So Friday i brushed off the cobwebs and rode up to London for a usual get together with old work friends. Checked into one of Premier Inns finest, changed rooms twice because the Air Con didn't work then rode over to a friends, on the way I heard the bang of what sounded like a stone being pinged out from under the wheel.
Almost instantly the back end wobbled, luckily i was doing about 15mph and then the hazard symbol on the dash warning me i had 0 psi in the rear tyre. I rode it about a 1/4 mile to a friends house, that was fun, where i parked it up and went out to have a good time to drown my sorrows. Next day I went back to my friends house and called Barclays who i have breakdown, travel insurance, gadget cover etc. with.

I'm now talking to the RAC who take my details, I inform them I'm going to need recovery because it cannot be repaired and that I've ridden it so probably wrecked the sidewalls anyway, I'm told it can be up to 2 hours, after the call I receive a text from them so I'm thinking all is good.. Nearly 3 hours later nothing has happened, no one has called  I call them again, wondering what is happening, they tell me they are busy, I explain again I need recovery where I'm questioned why, I tell them again and they replied "Oh right well I'll talk to our technical department, we had you down for a normal patrol visit"
2 minutes later they call back agreeing i can have recovery and now i have a 3rd party breakdown coming to pick me up, which arrive in 30 minutes in a truck you could nearly fit a stretched limo on, who take me home.

The only two good things that happened is I saved about 65 miles worth of fuel and i received a questionnaire on how did the RAC did.. I was a good boy and didn't swear on any of the comments boxes.
The wheel is off now and I just need to source a local garage to replace it and once back together I'll wrap it all back up again until next summer, bloody bikes not worth the hassle

Must be a dodgy connector in the somewhere. The fact that both stop working could be a bad earth connection

I used the lumps of wood of angle iron to align my wheels back in the day, although not in 1964 as i had just been born

I found when crouching behind the bike trying to align the sprockets with one eye closed it is made easier with your tongue just sticking out slightly... You know you all do it 

I think it is white, yellow and blue...it must have been that Police car he squeezed past 

I think panniers are like cat eyes on motorway for cars.. A kind of braille 

Quote from: Blobby on May 20, 2019, 07:36:54 am

Sometime it can be down to what you are using to wash the bike.
The foaming type of cleaners that you apply with a jet wash (I use it one on my car) are very corrosive and can find any small imperfections to get under the paint.. Saying that it is still no excuse for allowing it to corrode

I cleaned my bike today with Karcher foam wash in my Karcher jet wash.

I haven't heard about the foam being corrosive before.

So anyone who has their bike professionally washed and ACF50 protected gets that treatment?

Just had a look at the bottle and it says phosphate free.

It appears that anything that cleans your bike also damages it. Same thing was being said about MuckOff a while back.

Anyone know better?

I know the liquid i got from T'internet says ensure you thoroughly rinse it off.

The only true way to clean your bike is to not let it get dirty in the first place, which works for me as i never have to time to ride it..
1st time out this year was to the MOT station and back, the sensible part of my brain tells me to sell it, luckily my brain is so small my heart easily over powers it 

Sometime it can be down to what you are using to wash the bike.
The foaming type of cleaners that you apply with a jet wash (I use it one on my car) are very corrosive and can find any small imperfections to get under the paint.. Saying that it is still no excuse for allowing it to corrode

62.7mpg if you sit at 50mph. With panniers, even.
Don't ask how I know, but it was over many many boring miles.

Not a blast in either sense of the word, though.

More of a trundle 

My X3 3.0SD is an MSport so it's allowed to wear its badges I guess …. can't see the point if it's not got the special bits

Nothing wrong with that, I have a 535d MSport, the only badges are on the wheels and interior though. Oh and hard 'knock your fillings out' ride