Embrace life and be an Unpredictable Hero

This video is so relevant with what has been happening on our roads of late, another Wild Dog was killed while commuting in Cape Town. Kevin Brookes loved motorcycles and brought that out in his art as well. This is one of his drawings of well known Dakar rider Alfie Cox.

Condolences to his family and friends... you will never be forgotten!
So we have suggested that in honor of Kevin all road users should begin using the Kevin Brookes rule;
"Before I start and move off I promise to be considerate towards all other road users, obey the rules and enjoy the drive/ride."
If every road user does this we will save so many lives that are currently being lost through lawless and inconsiderate road behavior. This will also make the lives of law enforcement so much easier as well, as they would be able to notice those who disobey and flaunt the rules so much easier.
We should also petition the powers that be to redress the corruption and other malpractice that does happen as well as have more visible policing and less static speed trapping... currently the focus is skewed toward the enforcement of speed restrictions an less on moving violations, these are the real killers.
So my wish is that we all Embrace Life and be Unpredictable Heroes by implementing Kevin's Rule when we use our roads.

Do you hear me now?

Will fill in later but I needed a place to host the pics of Operation Penta...
The first pic is just after I had stripped the old tweety box off... it came down in buckets.Then as I was about to start with assembly it rained again!



Took a pic of the old box forlornly laying in the puddle. The retaining ring is reused when installing the new pipie!Then I took some pics of the Penta, showing all the adjustment points it has as well as the use of Cap Screws throughout except the two nuts on the sliding adjuster, I replaced them with Nylock nuts by the way.

Now the new pipe!




One can see that my bolts did come loose but I had caught them in time...

The inner mounting is not used on the Penta installation.


Here one can also see the heat shield fitted to the Airbox to prevent burn through if one loses the slip joint retainer bolt. (not if loctite is used!).

Notice my jury rigged header retainer bolt... lost mine cos I skipped loctite on it! Thought it was tight enough! Fitted a new 8mm cap screw while doing the rest.

Note that to tighten this joint it is best to remove the brake reservoir to get at the bolt comfortably.Now I start re-assembly!First I pre fitted the Penta to get al the bits in alignment. Then I tightened the 3 cap screws on the retaining ring followed by the bolt on the frame as well as the 2 adjuster nuts.

Some of the tools needed will be 12mm socket and spanner, 10mm socket, 5mm Allen key, 6mm Allen key, Phillips screwdriver. The nylock nut on the back mounting was 13mm so get out the 13 spanner as well.


The Penta fitted and all fittings tight.

When all bolts and nuts have been tightened one can fire up the motor...

Notice the ripples on the puddle behind the bike... lotta air being moved now!
After that one puts the rest back...

The side cover clearance is a tad eina... I will be watching for any melting but to date the Penta has been cooler to the touch than the old box... so this may not be an issue.

As you can see it kept showering during the whole operation but it did clear up later for me to be able to do a run... and scare the beemer cages... :-)

I also noticed how badly my pillion footrest had been bent when the bike lay down on it's left side last week... will have to take it off and do some re-alignment in a vice using a rubber mallet methinks.

Then I put old tweety in a safe place... just in case...

"Motorbikes, unlike kids, should be both seen and heard." Unknown

Think Bike

I have joined...
This is something I feel very strongly about, as a victim of "I did not see you" syndrome and my own non compliance to ATGATT I have the tales to tell and the word to spread...
Please look out for BIKES folks... and we mean the pedal powered ones as well!

Now we just need to do something about the trucks that spill diesel all over the show...
"In the multitude of counsellors there is safety."
Bible, Proverbs xi. 14.

White lines are for sissies

I may be generalising a bit but 9 times out of 10 when some lunatic passes on the white line they have GP at the end of their registration... the sun washed out the picture and I had to snap very hastily to catch this act of senseless audacity!
This guy just made it past the Army Samel and the oncoming 18 Wheeler... we just braked and said a prayer that we would not get caught up in his stupid games. I hate that we have this type of behaviour, these drivers think they can pass anything as long as the other driver pulls over the yellow line.
I think passing another vehicle like this even when you do not cross a solid line should be prosecuted. One should only pass on the dotted if and when it is safe enough... drivers should not go left over the yellow either if the centre line is solid!
In fact the law actually states that driving over the yellow for long distances is an offence! The yellow line and road shoulder is there to pull over in an emergency or to give way under unusual circumstances, not for every Tom, Dick and Harry that flashes their lights to pass!
Anyhow... I survived another trip to Qwaqwa... once I have relaxed and gotten the nerves settled I may continue blogging...
"They're funny things, Accidents. You never have them till you're having them."
Eeyore, Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

