Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes...and travels...mostly on bikes!
Autumn is upon us as the nights draw in and the weather changes. Is it time to put the bikes to bed for the winter?
No of course not! It's not like Ren's bike could get any dirtier could it.
What's New?
Bealach na Bà Ain't So Bad
Andy is making his excuses for a late start today, but it's all self-inflicted. It's time to be overwhelmed by the not really scary Applecross road.
Big Trips On A Small Bike: Part 1
Mark has quite an exotic history of powered 2 wheeled velocipedes when a humble 125 crosses his path. Reluctantly he takes it for a little spin to see what it's like.
Big Trips On A Small Bike
Mark has a story to tell...
Z250SL Tappets Again
Ren is back inside the top end of Sharon's Kwakker once more. More shimming action but second time around is a lot easier.
Lake Vyrnwy
Christmas is done and Sharon is otherwise occupied. Fear not, it may be hard to believe but Ren has friends! Welsh Wales and a(nother) place name he can't pronounce.
Mulling Around To The Mainland
When Tobermory is a major town you know you've been somewhere remote. Andy is making his way up the West Coast of Scotland now.
Christmas Ride Out
The only time to visit a city centre is Christmas Day when it's quiet. Liverpool this time.
Walking On Iona
Andy is using Shank's Pony to get himself around the small island of Iona. Thing is the island isn't quite as small as Andy's feet had hoped for.
Wibbly Wobbly Rear End
Ren is feeling a little loose at the rear. Too many curries? Could it be the staggering output of the CBF125? Perhaps a Slipper Clutch is in order? Or he's an idiot.
Easy Onto Mull
Andy is taking in the splendid West Coast of Scotland at a sensible pace. From the Kintyre Peninsula to the Isle Of Mull there's a lot to take in.
See More What's New
Latest Posts
Brief Ride On A Honda Innova 125 - By Ren Withnell
Borsuk said :-
Where and when are you thinking of going to Spain Up`t.
25/1/2020 11:42:01 PM UTC
Brief Ride On A Honda Innova 125 - By Ren Withnell
Upt'North said :-
Thanks Borsuk.
I'll get some ordered.
Upt'North.
25/1/2020 4:00:32 PM UTC
Brief Ride On A Honda Innova 125 - By Ren Withnell
Borsuk said :-
Gribblings Guys.
Bike-Seal. 30 quid for a 550ml bottle which is enough to do both tyres on my bikes.
https://bikeseal.co.uk/...
25/1/2020 12:51:04 PM UTC
A Look At The Honda C125 Cub
Bogger said :-
I know you'll not be surprised at this. I bought and still have one of the new C125 Super Cubs. I bought it when they first came out and paid full price.
Obviously its a massive improvement over the old Cub, of which I have three.
It felt physically smaller than the old cub? Which was odd. It's actually a bit bigger. It's just difference in speedo height that gives the illusion of it being smaller. On the old Cub the speedo sits higher than the handle bar grips. On the new one the plastics swoop down, aping the original design and the speedo sits a lot lower.
I didn't like the look of the back end either. So now having fitted a small screen and a rack I'm more than happy with the 'feel' of it.
Engine performance up to about 400-600 mls was disappointing. Now it's properly run in, it's done about 1800mls, it feels quite peppy.
It'll cruise at 60mph conditions permitting and I've seen 74 on the clock...favourable conditions. At 50-60 mph it's returning 136mph. The tank is tiny but on a few occasions I've done over 120mls on its 3.7 ltr tank.
The fuel light comes on at about 80mls starts flashing at 100mls or so, but it just keeps on going. So it's quick enough, frugal enough and fun enough. Nuff said really.
Bogger
25/1/2020 12:40:09 PM UTC
Brief Ride On A Honda Innova 125 - By Ren Withnell
Upt'North said :-
Yes, although mine are tubeless, what gloop please.
I'm going to do mine when the next set go on, I dread a puncture abroad.
Only ever suffered one "blowout", no not after a curry Ren, it was on the back of a K1100LT at high speed on the M40. Scary moment and that was tubeless.
Upt'North.
