Welcome To Bikes And Travels...
...It's about bikes... and travels... mostly on bikes!
What's New?
Bungling To The Bungalow
The first day of the South West Scotland Adventure is a total washout. Ren is moist and Sharon is leaking - and yet it's not all bad at the end of the day.
The Z500 Mods Continue
Sharon's conversion from Z500 naked sports bike to Z500 touring motorcycle continues. MO' money, MO' problems is what dey say innit? Ain't nuffink eezee.
5 Fools For Kilmarnock - Prologue
The tales of mishap and trepidation leading up to this adventure is not for the faint hearted. Gird your loins we're only at the planning stage so far...
5 Fools In South West Scotland
Title page for The BATties Ayrshire expedition.
Soft Brake Fix Weirdness
Ah the old trick of zip tying the brake lever to get a good brake. It seems to work but does anyone know why?
Escape From Colditz To Poland
The lads take a brief look around Colditz before making a dash for Poland. There's a handful of shenanigans and guess what - beer.
An Easy Day Out Going Round In Circles
How can you get lost in the days of Satellite Navigation? Turn the Sat-Nav off. Now you can ride around in ever decreasing circles - which oddly enough seems to be just fine with Ren these days.
Chaos Towards Colditz
More mayhem from a bunch of blokes old enough to know better. Brits used to try and get out of Colditz, these lads are struggling to get in. Fear not - there is beer.
The Perpetual Summer Problem
Ren is typically annoyed that other people are allowed to use his personal race track. If it weren't for those pesky people life would be slightly less miserable for Mr Curmudgeonly.
She Made Me Walk
Poor poor Ren is being made to exercise against his will. After this tragedy there's disappointment too. Still, it could be worse, he could be working.
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Latest Posts
Bungling To The Bungalow
nab301 said :-
I got Altberg boots (clubman roadster I think) years ago and still have them , they took forever to break in , I was clomping around the house like Boris Karloff for weeks before wearing them on the bike , they were comfy eventually for many years but I haven't used them in years , they really need some work but they don't have the protection of the latest models and the costs and logistics of getting them repaired don't add up.
I've used Daytona boots since then but the oldest pair have a detaching gear shift reinforcement and the newest pair have different zips without shrouds and have taken to failing , at least €50 per zip to repair locally so I'll be on the look out for something shortly.
Nigel
13/07/2025 14:50:17 UTC
Bungling To The Bungalow
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Stiffness can be a problem Ian. Ooooo er missus, oh please ya'selves, no don't. Oooooo.
I'm here all week.
I think wearing the Altberg's as job boots probably helped, you know 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, rain, heat, sweat etc.
They are literally like slippers, but like I said they should be.
The TCX are made with lots of alternative materials and I suspect that resists the bedding in process.
Plastic can be blummin hard.
I think with all bike clothing, even wellies, you need to try it on, get the right size etc.
Upt.
10/07/2025 10:33:24 UTC
Bungling To The Bungalow
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I went to the Altberg factory near Richmond a long time ago having been persuaded that I needed their boots. I was measured up and the boots arrived at my home a couple of weeks later. Beautifully made but so stiff and unwieldy it took ages to get them on and when I did I could barely operate the gear lever. I persevered for a couple of weeks but just couldn't get on with them so reverted to my summer boots of the day which were the German paratrooper ones which I don't think are available these days (the wellies were for winter commuting duties).
Sold the altbergs on ebay for a huge loss.
10/07/2025 10:18:16 UTC
Suzuki DL 250 V Strom Valve Clearance Check
said :-
10/07/2025 08:48:54 UTC
Bungling To The Bungalow
Upt'North ¹ said :-
These are similar to mine, boots have gone expensive! Mine were about £100 on discount.
https://www.infinitymotorcycles.com/product/tcx-x-five-4-gore-tex-boots-black...
10/07/2025 08:42:17 UTC
Bungling To The Bungalow
Upt'North ¹ said :-
My boots are ex job, so have done plenty of work.
Miles worn.....gawd knows.....a lot.
They have been resoled at Altberg once. I think it was about £100.00 for a full service.
They have also in the last couple of years had some of the velcro fasteners resewn.
They were waterproof before and after resoling but the stitching obviously goes through the linings with the possibility of leaks at these points. They are the comfiest boots you can imagine, but after that long they should be. I wore these boots in Italy last year and they performed well.
