Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
Spring has sprung, now we have a few months of warm pleasant rain to enjoy after the cold and miserable rain of winter.
What excitement and adventures will this year bring?
What's New?
A Cotswoldian Reconsideration
It's about time Ren rethinks his position on what is generally considered a nice part of England. It's all very nice, but is it too nice?
Prologue - Some Iberian Mountains
Organising a simple 2 week bike tour should be easy peasy. Watch Ren make this simple task as difficult as possible.
Some Iberian Mountains
Title page for The Batties' Iberian Expedition.
Prologue - The Middle West Of England
In a completely unnecessary level of exposition Ren explains the lead up to a short break. There's genius maps to help in case you're bored.
The Middle West Of England
Title page for a short break in The Cotswolds and Hereford.
Homeward Bound And Epilogue
After yesterday's debacle things are going much better for Sharon and Ren today. It's an easy ride home and the final summing up.
It's Been A Fair Old Day
After a great week in The Highlands it's time to leave. However fate doesn't want them to leave, nor does Ren. Things aren't going quite to plan today.
A Very Brief Epilogue
Just a brief note from Bogger as he wraps up his Alpine Adventures on a Cub 125. It's only a short 355 miles today.
Easy To Dalwhinnie And Shameful Friends
It's an easy day's ride in The Highlands today although not everything is going quite the way it should. It doesn't help when Ren's friends are shopping for... soap.
Wheel-A-Carry!
Oh no! This time it's Sharon's fault that Ren's CB500X is sporting a natty new wooden accoutrement. Her problem, her solution, her wood. Alas Ren is still pleased with the wooden tyre transportation system.
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Latest Posts
A Cotswoldian Reconsideration
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I certainly wouldn't argue about French and English prices, both just as eye wateringly expensive.
But after 8 countries, Italy definitely came out on top for quality and value. No where else came close.
Don't even start me on Belgium!
You could spend money in Italy but you had to try quite hard. Whereas Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, France etc, just think of a price and double it and you'll be close. Northern Italy was a little more expensive than the South for probably no better reason than it's a richer area.
The southern Italians were more pleasant too. Until they got on or in a vehicle of course.
I know Ed suggested £20.00 per head for an evening meal, that would not be easy to achieve in anywhere calling itself a restaurant. You'd get a simple pasta mains and a glass of water for that, but little else. And I don't do water, that is unless it is mixed with ground coffee for five minutes then poured into a suitable mug.
Those €2 coffees are pretty rare too. Yes at a truck stop or small town cafe maybe but on the autoroute, autastrada, autobahn, not a chance, double it and you'd be close. Plus those small town cafes are all turning into Costas or holiday homes.
But those are the joys of travel and coffee is way more important than money.
Upt.
17/10/2024 15:34:07 UTC
A Cotswoldian Reconsideration
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I have to say (well I would wouldn't I) that I don't find France more expensive than here. It's still quite easy to find the €15 menu du jour with 3 or 4 course and often 25cl of wine thrown in. It's worth searching out the Relais truckstops where the food is generally excellent and cheap (look for the car park full of artics). Coffee is rarely more than €2. I do agree that evening meals can be pricy but lunchtimes (dinner to you Ren) are generally far more affordable.
It's a while since I've stayed in a French hotel but a quick shufti at the Logis de France website shows me loads of rooms in the €60 - €80 range.
And of course municipal campsites are happy to take €12 a night including electricity......
17/10/2024 12:21:18 UTC
A Cotswoldian Reconsideration
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Why are we Brits so prudish when talking about money? Some places I've worked you can get fired for even discussing wages, in Norway that information is publicly available.
£108 ?!?!?!? Beer, I don't drink beer, or wine, or coffee. Food I do eat and I do do sleeping though. £108 seems like an awful lot to me... then let me think. A "cheap" room in the UK, £50 to £60 these days. A good meal out, £20 per head minimum. Breakfast £8 to £10 per head. Yeah, OK, I can see how that £108 is fair value, and my prices are me being cheap.
17/10/2024 08:13:01 UTC
Review Of Ixon Nirvana Jacket - By Sharon Parker
Kirsty said :-
Hi, thanks for the detailed description! Does the jacket have a 'pouch' for a new full back pad?
