fullscreenaging

18 hours ago, Gerontious said:

Its not just about people who didn't know each other, aside from names on a forum.

We've had people come who only recently passed their full test and were still nervous riders. people  who had nobody local to them to ride with, no biker mates. people who had been thinking about going to Europe but never got past the thinking stage due to being nervous about going on their own, or their mates weren't interested. or they couldn't afford to pay for an organised tour or were nervous about the itinerary. or sharing a room with a stranger. (their own room is guaranteed and relatively inexpensive). of course once we arrive then they are free to do what they want. I ride every day, but we have had people who joined in a few times and broke that up with a bit of solo tourism. visiting the local city. or just having a day off walking round the village or countryside. Im not going to argue with that, its their holiday after all.

All the rides are geared around the 'weakest' rider.. and I'm not being patronising. we've had people along with very small fuel tanks so I keep them in mind so they don't get stressed about running out. or people who just aren't used to fast riding, (or riding on the right) or as part of a group. I usually ask one of the regulars to keep an eye on them when I can't do so myself. I don't worry about the regulars at all.. they know what they are doing by now and what to do if things go pear shaped.

We all get on like a house on fire. there are no strangers. Ive been away with these guys as a group.. and as individuals. because Ive come to like and respect them. last year I went to the Dolomites with one of them...  he came away with us for the first time, maybe 10 years ago or so. he has a nasty habit of breaking down and managed to do it twice on one trip.. but, no drama. The only drama we ever get is when a drama queen comes along. there have been a couple.

 

But, this lad (smallfrowne) had a request, he wanted to go to Slovenia. and so we did last June. and he managed to break down just once. no drama.

You paint a pretty picture. 
 

This was not my experience when I went in 2015 my first trip abroad. 
You claimed you were not ‘organising’ the trip but you’d done it a few times and if anyone wanted to come along then sort the bookings etc yourself. Absolutely no problem with that. 
 

The issue I had is that you seemed to relish pretending to play the pied piper. 
I wasn’t enjoying the erratic riding and certainly didn’t enjoy the instance when you decided to force the group to make an illegal U turn on a German Motorway because you didn’t want to create a detour on your sat nav.

This was when I decided to pay for a sat nav app for my phone. I set the hotel as a favourite so I knew I could get beck there on my own if needed. 
What really opened my eyes was when you refused to provide me the day’s destinations when I asked. What was that all about?!

The reason I decided to travel back on my own is because I knew what was coming….

Although I was nervous about undertaking the trip on my own I knew I only had myself to look after. I was so pleased that another one of the guys said he would come with me. 
As as for you trying to persuade him not to, and you confronting me on the morning of the trip back telling me not leave him as he was slower than me. 
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing because 3 days earlier you left one of the guys (smallfrowne) that broke down in the dark, in the middle of a forest, with intermittent service. So you didn’t miss your tea. Who was the first one to say they were not leaving him in the middle of nowhere? Me. (Thanks to the other guys that decided to stay back, I can’t remember who you were)
Good job really as he would have never been picked up by his recovery and it was lucky a guy in a massive 4x4 and big trailer passed us and took him to the nearest bike shop. 
Anyway I never left the guy that decided to travel back with me and said it was a pleasure travelling back. 
it took me 12 hours to my door from leaving and I heard there other group took a hell of a lot longer than that with more break downs and meanderings. 
 

The group of guys I met where great and although I had been out for days out with you over the years before this trip and we got on well, something happened on this trip that put an end all that. 
 

I have not been abroad on the bike since.

38 minutes ago, KiwiBob said:

More prep time needed than for a sarnie but you could try a wrap? ... 

Agree. Anything in a wrap. You can even put the filling in and roll it so it looks like a Swiss roll. 
have you tried wrapping your sandwiches individually in grease proof paper or such like then wrapping in tin foil. Keep the sandwich in the wrapping while eating and this will stop the contents going everywhere, or at least massively reduce the risk. 

I thought it was illegal to eat and drive? 
 

11 hours ago, S-Westerly said:

Yesterday I had 10 missed deliveries apparently which given where I am is physically impossible I just deleted. Boils my pee though as I have limited Internet access when I'm away and having it clogged with spam is really irritating. 

Instead of deleting them. Move them to your junk folder. You will never receive another one with that exact address in you inbox again. 
Also, if you think it’s dodgy move it to your junk before you open it. If it is dodgy the sender will not know it’s been opened if you open it in your junk folder. 
mid you open it in your inbox the sender knows it’s a live account and you’ll just get more. 
This does not mean you won’t get any future emails of the same ilk as the scammers know all this and change their email address by one letter or digit each time, so they still slip through. 

That’s for 650. iirc Throttled has the 1000.  

I still think it’ll be fine. I run heated grips, innov camera, Sat nag and have my phone plugged into the power port (that I assume is in your VK1) permanently so I can listen to my playlists without the battery dying. I also swap the phone out to charge the comma system on the move should that die at any point on my trip. 
 

EDIT: found this. 

The quietest lid I’ve owned is my AGV sport modular. 
 

I’ve had HJC RPHA, Shoei Neotec, Arai etc. 

Also the best ear plugs I’ve found are Loop with the little 5db insert. It cuts outs the wind noise frequency that had given me tinnitus. 

