Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
What's New?
Lincolnshire - And Dryness
There's something new in Lincolnshire today - DRY! Contain your excitement folks, Ren has found a cheap cafe and there's an awful lot of flat.
The Art Of Doing Something That Is Nothing
Bogger has many plans for the day, alas the temptation of food and beer is more alluring. It's a chill day but that's fine, I'm sure there's more chaos to come.
Easy Home And Epilogue
An easy ride home today - and a few notes from Ren regarding ashes, Wales and... The Ikea Effect? Maybe Ren needs (another) holiday.
Good Weather, Good Scenery, Bad Surfaces
It's time for Andy to start the return leg of his big trip. It's all sunshine and hot weather, the views are still good too. The roads... well they're not quite as good. You can't have everything can you.
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
It's a much more relaxed day for Bogger and Pete. There's a handful of miles to ride, people to meet, food to eat, and of course the odd beer.
Mooching Around The Mach Loop
The Dynamic Muppets take on the Mach Loop! OK, it's far less impressive than it sounds. There's some countryside, a cafe, and all the things you'd expect.
To The Most Southern Tip Of Europe
Andy reaches the final destination of this trip. "You can see Africa from 'ere".
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.
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Lincolnshire - And Dryness
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nidger, when you're right, you're right.
Upt.
09/03/2026 16:14:20 UTC
Lincolnshire - And Dryness
nab301 said :-
Ren don't listen to them they're only jealous of the nomadic lifestyle that you live...Upt is definitely suffering from cabin fever! The sooner he gets out on his bike the better.
Nigel
09/03/2026 15:29:25 UTC
Lincolnshire - And Dryness
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Yes I can understand the sequence is always out of kilter. There's a reason for that. I try to get at least one new page on the site weekly. However our trips and those contributed by others such as Bogger don't end sequentially, get written up sequentially, and therefore I don't publish them sequentially. This I am sure leads to confusion not only to you the dear reader but also myself.
You'll note at the bottom of each story is a selection of links (unless the story only merits one page) and that's where you can follow the sequence of each tale. PS if anyone's thinking of contributing I'm happy with one page stories. I tend to write quite wordy pages, Andy Grey's posts are written on his mobile while on his trip so they're more like notes. You might only want to write a summary of a 4 week tour of eastern Europe and that's fine too! We like pictures though, we love piccies.
Yes they make Wagon Wheels still Upt'. However either I've grown a lot or they're a lot smaller than I recall. Probably both. No, no tanning was undertaken, it was a bit too cool for that. Sharon didn't have her bikini anyhow.
09/03/2026 14:50:40 UTC
Lincolnshire - And Dryness
Upt'North ¹ said :-
You're my hero Ed. You really know how to treat a girl, an out of date Wagon Wheel and tea from a chipped mug. You should write a book.
"Days out for less than a fiver". Perhaps a periodical, I'd subscribe in a jiffy.
Do they still make Wagon Wheels, I'll bet they're smaller.
Did you get a tan?
Upt.
09/03/2026 12:26:26 UTC
Lincolnshire - And Dryness
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I do like the way you and Sharon manage to find the positive in what to many of us would be a dreary experience. But I confess to being confused as to the sequence of your trips.......
09/03/2026 11:50:08 UTC
The Art Of Doing Something That Is Nothing
Ian Soady¹ said :-
That Creasey Voyager looks good, and more "finished" than a lot of the FF bikes. I'm all in favour of unorthodxy.
07/03/2026 09:41:01 UTC
The Art Of Doing Something That Is Nothing
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Triumphs.......pffffffftttttt.
Stew and beer sounds much more enjoyable than pushing half a tonne of over cc'd nonsense.
Upt.
06/03/2026 17:17:38 UTC
Easy Home And Epilogue
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
You're farther away than Sharon's place is ROD. To the Welsh border near Queensferry from her place is 25 miles, to the start of the hills 35 miles. Despite the motorway and short run it still takes an hour to "get into the nice bits".
Ian I have a problem with forgetting about the bit on the left too - but in the car. DOH!
04/03/2026 16:43:58 UTC
Easy Home And Epilogue
ROD¹ said :-
Ren, I am based in Northamptonshire, so about 130 miles to the nearest part of Wales.
04/03/2026 15:30:11 UTC
Easy Home And Epilogue
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Ren: of course what you say re shakedown prior to painting is sensible but the painter's diary was very full and I booked it way back in December, so am more or less governed by that. And since when have I been sensible? Yes there will likely be adjustments once I try it but hopefully these will be fairly minor. As to bumping, the chassis has that nice hoop at the front to protect it. I can however imagine scraping the mudguard when I forget the sidecar is attached and try filtering!
04/03/2026 12:23:05 UTC
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nab301 said :-
Ian , hopefully it handles as well as it looks and if it ends up as a wet summer you can always make a canoe out of it and paddle around in the floods.
@ Glyn , the Triumph has cleaned up well , it'll be interesting to hear your verdict on it when you get the MOT
Nigel
09/03/2026 15:45:07 UTC
Glyn said :-
Looking very good Ian. I’m always worried about new paint and I struggle to let it harden wanting to get it together as soon as possible. It takes a fair bit of willpower to leave it. I bought the proper gasket material some years ago and still have lots left.
07/03/2026 20:10:04 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nice work fellas, I've cancelled the callback from MI5....at first I thought it was a Shahed.
07/03/2026 17:50:58 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Well for a fella with a dicky knee you're doing some excellent work there Glyn. Colour me impressed.
By golly that's very very red Ian. I have little sense of colour but I'm thinking the chrome trims and black frame will reel it in nicely.
