Gerontious

Don’t worry about it, there are 3 hotels at or next door to, Eureka. There’s also a premier inn at the tunnel plus several others within 10 or so miles. It’s never been a problem in the past and I don’t see why it will be a problem this year. Leave it to the start of the summer when we have a clearer idea of how things are going to turn out.

Dont panic. to get both shots before the off you have until around the 13th of June. so can delay until that date at least. the first shot is followed by the second in 12 weeks or less. my own is 11 weeks to the day from the first. so mark it on your calendar. talk to your specialist and tell them the score.

When you have the vaccine you get proof handed to you. Keep that safe because I have a feeling it will become very important further down the line i have a feeling it will be something the hotel will need to see and perhaps the border guard at the french gate. we should know more by the start of summer. looks like this

Maybe im missing something, but I see no mention off any of this in the current motorcycle MOT manual. in fact.. as far as I can tell, the only lights on the dash that are checked is the indicators.. and you can get round that if the front indicators are visible. are you sure you're not confusing the bike MOT with cars. current manual. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-motorcycles if im wrong then call me a fool... but please point out the relevant sections so I don't make an idiot of myself again in future.

so, just been on confused.com and found a quote that includes roadside for £122 + a considerably lower compulsory excess (350 down from 750. so... thats now my baseline. I have until the 12th to sort it out.

Oddly enough my brand new bike was cheaper to insure than my 18yr old BMW. I’m guessing this increase might have something to do with a huge theft risk for these bikes. Not a week goes by without some poor sod asking to “keep an eye out for this” kinds of posts. I had a look at comparison sites, proper look tonight at work and clearly Devitt no longer has the competitive edge. I think they rely a lot on inertia to get people to accept increases like this.

just had my renewal for the Africa Twin Adventure Sport. an increase from £133 to £147. with Devitt. I have until the middle of march to sort an alternative. I dont think its unreasonable to expect a decrease.. or remaining the same. I will be looking at the competitors later and see what extras i can get for the same kind of money.. this is just a bare bones FC renewal with no extras.

you would if you were on your own and the bike had gone over with the tank lower than the wheels. especially with the tank lower than the wheels. any large bike in that kind of position is almost impossible to lift upright. Its a daft situation to put yourself in.. but people are daft. some poeple use a winch, though its a bit more common for them to use something that operates a little like a car jack... just enough to get the bike level.. or over that tipping point where the tank is just above the wheels and so easier to lift upright. this bike is 226kg unloaded.

The internet is crammed with bikes that have had all of these 'upgrades' done, there is nothing new here at all. (aside from the winch) everything has been available for sale since I bought my bike. Only thing you are unlikely to see this side of the pond are the Jesse cases, which are expensive to import. They are the true original corned beef can case. And atone time the only ones you could buy. Give me a few grand and I could buy everything on the list (aside from the above) this week!! Apparently the Americans think a winch is a must have.. but then they have environments where it might prove useful I guess. One thing they fail to mention is the tank.. the standard bike has, by modern standards a fairly small tank, 18L and thats the one thing a lot of owners of the standard bike complain about.. and so extra fuel 'bottles' are necessary, especially in the US and Australia.

One big lesson from my trip down to Italy last September: as long as Covid remains a thing there is no absolute certainty about anything. Also, I've never been a fan of last minute surprises. Brexit has put a spanner in the works too. as outsiders there is no absolute right to visit the EU. If a new variant appeared here, its very possible Germany might slam the door shut. so could the EU as a whole.. but thats absolute worst case. But if anyone were to say NO, its always likely to be the Germans, their politicos just don't like taking risks. so yes, it makes sense to have a plan B. which I'll keep under wraps until we know what's what.

