Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
Spring has sprung, now we have a few months of warm pleasant rain to enjoy after the cold and miserable rain of winter.
What excitement and adventures will this year bring?
What's New?
Form Dole To A Hole That's Closed
Things don't go quite as planned for Upt' today but don't panic - all's well that ends well.
The Wonder That Is Riano
What started out as a good day turns into a really good day. There is of course a mishap and some moaning, otherwise so far so good. What's the catch, there's gotta be a catch.
Off The Ferry And Into The Affray
It's all waiting and chaos, confusion and queueing - and that's just getting off the ferry. Despite being in Spain the evening has a very English feel with an English friend.
From Coal To Dole
These notes from the road provide a concise review of Upt's first 4 days of his European excursion. He makes it all sound so easy!
Upt's Autumn Bimble 2024
Title page for Upt' North's tale of executive level adventure through Europe.
Hereford And Home
A brief note on the last couple of days of this short trip and Ren is reflecting on just how much countryside there is out there.
Distant Memories
Ian Douglas heads a long ways back down memory lane, sharing a few flashbacks that seem oddly familiar. Hard times and/or halcyon days.
Onto The Ferry
Ren takes a simple short trip and turns it into an unnecessarily arduous ride to the ferry. Then all the Dynamic Muppets have to do is get on the ferry. Should be easy - right?
From The Quaint To The Bucolic
Honey coloured stone buildings all around, words like "quaint" and "charming" abound. Ren endures another day of likeable towns and comfy beds. He'll have to find something to gripe about.
Easing Into The Trip
After plenty of flapping and fretting Ren can calm down and start to enjoy the ride. It's a simple journey today with no purpose other than getting closer to the forthcoming ferry.
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Latest Posts
Honda CB1100RS Review
Glyn said :-
Yes that one in the picture was plunger at the rear. It was an improvement on the rigid for dirt track use. The final bike I raced was the same engine fitted into a D7 twin shock swinging arm frame. This was 2 years later. I’m wearing one of those face coverings Ed mentioned in the picture of this bike. We’d also moved on to colour by this time.
07/12/2024 17:00:55 UTC
Honda CB1100RS Review
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Looks like plunger to me. I suspect didn't handle too well as a scrambler as there was no damping with those. My ES2 had a plunger rear end again with no damping which was quite good over bumps but did weave a bit on uneven bends.
07/12/2024 15:38:23 UTC
Honda CB1100RS Review
nab301 said :-
Glyn , it's hard to tell from the photo , is that plunger or swingarm rear ? and was it an improvement on the rigid rear ..
Nigel
07/12/2024 13:01:22 UTC
Honda CB1100RS Review
Glyn said :-
Similar Ed but the thought of pulling a wheelie on a 125 Bantam made me smile. We were probably not overly worried about hiding our faces because the only cameras back then were Box Brownies. This was in fact my second BSA scrambler, my first having a rigid rear frame and Upside down forks on the front. Nothings new you know.
06/12/2024 14:48:20 UTC
Honda CB1100RS Review
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Now the image of you on your Bantam suggests you were at some kind of off road organised event. However you last message puts me in mind of the yoofs we have today who wheelie along the main roads on electric "bicycles". Did you used to have your scarf pulled over your face and your baggy pants around your knees too?
06/12/2024 14:12:45 UTC
Honda CB1100RS Review
Glyn said :-
Life were simpler in black and white Guv. Traffic lights were mainly advisory items and we decided which side of the road to ride on as we’d paid the road tax (sometimes). There were no issues with a licence because, at the age of 13, you couldn’t get one so didn’t have to worry about it.
06/12/2024 12:40:49 UTC
Honda CB1100RS Review
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Eeeee by 'eck, it wur black-n-white when thy wur a lad Glyn, long before they invented colour pills. 'Ow did thee know ift traffic leets wur green ur red?
06/12/2024 08:05:09 UTC
Honda CB1100RS Review
Glyn said :-
Can I just say that I wasn’t always so old. I’ve found a picture of me on my first bike 58 years ago. I was schoolboy scrambling at Ringwood on my BSA Bantam 125.
