rob m

Oh wow, thanks guys. I didn't do anything motorbike related but caught the train to London, went for lunch then record shopping with my 21 year old lad. I bought 2 Spear of Destiny LPs and an original pressing of Eloy's 'Ocean', a German prog rock classic. My vinyl nerd status has been elevated to 'legendary' according to my son. Turned 55 today, an age I never thought I'd reach even though I always knew I would. Thoughts of taking my NHS pension after 36 years service and reducing my hours at work are swirling around my head.

This is how good it could look, like my old ST1050.

Have you seen the video of ATOTW 2? It's a cringe fest but contains a lot of useful info. Must admit I've never taken any formal training, I used to hang out with some IAM guys and learnt a lot from them but that was many years ago. We used to do Sunday breakfast runs to the coast when they weren't observing. They never pressured me to do the training but did suggest it from time to time. One of them gave me a copy of roadcraft which I've still got. Highway code I haven't looked at since I took my bike test in the 90s. The shame of it

Just realised that I haven't been to that show since about 1999 when it was called the Superbike show and was at the Ally Pally. We went from the mid 90s onwards. A bunch of us used to get the train up and make it a bit of a day session, hitting the pubs afterwards. Used to be just new sportsbikes on display mainly, the Fireblade was the biggest selling UK bike back then. That's the overall best selling bike, not just in its class. Imagine that now! I had an RRN model for a few years then a 929. Used to see top racers walking around like Chris Walker and Niall McKenzie just looking at stuff. I once met Carlos Checa and sat on his YZR500 GP bike at one show which like a torture machine. Anyway, the main reason we used to go was for the gear stalls, the reductions were crazy and usually we walked away with new leathers, helmets, boots etc for little money. I once got a pair of Sidi Vertebra boots for £60 and they lasted me 10 years. I also nabbed an Arai Doohan helmet for less than half price. My mate Jay got a set of Dainese leathers for £300 reduced on the final hour of the last day from £1000. Happy days. Does that sort of thing happen these days?

I’ve just bought a new Stormex, I’ve used them for 15 years now on 5 different bikes. I replace every two years when they start to fall apart and that’s fine, they’re outside in the elements keeping my bike dry and free from spying eyes, so I expect them to fall apart at some point. All of my bikes stay in great condition. £80 every two years to do that is fine for me.

I can only recommend Cardo as I used one on a tour to Spain with my mate. Worked perfectly, although we lost a bit of clarity over 80mph. I'm sure they're better now. Also great for listening to music, which I found out after I ripped the piss over the intercom when he got fined for speeding at a Peage.

Bloke asks a simple question… To answer the question, no I don’t have experience of those dealers but if they’re willing to price match and it’s the bike you want, then buy it. Life’s too short man.

They always wear leathers that are a size too small and have a bum bag too. I live about 2 miles from Boxhill which is usually rammed on a Sunday. There’s loads of them in there. They take their sports bike out for a couple of hours then stand by it giving it ‘billy big bollocks’ to whoever can tolerate it. Last time I went was about 4 years ago and that was to meet a mate before riding to Wales. Couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Happy Birthday G 21 again!

Been a while since I dropped a tune but this has been on my stereo-ereo for the past week.

Does anybody remember that episode of the Simpsons when Homer designed a car? That's the biker version.

I'm a mental health nurse in the NHS and my insurance quotes went up when it came to renew last time. Four years ago they were more than happy to give me big reductions when people were banging pots and pans on a Thursday evening. I still get 25% off at Nandos though so silver linings...

I have two pairs of Alpinestars gloves, a pair of race gloves and a waterproof pair for touring. I've never really thought about it more than if they fit. In fact that goes for all of my gear to be honest. If it fits then I'm a happy chappy. A thing I love is the quickshifter on my bike. It's fun and brings a smile to my face when I use it. Nice pops and bangs from the Akrapovic exhaust too. I'm easily pleased

October 1996 in Crawley. I did a 5 day course with a company called Ride Rite and it cost £350. Passed the Part 2 test at about 12.30pm and picked up my GSXR 750 at about 4pm. Years of reckless tomfoolery followed

To answer the question - no. 11k on an 18 year old bike? Lovely. 8 owners averages 1325 miles per owner or 811 miles per year. Harleys tend to be a summer bike so that tally's up. FSH is an added bonus. They're bikes that tend to be looked after by mature owners. Unless it's visually minging then just buy the bike.

I used Oxford soft panniers for a few years on my old Fireblade. They did the job very well and have a bit of 'give' should you overpack slightly. Had to put gaffa tape over the rear fairings to protect the paintwork though. Got me into Europe though and a couple of trips to the TT.

