Gerontious

I look at the picture of the bike cleaner you have bought/ordered and I can't help noticing (and shuddering) at that rather jarring Caustic warning sign on the container... no way would I use anything like that on my bike.. at a pinch.. and for simple degreasing of a chain, I would rather use cheapo car shampoo (salt free detergent) and hot water... followed by a good rinse and rapid drying on a radiator.. .

And.. my bet is the video was American. do bear in mind that their full motorcycle test is taken off road, on private land and is considerably less complicated or difficult than our CBT. in fact our CBT is far superior to their full test because it involves some riding on actual roads with traffic and people and everything... even corners!! so, you have a population of new riders who don't really know how to ride.. but will hopefully survive long enough to build up these skills. and they need videos... they need all the help they can get!!!! here things are rather different... this is just something we learn as we go. though we are starting from a much better place on the learning curve than the Americans. if you want to significantly improve your riding (and braking) do an advanced course. RoSPA or I.A.M.

An answer to this on the ADV forum from a Swiss member a few years ago has always stuck with me... not that its ever been an issue as I have had a GPS on bikes for much longer than I've had a smart phone. said Swiss guy had a crash.. came off his bike on one of the passes and broke his hip... couldn't move, nor could he use his phone to call for help. can you guess why? he was found.. 3 hours later.

and a ready source of evidence.

Rent any vehicle from who, a rental company?

What could go wrong?

Some people have very odd ideas about the purpose and use of sat navs. Prime example here, though he’s not alone in that mind set. Far from it if you have put together a route then presumably that route is where you want to go, maybe you have chosen roads that look interesting or want to stop off at a particular village that has something of interest, or you have been advised has a particularly good eatery or cafe. but they are not fixed in stone, unless you are the type that can’t cope with a bit of variety. See an interesting sign and turn off your preplanned route to “go look” - I do that all the time!! The sat nav will simply recalculate to get you back on track. And there’s nothing to stop you from continuing to ignore it, unless or until you’re ready. ”they frequently cause arguments” - when I turn off... firstly why would anyone know or care? The only people who have that kind of issue are those who organise tours with a fixed itinerary. “We’re going from here to here, via here. Lunch here. Coffee break here and arriving here at 5pm... where dinner and a bar awaits.” You will only get arguments if you have shared the route with other riders and you have someone who will have a panic attack if it changes. Deal with it. been plenty of times that there have been so many diversions off my preplanned route that I’ve simple winged it. Turned it off, so that sat nav simply records where i am. I might turn it back on later.. or might not. Depends. Then... press the home button and see how far it says I am from home or the hotel. How long it should take to get there and just follow the recommendations. Or not, as the case may be.

I'm sure they do. But, it doesn't matter what they say nor does it matter if you are intending to keep the bike for a year or so. at some point, they say 2-3yrs, it will need to be reapplied and that process will add gloss, there is only one way to remove a ceramic coating and it must be fully removed before a new coating can be reapplied. It must be polished off. buffed off. And that will add gloss. even if the original coating manages not to. I would want to see a treated bike before doing this. I would also want to see a retreated bike.

It will add gloss.

I’m not sure why this matters. People who buy new bikes these days don’t tend to keep them for more than a few years. Some, perhaps a majority don’t even keep them long enough to change the spark plugs. I know, because I see it all the time, bikes that have had their first service and then nothing but annuals before the bike is either handed back or traded in. Is engine failure common to any manufacturer? Is the more important question. So, some bikes produce more particulates than others. Is this a big deal in the real world? Probably not. Of all the major parts that can go badly wrong I would suggest that for the majors, engine failure is at the very bottom of the list.

Be aware, I’ve seen a lot of complaints about that particular tracker causing drain to the battery. If fitted it’s pretty much essential to keep the bike on a battery minder.

