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...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
What's New?
Skeggy Epilogue
In the final reckoning was the trip to Skeg-Vegas a rip-roaring failure or and majestic success? Neither - but you already knew that. Still, here's Ren's tuppence on the issue at hand.
Everyone Has Their Troubles
A long, cold and moist ride today for Bogger and Pete. Turns out their host isn't having the best of days either. Fear not there's still beer and smiles.
Prologue, Rain, Lost, And Hot
Another short winter break in Shropshire. This time Much Wenlock provides the location and the weather does what winter weather does. It'll be fine, hopefully.
Much A-Wenlock About Nothing
Title page for a short winter break in Shropshire.
Better Weather, Getting High, Warm And Cold
Andy is still heading homewards while doing some serious looking around. Mountains, a castle, miradors, and architecture today.
A Rough Last Day
In keeping with the theme of this trip - the return home for the Dynamic Muppets is "wet" to say the least.
Much More Something That Is Nothing
Another lazy day for Bogger before some big miles tomorrow. Ice cream this time with no mention of beer but I'm sure some was involved.
Gerrin' Owd
It's a bit late for Ren to be having a mid life crisis - but that's not going to stop him from having one anyway. To ride or not to ride - that is a stupid question.
Heading North In The Rain
It's wet, it's cold and Andy is just getting on with the business of travelling. There's not a lot to see, just a few notes from the day - and a beer.
Lincolnshire - And Dryness
There's something new in Lincolnshire today - DRY! Contain your excitement folks, Ren has found a cheap cafe and there's an awful lot of flat.
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Latest Posts
Everyone Has Their Troubles
Bogger said :-
Ian, the next days trip out features one of the aforementioned closed Petrol stations.
Bogger
14/04/2026 19:40:34 UTC
Towing With A Motorcycle
said :-
14/04/2026 17:01:59 UTC
Skeggy Epilogue
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It's flat innit. As flat a flat fish that just been run over by the number 26 bus.
I'm sure some folk like flat but I think personally I probably endure it to get to somewhere else and Lincolnshire ain't the only flat place; areas of France and Spain seem even flaterer.
Glad you enjoyed it, but you're not selling it to us.
Upt.
14/04/2026 12:32:41 UTC
Royal Enfield Himalayan Review
Bedhead said :-
I bought a year old Himalayan in 2021 and had no end of problems. The rear caliper seized up and the crappy alloy piston was corroded. I bought another and new pins but it did it again. The clocks misted up and the gear indicator stopped working. At the same time I stripped the rear suspension and found it devoid of grease. The bike started cutting out and the fuel injector was faulty. The first appointment I could get with the dealership was TWO days after the warranty expired. They refused to honour the warranty even though the bike had a full dealer service history and the fault occurred inside the warranty period.
That was the final straw and I sold it immediately with the caliper still messing about. A nice bike but never again.
12/04/2026 01:21:40 UTC
Everyone Has Their Troubles
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ed, do some digital trickery and attach a map wud ya. I'm lost in France. Again.
11/04/2026 08:12:44 UTC
Everyone Has Their Troubles
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It's amazing how a beer or four can make you forget the days cold and fuel drought. I can't remember ever having one in France though, but Scotland, that's a place to try and find a petrol station. I think they hide them from the English just to see us sweat.
But like you say Boggit, sat nav can always save the day, one of its best features as well as taking you to the pub! Of course.
Blummin kids.
Upt.
11/04/2026 08:11:31 UTC
Everyone Has Their Troubles
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Good sounding trip. Most of the small French petrol stations have closed but there's almost always one attached to a supermarket and these are generally signed on entry to a town / village. But they often become self service at lunchtime. This is fine as long as you have an acceptable credit card. I remember once having to ask a friendly local to use his, repaying him in cash.
Back to Malestroit eh? We went there a couple of years ago in the caravan partly prompted by your description, and a lovely little place it is too. While we were there it was the nationwide music festival, and there were bands and singers on every street corner. Brilliant!
Speaking of Nantes, it's a brilliant place especially the Machines de l'Isle. This is where the Sultan's Elephant was made and they artisans continue to make wonderful imaginative devices. Well worth a detour or three.
