Gerontious

On 30/03/2024 at 16:04, Mawsley said:

I would definitely be cross about that. In fact I would be so cross that I might be tempted to change my name by deed poll to Mr Cross.  And then post the pictures on Facebook and marvel at the REALLY BAD advice to take out the offending screw and forget about it which (as it happens) is contrary to everything every tyre manufacturer has to say about how to deal with side wall damage. That made me really quite cross too.

So, its that time again where I risk life and limb and reputation by taking a group to this region. And once again we have spaces available for anyone who wants to join up and join in. as little or as much as you want.

So, what's involved. firstly the dates - which are now set in stone.

Crossing to France on Sunday 1st September and returning the following Saturday 7th 

We do it this way and at this time because the kids are back in school, the holiday season is effectively over and the region we are going to is much quieter. very quiet. We have 5 days "There" during what is a normal working week. But despite that places are still open. it doesnt close down completely until much later in the year during the build up to the winter season.

You can compare this region to Mid Wales perhaps - only on a much vaster scale. Low mountains, winding river valleys. Bordered to the south by the Mighty Mosel. and to the East by the Rhine. we are apt to cross both. (probably)

We stay in a very nice and affordable hotel. Half board. and you get your own room with en suite. Breakfast is huge and typically German. Evening meals are 'home style' and very filling. you will not go hungry.  Half board - own room. all-in is €59 per night.

As with everything prices have gone up.. but, it still represents great value for money. just over £50 per night. Bed. Breakfast. Evening meal. Single occupancy.

Our days out are usually about 200 miles. more or less. Lunch stop is completely random about 'lunch time'. other stops and pauses as it goes. Fuel as an when its needed. there's never a problem with that.  And we are usually back at the hotel by 6pm. sitting down to eat at 7. Then availing ourselves of the bar afterwards. as you do.

We'll be crossing using the Tunnel arriving in France at about 10:30 local time. Because most of us need to cover a fair distance to get to Folkestone. (for me that's 200 miles) we ride down the night before and stay at either a Premier Inn or Travelodge that is about 12 miles from the tunnel and usually have an evening meal at the adjacent Beefeater.

The ride from the tunnel to the hotel is also very relaxed, in both directions. no-one is under any pressure to ride outside their comfort zone. And I couldn't care less if you have a small fuel tank, you won't  ever be stressed about fuel.

Times for the crossing and return are yet to be confirmed. I get these first then tell the guys the timings.. though they are usually the same every year. We ride from the Premier inn between 8-9 in the morning and then are back in the UK about 5pm.

There is no deposit to pay for the Hotel in Germany. so the only up front costs are the Tunnel return and overnight.. if you need that. Probably getting those in July.

As per usual this is 'not for profit' - we all pay exactly the same. I don't do this for money, its just something I like to do. this will be the 12th time. And I must be doing something right as there are guys who come every time, year after year.

The maximum I want is 8 and there are already 4 and possibly 5 so.. another 2 would be great. Male or Female. Women will get no grief on my trips. 

All you need is a bike that is capable of motorway speeds. that has been serviced up. And a passport. There will be other things but these are easily sorted in the coming months. Theres no rush.

If you have never been abroad before. Then this is I think the ideal opportunity to dip your toe into European touring. Thats how it started all those years ago and since then many who have come away with me have gone on to tour on their own or with friends.

This isn't really a tour though. think of it more as a riding holiday. a week doing what most of us cannot. ride every day for a week, for pleasure and through a really nice landscape thats very different to the UK. Roads that are sublime. And all very easy going. We're not there to race. Though if you want to try that then we can very easily call in at the Nurburgring one of the days and you can have a lap.

Anyway, best to send me a private message if you have any questions or are at all nervous about anything.

150 days to go.. 21 weeks. tick tock.

Some random Canadian with an opinion. Who cares. The moment he opens his gob my reaction - “go away”.  I can’t remember the last time he had anything useful to say to me. He lives in Canada. What use is that to me here in the UK? It’s why I pay no attention to American sites and videos. Except occasionally to look on in a kind of ghastly fascination like you do when passing a car crash. 

Due to our wonderful climate, for me any gear I buy (unless it’s specifically for summer heat) must be waterproof and to guarantee that over the long term that means Goretex. For summer gear I would also pack a waterproof over layer (suit?) and this can be anything really, making such items waterproof is fairly simple without the extra technical expense. Those removable Goretex layers you sometimes see in multi-season gear are cheaper but are more prone to fail however that’s not usually the case with laminates. Unless there’s some underlying problem with the stitching and this is where the warranty comes into play either via the retailer or if that’s expired - Goretex themselves. The sales are your friend. Now is approaching the best time to buy cold weather gear for the future. With styles and so on being cleared or replaced with updated versions.

