Throttled

Jacket - https://www.revitsport.com/gb_en/motorcycle-jacket-poseidon-3-gtx-black Trousers - https://www.revitsport.com/gb_en/motorcycle-pants-poseidon-3-gtx-black Dutch brand Rev'it!, who I had never heard of when I went into Infinity Motorcycles in Glasgow to replace my 11 year old Hein Gericke goretex jacket and trousers, produce a wide range of kits, from mid to high end prices. The Poseidon 3 jacket and trousers cost a cool £1330 with a small discount as I had some vouchers from past purchases. At least, this purchase gives me vouchers that I can use to replace summer gloves for pretty much nothing. I am 6'2", weigh 15 1/2 stone and fitted the 3XL jacket and 2XL trousers. Being a Dutch brand, I fitted the regular length. There is also short and long, long being for those tall Dutch men, short for anyone under 6'. The jacket is slightly loose without the thermal liner and had enough space with the thermal liner for another thermal layer. Slightly loose helps summer venting. Since the jacket and trousers are laminated goretex rather than a goretex lining, opening the huge chest and leg vents means air gets through to the inside without interruption. For cold weather, there is a storm collar that zips round the neck. The cuffs have large velcro straps to get a very tight fit. Smaller vents in the upper arms and back and a clip so the collar can be held open, allow lots of air flow. The front pockets are huge. The two lower ones have two stud clips, flaps and no zip, that allow a hand to pushed inside without having to open them. The chest one has a zip. There is a huge back pocket that I keep the storm collar in, but it could much more, that has a flap and velcro. The left sleeve has a pocket at the cuff, handy to keep a bank card. Inside there is a pocket for a wallet that means the zip does not need to be undone and if the zip is undone, there are two more large pockets. There are supposed to be waterproof, as all are inside the goretex lamination, but I cannot confirm that, yet. There is a short and long option to zip jacket to trousers. The short one is easy, the long one requires assistance or zip it up and then put it on. Protection ratings for the outer fabric and armour (only the back protector is not standard and it is available for £40) are good. I cannot review that, or how good the small reflective strips are. This is a hot weather review, after a day's ride in 20 to 27 degrees, with a long stretch stuck in traffic. With every vent open, the heat was tolerable at creeping speeds and at anything over 30mph, the airflow was fine. By the end of nearly 4 hours, my tee shirt was not sweaty. The main vents are flaps on the chest and thighs that can be unzipped for a bit of airflow, or the velcro undone and the flap pulled back and clipped into place. My lower arm got warm, as even with short cuff summer gloves, as not much air gets up the cuffs and my back, where the body armour rests against it. The skin is against a thin lining that is see through, which does stop skin sticking to the fabric. The fabric itself feels stiff and it gets very warm, but the kit is black. Maybe the lighter colour scheme would be better? I don't know. I was less sweaty than when I would ride in the heat in the Hein Gericke, goretex lined jacket and trousers. At motorway speeds, all vents open, the airflow was brilliant and there are adjustable straps so it does not start to flap about. Hopefully this will last like my Hein Gericke did, which means it will see me till I am nearly 70 years old!

South Scotland tags at Ayrshire Food Hub Dumfries House Lodge Culzean Castle Two more pubs, equine, the White Horse Wildcard, the Fox and Willow

I have a gel seat, and still use the airhawk!

Having tried lots of bikes and seats, Airhawk is the only long term touring fix that works for backside discomfort. How are you with your hips and knees? I lowered the pegs on one bike and that stopped a lot of discomfort.

The lining in my 11 year old Hein Gericke jacket has frayed. The velcro at the neck and wrists has always been a bit too short and I am fed up with damp wrists and neck. So, it has been replaced with a Rev'it! Poseidon jacket and trousers. Dropping not far off what I paid for my first bike is scary, but the Hein Gericke was expensive at the time and lasted years of daily use in all weathers. I don't commute on the bike any more, so this should add years to the kit. At least I get vouchers worth enough to replace my ageing Frank Thomas vented summer gloves for free. I am looking forward to having laminated goretex, the jacket and trousers not taking hours to dry and vents that do not have a lining in the way. The far longer velcro on the wrists and an optional storm collar should eliminate getting soaked.

I see @Fiddlesticks had a pillion. In the past, pillions could also get points, Throttled Jnr picked up a few when he would come out with me.

Me too. I was genuinely nervous about such a big ride out and camping, after a large gap. I feel far more confident after getting a big ride a few weeks ago, when I was able to get away. I now need to get the camping kit out and even watched a video last night to remind myself how to put the tent up. It is only now, after a getting a big ride under my belt (five days getting as far north as the tip of Lewis in the outer Hebrides) that I have realised just how out of practice I was to and to what extent I had lost my nerve. Littlecat is right, between personal circumstances and the knock on effect of the pandemic and not riding much, I am not too surprised this year's rally has a smaller attendance. Well done for all those who do go, and GOG for organising it. I will move heaven and earth to ensure I can come to next years.

