Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes...and travels...mostly on bikes!
I hope this pestilence subsides for the sake of humanity. That, and I want to see Stac Pollaidh once more - soon - not next year I mean soon!
What's New?
The Whyfors Of Our Impending Return
Ren unnecessarily tries to justify their return to Northern Ireland. Sharon takes out Ren with a fiscal left hook. Is there any hope?
Northern Ireland Under Grey Skies
Join Sharon and Ren on an another trip to Northern Ireland. It ain't the grand European Tour but it is perfectly pleasant. It sure beats working for a living.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 5
Mick finds his way around Dorset using every back road he can find. For himself and the Innova this is a perfect match made in heaven.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 4
Mick receives the soaking of a lifetime before finding the wondrous beauty of Dorset. Beyond that he could tell you but he'd have to kill you.
If It Ain't Broke...
Ren is having one of his countless "moments". There's a very important lesson to be learned and our resident buffoon is far far far too stupid to learn it.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 3
Mick is having a ride out with a friend, into the wilderness of Bristol. Can a vintage Velocette and a 125 complete the epic crossing of the Severn River?
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 2
Rev.Mick! sums up his arrival back into Wales.
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 1
Mick's first day is a simple affair. Load up the Innova, head out and ride.
Farewell to England Tour 2021
We await with baited breath as the tale of Rev. Mick!'s UK adventure starts to unfold. Anything could happen in the next few weeks.
A Few Hours In Oxford
Being an Inspector Morose fan Ren takes a brief visit to the university city of Oxford. Will our resident buffoon finally edumicate himself in the dreamy ancient quadrangles that brought is some of England's greats?
See More What's New
Latest Posts
Repair And Restoration
nab301 said :-
Quote "Somehow it doesn't feel very planted and I remember my 600 feeling safer at lower speeds than this. "
I have a CB125F and would agree with that comment , especially when swopping between bigger bikes , but when using it exclusively I find I get used to the miniscule inputs required to change direction . It does get a bit flighty on "fast" bumpy corners though .. and I miss the acceleration out of corners on a bigger bike compared to the chuck it in style and hope for the best that the 125 seems to encourage.
Nigel
24/09/2021 12:27:55 UTC
Repair And Restoration
Glyn said :-
Little CBF passed the MOT yesterday without any advisories. Nice little 26 mile round trip was the first time back on the road for 18 months or so. It's an interesting ride though as most aspects of the performance lack any finesse. Not being too critical I hope but everything such as throttle, front brake and clutch are not exactly progressive and a switch would do as the functions are either on or off. I did smile for the entire journey which is important. 65 MPH would be a struggle with the gearing I have though as its doing 5k revs at 40MPH. Somehow it doesn't feel very planted and I remember my 600 feeling safer at lower speeds than this. I somehow thought I'd be able to throw this little lightweight machine around with ease but it's not quite like that. However they do sat " yer pays yer money and you gets yer choice".
24/09/2021 11:35:09 UTC
The Whyfors Of Our Impending Return
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Money, and our attitude towards it, is very personal. I myself am prudent (ie tighter than a submarine hatch). For myself this provides advantages and no doubt disadvantages. I don't work excessively hard, I'm not a dynamic go-getter, I'm not climbing the corporate ladder. Some may call me lazy, I say I have a good work/life balance. I can do this because I don't have a fancy TV or house or car or phone or clothing or... a garage. Of course I'd like all these things but not enough to motivate me to work my ass off to get them.
I appreciate the work put in by those who've sacrificed their free time and stress levels to achieve an Evoque on the driveway, a Ducati in the garage, 1.8 children and a semi in suburbia. I "want" a nice house and garage and motorcycle but not enough to work hard for them. I also know a lot of folks with nice things who never have the time to use them and appreciate them until they retire. My way ain't the right way to do things, but it's worked well enough for me. So far.
I don't earn a lot but I own everything I have. I have but the tiniest of mortgages and I have savings because I don't waste money. It's not about appreciating that single tenner, it's about hundreds of tenners over the years that means when I was made redundant in January I didn't have to freak out and have a break down.
As for Madam do Soleil returning to Madam Moisture... you'll just have to wait and see.
24/09/2021 10:03:11 UTC
The Whyfors Of Our Impending Return
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It's nice to see you pair off to upset the population of Scotland and N.Ireland.
Cost? Now there's a subject.
Does it matter if you can afford it?
Will you ever spend that tenner wisely that you managed to save?
Was it worth the hours spent trawling the interweb thingymabob?
Would you have enjoyed what that extra tenner spent could bring, more than the tenner itself?
Strange innit? Even stranger I think most of us are similar; but then most of us spend money on maintenance, storage, farkling and general extravagance on an inanimate two wheeled object we barely ever use. This is somehow justified because it's a lifestyle/hobby/indulgence.
But we can still feel good because we saved two bob on a packet of chips.
I await for more Ed and I am intrigued to read if Madame du Soleil will return to er Moist past.
Keep up the good work fella.
Upt'North.
24/09/2021 08:51:31 UTC
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 5
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I find the anaesthetic takes a goodly while to fully leave the system and can cause said drowsiness. That and the boredom of not being allowed to do anything useful or destructive. Here's to a steady recovery and perhaps some time back on 2 wheels in a modicum of comfort.
23/09/2021 19:38:47 UTC
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 5
Ian Soady¹ said :-
If it was in France there would be a nice little cafe just round the corner...
