Lateralus

It is all sorted, and I had a similar thought about the trip! Was two small plugging screw things, one of which had worked a bit loose, which is apparently a reasonably common thing with Triumphs. Both were removed, cleaned and reinstalled with Loctite. With the exception of the one idiot, the others in the shop have all been really good. Thanks all for the help/reassurance!

That's exactly what I was saying to the first idiot when he was smugly pointing to the sticky stuff, whilst I was describing the runny slippy stuff which had pooled under the bike. Was just showing him the photo when the mechanic came out - took one look at the picture, said "engine oil” and started rolling it to his ramp.

Indeed - I might not be a mechanic, but I'm not an idiot either. The actual mechanic took it seriously though, and came across as being both competent and actually wanting to find and fix the issue, which is nice. Don't get me wrong - the chain definitely does need some attention, but that wouldn't cause a puddle of [strikeout]mudd[/strikeout] oil to be dripping down bits which aren't meant to get oily!

Mechanic quickly confirmed an oil leak (there was also a build up of chain wax, which one of the others tried to fob me off with as being the source - my photo of the pooling oil yesterday immediately dismissed that), and just had a call to say it's sorted. Apparently one of the two core plugs was leaking, whatever that is! Mechanic used to work for Triumph, so said he had an idea of what to look for anyway, and he's looked at both plugs even though only one was currently leaking. Now just need to time my collection to miss the rain and thunder! Z900 isn't the best bike for a motorway journey, let alone one in the rain!

I have a tiny CO2 thing and a decent small pump for cycling, so will probably take those. Sounds like I need to buy a proper pressure gauge though. Not found any in the few Aldis I've passed recently, so have ordered one of these instead. Can pack a couple of bin liners for backup waterproofness, but the reviews are very favourable, and for a tenner it only needs to last the trip. And so back to routes - have plotted the next 2 days, on Google Maps for now as it's much quicker and easier for dragging lines around. Argelès-Gazost to (potentially) Andorra la Vella. 219 mile day, taking in Col du Tourmalet and the interesting part of one of this year's Tour de France stages, along with an excellent-looking route into Andorra. Looks ambitious, but hopefully achievable, and I like the idea of a night in Andorra. Accommodation is a bit cheaper than places earlier along the route too. Then the final day of this leg - Andorra la Vella to Feuillade, either by motorway, or not. Might play this one by ear and see how I'm feeling after the previous excursions, but a mix of motorways and scenic routes would seem most likely.

Well I got home fine. Stopped to check a couple of times, but no obvious splatters of oil anywhere, so it's clearly not gushing out when going along. Will check levels again in the morning, before riding it to the shop where they're looking at it tomorrow. Will see which demo bike I can get them to lend me while they fix it too!

Thanks both. I'll call them now, and give them a heads up as to what it might be.

Won't be chain lube as I use WD40 chain wax, but was going to clean it up this evening. Unless there's an simple thing which just needs tightening then it'll need to go back to the dealer regardless, but wanted to ask if there's anything obvious before calling them.

Walking out past the bike at lunch just now, I spotted that something had been leaking out, and I'm fairly sure it's engine oil. Not coming from an overflow tube this time, but dripping down from the side stand spring, and appears to be coming from somewhere just in front and below the front sprocket casing. There looks to be a little wire from a sensor or something in there, and the whole area is a bit mucky, but can't see definitively where it's coming from. Owner's manual isn't any help identifying it. Stood the bike up and checked the dipstick, and oil level looks ok, but it's definitely not just water. Before throwing it back at the dealer to test their gold-plated RAC warranty, any ideas what it might be?

[mention]Mawsley[/mention] - I've found a new signature for you!

[mention]Stu[/mention] I've found you a new signature!

I'll have the Southern Comfort, please and thank you.

Literally a case of not committing in case a better offer came along. It didn't but [mention]Hoggs[/mention] has welched anyway!

It would, but I'm taking Mrs Lat's helmet out too, which pretty much takes out the larger pannier - she's not keen on trying to take it on a plane and risk having it bashed about, even as hand luggage. That little pump looks useful, but should probably buy (and learn how to use!) a tyre plugging kit, and likewise adjusting the chain! Am sure there'll be someone at the rally to show me how though.

Both good options, and much cheaper than the Oxford ones too, thanks. Going to Aldi this evening already actually, so will try there first. Also going to get those Roc straps you mentioned elsewhere [mention]Mawsley[/mention].

They live out there for the summer. They'll have washing facilities, but I'll want different stuff for a week of being a tourist than I would as just touring on a sports-tourer.

Do you wear a base layer under the jeans too, or just for the top half? I normally do the same when packing, but I'll be away for 2 weeks, half of which is staying with relatives rather than just touring, so I can't drop my standards completely! No way Mrs Lat will have sufficient room to bring out extra stuff for me either.

To be honest, the stuff I'll cook while camping is unlikely to be better than the pub. I'll either just lower my standards, or get a hot chicken and baguette from the supermarket.

Fair enough. Rather than double-up with everything, do you want to split what...... OH WAIT.

How much camping stuff do we actually need to bring, other than a tent and sleeping bag? Thinking mainly of cooking (well, tea and coffee) stuff really.

It's very unlikely I'll have passed my IAM training when I go, so won't formally have upskilled enough to wear the dream t-shirt, shorts and flip flops combo.

Quick clothing question - are jeans a good idea or a stupid idea for where and when I'm going? Had conflicting advice about whether they're good for touring in hot climates. Current alternative would be RST Paragon V trousers, but haven't found the vents to be hugely effective on them, and my jeans have seemed a bit more comfortable in that brief hot spell we had here. I know I'll need layers for the evenings and when I go high up, but what do people generally wear when touring in hot places?

Looks a fantastic trip. Very much whetting my appetite! [mention]rob m[/mention] what size Oxford Aqua bag are you using? Think I need to get myself one, since the actual capacity of my panniers is much smaller than their bulk would suggest, and taking the wife's helmet out with me is going to pretty much fill one of them!

Much obliged!

I'll take my laptop with me tomorrow and show you how to plug that into the TomTom. From Google maps, I will probably need to import it into a piece of software called tyre, then save it as a file on the TomTom device, but if you use https://www.motogoloco.com/map/ to do your planning, you can save all your routes directly from the browser to the TomTom. Probably easiest to just plot them all on that site then. The DIY I was going to do at home this evening is slipping rapidly down the agenda!