MOT Trouble

Well, I'm stood on our drive, the clouds, once scattered and few have got together for a party and seem to be filling the sky, and I think I know why: Because today is my MOT (annual vehicle safety/roadworthiness inspection) day.

Yep, after some work on the bike, I've sorted out a couple of problems, and I'm on my way to fix a couple more. Even as I speak, parrafin is dripping off my drive chain, taking with it that nasty muck and crap that seems to get all over the thing every time I take it out. I've already fixed the squeaking brakes, the dodgy idle, and one of the bar ends, but I can't help but feel that he's gonna come up with something to fail me on.

Still, it'll be nice to ride the bike either way, so there's that to look forward to, let's just hope that I can continue riding it once I've taken it there. Well, I'm off for a cup of coffee etc, will keep you updated.

14:02: Well, that was bizarre. I popped in to get a tool a while ago, with the clouds hanging ominously in the sky. I was inside for about 2 minutes, and when I came out, I swear there was almost not a cloud to be seen -the sun was absolutely beaming down.

The clouds are back with a vengeance now though, but I'm nearly ready to go. I'm due up the MOT station in about 55 minutes, and I have to admit, not only have I not been on the bike for a while, but I haven't had an mot for 12 months either. I've not been this nervous since tuesday when I went into hospital.

Still, let's see how we go, eh? :).

14:10: And the rain has started - only light at the mo but those clouds are very dark grey :(.

14:15 - that didn't take long, the light spotting has turned into a downpour, complete with the first thunder of the year!! I swear the world revolves around me, as soon as I plan to go out, the heavens themselves move in response! :(.

Still, I've ridden through worse, but I haven't ridden for a long time!

14:39 - Well the thunder and rain have gone and the roads are drying out - it's time for me to go now, and I admit, I'm incredibly nervous. My leathers, designed to protect me and keep me safe, feel more like they're crushing me, keeping me from being able to escape - tis a weird feeling. Still best get going!

22:03 - Okay. So. The thunder carried on a while after it stopped raining, but before long the sun was out again and the roads had already begun to dry. By the time I was out on the road, the roads were damp, but patches of dry tarmac were appearing and growing as the sun returned.

Strictly speaking, I had an uneventful ride to the test center, though from my point of view it was like being a kid again, on some great adventure. The bike sounds better and feels more powerful than it used to, the roar from the airbox is awesome and makes the bike sound much meatier, with the screaming from the exhausts and the really seductive growl from under the tank, it was hard to resist breaking into a huge grin on the way there. Or it would have been hard to resist if I had tried.

While waiting for the bike to be tested, I went to the local store to grab a can of coke - getting distracted by the post office onsite, i went over to learn that I can't tax my bike there, but I can do it at the one down the road. Thanking them, I walked out of the shop to realise that one of my hands still had the can of coke in it! Red-faced, I scurried back in to pay for it and tried not to look to see if anyone had noticed my accidental shoplifting.

Finally time came for my bike to get MOT'd. It was pretty uneventful as he took it through the checks. The front brake came out okay on the rolling road, more powerful than ever since I swapped out the master cylinder with one from a Mille. The Mille's a much more powerful heavier bike, so the cylinder is designed to have greater stopping power than the little one I used to have (which some muppet previous owner swapped over from an RS125, something that weighed less and made less power!!!).
He rolled the rear wheel onto the rolling-road-brake-tester-thingy and as he applies the brake, the "brake power o-meter" or whatever it's called reads the power from the back brake.

All of a sudden, there's a metallic crack-ping, as something on my bike shatters, sending pieces of metal across the workshop floor. Behind the mechanic's foot (still on the now-very-depressed rear brake pedal), a severed brake line drips brake fluid onto my still-spinning rear wheel.

He gets off the bike and we have a closer look - the fixing that holds the steel brake line to the brake caliper, has shattered. The line has become completely detached from the caliper and it's dripping the last little bit of brake fluid onto the floor. In short, my rear brake fixing literally exploded under the pressure.
The problem was that the fixings on the line were not steel, they were aluminium. Aluminium corrodes in exactly the same way that steel does not, and when it corrodes apparently the fixings split. This one had evidently split with enough force to send bits of it everywhere.

Still, he made me up a new line, with steel fixings this time, and testing it again, my bike scored a successful pass. As opposed to a successful fail, or a non-successful pass. Whatever.

I ended up taxing my bike at the post office about 5 minutes before they were due to close, then went on a little zoom round town in the now bright and sunny weather.
All in all, a good day :).
Thanks for reading, see you soon.