Lovely report - many thanks Mick. I'm chafing at the bit to get back on the bike - I've now been home for a week after the dreaded robotic assault and getting around reasonably well but not even allowed to drive the car for 6 weeks, and expect the bike will be a bit later. The main concern after a hip replacement is dislocating it as the ball & socket are only held together by the various muscles which of course have been chopped about somewhat. So these have to recover. However, reading some reports and forums I've got off very lightly and am progressing very well. I do get very tired by the afternoons however.
23/09/2021 10:39:03 UTC
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 5
Rev.Mick! said :-
Hi Upt,
That bit did evoke France. To honest I think it was closer to Blanford Forum. It was a revelation that if you consciously avoid A roads and only use B or below how very rural southern (and I suspect northern) England actually is. The weather on this trip did help, however as I had no space to stash I ended up having to wear bib and braces and heavy jacket. OK in motion but once you stopped you fried. As you will read in the next bit things did go a bit off plan for a while.
Anyway hope I am not boring you all, I feel it could get a bit like showing someone your holiday photos.
21/09/2021 19:31:33 UTC
Farewell to England Tour 2021 - Day 5
Upt'North ¹ said :-
The Right Reverend Mickster,
Love the second piccie of the tree lined sunlit avenue. Could be just about anywhere in France, but Dorset will have to do. Trying to think if I've been to Dorset.......yes, and it was pretty nice in a busy sort of way if I recall correctly. Enjoying the ride along Mick.
Are they groccles in Dorset? The tourists that is.
Upt'North.
21/09/2021 16:44:40 UTC
LED Headlamp Bulb - Law Change
Bob said :-
MOSFETS revolutionised electronics when they came along.
Before that we had "traditional" transistors, NPN and PNP are types you may have heard of.
The problem with those traditional transistors is that when current is flowing there is a forward volt drop created by the fact that they are basically made from two diodes connected nose to nose. So if we're passing say, 10A of current and the forward voltage drop is 0.7V (a typical value) then we will dissipate 10*0.7 = 7W of power.
Doing the same job with a MOSFET there is no forward voltage drop, but there is a resistance to current flow which is called RDSon. A typical RDSon value might be 0.016 Ohm, so for the same 10A the power dissipation would be 10*10*0.016 = 1.6W.
So the MOSFET dissipates just 23% of the power that the traditional transistor would dissipate. Also that forward voltage drop of 0.7V means that everything is 0.7V lower than it otherwise would be, so if your target voltage is 14.5V you need to be at 15.2V on the upstream side of the transistor.
21/09/2021 11:00:00 UTC
CBF 125 Injector Explained
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
No, I stand corrected and I have an orthotic shoe to prove it. Proper subframe with bushes...
20/09/2021 20:29:43 UTC
See More Comments
Latest Chit-Chat
Go To Chit-Chat
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Useful stuff Bill and straight from the donkey's mouth. Thanks.
23/09/2021 19:39:57 UTC
Bill said :-
Ren I don't believe tyres are restricted by TA, only by mot check or tread depth by police. You can fit any brand, tread pattern or size as long as its a road legal approved tyre(not race or MX) Front and rear specific or directional must be correctly orientated. The biggest issue may arise from a keen insurance assessor as different than OE size maybe considered an undeclared modification.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mot-inspection-manual-for-motorcycles/5-wheels-tyres...
22/09/2021 10:43:11 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I wonder if real life lumberjacks have to endure the same torture.
Useful info on the tyre Snod, cheers. Here's the thing I ponder though. If, as previously mentioned, until recently you could not fit LED bulbs to motorcycles type approved with incandescent bulbs, then what about fitting non standard tyres? Obviously most law officials will not be familiar with the correct tyre size of a Z250SL and as long as the tyre is not BLATANTLY ridiculous looking on the rim - so what.
21/09/2021 08:43:14 UTC
Snod said :-
And now you're lumbered with it! This site always went against the grain though..
Today I have fitted a 110/70-R17 tyre to the front of the Z250SL and it has slowed the steering a lot, but made it more stable. I'm not sure if I like the trade off yet, will have more of a play with the pressure before I decide. Not that it'll change anything, the tyre will be on there until it wears out of course. But worth bearing in mind it fits easily, still lots of room both sides, in case you end up at a tyre shop with a catastrophic puncture and they don't have any 100/80-17s to put on.
20/09/2021 22:56:32 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
...I have created a monster...
20/09/2021 20:26:43 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Bill, were you once the policeman actor on Allo Allo.
Very wooden performance.
Upt'North.
20/09/2021 12:45:23 UTC
Bill said :-
Snod I bough to your arborist termiteoligy, composting such a fruitful brambling reply. Leafing aside your trunk carrying joinery you moss keep a log of your root and fertilise others who pine to travel but no copse or felling.
20/09/2021 11:00:05 UTC
Snod said :-
Come on Bill you could've used knot, can't believe you'd leaf it out you old sap. Anyway I'm just branching out, trying to get to the root of the problem..
By the way, if anyone lives in the Midlands, Rugby Bikefest is on this Sunday! I'm considering travelling the 90 minutes down the motorway to get there, it's usually proper good.
19/09/2021 21:14:12 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Snod - don't listen to the detractors, wood is the future its just you and I are ahead of our time.
18/09/2021 21:07:20 UTC
Bill said :-
Snod I wooden take the comments to heart,stick at it,from your designs they will twig you're not barking mad.
17/09/2021 22:18:54 UTC
Random Link - Why And How