Is motorcycling allowed?

[Andrew_Smith]

Very happy for my biker brother who took ownership of his new 2016 BMW R nineT, simply a work of art and sounds amazing even with the stock pipe.

[Hairy]

21 hours ago, Hairy said:

BRAKE BLEED: In a nutshell bullet format 

• go around to workshop on 2 x different occasions to book in. 1st time guy is out, 2nd time guy is sick, 3rd time I called and arranged to meet him for the bleed
• get told 30min - 1hr
• opens up reservoir, brakes were clearly bled years ago. nice and dirty.
• cleans out and starts flushing
• this takes forever. turns out they do not have a bleed kit and the bro has been pumping away at the lever all the time, with the banjo/hose disconnected from the caliper. I take over pumping duties for a while
• start loosing patience as he now says he thinks there is a blockage and he would have to buy a bleed kit.
• ok cool, call the wife to pick me up
• contacts me the next morning to tell me he did not see he needs an adapter for the bleed kit to tie into his compressor. Needs to go back to get this
• call him later in the day to see if I can pick up the bike, he says oh no, the bleed valve/nipple is stripped and he will have to try and find a new one. I find one in minutes and he says will go get it, but I would only get the bike on Monday
• lunchtime today I call .... techie is not at work today, and no one can get hold of him. Called again asking if they got the valve, manager kind of guy had/has no idea they needed to get this. 
• apparently someone has gone by his home to see if he is there / alright / alive
• my tone is still civil, but my wording is very particular .... all they can currently do is apologise profusely 
• The valve is R45, will be interesting to see what they are going to want to charge me for this eventually.

Patience is wearing thin now.
R300 gets me a nice bleeding kit from Adendorf .... this is what I will be doing next time as based on the university of Youtube it looks to be far easier than doing a really good SRAM brake bleed.

EDIT 01:

• They still can not get hold of the tech guy
• Been told I can make use of their shop scooter if I need wheels, their shop Fat Bob is needing one or two tweaks before it can be ridden
• Manager type dude is very apologetic
• I asked what plan B is if they can not find this guy tomorrow.... manager dude apparently has someone that they can use to do the work.

Still no bike, and they can not get hold of the techie guy ... so they are going to pull in another guy from somewhere.

They have offered their shop bike for me to use, which I may or may not take them up on.

So hopefully close of business tomorrow I can finally get my bike back.

It sucks walking into the garage and not seeing her parked there.

[Headshot]

57 minutes ago, Hairy said:

Still no bike, and they can not get hold of the techie guy ... so they are going to pull in another guy from somewhere.

They have offered their shop bike for me to use, which I may or may not take them up on.

So hopefully close of business tomorrow I can finally get my bike back.

It sucks walking into the garage and not seeing her parked there.

Which dodgy bike shop is this?

[Hairy]

1 hour ago, Headshot said:

Which dodgy bike shop is this?

A local shop in Blaauwberg that has been there for years, and not Down Town who I wanted to take the bike to, but had timing issues to get it to them.

 

[Hairy]

Eventually just got my bike back home. What a mess of an experience.

I do also feel for the shop, and they have fired the techie and had to get someone else to fill in, but they also have to bear the blame RE how they managed everything.

Get the bill and it is nearly 3 x what the techie quoted me. I did have to get 2 x bleed valves, and they charged R80 for those each, compared to Downtown that have them for R45, but that is what it is.

Had a conversation with them, and walked out with the bill slashed by a third.

Feels so good to have my bike back again, I really missed her.

[Andrew_Smith]

On the topic of mechanics, I take my BMW to The Bike House (Az) in Parklands. He is a pretty knowledgeable guy and I would much rather support him than BMW.

A store for spare parts, I'll recommend Wicked Cycles (Paarden Eiland). They were quite helpful and good-priced. Of course, there are loads more, Flying Brick, Trac Mac, Bike Kings (more for clothing).

[Hairy]

1 hour ago, Andrew_Smith said:

On the topic of mechanics, I take my BMW to The Bike House (Az) in Parklands. He is a pretty knowledgeable guy and I would much rather support him than BMW.

A store for spare parts, I'll recommend Wicked Cycles (Paarden Eiland). They were quite helpful and good-priced. Of course, there are loads more, Flying Brick, Trac Mac, Bike Kings (more for clothing).

would you mind sharing their contact details please?

[Andrew_Smith]

14 hours ago, Hairy said:

would you mind sharing their contact details please?

Sure.

The Bike House (Az)
084 322 5194

Wicked Cycles
021 510 2968
076 867 7806 (WhatsApp)

Flying Brick
021 510 6455
067 278 1893 (WhatsApp)

Bike Kings
021 569 2115

[Headshot]

Any of you bikers know much about brake calipers. I found the rear brake on the DR in pretty bad shape. The outer dust seals were being ejected by the pistons and the inside - well you can imagine. Solid deposits of what must be congealed brake fluid. That said, the pistons don't look too terrible but I think it would be wise to replace all the rubber. Are these things generic or am I doomed to a dodgy parts kit off eBay for the specific brakes on this bike? 

[Hairy]

Can't help rooting for Pol along this route on his Tenere
 

 

[Hairy]

See around the @7:20 mark

 

[Hairy]

🤩

 

[Andrew_Smith]

Was a good weekend, with beautiful weather and a great day to be on the bike. Exploring the backroads of Stellenbosch/Klapmuts and doing some pulls.

📍Potbelly Coffee Shop and Bakery

Edited June 27, 2022 by Andrew_Smith

[patches]

Motorcycling IS NOT allowed...

This morning I put my motorcycle registration on hold to for 3 months to "winter" the bike and save myself $100, during the rainy(er) season.

So for me, and for the next 3 months, motorcycling is not allowed. I'll have to live through your posts!

[Andrew_Smith]

This speaks to me... 🤤

[WaynejG]

Sometimes I feel like this