Nearly finished!

So I’ve had a bit of a busy time what with preparing for our impending house move. But more importantly it started with preparing the EXC for its MOT.

Firstly a shot of the repair to the oil screen bolt thread as previously mentioned... very neat job!

A new chain was fitted and everything checked over. I noticed a bit of play in the front wheel bearings and the head bearings, neither of which was likely to be a test failure. I was a bit annoyed at the front wheel bearing as this was my “spare” wheel from the Tuareg Rally that hadn’t been used so should have brand new bearings. However when I checked they definitely weren’t new! I think it was one of those jobs I always meant to get round to but had finally decided they would be OK for a spare. So I tried the wheel that had had new bearings before Morocco, the one I had used for the duration of the Rally. This was to be honest in a similar condition, so I left it on the bike anyway.

Although I had fitted a nice new LED rear light, I hadn't got round to replacing the light switches that I had bodged up after I head butted in the dunes. I tend to get the bike tested with the navigation tower and fairing removed and the CCM headlight in place as the LED lights in the fairing are of dubious legality whereas I know the CCM one is perfectly OK

To do this would require a bit of a rewire to reinstall the light switch on the handlebars, so I went for an easier solution. I just cable tied a MX style number plate on the front to cover the wiring and taped over the rear light. A bike can be presented for an MOT this way, and of course as a “single seat off road style motorbike” it doesn’t have to be fitted with indicators, mirrors or a chain guard, which is good because it has none of them!

So sure enough on a Saturday afternoon I rode away with a nice new MOT with advisories for the front wheel bearings, steering head bearings and that the bike was for daytime use only! The new bearings were promptly ordered and the front wheel done nice and quickly. The steering head bearings just turned out to be loose, so the new ones have gone into the spares box for future use. The light switch will be refitted and the wiring reinstated at some time in the future as for now the bodged up switches on the nav tower will suffice.

I also tried “wrapping” the rear mudguard in white vinyl and it doesn't look too bad. The side panels will be done separately and might be a bit trickier as they have slightly more complex curves. I will also do the air box cover as well  The only problem is that it is matt white vinyl, so will get dirty very easily and it’s difficult to clean. So if I do this properly I think I’ll invest in a roll of gloss white vinyl.

So then it was off to Wales for the Hafren Rally