Yes

A Christmas dinner is a roast dinner in our house, of course, Yorkshire puds. 

I’m not keen on Turkey so it was slow cooked roast beef and gammon done in separate slow cookers. Both were absolutely gorgeous. Even though my wife is a veggie, she does the most amazing meats. 
She’s veggie not by principle, but because she doesn’t like the taste of any meat. She’s weird!

My uncle once bought a CAT N Harley Sportster for £6000 that was only 3 months old back 2014. 
The previous owner was showing his mate the bike on the roadside when he put it in gear and proceeded to flip it for some reason

Anyway, my Uncle sorted the damage for just over a grand. It had screaming eagles on it but he replaced those. They were ridiculous loud!!! 
I would go and have a look at it and if it adds up, buy it. 

£760 bonus plus £35 Amazon gift voucher. 
I’ve taken my last shift and a bit off as holiday so I finish at 2am on Wed morning and back on the 3rd after shutdown. 
Decent really. 

and they say bikers are one of the most vulnerable road users….. unless you ride a Harley 

https://www.facebook.com/reel/493447105932437?fs=e&s=TIeQ9V

Only roads you can’t access are motorways 

I don’t think he liked the answers and doubt he’ll be back. 
 

Another one lost wonder

10 hours ago, Throttled said:

Kawasaki said the same about some Versys, that they could not take a top box and panniers. I ignored that, had both, and carried a pillion and had no issues.

They didn’t. I bought the GT and it’ comes kitted out with top box and panniers. 
 

Top box is not for the SX. 

Have a look at the advertising videos and catalogue etc. 

9 hours ago, Bender said:

Counter steering is something you do without thinking, you learn it mostly as a kid riding a pushbike, if you can go round a corner at anything approaching 20 you have to do it or your in the hedge  

It’s all about being conscious of it. If you know you’re doing it you can control it with better input. 
 

For instance, you are starting to drift wide on a right hander. The correct input is to push the bar to tighten your turn by making the bike lean more. (I would also increase my speed slightly to use the rear to help me round)
If you didn’t know to do this consciously there are loads of incorrect inputs you could do that could end up badly. 

I think you should look at a LOMO dry bag rather than splash out on a top box that in my opinion will ruin the looks of the SX. 
 

https://www.lomo.co.uk/product-category/dry-bags-boxes/

They are brilliant and will fit nicely on the  pillion seat. You will get loads more in that than a top box. Also invest in some rok straps

https://www.sportsbikeshop.co.uk/motorcycle_parts/content_prod/339583

EDIT: You’re ok with panniers by the way. 

4 hours ago, JRH said:

Less restrictions if drone is under 250g BUT if it is fitted with a camera then same restrictions as if over 250g. 
I think the restrictions cover all aircraft, drones, gliders and powered over 250g.

No

Under 250 with a camera and less restriction than a drone over 250

If under 250 you can fly over uninvolved people, but you can’t if over
If over 250 you keep a horizontal distance of 30 meters from people when take off and landing TOAL. When flying in the open category. 

There are different categories and subcategories to get your head around. 
 

It’s on the CAA website 

17 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

I have been told that anyone flying a drone or model aircraft these days needs a CAA certificate. 

 

Way back in the day of 35MHz transmitters the range was way further than you could see it anyway.

If the drone is not a toy then you need to purchase a drone ID for £10 a year. You can also take a multiple choice online test to acquire a flyer ID which is free and lasts for 5 years. It’s very easy and all the answers are in the drone code on the CAA website. 
There are less restrictions on drones that weigh under 250g but still rules to follow such as keeping your drone in line of sight at all times and making sure you fly safely at all times. 
The height restriction is 400ft max as @manxie49 has stated.  
The DJI drones record every flight so if the worst should happen then evidence is there. 

3 hours ago, onesea said:

That's is absolute bollocks they will use any accidents on your car or bike to put your insurance up on the other on both regardless...

I was referring to the part of the post that stated the OP thought that having a good amount of NCD on her car insurance would help in securing a low first bike insurance quote. 
 

Principal

Tesco

Compare the market. (Don’t go with the top 2 companies that give you the lowest quote unless you do some Google research) It usually ends in tears if you need to claim. 
 

Unfortunately having many years experience driving a car makes no difference when insuring a bike. Just another way to screw you over. 
You can get a single policy to cover you for bike and car, but unless you get a bike to correspond to car insurance running out you will take a hit on your NCD and lose money by cancelling in order to take out a new policy. 

 

I found it interesting. 
 

I think the camera angle on some of the clips was a bit out (too much sky)

Everyone has to start somewhere. I think you did  pretty good. 
Looks like you had a great weekend! 
 

Nice bikes. 

13 hours ago, bonio said:

You should know it mate.
It was something like, "Oi you, Two Soups, shut up and pass the... " don't remember exactly what it was that was wanted.

Happy days!
 

Your memory is worse than mine

It was because you were having everyone else’s soup that they didn’t like/want. 
So you were having ‘Two Soups’ a night. 

Good write up guys. Looks like you had a great time. 

This is where @bonio’s other nickname was born.
 

Edit: The schnitzel was amazing when I went. 

You’ve only been there 4 days…