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Easy Home And Epilogue
An easy ride home today - and a few notes from Ren regarding ashes, Wales and... The Ikea Effect? Maybe Ren needs (another) holiday.
Good Weather, Good Scenery, Bad Surfaces
It's time for Andy to start the return leg of his big trip. It's all sunshine and hot weather, the views are still good too. The roads... well they're not quite as good. You can't have everything can you.
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
It's a much more relaxed day for Bogger and Pete. There's a handful of miles to ride, people to meet, food to eat, and of course the odd beer.
Mooching Around The Mach Loop
The Dynamic Muppets take on the Mach Loop! OK, it's far less impressive than it sounds. There's some countryside, a cafe, and all the things you'd expect.
To The Most Southern Tip Of Europe
Andy reaches the final destination of this trip. "You can see Africa from 'ere".
Haulin' Ass
It's gonna be a long long long ride for Bogger and Pete today. Our brave heroic riders are up to the task and it all seems rather easy overall. Hopefully the digs at the end of the ride will allow their asses to rest comfortably.
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
The Dynamic Muppets are bothering the good people of Lincolnshire as well as bringing the house prices down. There's tea and cake and sweeties too, hills, and spooky stuff.
Queasy Crossing And Useless Till Roll
Rain, wayward boarding passes, useless navigation systems, and rough seas - it's just another day in the life of a Bogger. As ever there's food and booze in the life of a Bogger too.
The Omnipresence Of Olive Groves
Andy's definition of a shorter ride is only 250 miles... sheesh. This time between the fabulous scenery and glorious weather it's olive groves as far as the eye can see.
Lonesome In The Flatlands
Ren is hoping for a better day weatherwise and riding-wise too. Ingoldmells is deserted, Skeggy and Mablethorpe ain't up to much, luckily the countryside is better than expected.
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Easy Home And Epilogue
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Come on Upt', sort yaself out. It's already meteorologically spring and it'll be officially spring in a couple of weeks. You really ought to have made the decision, booked the ferry or chunnel, and be working on some kind of loose itinerary. Let me see - sunshine and warm but no mossies or scorpions. You're screwed, you can't have everything. Bogger seemed to appreciate Poland, what about Poland? Bit too close to Ukraine? Croatia? Sharon and I are away for a couple of weeks in summer - you could spend a week in Horwich learning how to live like a scumbag in my place?
You have told me before ROD - but whereabouts are you?
Ian - I dunno man - I'd have wanted to put that rig together and put a few miles on it before I got it all painted up and looking lovely. Surely there'll be creases to iron out, things to change, adjustments to be made and heaven forbid you don't want to bump it while you're relearning how to combo?
I might have a few things to say about getting older and doing less miles. There may be a post about that soon enough.
03/03/2026 20:38:16 UTC
Easy Home And Epilogue
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I suppose the trials and tribulations I go through with my bikes are what you call the "Ikea effect" although rather more taxing. Re ashes: those of both my parents are still at the undertakers (as far as I know) after 10 and 15 years respectively. Neither I, my brother nor sister see much point in doing anything with them. The people have long gone and photos and memories seem more evocative. Maybe it's just us hard hearted folk.
Like Rod my distances are much reduced these days but am looking forward to firing up the outfit which should be a couple of weeks after I get the painted body and mudguard back.
03/03/2026 14:58:31 UTC
Easy Home And Epilogue
ROD¹ said :-
I have also been through those feelings of places not being enough of an adventure when they are in easy reach. However I have now reached another chapter in life where I appreciate wherever I ride, even just a few miles from home.
Wales is always a great ride, and not too far away from my base.
Upt, I am not yet planning where to ride this year, I am just planning to ride.
03/03/2026 14:29:27 UTC
Easy Home And Epilogue
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nice words Ed. Well done fella.
I'd take Riano over Wales. Then ride south to Portugal.
But where to this year....who knows? Hopefully somewhere without scorpions and mossies.
Upt.
03/03/2026 11:06:55 UTC
CB500X Fork Noise
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Well I hope it fixes your problem Tony.
25/02/2026 21:52:02 UTC
CB500X Fork Noise
Tony said :-
Have the same problem comes on after 2 3 miles on the bike and disappears in the rain....I spent yesterday pushing braking and swearing.... After taking the dog out this morning I'm unscrewing that bolt....I stuck crash bars on for my daughter to ride it..
25/02/2026 10:43:32 UTC
Good Weather, Good Scenery, Bad Surfaces
nab301 said :-
We're getting to the end of your journey ! coincidentally temperatures locally are rising too but after a wetter than usual winter it looks like we'll be avoiding potholes too .
Nigel
24/02/2026 12:43:49 UTC
Good Weather, Good Scenery, Bad Surfaces
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Enjoyed that Andy. Made me think of the warmer, drier, nicer weather hopefully to come. Although the morning cutting back scrub and the lawns looking longer will bring with it the age old conundrum of ride or work. As the bike is currently buried and on a SORN it'll have to wait. There's a paint brush talking to me too. I need a holiday. A long biking holiday. We've got nowt planned, anyone else got any ideas.
