Ditto check ECU fault log, sensors etc.

When turbos fail you tend to know about it – the turbo bearings went on my 406 HDi & it made a very loud screeching noise, major loss of power, dashboard full of warning lights etc. But exhaust smoke at full throttle away from roundabouts etc is common enough for TDs that have done a few miles, not something to worry too much about in itself.

Mentioning the fuel filter raises slight possibility of a blocked injector or similar?

That said my 406 (with replacement turbo) has always had a similar “flat spot” around 2000rpm if you lift off and then get back on the gas. Never worked out why but it’s been like that for years.

…creaky stem bolts…?
…knackered bearings…?
…cups not in properly…?
…cables rubbing against the frame…?
…cracked head tube (ohmygodyouregoingtodie)…?

Strip it, clean it, put it all back together usually solves this sort of thing for me :-)

Soda having a bit of a lie down.

Still don’t understand why cleaning a chain is more likely to get grit into the rollers than riding for hours through muddy puddles.

I must be missing something here. My clean chains are nice and shiny and run smoothly with no crunching. Maybe I’m cleaning them wrong?

Can you read?

Yes I can. Good, isn’t it? :-)

I said as dry as possible. Not dry.

Which means really not very dry at all for nine months of the year…

Of course any sort of chain lubrication lasts about twenty minutes in winter – dry lube, landrover axle grease, whatever. But (personally speaking) I hate starting every ride with the grinding crunching sound of a transmission full of grit (even if they usually end that way). So I clean my chains properly. YMMV.

Keep it as dry as possible

Ummm… have you ever actually ridden in the UK…? :roll:

25 psi? that’s high pressure :wink:

Then again I do tend to get a lot of dings… :roll: after a while you learn to avoid clattering pointy rocks and look for landings a bit more carefully.

Like philjunior said, if you want you can use a big adjustable spanner locked on the rim to (gently) lever it straight. I wouldn’t worry too much about weakening it, I’ve taken plenty out of my 717’s.

See this thread:-

http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/psa-lidl-darkside-content

Resting Soda:

http://http://www.lowealpine.com/eng/prod_app_det.php?catid=15&itemid=378

…which doesn’t look too ridiculous slung over a shoulder, and (bonus!) is actually useful for running or road riding. Commuted into work with shirt, light trousers, wallet & keys in mine this morning.

No tartan sealskin option though :(

I’m off to get a quart of tequila… fancy a drink BigDummy…? :wink:

Ah, the steps of death. They make you ride like the village drunkard in some early Irish novel. Total loss of all basic motor skills. Blurred vision, no balance, numb tongue. The mind recoils in horror, unable to communicate with the spinal column. Which is interesting because you can actually watch yourself riding in this terrible way, but you can’t control it…

We were somewhere outside of Hebden Bridge, on the edge of the desert when the drugs began to take hold…

Focus estate also an option.

I find estates easier to park as there’s nothing past the back window.

With a large crowd of riders on a busy summer afternoon, best to keep it legit really.

Bar or helmet mount is a personal preference thing, plenty of people (me included) are happy with bar-mounted lights only. (But I also have a mini LED headtorch as emergency backup and for fixing flats etc.)

I can lend a hand on that front. Same problem on our group rides especially with summer foliage hiding trail entrances.

a little festering inn of tradition

You could call it that :-) It’s off a back lane round the corner from Churchill lights, at the start of a gravelly farm track that goes up the hill and connects with the Sandford Batch bridleway – might be the trails you’re thinking of.

The trail along the gorge top is indeed likely to be packed with grockles (though there’ll be walkers everywhere if it’s a nice day).

All good ideas from Buzz.

Gotta go to the Beacon at some point.

Another thought – the permissive bridleway from the top of Stony Lane around the north side of the fort to the main road at Dolebury Bottom – followed by a stop at the Crown :D

Mmmmm…. ice cream….. beer…… dusty Mendip trails….

….will be along if the date fits.

I was always half-tempted to squirt some builders foam into the swingarm on mine to see if it dampened the noise…

First rule of fight club…

Thanks mudshark… that’s the one.

“Greenwood, Mississippi” by William Eggleston.

Lovely lovely lovely.

Shame about the crowds eh :wink:

The last few years they’ve closed the gorge to traffic for a week in November so they can clear loose rocks from the cliffs.

Fantastic opportunity to ride down at night making full use of the width of the road on all the bends :D

Until you fly round one and suddenly find fridge sized boulders scattered across the road 8O

Stovold’s 3rd amendment is the key here I believe.

Anyway, I’m reversing into Royal Oak.

silverpigeon – well yes, surely you don’t need an explanation, do you?

shoefiti, since you spiked my Edgeware Road with Finsbury Park, I could take that personally…

But I won’t.

Kensington Olympia.

M25 orbital protocol applies only when going anti-clockwise, surely..?

Gives me a way back in…

Willesden Green.

No, hang on – Willesden Junction.

(Though I might regret it.)

No, but thepurist almost did.

Stick with it alpin, there’s some quality play going on here!

Gah! You’re right :oops: got a bit carried away there.

But the Blackfriars underpass reversal is also now open, so…

Elephant and Castle.

(Hah!)

Moreton’s convention..? [shudders at the thought]

Ladbroke Grove, avoiding both Russell Square *and* Shoreditch.

The one, the only, Dollis Hill.

Goldhawk Road.

(Get out of that!)

To be fair I’ve heard rumours the 1936 variation did actually originate at the 1864 congress. But I’m not totally convinced.

Anyway, I think silverpigeon just put the Docklands Light Railway (north of the river) into play, so –

Pudding Mill Lane.