Monthly Archives: March 2012

Postie got me out of bed to sign for my new float valve assemblies this morning. My excuse for lateness is I’m still suffering with this bl**dy Manflu thing – it had me up half the night and I can’t seem to shake it off.

No worries – brilliant sunshine out there so I did my Mr Cool routine – on with the shades to hide my puffy eyes and strolled round for my morning paper and to catch a latte at Mulberries.

Wandered home the long way – putting off the carb re-build. Found fresh buds bursting in the Stewartry Museum garden —

Is it a Laburnum tree/bush? Don’t know.

OK – I’ve put today’s job off long enough. Open the jiffy bag to check what’s been sent – four complete float valve assemblies with the fragile taper needle valve dangly bits all protected in plastic condoms.

Just a minute – make that three complete assemblies and one minus the ‘O’ ring on the slug! Bugga!

Footnote; I bought the XJR late last summer. Twelve years old with a little over one thousand miles on the clock. Trouble was that having spent most of it’s life sitting around, the original unleaded fuel had evaporated and the residue had gummed up the carbs. After much work I had her running right and a flooding float bowl had been sorted.

Temporarily it seems. I drained the carbs over winter hoping to prevent a repeat of the evaporating fuel problems only to find when I ran fuel through her this spring the float bowl flooded again and my precious petrol was being dumped on the floor. Bad news but I suspected last year that the tapered rubber seal portion of the needle valves had gone brittle and I was lucky to find a fix at the time.

OK – I bit the bullet cashwise and order new float valve assemblies last Friday. You know the rest 🙂

A quick phone call to Allen’s Performance in Nottingham this morning and it would appear they are sending me a whole new assembly to replace the missing part!

I’ve put the job off long enough. Let’s get out there and see what I can do today.

Quick Edit;

That was a very worthwhile couple of hours spent with the carbs from the XJR. Found an ‘O’ ring from a set I bought last year and the black baby is all back together and running so sweet! No floatbowls flooding – no missing a beat just purring like a cat and answering to the throttle when called for. Magic! 🙂

Wish I could treat my ‘manflu’ the same way.

Float valve assemblies

I know many of us wonder where our old bikes that we lavished tender loving care over ended up but what about the riders? I’ve had two mates from the old days pop into this blog – guys who would turn up at a pre-arranged by internet meeting place many miles from home just to chat – ride together awhile and head for our seperate homes again. Sometimes we even went on holiday together as Bainzie and I did to visit the lonesum Javier who at that time was probably the only XJR owner in Spain. The common denominator was the XJR1300 and most of us had a love affair with that big air-cooled four

I will put up a few photos from rides and meets we did nine -ten – eleven years ago and ask the question;

Where are they now?

The remains of the group at Bala after we had scattered Gary & Co between the Ponderosa and Barmouth 🙂

The Elan Valley run led by Andy – shortly after we moved on from this fagbreak we rode past some farm buildings and a Red Kite attacked Huw’s helmet just a few yards in front of me. Must have thought it was a chicken 🙂

Tan Hill – the highest pub in England —

Gary’s bobsleigh team at Barmouth —

The Horseshoe at Oakham when we went down to greet the new licensees —

An early Broadway meet when we would park the bikes tidy and most ran standard cans 🙂

Another from Broadway —

even more — Big Azza – what a man!

Back to Barmouth with Huw – Mr Bassman & Co – that must have been the hottest day of any year – we were cooked in our biker gear — all except Mr Cool who ambled along listening to the Archers on his earphones 🙂

and even more from Barmouth —

Yes I know – the late Huw Evans (our Meatloaf lookalike) pops up in many of the pics and rightly so. Huw was an ever-present on most of my rides and no matter what part of the country we were riding he would turn up from Haerford West – do the ride and get home the same day. He was one lovely fella and is sadly missed

Another star from the past was Flo – he is on the tri-cloured XJR with the frame mounted fairing in the second of the Horseshoe pub pics. Another good guy – he was held in high regard by all who met him and the XJR Owner’s Club hold a ride in his memory every year.

OK – I know where Huw and Flo are and also this guy here – at his best marshalling the bikes into line at Broadway —

And last I heard from Mark-of-the-Lakes he had left Barrow in Furness and was de-commissioning nuclear subs under the nom-de-plume of Mark-of-the-Lochs at Coulport or sumwhere close. Which reminds me – I have a standing invitation to visit but have lost your address Mark so if you ever cruise past my blog say hello. 🙂

Where are they now?

Got lots of Birthday Wishes from the XJR Owners Club today – never thought I would reach seventy so I’ll look for a few photos from the XJRs I have owned and ridden over the past twelve years —

My first XJR1300SP – bought new from Stumpy & Grumpy in Church Stretton in 2000 —

We were waiting for the boys on an early Elan Valley Run down in mid-Wales.

With the same bike the year before outside Javier’s house in Madrid.

I prefer the ‘playing the fool pic’ —

OK – here’s Javier and Bainzie on the King’s Chair – the rock the king sat on while his palace was being built in the distance —

Then there was this serious pic on the bank at Ravenglass when Mad Mick and I were planning the route for Oli’s Memorial run —

There had been three of us the year before but young Oli Mills was killed when a motorists ‘didn’t see him’ and pulled out on him a couple of days after this next pic was taken —

That had been a happy day. We met near Skipton and rode over the Fells to Lancaster then by Kendal and Ambleside before doing the Wrynose and Hardknott Passes on the way to Ravenglass for lunch.

Sorry – didn’t mean to go back there but there’s lots of memories in my libraries.

Including these from the KrKra National Park near Skradin in Croatia on my Alps, Adriatic and Alcohol ride —

XJR1300 SP