What did you do WITH your bike today.

[Capt Sisko]

I got too hot!  Yesterday looked a decent sort of day with sunny spells and just the odd shower forecast so not unreasonably I went for a ride over to North Wales, however being long in the tooth and having been caught out by the 'it's spring, let's abandon the layers' I rode in Gore-Tex & layers. Way too hot.

 

Okay when I was sat at Ponderosa having a brew there was a cold wind, but you're at 1,400ft up there, the rest of the ride I was letting air in and wish I'd left the top box on so I have somewhere to stash one of the too many layers I'd put on. Kind of nice problem to have though. 

[Simon Davey]

14 minutes ago, Capt Sisko said:

I got too hot!  Yesterday looked a decent sort of day with sunny spells and just the odd shower forecast so not unreasonably I went for a ride over to North Wales, however being long in the tooth and having been caught out by the 'it's spring, let's abandon the layers' I rode in Gore-Tex & layers. Way too hot.

 

Okay when I was sat at Ponderosa having a brew there was a cold wind, but you're at 1,400ft up there, the rest of the ride I was letting air in and wish I'd left the top box on so I have somewhere to stash one of the too many layers I'd put on. Kind of nice problem to have though. 

 

Great to get out too, of course. 

[Trooper74]

What a beautiful day, warm and dry …. Off we went to the beach … well, Cleethorpes.

It was packed! Prom car park full, people wandering up and down the beach .. no one having a paddle … as the water is about half a mile away at low tide ….

 

Even the pier fish and chip shop was busy , cafes all open and seaside tat shops doing trade … I’m baffled …..

 

163 miles, mostly M and A roads and a tootal around b roads at the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds …

First day this year without handlebar heaters being used …Huzaah !!!

 

Edited March 18, 2024 by Trooper74

[Simon Davey]

5 hours ago, Trooper74 said:

What a beautiful day, warm and dry …. Off we went to the beach … well, Cleethorpes.

It was packed! Prom car park full, people wandering up and down the beach .. no one having a paddle … as the water is about half a mile away at low tide ….

 

Even the pier fish and chip shop was busy , cafes all open and seaside tat shops doing trade … I’m baffled …..

 

163 miles, mostly M and A roads and a tootal around b roads at the edge of the Lincolnshire Wolds …

First day this year without handlebar heaters being used …Huzaah !!!

 

 

That's awesome, how long did you spend at the seaside? 

Smart looking bike too. 

[Trooper74]

25 minutes ago, Simon Davey said:

 

That's awesome, how long did you spend at the seaside? 

Smart looking bike too. 

Long enough for a hot chocolate from the cafe across the road , … yes it was full !!!, ..

My grandson calls the V- Strom the “HGV” …. I call his Aprilla Tuono “ The Toy” …. 

[JRH]

Ride out to Wheels of Peterborough with a mate. caught in the rain on the A14. Booked his Guzzi in for service. Then a breakfast at their cafe. 
Back to Warwickshire and got rained on again.

 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

I made the second attempt at getting our lot out of winter hibernation and back on the road. Hoping to go to Old Stores and then into N Wales on Friday.

 

Last attempt resulted in total failure. So far only one taker - and one provisional if they can get the bike to go. 

 

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

So both of the above backed out leaving me to have a day to myself. Breakfast at Sleap airfield then on to Old Stores accompanied by a guy I met at the airfield. Home via J&S because my Beeline died, I suspect water has got into it over the winter.

 

I have a crappy Samsung phone and Quadlock don't do a case for it so I bought an Ultimate Addons case and mount which fits my phone.

 

This was at Old Stores and then met them again at J&S. Really nice couple who showed us the 2 wheel drive system fitted to it. 

Edited March 22, 2024 by Mississippi Bullfrog

[Simon Davey]

1 hour ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

So both of the above backed out leaving me to have a day to myself. Breakfast at Sleap airfield then on to Old Stores accompanied by a guy I met at the airfield. Home via J&S because my Beeline died, I suspect water has got into it over the winter.

 

I have a crappy Samsung phone and Quadlock don't do a case for it so I bought an Ultimate Addons case and mount which fits my phone.

 

This was at Old Stores and then met them again at J&S. Really nice couple who showed us the 2 wheel drive system fitted to it. 

 

Sounds like a perfect day. 

Lovely looking outfit too. 

[S-Westerly]

Ultimate Addons have a decent website. I bought the mount for my GPS from them.

[JRH]

Good run out to the Piston Club this morning. 
Bacon was consumed and egg baps were consumed.

 

 

[curlylegend]

Took a run over the Pont St Nazaire and headed north into deepest Morbihan.  A shame to waste a nice spring like day.

Going through parts of Morbihan I keep getting the impression that it resembles Disneyland but spread out a lot more and no crowds.

Very Picturesque !

