Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
What's New?
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
It's a much more relaxed day for Bogger and Pete. There's a handful of miles to ride, people to meet, food to eat, and of course the odd beer.
Mooching Around The Mach Loop
The Dynamic Muppets take on the Mach Loop! OK, it's far less impressive than it sounds. There's some countryside, a cafe, and all the things you'd expect.
To The Most Southern Tip Of Europe
Andy reaches the final destination of this trip. "You can see Africa from 'ere".
Haulin' Ass
It's gonna be a long long long ride for Bogger and Pete today. Our brave heroic riders are up to the task and it all seems rather easy overall. Hopefully the digs at the end of the ride will allow their asses to rest comfortably.
Bothering The Locals And "Hills"
The Dynamic Muppets are bothering the good people of Lincolnshire as well as bringing the house prices down. There's tea and cake and sweeties too, hills, and spooky stuff.
Queasy Crossing And Useless Till Roll
Rain, wayward boarding passes, useless navigation systems, and rough seas - it's just another day in the life of a Bogger. As ever there's food and booze in the life of a Bogger too.
The Omnipresence Of Olive Groves
Andy's definition of a shorter ride is only 250 miles... sheesh. This time between the fabulous scenery and glorious weather it's olive groves as far as the eye can see.
Lonesome In The Flatlands
Ren is hoping for a better day weatherwise and riding-wise too. Ingoldmells is deserted, Skeggy and Mablethorpe ain't up to much, luckily the countryside is better than expected.
Homeward Bound And Epilogues
Alas it's time to go home. The weather gives Ren deja-vu and there's a moment for a little more cake. Both Sharon and Ren sum up their feelings about the area.
Naughty Boys On Strange Bikes
It's a discouraging start to Bogger's Feet Forwards French expedition. Not to worry, soon the 2 old men are sneaking around like naughty school kids.
See More What's New
Latest Posts
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
Bogger said :-
Oh, the blue FF bike you see in this part of the story has a Talbot four cylinder water cooled engine.
It ran really sweet and the exhaust note had a deep burbling resonance to it.
It wasn't loud at all but sounded lovely. It went OK as well.
Bogger
18/02/2026 11:19:32 UTC
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
Bogger said :-
The chewed up engine, was I believe a Honda 400 twin. Probably 70s or 80s vintage.
From the conversations going on the engine was a bit suspect before the trip.
But in the finest British tradition the immortal words 'It'll be reet' may well have been muttered.
Apparently not, as it turns out.
Bogger
18/02/2026 02:51:22 UTC
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Beginning!
16/02/2026 16:36:56 UTC
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
nab301 said :-
Sounds like it was a nice well deserved relaxing day!
Nigel
16/02/2026 16:17:34 UTC
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I'm beginning to think Upt' is losing the plot. Perhaps he's in need of another holiday with sunshine and warmth, all that not working and being at home in the lovely countryside isn't doing him any good it seems. Maybe he needs to give the booze a miss too... Not envious, not at all. As you say Upt' - Pfffft!
16/02/2026 13:04:36 UTC
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Shabby Chique you say, a bit like me. Rough around the edges.
On the subject of the naming of pastries...it's me isn't it. Why is a croissant called a croissant in England, it's a butter pastry, no? A pain au wotsit is just a pastry, a chocolate pastry, a raisin pastry. It isn't even French in origin just like most of the French named pastries; I think it's a nonsense and I will not comply with the nonsense from this moment forth. Next time I'm in the co-op I shall ask for the butter pastries, followed by, "you know? Croissants"?
Pffffffftttttt.
Even the Welsh are at it and the Royal Family, you know, the "whatever" formally known as?
I need a drink, don't forget to give generously and whoever put an old centime in there and a toenail it's not funny!
Upt.
16/02/2026 12:46:07 UTC
Feet Forward, Food, And Friends
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I like that shabby chic that the French (and Italians) do so well. It's great to go in a bar or restaurant that has barely changed in decades - not like here where everything gets ripped out every few years for a new look and an excuse to charge more. Shame about the FF eating its engine. Is it a bike engine or from a car?
