These things are sent to try us

You may recall I talked of having a Scottoiler fitted to the GT for the tour. What could possibly go wrong?

Unusually for me, I didn't do  lot of research before asking Laguna to fit me the touring kit, so the bike was delivered and I set off for an hour on the Thunderbird LT demo bike. I chose the touring kit as it comprises a large oil reservoir, meaning I wouldn't have to worry about filling up with oil on the tour. On my return I was told the bike was still being worked on, it had proved more complicated than they thought. No problem I waited, then paid my money and rode off. The touring kit's large reservoir sits behind the number plate. Having a quick glance outside the shop, to check what they had done, I thought it looked a bit messy, pipes sticking up from behind the number plate but otherwise all looked to be OK.

Later on, I took a closer look and discovered all was not so well. With the reservoir sitting behind the number plate, the plate, now an inch plus proud of the mudguard, was now not being illuminated by the number plate light! How on earth can they have fitted this when it so clearly gives a problem? Next working day I rang them and expressed my concerns over what they had done, leaving me with an illegal number plate. I was told they would get the fitter to call me. In the meantime, I rang Scottoiler tech support. Turns out and this is where my lack of research showed up, that the touring kit is not suitable for the GT. I'd imagine because of the number plate light issue, though the guy said it's because the rear mudguard can't take the extra weight of the oil reservoir (?).  Great! Should Laguna have known this or checked before they fitted it? Maybe not but that doesn't excuse them not seeing that it was going to cause an issue with the lighting. I would have expected the fitter to question the fitment given the clear issues.

Anyway, after a lot of frustration, waiting for phone calls that never materialised, I have finally got it booked back in to have them take a look and SORT the issue out. How they/we are going to do that I'm not sure. I think the only thing for it, will be to remove the kit and just have the basic Scottoiler fitment. We shall see what happens on 27th.

Otherwise, we are on track to hit the continent in 2 weeks time.