Gerontious

The forum expert in all things will be along to tell us that we're all wrong. the tyre makers are wrong. the bike makers are wrong. everyone is wrong BUT... he knows the answer cause he's soooo clever (like)

I best get some pop corn.

I like the fact you can get there without having to ride all the way to the bottom of spain... a quick 'back of an envelope' quote returned a price of £148 for a return.. one adult and a Yamaha XT600 from barcelona to nador.

Barcelona - Nador

Mon 05 Jun @ 16:00 - Thu 15 Jun @ 17:00, 1 Motorcycle, 1 Passenger

thats for a booked seat... extra for a cabin (obviously)

you might find something useful in this thread...

http://www.ukgser.com/forums/showthread.php/89396-Morocco-GS-Knowledgebase

If you are going to be spending £100s of pounds on TEXTILE motorcycle clothing for riding in the UK and northern European climate... at least consider the benefits of buying clothing that uses GORETEX. as either a laminate.. or removable liner.

I think its more to do with the load that is carried rather than the bike

My mates R6 was hardly noticeable but mine is pretty bad!

He rides on his own and mine is a heavy bike usually fully loaded

There is a GT version for heavyweight bikes and 2-up tourers. (OEM for the BMW R1200RT)

Ive been using Pilot roads for the past 5 years and frankly... i see no automatic competitor for riding year round in the UK climate. or European touring.

With the wife sorted our intrepid road pilot had some thinking to do about his own luggage options. They were after all, having just one stopover.

1. I wouldn't trust anything to carry fuel that wasn't specifically designed for it.

2. Never worried about fuel as I have a sat nav and so can always find out at the touch of a button how far away fuel is. My bikes reserve light comes on with about 50 miles left. I don't mess about... Though If I see a fuel stop before then I'm likely to call in and top up anyway.

3. Make sure your credit card is working and the bank know you're abroad... In many areas of rural France the fuel stops are unmanned card only.

One other tip that I like to promote.

I often see bikers on tour with multiple 'bundles' strapped to the pillion seat... Tent, sleeping bag, mattress etc. I've been taking the single bag approach... Where everything "camping" is carried in a single waterproof bag. And then that is bungied to the back end of the bike. Bag I use is 89 litres and is the same length as the bike is wide measured from pannier to pannier. Using a single bag... Certainly in my experience has meant I can divide my stuff so I know exactly where everything is... I also have space for dirty laundry... Stuffed into a plastic bag and kept apart from the clean stuff.

Also this method allows me one luxury I will not be without.... At the bottom of the bag, with everything on top of it so it's well crushed down is a memory foam pillow... The orthopaedic type. Cheap from ikea or eBay. Normal camping pillows are awful in my opinion and if you have the space - why not?

If the weather is good... Then I lay out my towel across the bag and bungied in place and it soon dries out in the airflow and sunshine.

Occasionally there may be a campsite where its not ideal having the bike next to the tent... So one bag means one back and forth.

I doubt you would find a pop up tent that's small enough when packed for a bike. My tent takes about 5 minutes and I never found that an inconvenience when I went on 12 day tour to the foot of Italy... Ever day a different campsite. If you want to be super lazy then the words to look for are pitch as one and freestanding. You will always need to use pegs to pull the groundsheet tight and maximise the floor space. But guy lines? I don't think I've ever used them... These are for windy conditions mostly, though occasionally they're to maximise the living space.

There are more 1/2 person tents than you can shake a stick at. You need to start with first principles. What is the maximum pack size you can carry. A 2man is better as it has space for all your gear inside.

Sleeping bag. I use a snugpak its a summer only bag.. Air bed is an exped synmat with built in pump. (an extravagance)

Stove. Kettle. Cafetière. Ground coffee. Spoon. Mug. I don't bother cooking at all. This for European touring where eateries are almost everywhere. You could also... When planning use campsites that have a lidl/aldi or other market close by ... Or that you will pass. Call in for bread cheese cold meats salad and beer... That's assuming the campsites mini market doesn't sell chilled beer. Add cutlery and plastic plates to your shopping list. (And a bottle opener)

any bricks going spare?

did you wish you were there instead of here and faster than a floating pig - you were?

I think its probably gone after 5 years

8 days.

Another photo for you to admire... needless to say im a big fan of these bikes. I have its older and slightly more racy cousin. the F800S

Five fingered shoes ....?

http://bfy.tw/Bd8e

Just get the matching trousers to go with your jacket and you'll be off to a good start... i always think that especially if you're commuting you should start with being fully waterproofed and then move on from there.. towards gear for those dry days.. and then as the season draws round towards winter.. colder weather gear.