16/02/2026 09:58:06 UTC
Mooching Around The Mach Loop
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Re another conversation - of course red wine is very vegetal and contains lots of those good polyphenols as well! Better than brown sauce any day although I don't put it on my chips.
11/02/2026 15:43:04 UTC
Mooching Around The Mach Loop
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Thanks Occasional Lurker - you're talking my kinda language there. Ooooh I forgot - brown sauce contains tomato and dates - that's another 2 items on the 5-a-day. I didn't realise I was so healthy!
10/02/2026 16:04:46 UTC
Mooching Around The Mach Loop
Occasional Lurker said :-
There is nothing wrong with your diet Ren .... A little fruit may be added now and again ... This can be achieved by the consumption of a "Terry's" Chocolate Orange ... Apparently they are one of your "Five a day" ..!!!
Regards, Tony ...
10/02/2026 09:08:48 UTC
See More Comments
Latest Repair-Chat
Go To Repair-Chat
Ian Soady¹ said :-
That should of course have been £.01. Missing the point as usual.
18/02/2026 17:08:51 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Iconic link
https://www.i-bidder.com/en-gb/search-results?searchTerm=steib#lot-e17c60ef-8c55...
18/02/2026 15:01:46 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I usually manage to at least break even costing my labour at £01 / hour. If I charged more then I would be losing heavily! The bikes I've lost on have been things like the daft scooter I dallied with. Others, like the Sunbeam I restored a few years ago, have returned a slight profit.
But old bikes these days ar pretty much on the bottom - there are loads of Nortons, BSAs etc for around the £3K mark whereas they'd be £6K+ a couple of years ago.
Re Ural sidecar outfits there are a few about. David Angel has just built one onto aan Enfield. But it wouldn't have been cheap. There's one on car& classic for £5.5K (see link). It's been on since January I believe. But if you wanted something special there are a couple of BMW/Steibs in the Iconic auction at the end of the month.
https://www.carandclassic.com/l/C1994653...
18/02/2026 15:00:55 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ian , hopefully you won't lose interest with this one after getting it sorted and end up selling it at a loss!
Talking of Urals , this thread had me searching under sidecar outfits and had one hit locally for a 2019 Ural combo , a snip at around 20k Euro...
Nigel
18/02/2026 13:58:18 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ta me duck.
18/02/2026 12:23:56 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
There are two suspension systems. The chassis is suspended on a leading axle which has either a rubber or torsion bar in the fat horizontal tube under the rear of the body. This is fairly stiff, moving about 20mm when I put my inconsiderable weight on it. The body pivots around the front support mountings which have silentbloc type bushes in the chassis bosses, and at the rear has a pair of motorcycle type suspecion units. I've found some fairly soft versions of these although as with other parts clearance is a bit tight. Spacers will be manufactured!
18/02/2026 10:02:05 UTC
Glyn said :-
It’s looking great Ian. I have an unexplained interest in the Ural Dnpr outfits and almost bought one last year. It would have been a whole load of trouble I’m sure. I too would line up to be a passenger but would need considerable assistance to actually get into the chair and even more to get out. I can’t get in to my car yet due to the knee.
18/02/2026 07:54:27 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ian, are sidecars mounted in a soft way on the chassis or rigidly mounted. Or both of course. It would seem to be a good shout to offer some shock absorbing material between sidecar and chassis. Don't worry about your first passenger, myself and Ed have been fighting for the privilege behind the scenes and unfortunately for me Ed won. He's hoping for a spring ride. Gromit rides again! You'll need biscuits.
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
17/02/2026 20:39:44 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
The story I had was that it was the last one imported before the company went bust. I had it from David Angel of F2 motorcycles who is a very highly regarded figure in the sidecar world - formerly he imported & sold Ural bikes and sidecars but now mainly does Velorex. He told me he'd got the Steib as a project but lacked the time to complete it which I'm inclined to believe. I did get it at a very good price so am quite comfortable working out how to get everything to fit. At the end of the day, the body isn't structural so as long as it's securely attached it should be fine. Realistically I won't be taking any passengers. Or prisoners for that matter.
