…which sounds better than big stinking failure; which is how I felt, or sort of half feel.
I managed to change the rear shocks/springs, and the new ones are *lush*; and changing them was dead easy. Putting on the new exhaust was easy peasy. Then there was the front forks….
The retaining bolts are siezed; and in attempting to free them offf I’ve managed to damage the headstock bearings; I’ve not managed to free them off, I need to get the impact driver on it, but I don’t have a six-sided 24mm socket… which I need… because the bolt is already starting to round off. Several hours of bashing with a 2lb lump hammer on the 24 ml spanner; doing the double spanner trick, and anything else (apart from applying heat, given that it’s right by the petrol tank and the wiring loom).
Of course then we had the brakes. Although I eventually got them done it took me a long, long time, because I didn’t realise that every single union in the pipe, of which there were many, were all slack. So but only loose enough to ooze. So it took a while to spot it.
Eventually I got it all done. I was pissed off and ranting by this stage, especially as I just had to give up on the front springs. Oh, yeah, and then… I sheared one of the bolts on the mudguard (well, it was rusted through). Oh, and the new wing mirrors don’t like the hand protectors.
But then I got on to the bike…. and went for a quick ride to check the brakes… and I’m loving my bike again. It’s such fun… all manic little revvy thing with riiiiiiinnnnggg-niiiinnngggg-niiiing….
