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[ST] The Orient Express rides again!



Well folks,

Michelle the Lovely Ballast and I finally found the time to go back to
Scotland to ride the ST - and incidentally, go to my little brother's
wedding.  We had a tight schedule to pick up the Orient Express, get the MOT
(road test) done and get over to the wedding, at his fiancee's home in
Sweden.

The previous time that I left the bike in the garage for four months, not on
a battery tender, it started like this "coughcoughcoughcoughcough thump
coughcoughcough thumpthump coughcoughcough thumpthump brrrmmmmm..." so since
the bike had been off the road for about 14 months this time, I thought it
could be a real problem getting it to run.  I'd left it with a full tank of
petrol, to stop condensation in the tank, the alarm in ferry mode and the
battery connected to an Optimate II.  I pressed the button and straightaway
- - perfect running!  So I'd highly recommend using an Optimate if you need to
leave your bike off the road for more than a few weeks.

It passed the MOT with only one comment, that the front brakes were pulsing
somewhat and might need new rotors before the next MOT.  The chap in the
dealers said it might simply be that the pads had been sitting in one place
on the rotors for too long, so the pulsing might disappear again after use
for a few hundred miles.  I wondered if the steering head bearing might need
adjustment, but I didn't have time to check it.

Anyway, the bike ran fine all the way over to Sweden and back through Norway
- - about 2,500 miles - with no problems at all.  So the Ballast and I were
once again very happy with Triumph reliability.   As for the wedding, it was
probably the most fun wedding I've ever seen, with everyone up dancing on
the tables and singing drinking songs.  The Swedes certainly know how to
party!

Now we're back in Shanghai and it will probably be about another year before
we get to ride the ST again!

Neil "Scotty Dawg"

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