belfastguzzi

It's not quite as wet as that Despite G.W., we're still above sea level. I would usually use Vaseline (but don't think that I had put any in this socket) – also have a can of green squirty that is specifically for battery terminals. Wonder what's in that?

What does that look like?

and a partridge in a pear tree?

It's turned British SummerTime. Now the clocks all need jiggered forwards– and my brain clock too. It's 2.40 B.S.T., to be exact.

Yeh The front wheel appears to be the wrong shape. It really needs to be oval, to fit the mudguard. Either that, or this is the forerunner of BMW beaky bikes, as well as the Centauro.

...like a Spirograph?

Playing catch-up Van? Just because I put Metzlers on the Scura, you then have to go get them. Did you get black ones? Best colour choice.

Hey there Mr Hatcheck. You're wanted in 24/7 (and no, not in the G.W. Thread).

A cloud over the Elysian pastorale. Hehehee. A temporary set-back, I'm sure.

AAAaaaaargh! [Tears hair out.] Keep on looking –

Grief! How many times do I need to say it? Where'd Mike Wilson go anyway?

Never mind what's hanging out. Check the major clue above, and never mind what's hanging out.

– at rear wheel, guaranteed, more or less. Ram air cooling.

Went for a ride on 850. Rain got heavier. Mist got mistier. Ten year old tyres remained slithery. Hand locked into heavy throttle-spring claw. But enjoyed it more than fretting over V.11 hot performance mods.

Shakespeare's Bottom

Don't Puch me!(Major clue) I had to reposition the badge, in case Serge is about.

Check the clues/comments Similar sure, but Quizland is all about the details. There's enough resolution to see that it's not this.

– I suspected that Frenchbob wasn't strict enough with his Serge. Too late now.

There's a relationship – and it's a clue, I hope (as I'm not an expert on these various factory relationships). "Rasmussens DKW engine was a simple, but effective design, with very few moving parts, which powered his motorcycles from 1919. By 1929 DKW was the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer. The same basic engine design was adapted for the DKW and Auto Union cars and later also for SAAB and Trabant." "DKW - Das Kleine Wunder (The small wonder). The German carmaker's pre-war type F8 became the archetype of all East German family cars...." "DKW, which the Trabant engine is based on, says that their engines last longer when they drive on 4-stroke motor oil. Though it will smell HORRIBLE!" "the DKW F8/F9, previously produced also by Trabant)" The "P-601" was an example of extreme essentiality: no valves, no camshaft, no timing belt, no oil pump, no water pump, no radiator ! BTW. In case this introduces confusion, the answer is nothing to do with DKW. Mike is close. Now I'm throwing points away.

no

actually... I guess that's a problem to look out for in our salty conditions... permanently adding such a socket to the battery means that the battery terminals are moved to be very close together and so when conditions in that cosy boot (which is meant to be weatherproof but isn't proof enough) get damp and salty (the whole shebang is in the area where spray is thrown up by the rear wheel) then there's more chance of some tracking between + and – ??? Perhaps that's why the corrosion happened quite effectively?

Yeah, that's the benefit of those things. I assumed that's what BBR is talking about. The only problem I have had is that the socket connected to the battery in the bike by a short lead, corroded very quickly (well... over a winter) despite being in a protective rubber boot and being squirted with squirty stuff.

I wish I'd never asked about the rules in the first place.

Are you insane? How could it be when the quiz is called "(smokey wee squirt of a pretend)Thumper (smallish), stumper?" Mike has basically got it (or at least he is very close) and Mac has hinted at the slight change that is required for the totally correct answer.