At the moment I'm thinking either Dolomites or Northern Europe, unfortunately other things may get in the way. Pffffffftttttt.
23/02/2026 12:50:55 UTC
The Excuse This Time Is 2 Deaths
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Andy, I wonder if the ashes were from an angling widow. You know the nagging wife of a keen angler, his last revenge as it were. "That'll teach er".
20/02/2026 12:45:24 UTC
The Excuse This Time Is 2 Deaths
Andy said :-
Your words about not being allowed to spread ashes just anywhere reminded me of a couple of related (fishing) tales.
In the last century, one of my fishing pals departed this world in his mid 40s. A group of us who fished this lake during the 90s headed over there with his surprisingly heavy ashes and two mates tried to spread his ashes on an island from a boat. Unluckily it was a bit windy and they ended wearing a fair amount of the ashes. The pub was so used to scruffy anglers, they didn’t bat an eyelid when we went in for a beer afterwards.
There was a spot I fished regularly on the river Loddon. I arrived one evening and could see some powder on the bank and in the river. Didn’t think much of it until I was sat there later on and spotted a small card in the bushes. Turned out some lady’s ashes had been scattered there, probably one of her favourite spots. Never could fish it again after dark, there was a creepy feeling about it.
19/02/2026 22:15:37 UTC
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Upt'North ¹ said :-
Small price to pay for piece of mind Ian. Good shout on the offset.
Postage is a killer ain't it. Every package I post these days is over a fiver. Just posted a birthday present off to Staffordshire, because it was over 1 kg and a medium size, "that'll be £6.80 sir". Just posted a letter to the USA at the same time, I think that was £3.40 for two pieces of A4.
Pffffffftttttt.
Although it's cheaper and more fun than driving to Smoke on Stench. On that note our fuel in the village goes up at 1 pm due to you know what. Damn decent of them to tell us beforehand.
Upt.
03/03/2026 12:50:31 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Thanks both. Well spotted Ren - I omitted the flat plate for clarity. This has 2 threaded holes for the 2 slotted holes in the sensor and one for the securing screw. This is spaced out with 3 washers and an oversize nut which strikes me as non-Suzuki..... Interetingly the exploded diagram doesn't show the plate.
I'm buying the cable operated choke from a place in the Netherlands and having found the part number see they actually have the connecting bit of plastic in stock. It's only a fiver but postage adds another 6 quid or so. Can't decide whether it's worth it. It does look as though the 2 blades are indeed offset.
03/03/2026 12:16:51 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Firstly - the TPS Ian is holding has 2 holes... the carb Ian pictures has but one threaded hole to secure the TPS. Looking on the exploded diagram in my link it actually looks as though that is by intentional design! Cheapskates pffffft.
Secondly it looks to my eye that you'll be looking for - essentially - a flat piece of plastic! There's a slot in both the carb side and the TPS side, perhaps a bit of random plastic can be filed down to fit? There is the risk the correct item may have an offset in which case... urgh.
03/03/2026 11:51:14 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
My experience with electrotrickery is if you depart from standard it'll probably upset some'at else. Plus I wouldn't want to run a fairly stressed engine with incorrect ignition timing. Pistons shouldn't have holes in them, ask me how I know?
Upt.
03/03/2026 11:00:48 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
and this the sensor. It wouldn't be impossible to make a link piece if necessary.
03/03/2026 10:19:02 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Thanks all, it is an FCR as referenced by Ed in his link - and ironically it's where I've ordered the choke assembly from! My engine being from a CCM it's the high power version(!) It is indeed part 109 I'm missing. I forgot to add pics but they will be shown below. I'm told by someone on a dedicated forum that I don't need it as all it does is change the advance slightly when idling and in gear to prevent stalling. Glyn you're right there's no way the mixture can be affected as there's no connection to the carb from the ECU apart from the TPS.
I don't believe I lost that part as I took it apart carefully and have searched the bench top. A previous owner had done some extensive work on the carb, documented by various changes to jets etc and I think he must have lost it.
My current plan is to leave it off and make a cap from nylon to fit over the spindle end to avoid air leakage. I assume - maybe wrongly - that if the ECU doesn't see any resistances then it will revert to some default setting, however Glyn's experience with the Divi makes me wonder.....
This is the carb end:
03/03/2026 10:17:33 UTC
Glyn said :-
I thought it looks to me that those 2 parts fit together but then realised that Ed posted the picture not Ian. On the Keihin carbs fitted to the ZZR they did not alter the mixture in any way that I could see but, obviously, altered the CDI to alter the timing. My Yam Diversion had a faulty TPS and ran like a barrel of bolts until I replaced it.
03/03/2026 08:48:39 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
The most common Keihin for the DRZ seems to be the FCR. There's an exploded diagram on the link below and if you find item 109 there seems to be a widget between the throttle shaft and the TPS...
https://www.frankmxparts.com/Keihin-FCR-MX-37-39-40-41-flatslide-carburetor-part...