Wind dams are a fairly popular modification - perhaps check if this is a known issue with a fix. Often the fix starts with an owner making them and then later one of the parts manufacturers copies it.  Turbulence is a common problem on the Africa Twin and there are all sorts of ingenious fixes. But as with anything what might work for one person won’t for another. It can be a rabbit hole. What I did was sidestep all of that and put on the shortest screen I could find. Thus I get a clean air flow rather than one that’s disrupted by the screen - which is the primary cause. 

9 hours ago, bonio said:

By the way, have you thought about the Versys 650? A good tourer and insurance group 9. Won't do 2-up, though; if you wanted that you'd need the 1000, which perhaps blows the budget.

You need to tell one of my friends this. He regularly tours with wifey on the back with luggage. I guess when you are so used to litre plus touring bikes it’s easy to forget that much smaller capacity bikes are entirely appropriate. Not everyone can afford one of the larger bikes. And not everyone wants to spend huge amounts of time at motorway speeds. I would not write off a modern injected 650 out of hand.

I have a scorpion end can on my bike. They also sold a full system but I just couldn’t be doing with the added faff. And with modern bikes there’s nearly always added faff when you go down that road. And I get all the faff I ever need every September so why add more?

The vast majority of the more quality leaning makers will have tested the can in your bike… or one if it’s family. It shouldn’t be a concern unless you’re going as cheap as possible.

7 hours ago, S-Westerly said:

I wear a white helmet but purely because in warm weather its cooler to wear and for me more comfortable. 

exactly right. It’s a real boon when I go off gallivanting to foreign parts where it ain’t half hot. (Mum) that and the flip all helps when the sun is so hot I could fry an egg on the tank. The tanks also white so that picturesque little analogy doesn’t really help. But hey ho.

i don’t really worry too much about being visible or not… though I mostly am. Mostly. Except to German pensioneers. (Rarely)

anyroad. Comfort is everything. So that’s my excuse. They do tend to be cheaper sometimes too which just adds to the sense of outrageous smuggery. And couldn’t give a figness.

I had an 1100 oil head for 21 years. I also had an F800. I would wholeheartedly recommend the F. The 1100 - not so much. It was a money pit. Servicing was cheap but when it went wrong it wasn’t even remotely cheap. I hate to think just how much money it cost me over those years. I now have a Honda.

im sure there’s a moral to this story.

48 minutes ago, Simon Davey said:

A sidecar and scarf are needed........

 

Very interesting find, and nice to have a memorable story to go with them.

Wonder if the manufacturer would be interested?

they still make this exact same goggle. It’s a Mark 8. Now available I polished chrome no less.

https://classicpartsltd.com/halcyon-mark-8-deluxe-goggles-black.html

Cant remember exactly when, but it was probably mid 1980s at the Bike Show. I was hovering round the Davida helmets stall. Thinking how cool it would be to have one on my Meriden Trumpet. And I bought a raffle ticket. And actually won!! Not a helmet though (sigh) but this.  And almost 40 years later it turns up while I’m rooting around for some black paint. Box and instructions are very old looking. But the Goggles are as new. Just looked and they’re still being made here in England!!

And look exactly the same. If a tad pricey.

I’ve never worn them, I’m not even sure why I’ve held onto them for so long. Because I won them I suppose. Or, just forgot about them. (More likely)

No paint and I can’t be bothered with it today. So instant cure. 

painted it with gear oil. In the nick of time too. It’s just starting to rain. Rain spots on my shiny bike. It’s just one thing after another. Anyway the rust is cunningly disguised until I can be motivated.

Wash and brush up and some time with the cover off. Once the breeze has dried it off I’ll give the chain a light coating of oil as it’s not going to move for another 3 weeks.

But. Woe. Trauma. Rust on the exhaust hanger!! I’m not sure if I need to go and lie down in a darkened room. Fall to the floor and foam at the mouth. Or break out the brandy.

maybe all three.

the horror. It’s a Scorpion part. So there’s that. But… even so. It’s ruined my day. Sigh.

I looked at that before I bought my Africa Twin. It didn’t give me any hint of the possibility that one day I might fall off the bike by just trying to get on it. That’s a huge fail in my book.

I’m still suffering from the trauma.

Ive yet to meet an owner who doesnt like the bike, it used to get some bad 'press' usually from people who wouldn't buy it anyway. I came within a whisker of getting one back in 2018, I sat on one but due to my unlikely height and inside leg, it wasn't really the right choice for me. Also.. though my bike is a bit different, I didn't bother going down the 'perfect screen' rabbit hole. I settled the matter by going short. and added a sports screen, which is much shorter than the standard. no turbulence whatsoever. Did you get the Standard or the DCT?

