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Travel StoriesBogger's Et Al's Polish Adventure
Let The Chaos Commence
Ride Date - Mid July 2024
By Bogger
Day 1
We’d had a few conversations as to where we all fancied going to this year 2024. I made my usual comment of not being really bothered where we go to, as it’s always different and it’s always an adventure. We’d already done a few weekends away in Wales and I’d done a solo trip to Brixham for three days so anywhere abroad was good with me.
To be fair, all the others are ambivalent as to the foreign destinations we decide upon, it’s just good to get away I suppose. Twelve years or so ago we’d happened upon a country called the Czech Republic. That year we were astride our C90 Cubs and we’d had a fantastic but very tiring time. After a bit of toing and froing we said we’d go back to Czechia but take in Poland as well.
For this trip we would definitely need to dig out the big bikes. I’d recently swapped my motorhome and the new one comes with a large garage at the rear. So obviously I had to buy a new bike to go in the back of it. The chosen steed was a new Honda SH Mode. The Mode is relatively cheap, good on fuel, light and in my opinion looks ok. It is also reasonably powerful for a girl's 125cc scooter.
So I’ll be aboard the Mode, Pete will be on his full fat SH125i, Jason a Caballero 125, Ash his Suzuki Address 125, High Tech Pete (HTP) a modified Innova (recumbent carb model) and Nige on his Honda CB125F. Like I said, big bikes, for big lads.
Nige did his usual sterling job of booking as many campsites as possible along our intended route. A couple of which we had stayed at previously. There were a few nights where no accommodation had been booked and we’d just have to wing it.
I don’t know why but I find great pleasure in planning trips. I love prepping the bike/scooter, getting all my camping gear out and sorting what to take and what to leave behind. Strangely I seem to take the same things, perhaps I’m starting to understand this bike/camping malarkey.
Our trip was planned for early July just before the school holidays. On Wed the 10th July I packed the scooter and made my way down to Pete’s house in Dudley. The ferry was the next day, Thursday, we’d all booked the early ferry, 10.00am from recollection and this is why I was stopping at Pete’s.
On the Wednesday evening myself and Pete went for a quick drink and a Chinese take away. We got to bed (not the same one) a bit later than originally planned. We needed to be up at 2.00am and away as close to 3.00am as possible. The ungodly hour approached, but I was already awake, tired but excited about the trip ahead. We got our senses and our act together and wheeled the two scooters out onto the road. It was pitch black and not exactly warm. As an aside Pete’s new SH125i had only covered 630mls total, my Mode just over 1200mls.
At 3.00am we head for the M5, just five miles down the road. After two miles Pete pulls in to don his waterproofs. It wasn’t raining, just very cold and waterproofs cut out most of the wind blast. I’d had the foresight to put mine on before we set off.
The first campsite booked was in the town of Chimay, Belgium. Chimay is approximately one hundred and fifty miles from Dunkirk. But first we have to get to Dover. I don’t mind Motorway miles, it sort of gets the job done. We’re soon off the M5 and onto the M40. With the next stop being at Beaconsfield services, for fuel and a leg stretch.
The Mode was really impressing me. Both scooters were easily coping with the 60mph cruising speed and didn’t feel strained at all. Fat bloke, camping gear, girls scooter. What’s not to like.
The miles roll by. The M25 was busy but not frenetic thankfully and were soon piling down the M20 at full chat heading to Dover. Obviously at this stage we are now racing each other, like you do, when you’re young, like as what we is. We refuel at Dover and head for the ferry terminal where we meet up with the Welsh contingent. The previous night they had camped at a Pub come campsite near to Deal just seven miles up the road from Dover.
Thankfully the Ferry wasn’t rammed with school kids and we partook of a breakfast and chilled out for the one and a half hour crossing to Dunkirk. By the time we had disembarked it had gone midday. We didn’t want to get to the campsite in Chimay too late so we hopped onto the A25, heading South, in the direction of Lille, once again enjoying the French roads.
The A25 morphs into the A23 at Lille and I was starting to feel a bit tired. Not falling asleep type tired, just a little weary. We have a stop in the large town of Maubeurge. We get a bite to eat from the supermarket and Nige buys most of the wine aisle then proceeds to decant it into his own bottles hidden in his auxiliary panniers. The weather was boiling hot and we’re all a bit frazzled by now.
We set off once again and immediately take a wrong turn, then end up getting lost and split up. After a bit of swearing and a few phone calls the group is back together and on the correct road towards Cousolre.
