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?
Home And Epilogue
There's very little to say about the final leg home so Ren lets us know what he thought about the trip. Did you know that from Liverpool to Potes is about the same saddle time as Liverpool to Fort William?
Days Of Luxury In The Final Summary
Oh my how the other half live! In contrast to Bogger's chaos and Ren's miserly way Upt' shows us that travel can be comfortable and luxurious. This is the final leg - the only question is will the weather and the chain hold out?
Chillin' At The Bruce Pollard Rally
A few notes from what ought to be an easy couple of nights in North Wales. It's Ren though innit, making the easy seem hard is his thing.
The Rest Of The Misery
The miserable crossing of The Bay Of Biscay continues for longer than expected or desired. The Dynamic Muppets keep their calm and even manage to keep their breakfast down too.
Old Men Crossing Rivers
I'm getting rather concerned for Bogger. Not much beer, early to bed, no-one lost, and no mechanical tomfoolery. There's a catch, surely there's a catch
Honda V Kwakker Headlight
Are Ren's eyes failing him? Are LED headlights just plain poop? Maybe Sharon's new Z5 can bring some illumination to Ren's world.
The Beginning Of The Misery
Ren is not having a good day at all. He's trying to stay positive by clinging to the memory of an excellent adventure and the handrails. I'm sure you'll all enjoy sharing his distress.
Dodging Rain And A Dodgy Chain
Considering we're covering Italy and France these are brief notes from Upt's homeward journey. He seems to be having a great time but he might be missing his shaft...
Michael Finnegan
Sharon is sprinkling her new Z500 with accoutrements and necessary alterations. It's all good but she's still not fully feeling it just yet.
Not Too Much Chaos
It's all going far too well - I mean losing half your crew is an everyday occurrence ain't it? Well it is for this lot. There's little mention of beer.
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Latest Posts
CB500X Poor Starting
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ed might find it on here somewhere Ian in the archives?
To be honest, again, the finished article isn't what I set out to write. Just what they wanted.
Pffffffftttttt.
Now time to get back to BH integrated dishwashers replacement. Oh the glamour.
18/04/2025 12:48:47 UTC
CB500X Poor Starting
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I got a free 12 month subscription Ian but to be honest it was a PITA.....
Less words please.
More pictures please.
More words please.
Less pictures please.
I'm sure you know the crack.
Upt.
18/04/2025 12:46:42 UTC
CB500X Poor Starting
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I subscribed to MCS from the mid 1970s till about 2000 when it lost its way somewhat. I kept them all until moving house 5 years ago when I passed them on to Pete Crazyfrog who I think gave them to his local bike club after ploughing through them. It was indeed an excellent magazine but with some odd features, like starting an article on one page then having the tail end somewhere else. But apart from that it was a very good read, where the readers' letters were actually better than many of the articles. I still read the digital version courtesy of my local library but there is little of interest in it for me. I certainly wouldn't buy it.
I recently found out who the venerable "One Track" was - but it was someone I'd never heard of.
I don't remember Upt's Portugal article though as I wouldn't have known of him at the time probably just passed it by. I did submit my story of riding my Commando to Greece and back but it was met with stony indifference - indeed completely ignored. It was eventually published by the now defunct British Bike magazine - and they even paid me £100. Eventually. Maybe it was that that finally sent them under.
18/04/2025 10:09:57 UTC
CB500X Poor Starting
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Motorcycle Sport Magazine was a good'un, I think it became Motorcycle Sport and Leisure. If you cast your cold camping muddled head back Ed I had my original Portugal trip published in it.
This might all be wrong of course, Ian will know.
Upt.
18/04/2025 09:53:40 UTC
Chillin' At The Bruce Pollard Rally
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
On this trip I had... ahem.
A metal frame bed like this - https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3407129
A foil blanket atop the bed, beneath the mattress - this type of foil blanket https://www.firstaid4less.co.uk/Medical/Bleed-Trauma-Mass-Casualty-Response/Blankets/Adults-Foil-Blankets
A mattress - https://cascadedesigns.com/products/basecamp-sleeping-pad
A sleeping bag - https://www.carinthia.eu/en/defence-4-p1480/
Thermal long sleeve top, thermal leggings, fluffy jumper, fluffy tracky bottoms, fluffy socks and a bobble hat.
