Gremlin's Tall Stories

As per my previous post, I needed to remove all the accessories from Katie and send to Mount Maunganui for them to fit. Naturally, since the bike was technically barely mine any more, I wasn’t going to do this without assistance (like hell I trust myself with mechanical stuff).

A batter of my eyelids while still at Mount Maunganui and I had two willing helpers. Well, GiJoe offered up his assistance, Toto declared he would watch the circus. I knew I would turn him around once we got into it…

Leaving Mount Maunganui we stopped briefly by the seaside to have an ice cream and perv at all the scantily clad girlies walking by, well, Toto and I, coz GiJoe is taken. Ice cream consumed we filled at a local Shell, and the rain started coming down. Then, without slowing, it started thundering down. Being the awesome prepared guy I am, I had a rain jacket, while the others didn’t. Both asked me to put it on to stop the rain, but I said I didn’t want to die (it was still very hot). Soaked or dead… hmmm, I chose soaked, as once the rain stopped I would dry out.

I led the guys out of Mount Maunganui (successfully I might add). Halfway back to Auckland the rain is all gone, and somewhere on SH27 I stop to ask GiJoe if he wants a ride on the KTM. He’s mentioned before he would like to, but said in Auckland. I reckon he needs more distance to know the bike, and seemingly grudgingly agrees, hopping aboard. I get on his Predator, fold my feet up under my arse and the others are already heading up the road. I get to chase down my own bike for the first time… a new feeling.

I can’t understand how GiJoe can like the Predator for his pootling. Stiff suspension, tiny hard seat and display feels like its attached to the tank, instead of out in front of you. GiJoe likes the KTM so much I’m hard pressed into keeping up as he zooms through every corner. Wow, I like long suspension so much… I wish I had it on the Predator too.

Back at GiJoe’s place, he provides all the dinner… hmm, thought I should have, but apparently its dinner time at 8pm. Dinner for me is anywhere between 7pm and 2-4am. Dinner (and a very nice one at that, courtesy of GiJoe’s girlie) consumed, we turn on the floodlights and set to stripping Katie.

GiJoe gets a reminder and Toto finds out just how much wiring has been installed into Katie in the last couple of years. In short… too much to pull out at once, so we pull out each cord, one at a time, labelling as we go (as promised to Mount Motorcycles). We estimate 50+ zip ties were removed to get the wiring out, with the side cutters in high demand in the initial stages. Pics below, when we were mostly all the way through, but it took hours, finishing in the early hours of the morning. Ignore Toto’s looks of pain, everything went as planned (Ok… mostly). As planned, Toto gets involved, lending a much needed hand, and leaves around midnight, as he has work in the morning.

My thanks to GiJoe, I leave his place around 2am, with a big black bag of cables. I didn’t even realise this much cable has been installed, weight wise. Several kilograms at least. Bike feels strangely naked on the way home, almost nothing on the bars and actually feels lighter to ride.

Saturday morning, I top up her oil, check scottoil, and take her to the office to park her up for the week, until the following Saturday.

Tuesday morning I finally got around to taking my package down to Courier Post, to get it shipped to Mount Maunganui. All the cabling, GPS, Radar and the KTM folder I got on purchase (containing spare keys, parts manuals, receipts of work etc) ended up weighing 6.25kg... ouch.