Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
What's New?
Blood And Rain, Finger Pain, Improving Terrain
A short and simple if a little wet ride up to Callander is followed by a (not very) long and tiresome walk into Callander. No pain no gain Ren! There's new friends too.
The Surprising River Seine
The River Seine is not at all that which Ren expected, which is a good thing for once. Save for the exceedingly hot weather and questionable pricing it all turns out rather well.
No Rain, Hip Pain, A Train, Rice Grain, Heavy Rain
The Batties are off to Skye! Today though they barely make it to Scotland. Ren expands his culinary expertise, forgets something, and looks happy as always.
A Honda C90 Weekend
Bogger is up to his usual antics. That means miles, food, booze, breakdowns, and chaos in all it's forms. This time The New Forest endures his presence when the whole place is already on fire.
Hot And Simple Normandy
Sharon is in her element, Ren is at risk of melting as a heat wave hits Normandy. There's a little motorcycling and a lot of pool time, plus some sweating.
Prologue - Skye AKA Bogger's Curse
Excuses and complaining... that is all Ren has to offer. A truncated trip, the risk of bad weather, and bad timing. Awww poor poor Ren.
Skye AKA Bogger's Curse
Title page for a hit-n-miss trip to Skye
Walking, Eating, Drinking, And Riding (The Next Day)
Covering 2 days Bogger manages a little walk, an inordinate amount of dining, some alcohol, and a long ride (once sober). Contrary to Bogger's modus operandi all this is achieved without any disasters. Go figure.
Hot In Honfleur
It's hot, it's busy, and it's all a bit odd. In spite of all this and some confusing food Ren might possibly at risk of almost having an OK day?
From Bad, To Worse, To Awful
Bogger has an almost new SH350. And some friends, mostly on litre plus bikes. And a long ride ahead. There's buffoonery, worries, and finally good old incompetence to ensure Bogger has the best of times.
See More What's New
Latest Posts
The Surprising River Seine
nab301 said :-
Locally for me a bog basic foul tasting americano is generally at least €3 euro , which is why I rarely bother , I bring my own tap water with me and a banana or two.. if you can make me a nice pot of leaf tea I'd give it a try once at least even if it was £12.50, and stay for the sparkling company and small talk!
Looking forward to more grumbling , it's why we keep coming back.
Nigel
02/10/2026 18:56:02 UTC
Honda CB 125 F Test Ride Review
nab301 said :-
Living in Southern Ireland we seem to have the same or even worse, poor ,misleading speed signposting, it drives me mad. Strangely if I travel Upt North to Northern Ireland , while the infrastructure (road surfaces) seems to be crumbling , the road engineering and signposting including speed appears to be much better.
Ren , as for car owners , I'd imagine the electric car issue can usually be solved with a short term rental for the annual longer road trip.
If I could pluck up the courage to sell one or 2 bikes privately I'd probably get myself an XSR 125 which has a couple more BHP than my CB125F ... ( I know, it's not a Honda!)
Nigel
02/10/2026 17:05:23 UTC
Blood And Rain, Finger Pain, Improving Terrain
nab301 said :-
Ren , so many comments , where will I start? Hopefully your finger is ok and you obviously didn't need a Tetanus jab! Just as well you didn't dip it in the salty chips , that would have stung a bit! While we're on food , tell me that's not a hot cross bun with a filling?
On the subject of sleep, having just finished reading the book entitled " The 8 hour sleep Paradox" The Author suggests that disturbed sleep suggests you are not getting uninterrupted deep sleep where the body secretes hormones that prevent you from needing to ahem urinate... Deep sleep apparently is still and silent, and barking dogs and flushing toilets don't wake you . There's an app you can download which records the number of interruptions during the night , most of which can be caused by airway restrictions causing you to move or open your mouth, basically repeatedly waking up your brain leading to poor restorative sleep quality. The book is well worth a read.
Camping wise it's great to be back to normal, cool damp and soggy conditions.
Nigel
02/10/2026 16:32:56 UTC
Blood And Rain, Finger Pain, Improving Terrain
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Enough with the finger already.
It always rain in Callander. It only stops so it can start again.
Upt.
02/10/2026 16:10:52 UTC
Honda CB 125 F Test Ride Review
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I wasn't aware of the different rules with regards 20 mph signage, although I can't recall only seeing one sign anywhere and it doesn't appear to alter signage regs for other limits. Also 20 repeaters still appear to be the norm even if not required.
