dandelions

what a strange day. me and dangerous head out on the triumph's. first stop is cornerspeed to check in with nelly and check the progress with the 'peaky blinder' which is up for the ecu re-flash and a run on the dyno. good news, the motor is making a very healthy 76 bhp at the crank and more importantly, 59.9bhp at the back wheel, good figures for an air-cooled ducati 750. more important is the gain throughout the rev range, a flat torque curve and the rev ceiling raised by one and a half thousand rpm. bad news? well, there's always bad news isn't there? the e-bay, 'bargain' earl's oil cooler has split at the seams and spewed it's guts all over the dyno! bugger. luckily there was no drop in oil pressure so no engine damage occured, but, i need to get a new cooler sorted and plumbed in before the morini owners club trackday at cadwell in a fortnights time. why do we always end up having to work to a very tight deadline? especially after weeks of inactivity, i suppose that's just the way it goes. so, we wend our way over to lincoln and the moto-italia shop to check out the new ducati scrambler. i'm a cynical bastard me. it comes from years of being lied to, ripped off and being done down, false promises and disappointment. if the glass is half-full, well my glass has been drained, spat back in my face and smashed on my head. today, i think i had some of my inbuilt cynicism nullified. a proper motorcycle shop, no attitude, no pressure from salesmen with targets to meet, just a cheery greeting and as much free coffee as you could sink and a genuine interest in your bike, run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. dangerous tentatvively ask's about a test ride on the scrambler 'icon', five minutes later he's out for a ride, thirty minutes later he's back and dropping a deposit on a new bike, hopefully ready to pick up in time to go to the isle of man on for the classic tt / manx gp. me? well, let's just say, if my lottery numbers come up saturday night i'm back over to lincoln to buy the treble-eight racebike that takes the pride of place in the showroom. along with the ducati moped. and a superleggera. and one of those panigale's. and a big monster. we ride out to the cafe at raf waddington for a brew, sitting in the late afternoon sunshine and checking out the vulcan bomber that delivered it's ordinance to devastating effect during the falklands war, the ride back is one of those life affirming things, almost empty roads, a 'brisk' pace ensues, fingers and toes buzzing from the vibration, fly splattered, sore eyes and bikes greasy cool from road film. a couple of cold ones in the shed before the clincher, 'bailey, look at the size of those dandelions'.........