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Haulin' Ass
It's gonna be a long long long ride for Bogger and Pete today. Our brave heroic riders are up to the task and it all seems rather easy overall. Hopefully the digs at the end of the ride will allow their asses to rest comfortably.
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
The Dynamic Muppets are bothering the good people of Lincolnshire as well as bringing the house prices down. There's tea and cake and sweeties too, hills, and spooky stuff.
Queasy Crossing And Useless Till Roll
Rain, wayward boarding passes, useless navigation systems, and rough seas - it's just another day in the life of a Bogger. As ever there's food and booze in the life of a Bogger too.
The Omnipresence Of Olive Groves
Andy's definition of a shorter ride is only 250 miles... sheesh. This time between the fabulous scenery and glorious weather it's olive groves as far as the eye can see.
Lonesome In The Flatlands
Ren is hoping for a better day weatherwise and riding-wise too. Ingoldmells is deserted, Skeggy and Mablethorpe ain't up to much, luckily the countryside is better than expected.
Homeward Bound And Epilogues
Alas it's time to go home. The weather gives Ren deja-vu and there's a moment for a little more cake. Both Sharon and Ren sum up their feelings about the area.
Naughty Boys On Strange Bikes
It's a discouraging start to Bogger's Feet Forwards French expedition. Not to worry, soon the 2 old men are sneaking around like naughty school kids.
More Wonders, Weird Food
It's another day filled with fabulous things for Andy. Knights and bends in the road, mountains and flat bits, and a posh hotel with a sunset.
Wonderous Wales And Epilogue
The ride home from The Elan Valley gives our Dynamic Muppets some delightful scenery - which confuses Ren. It's also time to wrap up the tale.
Braving Barmouth Bridge
Our brave and heroic editor is bravely and heroically doing something many many riders have easily done before. There's also a lot of reminiscing, oh and some chips.
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Haulin' Ass
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ta me Canard.
Nigel, I can reassure you with regards your quest for knowledge on the speed limits of 3.5 tonnes vans in France and indeed Italy.
There is no speed limit and they are allowed to follow at a distance which can be measured with a feeler gauge.
You're welcome.
Upt.
30/01/2026 16:54:28 UTC
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
nab301 said :-
It was good enough for Leonard Rossiter...!
Nigel
30/01/2026 14:46:59 UTC
Haulin' Ass
nab301 said :-
Just like the "old days" when there was no such thing as breakdown recovery! I'm curious on the speed limits in France , I thought outside of motorways and dual carriageways the max speed was 80kph/50mph , I guess white van man had some way around that! The fines look quite steep
Nigel
30/01/2026 14:41:04 UTC
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
As sure as the sun rises, the sun sets too. If the gods give you a swimming pool in the front garden, they'll be sure to give you rising damp too. No matter how hard you try no-one can be perpetually happy, you'll make yourself miserable trying to be happy.
Yours sincerely, Paranoid Android Marvin.
29/01/2026 17:02:42 UTC
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Or in Eds case, every silver lining has a cloud.
29/01/2026 16:01:52 UTC
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
nab301 said :-
That's it Ren , every cloud has a silver lining!
Nigel
28/01/2026 17:32:00 UTC
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Damn nab301! You've got your own pool, that's well posh. As long as the garage isn't flooded you'll be alright.
Upt' - are you suggesting I'd steal from the tea and cake fund? I would never do that... but I do have a rather nice new mug now... And yes a little hint of spring would be nice. I did notice that when I finish work at 1700 here in the gritty grimy bits of north west England - there's now a hint of daylight left. Just a hint mind, unless it's overcast then it's almost dark. It's overcast a lot hereabouts.
The thing with the transition from winter to spring is it's not linear. One moment you're meandering around in February and it's almost warm, dry, even sunny. The daffs are out, the roads are dry, and you've had one of your jumpers surgically removed. You cast aside the waterproofs and the thermals and the liners. 3 days later it's -6c, there's snow on the ground that's now turned to ice, and your ears hurt if you step outside for more then 4 minutes.
At least in summer the rain is warmer.
28/01/2026 08:22:03 UTC
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It's a bit cool for outdoor swimmin, although a spot of fishin wouldn't go amiss.
Thank gawd it's on the outside.
Upt.
28/01/2026 07:55:45 UTC
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
Bogger said :-
That ain't good Nab.
Bogger
27/01/2026 19:38:03 UTC
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
nab301 said :-
Ren , I guess next time the locals have a coffee morning the sign will be modified to "all locals welcom"e and just in case the cannon will be loaded and ready to fire...
@ upt , well ready here for the delights of spring and storm chandra , if only I had a little dingy/ canoe, woke up to this today (luckily only the garden) and serious flooding elsewhere locally and nationally
Nigel
27/01/2026 17:20:43 UTC
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Ian Soady¹ said :-
Thanks for kind comments. Nigel - yes, the inserts will be welded to the tubing. Welding's not my strong(!) point. I have a stick welder that works fine for these heavier items but no good for delicate work, not that I go in for that.
I've had some sensible comments from a sidecar forum, one if which suggests I make the forward upper link to the vertical hoop as otherwise all depend on effectively a friction fit around the chassis tube. I think I can manage that, in fact have added a couple of pics showing that configuration.
I think nylocs came in shortly after WW2. There were also variants on the theme, some with a little split that allowed the top of the nut to distort, and I think others which had a slightly oval section.
Actually a quick ask to Claude tells me a version of nyloc was invented in Sweden in 1927 which is long before I'd thought.
