Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Rufty tufty biker fail...

I have no idea what that means.

Thanks?

bike back at dealer after rear brake started to drop with nothing there, on first depress after they serviced it - they then re-bled and re-filled fluid, still happened - pissed off they made me pay for that! - if as I suspect they find the master cylinder is faulty and assuming it is covered by warranty they're gonna get a piece of me! main stealers is damn right :/

I survived my trip down to Cahors and back... just.

It pissed it down from the first mile to ~650 miles out of 700 on the way down. Turns out my goretex suit / gloves are not 100% waterproof as claimed. I guess the high wind pressure for such a long time lets it in eventually.

The way back was mostly fine but it rained for another 150 odd miles in the middle.

Things that were good:

1. My arse is fine so the seat is good
   
2. The French drivers are awesome (this i already knew)
   
3. The roads when i got down there, are incredible
   
   

Things that were bad:

1. A 2 cylinder at ~8k rpm for 10 hours is horrible on your hands / wrists - they still feel "dead" today
   
2. It's a fucking long way - i wouldn't do it again on a naked bike. ever.
   
   

Apart from that, it was lovely. This is a picture of my parents "new" place:

It's in a pretty amazing 17th century village nestled in a valley, in a national park:

Always wanted to do a trip like this - looks stunning!

destination looks great @soul. did you have much baggage?

Cheers G.

I had these:

They were enough to carry 5 days of clothes plus toiletries and shoes etc + a tool kit (just in case).

why not naked bike again? I ask because I'm planning a long trip on a naked

It's just too tiring at motorway speeds.
100 or 200 miles at 50 mph or less is lovely.
700 miles at 70-100 mph destroys your neck, back, wrists, ear drums & loads more.

Then there's luggage, weather protection & passenger comfort (not that my wife came with me this time...).

If (or more likely, when) I do this trip again, i'll use a bike more suitable for touring. I'm already having a sneaky look around Autotrader...

bmw r1150/1200 rt/rs or honda silver wing are good for this kind of thing. Both a bit taller and heavier than you want if you mostly ride it in town. The wind protection on the BMW's is extraordinary, the rs is so well worked that it lifts your upper body slightly in the wind to keep pressure off your wrists.

I had to have a little chuckle because it does seem like fun setting out on the open road but experience has taught me that the sun glasses might not be required.

Maybe get an all in one oversuit, when it rains all day they can keep out most of it and they're not super expensive.

The place looks worth the trip though.

Tempted by one of the big BMWs but the insurance is eye watering...

At my age and with less than 2 years on my full licence, you're looking at more than the cost of some of the bikes to insure the fucking thing.

Was looking at an F800Gt for around £7k (low millage with luggage etc)... tempting.

@Soul I thought you might say that :/

I want to be all cavalier and pretend it will be fine doing 1000+ miles on the street triple packing light with just tailpack and tankbag (and possibly tall clip on screen) but I know it's gonna suck balls

I've had a Triumph Tiger 800 XRX as a loaner for the past week, and it's pretty gutless unless you wind it up, but it is lovely and comfy and soaks up the shit roads, plus I'd imagine you could strap a wardrobe to it and it would be absolutely fine. But I think I'd be bored shitless on something like that 90% of the time

I was soaked through on Friday on the trip down.

On Saturday, it was 20 degrees, blue sky and perfect. I spent two hours going up and down the Célé Valley and I wouldn't have wanted to be on any other bike.

Maybe the answer is I buy a nice little sports bike to leave there.... hmmm.

Baron von Grumble did pretty well on that GSXR of his - London to Catalunya circuit and back

Had my chain and sprockets replaced as they were shot. Since then the bike seems a bit faster, commuting home I was nudging 90 when I would normally be bobbing along at mid 70s (obviously private roads, etc) and hit over a ton without trying.

Is this normal for a new drive train or could there be a slight change to sprocket size I wasn't told of?

Acceleration doesn't seem any different.

The difference with a good fairing is extraordinary. I have a BMW with a "sports" fairing. It keeps so much wind pressure off it makes long rides a breeze. Sometimes it is hard to tell it's actually raining.
I would never consider an unfaired bike unless it was just for round town stuff, but then I have a bicycle for that!

Looks lovely Soul - glad you made it ok!

I've been all over France, Spain and Italy on GSXR thousands. The K5 and up bikes make very competent tourers. Tank bag, throw over panniers with enough stuff for 2 people for 2 weeks. The earlier models have less leg room.

Only complaint was the seat but it never bothered me enough to do anything about it.

It's a tough trip down in one hit though, especially if it rains.

How about this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HONDA-CBF-600-SA8-/182068834937?hash=item2a6425f279:g:gRUAAOSw9uFW9CjB

I've done huge mileage on a Lambretta in a day before now. I'll just HTFU

I rode to Brighton on the PX and home the day after. That was enough distance for me. I do fancy something with longer legs though. That CBF above is ugly and boring, but probably just the ticket.

Insurance is mad.

My FireBlade's been in the garage for over a year now untouched yet I have to keep insurance up because if my no-claims runs out it jumps 1000% (£200/year atm, £2000+ if I lose it).

You might have to tough it out with the smaller bikes until the insurance comes down a bit. You don't need to spend £7k for a decent low mileage BMW to get a good touring bike though.

Bad time of year to be looking for a bargain tourer and the bike you've got just did the trip pretty well. The bigger tourers can get a bit boring, just munching up the miles with no drama, when you get off the motorway they're not as much fun either.

There's always a fly in the ointment touring regardless of the bike, just have to enjoy the good bits when they come along.

So apart from my continued woes with rear brake pedal dropping to nothing (which still occurs intermittently and dealer so far have been unable to resolve) I now have a very noticeable knock/vibration that can be felt through the pegs, particularly noticeable when in deceleration. It's consistent with the speed of the bike and feels almost like something is catching or the wheel is wobbling? Seriously so pissed off I've now, got no faith in the dealer to fault find.

They'll happily charge me to take a look though, even though surely with the amount of effing about they have done with the rear end recently, it's gotta be related. I've contacted Triumph UK which was a total waste of time, they just refer it back to dealer

Some insurance companies honour your NCB for three years. Have you checked with your insurance company? If it doesn't find one that does as it will save you dosh in the long-run.

Honoured for 12months only, unfortunately. They're also less than half the price of the next best offer on comparison sites so makes economical sense to keep with them unless I decide to give up permanently.