Thanks :-)
16/10/2024 22:59:07 UTC
A Cotswoldian Reconsideration
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I don't wish to discuss money Ed, it's so vulgar. But English B and B's, food, drink, snack stops are all incredibly expensive. I don't know when it happened but we went from OK to blummin eck sometime ago.
Consider this....
From our recent trip. Near the toe.
One nights bed, breakfast and evening meal including
Beer and water on arrival.
Wine with the evening meal.
Coffee aplenty.
Undercover parking for the motorcycle and the loan of some anti mossie stuff.
How much I hear you ask for a room and food to die for. Good wine too.
On the credit card it translated to £108.00.
I'll attach a link.
The most expensive country we visited was undoubtedly France. Everything was expensive with the possible exception of pure accommodation.
Upt.
https://www.ilpago.eu/...
16/10/2024 13:27:54 UTC
Honda High Pressure Fuel Connector
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I've Googled "hiprosecantniter", I got nothing. Deep man, real deep.
16/10/2024 07:19:01 UTC
Honda High Pressure Fuel Connector
Dipak kamble said :-
Honda hiprosecantniter
15/10/2024 16:09:44 UTC
Prologue - Some Iberian Mountains
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Halfords!
Never! Never! NEVER! Said in a very Paisley'esque way.
Although I sometimes wish there was one within 50 miles. Not a Paisley.
When I posted the review on untrustworthy.com the b......s came back to me to say they were really sorry and would rectify the situation. 6 weeks on nowt, not even a text, email or a kiss me arris. Nowt.
B......s.
Car journey you say?
Upt.
15/10/2024 10:05:35 UTC
Prologue - The Middle West Of England
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
In preparation for you forthcoming disappointment ROD we didn't specifically visit The Wye so I dunno.
15/10/2024 07:13:09 UTC
Prologue - Some Iberian Mountains
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Well I'm glad you got away and had a break, but yeah shame about not using the bike. Blummin' backs! They're a pain in the ass... no wait... they're a pain in the back. When Sharon had a tumour in her back I offered to do the surgery for her. I mean it can't be that complicated can it, it certainly can't be any more complex than doing the valves on a CB500X. She turned me down muttering something about me not being a surgeon and my poor hygiene habits. I offered to wash me hands first and wipe the grease off my tools. Pffffft.
15/10/2024 07:12:02 UTC
See More Comments
Latest Repair-Chat
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Ian Soady¹ said :-
When I had an O ring chain on the big Tiger I just used Wurth spray wax which was nice and clean. My reasoning was that if(?) the O rings did their job then the pins, bushings etc would be lubricated by the grease originally fitted and that all that was needed was something to lubricate the outer edges of the O rings against the side plates. The bush / sprocket interface shouldn't need any lubricant as there shouldn't be any relative movement.
I was till on the original chain when I sold the bike at 20+ thousand miles and elongation was minimal and well within limits. And I did ride it in the rain - quite a lot - although not in winter.
14/10/2024 10:35:04 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Only ever used Motul spray lube since I've owned it and it's never been cleaned with solvents.
Used Motul on the trip too.
Upt.
14/10/2024 08:49:51 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Upt' - I've never come across o-rings failing so spectacularly. I'm thinking chemicals - I figure you're smart enough to use some kind of rubber friendly lube but perhaps a previous owner wasn't so wise? When changing your front sprocket have a look at the output seal, see if the rubber there has any signs of degrading.
Snod - does the bike live outside? That's a lorra corrosion there. I've gotten Sharon's 250 this week as it's MOT time. It's still an absolute hoot to ride, has big gobs of torque and power and handles great. The only thing it needs are wider bars, it's like steering a go-cart with those narrow things.
14/10/2024 08:11:43 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nigel,
It isn't showing too many signs of wear except it's obviously requiring more adjustment.
But like you say, mad!
Upt.
13/10/2024 22:48:31 UTC
nab301 said :-
@ Snod , at least it was an easy diagnosis and fix! Years ago I had an F650 (twin spark )which developed a problem and I promptly stripped off the twin carbs , nothing really found , in those days I was into preventive maintenance and on reassembly checked the plugs and even checked the resistance of the plug leads and caps , one of the plug caps had gone high resistance / open circuit , I'm guessing that was the cause of my misdiagnosed carburettor problem..
Nigel
13/10/2024 12:22:29 UTC
nab301 said :-
@ Upt , that is mad , what sort of condition is the chain in minus the o rings? is it worn and Can you lift it off the sprockets ? Possibly at some stage in the chains life it was parked up wet and surface rust formed tearing the rings, I always try to keep o rings moist with oil / chain lube .
