InvictaMoto's Red Pepé Blog

I decided to go out to the garage and get the Solvol Autosol out and polish off the chrome where there is a little surface rust. Some of the Triumph chrome is pretty poor.  The spotlight brackets and even the chrome lump holding the ignition key are always a little grotty, So, I locate the half used tube on the chrome polish on the shelf. Rock solid! Like dried concrete in a tube! How to get some more. Shops that aren't pharmacies or food sellers are shut! Amazon?  eBay? Check out both. Amazon sellers can fill the order in the first week of May. It's not eligible for Prime!  Slip over to eBay. One seller can get it to me from the 18th April.  It's cheaper than Amazon.  Buy now! What to do before then?

I have taken a while to buy a new summer jacket. My Joe Rocket has given sterling service since I bought it way back in 2006 but has started to get a bit on the ragged side.  I fitted new elbow armour last year as the original had started to break up.  A few years back, Claire stitched up the front as one side of the zip had started to part company with the body of the jacket. I looked at a few different designs and had planned to go for a ride to GetGeared's shop in Leatherhead (Surrey) over the Easter holiday to try some on for size. With the coronavirus lockdown and shops shut, that can't happen. I got the search down to two that I liked the look of and the price I want to pay. In the end I liked the look of the Rev'It Eclipse. It has smooth lines and doesn't look like I am about to ride across the sahara, not Mr Chunky!  Seems to have enough pockets and a decent manufacturer. Comes with elbow and shoulder...

Rather than go cabin crazy, I decided to get the bike washed after its dirty trip out to Oxfordshire. In the end I made a deal with myself. I'd ride to the jet wash at Seabrook and hose and brush it down. So £3 later it was nice and clean leaving the rust showing on the iffy Triumph chrome to good effect. From there a short ride to fill the tank at Tesco in Cheriton. The trip back from Oxfordshire via John's was 181.7 miles. It took 17.06 litres to brim the tank, or at least fill to the bottom of the filler hole. Giving an mpg of 48.4. Amazing. The ride back home was quite sedate though.  The self isolation idea that sees cities across the globe empty  doesn't seem to have reached us here yet.  Still. A few more miles under the tyres.  End mileage is 9557.

On the Road Again Taken yesterday by Stuart James.  I don't get much opportunity to get a moving pic!

My old Friend John Storrie sadly passed away on February 8th. Another victim of lung cancer. It was his wish to have a bike escort to the church. So how could I refuse.  Google maps worked it out to be 156 miles each way. We'll see how accurate that is. I set off around 10am and arrived at John's house just after 1pm,  after stopping on the A40 near Standlake for petrol at a Tesco Extra store. It was pretty cold. Even the wintery sun at the pitstop warned by hands. On the way up I wore the old all leather Belstaff gloves. By about halfway my fingertips were frozen. In the end there were five bikes at John's. He had asked that the order was to be Kettles, then other 2-stroke Suzukis, other Suzuki made bikes, then Aprilias, Triumphs, HD and then others. We had some pictures taken before the hearse arrived. Pepé at the meeting place Luckily there was a Kettle ridden by a local guy Brent, a Suzuki ridden by Old SOC Sandy. Then Mark Powell and me on Triumphs and lastly John Carr...

Even with the new battery I willed Pepé  to start.  He didn't. What was a worry was that only the rev counter needle did the full sweep. The buzzing that accompanies the check carried on.  Even with the dbPower unit it was no good. I gave Laguna a call to see if they had any ideas. Not really but thought it was merely the battery a bit flat.   I gave it a while and tried again. It started after a few tries. On the way up the M20 to Ashford the engine management light came on. A worry. I checked the manual on my phone and it just says that one of the systems has registered an error. At Laguna it started up okay when I switched off and on again. It must have started as it went into the workshop and passed the MoT. I decided to go to the Triumph shop on the way back home to get them to look at. And the light had gone off when I started it! So we are set for another year. MoT mileage to start the year: 9203.

The battery was ordered on the 14th January in the afternoon and too late for the "next day" delivery. It arrived 16th January afternoon. Too dark to fit it there and then so it had to wait for the weekend. I ordered it from  www.motorcyclepartswarehouse.co.uk .  I chose a good time to buy it. Before Christmas when I checked online the best price was around £65 plus delivery with two companies very much the same price.  After Christmas MPW were selling them delivery inclusive for £63.49. Winner winner chicken dinner! I have to say their service is good. Plus the packaging was very good. Wrapped in a plastic postage bag, surrounded by bubble wrap and under that a layer of "slashed" cardboard.     The only disappointment is that it was black as per the main photos on the   Motobatt  website. I had wanted yellow! Still no matter, it can't be seen unless the front seat comes off. Fitting as they s...