In my last post I explained how I felt aggrieved about the poor performance of the RAC in it’s response to a breakdown suffered whilst out riding through the glorious south west countryside. I’ll not repeat what I wrote last time, but basically I’d lost some brake fluid and a bolt from a rear brake calipre. The RAC sent a recovery truck without even bothering to attempt to repair the problem. This took several hours and I was wound up by the poor service.
Well after making a telephone complaint…boy did the RAC complaint officer not want to admit that the org was at fault in any way, despite my showing that the operators/advisors on the day of the breakdown tell me various contradictory information and had told blatent untruths (lies to you and i).
Eventually they caved and I got an apology and three months extra cover. Not a lot considering the hassle they caused me, but in this day and age even getting a corporation to admit it might be at fault is almost impossible.
So as a result I’d like to say thanks for the three months extra, but once it is over I will be looking elsewhere. I did look at various bulletin boards and found many comments from RAC members saying that bike riders don’t get mechanics, that it is nearly always the recovery truck that appears at the scene of a breakdown, despite the propaganda eh sorry the marketing spiel of the RAC. I wonder if the AA etc are any better?
Ok it’s been more than a month since my last post and I feel ashamed…ok not really. I recently become a man of leisure thanks to the people paying me deciding to close the department I worked for. 13 of us got the boot.
So it’s been a month of self-pity and a holiday in Ibiza (don’t ask). Now I’ve got the old bike going again I’ve been out and about in Glorious Devon. God there’s a some beautiful biking roads in this place.
Last week I lost a bolt from my rear brake caliper…obviously didn’t have a spare on me or any brake fluid so called the breakdown service and hey presto they managed to turn the event into a nightmare. What should have been a bit of a wait followed by a 15 minute fix turned into more than a four hour nighmare…they made no attempt to fix it. Bastards!!!!!
I’m in the complaint process and we’ll see how they perform with this. Once the story is over I’ll do a write up as a warning to others….unless they attempt to resolve their pathetic performance.
The annual Devon Air Ambulance Trust Ride-Out takes place on Sunday July 12th this year. The event, which usually attracts lots of bikers from throughout the South West.
This years event is slightly different as there are in fact three rideouts. All start at 10am and head for Paignton Green. The starting points are: Coypool Car Park in Plympton, Atlantic Village in Bideford, and Cullumpton Services.
There’s going to be live music and refreshments in Paignton.
The cost of entry is £5 per bike. The Trust is also selling T-Shirts to raise money at £7.
The Bikers Make A Difference (BMAD) group, based in Devon, UK, holds an annual Bikers festival in Paignton, Devon. The event, along with the regular biker’s nights held on the sea front, raises money for charities such as Devon Air Ambulance.
Always worth a visit (I’ve been to the last three festivals) the event has everything a biker could wish for. Check out their site www.bmad.co.uk The films was made by Mark at www.southcoastbiker.com. The film and southcoastbiker site is not affiliated to BMAD. Views are those of the film maker.
I’ve just completed a ride to Penzance and back, back being Exmouth. Fantastic ride down the A30.
Although my bike isn’t a biggie it does just fine. Easily keeping up with most traffic and able to slip past all the pedestrians behind wheels.
Buying motorcycle parts and getting quotes for repairs should be easy in the 21st Century. I needed some work carried out on my Bandit so I thought rather than spend loads on the phone I’d email various motorcycle shops/repairers etc from around the area I live (Exeter).
Sadly the response was pretty poor. Of the eight or so I emailed only one gave me quote, two asked for further clarification of the work, the remainder did not answer. Pathetic!!!!
As any biker will tell you, the cost of going to a mechanic to repair your bike is expensive. Doing it yourself is better for so many reasons. Me being a lazy bum, I always paid out to get someone else to fix everything, but not anymore. I came to the conculusion that I should not be intimidated by the bike.
So I’ve been buying bits and pieces online, and cut down the costs by at least half. Bought reconditioned when I could and fixed it myself (except for the forks).
Dealers I used who did everything they were asked to do, including replacing an incorrect part (Bentleys):
Thousands of bikers gathered in London to demonstrate against…bike tax. Whilst many media outlets concentrated on Anti G20 demonstrators plans Demonstrators appeared on London’s street to fight the unjust motorcycle parking fees (bike tax) being charged by Westminster City Council.
“Brittown” documentary makers Scott and Zack have created a facebook for bikers. Named after the boys famous documentary ‘Choppertown’, the Choppertown Nation site aims to create a place “where folks could gather away from the mainstream and share stories and pictures”. Keep reading →
