Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
What's New?
Poor Poorly Andy
The sun is shining, the air is warm, the surroundings are lovely. Andy is rather under the weather himself, it's not the best couple of days.
Prologue And A Rough First Day
Prudent as ever Ren accidentally stumbles into a super cheap static caravan north of "Skeg-Vegas". All that remains to be done is getting there. If previous experience of heading east is anything to go by - it might not be that easy.
Frolicking In The Flattish Lands
Title page for a midweek break in Lincolnshire.
Getting To The Static
There's the odd minor hiccup but the first day's ride to Llwyngwri (I have no idea how to say that...) is an easy one. Ren is struggling with parking.
Chillin' In Mid Wales
There's sun in the sky, the roads are good, the surroundings are pleasant, and Ren is having a terribly non-Ren moment. His wallet saw the light of day...
Stuck In The Cols - Painful!
Andy is enjoying all the mountain passes on the French side of The Pyrenees - until he's "Route Barre" from getting back to the campsite. He's got the sniffles too.
An Easy Day Around The Pyrenees
Andy is taking it easy today. Just a casual bimble around The Pyrenees, across mountains and valleys, you know, the sort of easy ride we all do on a lazy day. Ever more delightful images too.
The Excuse This Time Is 2 Deaths
They're off back to Wales. The reasons this time are unusual and some might say quite sad. Fear not, Ren's prudence will make a mockery out of respect.
Odd Reasons To Be In Wales
Title page for a short trip to mid Wales that has some purpose.
The Kelpies - Again
It's Deja-Vu time for Ren and Sharon. It's traffic and town riding too. Sharon manages to find some lovely green stuff to brighten the day.
See More What's New
Latest Posts
Poor Poorly Andy
ROD¹ said :-
The trailer is unbraked.
I think the trailer would be around 75kg and the sidecar another 75kg the bonnie about 220kg leaving around 30kg for the bicycles.
The car should be well within it's capabilities if it is rated at 800kg braked trailer weight. 400kg to spare.
02/12/2025 17:54:20 UTC
Poor Poorly Andy
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
My other bike is a Fiat Panda which is the same underneath as the 500 (and Ford Ka new shape). My log book says 400kg unbraked, 800kg braked according to my V5 so your numbers look right nab301. Oh, 938kg "mass".
I have never towed anything so I can't comment on how anything drives with any load - I'm sure Ian as a caravan kinda guy will have some better notions.
Let's have a guess - the bike - 200kg. The sidecar - 100kg. The trailer - 100kg. With the bicycles I'd say 400kg plus. If it is braked then it in theory ought to be well with tolerances? Anyhow it's not our problem.
02/12/2025 16:06:33 UTC
CB500X Poor Starting
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Good news Roscoe - glad you got it sorted.
02/12/2025 16:00:18 UTC
Poor Poorly Andy
nab301 said :-
Andy , hopefully over 2 months later you've recovered from the man flu!
As for the Fiat 500 , depending where you look they are rated for 800kg towing capacity , braked trailer and 400kg un-braked although the base models can't weigh much more than 900kg which in a tail wagging the dog scenario on a motorway I would not like to be in.....
Nigel
02/12/2025 14:14:18 UTC
Poor Poorly Andy
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Might almost have been better to tow the Fiat with the bike and sidecar!
02/12/2025 14:13:14 UTC
CB500X Poor Starting
Roscoe said :-
To Ren and anybody else interested - I replaced the neutral switch and it fixed the issue. Thanks again for the great write-up.
02/12/2025 13:33:36 UTC
Prologue And A Rough First Day
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Ooooh tough luck Ian. I shall be revealing my thoughts and opinions on my Lincolnshire experience soon enough.
