veracocha

Two weeks ago I sent out requests to four dealers who might consider a part exchange for a new bike. I have a 23 plate Tracer 7GT with less than 4k miles and lots of factory additions and my interest is a Tracer 9 GT. So far, not a single response. Is the used market so saturated that my bike has no value unless a private sale? My local Honda dealer, yet again, appear to have no interest in responding yet their website has a smorgasboard of used bikes that are of interest to me. I continually have Arnold Clark asking me to consider selling my Renault Megane so I don't get why bike dealers are sitting on their hands.

Happy St Georges day!

Classic motorcycle show in Stafford

My run of equipment failures continues and this time it's a second Keis Ultraflex jacket which gave up on me last week when I was touring the highlands. Left glove stopped working mid-ride. Plugged the left glove into the right hand socket and all fine so had to be the jacket. Contacted Keis support who said take it back to the retailer. Went into Sportsbikeshop Birmingham where the manager said it would have to go back under warranty. When he saw that it was my second Keis jacket failure since December he just got another one from stock as an advanced replacement and he would worry about the warranty. Superb service from SBS. I do have a concern about heated clothing and in two years I had 2 x pairs of Gerbing gloves fail just outside warranty and my first Keis jacker failed out of the box. Let's hope this one doesn't present any problems.

My issue is the little finger is hanging between the throttle and the lever. It wouldn't assist in applying pressure anyway but having it in the way could see it severed off in the event of a fall. Yes, during my mod-1/2 I was advised that all four fingers must be on the levers during operation.

Yes, a wheel with 1-5 but it's still a bit to far the get a full grip

I am struggling to reach a full four finger grip on my Tracer 7GT. The lever bends away at the bobble so much so I can only get three fingers over the handle. Are there aftermarket levers available that are less swept which might help? I bust my little finger a few years ago so it's not dextrous enough to lift over the lever easily so it sits between the lever and the throttle.

It beat me. The weather that is. I returned home today quite deflated but alive. The rain, although persistent wasn't the problem; it was the excessively high winds that tried their hardest to have me off the single track roads too many times. Even returning on the motorways had me crunching my torso battling to keep the bike in a straight line. You can't enjoy the views when it's like that so will have another go later in the year.

I'm there now. Third time in a year. I got as far north as Applecross and then made my way down (now in Moffat). Weather has been really bad but today gave some respite as I made my way through the cairngorms. Roads are actually quite good and had only a few twitches through potholes etc. The oil rig now in the bay at Applecross is spectacular. I do think the coastal road from Applecross to Shieldag is worth a visit. Traffic not a problem at the moment.

What 3 words. Rat. Drowned. Misery.

I'm taking Curley's advice and tomorrow its "haaway to the hills". First stopover at Moffat before taking in the west coast.

I have been using that very bag for six months, I can't fault it. To make things a little more solid I placed a washing up bowl inside which makes getting access to things a bit easier, I just slide the bowl outwards. I have not had any water ingress so far.

Back in September I purchased one of these units and up to now it's been a great setup offering 4k front and 1080 rear. App works a treat also. However, the last few weeks my footage became intermittent with spurious recording lengths, very frustrating. I got in touch with Vantrue support who had a few idea's but nothing that I hadn't tried already. Yesterday I re-routed all the cables and found I had squashed the rear view camera cable with my newly fitted top box rack, it was shorting back to the control unit. I explained this to Vantrue support and asked if I could have a price for a new rear camera and cable. They said no problem, they'll send me a completely new unit foc but it would take three or four weeks for the turnaround. I advised I was about to go to Scotland and could do with it by then so they have offered to send me just the rear camera in time for my break. Quality service from Vantrue.

I have only been riding 18 months. Maybe coincidence but since changing to a darker helmet two weeks ago I have had two close shaves. It didn't happen with my white helmet. However, I have a high-viz helite jacket so not sure if the helmet colour made a difference. What I am sure about is that I have seen bikers far more clearly when they are donned in high-viz or white helmets. If the driver isn't looking then I don't imagine the colour of your apparel makes a difference.

Would be a very expensive option as my garden is about 30 yards long with a slight incline downwards the further out you walk. I have since turned their bowser tap off so once it's full I'll have a chat with them.

Whenever it rains my back garden lawn becomes a lake. Now I have a water barrel and pump that deals nicely with the constant downpours but lately it doesn't seem to stop the flooding. I notice my neighbours shed has a water bowser doing similar but while they were out today I had a look at their arrangement. They have the tap on the bowser constantly open and draining into my garden. Must have a word tomorrow.

It's a Yamaha Tracer 7, 23 plate.

Interesting. The technician was kind enough to fit the sump plug onto old sump for me and he said 23nm. The book is way off in that case.

Things got worse today, much worse. With a trip to Scotland next week I thought I would give the bike an oil/filter change so I was delighted when the courier arrived with the kit. All good until I went to tighten the sump plug. Not having got to the torque wrench out yet I nipped it up with my Halfords professional socket set the damned thing just kept turning. Removing the bolt I noticed a coil of thread around it......yep, I'd stripped the sump hole. Got onto the dealer to ask if my old sump was still there and could I have it back. Luckily it was still there so I could fetch it but they wanted the newly stripped one back. Off with the exhaust and associated fittings and off came the sump. On inspection I could see lots of paint loss in exactly the same place as the previous sump. Took it to the dealer and reminded him that it was only four weeks ago they swapped it. Not bothered about paint loss as long as the thing holds oil and after a successful refit/fil all is good in the world once more and I can look forward to Scotland on my lonesome. What a day!

Done

This being my third tour of Scotland on a motorcycle I'm no stranger to the changeable conditions. I don't mind cold, I just hate claggy days where mist spoils the views. I guess there's no forecast that's reliable enough to tell us that. I would rather put up with poor weather than the busier roads that summer guarantees.

Poised for another tour of Scotland so just watching the weather forecasts for next week. BBC says snowy conditions until Friday and Metcheck says mostly sunny/cloudy with only one suspect day (Tuesday). How can they be so at odds with each other? I know it's very changeable in that part of the country but even so, completely different forecasts. It was exactly this time last year I went for my first tour and I was blessed with fine weather although much cooler than what is predicted for next week. Any other sites worth an opinion?

Just to clear up any confusion I might have created. I have no reason to doubt or question the Road 4's that I have on now. In the 2000 miles I have done so far they have been brilliant. However, when reading reviews (Neevesy) he says the OEM tyres that manufacturers put on are somewhat poor in comparison with manufacturer specific tyres. Being a bit of a gear tart this made me question what I have at the moment and should I upgrade. Am I overthinking things and might just as well run with what I have?

It's absolutely a confidence thing and having toured Scotland on them last year I have no reason to doubt them (Roadtech's). However, I also did another tour of Scotland earlier last year on Pirelli Angel tyres and they were fine. You just read the reviews from the likes of Neevesy and imagine the tyres in the reviews to have magical qualities.

Yes I did thank you and I know it was voted best touring tyre earlier in 2023 that's why I went for them on my previous bike/tour. Perhaps it's better to go with something that you have confidence in rather than save a few quid I guess.