I am getting new textiles and spent time at Infinity and J&S trying on various jackets and trousers. Sizing is a joke. A 2XL jacket from Dainese just about fitted, but I needed help to get it off. I know the staff say fit needs to be snug to keep armour in the right place, but sorry, I plan to need the armour 0.0001% of the time and to keep me safe, I prefer a looser fit. That way my movements are not restricted and I can layer up in winter (which gives a snugger fit) or have better ventilation in summer (so I get less tired, hot and bothered). So long the knee armour is not at my shins, it will do. I recommend a looser fit, with the exception of leathers for racing/track days, where accidents are far more likely and speeds high, so that is the time for a snug fit.

My nemesis road is Glen Garry. It either rains, is freezing or chocked with traffic. Glen Coe on the way up north was so busy, I twice came to a halt as tour coaches tried to fit into the lay-bys.

Yesterday I had my worst ride ever. I knew it was going to be a challenge, riding from Lewis home, via the Uig ferry. I left my friend's house on Lewis at 1430. The first part included a ride over the A859, Bunavoneader, a mountain pass in Harris, in some very heavy winds, battling to keep the bike on the road and away from the bastarding sheep. The ferry crossing to Uig on Skye was fine, arriving at 18.00, as was the ride across Skye and the mainland at Lochalsh. Then, about 20.30, on the A87, in Glen Garry, the rain started. It should not get dark until 2130, but the rain was so heavy, it went dark. My kit is all gorextex, but that does not stop driving rain getting in around the coat cuffs and collar and even my waist. My boots and legs, as well as my body remained dry and warm, but my hands got so wet I struggled to get the gloves off at a stop in Fort William. The hand drier in Macdonald's worked wonders getting them dry again. I had to ditch my glasses, due to them streaming up. I can see, but my speedo and dials are now out of focus. The helmet visor leaked a bit, but pinlock meant it was always OK. I set off south on the A82, still in heavy rain, but stopped as something was not quite right. My dipped beam bulb had blown. Thankfully the running lights on the Versys are good enough not to draw attention from passing cars, but going from main beam to running lights and back again was not ideal. I hung back behind cars, riding on main beam as much as possible. The rain kept my speed down to 40-50 mph. About 5 miles south of Fort William there had been an accident. Someone had ended up in the verge, so we had to wait for the recovery and an ambulance to take the driver away. A Porsche Cayenne, likely driven too fast, was driven away on a low loader, its front bashed in. The delay for the first cars to arrive was about 1 hour, I skipped a lot of the queue and had to wait 30 minutes. Sheep are bad enough, but in Glen Coe, I encountered a stag. It was on the verge and I hit the brakes, hoping it would not move, which thankfully it did not. The road was not too busy and I just let cars overtake. Bikes in heavy rain and wind, with the risk of animals, need to go slow. The lack of a dipped beam caused more problems on the winding northern part of the road from the Drovers to Tarbet. I had very little light on right hand bends, so some were taken at 20mph. Thankfully no car was behind me the whole time. The rain also stopped and the last part home was fine, arriving at 0015. Ten hours and 281 miles. But, the satisfaction of getting home safely is immense.

Loch Tulla view point

A regular fish and chips at our favourite, the Fish Box in Whitby is £9.90. Locally it is £7.

I will not be able to attend. My father pretty much needs constant care and there is no one about then, so it is up to me.

I take it the building owners know, as they could make a claim to ownership, to recover costs of storing, disposing of the bike.

I got a Ring RTC 2000 battery powered inflator. Going by other pressure gauges/inflators I have, it under reads slightly. I guess, from my use, when fully charged, it will inflate 2 tyres pretty much from flat before the battery goes. It has a handy light, enough to move about in a tent with and it can act as a power bank for your phone.

Got my bike booked on to the Uig in Skye to Tarbert on Harris ferry, which I could not get any space on last year.

I just used some clear tubing that fitted over the brake valve nipple thingy and a plastic jug. Loosen it and pump out the fluid by squeezing the brake lever. The last of it would come out when refilling. Slowly pour brake fluid into the reservoir, making sure the hole at the bottom was always covered and again squeeze the brake lever until the reservoir stays full.

Same here. A shelf for helmet and gloves, trousers and jackets in a wardrobe, boots in a cupboard and bits at my lock up.

Is the wear marker in the middle of the photo and tyre, where the long tread is split by a cross piece?

Tread wise the tyre looks fine. It does look a bit squared off though.

What do think? Replace now, or wait till the service in November, at most 2000 more miles?

Bridge 49 Cafe (South Scotland) The Red Lion

Thanks for the birthday wishes. No work today, curry this evening.

How about armoured denim? This jacket looks just like my Red Route jacket that J&S used to sell. They still sell the jeans, but not the jacket for some reason. https://www.bikersparadise.co.uk/Rida-Tec-Denim-Biker-Jacket.html The air just flows through the fabric. I suspect like other armoured denim, it will cope with one off and need to be replaced, but the other side is the relatively low cost. I have armour for both of my jackets (denim summer, goretex textile winter) now, but I used to just swap it over between them.

I have ridden a lot with pillions, but I always have bikes with a sizeable pillion seat and a top box. I don't need to move as one with my pillion, who I encourage to sit upright and to keep their back against the top box. I would not like to take a pillion perched on a tiny seat like that, unless they were also a biker. If I had to, we would start with lots of short, slow rides and go somewhere to practice heavy breaking & accelerating, so you both learn to move as one.