Pan Clan at the bike show.

Wet and windy!

Riders for health book sale

This is a big plug for our book sale in aid of Riders for Health. To be held at Linktown Church, Nicol Street, Kirkcaldy on

Saturday 23^rd February from 10.30am to 2.30pm

Tea and coffee will be served.

Oxford Heated Grips

Disclaimer - following these instructions may damage you or your bike. If in doubt, speak to a genuine mechanic.

The Honda grips at the front are great, especially over the past month, but Mr Honda hasn't sold a method of keeping the pillions hands warm. So I purchased a set of Oxford Hot Hands, which are supposed to velcro around the bike grips. The packet contains a pair of grips, attached to a switch assembly, and a lead that is supposed to be connected to the power supply somewhere on the bike. I have used Oxford grips on previous bikes, so I'm confident that they will be up to the job.

The kit can be connected to the battery, although there is a risk that you will forget to switch them off and run the battery flat. There is enough cable supplied with the kit to run the power wire all the way forward to attach to the Quartet accessory harness, where the front heated grips plug in. As pictured below, I obtained a couple of the Hitachi style plugs so I could attach to the quartet harness without cutting. One green plug goes into the socket that the OEM grips attach, the other green component is the new socket for the OEM grips. The bundle of black wire was then fed back to the rear left of the bike. The white plug attaches to the switch assembly for the Oxford Grips.

I had decided to fit the switch in the rear fairing, so the first step was to prise apart the switch for the Oxford grips. Inside there’s a waterproofed switch, a green LED, and a little resistor. Be careful not to break the resistor or the LED. The LED slides out of the holder if you are careful.

Before cutting a hole in your Pan for the switch, you need to find a location that is not only accessible for your pillion, but also does not foul the rear sub-frame A bit of trial and error is required, although on my version, the switch sits just below the left grab rail. You must make sure you have enough stretch in your power supply cable to reach the location of the switch. Once you have marked the location for the switch and the LED, your life will be easier if you remove the rear fairing to drill and position the switch assembly.

Once the switch is installed, carefully replace the fairing, wrap the grip heaters around the rear grab rail and pass the grip heater wires under the seat to attach to the switch assembly. You may wish to cut a small notch in the fairing, just under the seat to pass the heater wires through. Once I was happy with the installation I used the supplied cable ties to attach the loose wire to the bike frame.

A wee bit less than an afternoon’s work, resulting in one happy pillion.

Links
Oxford heated grips - http://www.oxprod.com/
Plugs for quartet harness - http://www.inter-bike.co.uk/inter-bikeshop/default.asp?categoryid=461

Pan miles so far - 005688

Winter stinks

It's too cold, and too slippery. I want to go out to play. To think I was complaining about the heat in the summer.

Happy Christmas to one and all.

Pan miles so far... More than the last time I looked.

Horns

The horn hasn't got a lot of presence on the Pan, partly due to being stuck in the deepest, darkest part of the fairing. The solution? One par of Motrax horns later, and the Pan has a bit more of a honk and less of a tweet. The horns themselves (round bit in the pic)are attached to the bracket that holds the mirrors on, and located in the space behind the dashboard where the stereo speakers go.

It's simple enough to get into to extend the wiring from the orginal horn, but a pain getting the plastic off to get access. From what other people have told me, there's enough room in there to fit some serious horns, but there may be a need to fit a relay, to prevent the wires getting fried.

Got to admit, they do look a bit sad when you start stripping the plastic off.

Pan miles so far... Loads.

For the newbies

I wrote this for another forum a wee while back as advice for new bikers.

Here's my hot tips for new riders from someone who learnt the hard way!

Got a £10 head, get a £10 helmet. (saw this on an advert once) Never buy a second hand helmet, as you don't know whether it has been dropped. Not all damage is visible, so can you really trust the seller? And helmets have a date stamp inside. If it is more than 5 years from date of manufacture then you should get a replacement.

The same goes for safety clothing. Tarmac hurts, and everyone falls off at some time. Your clothing will dictate whether you swear, limp and hobble away from an accident or get carried away in an ambulance. You needn't spend a fortune, but make sure you have a jacket, trousers, boots and gloves, as well as a good helmet. And even though it is a lovely day, don't even think of going out without your safety gear. Denim offers no protection in an accident.