04/12/2024 22:06:30 UTC
Form Dole To A Hole That's Closed
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
That made me larf nab301. I just hope Sharon doesn't read this - she would be rather pleased with having "Jeeves" go on ahead. Her assistant would then ensure her impending arrival at the luxurious hotel would be no more stressful than stepping off the bike into a nice warm bath, having fresh clothes laid out, and then stepping down to an evening meal on a sunkissed veranda. Come to think of it I'm sure I'd struggle through with her, heroically.
03/12/2024 16:57:04 UTC
Form Dole To A Hole That's Closed
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Yes, great photos. Your experience was the opposite to mine on my Greek trip - I'd wanted to go over the Col de Mont Cenis but it was closed. It was April....
So I was forced to use the tunnel and an awful experience it was too. Dim lighting, kamikaze drivers, "air" almost unbreathable. This was of course well before the fire and subsequent rebuilding - maybe it's better now.
We'll find out when we get there but did you use the same hotel as me in Pisa, weithin sight of the tower?
03/12/2024 13:36:15 UTC
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Latest Repair-Chat
Go To Repair-Chat
Glyn said :-
In the picture you can see the stitches melted in, there’s no filler applied yet. The stitches are about .3mm below the surface.
08/12/2024 19:34:22 UTC
Glyn said :-
Yes Ian, the scrim tape is on the inside and, apart from a V cut in the crack, it’s bonded to the surface. The stitch bars are melted below the outer surface and so makes sanding with a block easier. Simply fill in the holes and it’s easy to see when the surface is flat.
08/12/2024 19:18:48 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Excellent tip Glyn, although of limited use to me as my bikes have very little plastic on them!
That repair looks as thoug it's on the outside - I assume the scrim tape you mention is on the inside. I would have thought the reverse might be better then you could sand the tape / JB weld off for refinishing.
08/12/2024 10:27:06 UTC
Glyn said :-
The TZR is coming along slowly. The left fairing was in 3 separate parts due to the accident that had broken the original footrests. I have a system; firstly use plasterers 50mm scrim tape across the back of the broken joint and massage epoxy (JB Weld) into it. Then cut pieces of copper into strips and drill 4mm holes into them. Using a Weller soldering gun, heat each piece until it melts into the plastic pushing molten plastic up through the holes. Then fill, file , sand and paint. This “stitches” the panel back together rather well. The picture is the smaller break at the bottom of the panel before the filling etc. I use copper for several reasons; it’s easy to work with using tin snips, it’s pliable so easily bent into shape and it conducts heat easily especially if dabbed with some older during the heating process.
07/12/2024 17:17:55 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
"Buy a proper scanner"?
In my experience the best tools in the world don't work when there's a tool using them.
Obviously watching others and not myself.
Walk on, nothing to see here.
Upt.
21/11/2024 20:25:11 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
If you want to get to grips with modern auto electrical wizardry can I recommend you go to YouTube and seek out "Diagnose Dan". He's a big Dutch chap who takes you through the jobs he gets in his workshop.
You obviously won't have his scan and test tools but the insight you gain as to how things work will help your own knowledge and therefore help form theories as to what the hell is up with a car.
I would buy a proper scanner... But I realised I'm far too miserly
21/11/2024 19:09:55 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
You raise an interesting point me o'd mucka. You weren't preachy either.
Now Ed, he's preachy.
I will consult my local mechanical mot'ing genius before I do owt with the proposed turn off, if indeed it should be required.
I wonder how many o'd motors will end up in EML heaven with nowt up with them.
Strange world innit.
Upt.
21/11/2024 16:16:32 UTC
nab301 said :-
Hopefully you're sorted , apologies , looking at my post I'm coming across a bit preachy... but I'm sure you know what I meant. If it is the lambdas do you not need them for the MOT test ?
As an aside I had time on my hands earlier this year and participated in an Automotive electrics diagnostics course , the profile of which seemed to indicate among much more that it covered computer/ sensor diagnostics , unfortunately while refreshing (in depth ) electrical theory was very interesting we spent a lot of time working with ye old points operated ignition distributors... I think I was the only participant who had actually worked with them in the past. I saw a scan tool once and diagnosed a cam sensor fault(disconnected) but that was it!
