Mr Bignel

got to have tyres in a condition that you can trust - our only points of contact 🙂

I find myself thinking about this coming year with a certain amount of nervous dread I regret to say which can't be a good thing. Where I live it is getting busy, more traffic, house building and rush - you can get round it with planning routes and times, that is the new way to go it seems.

The Tunderace was meant to be with mechanic Simon at Milton Common motorcycles, about 10 miles east of Oxford UK today but it turned out that his place was shut and according to a note on the door and a conversation with a relatively nearby shop/cafe owner he has been off ill since late November. Later, I found out that he had a heart attack, presumably recovering at present. Arranged to take the bike to another place and booked it in for about a month from now.

lower fairings off pending a visit to a local bike mechanic (panels off saves his time) for a bit of checking and refurbishing, temp bodged some indicators on the front top fairing to ride it over to the mechanics place, hopefully it will be good for 2026 thereafter. Main worries are a noise which is likely a worn EXUP valve, I'd like another opinion and a check on the tensioner for the cam chain if necessary. Other thing is a tendency to back fire when restarted, it lifted the carbs off their seating on one occasion. Perhaps carburettor balancing will resolve that, I hope so.

PS oops should be 2026 on the card, my mistake 🫨

i've had much worse, usually i'm to blame lol.

thank you for sorting it out - hopefully things will be OK

unexpected backing up on exits happens here in the uk too now, part of the incident may be down to constrained vision available due to the concrete and tunnel effects but you'll be aware next time. we all get caught out occasionally so bad luck covers it i suppose although having had that happen it sharpens the old sixth sense so not all bad and no contact is something to be grateful for. hope you have a good Christmas and new year.

finding that the site, this site YOC, has been 'off the air' as it were the last few times i have attempted to visit.

you somewhere around leeds s/bite? i was a student there for four yrs in early 70's - over 50 yrs ago lol at the then polytechnic.

crumbs i'd better check my radiator. your valves shouldn't need doing again for another 27K I think it is. I've got a loose exup valve in the exhaust system, still works but makes a clicking sound at times, mainly when cold. Replacements are difficult to find in operational order. You can't get too excited riding in these parts around Oxford and the Cotswolds as it is relatively crowded, there's dual carriage ways and motorways but they are busy too. For quieter roads I need a whole day to leave the area and get over to the west towards Wales. Have you noticed how Thunderace prices are dropping in recent times? I guess if problems were to mount up one could realistically consider another similar bike if you could find one without without issues.

a lot of money to find but the equivalent here doesn't sound that bad at £714.65 UK have you hasd to pay out on the t/ace much s/bite? don't like to tempt fate but so far it has just been low level stuff for me like oil, filters, cables..

swingarm would be difficult as not possible to protect the wiring that well, as it is i can largely keep feeder wires out of harms way but yes that's something one might associate with a cruiser I suppose, low lights, hog style. My motivation is hearing about or seeing videos of bikers getting rear ended, so trying to attract attention or catch the eye might assist.

yep, bit on the marginal side but having put them on just flipping thewm back was easy and anything that may help..... bit obscured but Ok I think

amber/yellow flank led with red led facing rearward rear quarter view

re: Hey welcome back. Thanks Alex. I was off line for a bit, had problems with my thumb, now all good again, can ride and operate m/bike controls OK. Sorry to learn that you have had issues with the MT-09.

thanks s/bite, nice of you to trouble, i'd like it to go through it's mot so i'll order the amber type LEDs, thanks, much appreciated.

there's these on ebay, might consider swapping over... eBay UKUniversal Car Motorcycle Mini LED Turn Signal Tail Lights...(Fit for Cafe Racer Motorcycle（DIY mini led light). Light Color: Red 、Yellow （optional). Housing Color: Silver. We must protect your interest as promsied.

good point - just what i had at the time lol.

yes good point on the headlight situation - on the side lights i had a hairy incident where a lady motorist came out into a dual carriageway, i moved over as far as i could and got away with it, the guy behind me said that he saw her husband grab the steering wheel! Anything that promotes visibily, I'm getting distinctly paranoid about it now. Maybe west yorkshire is quieter but 40 miles from london is busy busy now with distracted and less than cautious motorists. If I can get further west, maybe herefordshire, things improve.

These are the running lights on my bike, two front, one either side and two at the back yet still i get peeps pulling out on me. changed the oil and filter today, book says oil change at 4K but i do 3K. next job is to wire in those spot lights you can just see down by the side lights, one each side. my thunderace is an early one 1997 with 50k miles, there's a later model on autotrader that i like: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/bike-details/202509226529043?advertising-location=at_bikes but now isn't the time despite low prices.

oh dear

thanks amb, i see it is annotated 'custom' meaning americanised i think. i prefer the wire wheels that you have now.

i'm not that knowledgeable about bikes but this particular one strikes me as rather a mystery, on one hand the tall bars and tail bar make it look like a chopper but then if you imagine it without those and a minimal seat then it has the look of a scrambler, especially if it had a scrambler exhaust high up to the side. What would it have looked like originally I cannot help but wonder, are those handle bars original please?