Fozzie

I may have, name certainly rings a bell... Is that the one down the A515 you take from the centre of Buxton?

Date: 9/9/2009 Time: 10:00 - 1:30 Miles Covered: 120 I jumped on the Honda today deciding it deserved a good long hearty run. I set off as I usually do heading directly from my house in Lymm, to the A50 following signs for the A537 which lead into Macclesfield. I don't have any real destination in mind so I head on out but quickly decide the small B-roads between the A50 and Wilmslow passing through Ashley are all too appealing. Down I go, the sun is shining, the V-twin is being more perky than it usually is and through the twisty lanes I go without a single car ahead of me. Those behind quickly become a dull memory as they slip out of sight of the mirrors. No excessive speeding for me, I'm taking a nice winding route though I have a habit to drop the bike quite low in the corners and though it is smooth and controlled pedestrians throw me a look as if they believe I am some boy racer rocketing towards his death. Thankfully I'm not, I just corner confidently. I am spat out at the a dual carriageway with the Manchester airport tunnels to my right. Of course I go shooting through them along with a couple of BMW's all struggling to be the first for when the carriageway merges into a single lane. I end up heading up into Wilmslow and then in the town centre I have a choice. Head up the A34 or go towards the A537 into Macclesfield. I know it isn't much of a choice and point my wheels in the direction of the A537. Within twenty minutes I'm at the mouth of the cat and fiddle. A shadowed road that is all too enticing to speed up. I am alone and there is no one ahead of me. So I open up the Honda and let her breathe. She holds 50mph easily through the cat and fiddle only slowing for the corners. A BMW1200K is impressed a small bike such as a Honda Varadero can keep pace with it through the corners. At the top the clouds broke and unleashed a beautiful sight... http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2643/3903968932_754271780a.jpg And not to mention the cafe was littered with beautiful bikes... http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3426/3903190481_f0bf78c3e7.jpg 35 miles done and under my belt with little over an hour spent working my way up there. I giggle as I realise my time on the accent was faster than Mr Philgales time was in his car going up the road at quite a pace. I turn left out of the cat and fiddle and head towards Buxton. The roads there are nice and curvy. Perfect for my tastes. Coming to the Junction where I would usually turn right I see the sign for Matlock and the A6. I've only been to Matlock a couple of times before and that was in the car. So I head down towards what I believed were the best roads this country has to offer. Cruising through on my own in the 50mph limit heading at the fastest pace I can towards Matlock Bath I am in heaven. The roads are long, with sweeping bends and are all engulfed in shadow of the large cliff they sit at the base of or the forrest these roads seem to pass through. I pull over for a little stop just to text some people and take a couple of pictures. http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3422/3903965244_a1565c6c89.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3423/3903186615_b8316a488a.jpg 45 miles now reading on the clocks saying I'm quite a distance away from home seeing as these Hondas have such small engines. But I continue onwards and pass right through Matlock. I'm aiming for Matlock Bath! A place bikers seem to love to meet up and shop as well as chat about how their bike is simply the best. "As stunningly powerful and pretty as your Kawasaki ZX10R is mine is better for the simple fact its a Honda..." I laugh out to the bloke in green leathers after he made fun of my bikes popping noise at idle. He laughs and takes it as a joke as I'd meant it. I wouldn't have got away with that if he'd been a Yamaha rider... More pictures... On the outskirts of Matlock Bath I loved the bowl the area seemed to nestle in. http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2538/3903967758_fee51364a8.jpg And then the 60mile ride home! It was all the same as getting there apart from the cat and fiddle where at a bend, two lorries were going much too slow as well as the three cars behind them. Looking up the hill no one is coming so I lunge on this chance and throw the Honda into the other lane. I dip in low at a corner overtaking all the cars and one of the lorries before I nail it up the hill getting past the leading lorry easily in time for the bend coming up. I arrived home with the Honda glad to be switched off. I had jumped on junction 19 of the M6 up the junction 20 where my house sits just off. She doesn't like motorways very much

Get that knee sliding on the tarmac sir! Your SV is fully capable! Only joking, looks like you were taking it at a crazy rate. How did you do in comparison with other SV650s or reckon you did? Can you get anymore out of her or have you got her to the brink of what she can possibly do? My friend Ali has an SV, he Dynojetted it to 85hp and I think he would like to do a track day. Will throw him at Oulton when I get chance and see what he churns out.

You have a pm DG

When is the book coming out and can I have a hardback? I love stories like this, yours has elements of greatness, drama, problems, how you overcame them. Tis the makings of a travel book! I read extracts of books made by people doing the Dakar but they only stop to write them after they have done them. You have pictures of the experiences and with such a track record of this holiday id pay for it!

Hehehe 4:55 shows the white marker that made my RS's tail kick out. The first one was ok, second one was wetter than the first. Very good quality there, lets people wanting to ride it see what they are missing and learn it before they go for it. You were running a big wide on some corners I will add

http://icanhascheezburger.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/moar-moar-moar.jpg Keep this up! I am liking what I read. Can I also reccomend you make a booklet of the trip. A hard copy so you can always go back and look over it and put it on sale in the forum shop so members can see your route and what to do Actually.. thats not a bad idea...

