Firstly I would like to wish all my readers both old and new a very prosperous and healthy 2024, I hope it's better than last year but not as good as 2025.
I have made a few decisions recently about where I am going with things, the first is that I have pretty much had it with ebay. They are simply too greedy now and the only way you can get your items seen is by promoting them, which means giving ebay an even bigger share of your income. They really peeved me when they started charging fees on postage - postage is a cost to the seller as it is without adding bs fees on top. The market for 600cc sports bikes, which has always been a mainstay of the business, has been way down this year. The weather hasn't helped but nor has the cost of obtaining a bike licence these days, not so many people are doing it because they can't afford to. Insurance costs have also forced a lot of bikers off the road, especially those that have cars as well. Decent bikes have been thin on the ground and I did make some bad purchasing decisions, which caused a drop in income. The burglary that we suffered back in the Summer was a massive kick in the nuts, a kick that was made much more painful by the steadfast refusal of the Police to conduct the slightest semblance of an investigation - they could not have cared less if they tried.
I have a mountain of bike parts to get rid of, which I will deal with come the Spring, in the mean time I will concentrate on doing the older, rarer bikes that appeal to a whole different audience. I shall most likely be doing a lot more with my mate Malcolm, he will provide the cash, I will provide everything else. It's exciting times.
I'm still waiting for parts and tools for the Triumph so I thought it would be a good start to 2024 if I tidied my disgrace of a workshop up - it's a mammoth task because I have let it get in to a disgusting state - it's embarrassing. It's also unsafe and very difficult to work in there, or it was before I got cracking, it's a lot better now but there is still much to do. Another couple of days will see it much more like I want it, I will then make a start on the back workshop, although I need to repair my wind turbine first. The workshops are off grid and the wind generator is an important piece of kit at this time of year, sadly it has been an unreliable piece of kit. The first control box lasted a week then burnt out, it was really badly designed - I am an electronic engineer by qualification so I know a bad design when I see one. The second one was a bit better but the Chinese 40 amp relays were more like 4 amps and that too burnt out in short order. I did a quick bodge last Summer and that is still working now but the turbine tail snapped off the other day so now I am totally reliant on solar until I can get up the mast to fix the turbine.
I did a bad thing yesterday and God punished me for it by giving me food poisoning, I should have been less lazy and cooked something at home but the call of the takeaway was too great and I gave in to temptation. Turns out I shouldn't have done and spent quite some time last night shouting Europe at the great white telephone. I feel quite horrible today but will soldier on because I really want to start 2024 on the right footing. We make our own luck in this world and I want to be really lucky this year.
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