...and kicking...and kicking...

So... after a 1hour 45minute lunch break trying unsuccessfully to buy putoline syntec 4+ oil, I finished work at 6pm and headed up to Scotts to solve the oil leak problem

It was nearly 7:30 by the time we'd got round to looking at the engine but 20 minutes later we had found the problem. A bad seal on the ignition plug cap.

50minutes later I was on my way and thought I'd ring Phil Seton to tell him the good news. Phil told me that he didn't understand the problem and would talk to Scott to clarify what had been the root problem. I trundled back home, 20miles away.

As I approached Tynemouth, the phone rang - "turn round mate - we've not solved it!!"

I bit my lip and tuned the van round and back up the A19. As it turns out, there must be something else leaking to get oil into that chamber so that needed investigating.

I reached Scotts at about 9:30pm and set about taking off the rocker cover. No sign of a bad seal, but further investigation found a loose bolt. Phew - we just needed to tighten that up and all would be well... err, no!

The bolt had been stripped and wouldn't tighten at all. Sure enough, one small tug on it and out came the bolt, thread and all.

So it was back on the phone to Phil and we agreed that it needed to be shipped back to him to solve. That meant another 40minutes of stripping the bike down, draining the oil and taking the engine out, ready to be shipped down to Colchester - again!

The crux of this means that I will now not be racing at the opening round at Elvington this weekend. Not the way I wanted to start the season and its left me with a strange empty and gloomy feeling inside.

All that effort to get the engine refreshed and this happens. Something good needs to happen soon or I'll be out of racing forever. And that thought leaves me cold.