Jerzy Woking

Had to sell my 95 Aero HOT before I left UK in 2019, as there was no way I could get it onto Spanish plates. This was because of the mods that the previous owner did *Maptun brake discs and 6 piston calipers *lightweight wheels * Eiback springs, Bilstein shocks *bigger turbo *Abbott intercooler and full stainless Abbot exhaust system *Nootune stage three tune And loads of other bits and pieces. At 304 bhp, just on the limit of what you can do without a major engine strip. Fantastic 4 door sport saloon. So sad it had to go, but the buyer was a nice bloke and likes it as much as I do. Sold it for £2.5k. Tuned Saabs are a bargain.

We had one of the 5 cylinder Marea Weekends as a fleet car at work. Went like shit off a stick, and could be chucked around the bends without concern. Luckily you have steel wheels on that one? Our Marea had alloys with a steel spare (not a space saver). Have to change the bolts when putting the steel on. Guess what our car was missing when I had a puncture...?

The disc brake on the later model was horrendous. The drum brake on this must be so much worse. Not to worry though, reliability meant you wouldn't be riding it much. Agree that this one looks cool though.

I also had a number of kickstart only bikes, from a BSA A65 (when I was a skinny 16 year old) through to an XR650R (when I was a fat 50 year old), all a piece of piss to kick start, hot or cold, once I learnt the knack with each. The DR350 and the XT500 I owned were the exceptions to this. No matter how many times I adjusted the ignition timing, the tappets and the carb. There are bikes that remain complete and utter bastards.

I had a DR350. Only get an electric start one, as kickstart only one's are a real bastards to start when warm (at least mine was). Not what you want when you are stuck in a rut in the middle of Thetford Forest. And yes, it was set up correctly. Electric starts are for winners.

I bought an Aprilia RS250 from a dealer in Kings Lynn, selling it on behalf of one of his long term customers. Great bike, but I digress. He said the bloke also had a 1996 Nissan R33 Skyline for sale. It was in his yard, so I had a good look at it. Totally original, apart from a set of Japanese aftermarket wheels. Even put it on the ramp for me to have a good look at the underside. Solid as a rock. Only fault was a previous sill repair that needed tidying up and a bit of paint. Test drive showed it drove perfectly, interior excellent and standard too. Offered it for £4000. Decided not to buy it, and kicked myself for not doing so, as I had the cash sat around doing nothing.

Now Alex has gone, IMHO it has got a bit better. He buggered off to be paid to front the channel "Autoalex", which pretty much follows the same pattern as Car Throttle/Top Gear. Buy a car, tune it, ruin it. Hateful.

A bloke at the pub had a 650 Custom, sounded lovely and was much better proportioned than its smaller siblings.

Up to episode 22 now. Most of the time Vince seems to repair the electrics without having to buy any parts. But yes, it seems a bit of a dog. But them how much does an electrically perfect, but tatty, Rolls cost?

I still ride a few times a year across mainland Europe, where it does rain on occassion. The first 600 miles always seem to be dry though.....

I sometime look for videos on how to fix small electrical items. Had a few from this channel, and then found he is restoring a Rolls Royce. I cannot believe how much time it takes to fix little things like electric seats and windows, hazard lights, blower fans, etc., and most were fixed with no parts needed. No wonder it costs a fortune to restore anything, as so labour intensive.

Like his recommissioning of the Panhard. And great to see he is keeping it too.

Found this yesterday, Bike magazines Giant 250cc Group test from June 1975. Great test, because it was from a time when biking journalists wrote their own stories, and not just rearranged the words from the manafacturers sales brochures. https://davestestsandarticles.weebly.com/cz.html

Work used to buy my boots, a new pair every couple of years. Loved the Daytona EVO Sports GTX (because of the inner boot protection*) but even from new they leaked. You would think at £700 a pair they'd at least resist water resistant, not water attracting. *Had two incidents with them. First when a car hit me sideways on, breaking the footpeg and gearlever clean off my CBR900. Second was when I dropped the work ZZR1200 on ice going down the slope into the work car park. Got pinned across the ankle by the bike, was there at least 5 minutes before some one saw me. No damage to foot/ankle in either incident.

I never found any over the last 20 years, they all leaked somehow. Good luck with your search (not that I need any now).

Can anyone throw some light on this? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/295947548801?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=NNWbqzDoTAa&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=ZsZncEoNTRa&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY Seller states the bike was imported from USA by a previous owner. He then found out that it had been written off in the USA, due to flood damage. Which he says means that it cannot be registered in the UK. That sounds a bit odd to me, is that correct?

I expect that the inlet valve is a bit tight on the C200, when it gets hot it closes right up, and won't start until it has cooled a bit, and the valve gap gets a bit bigger. Had this same issue on my Yamaha Vity 125 when I rode it down to Czechia. Stop the engine and it would not restart for about 10 to 20 minutes. Got back and when I checked the valves, the inlet was way, way to tight.

Might help if they changed the description, as it still indicates an auction rather than an outright sale.

I'll take light weight over higher power in a few circumstances, including deep mud!

I liked those in preference to the disc braked, ram air GT500, but thought the T350 my mate had was so much nicer to ride, felt much quicker than the 250 Hustler and the GT250, and much less bulky than the T500. It's a memory I have of them some 44 years after last riding them that is still in my mind, so they made an impression of some sorts.

No tyres would have got you through that! Looks like extraction was simple the reverse of inclusion...

Not even the nice Wolfrace slot mags. Not sure they would suit the Allegro any better mind you.

Fuse 9, the bottom Fuse (5 amp). It leaves the ABS light on, so a reminder to me to put the fuse back in when back on tarmac. What pads are fitted to the rear? I have heard that EBC pads can cause the calipers to seize up.

I just pull the abs fuse on my Himalayan if I am doing any tricky decents on gravel tracks. But as I ride mainly on my own, I do these types of tracks less now that I am getting on a bit. Never had issues with abs on the road on my Himalayan, or any of my bikes, or work bikes, come to that.

Is the 500 fitted with Dunlop Trailmax D609's? They may be fine on dry dirt and gravel tracks, but if the D609's on my NC750X are anything to go by, they rubbish in anything resembling mud.