INBALANCE
AUTUMN 2019| 3
❝Apparently we displaypsychopathic
tendencies...Now Iadmit Iget abit antsy
if things don’tgoright in the workshopor
when Imissaflag in asection andthere is
acertain amount of steering-wheel gripping
as cars flashbyatanundreamed of 60mph
whileavan-driverlikemecrawlsalong at
50mph, butpsychopathic? Surely not!❞
T
herewewerethundering up theroad
in th evan and headingforAviemore,
but aswe werein avan and not on a
motorway, our thunderwasaslightly
muted 50mph–been on thecourse,got the
certificate –when the newskicked inover
the radio.
Youknowwhatit’slike,the radio is on in
the background andyou’re not really paying
attention to it,asy our attention is,ors hould
be,onthe road,but somethingfilters into
the consciousness.Itm ightbeawordor a
phrase oratune, and in this case itwasthe
word‘coffee’thatcaughtmyattention and
the presenterwas talking aboutarecent
surveytodowith coffee drinking habits.
Therewas amomentarypanic in casecoffee
wasgoingto be banned–asithad been in
Ottoman Turkey in the 17thcentury–but
turning up thevolume sowe couldhear the
piecerevealed itwasabout traits displayedby
those who take theircoffee incertain ways.It
seems someone somewherehad been paid
tofind out which sorts of people drinkcertain
types ofcoffee.
Theresults differentiatedbetween those
who take milk,others who take milk and
sugar,those who orderafancy type ofcoffee
crea tedfromafoamteased fromAlpine air
andflavoured with crispylichens...Imade
thatbit up ...but the bit thatgot me was
about those of us who takecoffee as strong
and as black as possible.Apparentlywe
displaypsychopathictendencies.
NowIadmitIget abit antsy if things don’t
go rightint he workshop or whenImiss aflag
in asection and thereisacertain amountof
steering-wheelgripping as carsflashbyatan
undreamed of 60mph whileavan-driver like
me crawls alongat 50mph, but psychopathic?
Surely not!WhatIreallywantto know is who
commissions these surveys? Actually,strike
Oursurveysays...
...wedisplaypsychopathictendencies.
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fordetails.
that, whatIreally wantto know is if someone
will commission meto do asurveyonafew
things suchas‘get youhomedodgesfor
motorcyclists’. Youknow, the sorts of things
thatusedtobecommonknowledg eor
common practice, like carrying afew things in
an on-biketoolbo xtocover those‘justinc ase’
scenarios thatarise unexpectedly.
Suchascenario occurredduring the pre
Scottish thisyear (2019 in caseyou’re re ading
abackissue)when an olddodgesavedthe
dayfor me.
Thereislittle doubt about it,older British
motorcycles do vibr atealittleand thereare
anyamountofwaystoi nsulatevulnerable
components from its effects .Norton, for
instance,wereacutelyawareofthe vibr ation
thing when their pleasant500cc twin was
stretchedto750ccand beyond and their
solutionwastomount the entiredrive train
on rubber‘Isolastic’fittings.
IunderstandDotatone time also used
Silentblocbushesto combat engine
vibrations. Idoubtifany of ushaven’t
experiencedsome issues with vibrationson
suchcomponents as oil andpetrol tanks or
mudguards.
In my casethe mudguardsonmyB40 BSA
areplastic andinsulatedbyacouple of soft
rubberwasherseitherside of the guardand
fas tened withaboltthatclamps up,but still
allows alittle movement. Theoil tank canflex
alittle tooand the petrol tank hasfoam pipe
insulationaround the tubetoallow it to move
alittle.All has beenwell forquite some time
until thisyear.Those familiarwith th epre
Scottish willknowthe startareaispassed
around the middleofthe trial andachance
tofill up is po ssible–rider and bike–and so
it wasfor me.After topping the tank upIwas
aboutto go whenafello wrider pull ed up,
glancedat the bike andsaid“tank leaking?”
Hmmm,asmall split hadopenedatthe rear
wherethe tank sits on the frame tube.Asmy
fellowrider watc hed in amazementIlegged it
back into thepub wherewewerestaying and
returned withabar of hardsoap.Wiping the
area around the splitIrubbedthe soap into
the crack,which sealed it.AtemporaryfixI
admit,and onewhich would only lastashort
while,but thosecourtesy soaps arenot heavy
and it’s possibleto slip oneinajacket pocket
foruse la tertofinishthe trial.Its eems such
dodgesare no longercommonknowledge,
certainly among theyoungerrid ers andIalso
have to admit thiswasthefirsttime Ihave
ever used thatparticularfix, but Idid know it.
Back in theworkshop
and using soapforits
primary purpose –
washingmy hands –
afterpulling the split
tank offandflushing it
out ready forthe welder,
Iheadedforthe coffee
pot andIwondered what
other GYHdodgesare
out there?