My phone stays in the tankbag, it's my lifeline should things go wrong...and it's expensive. I've had Zumos in the past but couldn't justify the cost this time around. So for a cheap solution last year I bought a Garmin Nuvi car sat nav for £40. It has lifetime European maps and live traffic through bluetooth. There's thousands out there up for grabs. Updated the maps right away. Then I bought: https://www.ram-mount.co.uk/holder-for-the-garmin-nuvi-52?search=nuvi 52&sort=p.sort_order&order=ASC&limit=20 and: https://www.ram-mount.co.uk/diamond-base-with-1-inch-ball?search=diamond 1" ball&sort=p.sort_order&order=ASC&limit=20 So the cost was £70-ish all in. Then, after looking at ATV forums and seeing what they did, I silicone sealed the screen (tutorials on youtube) and covered the speaker port with waterproof tape so the two main routes of water ingress have been dealt with. Those guys on the ATV forums have done this for years and swear by it, some even hot glue the power supply in, I haven't gone that far. I also looked online for a motorcycle icon which I now have on the sat nav, transferred it via my laptop. The sat nav has latest hotel and campsite updates but to be honest I'd probably use my phone for that then enter the postcode in the sat nav. For GPX files, Basecamp won't play ball and transfer them over but MRA will, no bother. I tried this and they appear in the 'Trip Planner' app on the sat nav. So for about £70 and a tiny bit of DIY I've a got a Zumo-lite. I'll pop a couple of pictures up when it's back on the bike.

I had a Garmin Zumo, we would decide on a destination then set the sat nav to ‘no motorways’. It took us through some lovely areas of France. We knew we wanted to get to Jaca so split into 3 days. We stayed in Le Mans, Bordeaux and then to Jaca via Pau. When we were in Spain we would head out for the day and see where we ended up then use the sat nav to get back to where we were staying.

Have an idea of where you want to go and plan loosely around that I’d say. I’m away on the 19th May to Spain, the only thing that is certain is that I’m on a ferry to Santander from Plymouth and that I’m going to the MotoGP at Catalunya the following weekend. I’ve already bought the tickets. Then I’d like to cross the Pyrenees into France but no idea what routes we’re taking after that. I imagine it’ll probably be home via the Eurotunnel but I haven’t bought a return ticket, I’ll do that while over there. We’ll just keep an eye on the weather and be guided by that. Got a quite a few GPX files that can be cobbled together at short notice but I’m not planning a route, we’re going to keep it free to choose at the start of each day. We’ll look for places to stay late afternoon/early evening through booking.com or air bnb with a washing machine as I’m only taking a week’s worth of clothes. The thing is, me and my mate are really chaotic and can’t plan to save our lives but I don’t think that’s a bad thing, sense of adventure and all that. When we rode to Spain in 2016 we didn’t use a single gpx file and it all worked out fine.

Nice experiment but you’re over thinking it. I judge heated grips by feel. I’ve had Grip Puppies on my last 3 bikes and they’ve all let the heated grips work well for me. Got a set on my latest K1300S. BMWs have great heated grips and have two main settings: 1. Ooh, that’s nice. My hands are pleasantly warm. 2. Send help. My hands are on fire and I’m in fear of first degree burns. The Grip Puppies take some of the heat out of the second setting, which is welcome.

Nice one Simon, great bike. Sounds like a bargain. Hope you have lots of fun on it! If you haven’t already, search up Griff and Jones on YouTube, one of them rides exactly the same colour and model as yours, he’s been all over the uk and Europe on it.

Yep. Amazing place and roads.

I’m doing something similar-ish. Already booked a one way ferry to Santander from Plymouth, got an early bird ticket for £322 all in. Sailing out on 19th May, we’re spending a few days in the Picos then riding via Jaca to Barcelona for the Catalunya MotoGP. After that, across the Pyrenees for couple of days staying at a mate’s place near Carcassonne. Then just winging it back to Calais, where we go is dependent on weather, high passes might still be snowed in. We’ve got 15 days overall. For the ferry vs ride debate. I booked a ferry this time because in 2016 we rode to Spain through France over 2 days. The report is on here somewhere. It pissed down all the way and it was a totally miserable experience. The other reason is it’s my choice and my money. I’m not forcing anybody else to do it.

Every bike I've owned over the past 30 years has lived outside under a cover. No ACF 50, no trickle charging, no starting during the winter months. I'll give them a good wash before covering for the winter (I've used an Oxford Stormex for years), then lock up and leave. Come the Spring, I take the battery out, charge it up and start the bike. Surprisingly, none of them have crumbled into a pile of rust, blown up or refused to start. I imagine it's easier in a garage. Also, don't listen to naysayers who say petrol goes off in 4 months. It doesn't. Nor does engine oil.