Tallulah's Diary

[ghulst]

Oh man, that is terrible. And a binding rear brake can be anything... Hope this is going to be an easy solution.

[Lee337]

Yep, fairly easy solution, the dust seal on one piston has perished, so a new seal kit has been ordered & I'll strip & rebuild the caliper when they've arrived. The pistons look in good order so they only needed a clean.

Until then Tabitha will have to accompany me on my outings 

[Sin_Tiger]

  was an omen.

Still, could have been more expensive, you'll know it's not going to get a fail and the fuel savings should pay for the seals within a few miles 

[Lee337]

Guess who dropped a caloper piston on the concrete floor & buggered it up?

Yep, that was me! 

So, two new caliper pistons, one seal kit & a fresh pot of brake fluid & all done, she has a MOT for another year.

I also bought some Grip Puppies as I've been getting pins & needles in my left hand recently & someone recommended these. First impressions are they're a bit chunky - maybe I'll get used to them, maybe I won't.

Next up, oil & filter change, but that can wait until I've had Tabitha. on the dyno next week.

[Sin_Tiger]

Still, could have been more expensive,

sometimes trying to be cheery and positive backfires 

[ghulst]

Good to hear you got the MOT sorted. Well done.

On the grip puppies, it does take time to get used to bigger grips. I used to have something similar on my Transalp and I really needed to get to grips (pun intended) with smaller grips on newer bikes. When I did my test rides a couple of months ago, I rode an Africa Twin with thicker grips again and though it took a bit of getting used to, I did pick it up quite quickly again. You'll manage.

[Lee337]

As some of you may know, I've been working towards my advanced motorcycle test in recent weeks, so Tallulah has been ridden harder for longer & done more miles than usual. While I was working, I would get out at weekends for a couple of hours once or twice a month but that was about it. Since August, though I've been out a couple of times a week & while I've been checking the basics, oil, tyres, brakes electrics etc. I haven't yet done her annual service which was due at the begining of October.

I have my test coming up so as soon as that's done, Tallulah is going in to my workshop for some TLC. As well as the general service, I'm going to do a complete fluid change, oil, brake fluid and coolant.

I've noticed in recent weeks, that even with temperatures around 10oC the fan is coming on almost as soon as I reduce my speed to 30mph. I'm fairly sure that it never used to heat up quite that quickly - then I remember I've had her for just over 3 years and I never got around to replacing the coolant. That could be something to do with it.

I've also noticed that after a little over 7000 miles, the tyres are getting a little low, still legal and still nice & grippy in the autumn weather but they won't last the winter.

I'm not going to go around the houses with tyre choice as everyone has their own opinions as to what tyres are 'best'. Everyone rides differently, in differing conditions & road surfaces, expects different performance from their tyres, so I'm not going to ask.

Tallualh has Tourance tyres at the moment and despite a lot of negative comments, I've had no issues with them and I'm probably pushing them harder now than I have since they've been on the bike.

So', I'm down to a choice of two, Tourance Next or Road 5 Trails. we'll see which ones I can get hold of at the end of the month.

[Sin_Tiger]

Good luck with the test and finding tyres at a sensible price, they seem to be settling down again after the post Brexit hike.

[ghulst]

Good luck on the test! When is the day?

[Lee337]

Today was Tallulah's annual service, oil & filter mainly but took the opportunity to flush the coolant & replace it. Don't know when it was last done, certainly not during my ownership. The pink stuff that came out was somewhat cloudy & the cr8p that came out of the expansion tank needed to be seen to be believed.

Flushed it 3 times & refilled with some fluorescent organic Putoline stuff & topped up the expansion tank to between min & max. Just need to run it up to temp & keep an eye on the level now.

Note to self: next time I'm planning to remove the fuel tank, don't fill it up on the way home 

[ghulst]

Hahahaha, been there. Though not planned. I had just fueled up and ridden home, when the ignition on my Steamer packed in. That thing was a pain to lift off.

[Lee337]

After taking Tabitha to the garage for some of the good stuff, it seemed a shame to not ride Tallulah, especially as I already had my kit on.

This is the first ride since replacing the coolant - I'm glad I did it. Before changing it, Tallulah used to frequently have the fan running after 5 minutes riding through town, even with the air temperature in single figures. it was this that prompted me to change the coolant.

Today the outside temperature is 11c and mostly sunny so it seemed an ideal day for a test ride. I had to charge the battery up as she's not been ridden for almost 2 weeks and the temperature in the garage has dropped to 0c the last couple of nights. Not having power in the garage means I can't put the battery on the optimiser.

Off I go through the village, the long way through the new estates as the main road is closed, then a quick 3 mile blast, another 20 or so minutes riding through town, another quick 5 mile blast and finally a bimble through the village and back home.

The temp gauge barely moved once she was up to temperature and a final check of the level in the expansion tank, just above min line and jobs a good'un.

Next up, a good clean and a liberal coating of ACF50 to set her up for the winter, probably later this week as I go back to work in a couple of weeks time so fettling time will once again be limited.

[ghulst]

Nice! Enjoy it! Good to hear the coolant works better now.

[Sin_Tiger]

Result. I'm going to keep Edna road legal just for those odd days and our club annual Braveheart run 1st weekend of Jan 

If you dislike washing salt off, winter in Scotland is not for you 

[Lee337]

I have a council depot just up the road from me, approx 1/2 mile away. While they don't keep road salt there, the council make sure the two roads in the village are well salted, just in case.

By the middle of February, the road looks more like a gravel track than tarmac