Noel & Doris's grand day out

Well Friday dawned and it was not a nice dawn at all. It had been raining overnight and more rain was predicted through the day before the sunshine came in for the weekend for a change.

The original plan had been to ride to work loaded up and then head straight for Northwich after work, but I decided that I'd have to spend a load of time cleaning the bike before the show if I did that, so I left the bike at home and headed off straight from there. It meant I didn't arrive at the campsite till later but was a load easier.

For a change, the weather followed the forecast. I left shortly after 6 and was there by 7, after a lovely ride down the A roads to Northwich. Doris ran like a .... Dream. By the time we arrived at Witton Albion Football Club, I was completely smitten. Lovely smooth, unthreatening power delivery - never going to set the world alight, but perfectly OK in normal traffic on A roads. She encouraged me to sit up and enjoy the journey a lot more than I'm used to on the VFR, which always seems to be egging me on to look for the next overtake or take that corner just a little faster next time. I really felt in my comfort zone.

One minor problem was evident - there was oil leaking from all around the base gasket. I know I'm a really bad mechanic, but when I tightened the head down I found that my torque wrench didn't have a low enough range for those bolts, so I guessed (shame :( ). But I definitely erred on the side of caution - too much on the side of caution it would appear....... Snagging job no 1 - buy another torque wrench and get it torqued down properly. It was not enough to be a problem though - the oil level was stll well up. So I mopped up the mess and gave a few bits a little clean ready for the following day.

This was my third year camping at Witton Albion and it's feeling like a nice tradition now. I got the tent set up quickly - decided to camp in the "quiet area" on the pitch this year (mainly because it's nearer the loos!)

Then I called into the Social Club for a drink. It was heaving, as they'd put a Race Night on to entertain the campers - not really my thing so I had a couple of pints then settled down for the night. Really clear skies were forecast and it was a very cold night's sleep. Reminder to self - get better sleeping bag!

Up early the next morning as all the show entrants were to be in place by 9.15. I rolled up and was slotted onto the "general modern classics" line - right between a GSXR Suzuki Barry Sheene special edition (one of only 3 in the country)  and a very well used Yamaha TTR250 that had recently completed a 20,000 mile journey to Cape Horn. Suddenly my Dream felt very mundane......

But what good fortune to be next to adventurer Ken Thomas - the most interesting person I have had the good fortune to meet in many a year. Read the blog of his amazing journey here then look at the journeys of Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman in a whole new light. Thanks Ken for a fascinating day.

The show was a huge success, with great attendance and loads of people taking the time to come and talk to me about Doris. One of the highlights for me was when previous owner Steve and his wife Sally called in to say Hi. Again - lovely people, and it was great to be able to share the journey with them, as I knew Steve had been disappointed not to be able to do the restoration himself. Nice to see a couple of members of the Classic Bikers Club forum that had been following the blog as well and also some friends from work showed up.

The very best bit was when one guy gushed at me that he'd had one in his 20's but hadn't seen one for years and it was by far the best bike he'd seen at the show so far! (I think he had a very specific point of reference compared to most people, but my ego is very easily inflated!)

You can see the dribble of oil in the photo above. Several people were amused to tell me that they thought only British bikes leaked oil - it was funny the first 4 or 5 times...... (Apologies to Northwich Council for the stain on your pavement, by the way.)

And so back to Witton Albion to camp overnight again. Another chilly night but I compensated with extra socks! I could afford a lie in this time though and once I'd got most of my camping kit packed, I rode back down to Northwich for the Thundersprint proper.

This is getting bigger every year - the crowds were huge this year. I spent the morning mooching round the race paddock and all the trade stalls - some serious classic bike porn in that paddock!

At midday, I went up to watch the cavalcade.

Then after that I took up position on the hill for the Spitfire display and the Thundersprint itself.

The fastest lap time I saw was 21.08 seconds - they don't call it a sprint for nothing! It also doesn't take itself too seriously, as evidenced by the George Formby tribute below - apparently from the film "No Limits that he did about the TT.