10/04/2026 13:57:02 UTC
Prologue, Rain, Lost, And Hot
ROD¹ said :-
Yes, that's Clun. I think that is the cafe and bridge that CrazyFrog references.
The roads in any direction from Club are not too shabby.
08/04/2026 08:34:30 UTC
Prologue, Rain, Lost, And Hot
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
You've sussed me out ROD, gosh darn it!
Now for a moment I thought to myself "I dunno where Clun is" then I Google Mapped it and streetviewed it - oh yeah! Had a brew stop there with friends recently. I'm guessing as there's a bridge and a car park for the castle we're all talking about the same place. If so then yes it's blummin' lovely.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/HNscSLtGa1GLeipBA...
08/04/2026 08:08:44 UTC
Prologue, Rain, Lost, And Hot
CrazyFrog said :-
There's a really nice little cafe by Clun bridge too, and the road up Clun valley is a bikers delight!
07/04/2026 18:03:39 UTC
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Ian Soady¹ said :-
I'm glad you saked Nigel - shows someone's paying attention. I think I did post about it years ago - it must be nearly 20 years since I made it. Essentially it's a square made out of 4x4 timber with the dimensions such that the rim rests on the square and the hub, disc etc drop through. One of the arms of the square is elongated - to the upper right in the pic. Then it's a simple matter of taking another 3 foot length of 4x4 and loosely attaching that to the extended arm with a strap. A short length of - wait for it - 4x4 is then positioned on the tyre wall. If the far end of this long length is pushed down, the block pushes down on the tyre wall breaking the seal on the rim. The whole lot sits on a workmate to bring it to working height.
That picture shows it in use on the Tiger's front wheel, removing a tubeless tyre (although fitted with a tube). I sealed up the spoke nipples with a heavy duty aircraft fuel tank sealer to allow the use of tubeless tyres which was a great success. The Tiger was still on the road last year so despite the dire warnings from "experts" it hasn't killed anyone.
14/04/2026 16:19:07 UTC
nab301 said :-
Just for the record, my foray into lower front wheel tyre pressures on my solo Enfield didn't appear to improve anything , it is possibly a little more stable with the higher pressure..
Ian, how on earth does that bead breaker operate?!
Nigel
14/04/2026 13:21:09 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I've ordered the Mitas from Demon Tweeks in 3.50x18 size. Meanwhile have taken the old Roadrider off the front wheel. What a struggle! I had to use my home made bead breaker for the first time since making my Tiger wheels tubeless (below). The tyre was like iron, which is not surprising - when I looked at the date code it's 16 years old. I think it would have held the bike up with no air at all it was so stiff, and this probably contributed a lot to the shimmy problems. The task wasn't helped by the Akront flanged alloy rim, which seems to be deeper than the chrome rims I'm used to. Fortunately managed without nipping the tube or damaging the rim so am just waiting for the postie with my new tyre. I think there's room under the mudguard for it.....
I suppose I should now check the date code on the back tyre although it (and the front) wer performing fine when the bike was a solo. Although only in the dry of course. And I don't want to repeat that fight any time soon.
14/04/2026 10:23:02 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Here you are:
10/04/2026 14:49:50 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Interestingly, looking at the workshop manual the front pressure is 16 psi! Of course tyres used to be much stiffer then. I think I'll probably go for the Mitas although am feeling a little more confident now. Maybe a slightly longer test run at 24 psi is in the offing? I'm also still considering adapting the BSA steering damper.
Given the amount the outfit veers on acceleration / braking with 42 bhp I wonder how those with Gold Wings etc manage?
I have found a graph / spreadsheet showing weight / pressure relationships courtesy of Claude that I'll try to post.
10/04/2026 14:50:40 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ian that's interesting re the tyre pressures , is the 21psi recommendation related directly to the unladen weight or just as you say the minimum pressure to keep the tyre on the rim ? I have a road rider front on my solo Enfield and the bars can flap about a bit when slowing down.. I better get out the weighing scales. Roadriders have fairly stiff side walls compared to some "classic" type tyres which could also be part of the problem , either way if you don't hear from me again you'll know lower front tyre pressure isn't a good idea! (currently 30psi approx)
Nigel
10/04/2026 14:38:22 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I can't see any availability on the Avon. However, I've used Mitas tyres successfully on other bikes and in fact have one on the sidecar wheel. The H-03 looks like a possibility and at £50 good value:
10/04/2026 12:39:17 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Well spotted. A bit pricy though! And showing as out of stock.......
