Below are the 6 most recent journal entries recorded in appleprechaun's LiveJournal:

Wednesday, August 10th, 2005
3:25 pm	Another chapter in the biker diaries... So... 4 months back I inquired about clear turnsignal indicator lenses for my motorbike at CB motorcycles here in Cork, Ireland. After about 1 week I was told that this would cost about €125. Thinking that "well, its not that bad, I´ll order them..". I did and was told that I would have them within about 2 weeks. I was pleased wbout that, and came back to pick up the lenses 2 weeks later. Nothing. Oh, ok. Thats fine, its only cosmetic so I can wait for another week or so. After coming in to inquire about the lenses 7 or eight times in as many weeks I resigned. I started browsing the internet to find some instead. Ebay. €23 including shipping. For a set of four. Needless to say I bought them. Last wednesday I paid. Today I got them. Cool! And they came from Taiwan. Today I am going to the shop, and I am gonna tell the people at the shop what they can do with the lenses if they ever get them.... How any of the motorbike shops in this city can survive is beyond me. Here is a tip: Do not buy motorbikes in Cork. Buy somewhere else, and buy your parts on the internet. If you need to get the bike repaired, take it to England, or somewhere where they actually know which end of a screwdriver goes where... Current Mood: blah Current Music: Nah. (Comment on this)
Friday, July 15th, 2005
9:26 am	Friday. Good. This week has been incredibly boring, and I can´t wait for it to end. I just wish I could rewind it and start it again. If I could I would call in sick this week, and spend the week toing something USEFUL. Just a few more hours left and then it´s time for bbq and a beer. I am really looking forward to that. This weekend I think I will need some therapy. My favorite type of therapy is working on motorcycles, and these days I am working on a custom bike, rebuilding it from scratch. Lots of braindead work, like sanding, polishing metals and other time consuming things. It´s good to disengage the brain every now and then. Next week I will go back to doing my regular job, which is good. I am really looking forward to actually doing something worthwhile...oh well. Current Mood: blah Current Music: Coldplay - in my place (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 14th, 2005
8:52 am	Boooohhhrinnngggghhh! Training is a good thing right? Getting updates about all sorts of stuff about your work and all that. But, when all I do for 3 days is listen to a guy telling us what we need to read, and pretty much nothing else gets me frustrated. I´m sure its helpful, but it is still boring. Too bad the guy doing the training session has no training in doing trainings.... Current Mood: bored Current Music: None. Shhhhh. (Comment on this)
Monday, July 11th, 2005
5:29 pm	How can I get back at these people?! I am so glad I am still alive. I got my new tyre fitted on saturday morning. Then I went on a trip with a friend of mine and ended up in a bike run on the east coast of Ireland. I put about 170 miles (273,58km´s) on the bike and was enjoying myself a lot. At times at quite high speed :) When we arrived back in Cork, there was a strange noise coming from the rear end of my bike, and I just could not figure it out. It was sort of a grinding noise. So, when I came home I put the bike on the centerstand so that the rear wheel was off the ground and tried turning the wheel. Ouch! It sounded like something was eating gravel. My bike does not have a chain, it has a shaft drive (similar to cars) and there is a gear by the rear wheel. I started thinking maybe the did something wrong when the tyre was fitted. But, I decided to check the oil level in the rear gear first, just in case. Empty. Totally bone dry. Now, I´ve put about 2000 miles on the bike since I got it, there has never been any sound from the gear. I checked the oil in the end gear 2 weeks ago and it was full. No leaks anywhere. I know there isn´t because my bike is kept spotless at any given time and I would notice. And now it is empty after getting the rear tyre changed. Strange.... I have 2 months left on my warranty, I hope I survive, because I will not go close to Superbike again. Worst case scenario, they could´ve killed me. If the wheel had stopped rotating while I was driving, I would have lost control of the bike and what would have happened next is anyones guess. My advise: Steer clear of Cork Superbike. They´re not that super. Current Mood: scared shitless Current Music: Something sad by Chopin (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, July 8th, 2005
5:03 pm	Wow, and in only three weeks... Just got a call from Superbike, my motorcycle dealer. They have just received my new tyre, which should have arrived 18 days ago. Three weeks to get a new tyre. It´s not as if it´s gold plated or anything. Standard tyre, nothing fancy. Sheesh.... Gonna get it fitted tomorrow, so in a weeks time it might be done...maybe. Current Mood: Yay! Current Music: Bryan Adams - Heaven.... (1 Comment |Comment on this)
4:18 pm	Irish work ethics, more to follow I´m sure... So, This is my first entry in this place. Welcome to me, and the first thing I´ll do is start ranting! I´ve never encountered such a lazy, no good, half-assed people in my life! Who? The Irish! Let me tell you, I would not hire an Irish person to do any work for me, even if my life depended on it. Actually it did. Here´s the deal: I bought a motorcycle from Cork Superbike in March, paid €7500, got 6 months warranty, and just a couple of weeks later I had to take it back for minor repairs. The front fork was leaking oil and there were some seals that needed to be replaced. Fine, no problem. They took the bike in and told me they had fixed it, and I was to let them know if any other problems arised. Sure enough, the same day the fork started leaking again, and I went back to them. They told me they had used some OEM parts and that these probably was the problem. They would order new ones from the bike manufacturer, and it shouldn´t take more than 2-3 days. It took 7 weeks. I had to keep using the motorcycle because it is my only means of transportation, and don´t even get me started on the public transport in this place... Not only that, I started checking a little more thoroughly on what was causing the leak, and if there was any way of stopping it, a temporary fix. Thats when I found out they had replaced the seals with toilet paper! Rolled up in to nice little rolls and then put in where the seals were supposed to be. Now, I realize that most people don´t know much about stuff like this, but right below these seals are the front brakes, the main stopping power of the bike. They got soaked in oil because of this, and was not working very well at all. Thet could have fucking killed me! Anyway, sorted now, after I told them that from now on, I want to see the replaced parts, the boxes the new parts came in and also I want a written confirmation that the parts has been replaced. I´m not taking crap like that anymore. Current Mood: morose Current Music: In the hall of the mountain king....Grieg (1 Comment |Comment on this)