07/03/2026 17:44:30 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Quick pic of the painted body and mudguard. The paint shop (Lee at Painttech in Bromsgrove - see link) has done a really nice job and the colour match to the bike is just about perfect. I'm leaving it for a week or so to fully harden before applying the chrome strips, tonneau clips etc.
Cost £675 which sounds a lot but given the work involved I think was very reasonable, as was the £40 each way transport by a local man & van. Shiply and anyvan wanted over £150 to take it about 10 miles which is about what I paid to have the whole lot brought from Wisbech to Redditch. And that by a proper bike removal bloke (Phil from Acceleration) who really knows his stuff.
https://painttechrepairs.co.uk/...
07/03/2026 12:16:35 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Ah, the almost lost art of gasket making. Did you use a cornflake packet or the proper stuff? I have sheets of the latter - can't remember the name - which are decades old. I must admit to often using RTV except where bits might get into the oiling system these days. Primary drive covers on my old bikes are notoriously difficult to seal otherwise.
07/03/2026 09:38:22 UTC
Glyn said :-
All back together on the engine now and stainless fasteners making it look much better. I’ve bought a new battery and just have to do the Kreem tank sealer job to keep the rust at bay. The MOT is booked for 2nd April.
06/03/2026 18:44:39 UTC
Glyn said :-
I can’t wait for the pictures Ian. I’ve been busy myself on the Trumper Triple. The main issue being the “stuck” clutch that would not release. It was an easy job to get it out and find the metal and friction plates glued together with gloopy old oil. Just a quick clean up of the metal plates with metal polish and all is well. I had to make a new cover gasket as £30 for a genuine item seemed a bit steep.
06/03/2026 18:40:49 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
My parts are now in Frankfurt apparently but one their way to me. When I look at the carb there doesn't seem any way the cable operated chioke can fit along with the TPS as there's only clearance (just) for the shaft of the carb-mounted choke button. I think I'll have to chop one leg of both the bracket and sensor off to get it to fit. But will wait till I get the bits. Always something isn't there? The carb is humongous and incredibly complicated but apparently releases another few bhp over the CV Mikuni which is standard fit on the softer models.
I've just heard that the sidecar body & mudguard are finished so have arranged for them to be picked up tomorrow morning. How exciting!
06/03/2026 11:05:53 UTC
nab301 said :-
My only experience with a dodgy TPS was on a fuel injected Guzzi , the throttle was a little snatchy and checking the resistance "curve " of the TPS with an ohmmeter proved it wasn't very progressive , as an experiment I started the bike with the TPS disconnected and like Glyn the engine barely ran except on full throttle . The original problem was cured with a new TPS although unlike a carbed engine there must be more at play than just ign timing?
Nigel
05/03/2026 15:06:15 UTC
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nab301 said :-
I guess it's a poor mans take on a Honda Valkyrie (although the valkyrie is a flat 6 ) if the engine and transmission are good it seems well worth the money . Be interesting to see how it rides and with some custom side covers it could look ok.
Nigel
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Valkyrie...
09/03/2026 16:03:09 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Yeah if you look at the front spark plug cap compared to the middle and rear caps it's "different". Most peculiar, someone's gone to a lot of effort to give a V4 engine a V6 look. Weird, but as long as weird ain't hurting no-one weird is fine.
09/03/2026 08:14:03 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
The frame and rear footpeg hangers are ST11. The tank is a dummy, you can see the tank and filler just behind it in it's original position. Wheels are ST11 too.
08/03/2026 16:39:29 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Interesting, I always like bikes that are a bit oddball. I think Mr North may be right as I can only see 2 exhausts exiting, at least on the side we can see.
08/03/2026 09:47:42 UTC
Glyn said :-
I think you’re onto something there Up’t. I don’t think the Triumph tank fooled anybody but it was a very good fit seemingly sculpted around various fitments on the frame. Do you think it’s the Pan frame. Clever really because most of the Pan is covered with fairing so those who have never owned one would not recognise the chassis and engine. £750 seems reasonable value for what could become a pretty interesting machine.
08/03/2026 07:42:27 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
See what I mean?
07/03/2026 22:05:37 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
On second looksies, I dont think it is a V6, it's an ST1100 with a fake front ST lead. But I've been wrong before. Fake news, who said that?
07/03/2026 22:03:20 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Glyn, that's a mystery indeed. It's got elements of Pan Euro 11/13 about it but they're V4.
Upt.
07/03/2026 21:59:54 UTC
Glyn said :-
I came across this at Kempton bike jumble today. A V6 engine and fairly well put together. I presuming it is someone’s one off. It had a ticket for £750 on it. Has anyone any ideas?
07/03/2026 20:13:48 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
The front brake on the BSA is an 8" twin leading shoe affair and is very progressive and powerful. I agree some drum brakes were pretty pathetic but by the late 1960s there were some good ones around. Norton's TLS on the early Commandos was excellent and indeed better in many ways than the later disc. I remember some heart stopping moments on my disc braked 850 Commando in the wet. It needed a full turn of the wheel at least before the water was wiped off. Just as your knuckles were going white it would start to grip at which point the front wheel would lock......
No sidecar brake and I can't see a means of fitting one easily. The wheel is in fact from a Ural with suitable adaptors. A sidecar brake is useful - not so much for stopping but to help with left hand bends which also need slight acceleration. On right handers - which of course are less scary - slight application of the bike rear brake helps to pull the whole thing round. I need to relearn all these things and have located a useful big car park on a local trading estate which is unused on Sundays so will be making my way there once all is up & running.
Sidecar paint and transport there on Monday confirmed.
This is the BSA brake - also fitted to Bonnies, Tridents and the like.
27/02/2026 12:23:54 UTC
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