Nigel
13/10/2024 12:14:58 UTC
Snod said :-
Replaced the plug and the cap and now it runs perfectly. It's not even time to replace the plug yet according to the service schedule, that's at 32K and the bike is only at 30K.
Pffffffftttttt.
12/10/2024 12:43:29 UTC
Snod said :-
I heard clicking while the Z250SL stumbled and eventually stalled.
Hmmmm. Mhm. Mhm.
12/10/2024 12:41:36 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Yes Ian, split o rings. Weird or what?
I've ordered two JT dampened front sprockets, 15 and 16T and a new JT rear. The chain will be heavy duty gold DID.
Maybe 7.5 years is too long for the rubber to survive, maybe 100 f's is too hot, maybe?
Upt.
11/10/2024 18:20:46 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
I bet that chain was making lots of protest noises by the time you got home.
At least you can say you got your money's worth.
11/10/2024 18:06:14 UTC
Latest Chit-Chat
Go To Chit-Chat
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Test - just checking :)
17/10/2024 13:27:21 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Yip there's definitely a nip in the air now, winter is coming. I can tell, Sharon's changed from her summer 3 layers of clothing to 5 layers, soon it'll be 7 or 8 layers and a lot of grumbling about the bike getting dirty.
14/10/2024 08:14:11 UTC
nab301 said :-
Cool in my part of the world too with a few 2°C mornings , hands got properly cold for the first time this autumn even with winter gloves but temperatures are forecast to rise this week so I'll hold off on the winter linings and muffs for the moment!
Nigel
13/10/2024 12:30:10 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Winter has arrived Daan Saaf.
The handlebar muffs went on yesterday, and the winter linings are going in today.
11/10/2024 08:14:23 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
That really confirms what people have been saying for years. The v strom just does the job.
I watched some YouTube of a couple going around the world on a 650 v strom, they certainly gave it a hard time including regular drops when off road.
The bike made the trip with very little trouble.
09/10/2024 08:58:52 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Rod,
I haven't had a good look at er yet but I think mechanically other than the chain she did very well. The oem chain appears budget but it got us back, so I'll forgive it.
The tyres appear to have taken the abuse well with plenty of tread left, I haven't checked the mileage yet but the trip will be well over 4000 miles.
Comfort was exceptionally good, the seat and peg work paid dividends.
The screen protection was as good as it gets, the screen and flip killed thousands of mossies but my visor probably caught half a dozen in 4 weeks.
I will look er over in the next few days, get the chain done and probably put the newer tyres back on. The Italian Autoroutes were dire, if you've never experienced an Italian bridge join, try not to.
Imagine hitting a good pothole at 80 miles per hour a few hundred times a day. No, I'm not exaggerating.
I think the abuse they've taken may lead to an early retirement, the others only had an easy 1500 miles on them.
So yes, as far as I know The B has delivered in buckets.
Upt.
08/10/2024 18:34:11 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Apart from obviously needing shaft drive, how did the 'B' perform on the trip?
08/10/2024 16:56:33 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I'm sure they put us in the wrong cabin Ed, I mean, a butler!
From Ijmuiden to Newcastle.
The ride home was thankfully short but predictably shite.
I now need a new chain and sprockets.
I'm thinking of going up one on the front to 16T and a heavy duty DID jobby. Probably JT cushioned front sprocket.
The OEM chain spat its o rings out all over Italy.
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
08/10/2024 16:01:11 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Home yet Upt'? Enjoying the weather?
Cabin on a boat, so you're not crossing at Calais to Dover. You'll be going to Hull I reckon... Rotterdam to Hull? It's a damn posh cabin if you've gotten a window... at the FRONT! You've gotten too much money boyo.
08/10/2024 07:36:11 UTC
said :-
Woke up in Belgium, now on board the good ship, "Bob Up and Down".
Tomorrow Blighty.
Today was a very pleasant 68 with a firm breeze.
I'm expecting tomorrow will be shite.
I was looking at The B on the dock and thought it looks almost as dirty as Eds. Almost.
Piccy out the Cabin.
Upt and Er'Indoors.
07/10/2024 15:27:45 UTC
Random Link - My Dream Bike - By Peter Hawker