First stop was a very old site, 1700, 1800 years old ?   A Roman bath house converted to a church in the early middle ages and dedicated to Sainte Agathe.  It's claim to fame, apart from the remains of a Roman salacious painting on the bathroom wall, is that if wet nurses and mothers with infants are having difficulty feeding babies they can walk round the wee chapelle seven times while praying and the problem will be resolved. No NHS in those days !

However, many years ago the local wit decided to debunk this and walked round the chapelle seven times while praying, and having a good laugh with his cronies.  

The next morning he woke up with a bosom Jane Mansefield would have coveted !!  He spent the next seven years circling the place and praying for forgiveness before his manly chest was restored.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

On 18/03/2024 at 09:17, Capt Sisko said:

I got too hot!  Yesterday looked a decent sort of day with sunny spells and just the odd shower forecast so not unreasonably I went for a ride over to North Wales, however being long in the tooth and having been caught out by the 'it's spring, let's abandon the layers' I rode in Gore-Tex & layers. Way too hot.

 

Okay when I was sat at Ponderosa having a brew there was a cold wind, but you're at 1,400ft up there, the rest of the ride I was letting air in and wish I'd left the top box on so I have somewhere to stash one of the too many layers I'd put on. Kind of nice problem to have though. 

Just noticed you stopped at the Ponderosa, conveyors of some of the worst food in N Wales. Do you know about Old Stores which is a belting biker cafe just a few miles down the road?

 

Great atmosphere,  almost a bike museum,  and way better food. 

[Capt Sisko]

On 25/03/2024 at 07:14, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

Just noticed you stopped at the Ponderosa, conveyors of some of the worst food in N Wales. Do you know about Old Stores which is a belting biker cafe just a few miles down the road?

 

Great atmosphere,  almost a bike museum,  and way better food. 

Can't disagree with you about the food, and it's not cheap either but the good news is you don't have to buy it. The place does however it's merits and chewing the cud with the sun on your back at 1,400ft and with like-minded folk isn't a bad way to while away an hour or so. Mind you, I was also up there about 3 or 4 weeks ago and there was both the remains of snow in the ground and a stiff wind blowing straight from the north. I didn't hang around.

[Throttled]

Finally went to Whitelee windfarm, south of Glasgow. It is truly huge

 

 

The road over Eaglesham moor is brilliant.

[S-Westerly]

I truly do hate windfarms. I can just about tolerate the offshore ones but the ones on land I detest.

[Mawsley]

Then I took it to see some non-league footy

 

 

[JRH]

Little ride out in the cotswolds. Collected a couple of tags. Now in the touchdown cafe in Wellesbourne. 

[Simon Davey]

6 minutes ago, JRH said:

Little ride out in the cotswolds. Collected a couple of tags. Now in the touchdown cafe in Wellesbourne. 

 

I'm so jealous.

[DUBMARK]

Got a bit muddy so clean up time

[Fender1515]

To Strip or not to Strip

At the end of last years riding, I am too old for wet and cold stuff, done that. my 2005  BMW K1200s developed an intermittent fault, the left hand indicator switch was only working intermittently, If I  used the hazard warning lights, indicator works every time, so confident the problem is with the bar switch unit.

Over the last couple of weeks I have been doing the maintenance stuff to get bike ready for the road, yesterday job was sort out the indicator issue.

So tried the indicator switch, same old, 

Being a BMW it's all TORX screw heads, I have a set of drivers,  off with clutch bar  mount, take off switch outer cover, two internal TORX screws, T8 size, nope, got nothing that fits that, so on internet and order set T6 to T10, £5, no big deal. 

Back to bike, tried indicator switch again, just for the hell of it, worked every time, really!!

So now question is, do I break down the unit and, spray and clean, it's going to be a pain the arse job, but peace of mind. or, do I wing it!

Humm!

[Nick the wanderer]

Wing it! give it a blast of contact cleaner and go about your business, it's working isn't it?

[Nick the wanderer]

1 hour ago, Angela Collen said:

First big ride out for me after restoring bike, really enjoying roads round Suffolk until going through long village with 30mph limit, a van driver not wanting to do the speed limit positions himself right up as close as you can get without literally running into me, this continues for quite some time with reving ,went into side road to save bad situation, know they have lots of drop-offs to do, but really quite scary, carried on and had cracking day with big smile on my face, so evened itself out in the end!!

I'm familiar with a lot of those villages, open roads through large village greens and always a pond, and all at 30mph. You did the sensible thing and moved over, let them race on until they are behind the next vehicle a few hundred metres up the road.

[Simon Davey]

1 hour ago, Nick the wanderer said:

let them race on until they are behind the next vehicle a few hundred metres up the road.

 

Aaaaaand, then overtake them 

[bonio]

The normal Suffolk way is 40 through the villages and 40 on the open roads. Looks like you had the misfortune to fine a proper boy racer.