I take your point that if you stayed overnight in the area it would be possible to think it may be 30 mph, especially after not sleeping all night worrying if you'll remember in the morning.
You can be certain of one thing though, in addition to death and taxes, there'll be no real scuffers enforcing the limits.
So you'll probably see the big yellow van early enough through your sleep deprived eyes.
Upt.
01/10/2026 23:12:12 UTC
Honda CB 125 F Test Ride Review
ROD¹ said :-
This small bike / bigger bike subject always seems to get me overthinking everything.
I agree that a 125 will get you to where you need to be at a lower cost than a bigger bike.
The 250 / 350 size bike gets you up the hills better than a 125, and they seem to offer that keep up with traffic ability, BUT I find them frustrating they almost give you the ride you want, but then they fail. At least with a 125 you know it will be economical if you don't thrash it, and you have very low expectations when it comes to performance.
Last year we did a lot of two up riding, many days around 200 miles and on one occasion 350 miles in a day this would not have been possible on a 125.
Tomorrow I am off on my first camp of the year, a couple of nights on Dartmoor.
This is around 240 miles away, and if I still had a smaller bike I would not take it on the trip fully loaded with camping gear.
My head tells me that a 125 will do what I need, but my heart tells me the opposite.
01/10/2026 21:41:02 UTC
Honda CB 125 F Test Ride Review
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
nab301 - From my trips around the UK and little bits of Europe I also question just how often do I really need 47bhp let alone 147bhp. It's a bit like electric cars - they might have a range of 250 miles but you have that one trip a year where you do 300 miles. The car is fine for 99% of your journeys but that one journey puts you off going eleccy. Same with power. I found the 125 was more than sufficient for 99.9% of my riding but there's that one day out or that one ride with friends where the extra grunt would be great.
Running 2 cars for most folks is too costly. I do find running 2 bikes ain't cheap either but then it's the best solution - 125 (or perhaps 250) for the 99% and keep a quicker bike as an occasional play thing.
01/10/2026 21:14:49 UTC
Honda CB 125 F Test Ride Review
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I want you to imagine you've been out riding all day and you enter a 20 zone. Firstly it's my understanding the large 20 signs do NOT need to be in pairs, one either side of the road. Nor I believe are they required to have the reminder signs every 200 yards. You get to your friend's house, have a long chat, maybe even spend the night there. You awake in the morning, have a brew and some brekkie then head out. Street lights, no reminder signs... by definition it's 30 and you've spent the whole night there - are you expected to remember?
See the link for these 20 zone rules as I understand them.
https://www.20splenty.org/signs_regs_changes...
01/10/2026 21:07:07 UTC
Honda CB 125 F Test Ride Review
Martin said :-
Hi Ren,
Yes, I am sure sticking to 40 mph and half throttle would indeed return excellent consumption. As others have mentioned there are now many places where 40 mph and less are enforced anyway which makes me wonder if there will be any market for bigger bikes going forward. Talking of bigger bikes, I took my 900 Diversion for a run today then dropped it on the drive when I got home! Amazingly I actually managed to lift it single handed, that was a big surprise to me as I did not actually think I could get it back upright on my own as I have never succeeded in getting it onto its main stand.
01/10/2026 20:30:25 UTC
Honda CB 125 F Test Ride Review
Upt'North ¹ said :-
All single and dual carriageways with street lights, unless there are signs showing otherwise are subject to these limits
30 miles per hour in England, Scotland or Northern Ireland
20 miles per hour in Wales, because they're weird.
If there aren't street lights but repeaters then these should also be no more than 200 yards apart which I think is now changed to 185 metres. This is from memory, so if I'm wrong shoot me. Pffffffftttttt.
So if as is sometimes the case you approach a junction on a derestricted road which is only illuminated around the cross roads etc, then this should be treated as a restricted road, because there is a system of street lights less than 200 yards apart. Once you are beyond the lights unless signs dictate otherwise it reverts to unrestricted.
If you enter a 30 mph zone and it is not illuminated and repeaters are not shown correctly then the limit cannot be enforced.
That's the case for the defence m'lud.
