Northern Spain to northern France

[Gerontious]

The only thing I need to put in the panniers if I'm not camping is my Hi-viz, 100ml bottles of chain lube and engine oil, and one of these which are about 3 inch by 3 inch, by 1 inch...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/rac-compact-air-compressor-12v/1371R?kpid=1371R&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%2520Listing%2520Ads-_-Sales%2520Tracking-_-sales%2520tracking%2520url&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJzLBRC7ARIsAGMkOAmrOdRcStGe5lXJlKi0dng0O_pYf3zZU4E_P-OtFnFWGx2WDEzC0JcaAthpEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKjK0eyYhtUCFVWtUQodr14K0A

 

I was on the point of pressing the buy button until I read these reviews.

 

I have one of these.. which together with the puncture kit i use. which i will not name on this forum because being described as akin to suicidal irritates me somewhat.

the pump.. comes complete with a BMW powersocket plug (+ cigarette adapter).. I have taken it on every tour and together with the nameless puncture kit.. this has ensured sods law is in effect and no punctures happen.

the pump. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Airman-Compact-Compressor-Inflator-Gauge/dp/B006B96OGS

Edited July 13, 2017 by Gerontious

[Stu]

The only thing I need to put in the panniers if I'm not camping is my Hi-viz, 100ml bottles of chain lube and engine oil, and one of these which are about 3 inch by 3 inch, by 1 inch...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/rac-compact-air-compressor-12v/1371R?kpid=1371R&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%2520Listing%2520Ads-_-Sales%2520Tracking-_-sales%2520tracking%2520url&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJzLBRC7ARIsAGMkOAmrOdRcStGe5lXJlKi0dng0O_pYf3zZU4E_P-OtFnFWGx2WDEzC0JcaAthpEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKjK0eyYhtUCFVWtUQodr14K0A

 

I was on the point of pressing the buy button until I read these reviews.

 

I was looking at buying one of these a while back! I will save my money now!

[Stu]

The only thing I need to put in the panniers if I'm not camping is my Hi-viz, 100ml bottles of chain lube and engine oil, and one of these which are about 3 inch by 3 inch, by 1 inch...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/rac-compact-air-compressor-12v/1371R?kpid=1371R&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%2520Listing%2520Ads-_-Sales%2520Tracking-_-sales%2520tracking%2520url&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJzLBRC7ARIsAGMkOAmrOdRcStGe5lXJlKi0dng0O_pYf3zZU4E_P-OtFnFWGx2WDEzC0JcaAthpEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKjK0eyYhtUCFVWtUQodr14K0A

 

I was on the point of pressing the buy button until I read these reviews.

 

I have one of these.. which together with the puncture kit i use. which i will not name on this forum because being described as akin to suicidal irritates me somewhat.

the pump.. comes complete with a BMW powersocket plug (+ cigarette adapter).. I have taken it on every tour and together with the nameless puncture kit.. this has ensured sods law is in effect and no punctures happen.

the pump. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Airman-Compact-Compressor-Inflator-Gauge/dp/B006B96OGS

 

And I have heard nothing but good things about these!

[Guest]

The only thing I need to put in the panniers if I'm not camping is my Hi-viz, 100ml bottles of chain lube and engine oil, and one of these which are about 3 inch by 3 inch, by 1 inch...

http://www.screwfix.com/p/rac-compact-air-compressor-12v/1371R?kpid=1371R&cm_mmc=Google-_-Product%2520Listing%2520Ads-_-Sales%2520Tracking-_-sales%2520tracking%2520url&gclid=Cj0KCQjwtJzLBRC7ARIsAGMkOAmrOdRcStGe5lXJlKi0dng0O_pYf3zZU4E_P-OtFnFWGx2WDEzC0JcaAthpEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CKjK0eyYhtUCFVWtUQodr14K0A

 

I was on the point of pressing the buy button until I read these reviews.

 

Jesus. Hope mine lasts then. I've had no problems with it and it inflates the tyres on my Tiger no bother, I use it on the car as well. I bought it in a petrol station in Scotland after that tyre plugging incident I mentioned above, because the gas bottles in the plugging kit only put 5 or 10 psi in to get you to the next petrol station. That was two years ago and I've used it several times since.