My second pair are TCX Tours, an excellent boot, very good at keeping the wet out and great protection. They must be about three years old now and are damn stiff. Not a problem when you're riding but not great for walking around in. I've just worn these on our Yorkshire jaunt and after that time they still haven't softened up much.
If you can get the TCX on discount they'd be worth a try. Er'Indoors rides with Sidi waterproof boots which have proved excellent, she's got a second pair now for longer trips but the originals were off a mate, little worn, and must have done well over 50,000 miles in 20 plus years.
There seems to be plenty of used female kit on GumTree/Ebay.co.uk, I take it they try it and don't like it. Er'Indoors got an as new HG Gortex suit in the spring for £80.00.
Upt.
10/07/2025 08:35:13 UTC
Bungling To The Bungalow
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Pink is the future Upt'. I seem to recall Lucy Worsley (aka the thinking man's fancy) telling us originally pink was for boys and blue for girls. There must have been a cultural shift.
Have you ever had your Altbergs repaired Upt'? Are they still waterproof? I keep thinking about them then stalling on the cost of them doing the lift (my short leg) and their initial attitude to guaranteeing them waterproof.
10/07/2025 06:38:49 UTC
Bungling To The Bungalow
Upt'North ¹ said :-
My Altberg boots are probably 25 years old or maybe a bit more. Nuff said.
I think the pink would suit you Ed.
Upt.
09/07/2025 23:18:37 UTC
Bungling To The Bungalow
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Helly Hansen may well have been born from hardy fishing types with calloused fingers and ice laden sou'westers. Today it is the clothing of choice for wealthy sailing types on multi million pound yachts who pose looking out to sea while hanging off polished rigging and carbon fibre decks.
As per the link... The pants may be waterproof and warm, but do they offer slide protection? Can they be swiftly removed and packed down small if the sun comes out? In summer Sharon wears armoured bike jeans which balance protection and cool comfort. In the highly likely event of rain she applies waterproof over trousers. This normally works well but nothing lasts forever.
Wellies? Sweaty when it's warm and not really offering the level of protection Sharon seeks. Alas goretex boots are not cheap but we estimate the pair of which one has failed have covered around 40,000 miles. Again they normally work very well but nothing lasts forever.
Timing is everything, of course you don't get failures due to wearing out from time to time, Murphy's law predicts several will fail at once.
https://www.hellyhansen.com/en_gb/w-pier-bib-40-34487?color=634026...
09/07/2025 21:25:16 UTC
Bungling To The Bungalow
Upt'North ¹ said :-
We still need pictures.
Fully attired please.
Upt.
09/07/2025 18:51:18 UTC
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Glyn said :-
Great anecdote Ian. Sounds very feasible to me.
13/07/2025 21:27:23 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Oh go on then. Too hot to either be in the garage or on the bike.....
The most familiar British V twins would be the JAP (J A Prestwich) and competitors in the pre-war era and the Vincent twin early pre-war and post-war. Both had single crankpins with the big ends side by send meaning that the cylinders were slightly offset one from the other. I believe some manufacturers like Harley Davidson had one forked big end with the other running inside it, but still a single crankpin.
The story about the Vincent is that the designer, Philip Irving, was idly playing with the blueprints for the 500cc single which was the only engine they made at the time and realised that by putting one copy of the drawing reversed over the other he had the layout for a V twin. How true this is I don't know.
All above from my patchy memory so caveat lector.
13/07/2025 16:32:39 UTC
Glyn said :-
I seem to remember that the Dragstar I had didn’t really have that bang, bang,gap, bang, bang,gap sound of the Harley’s. It was a neck and neck purchase between the Suzuki and a Honda Shadow 600. The Honda owner was being a bit silly about his perceived value and when I was able to knock the Suzuki owner down by a couple of hundred that settled it. This is the first bike I’ve bought in years that had a current (very short) MOT. However, it’s not mint and needs some fettling.. I do believe that the British V twins of yesteryear did not share a crank pin but that’s a question for Ian I would think.
13/07/2025 15:45:29 UTC
nab301 said :-
Looking forward to this one Glyn , I'll have to go down a rabbit hole of "V twin angles" to refresh my memory...