If you get Kevlar Jeans.. then you will also need waterproof over trousers... so perhaps leave buying those for later in the summer.

i would also suggest a second pair of gloves.. so that your first 'leather' pair can have time to dry out naturally when they get their first proper soaking. Theres nothing worse than having to put on damp gloves... aside from. possibly, damp trousers.

I would guess a flip front will always be heavier than a non-flip front.

not always..

for example.. my own crash helmet is about mid range.. maybe at the lower end of mid range? £150 to buy now

so take my helmet.. in a size Large.. and compare its weight with yours.. again in a size Large.

mine weighs 95g less.

i dont think that means very much... to be honest. as we are not comparing like for like. the design of a standard flip helmet is completely different to a full face. also one Large might be very different to another Large.

but.. it still demonstrates that a flip helmet need not be heavy.. though some are. the older helmet my own replaced weighed 173g more.. and surely this is what we expect as time goes by: improvements.. helmets become lighter and perhaps safer. so my current helmet is a 5 star from Sharp.. the previous one - 4 stars.

fwiw the lightest non carbon flip is the Schuberth C3 - Size L weighs 1550g that is 83g less than my own helmet and 177g less than the GT-Air in a size L. But it does cost about £340

Arras and Ypres resonate strongly with the slaughter of the first world war.

an interesting place to visit.. just 23 road miles south of Arras is the Lochnagar Crater..

http://www.lochnagarcrater.org

The largest crater ever made by man in anger

Then WW2

Also.. again not far away, but to the North are the sites of two Massacres.. one of which may affect you as a Norfolk native (perhaps?)

That is the Le Paradis massacre 27th may 1940. the first day of the Dunkirk escape.

Soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, the Royal Norfolk Regiment, had become isolated from their regiment. They occupied and defended a farmhouse against an attack by Waffen-SS forces in the village of Le Paradis. After running out of ammunition, the defenders surrendered to the German troops. The Germans led them across the road to a wall, and machine-gunned them. Ninety-seven British troops died.

The second is the Wormhoudt massacre which happened the next day. 28th may 1940.

That event was so horrible Im not going to pollute your thread by describing it.

I mention these two events.. because we all remember from our history lessons the remarkable escape with the 'little ships' from dunkirk... and so perhaps these horrors from the same time have been forgotten somewhat..

anyway both places are in the vicinity of a ride from Arras to Ypres or the Tunnel and Arras.... with only a relatively minor diversion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wormhoudt_massacre

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Paradis_massacre

At age 44 I wouldn't even bother with a 125. Chinese or otherwise.

here is an example label from an approved helmet.. one that can be worn 'both ways' when riding.

the code to look for is P-J (or J-P)

contrast that label with one from a helmet thats approved only as a 'full face'. it will only have the letter P.

Its perfectly fine to use my helmet with the flip up... Because it can be locked in place. This means it has dual EC homologation as both a full-face helmet with the flip-up closed and as a 'jet' helmet with the flip-up raised. (And locked)

Unlike some flips... Which do not lock.. And so could drop and the chin part block your view... Say if you went over a bump or a road hump.

I usually save riding with the flip up... For more sedate (bimble mode) riding and stop/start in high temperatures, using the drop down sun shade as protection. Not ideal... But very comfortable. Pick up the pace and I close the helmet, drop the flip and lock it shut. And that's really because of insects... I don't want some huge bug hitting my face at speed.

I would never wear the helmet with the flip up while riding at speeds over 30mph... When opening the visor a little instead has much the same effect.

They only interview you in daylight and part of that process is an examination of your teeth and checking your reflection in a mirror.

more seriously - well done.

Be interesting to see the publicity material produced for this particular run of bikes. for instance.. were they advertised as being lighter. with the engine casing being some 'all new' alloy that offered significant weight savings.

and it turned out that this alloy was 'moving' too much during repeated hot/cold cycles.

or maybe it didn't.. that this procedure was deemed unnecessary and dropped from following years manuals. an abundance of caution to begin with.. that turned out to be a waste of time.

I see it would have been Aarons 25th birthday today.. so thinking about him and his family for whom today must be very painful

They should be congratulated for using a certain word so many times in such a short piece. Need to be sure potential participants know exactly what they're getting in to.

That website is blocked by virgin media. click on it and I get this:

If its simply UK that you want it for.. then i would go for this: http://tinyurl.com/kjr8lmq

seems to have all the features one needs for ordinary driving. you can spend more and add further features like Europe maps.. a dashcam.. etc. but if you dont need any of that.. keep it basic and simple without a shedload of gimmicks and gizmos. just switch it on and enter a postcode.. house number and go.

a step up from that.. is probably this one. http://tinyurl.com/lp7mozq