Maybe I've been one of the lucky ones, or maybe the people like me who are happy with it never leave a review, or maybe they just had a faulty manufacturing batch that generated a load of bad reviews.

Anyway! Glad you saw the reviews and didn't buy it on my recommendation, then have a problem with it.

[Guest]

I wonder whether this reviewer has hit the nail on the head

"Bought as replacement for one i had that broke but disappointed with it buttons and psi clock crooked and very flimsy which leads me to believe its counterfeit"

Screwfix wouldn't be selling counterfeit ones.

[Guest]

Also just noticed the list is filtered only to show 1 star reviews

5 star

35

4 star

10

3 star

6

2 star

1

1 star

18

45 good reviews at 4/5 star, 6 middle of the road, 19 bad reviews at 1/2 star.

4 star rating out of 177 reviews in Argos http://www.argos.co.uk/product/7405835

Especially given more people give bad reviews that good ones, and the good reviews still way outnumber the bad, I won't rush to replace mine any time soon, but when it does break I'll get that Airman one.

[Mawsley]

There's always this for inflation, far smaller for touring

http://www.adventure-spec.com/default/moskito-co2-hand-air-pump.html

 

[Lateralus]

There's always this for inflation, far smaller for touring

http://www.adventure-spec.com/default/moskito-co2-hand-air-pump.html

Screen Shot 2017-07-13 at 22.34.16.png

 

I have a tiny CO2 thing and a decent small pump for cycling, so will probably take those. Sounds like I need to buy a proper pressure gauge though.

 

See if your local Aldi has any of these puppies left - they're brilliant.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/crane-50l-dry-sport-duffle-bag/p/094768140782700

Not found any in the few Aldis I've passed recently, so have ordered one of these instead. Can pack a couple of bin liners for backup waterproofness, but the reviews are very favourable, and for a tenner it only needs to last the trip.

And so back to routes - have plotted the next 2 days, on Google Maps for now as it's much quicker and easier for dragging lines around.

Argelès-Gazost to (potentially) Andorra la Vella. 219 mile day, taking in Col du Tourmalet and the interesting part of one of this year's Tour de France stages, along with an excellent-looking route into Andorra. Looks ambitious, but hopefully achievable, and I like the idea of a night in Andorra. Accommodation is a bit cheaper than places earlier along the route too.

Then the final day of this leg - Andorra la Vella to Feuillade, either by motorway, or not. Might play this one by ear and see how I'm feeling after the previous excursions, but a mix of motorways and scenic routes would seem most likely.

[Guest]

on Google Maps for now as it's much quicker and easier for dragging lines around.

 

But there's now no way to import that to Tyre within the free version to get an ITN file onto the sat nav.

Motogoloco mapping interface IS google maps, so works in exactly the same way, but then allows you to export your route direct to ITN.

Do it in google maps and you'll have to do it twice if you want to get that route on the sat nav.

[Lateralus]

on Google Maps for now as it's much quicker and easier for dragging lines around.

 

But there's now no way to import that to Tyre within the free version to get an ITN file onto the sat nav.

Motogoloco mapping interface IS google maps, so works in exactly the same way, but then allows you to export your route direct to ITN.

Do it in google maps and you'll have to do it twice if you want to get that route on the sat nav.

 

Not sure if it's my computer then, but I found Motogoloco very temperamental about whether it would pan the map or drag the route around, which irritated me so I just switched back to what I know! I knew I'd have to do it twice, but for the purposes of messing around I'm fine with that.

[Stu]

[mention]Lateralus[/mention] Did I miss something? have you bought a sat nav? if so which one?

[Guest]

on Google Maps for now as it's much quicker and easier for dragging lines around.

 

But there's now no way to import that to Tyre within the free version to get an ITN file onto the sat nav.

Motogoloco mapping interface IS google maps, so works in exactly the same way, but then allows you to export your route direct to ITN.

Do it in google maps and you'll have to do it twice if you want to get that route on the sat nav.

 

Not sure if it's my computer then, but I found Motogoloco very temperamental about whether it would pan the map or drag the route around, which irritated me so I just switched back to what I know! I knew I'd have to do it twice, but for the purposes of messing around I'm fine with that.