25/1/2020 11:29:09 AM UTC
Brief Ride On A Honda Innova 125 - By Ren Withnell
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Well Bogger I live in Horwich so I'm about 10 miles from you.
That's really good info Borsuk. Having suffered a couple of immediate deflations in my own tubed days that scared the living bejesus out of me I acquired an abject fear of tubed tyres. My limited bicycling experiences only served to reinforce this too. Which gloop have you used?
25/1/2020 8:44:07 AM UTC
Bealach na Bà Ain't So Bad
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Cor! That's a fair old image Upt'.
25/1/2020 8:36:55 AM UTC
Brief Ride On A Honda Innova 125 - By Ren Withnell
Borsuk said :-
Hi Ren, just been re-reading this thread and your request for me to get a puncture.
I have had punctures on both the Hima and the Honley back tyres without sealant which resulted in immediate loss of control at the back end. Fishtailing, tyres running over rims etc.
I have the gunk in all my tyres now and a front puncture on the Himalayan at 65 on the autovia resulted in a slow puncture that I never noticed till a few miles later at a petrol station. I still have the old tube which I partially inflated in my basement and it is still inflated the best part of a year later.
At about 90 quid to do all 3 bikes I think it was well worth it. If I had managed to find the staple that had punctured the tube I could have probably continued on without problems after initially blowing it up.
The thing that makes this stuff worth it to me is the fact that the puncture reacted similarly to a tubeless tyre. If I hadn`t had the sealant I pretty much think I would have had much worse experience than just a slow puncture. Pretty sure I would not be writing this.
For me the stuff is literally a life saver, wouldn`t drive a tubed vehicle without it now.
25/1/2020 12:01:26 AM UTC
Brief Ride On A Honda Innova 125 - By Ren Withnell
Upt'North said :-
Czech write up would be interesting to read.
Upt'North.
24/1/2020 10:52:25 PM UTC
Brief Ride On A Honda Innova 125 - By Ren Withnell
Bogger said :-
I live just around the corner from Pitstop. I've used them/Tony for years for the odd spare parts that I purchased. He's a really decent bloke and his prices a very reasonable and advice is always free. BTW I'm not promoting him just telling it as it is. Anyway we always have a bit of banter ref the daft escapades I get to go on. He asked if it was ok if he could put the story on his website.
I've another good one lurking on the Internet somewhere about our trip to the Czech republic on our C90's.
Mr Upt'North, ref the CZ rider, Chris, going back home. It literally happen as described. We were all aghast to be honest. Not only did he go back home, but did it non stop. Didn't camp, didn't sleep just carried on until he got home North of Preston. He admitted later that it was a stupid and ridiculous thing to do. There was no reason to get home? he said that once he got going he never thought of stopping. He said it took him over a week to get over it LOL.
24/1/2020 8:34:16 PM UTC
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Latest Chit-Chat
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Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
You're freaking me out now Upt', or Sharon's drugged my tea again.
I recall a Keeway RKS just like Sharon's at our local biker haunt. 8,000 miles, second motor and a total rusty wreck. We only needed to meet the owner and his maladjusted dry chain to realise where the "cheap Chinese crap" stories come from.
Equally there is some real crap out there! With 7 billion opinions it's nigh on impossible to deduce what's what and what's not. All we can do is try.
17/1/2020 10:27:01 PM UTC
Upt'North said :-
Completely agree Ed, the people who shout loudest are heard more.
The failure rate of any product cannot always be placed at the door of the manufacturer and each case should be observed carefully.
Whether there is an issue with reliability or not is often conjecture but it would make me want to wait a while if I was in the market for an RE, which sadly I'm not, she's spent it all on shoes. And posts!
Upt'North.
17/1/2020 4:52:13 PM UTC
ROD said :-
Thanks Ren, I was about to post along the same lines, but as usual you have posted in a much more readable form than my scribal.
17/1/2020 2:25:16 PM UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I wish I had a property large enough to warrant a fence...