So, all over for another year - I headed back to the campsite to take down my tent and head for home. As I was heading back to the site and getting more confident in the bike, I braked a little harder for something. A minute later, the bike started labouring and slowing down as if it was running out of fuel. Uh oh! Actually, the front brake was stuck on - the handle was pumped up solid. Obviously, John hadn't quite sorted it out - it was OK for normal braking but not releasing after heavy braking ......

I sat by the side of the road, really disappointed as I was thinking that there was really nothing I could do to sort out  a wonky master cylinder at the side of the road, and that Doris would end her journey going home on a trailer. The only thing I could think of was to just crack open the hose union a fraction to let off the pressure and then see how it felt - bingo! We were moving again.

So we made a pact (well I did!) that on the journey home I'd anticipate like never before; only use the rear brake if I could and not go over 50 (remember the slight oil incontinence problem the old lady has!) and in return I asked Doris to deliver me home safely, which she did :).

A fine first adventure - we looked after each other well and had a marvellous time. Doris will now get a thorough clean and those two issues (oil and brake) sorted before we venture forth again but, on the evidence of this weekend, I have no doubt that our relationship is going to be a long and happy one.

Made it! (With 5 minutes to spare....)

Doctor John the bike mechanic is a magician! What a guy - he has worked his magic on Doris and turned her from a rattly, unbalanced, underpowered slug to a smooth, quiet, mid-range sports bike! I have nothing but praise for what he has done and in good time too (just!)

Thoroughly recommended: Truebikes

Here's what was wrong:

• The engne was still on the original camchain, which appears to have been made out of cheese, as it had so much stretch in it that it looked like it had done 100k miles not 10k. Apparently there was an early recall to swap these original chains for DID - mine was clearly not done. It had skipped a tooth on the cam sprocket so the timing was on Eastern Standard Time I think! Luckily there is sufficient clearance between valve and piston and no damage was done. It would have taken me weeks before I'd thought of this as an issue.
• The carbs, that I sent away and paid lots and lots to have overhauled and new jets fitted, appear not to have had quite everything done..... There is a deep seated jet controlling low speed running in each carb which is very hard to get to and which had chewed up heads so couldn't be removed. They were completely gummed up, so lots of time was spent softening up old fuel residue and cleaning  to get those jets clear. That was why I couldn't get it running below 5000rpm - there was no fuel passing over the air screws, so it made no difference how I adjusted them. Lesson - don't assume that, just because you've paid to have something overhauled, that it has actually been overhauled......
• The pattern front brake lever that I fitted was not quite the right shape, so it was not fully releasing the master cylinder piston. The impact of this was that the return valve on the master cylinder wasn't being exposed, so the brake wasn't freeing off properly. No wonder I couldn't pump air back up through the system using the "syringe method" - the damn return hole was blocked. Again, I would never have thought of that.

The moral of this story is really to know your limitations. There was more "kerching"ing noises but you really do need to recognise asap when to bring in the experts. The forums are full of people "trying" to fix issues and stabbing in the dark (including me). I could easily have spent £100+ on swapping out perfectly good electrical kit trying to hunt down the source of my problems, and it would have been a complete waste of money.

Anyway, the end result is that Doris is now runing like a Dream - sorry, I lasted this long without an awful pun. She has her first MOT since 1986 and I got to the post office to get tax 5 minutes before it closed. Those who have read the blog right through will recall that the target I set myself 3 months ago was to have the bike ready to ride to, and display at, the Northwich Thundersprint on 12th May. Today is the 10th May and my Plan A was to ride to work in the morning, loaded with camping gear, so that I could go straight to Northwich after work and camp overnight ready for the early show entry time on Saturday morning. That depended on me taxing the bike today, so I really did make it with 5 minutes to spare!!

Of course I then needed to road test her properly, so off to the garage to fill up and then I got 20 miles around the local lanes in. I can report that she is a delight to ride. Sure footed handling, sounds lovely and all in all she feels like not far off a new bike (which of course she should, after all of the money thrown at her in the last 2 years!) I have never before sat on a bike that I felt so comfortable on and confident in from the off, and I'm really looking forward to some great adventures with her.