Hard to believe its been more than 6 months since last years fiasco... where everyone dropped out due to Covid and I ended up going it alone down to the Dolomites. Anyway, tomorrow and it will be 25 weeks till we cross to France and head via Belgium into Luxembourg and then on to our base at Neuerburg. Ive just done a loop route following the L10 for almost its entire length to its end at Burresheim Castle. and continued on to the Caldera lake, the remains of a Volcanic explosion that was 250X Mt St Helens and is considered to be active and the most dangerous volcano in europe - no less. Just for a bit of fun. (obviously). Should be a fun day out as it includes the fantastic road to Bruttig-Fankel. as well as the A61 bridge over the Mosel. we'll go over it and then under it. This year i want there to be a maximum of 8 going... and its possible that there may be a spare place, if anyone is interested. Cant make any promises just yet.. but it does seem likely So, if you fancy a riding holiday of 5 days... around 200 miles per day and have some annual leave going spare plus a bike thats capable of motorway speeds. Then watch this space. I should have a clearer idea of whats happening by June. Which will leave plenty of time to get sorted. Anyway.. some photos. first Bruttig-Fankel and that road.. which you can see above the town. The bridge over the Mosel. Burresheim Castle and the Caldera lake.

It’s going to be interesting when the clutches (plural) need doing on my bike. Should I start saving?

Didn’t test ride my bike and I bought it brand new!! reason, they only had the standard bike available and I couldn’t be bothered travelling to ride one the same as I was buying. So, my test ride happened as I rode the bike away from the dealers for the very first time! I did sit on one in the dealership though. Does that count?

and.. a rather more sensible answer. I have never, ever, experienced a damp sleeping bag due to condensation. I have experienced one that got damp on the inside after paying too much attention to idiots. I was too hot and woke up in the middle of the night sweating. I got rid of that sleeping bag and bought one with a rating more suitable for camping in western europe during the summer instead of one designed for the bloody arctic. in January. why some people seem to think the 'hotter the better' - beats me completely. I got taken in by them... more fool me. I wouldn't buy a natural down sleeping bag for much the same reason. some might consider snugpak to be premium... circa £100 for one isn't exactly cheap. but you get what you pay for. you can pay more.. they have some that are made in England.. their own premium range. packs small.. mine can be opened out so it can be aired, its also machine washable, which.. as I have some standards, is important to me. if I was going camping 'off season'.. say.. between November and April, I might be tempted to get a warmer sleeping bag. but its no use to me as of now... when I tend to go either in September.. or mid summer.

Mine is a cocoon shape with a double zip so it can be tighter to the body on cooler nights and opened up a tad for more air movement on warmer nights. I’m not a masochist so I don’t tend to go camping in winter, early spring or late autumn when the temperature at night might possibly drop to single or (shudder) minus figures. That has actually happened though... in June. But, I was rather high up in the french alps (obviously the best excuse ever) and wore thermals as very non-sexy Jim jams. it was so cold the tent froze. But I was toasty. look at Snugpak.

If I could have any bike... something to ride purely for pleasure, round the local lanes. it would be one of these.

you can prevent that easily. just put a 10mm socket in every drawer. sorted.

Nights, tonight, Saturday and Sunday. my 'weekend' starts at 7am on Monday and ends at 9pm Wednesday.

Years supply of 10mm sockets in a gift pack.

I wonder if sideways said that when he went dramatically sideways into the ravine on that vary same road.

I’ve been riding fi bikes since 1997. Never had to so much as think about that side of the bike. I did look after it from the fuel side though, every now and then filling with premium fuel that had a load of detergents as part of the additives pack. Aside from that - nothing. only possible downside is that the bikes battery needs to be in good condition as it takes power to prime the fuel pump and squirt fuel into the engine.

Update. https://www.femamotorcycling.eu/french-filtering/?fbclid=IwAR1W30Z3A-kOoj69bDuaIms8qGIWB-k9-kCX7gBsLtDd2A0Hzb4mV8tm_xQ

Had one yesterday. The vacuum had one of its moments and started twirling its snout in an endearingly provocative manner which for some reason gave me a craving for a nice slice of battenburg. But all I had in was some short dated Eccles cakes. start as you mean to go on, I say!!

I’m so excited by this bike that I went to the foot of our stairs where I promptly sat down and gazed, with a glazed eye into the far distance. Luckily the kettle started to whistle so I didn’t get caught up in the curtains. nice day for it.