Nigel
13/07/2025 14:57:52 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Don't apologise, your ramblings are better than many people's "reasoned" postings......
13/07/2025 09:53:16 UTC
Glyn said :-
From memory , (I haven’t looked it up) I think the Yamaha has a 70 degree v angle. I believe the Suzuki has a 45degree. This would make it sound more like a Harley. Ed knows this stuff, crank angles etc. I understand that V twin motorcycle engines have a zero degree crank angle as both cylinders share a single crank pin. Therefore, if the angle of the two cylinders is 45degrees then the rear cylinder must fire 45 degrees after the front cylinder. It gets more complicated when things like the Ducati V engine is 90 degrees. The Dragstar had the timing marks seemingly close together but they must have been 70 degrees apart. The full rotation of the engine is 720degrees so cylinder one fires, cylinder 2 fires 45 degrees later then cylinder 1 fires (720 - 45) 675 degrees after that. Hereby it starts all over again. I’ve rambled sorry.
13/07/2025 09:39:52 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
We will look forward to your next project.
The 600 Intruder was the Suzuki answer to Yamaha's 535 virago. Middle weight v-twin cruisers with shaft drive.
12/07/2025 18:29:15 UTC
Glyn said :-
There has been some changes down here on the Southern outpost. I’ve sold the (rather lovely) BMMW scrambler and it’s making its way to Leicester in the next few days. However, I was busy immediately and purchased a Suzuki VS600 1995 Cruiser. I shall be picking it up next week.
12/07/2025 17:16:52 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
ROD - erm yes but no but... We've been to see father on the south coast near Worthing. But we'd broken the trip into 2 days hence only 150 miles. But we're on our way back now and not a squillion miles from the Cotswolds.
It'll all become clear in another exciting tale soon.
08/07/2025 21:43:44 UTC
nab301 said :-
Glyn , hopefully someone appreciates all the work you put into the TZR.
Nigel
08/07/2025 12:01:57 UTC
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nab301 said :-
I've been having similar problems, I had a zip on bib with an old Hein Gericke set up but this has let me down recently , however with the help of Ian I found a local shop which seems to stock such items if I can pluck up the courage to call in and actually try on a pair!
@ UPt , that is excellent customer service from Oxford.
Nigel
04/07/2025 12:56:19 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I did consider braces but...
I didn't. I'm a belt guy I spose.
As for fishermen's troosers.....behave ya'self.
Upt.
01/07/2025 16:29:03 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
In the long ago days when I rode in all weathers I used to have braces on my overtrousers which were much more comfortable. In fact latterly I used Helly Hansen bib & brace heavy duty PVC items designed for deep sea fishermen and the like. Easy to get on & off, reasonably cheap and totally waterproof. I may even have a pair stashed away somewhere.
https://workweargurus.com/collections/helly-hansen-bib-and-brace/products/helly-...
01/07/2025 14:48:07 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Weise Hydra troosers update.
All's good except....
1. They fit too low, it's fashion innit? Now at the local upholsterers for belt loops to be attached and a new Levi bovine leather belt acquired at the right price. Should be sorted.
2. Took the drop liner out before taking them to the upholsterers and found the lining puckered where some errant seam tape had been carelessly attached onto the rear. Pffffffftttttt.
3. Contact Weise UK on their online form, pffffffftttttt, email the next day from Fowlers of Bristol asking for piccies. "New lining is in the post sir". Now arrived. Great customer service from Weise and their UK agent.
Picture of tape below which seems just about impossible to budge, which is probably why they use it as seam tape.
Upt.
01/07/2025 11:38:04 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
The weather was fine until the ride home.....33 of your c's was a tad on the uncomfortable side when dealing with traffic and slow movers. But better than blummin wet.
23/06/2025 12:32:10 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Very nice Upt'. Looks like the weather was on your side too.
23/06/2025 08:49:16 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
It is Ian, I'd never seen the programme and can't envisage I ever will but it's a lovely ride over the tops. Anything to avoid the masses of Whitbyites.
Pffffffftttttt.
22/06/2025 17:09:24 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Very nice too. Is that Goathland ("Heartbeat" country)?
22/06/2025 14:17:49 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
22/06/2025 13:57:34 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
22/06/2025 13:56:28 UTC
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