Back in England and the cold. Due to the fuel leak on the Honda CBF1000 Honda picked up their fallen hero in a van today. They also brought my bike with them. All good until I tried to start my bike. No life whatsoever, no ignition, no light, no nothing. I asked the driver whether he was aware my bike was dead and he said he was just the driver and that the bike had been loaded for him. The workshop manager at the Honda institute was aware, but didn't take the trouble of telling me about it. I had a hot lunch date to think of so rushed over to Sutton Motorcycles and grabbed a battery charger in the hope my battery was not completely dead. When I arrived back it tested negative. No lights whatsoever which means the battery was so low that it couldn't even be charged. The only solution then was to rush back to Sutton Motorcycles for a new battery. Got it back and started charging it. I had missed my lunch date by now and also a lot of time I had planned to spend writing. It was very clear that my bike hadn't been left as I left it down at Honda. The alarm had been stuck in service mode ever since I picked it up after testing Hunts Motorcycles Honda Varadero. But it was ok and started every time. There was no chance of deactivating the alarm with the key fob so I just left it. When I got my keys back the battery in the fob was placed in the wrong position so obvious that someone had tried to sort out the alarm at Honda rather than just leaving it as it was. Hopefully the bike will be fine with the new battery tomorrow. I also received some more Intermot stuff today. Invitation to Kawasaki's 2007 press conference in Cologne. I believe Kawasaki have got some more exciting stuff to show us and I'll know on the 10th. The VIP pass to the Harley-Davidson event in Cologne on the 9th also arrived. Apparently the news are significant so I will be there. TS