Time is getting on and everyone just wants to get to the campsite, chill out and relax. Nearing Beaumont we take a right onto the N53 to Chimay, only another sixteen miles to go. The more miles I do the more impressed I am with the Mode. It really is a fantastic bike/scooter (girls’ version).
We arrive at Camping Communal de Chimay at 5.15pm tired and red hot. The drive up to the campsite is a bit weird. You turn off the road and then ride up what seems like a pedestrian walkway for a couple of hundred yards to the entrance.
The tiny reception/bar was open. We get ourselves booked in. The small bar area looked very enticing and although I could have sunk a beer quite easily I first wanted to set up, refuel, then take a shower. The Welsh lads also wanted to do this, but decided Nah, they’ll have a few drinks in the bar instead, sampling the VERY strong Chimay Trapiste beers.
By the time I’ve found a petrol station, put fuel in, been to the supermarket for breakfast provisions and had a shower the bar had closed. Bugger.
When planning the trip I quite fancied a walk into Chimay for a bite to eat and a drink. But by now it was too late and we were all too tired. Luckily I’d bought some tinned beef curry from home and boil in the bag rice so me and Pete divvied this up between us. It was far better than either of us expected and we washed it down with a couple of beers I’d bought from the supermarket. The sun was beginning to set and the sky had clouded over. Rain was forecast for tomorrow. Boing, time for bed...
Total miles for the day 361.
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Let The Chaos Commence
After the where's and why's it's time for a long ride from The Midlands to Belgium. It doesn't all go according to plan but relative to this lot's usual mayhem - it's a good start.
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.
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
Reader's Comments
Upt'North ¹ said :-
You crazy kids on ya girls bikes.
That's way tooooo long a day.
You're still not selling this campin malarkey very well me o'd mucka.
Campin in the wet next to a highway (?), meh.
Missing out on strong trappist ale, inexcusable.
Ban im Ed.
Upt.
18/02/2025 12:50:07 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Are you sure you want me to ban him Upt'? If I did I'd have to write more of my drivel and therefore you'd have to read more of my drivel. Think about it boyo - the lesser of 2 evils.
18/02/2025 14:02:52 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I think Bogger's a wonderful chap.
18/02/2025 15:52:35 UTC
Bogger said :-
The plan,ha, is always to get to the campsite in good time.
Sadly it rarely happens. That's not to say that we don't enjoy each days riding, we do.
The days are long because we always choose inappropriate transport. But conversely That's part of the fun.
It's the hardship that makes the trip. I think ?
18/02/2025 20:29:31 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
"It's the hardship that makes the trip"?
You really are a strange lot.
Upt.
19/02/2025 08:44:50 UTC
nab301 said :-
Sounds like a very long first day with the early start! Can you really cruise @ 60mph on a 125? Maybe it's my overall weight / size but 50mph is about the max "cruising " speed on my '19 CB125F and that is only in ideal conditions( level + no head wind)
Nigel
21/02/2025 13:18:09 UTC
Bogger said :-
Nab, both my 125's will cruise at 60mph fully loaded. One is the Mode, the other A Super Cub 125.
Obviously steep hills will take their toll on speed, but they will literally do it all day.
Overtakes at that speed have to be well planned to make sure they actually happen.
I really like my 125's.
Bogger
23/02/2025 16:50:00 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I'd like to tell you nab301 it's because Bogger is of a lightweight and delicate construction. However having met his Boggerness I'm afraid he's as big and daft a bloke you could meet. One can only assume his "high speed" 125cc motorcycles are due to his lack of delicate touch and any sympathy for the inner workings of a small capacity 4-stroke motor.
I once traversed the M7 across The Republic of Ireland - into a headwind - on a 125 with camping kit (see link). The 125 never came off full throttle for over 100 miles save for a brief stop in Kildare. However my typical speed was 50mph so the engine was working hard but not spinning excessively fast.
Sharon rode her Keeway 125 across the Cairngorms and spent so long at full throttle when we finally came down out of the mountains she had momentarily forgotten how to operate the throttle (or indeed the gears and clutch).
All this was done well within the legal limits of the UK laws - and that dear reader is why riding a 125 can be a lot of fun.
https://bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=783...
23/02/2025 20:05:27 UTC
Bogger said :-
Matey boy Nige, who I go on the foreign trips with, explained his thought process on thrashing the t*** off our bikes all day long and the merits of doing so.
He tried to convince me to think of my bikes engine like an electric drill?
WTF?
Ok Nige, carry on. Well, he continued, you know when you are drilling a hole in some wood or concrete? Err yes.
The drill motor gets very hot because it is straining and working very hard, doesn't it? Err yes.
