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Upt'North ¹ said :-
Got to Preŝov in Slovakia. There's mountains here!
Two nights here before Austria calls.
Cold today at around 16, but dry thankfully.
Should warm up again tomorrow so a mountain ride will probably occur.
Beer time.
Upt and Er'Indoors.
12/09/2026 17:18:55 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Forgot to say Ed, had a real bargain today. All the FREE bread and fat I could eat with a burger. The fat tasted very piggy.
Upt and Er'Indoors.
12/09/2026 17:20:27 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Are you in Austria yet Upt?
15/09/2026 09:18:01 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Austria came and went Ed, nice but not too much time there. Now in Cheiming, Germany, where we can still see Austria over the Cheimsee lake. Scorchio yesterday, blummin lovely.
On to Freudenstadt today after a hotel breakfast.
Upt.
16/09/2026 06:35:23 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
And Er'Indoors.
16/09/2026 06:35:35 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Blimey! You're getting some miles done sir - I hope you're taking the time to see things inbetween big-ass mile munching. Anyhow the weather here is poop, stay on your trip I suspect it's better there.
16/09/2026 08:43:08 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I had to put on the Berghaus overtroosers today Ed. Went on easy and did their job well. We hit heavy rain for about one hour after lunch but it dried well enough before Freudenstadt. Easier few days now up towards the Rhine and Belgium. Better weather forecast too. The weather was nuts today, started at 21, then got up to 28 before crashing down to 15 before arrival at the hotel. Around 4pm I think. First proper day time rain in two weeks.
Some tips on Slovak food:
1. Stipulate when asking for a breakfast pancake stack that 10 is probably enough.
2. If you're ever tempted to eat the sheep's cheese stuffed dumplings limit yourself to single figures.
3. Although the Filet Mignon is very well priced one is probably enough.
We should be back in blighty by Sunday.
Upt and Er'Indoors.
16/09/2026 22:25:36 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Ahhh natch rain huh? Well at least you were ready.
Thanks for the useful tips, your point being Slovak portions are perhaps "excessive". With all this consumption of swanky food is the SV650 still sufficiently powerful enough to pull your expanding waistline up those steep hills?
I'll be sure to organise some appropriate UK weather for your return, I'm sure you'll really appreciate that. Are you coming back up through Blighty again?
17/09/2026 09:22:46 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I thought it was a v-strom? And maybe the bigger one? Feel free to correct me on either / both. I've tried to search but come up with nothing......
Have you resolved the copyright issue or are you just accepting defeat? Now you have more time on your hands......
17/09/2026 11:51:16 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
I think we rarely use more than 35 - 40 bhp even when we are two up.
Having more power means that the engine does it all without effort.
I am sure that the v strom is more than capable.
My issue with many bikes is the poor carrying capacity for two up with luggage, not the lack of power to pull the weight.
17/09/2026 12:39:53 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I've only had one "powerful" bike - the Tiger 955i at 105bhp. The only advantage I could see was that it made overtaking much easier and safer than with a smaller bike. But that was offset by its bulk and weight. Most of my bikes have been in the range Rod suggests or maybe a little more and I've found them perfectly adequate.
You can of course solve the carrying luggage issue by adding a sidecar!
17/09/2026 13:57:02 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
You're right Ian it's a V-Strom, but I recall it is a 650 V-Strom (which has the same engine as the SV650). Yeah I have no answer to the copyright issues.
I know the V-Strom will pull Upt' and Er'Indoors just fine ROD, even with the extra girth Upt' must surely be gaining if Slovak food is as excessive as Upt' suggests. Let us not allow reality to get in the way of finding excuses to tease our European touring friend though eh.
17/09/2026 13:58:15 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Of course it's a blummin VSTrom 650! Pffffffftttttt.
Goes by the name of 'The B'.
The only time you notice the extra weight is moving it around off the stand and the first corner you come to when you leave home. In Rudhesheim en Rhine tonight, I think I fancy a Pizza and a bottle of some'at.
Onto Belgium up the Rhine tomorrow. Well at the side of it.
Upt and Er'Indoors.
17/09/2026 18:03:52 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It's a sure sign you've been away a while when I've had to sow my long sleeved bike top and had to acquire really sticky glue for Er'Indoors boot sole which decided it was time to flap. Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
17/09/2026 21:33:15 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I googled Rudhesheim en Rhine, yeah you're getting closer to Blighty now.
So you've reached the running repairs stage, with the clothing at least. No matter how prepared you think you are - there'll be something you need. Got needle and thread, need an 8mm spanner. Got an 8mm spanner, need some gaffer tape. Got gaffer tape, need a 30 torx... and so on and so on.
You might be lucky , there's a band of rain passing though this weekend but if you're coming up through England after that you might just make it home dry. Be lucky, and if ya can't be lucky wear waterproofs, or something like that.
18/09/2026 08:11:50 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
In Belgium tonight Ed.
Place called Ohey. Lovely roads.
Upt and Er'Indoors.
18/09/2026 17:19:52 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I have passed through Belgium a couple of times and didn't find myself enamored. However this may be an oversight on my behalf. Last year I got some marketing blurb about riding in the Ardennes and it looked rather splendid, mind you it was marketing. I really ought to give it a chance, it's not too far away.
18/09/2026 20:39:40 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It's nice in the SE Ed, but I'm no Belgique expert.
The ride to Dunkirk is an easy day jaunt from Ohey, if you can find that. We've just done it.
Upt.
19/09/2026 17:21:49 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Some years ago I did try the Ardennes on the Tiger - sort of followed the border south east then dropped south to visit Switzerland briefly (very clean and tidy but soulless) before returning to Calais via Burgundy. The Ardennes was (were?) OK but nothing special and didn't change my negative view of North East France.
20/09/2026 09:59:46 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
But Ian! There's a whole page for motorcycling in the Ardennes - I'll add a link. However if you think BAT has dodgy underpinnings this whole site is, errrr, peculiar. This site also seems to focus on the French bit of the Ardennes. Hmmmm.
https://www.ardennes.com/en/itineraries/on-a-motorbike-in-the-ardennes/...
21/09/2026 08:39:22 UTC
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