Again, Another fine write up But I have to say, I love the look of the KTM in the flesh especially the RC8 but boy does it look pig ugly in that photo Your bike looks a sexy orange thing as he always does through all the pictures though

Bikes are small and fast and this annoys car drivers than they can be silly and filter and get away with it so even Ive had a car flick itself towards me before flicking away again just to scare me and Jin recently had someone try to run her into an island as someones pride was at stake Now im sure a conclusive answer can be reached but it requires more in depth looking and extraneous variables are out the wazoo here making it virtually impossible to judge cagers on the whole using a natural setting. Think the best judgement we can make without people starting to rip at each others throats is to accept shit happens, there are bad drivers out there that would do bad against bikers. But at the same time there are bikers giving them a reason. End result. Shit happens, its been provoked but the innocent always pay for the mistakes of villains. End of, move along.

Good choice of bike to use for that trip! Good pictures, Good write up and looks like a stunning holiday! The weather was on your side for most of it as well which is especially good. Glad you had a good time!

Go to a manufacturer specific night then! Suzuki day/night had hayabusas and suzukis oldest models there. There was a dyno too for them to see how much power their bike was making. There were 2 bikes who went pulling wheelies up the road but they quickly come and go.

Did you chip its ECU? The new RS125 to meet emmissions has to have an ECU with a chip which retards the ignition at 6-7000rpm and means you have to flick up a gear in low revs where the bike only has 15hp again to keep it restricted. It IS this ECU. They dont cost much, £50 to buy new but its best to buy one with it chipped. This puts a red warning light on the dash and the EFI goes on the dash though the bike uses a carb. If its chipped there is only one way to get it off. Get a standard full power exhaust or take the CAT out of the existing one. MOTers always ignore this on the RS as they know what happens to them. Get a powervalve and plug that into the ECU and bang you have a 33bhp bike with a power valve to give even power across the revs and a exhaust that gives greater smoothness. The RAVE (powervalve) does not work when the CAT is in the exhaust. It just causes more problems.

its all gone tits up for me. The gpx broke down at northampton and its an electrical fault. Its being sorted but im stuck here for a few days while its fixed. Sorry for this and will be in touch soon to do an ace cafe run.

If I can I will meet where Ducati Paul specifies if that works best.. Just things are looking ambiguous as the bike seems to be having a little trouble atm. It wont fire up properly and though it was probably just mucky carbs need to watch it over the next couple of days. Still hoping to go though

Funnily enough Stu I was in the same parking spot today! http://ogxngg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pOxsHC9R64D1kDj_7LYDj0e19TG4bS4NIWZKJ_VsBkvMmMFYTkzewyAYtE53u9rK5PuN6ABDUEPvpGLFr5hMhUkRCL5x2IsTm/IMG_5153.jpg http://ogxngg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pXxVK6febGQ85uVCLsbKpA5FZ3CdzbMsI29086of74IR9_3KawOtUtGxpnjMwu7u4N1cSyZiDZqAWU1OewK5v8eKpeJZfnASL/IMG_5151.jpg http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3785397206_2d6a7063d7.jpg http://ogxngg.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pqEjqMH_aA8zJvVV6KpZjJza0q-Rt97IDCiuOvbeUbUIlr1KcoGVbIZKtyqBbwOa9mZBiRv0rGF0pngv-2QX1jQQvXH7tbOLT/IMG_5164.jpg I tested the Honda up there, may only have 25hp but last I checked the Aprilia RSV was in MY mirror up untill the main straight near harpur hill. Oh and I fell in love with the SV completely.

I will be leaving from Jins I think as its very close to you! Good idea on setting off early, I'll be tailing you closely so I dont get lost Will let you know definite dates closer to the time

Careful with that advice Walney, If its an RS you also have to remember some models used a Nikasil lining on the sleeving meaning that boring it out a bit is an impossibility. An aftermarket new cylinder costs £250 for the complete set. Or resleeving is possible for lower cost.

Nooo but its armoured beyond what leathers are to. The textile is there to act as a huge brake when you go down, causes alot of friction and brings you to a stop fast as do the padded drag jeans. Shoulda bought the leathers ey Right, Will look into leathers then so I can do a track day, thanks for the help

There is much confusion in the biking world today over this as it isnt being taught so I thought it would be best to post a very good video on the subject of counter steering. Counter steering is very good to use as it can be used at low speed to do some nippy turning.. Hope people approve. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFBzLpGl ... re=related

Regarding protection they say we need leathers. Just a general query, sorry if this was mentioned and I havent seen it.. Would it be ok if I came to a track day in an armoured textile jacket, kevlar padded drag jeans (i have proper biking boots) ? Would they allow that seeing as with that protection I am protected to a similar degree as someone in leathers.

Damn wish I could.. When Im down south Im 4 miles away from you.. Im down at the weekends and such so if you get a good weekend where you feel up to it give me a shout

If I can do it and weather permitting I would ride down on saturday the 15th. Depends if you want to do it then as I can easily do it on either the 15th or the 16th but I dont know my way so would have to follow you down on the 400

Oooo let us know! And the 675 is lush.... do they have any other colours? They have a good few colours including an amazing looking Ducati Red colour. Metallic paint and very sexy. 3 cylinder mid-wight bike that does everything the inlines do.

Triumph Daytona 675! http://image.sportrider.com/f/8959225/146_0606_01_z+2006_triumph_daytona_675+black_right_track.jpg Best looking and best riding out of the lot! And its a triumph I have always wanted one... More than any Honda

This bike was a project and has been done up and had electrics sorted out and just passed its MOT easily. I imagine as the owner says that it isnt used enough and has now developed a mis-fire. Ill take that to mean waxy fuel has clogged up the carbs. So some new petrol and some high revving to clear its throat and I imagine it will be fine. Thanks for the help guys.