Breezin

+1 on BT46 Battlax. Absolutely superb tyre, wet or dry.

I couldn't get them in a hurry when setting off touring last summer, so put on Avon Road Riders instead. I think the Bridgestone have a tiny bit more grip... not much in it though. 

On 09/10/2022 at 20:51, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

So how do you round a windward mark? 

The staff will do that, old chap.

On 08/10/2022 at 11:52, Breezin said:

You can share your location on Google Maps.

I use it when the missus and I are taking a long trip with me on the bike and her in the car.

Brilliant! I did not know that!

You can share your location on Google Maps.

I use it when the missus and I are taking a long trip with me on the bike and her in the car.

Regarding cost... I'm just back from a week in northern Italy. Looked at renting a bike but they're crazily expensive, so did a mini-tour by train instead. (Italian trains are brilliant, apart from the strikes!)

Accommodation is mediocre, to put it mildly, and it costs a bloody fortune. 

If it's programmed to protect the car and driver at the expense of the rider, is that a glitch or a feature?

I use Alpine MotoSafe, Tour version. Lost one recently and had to get them again because they make a huge difference.

Since we're all fessing up, I'm 63.  I only occasionally get a sore arse on my Interceptor with its infamous plank for a seat.

My wife and I did divert to the nearest Decathlon when in Spain recently, after a memorably painful long motorway run, to buy gel cushion bicycle shorts. These improved things noticeably, if not totally. As a bonus, I was able to tell her that, yes, her bum did look big in it!

But for the most part, riding off motorways, with plenty of shifting in the saddle, I need petrol or -- you guessed it -- a pee, before an issue arises in the rear end.

PS @ltf: what are mid controls?

I like it! I'd like to have a blem on it but then give it back to the sucker who paid that for it.

46 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

It'd been like that for long before New Labour. Probably since Clem Atlee in fact.

I don't doubt it.

But, to go back to the point about public transport, for the concept of getting rid of cars and SUVs (not motorbikes, obviously) to work, there needs to be a political commitment to spending on public transport. 

20 hours ago, S-Westerly said:

Lo these many years ago when I lived in Weardale  the council was solidly Labour our MP was Labour and Tony Blair was prime minister. Our public transport system was utterly crap. Of course my bit of the Dale was the upper part where the farmers and such tended to be Tory voters so we generally got crapped on by the Labour Council.  Didn't do any better under Tory government though, still had crap public transport.

Not to get too political, but wasn't that 'New' Labour, aka Not Labour?

2 hours ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

"Tory loons" is grammatically incorrect since it employs a superfluous adjective. 

Lately, this is very true!

On 17/08/2022 at 06:17, S-Westerly said:

One of the many problems with these inane ideas is the total lack of effective public transport in rural or even semi rural areas. Some green loons would like us to go back to the days when serfs stayed in their villages for their entire lives.

Isn't it typically Tory loons who do away with public transport options?

I dropped my gear lever down several notches the other day... massive improvement in shifts, both up and down, but going up through the gearbox is especially slick now. New chain added recently also has made things super-smooth.

Woke up a bit grumpy and sad, so went off for a two-hour jolly in the hills and came back with a smile on my face. A motorbike working as it's supposed to is one of life's special pleasures.

The claim  that loud pipes save lives has never been demonstrated scientifically,  and the few studies out there indicate otherwise.

I saw/heard a pocket rocket blasting everyone's ears just today. By his posey body language on the bike he clearly thought he was the bees' knees.

I just thought,  what a prick.

4 hours ago, sm0129 said:

We're early 1980's Japanese bikes reliable? The reason I ask is I have a house in France and whenever I am there I would love to go for a blast on a bike.

Your question is past tense, and the answer is that yes they were. That Japanese magic worked then, as now.

My beloved Seca XJ 750 never missed a beat, but still I sold it too soon to buy a fuggin car. All my friends' inline fours ran brilliantly.

Just don't buy a  Suzuki 250 twin from that era... rubbish electrics.

Interceptor 650.

A2 legal, loves to tour.

On 12/07/2022 at 19:18, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

First casualty of post modernism....the myth that things always get better. They won't unless we make them, and our current political and social trend is towards leaving it to someone else. Then wondering why the world is less good than it used to be. 

 

Despite the problems of the 70's back then we still believed we would fix all the problems. We had faith that our technology and cleverness would build a better world. Unfortunately that very optimism proved to be part of the problem.

While I'm reluctant to get into a political debate on a motorcycle forum that deserves better...

Progress in human affairs is no myth. It was very real in the post-war period ... witness the New Deal in the US and the enviable NHS in Britain. 

It's dismantling began with Reagan and Thatcher, continuing with Clinton and Blair.

Things getting better is only a myth if we let it, and continue to vote like morons for austerity monkeys and flag shaggers.

Went up and down (actually down and up) Spain two-up and with full soft luggage last month. A few times crossing mountains I could have done with a bit more poke; otherwise, it was brilliant.

As the review says, it's not just about peak power, but how it's delivered.

All done. Phew!

Thanks again for the sound advice. Lesson learned: RTFM!

51 minutes ago, onesea said:

I hate it when people say that, means I will feel like it’s my fault if it goes wrong…

Of course!

Thanks onesea. Shall try that... hopefully it'll do the trick.

So, just to continue the saga... I measured the fit put on the shorter length, as advised. All good.

Then I went and overpressed one of the rivets, and it's popped through the side plate.

Any suggestions to rescue this chain? Will it work if I push the pins through with the breaker and fit a new master link? Any help greatly appreciated... don't really feel like forking out for a new chain.

38 minutes ago, billy sugger said:

You won't get much kip with a chain under the mattress

You're on fire tonight Billy.

Well, nothing has gone pear-shaped just yet. I've measured it up on the bike, and it looks like it should be cut at 99 to add the extra link.

But I'm gonna sleep on it.