Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
What's New?
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
What is Ren doing today? No, he doesn't know either. Mist, rain, cafes and slippery roads are on the menu, plus there's a new member in the group.
To Book Or Not To Book
Do you book or just turn up? Ren never used to think about booking but not any more. What's changed, is this a thing or just a Ren thing?
Let The Fun And Fretting Begin
It's the first ride out of the week, an easy one to get things going. Girvan provides the destination for a simple ride that'll get Ren fretting as usual.
Poland To Czech With Nitwits
After a night in Poland the British Buffoons head into The Czech Republic. They're tired and reading between the lines getting a little grumpy, but there's booze and food so they'll be fine.
Bungling To The Bungalow
The first day of the South West Scotland Adventure is a total washout. Ren is moist and Sharon is leaking - and yet it's not all bad at the end of the day.
The Z500 Mods Continue
Sharon's conversion from Z500 naked sports bike to Z500 touring motorcycle continues. MO' money, MO' problems is what dey say innit? Ain't nuffink eezee.
5 Fools For Kilmarnock - Prologue
The tales of mishap and trepidation leading up to this adventure is not for the faint hearted. Gird your loins we're only at the planning stage so far...
5 Fools In South West Scotland
Title page for The BATties Ayrshire expedition.
Soft Brake Fix Weirdness
Ah the old trick of zip tying the brake lever to get a good brake. It seems to work but does anyone know why?
Escape From Colditz To Poland
The lads take a brief look around Colditz before making a dash for Poland. There's a handful of shenanigans and guess what - beer.
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Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Henrik said :-
Just retired partly, so the main-base is now our house in Sweeden, (Lammhult), its a little more north than Edinbough
Its a good base for travels real far north, we hit the Norwegian border in 4 hours, "my thing", just love the north
Got no plans going south, east, or west,.. at all ;-)
Nice article and pictures here
Looks like a nice trip, sure, obviously the nature, but the train-station also, and Danish Lurpark on the table :-)
In return I might consider Triumph 400X, I know, its from India, but still :-) (saw one in a shop a few days ago)
07/08/2025 23:13:32 UTC
To Book Or Not To Book
Henrik said :-
Guess not as Upt North as my Sweedish home, and main base, (Lammhult), its a bit North comparede to Edinburgh
Here you see the trip from my SE home base, 3-4 weeks, the 10 days in Laukvik will be the only booked destination
With the wife, caravan loaded with foto-gear, will not highjack this MC site, but short write and album-link sure ;-)
Base Route approximately 2688 miles plus day-trips ,.. maybe 3500-4000 miles in total
07/08/2025 21:17:09 UTC
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Pffffffftttttt.
07/08/2025 14:34:43 UTC
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
And Lofoten is up in the Artic Circle so that's WAY Norf. Makes you Upt' look like a proper suvvenor.
07/08/2025 14:30:41 UTC
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Hopefully this might help you understand where the UK sits compared to Denmark. I tend to imagine Denmark as being much farther north than it actually is.
07/08/2025 14:26:22 UTC
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Upt'North ¹ said :-
How much?
07/08/2025 14:18:54 UTC
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I know the story of someone selling London bridge... not so sure of the gold.
In the kingdom of the blind the one eyed man is king. I'm sure google maps are not without there errata but their databases and systems know far more places and routes than I ever will. Without google maps I'd still be in Portugal trying to find my way to Spain. No. Wait. That's not a good example... I'd rather be lost in Portugal than here in grim and gritty Bolton. Dagnammit.
If Henrik is in Denmark then it is possible you're on a similar latitude to him. If however he's already at Lofoten then he's WAY north of anywhere in the UK Upt'.
07/08/2025 14:18:23 UTC
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Ian Soady¹ said :-
If you trust google maps I have a london bridge you maye be interested in. Or how about this gold brick....
07/08/2025 12:55:55 UTC
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It is a common misconception Ed that Northumberland is just like going to the lakes, two hours up the motorway from Bolton. But it is a further two hours from Penrith to home, that's either the A7 through Hawick or the A69 over to Newcastle upon the Tyne.
From Penrith I could probably be in the Trossachs just a quick. Although I am guessing.
Thanks for the map clarification leader.
Upt. But am I further north than Henrik, another map required.
Pffffffftttttt.
07/08/2025 10:57:50 UTC
Some Rain, A Unicorn, And Disorder
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I'll see your smidgeon and raise it by a gnats cock.
07/08/2025 10:53:16 UTC
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Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
You might have been joking nab301 - I wasn't!
The question remains - would you enjoy stripping the motor and getting the crank rebuilt etc etc or would it be a chore?
04/08/2025 18:54:03 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ren , I was only joking about the for sale section !