10/04/2026 12:21:28 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Then this popped up!
https://www.aceclassics.co.uk/products/avon-sm-mkii-400-18-rear-tyre/...
10/04/2026 12:18:36 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I think the rear was called the Safety Master (popularly known as the skidmaster)? As I remember the front (ribbed) was the Speedmaster. I have one on my Norton Electra with a TT100 on the back....
I've been having a chat with an ex aircraft engineer on a BSA forum and he tells me that nose wheel shimmy is a problem on aircraft. They had a special tyre to counteract it:
10/04/2026 12:24:51 UTC
Latest Chit-Chat
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Upt'North ¹ said :-
I think there are different classification of faults Glyn, but yes if you ride it there in a dangerous condition I believe they can slap a no ride/drive type notice on it. Although it was obviously illegal to drive it there anyway and just because it's going to a pre arranged MOT wouldn't provide a defence.
That's the case for the Crown m'lud.
14/04/2026 16:36:46 UTC
Glyn said :-
Well done on the B mot Up’t. My MOT tester told me that I could ride to the station whilst on sorn and back again if it passed. If it failed however, I would be breaking the law driving / riding a dangerous vehicle. A failure usually ends up with a piece of paper that says vehicle in a dangerous, unroadworthy condition, not to be used on the highway.
14/04/2026 13:52:31 UTC
nab301 said :-
No bike test (yet) in my part of the world but a quick check reveals that a car declared off road (but still insured) can be driven directly to a pre arranged test and back home with no deviation.
I wonder though if the issue might be with insurance ? Would you have to declare the off road declaration to your insurer? It may not be an issue with a single bike policy but with a multi bike policy I'm guessing the calculated risk may alter ( enough to affect any claims submitted)...
Nigel
14/04/2026 13:42:30 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I think my memory dates back to a classroom in Ryton Upon the Dunsmore in 1981 (!), flipping ink.
It would basically be down to the court to decide if the law was being complied with, I think the example was something like, a bloke puts his family in the motor and drives from Walsall to The Lizard in a car with no MOT and pre books the MOT in Penzance before leaving. Would that be reasonable and of course if it failed he could do it on the return. All this before ANPR and digital records.
Obviously this example would never work because no one from Walsall can accurately communicate anything to someone in Cornwall, ooooo arrrr rrrr kid.
Upt.
14/04/2026 12:22:58 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Very nice too. You can take upt' out of the midlands.....
Before the no MoT for old bikes rule came in I usually tried to find an MoT station with a decent run. I don't think there's anything that says it has to be the nearest one. I adopted this strategy when a local bike shop - Fred Hanks in Erdington - failed my BSA to which I'd just fitted new front brake linings. It needed 20 miles or so to bed them in.
I'm still mulling over whether a 400cc single cylinder 4 stroke carburated engine has the same "technical characteristics" as the 400cc single cylinder 4 stroke carburated engine that could have been originally fitted. It would help if someone who wasn't technically illiterate drafted the regulations. Although no doubt it was a lawyer who thrive on ambiguity.
14/04/2026 10:04:51 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
For Boggers reference, the beer of choice has turned out to be Banks*s Amber Bitter.
13/04/2026 22:34:03 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
The Regulations covering Sorn are the Road Vehicles (Statutory Off-Road Notification) Regulations 1997 and they came into force on 15th January 1998. All vehicles can attend a pre arranged MOT and return afterwards but only for the purpose of attaining a MOT test and this whilst the Sorn is in place. So you can't stop for a cuppa and must attend a station at a reasonable distance. In my case I attended my nearest Station at Spittal. A round journey of just over 30 miles.
That's the case for the defence m'lud.
Upt.
13/04/2026 22:32:05 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
So if the bike's not taxed - how'd you get it to the MOT station?
13/04/2026 20:02:01 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
That's a blummin big picture.
13/04/2026 17:11:22 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
The B passed er MOT bless er.
I might have a beer to celebrate. Still isn't taxed for this year yet and with 10 of your c's showing on the display it might wait until May. It might have to be nice warm English beer.
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
13/04/2026 17:10:59 UTC
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