[ST] Red ST's are just the best!

[John Mugleston <john.mugleston@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Good evening gentle folk!
I have resisted posting this as we have given rodents a hard time recently, 
but.........

My 99 model Red ST - 99 model Red, the best colour IMO (see, I'm getting 
the hang of this internet stuff, even if I can't spell color!) went in for 
the fuel connector recall a couple of weeks ago at Windy Corner in Barwell 
near good old Hinckley.  I had the 12,000 service done at the same time.

I dropped the bike off on the wrong day as I had written it down on the 
calendar a week early.  As usual, WC were friendly and helpful and fitted 
me in on the same day as there was not much going on that day anyway.  I 
rang from work in the afternoon and the ST was ready, I didn't pick up on 
it at the time, but the mechanic sounded a little amused.  I turned up late 
to pick up the bike in the evening, but they were still there waiting. 
 Great.  However, when they chuckled as I approached I wondered what was 
going on.  A little uncharitable I thought - I cant help having no fashion 
sense, and a heavy dose of 'bikers head' comes to most of us given time. 
 Quick check of my zip, but all was well there.....

I was then asked where I kept the ST.  Did I live on a farm?  'No' I said, 
'I keep it locked in the garage'.  Did I live near a river?  Now I have 
never dropped the ST in a river as far as I can remember, and I'm sure I 
would have known the next day from having wet boots.  (The last bike that 
went into a river was the AJS in 1974 on a dark Friday night when the 
headlight failed.  But I never told anyone about that, and it had started 
OK after I took the plugs out and it has dried off a bit).  'No, its 
several miles to the nearest river'.

Did I have a dog they asked?  This sort of questioning seemed to be going a 
bit far - all I wanted was to get back on the ST.  I cautiously said that 
yes, I do have a dog, a border terrier.  Where did I keep the dog food? 
 Did I store it in the garage with the bike?  'Well yes, I used to a couple 
of years ago but not recently'....

They then held up a bag of about 80 slightly darkened dog food pellets. 
 They then showed me a picture on their digital camera of the ST with the 
tank off and air cleaner open.  INSIDE the chamber, under where the filter 
should be was the dog food.  The filter had a hole in it too.  The guy who 
runs the spares desk is Australian, and he said he had seen a similar thing 
before at home when he worked on cars.  They suggested that a rat had got 
inside the garage and found the dog food.  It had taken the pellets up 
inside the air intake to the filter area and made a nest inside.  Several 
pellets had made it down to the throttle bodies, and no doubt some had gone 
through the engine too.

Now I'm not too clear on the anatomy of the air intake myself - does this 
seem believable to you guys?  The pellets certainly seemed to be the same 
type/size as we use for our dog, but the ST showed no ill effects.

Anyway, the ST runs well (as indeed it did before), but I have made sure 
there are absolutely no gaps round the garage door!

Keep the red side up.

John

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