Austin Shackles

On or around Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:57:32 -0000, "Loz H" <m3lsd@> enlightened
us thusly:

>Heh. I really must get around to getting the 550 and 200 down here to Wales.
>The CX (apart from freeing off the front calipers now and again, thanks to
>whatever crap Ceredigion Council use to grit the roads), is just too
>boringly low-maintainance.. )
>

I almost got around to dragging the SOBoxer out of the shed on Sunday, but
then it turned nasty weatherwise again.

I bet next sunday is fine, seeing as I'll be out doing (indoor) harchery.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"Quos deus vult perdere, prius dementat" Euripedes, quoted in
Boswell's "Johnson".

Loz H

Austin Shackles <austinNOSPAM@ddol-las.net> spewed forth the following...


> I almost got around to dragging the SOBoxer out of the shed on
> Sunday, but then it turned nasty weatherwise again.
>
> I bet next sunday is fine, seeing as I'll be out doing (indoor)
> harchery.



Heh. Sods law in action, that is.

I keep meaning to make the run up to Llandovery one Sunday, but life just
seems to keep getting in the way. Saying this, the missus is taking the
kids to her parents in the last weekend of the month, and I'm staying put to
keep an eye on the moggies, so I'll probably head up then. Last good run
before the old MOT runs out.

Talking of which, who is good for bike MOTs around here?

Good as in "Prepared to overlook a slightly pitted stanchion with a wag of
the finger" and so on, like my old MOT station did....


--
Loz H
~ Hairy, Ugly and Fat ~
CB550F CB200 CX500

Austin Shackles

On or around Tue, 14 Mar 2006 22:45:34 -0000, "Loz H" <m3lsd@> enlightened
us thusly:

>Austin Shackles <austinNOSPAM@ddol-las.net> spewed forth the following...
>
>
>> I almost got around to dragging the SOBoxer out of the shed on
>> Sunday, but then it turned nasty weatherwise again.
>>
>> I bet next sunday is fine, seeing as I'll be out doing (indoor)
>> harchery.
>
>
>
>Heh. Sods law in action, that is.
>
>I keep meaning to make the run up to Llandovery one Sunday, but life just
>seems to keep getting in the way. Saying this, the missus is taking the
>kids to her parents in the last weekend of the month, and I'm staying put to
>keep an eye on the moggies, so I'll probably head up then. Last good run
>before the old MOT runs out.
>
>Talking of which, who is good for bike MOTs around here?
>
>Good as in "Prepared to overlook a slightly pitted stanchion with a wag of
>the finger" and so on, like my old MOT station did....

I use one of 2 up near Cross Inn, on the road to Aber. There's Dave Bingley
at Perris garage and the other chap, erm, Ceredig Hopkins I think - go to
cross in and turn left, go about a mile. The turn round, come back and take
the *other* left (no, not right, there are 2 roads going left) 'cos you went
down the wrong road. This seems to happen far more often than mere chance
should indicate.

Hopkins is on 01974 272649, Perris garage erm, bugger, seem to have lost the
number, but it'll be in the phone book. Of the 2, Dave Bingley is possibly
more likely to be laid back - I think it depends on what you take there and
whether you're an obvious fettler or just a jump-on-and-ride type with a
plastic rocket who relies on the garage to fix it.

--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
"Would to God that we might spend a single day really well!"
Thomas À Kempis (1380 - 1471) Imitation of Christ, I.xxiii.

Frinton Boy

On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 22:08:12 +0000, Austin Shackles
<austinNOSPAM@ddol-las.net> wrote:


>
>I bet next sunday is fine, seeing as I'll be out doing (indoor) harchery.
>

I tried that, but the wifey moaned about the holes in the
kitchen door...

Austin Shackles

On or around Wed, 15 Mar 2006 21:30:03 +0000 (UTC),
nospamthanks_nickb@iceni-networks.co.uk (Frinton Boy) enlightened us thusly:

>On Mon, 13 Mar 2006 22:08:12 +0000, Austin Shackles
><austinNOSPAM@ddol-las.net> wrote:
>
>
>>
>>I bet next sunday is fine, seeing as I'll be out doing (indoor) harchery.
>>
>
>I tried that, but the wifey moaned about the holes in the
>kitchen door...
>

hehe. This is in a leisure centre.
--
Austin Shackles. www.ddol-las.net my opinions are just that
In Touch: Get in touch with yourself by touching yourself.
If somebody is watching, stop touching yourself.
from the Little Book of Complete B***ocks by Alistair Beaton.

