The bastard bites back

My bike had been a late purchase before the trip and was expected to be the one donating parts to get Jean's to the end of the road, it was referred to many times by me as "bastard" as I was plagued with electric problems. It did of course get further than Jean's.

But it was bound to happen, I had only been telling my neighbour how reliable the bike was and that I wanted to take it across Russia in 2 years.

We were heading to a "Pannier Party"(Courtsey of Vern the pannier maker) near Chester, bimblimg along the Runcorn Express-way when I felt the power drop. The red warning triangle came on and the "Service" message flashed. I pulled off down a slip road and started to diagnose. No spark, checked the wiring and found a loose connector to the coil. Easy fix ! Not :-(

The spade connector had corroded and snapped off.
I sent Jean ahead with the tent, and waited for the recovery truck. Then had the piss take out of me all weekend by BMW owners.
When we got home on Sunday, Jean donated her coil to get me on the road as I am working away all week. So, roles reversed as her bike became the donor.