Ultimately it would be down to the courts to decide individual cases on the evidence presented, like I say from memory only. And I'm not as young as I used to be.
01/10/2026 17:53:34 UTC
See More Comments
Latest Repair-Chat
Go To Repair-Chat
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Cleaned me back wheel now too Ed. You are right, dirt is heavy. The chain was sprayed most days and required no adjustment. The old Suzuki chain fell apart going to Sicily and back. Cheap budget crap.
01/10/2026 09:07:25 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Shocking news Upt'!! I work on the principle of lubricating the chain often which means most of the dirt ends up on the back wheel. Admittedly even someone as scummy as myself has to clean the back wheel from time to time otherwise the wheel becomes heavier!
30/09/2026 07:48:54 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Don't think of me badly Ed.....I've just cleaned me chain.
Not a euphemism. It wasn't half crappy.
29/09/2026 12:55:00 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Glyn, I know that the Repair - Chat page is not the same without the ability to post a picture, but how is the Aprilia coming along?
28/09/2026 22:20:12 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ian , I never had an AVO but I remember a biking neighbour back in the 70's had one , or rather his father had which was useful for fault finding on his electric start Yamaha 200 (combined alternator / dynamo electric start)
BTW , I recently purchased a cheap digital meter from Lidl which has a capacitance check feature that works as you describe.
Nigel
08/08/2026 18:08:12 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I thought there may be some people who remembered AVOs here given the demographics. Sadly mine didn't come with the leather case although does have the original heavy cardboard box together with instruction manual. I've sorted out the overload button which just needed a hard press to reseat it and it now measures voltages correctly. I'll pick up a D battery later today and will order the 15 volt one - there's a seller on ebay.
It's so beautifully made inside and as you say Jeff the rolls-royce of meters and I look forward to using it in earnest.
I too have forsworn kickstarts given my knee issues - saw a physio yesterday who said I was progressing well. Three months with ongoing - although lessening - doesn't feel like good progress to me but heigh-ho.
06/08/2026 14:03:31 UTC
kiwiJeff said :-
Ian your mention of AVO8 certainly bought back memories. Like Glyn I used one through the 70s and early 80s as a radio technician working on communications valve radios. They were the Rolls Royce of multimeters. Using one balanced at the top of an equipment rack was a challenge though, they were heavy! Did the meter come in a stitched leather carry bag with a carry strap? Riding through our winter on the Bandit although while you are overheating in Europe we are having an unusually cold winter? Turned around on one of my favorite roads when I reached a sign that said next 12 kms is ice and grit! We use grit instead of salt on icy roads here which while our vehicles don't rust like yours due to the salt causing rust the grit doesn't melt so becomes a hazard on the bike for some time after the ice is gone! Ren you have my sympathies with your aching hip, my titanium hip aches in the cold my theory is the metal gets cold and affects the surrounding tissue so causing pain. The hip and the arthritic ankle mean I'll never use a kick starter on a bike again! I have to get the missus to help me roll the Bandit onto the centre stand these days! Getting old is a privilege but comes with it's challenges! Ride safe everyone through your summer, we are off to China for a month to have a look at where everything we use these days is made! Regards Jeff
06/08/2026 11:14:26 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I had to google U2 Battery, apparently it's what I would know as a D Cell? If I recall that's the big 'uns that were in the Ever Ready bicycle lights when I were a lad. Several weeks worth of pocket money for a pack of 2 D cells into the bicycle light that would be bright for 20 minutes, then dim for maybe half an hour, then dead. Today you fit a AAA into an LED light that'll blind drivers for several weeks. Kids these days, don't know how lucky they are(n't).
06/08/2026 08:27:11 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Nostalgia's not what it was.... As Glyn says, the 10A current measuring is a bonus - my digital meter has this but it's a bit of a faff. The AVO is a beautifully made bit of kit. I've found out why it doesn't work - the overload button has been activated and won't stay down It should be a simple repair or if necessary bypass it. When I hold it down it works for voltage (and I assume current). The batteries for measuring resistance have of course disintegrated. One is just an ordinary U2 - the other is special but replacements are available.
One use of an analogue ohm-meter is to check capacitors. Connect one way and the needle should make a slight kick and drop back to zero. Connect the other way and the kick should be repeated. This won't work on a digital meter.
I do have an old analogue job but it won't zero any more so when I get the AVO fixed that will be retired.
