Motorcycle and Scooter appreciation

Maybe your oil mix needs dialling down, what do the spark plugs look like?

Booked it into southern cross in Kilburn in the end, DMC and Burwins don't touch husqvarnas apparently. Will definitely use oval space when I'm a bit more organised

Bikes that will hurt you but less likely to kill you. I know a couple of scaffolders who spend their evenings hooning about on R1's. Last year one of them lost it on the little bridge over the Waddon in Wandsworth and the bike ended up in the river, write off. They thought it was hilarious, both of them had 2 cylinder 2 strokes at some point and rated them.

Just spoke to the mechanic, he said a crank seal has blown, the oil has been coming from the gear box. He's trying to see if he can replace the seal without splitting the engine....

I'd love a 250 two stroke again. But I still remember the pure visceral shock riding a full fat TL1000s I bought 3 days after my 18th. A terrible idea in many respects as it got ridden exactly the same as the wee bikes that preceded it, just 40mph faster.

There's a balance though, all the UK test bollocks is ridiculous these days. Licenses and insurance are dead easy to get here - it's a genuine delight to see so many young people getting into bikes as a cheaper alternative to cars.

whats the furthest you lot have biked? I'm shitting myself about doing Aberdeen to Bournemouth next week - particularly with the f-ing weather we have

Aberdeen to Liverpool - overnight in L'pool
Liverpool to Bournemouth
Then back up the following week via Milton Keynes, Leicester and poss Liverpool again
It's gonna be the arse ache to end all arse ache

Did nearly a thousand miles in a day once through Spain and up into France. Included 2 crossings of the Pyrenees. Utterly, totally fucked at the end (around 10pm.)

Long distance in the UK always feels tougher as there's more congestion and fear of cameras keep the speed down. It'll be fine though.

thousand, oof! yeah its really traffic and endless motorways I'm not looking forward to really - plus the butt hurt

got some padded shorts and a crampbuster throttle thingy on the way though!

I'd try and mix it up - add a few smaller roads into the mix to keep it interesting.

750 miles is the longest for me.

No arse ache but my hands were pretty fucked. Did it again 4 days later. Same result.

yeah think I'll get onto A34/M40 to Bourney

Did 11 hours in New Zealand not much distance but all cornish style roads, culminating in arrival at Wellington via the mountainside road which alternated between blinding low sun and pitch black. Was glad to get to bed that night.

3500 miles in 9 days riding in the US. With a day off for good behaviour.

I've still got mine under a tarp and boxes of spares, one day.....

After quite a few long trips I've changed my approach. I used to go hell for leather to get there as fast as possible, ending up breaking all the rules and arriving in miraculous times but tired, stressed and angry. Now if I start to speed up and get stressed I stop and have a rest, drink or eat and chill then get back on with it, arrive feeling much better and enjoy the journey.

Definitely search out the roads worth riding on the way too.

I've ridden a few hundred across northern France before on the Triumph, sometimes in the pissing rain. The last time was bad enough that I didn't ride my bike again for over a year. Certainly if I ever do that kind of journey again it'll be by car.

Mind you the worst one was just a trip to Southend and back on my Primmy. I felt like I needed a new spine by the time I got back to London.

@BQ northern france was awesome ..........an excellent forum ride :-)

Riding in the rain is shite.

Long distances, keep hydrated and take breaks to stretch muscles.

smoking a cigar on a beach in st malo is ballin

I did 2500 miles from Leeds to Lagos in 4 days.... On an NTV 650 with a mate on the back.

You'll be fine.

^ Damnnn
Long distance question, in August I need to take my 81' cg125 to geneva from london, any ideas's on how many days to plan for and tips for a route? Thanks!

That's a great philosophy, especially if you've the time to avoid motorways. In the UK, I almost never rode on dual carriageways or motorways as it's such an unpleasant experience. In France I used to use the peages a lot to get to the more interesting bits and always at very high speeds. They were so smooth and empty, that you almost feel like you're flying after a while.

I did usually stop for a 15min kip in the rest areas every few hours. Good to give the brain a rest from the thousand yard stare thing you get after going fast for a long time.

That's a cool trip! I've always wanted to ride a bit in Africa.

Aha!

Lagos in Portugal (didn't realise there was an African Lagos - that would be more than 2500!)

Mod 2 passed!

Only 2 minors (both legitimate unlike my driving test were I was flawless).

Thanks to everyone for the supportive comments and advice.

Next question is what the cheapest I can get a decent hornet for and who wants a 125cc?