May 13 - Joey Dunlop Foundation

I forgot to mention this in my last update. My family and I had a weeks break in the Isle of Man back at Easter. Yep I know the races are in June!  I met my wife in the IOM way back in 1979 when I made my first visit to the TT races, I feel in love with her and the Island and the IOM has been closely linked to my life ever since. So to get back to the point, we were over there for a family holiday, to see old friends and check in with my wife's family.

My wife suffers from MS and it's getting to the stage where going on holiday is not as easy as it could be. We need accommodation that is sympathetic to her needs. This is where the Joey Dunlop foundation comes in. This charity has converted a large house into disabled friendly flats. Its located right on the TT course by Bradden Bridge, and I'm sure that anyone who has ridded round the course must have seen it. It was only formally opened last year by John McGuiness.

So if ever need special holiday accommodation in the IOM or know someone who does, then please help support this charity by using the facility and if you have a few bob going spare make a donation.  We found it immensely useful and made our holiday so much pleasant.

John

Website http://www.joeydunlopfoundation.com/

Utube video of the opening.

 

 
April 29th - Another take on the Sat Nav mount

I had a PM from kaivalagi  of the forum and this was his solution to mounting a SatNav

Hi John,

I saw in the current news (posted 12th March) you want to get your car GPS mounted on your bike...

I recently did so myself so thought you may want to know what has worked for me?

I have a TomTom 530, one of the widescreen types and have mounted it with the following on a pointy:
So far so good, I've been in a down pour once with no issues but to be fair I really need to give it some time before I can really recommend it...the ram mount side of things though is fantastic and will have other uses I am sure!

Hope that helps

Cheers,
Mark

You might prefer this solution. I should point out that SV models upto SK04 already have a hole in the centre of the top yoke nut, at least mine has, but I've noticed that it went missing from SK06 onwards.

 
April 29th - Diary of an SV restorer

An update on some recent work on my own SV including some new front brake lines and a SatNav mount (Blue Peter style) Click on the thumbnail.
April 29th - Another Custom

Came across this the other day while trawling for images. Can't tell you much else about it, but it's the first custom Gladius I've seen
April 2nd - Cafe Racer Rouge

I came across this image while looking for an interesting SV to go on the front page of the main site. It almost made it except I noticed that it looked kinda photoshopped. Nothing wrong with that to prove a concept, but I didn't want to give the impression that this bike exists. Besides who would be mad enough to fit drum brakes? Take a look at the seat and you'll see what I mean about photoshopped.

John
April 2nd - Fuel Exhausts

I'm pleased to announce that Fuel Exhausts are offering readers a 10% discount on web purchases. Just head to Services and Offers and click on the Fuel Logo.

John

March 12th - My favourite time of year

Isn't it a great feeling when you see the first shots of spring? It fills you full of great expectations of the better weather to come.  I had the SV moth-balled up till the last week or so in Feb. The weather was improving, though some would say it's still too cold, but once the evenings started to get lighter and I could ride more safely home work, then that was my queue to jump back in the saddle.

Using the bike brings other benefits too. Given the price of petrol, I'm saving a bit of cash even against a diesel powered car. And more importantly, I don't have to sit in queues behind Muppet car drivers who insists on driving at 40mph in 60mph limits. Patience has never been one of my strengths.

I usually pull the SV apart over the winter months but I've been too busy this winter, and besides there's not a lot of work that needs doing. I find it useful to wash a bike if you want to check it over. Your hand will touch every part and you will notice problems. So that's what I did. So the list of problems discovered were, an oil change is due in a 1000 miles. The rear disc brake pad retaining pin was corroded and the front tyre is quite worn on the left hand side. I sorted out the brake pin straight away. Luckily it wasn't seized, thank to being coated in copper-slip. The other jobs will get done in the next few weeks.

At this time of year, thoughts turn to bike trips and ride-outs. So far on my agenda is a return trip to France at the end of June, Ed's April ride-out in Shropshire and hopefully the AR. With this in mind I've been making plans to rig up my TomTom for bike use. I'm not forking out for a dedicated bike unit, I wouldn't use it enough. So I'm looking at waterproof cases that can used on the SV.  I've already bought a waterproof cigarette socket via Amazon and I'll be connecting that up in the fairing somehow in the next few weeks. I'll let you know how that works out.

I was looking at a free MCN pullout on new bikes the other night. I noticed that the SV650s is now badged the Street. The Gladius still looks like a dogs dinner and DL650 is starting to look appealing.  On my list for a replacement, not that I have the money, is a Tiger 1050, a Ducati Multistrada (old shape) or an Aprillia Shiva.  I'll keep dreaming.

All for now

John