Nigel
21/11/2024 14:15:33 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Can't disagree Nigel.
If the light reappears I will consider it being turned off.
But it would be good to know from anyone with real life experience of the same.
You never know, it might stay off.
Pffffffftttttt.
20/11/2024 20:47:00 UTC
nab301 said :-
Upt , you really need someone with a decent scan tool that can read live data (not just fault codes) and interpret said data , eg , fuel trims , check and confirm that the lambda sensors are switching correctly etc etc. It seems that the days of parts substitution are behind us. Lots of cars appear also to have wiring harness issues , corrosion etc which can cause all sorts of issues.
Nigel
20/11/2024 17:15:27 UTC
Latest Chit-Chat
Go To Chit-Chat
KiwiJeff said :-
The spider on the R1 was harmless just scary big, today's spider was quite small but extremely nasty and some people need anti-venom if bitten, while most people just suffer a lot and it hurts. Discovered just before sitting on the outside furniture with my morning coffee! As Upt' commented, pays to check under seats including toilet seats for Red Backs before sitting down! Be relaxing to get back to NZ and not have to check if something in the backyard or garden isn't trying to kill you when you venture outside! NZ motorcyclists had a very bad morning today 3 dead and two seriously injured in one accident and another dead in a motorcycle only accident in same area. The first accident with multiple fatalities was a club ride with a head on with a car going the other way. Sobering reading. 40 degrees two days ago very hot. I see even Liverpool getting knocked around in your current Storm Darragh with trees down in Queens Drive around the corner from where my wife's grandparents used to live. Stay safe and warm everybody I'm sure the motorbikes are all locked in the shed.
07/12/2024 11:03:48 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Having seen these "squatty potty"s in France I've often pondered how people cope in their dotage, or when they're injured in some manner.
I'm told that they're better for the human digestive tract and allegedly offer a more natural position to allow easier evacuation. I have no idea how true this is but I can understand the thinking.
Smashing great super marvellous. Until you've done your knee in or had a dizzy spell or pulled a thigh muscle. Or you're old and frail or otherwise infirm. I'd like to hope there are "medical aids" available for such situations otherwise as Ian so politely put it - things could get messy, very messy.
Is this motorcycle related? Of course, I've been injured on occasion when motorcycling and I wonder how I'd have got on if I were french.
30/11/2024 13:56:25 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Try using one when yopu have a hip replacement on one side and a knee replacement on the other. The results can be very messy.......
30/11/2024 10:22:56 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
No it really isn't.
29/11/2024 22:54:04 UTC
Rev. Mick. said :-
I've just had a few weeks of squat toilets and I must say it is really how we should do our business. It supposed to be really good for you, and it does save on all that waste of paper.
However one morning following an extremely physically draining day the previous day. I really needed to use the toilet, like NOW!
My legs were so stiff it was touch and go wether I would actually get into a full squat in time.
It must be said while there was no accidents on the way down getting back up was as challenging
29/11/2024 19:30:46 UTC
nab301 said :-
Upt , if one has time to read the Beano whilst performing certain body functions might one suggest consuming more fibre , it'll move things along more quickly
Nigel
29/11/2024 15:34:14 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Very French monsieur.
Pffffffftttttt.
Non.
How are you supposed to read the Beano standing up?
And on that note, thank the lord that those stand up dumpers are disappearing.
Upt but not standing upt. Well not for all ablutions.
28/11/2024 15:53:17 UTC
nab301 said :-
Probably better to remain standing...
Nigel
28/11/2024 15:14:38 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
It's a fair point Upt'. Maybe just check before you sit down?
27/11/2024 12:58:11 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
"IT CAN'T BE ALL THAT BAD".
I'VE GOT TWO WORDS FOR YOU ED ME LAD.
***DUNNY SPIDER***
What a way to go. I mean who'll suck the poison out!
Upt.
26/11/2024 18:02:23 UTC
Random Link - North Wales Bed and Breakfast 2008 - Caernarfon, Pwllheli and Criccieth