02/12/2025 07:54:14 UTC
Prologue And A Rough First Day
Ian Soady¹ said :-
A couple of years ago we decided to have a short break in the caravan in Lincolnshire. We stayed near Donna Nook seal canctuary which was a bit bleak. In fact my overall impression of Lincolnshire was bleakness. One day we thought there might be good fish and chips on offer as we were close to Grimsby. The only chip shop we could find was in a static caravan complex which I think may be the one you stayed in.
I have no hesitation in saying those fish and chips were the worst I have ever tasted. Soggy but overcooked chips, batter the consistency of reinforced concrete, fish that tasted as if it had been left on a dockside for a week. I have to say I felt really sorry for the poor folk who were stuck in one of those statics for a week's holiday.
29/11/2025 09:48:53 UTC
Prologue And A Rough First Day
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
It rained like hell that day the picture was taken. The chap in the picture loved the outdoor lifestyle but even he conceded the weather was bad. Sharon and I have been back since, the weather that day wasn't anywhere near as moist.
So I'm getting a vague notion of your location now ROD, you must be in The Flatlands. Don't give too much away, unless you like drops of oil on your driveway and a hole in your tea and biscuit supplies.
29/11/2025 00:03:57 UTC
Prologue And A Rough First Day
ROD¹ said :-
Does it really rain at Sunny Hunny?
Hunstanton is one of my nearest coastal towns.
28/11/2025 16:34:20 UTC
See More Comments
Latest Repair-Chat
Go To Repair-Chat
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Looking brilliant. Speaking of liners, the Francis Barnett I ill-advisedly built a couple of years ago had a tank full of bits of what looked like fibreglass resin in big lumps. Some were so big they wouldn't fit through the filler and it took me hours with a hacksaw blade cutting them small enough to come out. I suspect that the 2 stroke mix had stopped the liner from adhering properly.
01/12/2025 12:32:20 UTC
Glyn said :-
First pass and a lot better after 24 hrs. I’m having a second and final round. The biggest problem was that someone had tried to put a sealer/liner in it and it had all flaked off. It took dozens of gallons of water plus nuts and bolts and a whole lot of shaking to get most of it out.
30/11/2025 13:23:43 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Looks disgusting but obviously working. Caustic soda is brilliant stuff for removing carbon, burnt on oil etc but it also dissolves aluminium and its alloys in very short order.
30/11/2025 09:58:33 UTC
Glyn said :-
After 24 hrs, here’s the anode Rod. It seems to be working well.
30/11/2025 09:36:27 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
I am embarrassed to say that I made a similar mistake of greater magnitude, when I tried to clean expansion chambers with bicarbonate of soda instead of caustic soda.
In my defence it was many years ago!
29/11/2025 22:08:29 UTC
Glyn said :-
My mistake then Ian. It’s not bicarbonate. It says Soda crystals for washing on the bag.
29/11/2025 20:30:40 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Looks exciting! The methods I've seen use washing soda (sodium carbonate) rather than baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) but I'm not enough of a chemist to know the difference. I do think your scones might taste a bit funny of you put the former in them though!
29/11/2025 15:03:39 UTC
Glyn said :-
This is what’s happening!
29/11/2025 13:02:19 UTC
Glyn said :-
I’m 3 hours in and something is definitely happening in there. I used 5 tablespoons of Sodium carbonate (baking soda) per gallon of water ( Trumper tank is 4 gallons). I then put a steel threaded rod through the top of a rattle can lid to isolate the anode (threaded rod ) from the tank. Negative on the tank and positive on the rod. It’s drawing about 2.4amps so I’ve connected a battery charger to compensate. It can take many hours to work fully.
29/11/2025 13:01:30 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I've heard positive things about electrolytic rust removal - generally from unreliable WWW source - but never tried it. I did give oxalic acid a try for some rusty nuts & bolts but it just turned the rust green. I look forward to seeing how electrolysis works for you.
29/11/2025 09:41:54 UTC
Latest Chit-Chat
Go To Chit-Chat
nab301 said :-
Glyn , no personal experience with Triumph triples but back in the day the early ones had issues with sprag clutches , the main problem being that replacement(on the early ones )required a complete engine strip . A good well charged battery usually keeps these issues at bay...