17/02/2026 16:55:33 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It's looking good Ian. Do the slightly less than ideal clearances explain why it was NOS? Perhaps returned in the distant past?
I've got every confidence in you, although I'm less confident about your knee lasting the course.
Upt.
17/02/2026 16:04:43 UTC
Latest Chit-Chat
Go To Chit-Chat
Ian Soady¹ said :-
It's a long and hard process with replacement knees Glyn so don't lose hope. I had much the same difficulty - pain and despair seeming to take over my life - with my left knee 15 or so years ago. But ever since it's beeen fine although I still can't kneel on it. I have to lie on the shed floor to get at some things. As you say, getting up again can still be tricky!
My right knee is now showing familiar twinges but I'm not sure I could face the trauma of a replacement again given I probably don't have that many years of active life left......
16/02/2026 09:54:41 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Good to hear from you fella, keep up the good work.
Upt.
16/02/2026 08:51:04 UTC
Glyn said :-
Yes still here Up’t. Feeling a bit sorry for myself as the replacement knee is taking an age to both work properly and stop hurting. I’ve made some forward movement on the Triumph in the 5 weeks since the op. But, getting down on the floor is almost not possible and even worse to get up. There is some progress on the knee but not enough to satisfy my demands. Spending a lot of time stareing into that rabbit hole called YouTube.
16/02/2026 08:46:49 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
As an aside....where are you Glyn....you've been quiet for a while.
Upt.
15/02/2026 16:08:21 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Thanks Mr North. Yes, probably mostly error. The 2 rads are connected at header level via a pipe. There's no separate header tank but there is a conventional overflow type tank. Actually as I think further there should be no reason why I can't get them both at the same height.
Cricked my knee so work suspended for a couple of days.......
13/02/2026 10:22:40 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
If it does run a header tank (my head is starting to hurt) then would it push all that volume out every time the temp reached that level? Plus would it actually matter losing that little amount of cooling surface area if it wasn't bled. Trial and error me thinks.
12/02/2026 17:46:30 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I can't think why what you're suggesting won't work Ian with regards the bleeding. Does it run a header tank?
Upt.
12/02/2026 17:19:35 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Clever folk these Germans. My speedo is a stone-age analogue version so no use for that. 1999 is modern to me - in fact anything I would have to pay road tax / MoT for is! Yes, I added the rocker switch which was in my box of electrical bits. The ignition switch is just a simple on/off one from ebay but it seems well crafted and has a nice satisfying click to it. The rocker switch has an led in it but I suspect it's originally for 230v AC as I can't get it to light. It's fed from the ignition switch which has reasonably beefy wires although I suppose following my own runes I should fit a relay.
I've also rethunk my warning light and decided it's simpler just to mount the light and its housing on top of the instrument panel. No binoculars were harmed making this mod.
Also:
I've ended up with the nearside radiator about 30mm higher than the RH one. The latter has the filler cap so if I fill that to the brim there'll be an air space at the top of the LH one. Does this matter? There is a bleed screw at the top so I suspect that if I get it up to temperature then crack this it'll let the air out a bit like bleeding a domestic radiator. Or am I going stir crazy?
12/02/2026 15:11:10 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ian , there are self cancelling indicators on my '99 BMW, not exactly modern ! Afaik they work off the speedo (pulses) . On a motorway at 70mph if I indicate at the 300m marker board without fail they switch off as I enter the off ramp in urban areas at lower speeds they tend to stay on longer than I prefer so generally I cancel them manually... unrelated is the rocker switch on the dash original or an add on?
Nigel
12/02/2026 14:17:28 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I remember One Track in Motorcycle Sport (before your time probably Ren) suggesting that those of us with British bikes had piles of discarded bits of motorcycles whereas enthusiasts for Japan=eses makes had piles of bits from discarded motorcycles....
As for hoarding we still have unopened boxes in the big shed from our house move which is now just over 6 years ago. I'm sure we've bought new instances of stuff that's in there in the meantime.
11/02/2026 15:46:53 UTC
Random Link - A Review On The Bajaj Avenger 220cc DTSi - By Arjun Uberoi