And I am still cold. It's a me thing. I must be a cold sleeper.
18/04/2025 08:28:03 UTC
CB500X Poor Starting
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
In the 70's and 80's I was at school Paul and my preferred 2 wheel transport was my BMX. I had no notions no pretentions to motorcycling until '89. As such I know nothing of "Motorcycle Sport". I'm sure one or two of the other regulars on here can tell me whether or not being reminiscent of Motorcycle Sport is a compliment... or not!
18/04/2025 07:58:15 UTC
CB500X Poor Starting
Paul said :-
Upt'North & Ren
A big thank you for your welcome.
All of you regulars do a superb job. I must try to dream up a contribution.
The articles remind me of those found in 'Motorcycle Sport' of the 70s/80s era. I did enjoy them.
I hope that comes across as a compliment!
?
17/04/2025 19:17:40 UTC
Chillin' At The Bruce Pollard Rally
CrazyFrog said :-
I have an Olpro Ranger which is a lightweight 2 man back packing tent and is very good. I also have an OE Bobcat, which is a 1 man tent, and is very small. It's only got one pole though, so very quick to put up, and fine for 1 or 2 nights. I find layering is thd best way to keep warm. I have a Snugpak 3 season bag. If it's cold, I have a fleece liner to put inside the bag and if it's very cold, I have an ex army goretex bivvy bag to go round the whole thing. I also take thermal vest and long John's. I've woken up to ice on the tent a few times, but I've always been toasty with this set up.
17/04/2025 11:01:16 UTC
Michael Finnegan
CrazyFrog said :-
So sorry to hear about your sister Sharon, fingers crossed for some positive news.
17/04/2025 10:36:44 UTC
CB500X Poor Starting
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Hi Paul - I'm glad you've sussed your issue and I too replaced the battery thinking it was on it's last legs. As stated in the post I can't take credit for this nugget of wisdom - it comes from various CB500X, CBR500R and CBF500 forums.
As for you Upt'North! It makes a refreshing change to know this 'ere 'umble blog has helped at least one person. I suppose I could argue it's helped you 'orrible lot too by providing an outlet for your frustrations by abusing me. And if you're abusing me you're leaving some other poor soul alone. Pfffffffft!
17/04/2025 07:49:37 UTC
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Latest Repair-Chat
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Ian Soady¹ said :-
Of course you will already have checked that you can get a replacement flywheel.....
18/04/2025 13:10:56 UTC
Glyn said :-
The big and little end bearings seem fine. The engine is actually in pretty good condition and mainly in this state because of water ingress whilst stored for 20+ years. All oily parts are fine. I still have to get the rest of bearing cage out of the casing and am hoping that wont be as bad as the sleeve. Dont worry about the noise and smell Ed, it'll only be used for about 10 minutes and then it will become apparent why it was in the shed in the first place and will probably go back in there until 2045.
18/04/2025 10:21:47 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Well done. How is the big end?
18/04/2025 10:11:03 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Good work Glyn, you're a try'er.
God loves a try'er.
18/04/2025 09:56:04 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Dremel and a lot of patience. Good luck Glyn - buuuuuuuuut it does bode well for being able to actually replace the bearing completely. Which of course means there's a chance the nasty 'orrible smelly 2 stroke may live again dagnammit.
18/04/2025 08:31:57 UTC
Glyn said :-
I think I’m there. It was a miserable job to remove the sleeve, I had to weld a bolt to each side and create a puller. Lots of heat and some grinding and it finally came away. The part on the crank where the seal sits is still bad and so I found a bearing sleeve on line that will take the crank from 22mm to 25mm and a new seal with a 25mm inner with the same outer and width as the original. The sleeve only seems to be available from China. There’s still a bit of weld splatter on the crank web but that’ll clean up.
18/04/2025 07:54:45 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I think you're right Glyn, heat and a press are probably favourite.
Upt.
17/04/2025 15:24:08 UTC
Glyn said :-
I think I’m being a bit of a muppet here! Look up the numbers on the bearing and it seems to come in 2 parts. The spec says the inner is 25mm but I measure 33mm with my vernier on the crank. Then look again and I think the second part of the bearing is a sleeve and it’s stuck on the crank. It definitely does not want to come off though. Yes Ian it is a roller bearing.
