Yorky

I've changed mine as well

How do you know that you've never seen and unmarked bike??

+1 on the Halifax Clarity. I too use mine for all card purchases when abroad, fuel, meals etc etc, due to the lack of fees, plus they give a decent exchange rate so don't try to recoup the lack of fees in a sneaky manner. And likewise I just pay it off as soon as I get home

You ever been to Donny ????

Get the grinder out and cut the extra inch off, that'll tell you.

I might see you in Slovenia I'm doing Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Germany, Netherlands. Starting in 26 days time

BMW do a modular on which the chin bar can be removed completely. Won't be a cheap option though.

I'd hazard a guess at the fact that you give your location as Darlington

The Ninja SX1000 is not a tourer. I know because I fell for the sports-tourer hype myself ( 2nd time so that shows how bright I am). I bought one new in 2019 and traded it in last year with around 4000 miles on the clock. It's neither a sports bike nor a tourer and doesn't do either roll very well in my opinion. Cracking engine but the ergonomics just don't work for either of it's hyped rolls.

Why not???? When things go wrong it still hurts as much falling of a 125cc moped as falling of a 1000cc superbike.

That's a lovely road. If you do it again on your own, when you meet the Castleton Road head for Castleton and then take the 1st left. It takes you over Kildale Moor and eventually into Stokesley, another cracker

If you are heading back up from the south, taking in Barcelona, and heading back to Santander then I would suggest that you take in the N260. That will get you from the east as far west as the Pamplona area and is a cracking road.

I'm also a shortarse, about same as you at 5'6" and not long legged. I bought the R1250RT last year and am very happy with it. Yes, it's quite a heavy bike, but all the weight is low down. When you are touring it is all day comfy and a very capable mile muncher, cruising effortlessly at legal limits, even on the Autobahn . A couple of years ago I had a Tiger 800, that I found, was top heavy and a bit gutless and didn't offer what I like in a bike. As stated there a lot's of options so best go out and give them all a try.

Yes, 3 of us have just got back from a few days trail riding in France. We put all the bike fuel on one credit card, 9 transactions over 4 days, and each time they ringfenced 120 euros. It has all started to sort itself out now though.

My opinion, for what it's worth, is the one fixing on either side is nowhere near enough. Imagine the leverage on the rack with the weight of the topbox and contents. It would certainly need modifying in some shape or form but without actually seeing the bike I don't know where that could be done. ( I wouldn't imagine the indicator fixing points being strong enough, but as said without seeing/knowing the bike it's impossible to say)

I'd hazard a guess that that may depend on where you're starting from.

If you have it showing distance to the foot surely the numbers will be changing faster than you can read them??

Yes, mine are the 40ltr and the 30ltr Dry Bag Holdall. Unfortunately I bought the 40ltr first and had a lot of unused space in it. The 30ltr was ideal for myself for a 10 day trip. I simply tied it to the rear seat using 2 of the aforementioned Rokstraps.

Take a look at Lomo bags. Sensible money, 100% waterproof and various sizes to choose from. I have both the 40ltr and the 30ltr. The 30ltr is ample for me. When it comes to strapping them to your bike get some Rokstraps, far superior to bungees.

Well that's three luddites so far so I reckon we're winning

A lump hammer and a ball peen. But no one else will agree

I have an optimate connected to my 1250. It's been on it since around October and no problems.

Take it out and put a bit of silicone grease on it. If you don't have that use a bit of washing up liquid.

Buy a phone holder and use Waze or similar.

Well something certainly doesn't tally. As Bender states a vehicle is logged into the system as soon as an MOT test starts and the pass/fail is logged instantly upon completion. The screenshot that you posted is from the official GOV. website I assume??