Bungleaio

Mixed emotions for me with Pidcock, I bought my street triple from Pidcock back in 2018 and they were great. Went to their BMW dealership in 2021 made an appointment to test a GS for a few days later but when I got there they just asked me to sit next to the coffee machine, after half an hour of waiting the salesman went over to the receptionist and said to her that he was too busy with a potential sale so get me another coffee and he'll check my license and give me the keys when he'd got time. I got up and walked out. They called me a couple of days later to see if I wanted to come back and try again. I didn't. Tried a Tiger in 2023 from Triumph with the same sales guy that sold me my Street Triple, liked it and was prepared to do a deal but they said they might be getting one in a few months so try calling them to see if they had got one. I called another dealer and they got it from the factory in a couple of days. Also tried a Multistrada from Ducati, I liked it but they weren't prepared to do any discounts which made it unaffordable for me. I asked about a used one and they said just have a look on their website and see if there's any that I liked the look of then call them to speak to them about it. Sorry that people have lost their jobs but they were a bit of a weird bunch.

Glad to hear you've got there, don't worry about what you can't do very well at the moment, you're learning and no one is perfect from the off. All you need to do is be aware of what you aren't very good at and try and improve. Most of all enjoy the process, and welcome to being one of us.

Please never change

Your attitude is great, so many have an unwillingness to accept criticism which really hampers the learning process. Enjoy saturday, I'm sure you'll have a great day and come out with the CBT pass.

After being stranded once I always carry a kit, I've since used that a couple of times too.

Innov k7 for me. Easy to fit and works well. They have a sale on at the moment bring it down to £250

There’s a shame to hear but we’ll never go there. Schloss for life!

I normally do a bit of a day by day write up for these but this year I stuck with the group and it was all about the riding rather than off wandering about by myself. Despite the rain it was still a fantastic week, the roads were amazing as always and it was great to meet the new guys as well as catch up with the regulars. This was my 3rd year on the trot going to the schloss and 4th time in total and it's the highlight of the year. It never gets boring as there are so many roads that it doesn't feel like we are on the same loops over and over. The only bad thing this year was the lack of mayonnaise but its a worthwhile sacrifice for the extra riding.

Back home and feeling tired. It was another fantastic week with more rain than we'd have wanted but it added to the experience. I will put some more narrative up when I'm feeling more normal.

Panniers are down from the roof. Not long to go now. (traditional upside down photo below)

Experience is the key element along with the ability to learn from your mistakes. I have no formal training but through just having a go I feel I’m fairly competent now. I did start early through and was always taking things apart when I was young. I remember my mum going nuts when I’d taken her radio apart and washed all the components when I was 6 or 7. Have a look on facebook marketplace for a none runner or something cheap and take it apart and try and put it together. There’s loads of code to help with the rebuild or if completely necessary just take the bits to the tip and call it quits.

Headwinds I’m fine with it’s blustery side winds I hate

I started the year with good intentions and went out on the 1st Jan, not done anything on the challenge since!

The shroom kit but it didn’t quite seal it. I’ve now put a wiggly worm in which I think has done the trick. I got a small kit on Amazon so that will live in my top box now. The tyres felt great though and quieter than the original tyres.

No good deed goes unpunished as they say so I took the opportunity of going to the mother in laws to fit her new ring camera as a good excuse to scrub the new tyres in a bit that I fitted the other week, I hadn’t ridden on them yet. About 35 miles in I get the tpms light come up for the back tyre. I monitor it as it can come on now and then but it’s dropping about 0.1 bar per mile. I get to her house to be greeted with the sight of this in the tyre. Thankfully I have a repair kit in the top box which sorted me out for the return journey. It’s still leaking a bit so I’ll have another go at sorting it tomorrow

They are. Trail Attack 3, I have no idea how they ride yet as I've not been out but they feel very grippy to touch.

Finished dashcam, got new tyres fitted. I used the centre stand, axel stands and some beer to balance the bike whilst the wheels were off. Here's some upside down photos for you

I know I won't bother with a go pro, I barely remember to charge the comms in my helmet. This is fit and forget so I can't go wrong. I have dashcams in my car too, as I'm on my own most of the time it's useful to have a witness.

2k 30 probably but I only want it as a dashcam for use as evidence after an accident. I won't be making videos with it

After procrastinating about getting a camera system for far too long I finally bought one. The new innov k7, I used to have a k2 on my gs. Fitted the rear camera this evening, I’ll finish the installation tomorrow

I wish I was there for that. Proud of you.

I am yet to do the day in Luxembourg, this year is the year!

It's also essential to shout some sort of profanity whilst undertaking an emergency stop.

You could also get extra lessons from the riding school to get a CBT plus type experience or just go the whole hog and do the direct access training for the A/A1//A2 license depending on your age

I recommend everyone has trips away on their own as well as going together, especially if you want to do something that the other doesn't.