Loz H

Austin Shackles <austinNOSPAM@ddol-las.net> spewed forth the following...

> I use one of 2 up near Cross Inn, on the road to Aber. There's Dave
> Bingley at Perris garage and the other chap, erm, Ceredig Hopkins I
> think - go to cross in and turn left, go about a mile. The turn
> round, come back and take the *other* left (no, not right, there are
> 2 roads going left) 'cos you went down the wrong road. This seems to
> happen far more often than mere chance should indicate.
>
> Hopkins is on 01974 272649, Perris garage erm, bugger, seem to have
> lost the number, but it'll be in the phone book. Of the 2, Dave
> Bingley is possibly more likely to be laid back - I think it depends
> on what you take there and whether you're an obvious fettler or just
> a jump-on-and-ride type with a plastic rocket who relies on the
> garage to fix it.


Cheers for that. I had spotted Perris on the Llanrhystud road, but a review
is always helpful, and it sounds like Perris it'll be.

My main problem with young/inexperienced MOT testers is that all my bikes
are SOBs, with SO brakes too. My 550/Four probably would not have been
passed by a tester used to 4-pot calipers/twin discs and so forth, whereas
my old favourite MOT tester in Liverpool has been going since the early 70s
and knows full well that Honda never made decent brakes in that era. But, he
also knows they're still within spec for a model of those times and
therefore passable.

God knows what a "modern" MOT tester would make of the cable-operated disc
brake on a CB200....



The 2 lefts at Cross Inn. I know them well.

A friend of ours has her smallholding to the right just past Bethania, and
one of the first places she helped us find to live in was in Pennant
(Monachty Estate if you know it. A lonnng story behind not moving there...),
and those 2 lefts whilst heading for Pennant from Bethania caught me out a
few times. Still, I can think of worse roads to get lost upon...



--
Loz H
~ Hairy, Ugly and Fat ~
CB550F CB200 CX500

platypus

Loz H wrote:
>
> God knows what a "modern" MOT tester would make of the cable-operated
> disc brake on a CB200....

The Z200 has a wretchedly ineffective cable disc, and it's been through a
couple of MOTs in my hands, done the brake thing on the roller, been
weighed, passed. The place where I go is very sensible, but they have to do
the full, proper test, by the book.

--
platypus

we can do all the bad things

Loz H

The Older Gentleman <chateauSPAMKILL.murray@dsl.pipex.com> spewed forth the
following...


> Round here, we mourn the passing of Go-Well Motors of Colliers Wood,
> the place that practically did MoTs by post.


I'll take your Go-Well Motors, and raise you one Arthur Hicklands, of Lark
Lane, Liverpool.

The old crock had been going since the late 50s/early 60s by all accounts,
and by the time I discovered him, he was all but one foot in his grave. He
claimed to have masses of old original Lambretta/Vespa/Beezer/AJS and so on
bits in his mythical lock-ups.

Ask him for an (example) 6V coil for a Lammy LD150, and he would get that
faraway look in his eyes and exclaim "I *know* I've got one in my lockup.
Original packing too, yours for a fiver. I'll have it here for you at the
weekend.." Never turned up, mind you. I was waiting nigh on 2 years for a
speedo for a Vespa Sportique once upon a time...



Anyway, MOTs. His MOTs were legendary. Even on a bright sunny day, the
effort of actually testing the bike in question was a bit much for ol' Arth.
He would slowly shuffle his way out into the yard outside his place, give
the bike a push to see if the brakes did anything, turn the lights on and
off, see if the tyres had the slightest amount of tread, and declare it a
pass. Which was enough to get most things through, as you can imagine.


The trick to get *anything* through was to take it on a dull/damp/cold day.
He would not even be bothered moving from his counter. A typical MOT
session would go thusly.


<Arthur looking out the window> "Is that the bike?"

"Yes"

<"Does everything work">

"Of course, Arthur..."

<"Whats the reg/mileage/whatever?">

<fx: Furnish Arthur with details>

<fx: Scribble out and stamp MOT>

And that was that.

One time, we passed 3 Lambrettas in one day with this technique, the sneaky
bit being that 2 of them had not actually been put together yet at this
time. We just swapped the reg plates on the back of the "together" Lammy
(Lived 2 mins around the corner at this time...), and had them all passed in
the space of an hour.