Let the ICE begin

BBC NEWS England Mobiles 999 contact idea spreads Somtimes brilliant ideas are just something simple that no one else has thought about before... Users are being urged to enter a number in their phone's memory under the heading ICE - In Case of Emergency.
So now I have:
ICE M...
ICE Dad
ICE L...
On my mobile, I just hope it never gets needed.
Talking off ice, our winter had been rather bland this year... rarely under Zero and very little frost... but then August is still on it's way... Talking of ice and cold... here is a short playlist of cool cold chilly ice songs... Playlist title: ICE
14 tracks in playlist, average track length: 3:53
Playlist length: 54 minutes 23 seconds

1. Armin van Buuren - Shivers (Radio Edit) (3:13)
2. Brainstorm - Colder (3:50)
3. Gregorian - Out of the cold (3:48)
4. No Angels - Cold as Ice (4:06)
5. The Lightning Seeds - Sugar coated iceberg (3:52)
6. Joe Dolan - Frozen rivers (4:05)
7. Jennifer Hall - Ice Cream Days (4:35)
8. Natalie Imbruglia - Shiver (3:44)
9. Hooverphonic - Frosted flake wood (3:17)
10. Milla Jovovich - Beat on ice (3:57)
11. Maroon5 - Shiver (2:59)
12. White Stripes - In the cold cold night (2:58)
13. Jennifer Rush - Ring of ice (3:45)
14. Madonna - Frozen (6:14)

I am thinking that Ring of Ice from Jennifer Rush should be the lyrics of the day but on second thoughts I decided on Milla Jovovich and her song Beat On Ice... Take a peek on her site... all the songs are downloadable.
Milla's comments: "More Than 4" & "Beat On Ice" are demos that I wrote on the guitar and recorded on my laptop, for fun, they're just fun ideas.

Lyrics:
i see you breaking up in water
sinking to the bottom
watching reruns of my dreams
we fade away tonight

i'm washed by sea into the sky...

-i don't know how i fell into you
we just keep falling away
when we get close-

Now I had better take a leaf from today's quote... hopefully the next few blogs will be more incitefull and wise. As this is my second blog from Firefox browser I must say cutting and pasting is so much better than under IE, you get almost the exact positioning and other html effects as in the original... way cool Firefox!
**Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.** Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519

Never shake the bucket of nuts before you're tied to the yak rope

BBC NEWS World South Asia Asia's newest sport - yak skiing This quote was so funny I just had to use it as a blog. Seems like Yak Skiing may be fun... not much diffrent than Bungee jumping or Snowboarding down a glacier, I may just add it to my todo list! Speaking of latest sport, this weekend we have our first MotoQuad races, I hope it goes down well and everyone has a good dose of dirt racing fun. mmm Sometimes Quads remind me of a Yak let loose and just as unpredictable. Personally I prefer two wheels... much more predictable when one parts company in a moment of error...
PREDICTABLE - Delta Goodrem
I smile
You say I take your breathe away
You say you love me and you make
All the right promises to break

And when I turn around you're always there
Like that's the proof you really care
But I see right through you and
I think To myself

You're just so predictable
In every way
I want you to know I know your game
It's so unbelievable
how you never change
you won't get away
with loving me
you're just so predictable

I run
You say you won't give up the chase
You say you'll follow me anyplace
So you can make the same mistakes

You know just what to do
And how to use the best of you
To try and change my mind
But my eyes are opening this time
And I read you

You're just so predictable
In every way
I want you to know I know your game
It's so unbelievable
how you never change
you won't get away
with loving me
you're just so predictable

Now that I know your every move
How you gonna hide baby what you gonna do
Now that somebody knows the truth
About you and how you're just so

You're just so predictable
In every way I want you to know
I know your game
It's so unbelievable
how you never change
you won't get away
with loving me
you're just so predictable

"Never shake the bucket of nuts before you're tied to the yak rope." Peter Dorje (Yak skiing expert from Manali, India)