28/01/2026 10:14:13 UTC
nab301 said :-
@ Jeff , as you've discovered once you get your head around fuel injection , component wise it's less challenging than a late model engine with a CV carburettor which in itself is an engineering marvel .
@ Ian , nice work there , is it the inserts you have to weld to the 1" tubing?
Nigel
27/01/2026 17:35:09 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nice work Ian. Very over engineered just as it should be. You have to love a Nyloc too. I wonder when those first turned up on a vehicle, I know they were used extensively in the mid to late 70's.
Upt.
27/01/2026 17:21:09 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
It's coming along very well Ian.
The weather is not up to much for riding, you are better off in the garage.
27/01/2026 13:40:01 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
At the risk of boring you all to death, I've posted pics of the mounting struts for the B'Zuki'Steib. All made out of 1" diameter thick walled seamless tube with steel inserts internally threaded m14. I'll start welding when I pluck up the courage.....
https://www.iansoady.org.uk/BSA/index.htm...
27/01/2026 12:48:10 UTC
kiwiJeff said :-
Nigel if the coil checked out ok the next step was to take out the injectors so your advice had been noted. I'd had a listen to the injectors with a screwdriver held to my ear and they were clicking merrily away so thought at least that part of the FI was working OK. My neighbour is an ex diesel mechanic and he pointed out that they might be opening and shutting ok but whether anything was coming out was another thing! I wasn't too concerned about pulling the injectors out and checking if they were blocked and replacing filters and o rings and seals if not the entire injectors the parts are available and cheap out of China. I treated the whole exercise as a learning experience and I'm now a bit more comfortable with FI vs the old carby technology so slowly becoming more "modern" lol! Regards Jeff
27/01/2026 09:01:55 UTC
nab301 said :-
@ Glyn , I hope the rehab is progressing nicely , by coincidence I bumped into a neighbour at the weekend while on foot , he was walking quite well with one crutch .. on enquiring he had had a knee replacement 3 weeks earlier , like you found, he said the pain was intense but he had been sent on a course of physio before the operation which apparently can help with the post op recovery and obviously post op physio .
Nigel
26/01/2026 14:34:50 UTC
nab301 said :-
That's good news Jeff , luckily you could prove the fault before purchasing parts and hopefully you didn't waste too much time following my advice re injectors... one maybe to watch out for on my Dl250 V strom.
Nigel
26/01/2026 14:25:38 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Good result Jeff. Coils are one of those things that it's difficult to test properly without expensive kit. Yes you can check reistances but that's only half the story as you've found out. Re plug lead length: I needed to change the lead on my DR-Z400 engine but found the HT lead just screwed into the coil like it does with a plug cap. It was however a real hassle finding a long enough plug cap as the plug is embedded so deep inside the cambox. Eventually found one at the green spark plug people who are very helpful.
25/01/2026 14:18:40 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Well done KJ. It just amazes me how you work upside down.
I know!
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
24/01/2026 18:42:05 UTC
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Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I object to random businesses spamming the feed in the hope of improving their Google ranking. I've no problem with you trying to find the jacket a suitable home.
02/01/2026 17:46:19 UTC
Glyn said :-
If anyone is a size 3XL I have a brand new RICHA jacket. It’s never been worn but the tags are not there as it was originally a gift. There is some light armour in the elbows and shoulders but it can be upgraded. I’m not even an L size these days so it hangs in my wardrobe unlikely to ever see the light of day. Sorry Ed I know you frown on advertising on these pages (so I humbly apologise ) but it’s a shame to see it languishing unused.
02/01/2026 12:23:34 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Your feet must be even bigger than mine Nigel, size 46 is about UK 11.
01/01/2026 16:11:19 UTC
nab301 said :-
A pity they don't have any mens sizes!
Nigel
01/01/2026 14:35:13 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Anybody after new motorsiccle boots.
Check this out, sizes 42 to 46.
Upt.
*Remember there are fees and vat etc.
https://www.johnpyeauctions.co.uk/Browse?FullTextQuery=Motorcycle%20...
31/12/2025 12:55:19 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Yes, not bad looking - te tank seat unit has a Triumph Hurricane look about it. I'm not so keen on the exhaust pipe lines however. It might be improved with something like the Triumph's stacked pipes. Although not the comical front brake.
18/12/2025 15:49:07 UTC
nab301 said :-
That looks great and the original so called (I think) Euro styled versions (although I never owned any) were always my favourite looking bikes , CB900f CB750F etc
Nigel
17/12/2025 15:46:27 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Styling Upt'. As you say it's a modern bike in old school clothing. If you took the same chassis and engine and covered it in fairings it's a sports bike. Cover it in angular body panels its a modern naked. I think it looks lovely just as it is.
17/12/2025 11:35:51 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Is it our own fault? Is it fault? Is it what we really want? I dunno. But some of the latest bikes could at first glance be exact copies of 70/80's bikes with a detuned modern ICE thrown in.
Is it what we want?
Yes, this is what happens when the nights draw in.
17/12/2025 09:12:02 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Yes nab301 this is not going to be one of those bikes that takes you by surprise with rapid speed and arm-wrenching acceleration. I daresay if that is what someone is looking for they're probably looking in the wrong place. I think I would wish to try before I buy if nothing else to convince myself there's enough power even for one as humble as my dawdling self.
16/12/2025 18:53:06 UTC
Random Link - Scotland With The Lads 2005 - By Ren Withnell