Getting ready...

I didn't manage any miles on the C110 last week, as the cylinder head was off.  It's been getting very smoky when under load and I suspected the valve guides were worn.  I had managed to get a set from the USA a month or so ago, just in case.  So, the weekend that we got back from holiday I had the head off to fit the guides and new valves.  Unfortunately the new guides were ever so slightly too large and wouldn't fit the head.  With the old ones a bit damaged after their removal it was a case of sorting through the spare cylinder heads to find the one with the least wear.

Having got the new valves installed I refitted the head.  The bike is now a lot less smokey (it's barely noticeable), and it does seem as if it'll hold 40mph on the flat a bit more easily.  I think there is also an improvement in fuel economy, I haven't had a need to fill up yet and I've gone further than 100 miles since the last fill up.  This is a good thing!

One of the jobs I've had to do for a few weeks now is to make a map holder.  I looked at quite a few options before settling on something that looks a little officious but will hopefully do the job.  I'm going to make up A6 sized route cards to take me between controls, hopefully they'll be large enough to show all the information that I'll need.

Finally, a lot of the riding on the rally will be done during the night.  To be honest I find it a bit unnerving riding the bike on A roads during the day, the speed differential to the rest of the traffic is so high.  So I'm really not looking forward to doing the same during the night.  To reduce the chance of getting squashed I've bought myself a hi-vis jacket.  I couldn't resist the temptation to get it customised though!