Motorbike shakedown testing
To get ready for this tour I have been going on a few rides in the last weeks in order to find any major issues with the bike that crop up on the tour. I decided to make my first trip to Mersea island to visit the lifeboat station at West Mersea. Arguably a slightly too strenuous trip for a shakedown ride at about 110 miles for a round trip. Having only done small rides around the local countryside and only replacing small parts such as the decrepit original leather seat that was on the bike. One part that was causing trouble on my small test rides was that the clutch plates would slip when kickstarted. This was 'solved' by tightening the clutch spring which did somewhat decrease the clutch slip. The bike performed admirably all the way to Mersea with no issues and one stop to fill up on fuel. This route also had the benefit of taking in the lovely (and flat) East Anglian countryside on the way. A view of the estuary from West Mersea However when I decided to head off the clu