If you don't know where to go for bike advice, most motorcycle magazines contain advice for new riders, and the web has loads of information. But why not ask a biker? Try visiting your local motorcycle club, or if there is a motorbike show near to you, go along, and seek out the stands that belong to the motorbike clubs. For most bikers it doen't take a lot of effort to get them to start talking bike - in fact the hardest part can be getting them to stop! Ask them what got them into biking, what gear they advise, what bikes are best for a novice, and what dealerships near to you are the most trustworthy.

You will need to complete some sort of basic training. In the UK this is called your Compulsory Basic Training (CBT) and you will need a CBT certificate before going out on the road with "L" (learner) plates. The motorbike school will supply the bike and protective gear, and you will start off riding around traffic cones while getting to grips with the basics of using a motorcycle. The school will also be able to provide lessons to get you ready for sitting your full bike test. Whether or not you can already drive a car, I would advise you to take some lessons.

If you are going to buy a bike, I would advise against buying a brand new bike while you learn. If you buy a bike that is not too old, someone else has already paid the depreciation. If the bike school that you did your CBT with gave you use of one particular brand of bike, and you were comfortable with it, then you would do a lot worse than looking at that particular model. Take along a biking friend (perhaps one of your new bike club buddies!) to give you advice, and when it comes to the point that you actually purchase, please remember that half the fun is in the haggling. If you can't get the seller to move on the price, at least make sure that they fill it up with petrol, and if it is a main dealer, see if they will chuck in free servicing. But remember that you should always have money left ofer for your safety gear.

Invest in the Haynes or similar servicing manual for your bike. You really need to know how to adjust and lubricate your chain, but for the more technically competent, the basic servicing such as oil changes can be done by the home mechanic. However if your bike makes nasty clunking, grinding or coughing noises, then you really need to speak to a real mechanic.

Never answer a call of nature at the roadside. While you are attempting to do what comes naturally behind the bushes, thirty passing bikers will assumme that your bike has broken down and offer to pass spanners, go for a gallon of petrol, or make sympathetic noises about your broken bike. Just smile, wave, and be grateful that they thought to stop to help!

You will get wet. Very wet. You will go out when the sun is out, but the rain will come on when you are at distance D. D= the nearest point to your destination that still ensures that you get absolutely saturated. Some form of waterproof outer layer or a well waterproofed bike jacket will prevent most of the water getting in. If you are riding to work, and carrying a change of clothes in your backpack, make sure that your clothes are wrapped in a plastic bag, and always carry a spare set of socks. (Hitchhikers Guide fans will know about not forgetting your towel.)

Most importantly, get out there, enjoy riding, be safe.

Google

On the side of this blog there is a meter that lets me know how many people have looked in on the blog. (and for those reading this, hi, thanks for dropping in.) It's similar to the counter on Ebay pages, but gives you details of the Google search keywords that were used to find me. For most visitors I'm usually found by a search on Pan Clan, or a variation of Honda ST1300 Pan European. For one unfortunate soul, they needed advice from Google on "how to pick up a dropped pan european bike." Hope it didn't cause too much damage to yourself or the bike.

For those who have never tried to recover from a horizontal parking situation I'd advise the following:

1. Use a few bad words.
2. Make sure you're not hurt.
3. remove unwanted baggage (tank bag, top box, pillion) but leave both panniers on. You won't be able to remove the pannier on the lower side, and you want it balanced when you pick it up.
4. Undo the steering lock, and remove any security devices (if applicable)
5. Assuming it has fallen on the left side, turn your back to the bike, bend with the knees and grab the handle bar with your right hand, and the rear grab rail with your left.
6. In one smoth movement, stand up, lifting the bike to its normal position. Allow the steering to turn towards you as it comes up. Don't let go of your right hand until you have got the bike on an even keel. Oh and make sure you don't go pushing it on to the other side.
7. Ensure your side/centre stand is still intact before you use them.

At this point you can work out how much the damage wil cost you...

Is there a problem here..?