Doris is now loaded with camping gear and resting in the garage, ready for our first adventure to begin tomorrow:

Thanks for listening everyone - now let the real fun begin :)

Noel & Doris

Doris and The Bike Doctor

After failing to get Doris MOT'd or running properly at the weekend, I bit the bullet and have called in the specialists, in a bid to be ready for the ThunderSprint bike show on Saturday.
The initial findings are that the camchain is too slack and at the adjustment limit, so a new chain is called for. I assume the timing will be very ropey till that's done.
The compression was all ok though which is good.
Doctor John said that there was an early recall on the Dream related to camchains - maybe mine got missed? 
Anyway, he's hopeful of getting me sorted out for the weekend, which is great news.

I give in!

Well I've followed all of the good advice on the various forums I subscribe to and still can't get the running below 5000rpm anything like what it should be.

At work I would be telling me that I need to know the limits of my abilities and bring the specialists in once I reach them. I'm at that point so I'm going to arrange to take Doris up to my local mechanics on Tuesday and get them to sort it and do the MOT.

Best laid plans......

Well I got all of the little bits done this morning and headed up to my "just turn up" local MOT station. Closed for Bank Holiday - "damn"!

Plan B - I headed into Birkenhead to another bike shop where you can normally just turn up - they couldn't fit me in.

So I'll have to take some time off next week to do it instead.

Positives though: I got a chance to do probably 20 miles and everything went well - above 5000rpm she runs real nice, but i still need to sort out this slow running. Hopefully, resetting the air screws will address that (fingers crossed). The handling is lovely, being used to much heavier bikes now. All systems seem to work well.

I think the front tyre is not quite central on the rim as there is some "chattering" from the front end at certain speed - it feels like the tyre is slightly off centre in the vertical plane.

A nice thing happened today. I'd tried to get in touch with Steve that I bought the bike from and got the following e-mail back:

"Hi Noel, What a brilliant surprise to get your message. I often wondered how you were getting on. I am amazed by the transformation from the sorry state you picked her up in - Doris now looks stunning. I can see you have had quite a journey. You have my appreciation and admiration for what you have achieved. I will certainly pass on the information to Martin, who I know will be so pleased at the result. I will try to make it to Northwich next week, so hopefully see you there.
Steve"

MOT time

The day of reckoning has arrived - I need to get Doris MOT'd tomorrow if I'm going to have any time to get a few shakedown rides in before the journey to Northwich for the bike show next week. So I've been doing a few jobs tonight.

First, the petrol tap leaks, so I'd ordered a new (pattern) one. When it arrived I could see that it had a built in filter, so all my hard work last week to retro fit a filter was unneccessary! I replaced the tap and reinstalled the original pipe which is much neater.

The most irritating job tonight was to fit a new ignition switch assembly (pattern again). After I had the test run last weekend and moved Doris to her new home in the garage, I promptly lost the key and have no spare....... To say I was annoyed is a minor understatement. Anyway, new switch fitted now, so the original key will show up tomorrow......

I've had an ongoing issue about the indicator switch - very tempremental when using the RH one. I stripped the switch down tonight and cleaned it all up, so it works great now. But I lost the spring and detent ball out of it! I have a spare switch assembly, so I've stripped that down and I'll sort that in the morning. But the wiring is so old and fragile in there, that the horn has now stopped working!!

I've stripped the horn section out of the spare loom and cleaned up the switch etc so I know that's OK now. In the morning I'll run that down the side of the existing loom as a temporary fix but soon I'll order up some new cable in the right colours and re-wire it so that I know it's reliable.

Oh I also put the new number plate on, which arrived this week. It cost quite a lot more for an original style pressed steel one but it looks soooooo much nicer and in keeping than a modern perspex one :) I rivetted it on to match how it was done originally. Really looks the part.

So, hopefully, once I sort those little bits out in the morning that should see all the issues sorted for the MOT. If it passes (please!), I can tax it in the morning and then get some miles in.