Shush, don't tell the kids!

In my previous post I mentioned I was going to get myself a new helmet and take a look at some new riding jeans. Well, yesterday I took myself over to Motolegends at Guildford to offload some of my daughters' inheritance. Joe took the necessary measurements of my bonce, which indicates to him any additional padding required to the standard sized helmet to give a nice comfortable and secure fit. Unfortunately, they didn't have the colour I wanted, in my size, in stock, so we used another to get the fitting sorted. They will send the correct helmet on for when I get back from holiday. I have to say, I was expecting some electronic gizmo to scan my head but no, it's all done with mechanical measuring equipment. Anyway, the resulting fit was nice and snug. 

The helmet itself, a Shoei Neotec 3 has had some changes from my Neotec 2, which are aimed at making it even quieter and easier to open/close the visor. There's some other minor changes but I shan't bore you with them. The main change for me, is that the fixings for the comms system are different to the ones on my current helmet. Happily though, Shoei make an adapter kit, so rather than buying a new comms unit at £300+, I was able to buy the adapter kit at just £16. I wasn't too keen on the idea of junking a perfectly good system, so I'm a happy bunny now. Whilst we were sorting out the helmet, I got them to do a price match deal with another company, which meant I bought a spare visor and pinlock anti fog visor insert too, saving me a few quid. 

That sorted, Joe passed me on to Maggie, to look at some jeans. These 'single layer' biker jeans are all the rage now. My Hood jeans have a kevlar type inner lining to them, which I'm sure will protect in a spill but they are very heavy and uncomfortably warm, compared to a normal jean. The single layer jeans, are just like a normal jean but the strength and protection comes from the fabrics used and the way they are weaved together. They look and feel like a normal jean and can be comfortably worn all day long. Joe was wearing a pair. I tried 3 different pairs, 2 Rokker, 1 Halvarssons, settling on the Rokker Legend Straight pair, which gave the best fit. I'm looking forward to wearing them in a few weeks on the trip to Spain/Italy, where I'm expecting it to be fairly warm.

Ginny is booked in with Mark for her 42k service on 18th August, so she should be ready for another european excursion well before the off.

As mentioned last time Spitfire Club's Short Scion was going into Rochester Cathedral. It's now there and I've taken a couple of turns facing the public. It's been enjoyable imparting some knowledge and listening to stories from people who have had family members working for Short Brothers in times gone by. I'll do another couple of stints when I come back off  holiday. The Scion is being exhibited until the end of August, when it will be dismantled and moved back to our workshop. Here's a photo of it.  

Short Scion II - G-AEZF

Think that's all for now.

About time too!

Doesn't say much about how often I'm out on Ginny does it?, when the last update was 362 days ago. Those of you who follow my witterings will know though, that only a month ago, I returned from a 4,250 mile trip to Athens and back with Grizzly. And pretty much since Day 3 of that trip, this past weekend has been the first time I've seen some serious rain, such has been the freakish weather in the UK again. 3 heatwaves in the last month!

The lack of rain has meant we haven't been using the hose. With everyone's gardens parched to buggery, I couldn't in all conscience get the jet washer out to clean Ginny or the car for that matter, hence, she remains as filty dusty as the day she came back, though I did clean the screen. Whilst the weather has been fine, I've ridden to Spitfire club and I took a trip over to Tunbridge Wells to see an ex colleague of mine and to drop in to Stratstone Motorrad, to book Ginny in for some work, primarily on the squeaky front suspension. They couldn't fit her in before my next trip in September, so the 42k mile service will be done by my now regular man Mark, at Mark Holden M/C in Bromley. He's going to see if he can track down a slight oil leak too, coming from around the gear lever area.

Before then, I'm hoping the weather will pick up again and I can pop over to Guildford to Motolegends, as I've decided to get a new helmet. The one I have is over 7 years old, so is due to be retired. Motolengends do a full Shoei fitting service, so they can tailor all the padding inside to near perfectly match the shape of your head. Whilst over there, I might also look at some new riding jeans, as my Hood jeans are over 15 years old now and technology/comfort has improved considerably. My friends Helen and David live about 5 minutes away, so I'll drop in on them for a chat, assuming they are not out at work. 

Aside from that, I've not got any biking things planned until my September trip, when I and Phil, will be heading off to first, Barcelona, then to Italy, for the Catalunya and San Marino MotoGPs. Another 18 days away and another 3,500 miles on the clock! I'll be updating this blog in respect of that trip, so stay tuned.

Away from bikes, the aircraft we at Spitfire club have been restoring, is going to be on display in Rochester Cathedral throughout August and us chaps will be on site to (try and) answer any questions anyone might have. It should be quite spectacular. The aircraft, a Short Scion II, has links to the area, as Short Brothers had factories in Rochester, where they built Stirling Bombers at Rochester Airport and Short Sunderland flying boats down on the Medway. The Scion itself, is a float plane.

Away from aircraft, we are going down to Cornwall for a few days in August, meeting up with my daughter, her husband and my two grandchildren. We are staying right on the banks of the river Tamar and right underneath Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge. Should be interesting.

Think that's all for now.