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My car went to the garage today – it turns out that the exhaust return gate breather hose (??) was missing, so some oil was occasionally dribbling into the alternator.  It was a small fix, involving about a foot of hose and a tiny jubilee clip. 

The other problem wasn’t a problem at all, but remains a mystery.  There seems to be a certain amount of “misting” of power steering fluid behind the radiator.  A once-per-six-month top up cures any problems, so I’ll leave it.  The most crowd-pleasing fix was the bulbs behind my odometer and trip.  All are now bright and orange.

In terms of bike repairs, I got the guys in Biggleswade to remove my tyre for free last night.  Once I had the tyre in my hand I realised how scarily worn it was.  Actually thin on the left-hand shoulder.  Funny that it should be that side that wears, considering that roundabouts wear the other side.  I can only assume that either 1) I’m more confident on left-handers or 2) I tend to accelerate hard off roundabouts, scrubbing the tyre more on the left.  Weird anyway. 

I removed all of the disk bolts and bobbins except one, in which the very Germanic torx head sheared.  I ended up persuading the tyre guy to cut out the bolt with his air-cutter, having got it pretty hot with a torch.  Being all good and proper I have ordered a kit with bolts and bobbins to refit the disks after they’ve been through the dishwasher (really).

Stuff will be painted soon, and the pimping can begin.  Still seeking a decent rear shock, might end up buying a Wilbers one new. Hope I can use my US address.