03/03/2026 08:19:29 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Ah - the above carburettor seems to be a Mikuni, most of the DRZ400 carbs I'm coming across are Mikuni but you have informed us yours is a Keihin. I'm wondering if you have a trick carb fitted with the TPS for the Mikuni just screwed on to stop it flopping around.
03/03/2026 08:10:21 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Does this look at all familiar?
03/03/2026 08:01:59 UTC
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Ian Soady¹ said :-
The front brake on the BSA is an 8" twin leading shoe affair and is very progressive and powerful. I agree some drum brakes were pretty pathetic but by the late 1960s there were some good ones around. Norton's TLS on the early Commandos was excellent and indeed better in many ways than the later disc. I remember some heart stopping moments on my disc braked 850 Commando in the wet. It needed a full turn of the wheel at least before the water was wiped off. Just as your knuckles were going white it would start to grip at which point the front wheel would lock......
No sidecar brake and I can't see a means of fitting one easily. The wheel is in fact from a Ural with suitable adaptors. A sidecar brake is useful - not so much for stopping but to help with left hand bends which also need slight acceleration. On right handers - which of course are less scary - slight application of the bike rear brake helps to pull the whole thing round. I need to relearn all these things and have located a useful big car park on a local trading estate which is unused on Sundays so will be making my way there once all is up & running.
Sidecar paint and transport there on Monday confirmed.
This is the BSA brake - also fitted to Bonnies, Tridents and the like.
27/02/2026 12:23:54 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ian , I meant to ask does the sidecar have the facility for or even need a sidecar wheel brake?
Nigel
27/02/2026 11:53:18 UTC
nab301 said :-
Drum brakes , even when they were current never did it for me , be it my "current" Enfield which I converted to disc or my early 80's Renault 4 850cc car...
Never had a cable freeze but I did arrive home during a cold spell (2011/ 2012?) with a mechanically frozen unable to switch off ignition switch! (Honda 500)
Nigel
27/02/2026 11:51:57 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
You see! I should've blummin posted my fiver.
My only thought is that with the curved ends it would hold two parts together, so then I thought what two parts? Then I thought the brake lever for bleeding of the brakes overnight, then I thought, but it's got cables?
Then I gave up thinking. I await the next puzzle.
26/02/2026 16:22:50 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Ahhhhhh riiiiiiight! Hang on a minute... that... that's a cable in the lever? Well I suppose it'll be drum brakes and looking at the other pictures - yeah. Been a long long time since I rode my Benly CD200 with cable operated drum brake up front. Eeeeeh I remember the cable freezing solid leaving me with no front brake. Them's were the days eh. I don't believe that everything new is better, far from it - but hydraulic brakes are undoubtedly an improvement up front at least.
26/02/2026 16:19:46 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
This week's generous prize is not won. The device is in fact a parking brake. One aspect of having a sidecar is that there is no stand to stop it rolling away if parked on a slope. Yes I could leave it in gear but due to the installation of the Zuki engine in the Beeza there is nothing to stop me trying to start it in gear (actually this can be useful if the clutch cable snaps!). So the gadget slips over the twistgrip and front brake lever to hold the latter on. I also have a lock that does much the same thing. The tape (non-sticky harness tape) is as Mr Lurker suggests to preserve the finish.
Here it is in action:
26/02/2026 11:14:44 UTC
Occasional Lurker said :-
Not wanting to deface my one remaining £5 note, my suggestion is that it could be useful in holding the coil spring around a shock absorber, in a slightly compressed manner, thus facilitating easier fitment or indeed removal ...
The application of insulating tape would be a help in safeguarding the chrome plating on the surface of the spring ...
26/02/2026 08:55:08 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
The only thing that comes to my mind is some kind of handle...
26/02/2026 07:56:33 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Picture puzzle of the day. What's this? Knocked up out of a bit of mild steel bar covered with harness tape. Correct answers on a £5 note.......
25/02/2026 16:03:46 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I'll have you reprobates know my abode is very cultured! Alas I fear the culture is of a different nature, the culture in my house is biological rather than societal. There's a multitudinous compendium of new, undiscovered, and perhaps alien things growing in the dark recesses. I imagine there's entire civilisations been and gone in the 25 years I've been there.
I wonder if the bike also has it's own biodiversity under all the dirt and grime.
I find Horwich to be a very ordinary town, and I mean that in a good way. There's rough bits and scruffy bits, as well as nice bits and posh bits. I feel fairly safe but I lock my doors. There's shops aplenty but like many small towns those shops are chain and charity shops. It's a town like many others.
So I suppose Horwich will have to dream up some random tales to provide excuses to become cultured. Maybe we'll find Van Goch's auntie's brother's friend's cousin moved here for 3 weeks 90 years ago.
Anyhoo I shall await my appointment as motorcycle cultural ambassador (thanks ROD) and hope the remuneration package is large and pays me to ride to exotic places and stay in posh hotels.
22/02/2026 07:43:20 UTC
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