Record Breaker

Oh joy! back on the FJ. I bought a tax disc and got the old girl out on the road this afternoon. After riding the 250 exclusively for six months the 1200 feels insanely powerful & effortless. I took a run down to Moffat and parked at the Star Hotel which has an unusual claim to fame. Another difference to the 250 was that after my short run the tank was nearly empty. Oh well you can't have everything. 

Past Bikes - 1974 Suzuki TS100

After the RD350 was stolen in 1977 I needed transport and bought the little Suzuki trail bike. Despite its tiny engine the bike was great fun and the only trail bike I've owned. Being light with wide bars the bike was particularly good in the snow. It was let down by crude 6V electrics. After three years the bike expired in a massive cloud of smoke when, I assume, the main bearing seals failed.

Sales brochure.

The TS was mostly used for commuting but there was time for fun as well like here in a local quarry.  

***Update***

After Norman's comment here's our old man heading for the Highlands in 1980 on the rather tatty TS 


***Update#2***

The TS100 was known as the "Honcho" in the US. In the '70's Suzuki gave their bikes names for the US market, but not used here.

Featured Bike - Ecorider

I hadn't heard of this until I saw an advert for one on Gumtree. It's a two wheeled all terrain vehicle designed for use on farms, estates etc and can be used for towing things (in the ad it's towing a glider) It comes with a 175cc petrol or 230cc diesel engine and has a high/low range gearbox with reverse. Made in Inverness in the Scottish Highlands the company seems to have gone bust in 2009. Yours for £825.

advert here 

 

The bike is similar in concept to the Rokon from the USA

MIG Welder Repair

A "tale from the shed" rather than the "road" since I refuse to ride anymore until the cold weather stops.

A MIG welder is a useful tool for any biker. It can weld thin steel so works well on exhausts etc. I bought mine a few years ago but it isn't very good. Its a SIP HandyMIG. The main problem is the wire feed. The motor isn't very powerful and the drive often slips. This causes the feed to be uneven and the welds to be poor. An improvement I did, suggested on the internet, consists of a metal strip to hold the drive wheels in alignment. The plastic holder deforms and the drive is reduced. This helped some but the problem seems that the resistance in the plastic liner is too great. I measured this at 4 lb. So I replaced this with a steel liner.

MIG welder

 I'm using flux cored "gasless" wire. This is convenient and economical. The gas bottles the welder uses last only minutes.

 I've added a steel strap between the drive roller mounts to improve the feed

Measuring the force needed to feed the wire

 Plastic liner (top) & metal liner (plastic outer in place & removed)

The feed was smoother with the new liner and reasonable welds are possible.

What's in a name?

Railway Bridge Replacement

For many years I worked as a Civil Engineer specialising in bridges. I retain an interest and snap anything interesting I see on my travels. In this case it was only a couple of miles from home where a railway bridge is to be replaced at Patterton Station. The new bridge has been assembled adjacent to the old one and will be lifted or slid into place, probably over a weekend. The old bridge has low headroom and has been struck a number of times as can be seen by damage to the steelwork. 

What a difference a year makes

Exploring the Union Canal, March 2012

My back garden, today