Three Countries In Just One Day

Up and packed at dark o'clock ready for the trip to Cairnryan (Scotland) to catch the early ferry to Larne (Northern Ireland) and begin the long haul south to Ballacolla in Co. Laois (Ireland) for the annual meeting with the MZ/Jawa/Royal Enfield lads.

Finally, a use for that rubber wristband that I was handed at a Triumph open-day. The toll on the M1 heading towards Dublin is 1 Euro. This way, I don't have to take my gloves off and rummage around in a pocket looking for the coin.

A friend has been in touch prior to my leaving to say that the forecast was for lots and lots of rain. I decided to take along a little friend to help me pass the time. Well, it saves me having to talk to myself on the journey. That way lies madness. Gave the Customs folk at Larne a bit of an early morning giggle into the bargain.

This small Titanic memorial is set into the stone wall around a farm on the road near to where I was heading. It's such a poignant thing, it wasn't only the great and the good who were caught up in the disaster.

 A selection of the many different bikes which made the trip.

There may have been alcohol involved in the evenings, I couldn't possibly comment.

Sunday morning and, up early and breakfasted, it was time to pack up and head the bike for Larne and the start of the long trip home.

The duck said that he wanted to go racing, but this was as near as I ventured. Can’t be too careful these days. It’s not like they haven’t warned you.

This is the current border between Ireland and the UK. Amazing, isn't it? Twenty minutes later I had my Scottish banknotes refused at a petrol station. No explanation, just that they didn't accept them. I offered them again, and a 3rd time. No? Okay. I put my wallet away, got on the bike and rode off. I await future developments with interest. 

Oh, and I was given an award for being the Furthest Travelled. Again. This is becoming a habit. Many thanks to all concerned and, all being well, I plan on going back next year.

Geared Up

I mentioned changing the gearing a bit in an earlier post. To do so I intended to simply fit a one-tooth larger front sprocket.

Before I ordered one up, I removed the casing to check what was actually in there already. 

shiny new heavy-duty drive chain

The standard factory fitted sprocket in there wasn't a surprise, what was annoying though was that the brand-new heavy-duty chain which the dealer I bought the bike from had fitted was the wrong pitch. Both front and rear sprockets were 520 pitch, the chain 525. While not the end of the world, it was just another sign that attention to detail hadn't been one of their strong points.

 

old rear sprocket

As a new chain was an additional expense I could do without, and as the one fitted had virtually no wear, it was easier, and cheaper, to just replace both sprockets at the same time with 525 ones. I ordered a matched set up.

Next problem, how to do the work on a bike without a centre-stand and without paddock stands? Back online and a small hydraulic jack was ordered up as well.

brand new rear sprocket

Replacing the sprockets was easy enough. Once it was all done and everything reassembled I adjusted and oiled the chain, gave everything a bit of a wipe down, and took it for a quick spin.

 

 the idea of 'dry lube' seem like a contradiction in terms

Not a massive difference, but noticeably more comfortable at lower speeds and around town, so I'm marking that down as a success. As an added bonus, changing the gearing means that my speedo now runs more accurately instead of under-reading by about ten-percent.

Never one to miss the opportunity to leave well alone, I also fitted a new horn as the old one was a rusty mess, and changed the clutch cable as it felt a bit tight and I had no idea how well the original had been looked after and I was worried about the possibility of it snapping. While I was doing that I fitted the dresser kit I'd bought which includes a rubber bellows to keep the actual cable out of the weather.

Next up I think that I’ll give the bike the full service that the dealer was supposed to have already done, and for which I have a stamp in the service book, but which I am inclined to suspect was mostly skimped on.