17/04/2025 12:07:23 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Is that a roller bearing? If so I would expect it to allow some end float. Simply Bearing have a selection (see link). But probably not with a seal.
https://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/advanced_search_result.php?search_in_descripti...
17/04/2025 09:59:37 UTC
Glyn said :-
I’ve found a 25x62x17 sealed bearing with inner and outer flanges. That is the same size as the original from SKF. However, the original bearing style allows end float because the L/H side of the crank bearing is fixed to the case and the shaft. I’d have to ensure the new bearings inner flange had some sideways movement on the crank. The trouble is I won’t be able to know what happens when the entire thing heats up and if it will cause bearing failure. If it works then I have a bearing that will operate on a slightly damaged shaft and a good crankcase seal as well.
16/04/2025 13:07:40 UTC
Latest Chit-Chat
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Rev. Mick! said :-
I am really hoping interested to see how these ADVs perform. All the reviews of them seem to have been very positive. It will be interesting to see how they actually perform. One of our motley crew is thinking of getting one.
Plus we have followed the EuroVelo 1 up the west coast of Ireland and it runs up through Spain roughly shadowing the Portuguese border so we can see how that is.
The great joy of this part of Spain is that it is pretty remote and has no real tourism. So a hammock between a couple of trees or bivvy bag and mat and your sorted. A guy I know was on foot but in 2023 the meal of the day 2/3 courses plus wine in many village inns for around €10.A bit of a problem for Bob who is coming as vegetarian options limited.
17/04/2025 14:41:29 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I'd trust him. What have you got to lose? On the bright side you'll have a good tale to entertain us all with.....
17/04/2025 13:49:25 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
This all sounds dodgier than a Trump tariff calculation.
17/04/2025 10:34:28 UTC
Rev. Mick! said :-
We have got the ADVs from a man called Tony Montana for a fee.
He left a voice mail in which he says "Eh Trust Me!".
That name may seem familiar, he was played by Al Pacino in the Mafia movie "Scarface". Guess we had better get the bikes back on time.
We want to cross into Portugal but must check if allowed.
17/04/2025 10:28:20 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
The most reverend, sir, if it involves Portugal we're envious.
Looking forward to your posts.
Upt.
17/04/2025 08:42:19 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Off again Rev. Mick?? You state you've swagged 3 Honda ADV350s? Have you borrowed them, arranged to have them stolen to order or are you hiring them?
IF, only if you get chance I can recommend the Serra da Estrela Nature Park in Portugal as seen on our recent Spanish/Portuguese trip. I don't know if it might be a bit nippy at those altitudes at this time of year.
We shall await updates from the road - enjoy.
17/04/2025 07:55:27 UTC
Rev. Mick said :-
Well in 2 weeks time we are off again. We are on a research trip to see how good adventure scooters actually are.
We've swagged 3 Honda ADV350s, the much trumpeted adventure scooters. The plan is to ride the EuroVelo 1 from Huelva up the Spanish / Portuguese border through Extremadura as far north as we can.
Lets see if the hype is translated into reality. Just take hammocks and bivvy bags. Not really much need for anything else, there's lots of empty country there.
As I always say at this point, what could possibly go wrong!
16/04/2025 23:44:33 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I must say I can't stand the prolific use of velcro on pockets etc. Trying to get a phone etc into one one-handed drives me mad. I almost always remove the scratchy bit (yes, myself although Electra is a highly skilled needlewoman).
12/04/2025 12:07:25 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
No Ed, the first and only ride so far was to try to loosen them up and find their faults pre tour. Although no tour is yet planned.
It just happened to be warm when I went out so I decided to leave the liner in to check its ability to dissolve the human body as an instrument of torture, I'm glad to say it didn't and I didn't have to trouble the vent zips. The lining is very thin and could easily be stored away on a trip.
The only slight issue so far is that the feet openings for the liner have velcro on and it made the legs a little sore after a few hours. I see a needle and cotton in Er'Indoors future.
I can do it myself.....apparently.
Pffffffftttttt.
12/04/2025 09:56:13 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Have you discovered if the Weise Hydra Leather pantaloons are waterproof yet Upt'?
12/04/2025 06:40:14 UTC
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