05/08/2026 13:08:16 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I would be Glyn but have a look at Chit-Chat. Due to "unforseen circumstances" I've had to remove the ability to upload images :(
Why do you want the old mulitimeter Ian? Nostalgia I presume.
05/08/2026 12:03:12 UTC
Latest Chit-Chat
Go To Chit-Chat
nab301 said :-
Upt , I have an F70 purchased a couple of years ago... I also have my older NXR Shoei.
On the HJC , I think the build quality is good , paint quality is excellent , Sharp rating is 4 , same as my Shoei , good anti fogging and airflow , good in wet weather (water beads off nicely) good aero (quiet) weight is 1.5kg , heavier than my shoei but ok , any heavier generally causes me neck issues.. Shell is fibreglass.
I see the I71 listed as polycarbonate and 1.8 kg which if correct would be heavy for me , not sure what the I72 is , possibly 1.6kg.
On sizing , I'm generally a 62 cm which was fine when I purchased , snug but It didn't really get looser with wear ... next time I'd probably try an XXL 61-63 rather than XL 60-62.
The N70 has a D ring fastener which is my pref, not sure on the I72 , and also visor on the N70 is screwed on rather than QD which could be an issue for some but overall turned out not to be an issue for me.
Nigel
02/10/2026 18:44:57 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Nigel, I want to try their i72 which has just been released. The i71 got a great write up.
It'll have to wait because I'm not going to Newcastle-upon-the-Tyne any time soon.
What do you think of the brand?
On the subject of live matter in your helmet, I don't think they would have gone anywhere near it.
Upt.
02/10/2026 17:04:42 UTC
nab301 said :-
Upt , if you still have hair you might want to use a delouser before you introduce your head to the new lining.... Agree on the price of Shoei , they've almost doubled since covid , I've had to downgrade to HJC
Nigel
02/10/2026 16:03:46 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ta me duck. It was blummin uncomfortable riding without the top lining, I thought my brains were falling out when I took it off in Dunkirk, then I realised I'd left them at home in a safe place. My brain cells that is. The foam just fell out in a million grubby pieces and disappeared down the drain, probably straight into the English Channel. The French call it some'at else.
They would wouldn't they.
Dunkirk seemed a very tidy little town, we may have to return for a little longer? They don't even spell Dunkirk right, I know! Pffffffftttttt.
The liner was discounted nicely at the Sportsbikeshop and although the helmet is getting on a bit it's too good to bin. New GTAirs are now north of 600 squid. Flippin Eck, that's 200 cups of tea!
Upt.
01/10/2026 09:04:33 UTC
Upt'North ¹ (via ren@bikesandtravels.com) said :-
Ooo er miss's.
Can you tell the new Shoei inner from the old.
Thankfully it happened at Dunkirk on the way home.
Upt.
30/09/2026 21:24:46 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Right you 'orroble rabble! Upt' has sent me a piccy to put on this ere chit chat. He assures me it's his and I can use it so I have worked out a way to do this - if you send me the piccy. Yes yes yes it is a right old FAFF and a pain in the rear end but these things are sent to test me. ren@bikesandtravels :)
30/09/2026 20:14:38 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Yes I'd enjoy hearing about Upt's exploits! I'm hoping to bring another of Andy Grey's Facebook notes onto these pages too in a while.
26/09/2026 18:52:17 UTC
nab301 said :-
Upt , glad to hear you made it back , despite your potentially Libellous ( or is it Slanderous ?) statement! Looking forward to the in depth write up...
Nigel
25/09/2026 15:15:29 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
The base model Z500 is £5,700 and has 44bhp.
KTM 390 various models under 5k! Plenty of power, not sure about reliability.
Innumerable Chinese models or all shapes and sizes. It seems the quality and backup is always improving and could be a good option.
So yes you're right it's a lot for 28bhp. I figure it'll come down to what a buyer is looking for in a bike. Anyhow it ain't here yet... it might be 5k, it might be a right lemon to ride, it might be the best thing since sliced bread.
25/09/2026 08:59:11 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
What else can you get for £5,500 Tony? Tell ya what I'll go have a look now I've asked that question.
I'll be back...
25/09/2026 08:42:39 UTC
Random Link - Easy Side/Centre Stand Spring Refitting