Leaking internal carb O rings was another issue which you seem to have covered.
Nigel
28/11/2025 10:29:06 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
That's the North South divide right there.
Working with the garage door up in November. Brrrrrrrr.
And....having a TV licence. Blummin suvverners.
I like the Trumper.
Upt.
25/11/2025 11:26:56 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
This is like a soap opera for bike fans! There's twists and turns, anticipation and excitement, even mystery and intrigue. In next week's exciting episode... Will the Triumph be triked? Will the carbs be clean? Will the tank have pin hole leaks? Whatever happened to the TZR? Will Mrs Glyn put her foot down and say "enough is enough"? Will Glyn's knees see him through this restoration?
Ooooooh the antici..............pation!!
25/11/2025 08:04:25 UTC
Glyn said :-
I’m falling for this Triumph! I like it more with every visit through the garage door. It seems to be rather well made and certainly solid. It has been stood for years but the Exide battery has not only taken a charge but also held it overnight, I’ve never had that before. The fuel tank is full of some horrible, rusty oily mess which will take some sorting out. I’ve used Kreem sealer on rusty tanks before with great results. The double front and single rear calipers are very sticky. The previous owner had done a “stick coil” conversion (I know, I had to google it myself) which I may remove in favour of the original set up. The Kehin triple carbs are Japanese and I know them very well from previous experience so first job is to get them off and into the ultrasonic cleaner. The throttle cable is locked solid and the brake light is constantly on, all very straight forward stuff really. There appears to be no rust other than a few bolt heads.
In short, I might just keep it as a bike and look to three wheels on the next machine.
25/11/2025 07:55:26 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Or... right... oooh... electric motor powered rear axel - output from engine to generator - generator to battery - battery to rear axle? Petrol-electric hybrid electric only drive. Do it Glyn!
24/11/2025 17:06:33 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
There are car based trikes as per the V-Dub rear end with a motorcycle wheel bolted on to the front. There are bike based trikes with a pair of wheels bolted to the back of a motorcycle. There are bespoke trikes such as Can-Am (2 wheels at the front, single rear) or Boom Trikes (2 wheels at rear, 1 at the front).
The hardest part of grafting a rear axle to a chain driven motorcycle is converting the chain's rotation output to the one for an axle with a differential. Seen some nice solutions where the diff is cut open and a rear sprocket replaces the crown wheel.
24/11/2025 17:03:18 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
I seem to recall ( but I may have imagined it )the early trikes were the back end of a VW beetle complete with engine, with the front of a motorcycle grafted onto the front.
Looking forward to the build Glyn.
24/11/2025 12:19:58 UTC
Glyn said :-
Even Rhino Trikes use the Reliant axle, there cant be that many left. Casarva trikes build their own independent frame and use the diff, shafts and brakes from E39 BMW cars. Theres much written about the pros and cons of the ISR versus the fixed axles for M/C trikes. I think my preference would be for something made by BMW that can handle many horse power rather than by Reliant with their somewhat lower power unit.
24/11/2025 11:24:38 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
That doesn't look in bad nick Glyn, and should prove an interesting project. Would you use something like a Reliant back end (obviously needing to turn the drivetrain through 90 degrees) or are there trike-specific diffs etc available? It would be very tricky to add a sidecar given the type of frame.
23/11/2025 16:16:39 UTC
Glyn said :-
I have and am considering that very idea Ian. Bike is an ex demo, one owner bike that’s covered about 11k miles. It hasn’t run since 2001 and everything needs looking at. All calipers are sticky, throttle cable is jammed. All items that happen after a long layup. I have 4 boxes of parts removed by the previous owner but they’re mainly largish bits and he’s supplied a Haynes Manual with the paperwork.
23/11/2025 15:38:51 UTC
Random Link - A Long Day And Night