6 hours ago, curlylegend said:

Looks lovely, but more importantly how does it sound ?

well, now here's the thing. Its got a very different vibe going on. it doesn't sound like a CD player. the only giveaway is the total silence at the start of and between the tracks.

It sounds more like a very good record player. none of that 'digital/dry' sound. its warm and still has all the clarity that CD is known for.

Im very pleased. It's actually more than I hoped for.

Ive never owned anything that uses valves before.. normally well out of my league.

But second hand.. its 11 months old. affordable - just. it had 19 watchers on eBay. He was happy to answer questions and while I was absorbing his replies he followed up with a reduced price offer - and at that point it became irresistible. 

Its why the bike is off the road for another 4 weeks. 20th April.. tick tock.

1 minute ago, Simon Davey said:

 

Are you dusting off the CD's ready for the Pathos to arrive? 

I didn’t go for it.  The seller wouldn’t allow collection and I didn’t like the idea of their chosen delivery co. So I passed it up. Knocked it off the watch list and forgot about it.

Then this appeared on eBay and, as if by magic… it’s on my sideboard.

I’ve just discovered that a way of telling I’m an old fart is by looking at the back of a CD I bought new and seeing that it was made in West Germany. (It actually says “Western Germany”) Oh dear.

Good Moaning.

no tester has paid the slightest notice to my exhaust. but it does have the baffle in which makes it road legal. and it wasn't marketed as 'not for road use'. it's a Scorpion. but it could as easily have been any brand that comes with a removable baffle. if its one that's designed from the outset to be very loud, like one of those stubby-short cans, then you might have a problem. its purely subjective on the part of the tester.

It’s a bike that was only produced for a year, I think. And that 8 years ago or so. As with any bike of that kind of age - condition is everything. It’s not the type of bike that will have been abused. And it’s definitely the kind of bike that will have been serviced religiously and to the letter. Any issues fixed years ago. They were built with customisation specifically in mind so any ergonomic issues should be easy enough to fix. The trick is finding one - especially one that you can test ride and is reasonably standard. You might have to travel outside your area. I’ve studiously avoided them for fear that a test ride would convince me it’s a must-have. I’ve been caught out by BMW that way before.

Ortlieb are the originals and Lomo are effectively copies, though significantly cheaper which is the primary reason they are so popular. But when you put them side by side there really is no comparison.

Spoken English has evolved in the UK, whereas in America it hasn't so much in the past 400 years. what seems odd to us would have been completely normal in the 1600s Its been said that modern English is just French with a funny accent. The word Route is a perfect example of this. we use the French pronunciation. The Americans do not. I think there's only a few words that have kept the old pronunciation for example - Blouse. If that had followed the way of Route, we would be saying "Blooze".

In many ways the Americans speak a very similar form of English to the original settlers, many of whom injected their own dialects into the language and these apparent oddities are a result of that. Our language has been corrupted. And then we think its the Americans who are in the wrong. most odd.

2 hours ago, Pie man said:

I'm trying to sort out a trip this year, usually, I like to take either the first week in June or the first week in September; however, this year, its not possible for me to use those weeks.  

My options now are either May Spring Bank Holiday (Last week in May) or 3rd Week in September. I am trying to plan a route down to Interlaken, were I would stay for 4 days (camping). But I keep thinking how good the Glossglockner could be in May. Trying to plan a good route is getting harder as I cant make my mind up 

I only have a week and I don't mind putting in the mileage on the first day to be in an easy reach of my destination. Its choosing where to go that is the hardest. 

It will at the very least be picturesque - but also very cold. The road is normally open by the 1st of May - dug out by snow ploughs. Its a hike to get there though and not something to be done in a day. fastest route is a little over 700 miles from the tunnel.  One of the great things about the road is you can look at the live webcams and make a decision on whether to go up. you can also look back in time and get an idea of what it might be like at various times of the year. Here for example is an image that was taken by the webcam on Friday 5th May 2023 at 16:30. air temperature was 6.9c and, incidentally that was one of only a couple of days where a view like this was even possible due to low cloud. (aka heavy fog)

To be honest I don't really think its a good idea to go there with just a week to play with, the main problem being you could arrive there and not want to go up because of low cloud, or heavy rain or even late snow or sleet. Its always a good idea to have a few days nearby and then choose the best. either a blue sky day or very high cloud. And dont even think about doing it at the weekend as its always absolutely rammed with tourists.

I would head for another Alpine region, if the Mountains are what you want. or a region Ive never visited before. chase the sun and the warmth moving north from the Med.