Modern Vespa

Just sayin. Theres a ghost in my garage.

Well, well!

I've just located an OEM seat cowl on Ebay so it's now complete.

Just needs one more thing...

It doesn't go fast enough to warrant that monstrosity.

Speaking of monstrosities, do you have to wear an open face so you can admire yourself in that shiny tank?

I don't have to as I get others to do that for me.

The early versions were plastic with a chrome look finish but the heat would expand the gas and fracture the coating.

Later versions were metal. Lovely shiney metal. shiney shiney shiney.

Very nice bike mate. Might have one of those myself one day.

Royal Enfield are cutting ties with their UK distributor - Moto GB.

Why ? Because they are rubbish.

Interesting. Who are they using instead?

I enjoyed a nose at their bikes, and the BSA, at the bike show last week

They are going to do it themselves.

Just realised I missed my 15 year anniversary on MV back in October.

Looks like I hit 13 in the summer, though have been less active for four or five of those.

In bike news I'm still considering a Triumph, or possibly a Harley Sportster S with the 1250 liquid cooled engine.

Harley Davidson every time, just because it's not a Triumph.

I'm abandoning the idea of buying a Griso that's come up at exactly the right price as I still have a Kawasaki KLV 1000 and a Moto Guzzi V9 Bobber still to sell.

I also have only completed 5 miles on the V7 so I can't really judge how long I'm going to keep it until I've ridden it a bit more.

Oh, both it's tyres are shot and it's - 4 outside.

Happy New Year

I rode a new BSA Gold Star today.

Very impressive indeed.

Here we go...

Yup, here we go indeed.

Better than a Royal Enfield?

Yes. It's hard to quantify but it's noticeable.

It rides better than an Enfield as well.

Want me to expand ?

Be my guest

Well the engine is a gem as it's a 45 HP Single with DOHC and balancer shafts that's built by Rotax. It's happy at any speed and pulls like a train in the lower gears.

The gearbox is really slick and smooth with no false neutrals. It's a pleasure to use in traffic and I think that the clutch is cable operated.

As the weight is low down it falls into corners easily however the throttle can be a little snatchy on the way out but that's the fuel injection doing it's on/off thing.

If you're going to rev match it on the downshifts you have to be patient as it's reluctant to blip as freely as you'd expect.

The finish on all surfaces is really good. Not in the same league as a Honda but pretty good when you consider the range starts at £6500.

If you're looking for Gentleman's motorcycle but with more grunt than a Royal Enfield this could be for you.

I like it.

I've just had some great customer service from these guys.

Two Tyres
Unit 1
Peterboat Close
London
SE10 OPX

A pair of Bridgestones fitted and balanced in 45 minutes and about £100 less than my local dealership could do it.

I then went next door to visit Lawrence to get an oil and filter change done on the BMW.

I then promptly left without refitting my panniers.

Hilarious.

Thanks Buddy.

The Moto Guzzi is riding on a British pair of Avons which has really tightened up the handling.

It also had its oil and filter changed by Lawrence.

6 Degrees on the way home. Shivers.

I was also out on the scooter today. As you say… chilly.

I've also found another bike to add to my shortlist - the new Ducati Scrambler. The Nightshift version with bar end mirrors looks particularly nice.

I had a blast on a previous incarnation of the Ducati Scrambler and although it was 30bhp down on my Street Triple, due to its light weight and handling I found it to be a really fun ride on the right roads.
The new model above looks far better than the older models too.

Yes it looks gorgeous, and although it's a fair bit down against a Speed Twin for basically the same price, you'll be able to use all of the power, more of the time.

The Ducati is a bit of a mess when compared to the Triumph Scrambler which is easily the best looking one out there.

The BMW is just a poor effort.

The Honda is easily in a different dimension when it comes to uglyness.

I'd agree with you about the previous generation Ducati not looking great, but this seems a big step forwards.

I do like the Triumph scramblers, but find the 1200s to be a bit too tall and heavy for me to be comfortable with, even though I'm 6ft1.

The mutations in my blood are now down to their lowest ever - .004.

This is good news.

Nice! What was your high score before the treatment?

Well I'll have to look up that number which may take me a day or so.

The one that I do know is the white cell count.

Normal is between 5 and 10. I broke a record at Kings with 575.

They pumped my blood out and spun it to separate the white cells.

Day 1, 3.3 Litres. Day 2 2.5 Litres. Day 3 1.3 Litres.

It was a bit like watching the opening few minutes of Joe 90.

No cure. Got it for life.

Happy Days.

Got it. It was 27.9 % BCR - ABL back on 27/01/18.

The general view is that's not very good.

BCR-ABL is a mutation that is formed by the combination of two genes, known as BCR and ABL. It's sometimes called a fusion gene. The BCR gene is normally on chromosome number 22. The ABL gene is normally on chromosome number 9. The BCR-ABL mutation happens when pieces of BCR and ABL genes break off and switch places.

Went for a test ride at the weekend. It was okay, but didn't grab me as much as I thought.

The feet forward riding position was comfy enough but takes some getting used to. It turned in a lot better than I expected with the huge balloon tyre, and the electronics & dashboard are very good. It has *so* much power, more than I'd use, but the sound was very bland and could have been any bike.

Not ruled it out, but neither did I buy one on the spot.

So it's looking like an Indian then ?

I'm going to London when the bike show is on in a couple of weeks, so I'll be looking for inspiration, and a close up of the new Ducati scramblers.