Tuesday, July 19, 2016

After the Fall....


Well it happened.

Flashback to the Friday before last, wet ground, misapplied brake (I believe) and down I went.

As far as accidents go it was relatively minor and I am merely bruised, so I certainly count my blessings!

I was however reminded of just how vulnerable we as riders truly are.   I only fell and slid a couple feet but caused the following damage:


-My helmet is likely no good anymore (as my head hit the pavement), so I will need to find another Davida Jet ($$$).

-The clutch lever snapped,  luckily I found an OEM one for a good price on Ebay.

-The handlebars were twisted and bent and are now scrap. I was actually surprised how light and thin they turned out to be.  I think they had come from British Customs or New Bonneville.  I didn't want to wait for another pair so I modified an old set of 1966 TR6 bars that were gathering dust.  I cut two inches off of either end to get the right fit.

-The brake reservoir (which seemed to have succumbed to UV damage and was quite brittle) snapped at the base. Once again it was Ebay to the rescue.

-My foot lever was damaged, I ordered an aftermarket replacement that looked good but was unfortunately flimsy.   I ended up sanding out the damage to the lever, drilling out the broken pin and using an M8 40mm bolt and some copper pipe inside the salvaged rubber.

The tank has a dent from the bars on the top which I hope to rectify with a dent puller.  As you might have guessed, there will be a full product review of said dent puller in an upcoming post.

Lastly, my clutch cover is scratched so it will need replacement.  In the interim I will wet sand to smooth out, then paint.

While I spent several hours adjusting and fettling,  I decided that now would be a good opportunity to install the progressive fork springs purchased in 2010!

In my defense, these were in storage and I only uncovered them recently.

Between the bars and the springs, it almost feels like a different bike.  The riding position is quite comfortable, more akin to a cruiser.  The front forks soak up much more of the road, by comparison to the old it feels like an air mattress.  I have to say that after a day of adjustment I really love the new feel, however I seem to have sacrificed the nimble turning stance I had previously.

As I mentioned earlier, the replacement parts were ordered through Ebay and shipped to the US for pick up.  There are several reasons for this:

The biggest reason being that my local shop doesn't seem to stock any parts anymore.  Not even a nut, bolt or pin.  In the event that you do need a part, you are looking at a 2 week turnaround.

It seems the days of shops having inventory (sundries) is a bygone one. Sad.

The second reason is the postal service here in Canada.  Ours has had looming job action for some time over a pension dispute.  This has left residents unsure of when or if items sent would be delivered at all.   

Speed and cost.  Shipping within the US is cheap, fast and sometimes free!  Packages that would normally take 2 weeks to get to me from say, California arrive in Niagara Falls, NY within 3 days.  

I found an exceptional service near the border called US Address at 3909 Witmer Road in Lewiston.
They charge a flat fee of $5.00 for each package under 50 lbs.

US Address




All told, this post could have been worse or not been at all.  I am renewed with gratitude to be back on the road and in one piece.