Moderate Saturday 22nd February

The shit was good man

 

well, a BIG shout out to Barneys bikes in Luton Road Chatham .....after calling a few local yamaha dealers regarding a straight swap out solonoid ( identical match to the aprilia one and apparently half the price) the only one that said they could order a replacement was Lagunas, and that they would relieve me of £60 for the privilege, Now....being an avid hater of the aforementioned trader ( for reasons best left unsaid on an open forum) i opted out. Gave Chris at barneys bikes a call and asked if he could help and after a quick rustle through his stock he said unfortunately he didnt have one ........well not a new one ......eh?.
" pop in and im sure we will have a second hand one" he says......so off i trots, walk in and he walks round the back of the work shop to an Aladdins cave of old tea chests FULL of second hand parts retrieved from years and years of broken bikes ....goes directly to one chest at high level and pulls out a solonoid ...a quick bench test shows its a goodun and im relieved of a tenner for it, back home and its virtually identical in size and shape all but the connections on the coil supply, nothing a bit of snipping from the fried one and soldering to the replacement couldnt fix.....hey presto .....sorted and she turns over better than she has ever done.
Now i have a few things to be thankful for ......1. that she gave up the ghost at home and i could so easily have been dumped in the middle of nowhere with no means of testing to find the fault ( it was only a solonoid and she could have been started simply by shorting the solonoid out, but the trick was knowing the fault as the solonoid was clicking like a dead battery ) and 2. i wasnt raised as a snob shopper going for the glitzy bright lights of the big stores.
Remember guys, that little grotty shop we all know thats been there for years ( YOU ALL KNOW ONE) which seems to have been bypassed by the big cooperate lads, yet still seems to carry on trading as you wonder how he competes against the rows and rows of leathers and helmets and gadgets, the halogen lights and big displays .....not hard really is it ....he keeps it simple , a few crash helmets, if you want others they can get them ( he done enough to show you he sells them) a few bits of clothing ( but again they will get what you want he's just showing you its something he does) a few rows of tyres ( AGAIN .....they can get others if you want em), a minefield of parts, a few second hand bikes, and an honest, good old fashioned workshop that looks like its used ( not cleaned every 5 minutes for something to do ) and as mentioned a wealth of second hand parts awaiting to be given a second chance. these guys have gotten me out of bad situations more than once and are always willing to help by passing on knowledge for the DIYer .....just dont go in stating " i can get that for a quid cheaper on ebay" cos youll be met with a resounding " well off ya go then and start bidding". For the one part you pay a quid less for on ebay i guarantee these little shops will save your skin 10 fold. so respect to the little man handing it to the the big cooperate lads still steaming on the end of the shovel.