Well it's Christmas party time and this year we went to the local pub for lunch. Somebody took a dreadful picture of me, which I am entering in the "Worlds Worst Picture" competition!















The bike is a 1959 (born same year as me) Francis Barnett Falcon, and I am tempted! 200 quid on Ebay. Just a bit short of money at the moment. S10 is still in pieces, we are in the process of stripping the carb's and they now need balancing (so say's Doug).

We have some light dusting of snow, nothing major, but we are off to Essex in the morning and they have had several inches. M25 will be fun....

Will try and keep blogging....

New "I want" on Ebay

What is it about me and allways wanting something different! The Yamaha has been sick now for three weeks, mainly because a) I had to buy a spark plug spanner and b) it's wet and horrid and I would not use it anyway. Tried to fix it two nights ago, changed the plugs, checked the coil and leads etc, charged the battery, it started fine so tried to go to work and it chugged like mad below 3K. Turned round and came home again. Doug say's I have to take the twin carbs off, and clean them out. Water or dirt in the pilot jet, he reckons.

So on Ebay I have been looking at this oddly attractive RE. Nowhere near as practical as the Yamaha for passengers and long distances, but it looks ripe for a trails type high level exhaust and a larger trails front end. It's a bit different from most of the RE's around.







From Ebay:

"For sale Royal Enfield 350cc, 1990 year. This motorbike looks a bit unusual as you can see. Good points: everything that you see in the photos is in a good condition.
- engine works very well, no noises, no leaks, is powerful and gives a proper speed, what's more it sounds nice.
- gearbox and cluch are in a very good condition
- original speedometer shows 2965 miles at present, there is no reason not to believe this as the last MOT from year 2000 shows 2272 miles.
- very good brakes and good tyres
- please notice the bike has cool numerplate (G500FAB)
-The only one bad point is the electric system.
The electric system needs some work to be done in order for the motorbike to pass the MOT. No lights - only indicators and stop lights work.
Usually the motorbike starts first or second kick but sometimes takes a long time (because of the messy electric system).
The mirrors are included but there are not in the photos.
Thanks for looking and happy bidding!!! No timewasters please!!!
Any questions please call 07816878707"

It's not on as a bidding thing, it's on as a classified add at 650.00 pounds, or you can make a best offer. I wish money wasn't so tight what with Christmas and the decorating. Maybe I could have had both the RE and kept the Yamaha (which I do find too big and heavy to move around).

By the way the "Dark & Mysterious" RE from the previous post went for 940.00 pounds, hope the new owner is happy.I looked interesting with old panniers etc etc.

Just finished reading Ted Simon's second journey book, Riding Home, he fills in some of the gap's from the first book, Jupiters Travels (which Malcolm is reading at the moment) and weaves in the story of how he and his new wife move from their ruin in France to California, and how they have their first baby. I thought it was a good read. One more to get, Dreaming of Jupiter, when he goes and does the journey again!

Work's OK, radio's frustrating, weathers awful, pretty normal winter I would say!

Dark and mysterious RE

Here's how NOT to photograph your bike (or your mates bike!) to sell it on Ebay. Decription as follows, just as poorly written...

SORRY DATES ON PICS ARE WRONG
I have for sale a ENFEILD BULLET 500cc manfactured in 1982
There is no paper work or reg number. I know the year through the royal enfeild owners club.
This bike has only done 14 kilometers since new so in theary its a new bike.
IT has been dryed stored in an army hanger since new and ridden only in the hanger.
The bike runs and rides well the only thing the bike needs is a battery.
The cost to get the plate is £12 to the owners club for the dating certificate and £25 to dvla for log book.
The bike is 27yrs old so its a classic.
Come on folks grab a bargin cash on collection.
Any Questions i will answer as soon as i can.
THANKS FOR LOOKING AND GOOD LUCK

As of today 3 days to go and no bids, starting at 800.00 pounds. Maybe it's the big 500 on the sides! Looks interesting to me if it is genuine....

What's happening with the radio....

Haven't really blogged about the radio for a while, since TDT went bust. In a nutshell, we formed the Castledown Radio Volunteers Group, of which I am chairman, then I got drafted onto the board of Castledown Radio Ltd, as a board member. Still waiting to get the kit officially transfered to The Wellington Academy, and still waiting for OFCOM to give back the license.









Last week (Wednesday 25th) we had to take down the FM antenna so we are not on air at the moment. It was a bit of a day, including the Fire & Rescue Service, myself, Dan, Baz and Glynn spent six hours taking the blasted thing down! Now we need to put a temporary antenna back up on the school gym, so we can get back on air.








We are hoping to get a 'phone line and internet back tomorrow (Tuesday 1st November), so we should be able to at least stream again. Just waiting to see what happens next!

Red Bull Romaniacs

Something else to keep....http://www.redbullromaniacs.com/video/videos-2009/

Luggage for bike...

...a link to keep....http://rtw.xtz660.googlepages.com/alluboxes...for when I have done all the decorating and saved up a bit!

Bikes, bikes and yet more bikes (for sale, that is)

Well my favourite bike, the red Tomahawk, sold for just under 1500.00 pounds, mind you it would have probably cost the same to get it back from Las Vegas, and to register it over here! Maybe one day I can build a replica. The other one is a RE2 Flying Flea, up for 350 pounds, but there's not much of it! and it's 350 miles away, on some Scotish island. Like the pile of scrap in the background. The green Indian Bullet in the last blog went for 511.00 pounds, and the black Triumph is up to 2K!

Did some decorating yesterday (Sat), basically prepared the "dining room" area, and chose the paint colour, all one colour. Not sure on carpet yet. More to do today, and then Shipton Bellinger parish Council Monday, France Tuesday/Wednesday, Garrison Fireworks Thursday, and the live radio day and Remembrance Day shows next weekend.

Must go, dinner to prepare!