But if there is no load on the drill, you just press the trigger, it doesn't get as hot, does it? Err no.
There you go he said, thrashing your bike all day will do it no harm as it's not working as hard is it and will not overheat, will it? Hmm, Err, Hmm, no, I suppose not.
Niges 'logic' must have some merit, I think, as none of us have had an engine blow up.........yet.
Oh apparently, thrashed engines make more power. This is born out, as when we come back from our foreign escapades the 125's absolutely fly.
Bogger
23/02/2025 23:31:43 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
The CB500X gets used for travelling around the gritty parts of North West England, never reaching full throttle for more than a rare moment, spending hours bumbling along 30mph roads, being carefully negotiated around wet and cold bends in the road, and stop-starting with traffic. The motor doesn't "clog up" but it never gets to breathe and work and stretch.
Then perchance there's a long weekend ride, a sunny country lane, and a long steep hill to climb. The engine gets a chance to rev up, to use all it's available power, and to breath. If we're lucky this might happen for more than a couple of miles and a number of hours. The motor sure feels better after this.
The CB500X is a "paltry" 47bhp. There are many riders who view that as "post test beginner bike" power. And yet it is seldom I get the chance to use all 47bhp if I wish to remain in the limits of the law. How on earth you ever let a 100bhp plus bike breathe fully on a UK road without fear of losing your licence I'll never know.
The art of "thrashing" your engine to improve performance is known as "The Italian Tune Up". Does it work? I'll add a link to a video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C9Ie4BcYew...
24/02/2025 08:35:18 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ren , the last time I travelled on the M7 on my 125 I ended up hanging on in 4th gear into a strong head wind , the return journey was nice though ! (tail wind.) ... We'll have to organise a dyno session and see what power outputs we have.
Back in the early eighties on the N7 ( before it was upgraded to the M7 ) I managed to seize my TS250 MZ when it spat out its small end but after a kingly soul scooped my bike into the back of his van and dropped me on the outskirts of Dublin the bike somehow started ,clanked and rattled a lot and got me home!
Nigel
25/02/2025 11:20:42 UTC
nab301 said :-
I should add that possibly in deference to the MZ incident I never hold an engine on full throttle for long periods of time and having marked the twistgrip on my 125 I would say 1/2 throttle is the most I use in the above conditions which probably explains the slower speed.
Nigel
25/02/2025 11:25:22 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
I have also managed to seize an engine travelling into a head wind. This bike was a 250 Suzuki. I have also blown an engine on a 650 BSA, knocked out the big ends on a 750 Norton, and wrecked the crank on a GT 380 Suzuki.
I believe we are all influenced by past events, and I now ride with empathy for the engine when riding smaller capacity bikes.
This however restricts my riding on longer trips and is the reason I prefer a larger capacity bike for these longer trips.
25/02/2025 18:10:19 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Call me cynical... let me see. nab301 mullered a TS250 MZ, ROD wrecked a GT380 Suzuki. Now we don't know which particular 250 Suzuki ROD seized, but I'd hazard a guess at a GT or X7? All 2 strokes. As for the Brit bikes - whaddaya expect.
And nab301 - come on! Surely, SURELY you let the CB125F have more than half throttle at least some of the time?!? They can take it you know - it's a Honda.
I did throw a crank on a CB250T (1977) with around 75k miles. I also threw the crank on a CD200 Benly, again at 77k miles. Both were being despatched at the time and maintenance was "limited" due to time and energy constraints. The CBF125 reached 100,055 miles before I stopped using it and the crank feels fine. I put 78k on an NTV600 Revere, sold as running just fine. I don't thrash my bikes mercilessly and relentlessly, but the 125 in particular had a hard hard life commuting on motorways and busy A roads.
25/02/2025 20:17:58 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Ren, I do not think the problem was with the bikes. The common factor was the rider and therefore it must be the rider at fault.
The 250 Suzuki was one of those bikes that have camshafts and valves.
See pic....
26/02/2025 11:34:33 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Dagnammit ROD! You've spoiled my rant on 2 strokes - GRRRRR.
26/02/2025 12:54:23 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ren , I do use full throttle on the 125 but as I mentioned, not for extended periods... So far , the only other engine I managed to blow up was on a race track , in the 80's , a modified Hillman Imp race car , there were multiple holes in the engine block and a lot of the engine internals were never found... one of the crankshaft bearing shells looked like a flattened piece of a bean can and one of the piston crowns would have made an interesting ashtray.
Nigel
26/02/2025 16:21:08 UTC
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