 

Hmm, maybe they are having bandwidth issues. It used to get laggy like that if you used it for really long trips, I tried to use it for an 800 miler and gave up and went back to tyre, but for 250 odd miles at a time it used to be fine. If you Google for "gmaps to gpx" there's a site you can convert your Google maps link to a Garmin GPX file, then open in tyre, then save as an TomTom ITN. Bit of a faff but better than doing it twice.

Edited July 19, 2017 by Anonymous

[Guest]

@Lateralus Did I miss something? have you bought a sat nav? if so which one?

 

Loan of mine, TomTom Urban Rider v3, not like I'll be climbing back on a motorbike this year with my injury, so someone may as well get the use of it.

[Stu]

So in that case take a look at ITN converter where you can plot routes and export them to any file you like

you can pick your maps and routing and it works well

[Guest]

So in that case take a look at ITN converter where you can plot routes and export them to any file you like

you can pick your maps and routing and it works well

 

Nice, will have to try that

[Stu]

So in that case take a look at ITN converter where you can plot routes and export them to any file you like

you can pick your maps and routing and it works well

 

Nice, will have to try that

 

Thank [mention]raesewell[/mention] it was him that put me on to it

Its more stable than tyre and the bonus of exporting to almost all formats is great for group rideouts with different sat navs I think you can import from google maps too

I have moved on to basecamp now though seen as though I have learnt how to use it

[Guest]

I've used Tyre for years and been perfectly happy with it until they removed the import from Google maps function. But that's how they seem to sell software nowadays, make it free until people get used to it, then start charging for it's most useful features. Thing is all that does is piss me off and make me look for an alternative, better to give me a free trial period so I know right from the start that it's going to cost me if I find the software useful and want to carry on using it.

[Stu]

I have had a fair few crashes with it while plotting a route and lost everything so I gave up in the end!

Importing on ITN is possible but it does loads of way points and will need sorting through to remove a lot of them! it also causes it to run slow

[Lateralus]

@Lateralus Did I miss something? have you bought a sat nav? if so which one?

 

Loan of mine, TomTom Urban Rider v3, not like I'll be climbing back on a motorbike this year with my injury, so someone may as well get the use of it.

 

And much appreciated it is too. Worked well on Sunday - no audio, but got us home very nicely. Hoping to sort out the charging port this weekend too.

Will check out ITN converter - ta.

[raesewell]

ITN Converter has a bit of a glitch at the moment, I have told Benior but he hasn't responded. Basically if you put a waypoint within about 7-8 miles of the Meridian line it automatically snaps to the Meridian and gives you a 0.00000 latitude. This only happens if you save a route in ITN. I have been using Tyre to create routes and ITN to check them.

[Lateralus]

Well I think I've now ordered the final few bits I need for my travels, including some spare indicator bulbs after finding myself in need of one on Friday!

However, do I need to adjust my headlights for riding in Spain and France? The manual tells you how to adjust them up, down, left and right, but gives no guidance on what settings/positions to use either here or abroad.

Looks like I'll not have time to fit the Scottoiler this week now, so that'll be a job for a campsite in Derbyshire next weekend!

The trip is looming ever-larger now. Really quite excited.

[rennie]

I just stuck some tape on mine!

[bonio]

However, do I need to adjust my headlights for riding in Spain and France? The manual tells you how to adjust them up, down, left and right, but gives no guidance on what settings/positions to use either here or abroad.

I've never adjusted mine and I've ridden in France and Germany without a problem. But the GS is German and so perhaps knows how to behave when at home. You with your British machine, who know? You might find it throwing beer bottles at the local gendarmerie and barfing outside the public loos in the middle of town. Should something unfortunate like that happen, my tip would be to pretend not to know the bike at all, shake your head sadly and mutter something about the entente cordiale.

[Gerontious]

I would only touch the headlamp if i was certain that a lot of riding after dark was on the cards.. mid august.... thats well after 9pm

[Lateralus]

I would only touch the headlamp if i was certain that a lot of riding after dark was on the cards.. mid august.... thats well after 9pm

 

Very good point!