Booked my crossing and return today. early, but not too early. we will be staying about 12 miles from the Tunnel and my alarm for that morning will be set for 7am. So.. thats just about everything done. Room booked for an overnight near the Tunnel.. which will nicely break in half the almost 500 mile ride from my front door to our hotel in Neuerburg. see how things are nearer the time and perhaps book our normal 'meet and greet' meal for that evening. Not something I need to think about yet. Rooms booked at the Hotel in Germany.. no deposit required. Double room/half board/inc €45 (or less) per night.. but bear in mind that the hotel restaurant is closed on the Sunday and Monday evenings.. so we will have a walk into the village. Crossing for both ways booked. we arrive in France at 11:00am local time and are back in the UK at 5:00pm on our return day. I've checked the Nurburgring for opening days and we have 3 opportunities during our week. on the Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. So.. that can easily be added to the itinerary. It's worth visiting just for the spectacle even if you don't want to ride it. (I refuse) Things are rough in Germany right now.. but I'm very confident that there will be no barriers to us travelling by the end of the summer holidays. I do have a 'plan B' ready to roll if it comes to it though.... which will mean dusting off your tents. but, I don't think it will come to that. only mentioned so you are aware. I'm guessing there will be a need for proof of vaccination for travel. but, we will have a clearer idea on the 'rules' as we get towards summer and the various countries begin too emerge from lockdown. And thats about it. less than 28 weeks to plough through.

my own strategy is to do the easy stuff myself and take the bike to the dealership for the difficult work thats beyond my skill levels. the savings I make will help off-set the high bills further down the line. if a good Independent appears on the radar then I'll consider that too. fortunately I can do this as in own the bike outright. I'm under no contract to use the dealership. one of my better decisions, buying the bike with a bank loan.

ignore it then.... seems my earlier reply was seen as a joke. but it wasn't. this is the usual fix for this precise situation. though in days past people would go a step further and remove the bulb from the panel.

Exciting

stick a bit of tape over the light.

doesn't matter. im unlikely to ever be forced to filter through French traffic. if they choose to change their laws thats their business. and obviously something British visitors will have to abide by. but all that aside. how on earth will they police this on the Périphérique. I don't see how they can.. so at the end of the day its probably just tokenism in all the larger cities. more of a concern in smaller towns where the police might have the time to actually enforce it. Paris? not a chance.

not for me it isn't. a 4,000 mile per year limit means for the duration of the plan, this check never happens. it may be this limit suits some people.

fairly normal for modern large capacity bikes. with some exceptions due to easier access. Honda allows 8hrs for the valve check (etc) service on my bike.

Do they have dramatic music on their phone?

Cheers Ian

I do use rescue, but there are times when i cant be bothered with waiting. if one of my group had a puncture, I would fix it 'on the spot' rather than disrupt the ride while waiitng for a repairman to turn up. I generally take a puncture kit. tyre pump. and the doings needed for chain adjustment and lubrication. On my previous bike I would always have spare bulbs and the tools needed to replace. new bike is all LED so thats one less potential problem. But, for me, the single best thing I carry is my multitool. https://tinyurl.com/yaossold also.. this post is from an American and there is something he may see that we never see here in europe. signs like these.

Its for the original Honda Plastic panniers.. which I dont have. so is irrelevant for me. The letter about the fuel filter recall arrived today. same as below. Apparently they will empty the tank and give it a clean/rinse out, then replace the entire fuel filter assembly. takes 3 hours.

How you do it depends, in my view a lot on the attitude you have to your bike, especially if its a keeper. If it is a keeper, one of the best additions you can make is to add a power socket, with a 15A fuse direct to the battery. Having this makes all sorts of things possible. you can connect a battery minder to it, with the correct plug.. so no messing about with the battery. You can connect a tyre compressor to it directly too. these can be quite small. or with a USB plug, use one of these lithium compressors.. and have the ability to keep it fully charged. it also gives you somewhere to connect your phone to keep it charged, or a sat nav. or even heated clothing in the winter. such a handy thing to have on any bike.

If you have any current debts being paid.. make big efforts to pay them off, or reduce them as much as possible. especially credit cards.