I really struggle to decide on the internet's reliable data. For sure there are folks with issues regarding the Enfields - BUT - if you read reviews of that lovely hotel you like or your favourite white goods brand you will be sure to be shocked at how different your experience has been. People only get typing when things go wrong. Your garage door opens and closes reliably year after year after year and never a word you utter about it. You no longer notice it because it just blooming well works. Then one day - "SNAP! - something has sheared off and you are now inconvenienced. You hate that door and you tell your friends and anyone else who'll listen.
I owned a CB250T Dream, forerunner to the much maligned CB250N SuperDream. I dispatched on that and ran it up to around 70,000 miles before the bottom end siezed. Yet if you read the "Used Motorcycle Guide" from back 'int day you'd think it was the least reliable and useless piece of poop ever made. Why? I think it was because it was a good seller. If there were only 20 Moto Guzzi 750s sold and only 2 broke, that's a 10% attrition rate, but only 2 reports of broken Guzzi 750s. If 10,000 CB250Ns were sold and 100 broke that's a 1% attrition rate but 100 tales of woe.
It's very hard to form a hard scientific opinion without good, solid and reliable statistics. I still like the Enfield but these tales of woe make me nervous. Oh lordy I've just realised, maybe Honda's out spreading rumours... (cue dramatic conspiracy type music and then the credits).
17/1/2020 1:55:15 PM UTC
Upt'North said :-
I mentioned it to Er'Indoors Ian, she quickly calculated that she would lose the ability to buy many more pairs of shoes if I did employ said man. That's why I'm typing this sitting in the garage with a mid job cuppa and a choccy digestive instead of watching daytime tele, every cloud, as they say.
Upt'North.
I think I'm turning into a mole.
17/1/2020 1:26:19 PM UTC
Ian Soady said :-
When the first Indian made Bullets came out they had a terrible reputation. A friend of mine who specialised in Norton Commandos and had worked in the BSA competition shop showed me the gearbox from his brother-in-law's Bullet - the machining was terrible and many of the parts weren's case hardened.
I had heard that Enfield quality control had improved but maybe not as much as it needs to.
Upt': can't you get a man in to do that sort of manual labour?
17/1/2020 11:46:29 AM UTC
Upt'North said :-
Just checked on the Himalayan, as you do when you've stopped putting 8' posts in for one day, there is quite a lot of disgruntled owners out there with regards reliability and parts availability.
No smoke without fire I suppose.
Upt'North.
16/1/2020 6:10:27 PM UTC
ROD said :-
The Himalayan does not seem to be inherently unreliable. As many other youtube watchers I follow Itchy Boots who is on her second Himalayan and travels large distances.
What I will say is that the bike may not be suitable for all users, and the user may be the issue.
With a top speed of 75 - 80mph it would be very easy to abuse the bike, along with the issues mentioned by Upt'North.
I have had a GS250 Suzuki seize when I was abusing it on a motorway into the wind fully loaded with camping gear, but that did not make it a bad bike, it just was not the correct bike for the way I was using it.
16/1/2020 10:08:04 AM UTC
Upt'North said :-
Henrik, I don't doubt that RE can have issues with reliability, all mechanical devices are on the road to fail from day 1.
It would be interesting to know the FULL details which often vary from those reported. Maybe there was an issue over culpability. Pistons don't break easy, so either it was a manufacturing defect or something like running low on oil causing a seizure. I'm sure some RE type person may know more. Why they couldn't get the bits to repair it in Denmark, I don't know, are there RE dealers there. It would certainly have needed more than a piston.
I don't think RE are on their own either, many manufacturers are woeful when it comes to warranty/repair work. I had to wait for ten days when the rear washer on my BMW car rear washer failed. That's ten days in the workshop to make water come out of a nozzle. Acceptable, No, the norm, yes unfortunately. And that's after waiting three weeks to get it booked in.
Like I said if someone knows more it would be good to know.
Thanks for posting.
Upt'North.
16/1/2020 9:17:34 AM UTC
Henrik said :-
Fact that the bike is "simple", the poor man could use for nothing
16/1/2020 4:10:24 AM UTC
Random Link - North Wales 2011 Short Break - Criccieth to Trearddur Bay