Honda-SOHC

Not 400four related but I bought some NOS Oxford heated grips for the GPZ as that's the bike that gets ridden in all the shite weather.  One day, the starboard grip stopped heating, followed by a complete failure.  It didn't take long to find the cause, it was the crappy electrical connectors: the pins had pulled out of the blocks.
I wasn't impressed with the connectors in the first place being not at all waterproof.
I binned those in favour of Superseal connectors and haven't had any bother since

I've used the Superseal Connectors on our Jeeps- it took me a coupe of goes to fit the connectors correctly - suitably soldered rather than crimped fiddly to fit but worth the effort. Not sure mine were the real deal or Chinese copies !

But i had a snap on one that with new battery would not undo the crank bolt on my L 200 pickup, having said that i think they are the best battery one but also most expensive.

I had one stupidly tight wheel bolt on the SL after having a  set of tyres fitted in 2019 - my tools would not shift it so the son of a good friend came round with his Professional Grade Milwaukee Impact driver. He undid it whilst holding the tool with one hand impressive tool but very expensive! I put it down to youth as I could barely hold the tool with one hand it was that heavy!

I have a Kielder 1/2 Drive it's metal not plastic so has some weight to it. I also have a"free" 1/4 Hex Drive Mulwakee that came with a drill deal. The Kielder is far superior I bought it mainly for rotating the wheels on our Jeeps using a torque stick.

There is always someone having a worse time so my thoughts are with Andrew-S and his family.
My year has had some pretty wild swings it started quite badly when my heart efficiency dropped to around 35% due to ongoing heart failure issues. I was really struggling with sleep with almost unstable Angina in the daytime. Wendy was still in severe pain from a hip replacement done  the previous January.

I did the unthinkable and sought a one-off private consultation with a heart specialist. Within a few weeks this prompted my NHS Consultant to do some more stenting (my 9th stent) on the 20th January followed by a referral to the local Heart Failure Clinic run by a Nurse Specialist. Within a few weeks my condition had improved largely due to a drug named Entrestro. My heart efficiency has gone back to around 45% with my Angina well under control being the stable variety. The percentages sound bad but a normal healthy heart for someone my age is around 55%.

A really good long standing friend lost his wife to Covid 19 at home - she died as the Ambulance arrived on a Sunday morning in March.

On the 21 st June I bought my 400/four to keep me busy and focused.

Life was pretty good until 1st September when I peed Merlot I ended up later that day passing a Kidney Stone (worst pain I have ever experienced) with an overnight stay in hospital - 2 days later an Ultrasound Scan on my Kidneys revealed a pretty large Tumour in my right kidney. The Consultant wanted to remove the diseased kidney by the middle of October if ICU bed availability allowed. Due to Covid lock down and backlog in Urology my operation did not happen until 25th November.

I'm now feeling normal am off pain killers - biopsy on the kidney revealed that though it was malignant there were no cancer cells in the outer wall of the kidney. I think they describe it as an encapsulated tumour. No Chemotherapy or radiation treatment required - follow up CT scan in 6 & 12 months.

Wendy had another steroid type injection in her hip in early December but due to the nature of the original operation she has been advised it may take up to another 2 years for the muscle /tissue etc to grow back fully she can have extra injections when needed. Yes her hip pain is different from the original grinding but as you can imagine it wears her down at times. Rest is the best cure but Wendy is not a couch potato so it's been difficult especially as she still works  - has had to work lots of extra hours to cover shifts during lock down.

It's a relief to get this year behind us were both very positive about 2021 - In March I will be able to work on the bike again then in March/April it's fishing season for me depending on the ambient temperature. As soon as we have been vaccinated against Covid were going to have some UK holiday breaks and start living normally again. At 72 I'm looking to make the most of the time left in the hour glass that is life.

Sorry to rant on but as a bloke I do find it quite theraputic to talk it out to people I haven't actually met. (yet)

I hope everyone here has a healthy & happy Christmas - many thanks to those here who have helped me source parts and have given helpful advice to my many questions. Special thanks to Nurse Julie and allankelly1 though there are many others here who have come up with so much help. I can't remember who put me onto Evaporust but thanks - you know who you are.

Here's looking forward to the New Year and the beating of Covid 19 - stay safe everyone.

Cheers Ted

The one that gets me is when I keep trying to kill the Black Fly on my screen it still creeps me out !

That MrDavo - its worse as we have had a Black Fly Invasion in our Conservatory this year.lol

Dave uses them he went to School with the new owner!  The impression I get from Dave is that bikes a very much a sideline so when they have big orders you can wait for a time. They have had a Bobber frame of his since mid-summer so I guess Covid has had an effect?