--
Loz H
~ Hairy, Ugly and Fat ~
CB550F CB200 CX500

Wicked Uncle Nigel

Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Loz H
<m3lsd@?.?.invalid> typed
>The Older Gentleman <chateauSPAMKILL.murray@dsl.pipex.com> spewed forth the
>following...
>
>
>> Round here, we mourn the passing of Go-Well Motors of Colliers Wood,
>> the place that practically did MoTs by post.
>
>Anyway, MOTs. His MOTs were legendary. Even on a bright sunny day, the
>effort of actually testing the bike in question was a bit much for ol' Arth.
>He would slowly shuffle his way out into the yard outside his place, give
>the bike a push to see if the brakes did anything, turn the lights on and
>off, see if the tyres had the slightest amount of tread, and declare it a
>pass. Which was enough to get most things through, as you can imagine.

These tales are all very entertaining, but we do have to recognise that
they're also one of the reasons we have to battle with the "computer
says noooo" style of MOTs these days.

--
Wicked Uncle Nigel - To stay young requires unceasing cultivation of
the ability to unlearn old falsehoods.

WS* GHPOTHUF#24 APOSTLE#14 DLC#1 COFF#20 BOTAFOT#150 HYPO#0(KoTL) IbW#41
SBS#39 OMF#6 Enfield 500 Curry House Racer "The Basmati Rice Burner",
Honda GL1000K2 (On its hols) Kawasaki ZN1300 Voyager "Oh, Oh, It's so big"
Suzuki TS250 "The Africa Single" Yamaha GTS1000

Roger Hunt

On Thu, 16 Mar 2006, The Older Gentleman typed this :
>
>Round here, we mourn the passing of Go-Well Motors of Colliers Wood, the
>place that practically did MoTs by post.
>
I'll second that!
(I also remember Vernon from Hughes up the road.)
--
Roger Hunt

Pete M

In news:4NqDalPbleGEJA0k@rcav8r.demon.co.uk,
Wicked Uncle Nigel <wun@wicked-uncle-nigel.me.uk> wrote something quite
bizarre, possibly in an effort to confuddle the world. It went like so;
> Using the patented Mavis Beacon "Hunt&Peck" Technique, Loz H
> <m3lsd@?.?.invalid> typed
>> The Older Gentleman <chateauSPAMKILL.murray@dsl.pipex.com> spewed
>> forth the following...
>>
>>
>>> Round here, we mourn the passing of Go-Well Motors of Colliers Wood,
>>> the place that practically did MoTs by post.
>>
>> Anyway, MOTs. His MOTs were legendary. Even on a bright sunny day,
>> the effort of actually testing the bike in question was a bit much
>> for ol' Arth. He would slowly shuffle his way out into the yard
>> outside his place, give the bike a push to see if the brakes did
>> anything, turn the lights on and off, see if the tyres had the
>> slightest amount of tread, and declare it a pass. Which was enough
>> to get most things through, as you can imagine.
>
> These tales are all very entertaining, but we do have to recognise
> that they're also one of the reasons we have to battle with the
> "computer says noooo" style of MOTs these days.

Heh, I've put some really dodgy things through MOTs since they've been
computerised;

A Land Rover 90 V8 that still thought it was diesel on the logbook - and
therefore on DVLA records - passed its mot whilst only running on 6
cylinders [1] and with a rear crossmember that was, um, multiple in
locations.

[1] Emissions test was passed on its behalf by a brand new Jag.


--
Pete M - Scouse Git Extraordinaire
Renault Safrane 2.5 Executive,
Porsche 911 Carrera 3.2 *For Sale*
OMF#9

"This is not 'Nam, this is bowling. There are rules"

The Older Gentleman

Roger Hunt <x@carewg.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> On Thu, 16 Mar 2006, The Older Gentleman typed this :
> >
> >Round here, we mourn the passing of Go-Well Motors of Colliers Wood, the
> >place that practically did MoTs by post.
> >
> I'll second that!
> (I also remember Vernon from Hughes up the road.)

Oh yeah, Hughes. Bless.


--
Trophy 1200 750SS CB400F CD250 x2
GAGARPHOF#30 GHPOTHUF#1 BOTAFOT#60 ANORAK#06 YTC#3
BOF#30 WUSS#5 The bells, the bells.....