I haven't decided yet what I'm going to do , the bike was a very cheap(3 figure) purchase originally but just out of interest I priced up the minimum in "hard" parts(excl gaskets)that I might need if the crankshaft needs repair and it comes to approx £400 excl the engineering services to split the crank and reassemble + balance.
Nigel
04/08/2025 17:05:35 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
You're on the ball Upt'? I'm envisioning a sea lion balancing a ball on it's nose like a cartoon from the 60's.
The question is nab301 is do you enjoy the tinkering or are you trying to minimalise expenditure on your seemingly extensive motorcycle collection? If you're happy tinkering - tinker away! Otherwise get shut of the thing and cut your losses.
I have considered a "for sale" section. I don't think I have the visitor numbers to really warrant it, I'm curious what the legal implications are too.
04/08/2025 08:32:47 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ed, do you hear that, I'm on the ball.
Pffffffftttttt.
Nidger in my experience, spend as little as possible and sell it for as much as possible.
02/08/2025 18:49:56 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ian , Upt is on the ball there, that's a photo of the original very poor bore (long since rebored) , the carbon at the top is just the unused spigot but the tide mark below was presumably caused by
water ingress when laid up .
@ Ren , the Enfield has stopped occasionally over the years but always managed to get me home , the low mileage is more to do with me having too many bikes ... I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet but looking closely at the piston , while ok there is almost imperceptible wear on the left rear and right front top ring land which to my pea-sized brain suggests some sort of misalignment (crankshaft related/ main bearings?) and the ring gaps are between 22 and 18 thou, piston manufacturer recommends 11 to 15 thou , Enfield recommend a new parts gap of 15 thou with a 39 thou max gap when worn...
So it's either sell as is , rebuild top end and sell as is or complete rebuild , not really financially justifiable ( especially since Brexit). ( where's the for sale section?)
Nigel
02/08/2025 13:26:30 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I think I'm addicted to brake fluid, but it’s OK because I can stop at any time.
Drum roll, symbols.
02/08/2025 10:10:42 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I dare not say owt. Upt' will just come back with another terrible pun.
30/07/2025 08:00:47 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I'm sure Ren will give you clearance....
29/07/2025 12:17:49 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I was thinking a very bad cylinder Ian.
Sorry to be a bore.....
I'm here all week.
Upt.
28/07/2025 18:49:53 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Not sure what that pic is, Nigel, is it the valve seat?
28/07/2025 09:54:25 UTC
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Upt'North ¹ said :-
No, quite cheap actually Ian. £25.00 per night off season for 2 adults including bed, breakfast and evening meal. I mean, what could go wrong.
01/08/2025 16:35:43 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Oh dear....
01/08/2025 13:16:17 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It looks delightful Ed, although are you sure about the Grockle situation.
I heard it was very popular with Iraqis, Somalians and Afghanistanians?
Oh we are looking forward to it....
01/08/2025 12:19:36 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
A week in Bolton nick then Upt'? You'll be enamoured by our distinct lack of grockles and out terribly inclement weather. You can take a walk around the deserted high street, spend an wistful hour in a smelly bookies or could I recommend a tour of the charity shops followed by a romantic meal for two in McDonalds?
While I wouldn't recommend Bolton as a destination if you are unfortunate enough to find yourself here Le Mans Crescent does, if you squint, make a good stand in for any Eastern Bloc city or Victorian backdrop as seen in several TV programs...
01/08/2025 12:00:54 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I've just booked a week in Bolton in February 2026. A delightful looking establishment and apparently regularly frequented by the boys and girls in blue, can't be bad then.
01/08/2025 10:50:26 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
And it seems EVERYWHERE you go it's rammed with "grockles". You need to a) stop travelling at weekends b) stop travelling when it's nice and sunny c) stop going to nice places. Lots of people go to nice places on sunny weekends. And school holidays. Go in winter on a cold, wet Wednesday afternoon, it won't be so busy then.
It works for me.
31/07/2025 22:33:44 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Images are reduced to 750 pixels wide automatically. You image is super long therefore 750 pixels wide has made it 1287 pixel long. If I were to make it shorter it'd look all squished up like.
As for paying me... I blummin' well wish...
31/07/2025 22:31:09 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nice Swift.
Please resize that photo Ed, it's blummin enormouserer.
I don't know why we pay him. I really don't.
Upt.
31/07/2025 10:38:37 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Come to Peebles they said.
Lovely and quiet they said.
Pffffffftttttt I say.
Blummin grockles I say.
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
31/07/2025 10:36:37 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I keep everything on my desktop PC (with regular backups). The thought of entrusting my data to a company based in Trump's USA would give me the heebie-jeebies. No cloud (silver lining or not) for me thanks. I also have my email and web stiff on an EU based server. All of course mirrored on the pc.
OK when people whip out their overpriced iphones and shows me their holiday snaps am I jealous? Not really.....
28/07/2025 12:10:25 UTC
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