Time moves slowly

 especially in lockdown.

Yes, were still in lockdown, although slowly 'UK PLC' is begining to wake. Since my last update, not much has happened. I've managed another two runs for VRUK, bought some new kit and that's about it.

First off, here's what's happened to my electronic chain oiler project - absolutely nothing. All the parts are still sitting on the shelf awaiting my attention. Sometime in February, the power in the garage blew. I've still not managed to sort it and it's likely I'll need a qualified electrician to sort it. So there's no electricity in there unless I run an extension cable from the house. That limits what I can do as I have to wait for bright, warmish days. Any work I do has to be done outside, like removing the wheel bearings from the Trophy wheels, or fixing the car, which is still awaiting parts from Mervedes - although that's my fault for not ordering them, not Mercedes. I'll get around to doing it as I have a week off work and at least now I can ride in to town to pick them up.

So the position at the moment is, the Trophy is waiting for me to take the wheels to be powder coated. The bearings are out and old tyres off thanks to Ben at BJM. Once the wheels are done, the Trophy can go back together, ready for the final phase of recomissioning.

The Tiger is up and running and going well. I took her out at the weekend for the first non-essential run for months and everything went well.

New kit

Over the last few weeks, with not much need to spend money on the Triumphs, I've had a little cash to spare, so I've bought some new kit ready for the warmer months.

First up was a pair of Bull-it cargo jeans, so I don't have to wear my Alpinestars textile kit all the time. Yes, I also have some Alpinestars leather jeans as well but even these could be a little warm in the summer.

This presented a problem as the only boots I have are my 13 year old Hein Gericke waterproof boots, that are no longer waterproof. So, do I tuck the cargo jeans inside my old boots, or leave them outside?

Or, do I buy a new pair of short boots to wear with my new jeans? I ordered a pair of Richa Slick paddock boots which I'll review when I've had a chance to evaluate them, together with the Bull-it jeans.

Finally on my list of new kit (not including the new Richa Waterproof boots my other half has got me for my birthday later this week) is a pair of Richa Rock gloves. There's little wrong with the non-descript, unknown make summer gloves I already have, but the Richa gloves have a short wrist band, again thinking about summer use.

I met another rider on one of my VRUK rides earlier in the year who had a pair, it was cold and wet but these gloves kept his hands warmer & drier than my winter, waterproof Hein Gericke gloves did. To be fair to my Hein Gericke gloves, it was 2C and I rode through some torrential downpours and I had the cuffs outside my Alpinestars jacket. Not the best thing to do as I later found out - glove cuffs inside the jacket sleeves from now on. Something which I knew about but was just too lazy to do on this occasion and thought I'd get away with.

On the plus side, both my Alpinestars jacket and trousers performed very well in the cold and wet. It was only my hands & feet that suffered. Even my Shark helmet did a great job of keeping the water out.

I'll be reviewing all four products over the coming months, as well as hopefully bringing you a video of the Trophy being started up for the first time in around 6 years.