We choose to ride a bike in preference to driving a car for many reasons: fresh air, exhilaration, a sense of freedom, no traffic jams, easy parking, the feeling of flying at ground level with a certain amount of raw danger. These are all excellent reasons for choosing man's greatest achievement, the motorcycle, as not just a form of travel to explore by, but as a way of life.
    

Now, shall I walk or shall I ride?
"Ride", Pleasure said: "Walk", Joy replied.
W.H. Davies

Are you riding a motorcycle in Sussex? Are you new to it, or returning after a long break? Get safe!
 

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March 2013 - 20,000 miles

Serious running problems, a burst brake line and loads of snow meant that the bike was off the road for nearly 6 weeks. The carburettor needed stripping down and cleaning, the brake needed renovating and it also got a much needed full service. It's now back in great condition and ready for the summer.
We are going to need some new saddlebags soon though, our old ones are falling to bits now.

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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday 19^th November 2012
Drive belt failure

We were both on holiday so we took quick jaunt down to Coldwaltham Brooks to watch the Barn Owl. I'd noticed some wear on the drive belt before we left and it was preying on my mind, mostly because they are expensive and also because on other Harleys they are a pain in the posterior to fit.
On departing the brooks I casually mentioned to Gill that we might possibly break down on the way home. I don't think she took it seriously but pretty soon I became convinced I was going to be proved right. By the time we got to Crawley we were suffering badly and were spitting teeth out everywhere. Really we should have stopped but I figured that all that was going to happen was the belt would break or lose so many teeth that it would be unable to run on the pulleys due to being so gummy!
If you could choose, where wouldn't you want to break down? Where would be one of the worst places? What about on a roundabout: one of the busiest in Crawley... at rush hour?
If you're going to do something, do it so everyone else can join in too, that's what I say!

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Sunday 21^st January 2012
New ape hangers fitted

The simple addition of a pair of raised handlebars actually takes a lot of work - the wires for all of the electrics have to be extended, 2 extended throttle cables need to be replaced along with the brake line and clutch cable. With the help of Spanner we got it all done with as little fuss as possible. The six inch risers needed to be replaced with stock short ones and so I used the ones that came off of our late-lamented Fatboy. The new seat is off being re-padded with memory foam as it was too thin for comfort.
A couple of weeks ago the front and rear suspension were upgraded as well, so the bike is now getting to just where we want it.

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August 2011
Sportster update

We've done about 7000 miles on the Sporty now and we're loving it. It's been good and reliable - a dodgy circuit to the rear light (fixed), a broken spring in the primary chain tensioner (fixed) and a puncture have been the only problems and they were no real problem at all. The rear suspension is ok for one-up riding but is wholly inadequate for two people plus luggage, so the shocks will be replaced as soon as possible.
The seat on the bike was a one-piece affair with a very small amount of thought given to the comfort of the pillion rider, so I got a cheap old seat off of Ebay and gave it to Dave at P&D Custom. He converted that into a comfy seat for two that also quickly converts into a retro-style solo seat. My seat is ok and will be even more comfortable when I get the handlebars raised up to where I want them: the important question was, would Madam approve too? She loves it - 10/10, a much comfier and safer feeling ride and she can see now over the top of my head again and get a better view. Phew, what a result!

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Thursday 13^th January 2011 - New Harley

Spanner and I went up to Blacks Bikeshop in Ormskirk, Lancashire today to see a bike I found for sale on Ebay. It's a totally clean and lovingly-maintained 1995 XLH 1200 Sportster with only 13000 miles on the clock. Everything about it was as new and seeing as I do about 13000 in a year, as far as I'm concerned, the bike is a year old.
I rode it the 250 miles home, most of the way in the pouring rain and it didn't miss a beat. That was probably the first time it had been ridden in the wet and it loved it (me too).
It's not the model of Harley I originally wanted and is what is often referred to as a 'baby harley' (1200 cc is no baby, trust me), but seeing as my savings had dwindled considerably I was left with no choice but to get as best as I could with what remained of my money. I think that I've achieved that and we are both overjoyed with our new baby.
Best of all, despite spending most of its life in the north of England, our new bike was originally sold (born) from Shaw Harley Davidson. So it's a SUSSEX Harley and we've brought it home to where it belongs.
It's going to need some small changes over the next few weeks: the handlebars first, as the riding position is slightly wrong for me (aching bum or what!), plus we'll have to get it set up to take our saddlebags and luggage rack so that we're ready for some expeditions. But even without all that, we have freedom from public transport at last - woooo hoo!

Our new baby girl

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Fatboy News

Our lovely, old Harley Fatboy has been written-off by the engineers for the insurance company. Apart from all of the visible damage to the bike the frame had also bent at the neck. There's nothing that can be done and we're both completely devastated at losing our faithful old bike.
Life goes on though and we're now searching hard for a replacement, so if you know of an FLSTFI Fatboy for sale, then give us a shout.

In the meantime we've been given a courtesy bike (above) by the insurance company while the claim is being sorted out.
It's a Suzuki Bandit GSF 1250 GT and we're not keen on it at all.

Check these bikes out.

Rat bikes

Triumph 650cc T120 (taken ~1980)

1963 BSA C15 250cc Super Sport
(taken ~1987)

Safer riding in Sussex

Mid Sussex Enduro adult race
Oct 2009

Mid Sussex Enduro youth race
Oct 2009

Our old bike was a 2004 Harley Davidson FLSTFI 'Fatboy'. We got it brand new on 18^th February 2004 and we'd done over 90,490 incident free miles on it before the accident. It was used every day of the year, in all weathers and virtually never let us down. We still miss it like mad.


In the winter we cover our bikes in a protectant. This is a sticky, smelly goo that comes out of a can. It stops the bike from rusting when there's salt on the roads. It works well but it takes the rest of the year to get it all off again. In the winter the bike ends up looking like it's made out of muck, as everything sticks to the protectant. IT LOOKS GREAT!


With a little care and a lot of hard work, this is what our bike will look like soon.

 
Gill loves being a pillion passenger. She gets a good view from sitting up and behind me. Probably a better view than me sometimes, especially over hedges.
I'm very lucky that she doesn't want to get a car.

 
Our good mate Spanner and his little TOSSA (Triumph / Ossa)