Shock ordered

As for every year, winter is the perfect time for heavy mods. Shocks were the next in line for the R1100S (along with other lighter mods), so a pair have been ordered today. Not the standard replacement though, as one is a nice Bitubo (for the front) and the other is a Nitron track version (for the rear).

The Bitubo (left) and Nitron (right) shocks

There's still a lot to be done on the bike's balance and these shocks will certainly help sorting this all out, if not adding more questions to the lot. We'll see, but not before a couple of weeks because both are built to order and tailored to the rider.

Christmas present ideas

Christmas is (almost) here and, as every year, you're running short of ideas. Well shortly put, you're not going to find bright last minute ideas sat on your ass reading this blog as what you will find below are more like stupid gifts for motorcycle fanatics. 

So let's start over with the first one : the Leanometer. If you're totally obsessed with how broad chicken stripes stay on your tires or simply want to know how far your knee still is from the ground, this thing is for you. Look at the pictures, you'll get the idea.

The other one is what you should offer to a lovely second half : earrings. But in that case, she would have to be very comprehensive, so maybe it might also be less risky to fall back to a key chain for yourself. Find these items there.

Darth Vader vs Wall-E

No comment ...

Never been so close

This is what I received from Ken from RS Motorcycles today. 

It might not be clear to the reader what it is so let me explain that briefly : it's a V5 but something went wrong between the scanning process and email transfer as an attachment. Despite this rather disappointing result, the message is still a ray of hope, because it means the V5 has arrived after 4 months waiting and it should make its way home quickly now.

Ducati Gulf oil cafe racer

... by CAV America. One hell of a Duc'.

BMW R100RS

... by Rithmo Sereno. If I had to vote for the retro bike of the year that's the one I'd pick. By the way, I think I've now found my paint scheme. It might be that one or maybe a derived black version.

 

Riviera Ducati SS

... by Walt Siegl. More great motorcycles on his website.

Finger tools

As time is flying (mind we're already a couple of weeks from Christmas), let's start a series of short posts on what you've been missing on the internet for the last couple of weeks. First on the list are the finger tools.

The nimblest tools you've got are your hands and fingers. Here's a set of tools to fully use that potential.

You can buy a set at HexHold.

Halloween project

It's a couple of months old now, but what better time than Halloween to undertake that bloody cool project. Miss Hyde is in fact hiding a KTM 950SM under its (still orange) tank (courtesy of El Solitario MC for these nice photos).

Project Greeny delayed

Project is the word of this year's last quarter. We're having too much of them and still are starting new ones almost every weeks. And the recent ones generally take precedence over the older and not-so-moving ones, which is the reason we're statting new ones by the way.

Anyway, as the Speed Triple's still waiting for its papers, it's become one of these not-so-moving projects, if not a completely stuck one. I've been assured last week they should arrive soon, but the bike's been sitting still for weeks now. Not done a single fix, not even a single part ordered, for once there's a project being treated with a bit of cautious.

The good point in the waiting is that I've been offered a bit of time to sit on the project and think about ways of sorting the bike out. And guess what ? Ideas and solutions are popping from all around the web, so the forks, panels, bars, paint and lights are departments where ways of improvement have already been found. Then comes another problem : choose which idea goes best with which solution ... Finally not that bad for a stuck project.

One good, one bad

I took these shots during our last ride. There's one nice :

And another one which is announcing a problem with the right fork seal :

Fortunately, the fork doesn't come into play in the damping process for the telelever fork system. One of the potential reason it's spitting oil has something to do with the numerous brake fluid bleeds. One other may simply be because it's 10 years old.

The ride

My good friend and I went to the Croix-en-Ternois round of the Pro Classic last week. We mostly took B roads where the R1100S excels so we rode fast mode. Weather was great if a bit hot and we just came on time to see the last race of the day involving the most exciting superbikes of the mid eighties / early nineties.
Below are few pics of the paddock :