen and tank pad designs and function so can live with it but for some reason the "stating the obvious" irks me .
I have ('blade)...but seeing as I am in love with it happy to do so again. I have only ridden it for a couple of hundred miles very gingerly in the recent damp and horrible conditions so am itching for warm dry roads. 2004, two owners, bought with 15000 miles on the clock. Only imperfection is some small cracks to a right hand fairing where it has been over tightened.
So having got the wheels off, I thought (to make the fitter's life easier and mine to be honest) I'd offer to take the wheels round to him this afternoon: The tyres weren't due to arrive until tomorrow, when I will be working and he was away over the weekend. That way he could fit them at his leisure when he got back and I could just collect when they were ready rather than lose a chunk of my day off taking the wheels to him and waiting for them to be fitted. He was happy with that and off I set. When I got there he said "They've arrived early, want them fitted now?" Is the pope catholic? Two shiny Roadrider 2s fitted and ready to go on the bike. So big thanks to F&B Tyres Wheelock, the owner/fitter is a keen biker and has been selling and fitting bike tyres for years as a hobby, so he understands the care we look for when working on our wheels. Top man. I'll be scrubbing the release agent off earlier than expected. Stay safe.
Having bought the bobbins for my new Triumph I set about modifying my rear track stands bought for the Ducati which cradled the swing arm on both sides to work with the bobbins. Having done so I have now bought another pair of bobbins to fit on the Ducati as the positioning of the cradles under the swing arm was super critical. Too far forward and the upright rubbed on the cans and too far back and the cradles clashed with the sprocket nuts. Modified stand for bobbin lift. Triumph bobbin trial installation on the Ducati. What you see is a steel plated penny washer that will be replaced by a bespoke piece of 3mm ally which will move the bobbin to the rear of the spindle slot in the swing arm. Location on the other side will be critical due to possible sprocket nut clash. May need to go for a thin nut or even use a countersunk screw in a countersunk washer with a cap nut or dome nut on the outside.
No hint of winding down from what I could tell. I'd go back to him, but after the last week, hopefully not for a while.
The last thing I bought was a Bell SRT Modular helmet about a week ago. I had a Schuberth modular some years ago (C3 Pro) and was never really keen on it. The chin bar was persnickety and I always had to use two hands to latch it and even then I had to give it two or three tries for it to snap closed properly. How it all started was because three of Mr. Sandi's and my best riding buddies use modulars and swear by them. So I got curious when I got an email from Bell advertising their Spring sale and I checked out their SRT modular. That helmet isn't super high priced to begin with (about $400, I think) and it was on sale for $300. That was sounding like something I could live with to to test ride the "almighty modular". But...it gets much better. A couple of Saturdays ago, my buddy, Russell, and I rode to the local Harley dealership to poke around. I found myself gravitating towards the sales racks and tables in the motorclothes department where I happened to notice a lone Bell helmet box. Upon closer inspection, it contained exactly the Bell helmet I'd been looking at and researching. And it was both the right color (Gloss Black) and the right size (Medium). Coincidence. Hmmm, probably not. Here's the best part. It was on sale for $150! And I had a $50 H-D gift certificate I'd sort off forgotten about. I figured that I could certainly look into what all the modular hubbub is about for $100. I also sprung for Bell's ProTint Panovision shield, their new name for their Transition shield. I've had a Bell full face helmet with their Transition shield and it's absolutely brilliant. Clear as a bell (Bell?) at night and as dark as my Dark Smoke shields in the blinding sunlight. That was on sale for $112 down from $150. So I'm feeling like I got a good deal and am hoping I like the helmet. If I do, the biggest single related expense will probably be a com unit for it. It seems like a modular helmet might be a good choice for big trips and touring.
Superb result, @Sandi T! I wish I could wear Bell as they have some great helmets, but sadly they crush my temples if they fit elsewhere.
About ten years ago that was true about Bell helmets for me, too, @learningtofly. But at some point in the past maybe five years or so they've made some changes to their helmet shape, shifting from a round oval shape to an intermediate oval shape. If you haven't tried a Bell on in awhile you may want to give it another go, although if Bells crush your temples it may still not work for you unless the newer models put you in another size. Anyway, Shoei and Bell have been my helmets of choice over the years with a couple of trials (and errors) when I went with something else. Like that Schuberth that turned out to be a bust.
