Throttled

A builder's skip legally needs to be lit and have reflectors to be seen at night. There is no corresponding legislation for a motorbike that has a cover.

I had that last year. Fort William, through Glen Coe and home on main beam or the running lights. Right hand turns down Loch Lomond side were not much fun.

Rode Elgin to Erskine, 205 miles, on a tank, with the bike telling me it still has 95 miles to empty. There is a lot to be said for average speed cameras on the A9. It took 5 1/2 hours with two stops.

I went to Posnan in 1993. It was run down but had character and the people were friendly. There were lots of signs of the old Communist ways. Buying a postcard with a stamp was a four stage process involving at least four people at three counters, and it included wrapping the postcard in brown paper! I see from some travel shows it has come on leaps and bounds since then.

North of Scotland. Huntingtower, Blair Athol & Aberlour distillery.

This is more what I am about to do with my bike in a couple of days. What with this year being rubbish weather and low mileage, I will be, for the first time, going glamping. I cannot risk a tent, so a pod it is. It's got electricity and if the weather turns, I will be OK. So, Lossiemouth it is. Not many challenge tags in the area, but I have only been along that coast once and hardly stopped. I have ordered a camping kettle that looks like a flask and will take some food I can just open up and eat. And some beers. A friend loves the site because it is next to RAF Lossiemouth and there are lots of planes to watch.

The Black Widows I have fitted were both very loud, like WWI machine guns. The Akrapovic that came with my present bike can be very quiet below about 5000 revs.

Went for a little ride. It rained a bit once, was not too windy at one point got to 14 degrees, so the height of summer.

Of course today is not too bad and I am working. At this rate, this will by far my lowest mileage year of biking yet.

Awful. "Five motorcyclists die in two crashes near same town". So sad for the victims, the families and the emergency services who must have been struggling to cope with two bad crashes within an hour of each other. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crlrjyx0e60o "Three Ducati motorbikes, a van and a car were involved in the first crash on the A53 near Buxton at about 09:45 BST on Sunday. The bikers, all men in their 50s, were pronounced dead at the scene. Then, at about 10:20, two motorcyclists died at the scene of a crash with a car on the A6 near Tom Thorn, between Buxton and Dove Holes." Buxton is near where we had forum rallies and the roads are biker roads. I felt safe on the ride outs, everyone was sensible. They were not without incident, I slipped coming to a halt and dropped my bike during one ride out & I was not the only one.

Having lost 2 1/2 stone and gone down a dress size, I may need new denims. They were hanging off me.

A rare run in the sun, and no winds. Is this going to be the only time this year I use my armoured denims?

I regularly cross the Erskine bridge. It is a mile long and very high because of the shipyards further up the river Clyde. From my Yamaha 125 to the present Versys 1000, the wind can push me across lanes. The only solution has been to slow down and lean, me forward on to the tank and the bike into the wind. I have ridden in yellow and amber wind weather warning, but would never try a red, or when the Erskine bridge is closed to high sided vehicles.

The underpowered Fiats I have owned, have all been fun to drive, as they make you drive. I think underpowered bikes like RE do the same. I wonder if, or when they will bring out a 1000cc, 100+hp bike? Or is their main market in India and the east not really set up for bikes like that, with busy, poor roads and wondering animals?

I think riding tall bikes, with big screens and top boxes, no matter the weight, with large me, makes for a big surface area to be hit by the wind. My KLE500, Versys 650 and the 1000 have been as bad as each other.

I would recommend you get a chain listed by the insurance companies as acceptable to them. I use confused.com for quotes and they include a drop down box with a long list of options. I use the Bennets recommended and tested Milenco Coleraine 9mm.

A friend has got a Classic, the really retro one. After decades of biking, a retro bike, that is light and cheap and has good reliability, for use as an occasional fair weather ride out, has definite appeal. I got a 24 hour test ride of a 650 Interceptor, and a shorter test ride on a Scram, both of which again would make a fine occasional bike, but I ride too often and too far for them to work for me.

A thread for fart jokes. No, a thread about riding in the wind. I don't remember a year with so many days with high winds. Of all the weathers, wind is the worst to ride in. I know about the tips to stay safe, but overtaking a lorry and then being hit with such high wind I really struggled to get back into the lane, with an approaching car flashing its lights and clearly not understanding why I was not moving back as quickly as a should, windy days are now a big no from me. My Isle of Man trip back in February was foolhardy considering the high winds. At least the lorries overtaking me could see why I was going so slowly on the motorway. I think this year will be the lowest mileage year since I started this biking malarkey in 2011. All because of the wind.

Update using self scoring teo63 - 875 Fiddlesticks - 720 oldgrump - 430 JRH - 425 Nick the wanderer - 375 Mickly - 320 Throttled - 250 Mawsley - 230 Grumpy Old Git - 220 CB999 - 160 bonio - 70 _amw_ - 60 Bungleaio - 20 Hoggs - 10

Old Toll Teahouse, Linton, South of Scotland. Closed down. Is this a theme?

My last few helmets have all been modified by me removing a layer of padding from around the cheeks. Take the liner out, and you should be able to get at the padding, which comes in layers to create the different sizes. I appear to be a size bigger about the mouth, so there is no safety issue to removing that layer. As for glasses and steaming up, I find a visor that can be left slightly open is the best way, otherwise I can cope without glasses, so I just carry a case in my jacket pocket. I have not found an anti-fog coating for glasses that can cope with inside a helmet in the rain.

Gave it its first proper clean of the year and took it for a ride. Next job is fit the quadlock I got for my birthday. A virus has meant my bike has been used only twice in the past 5 weeks.

I would recommend Rev'it, as they are a Dutch company and make clothing for tall Dutch people.

Just sold a car and worked out the depreciation. Over 4 and a half years, £37.75 a month. That is less than it cost to fuel it. It used to be the single biggest cost of car ownership. To make that even more remarkable, it was a Fiat Tipo that carwow reported as being the biggest depreciating car of all. Insuring it was the biggest monthly cost. Car and bike prices are nuts, way higher than in the past, but it appears there is an upside with the lack of depreciation.

Condensation and how long will a wet bike take to dry, are the enemy. Only an insulated shed will let a bike dry quickly and not end up with condensation. Anything other than that and where ever the bike is stored, I would recommend a rust proofing like ACF50.