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Not Much To Report, Save For More Wonderous Views
All in all it's a fairly uneventful day on the road for Andy as he makes his way homeward bound. The scenery is good, the accommodation too, although the big GS has a "moment".
A Day Of Classic And Vintage Vehicles
A rest day for Bogger? Hardly. There's classic and vintage and fast motorcycles and cars. There's posh places and new friends. Food and booze too much as you'd expect.
Anaerobic Gasket Maker
Anaerobic Gasket Maker?!? What the deuce is that? Well between Ren's mumblings and memories you might find just the merest hint of useful information. Maybe...
Cracks, Vultures, And Cow Jams
Andy is having a fascinating ride through Spain today. Cows that won't "moooooove", gaps in the scenery, gaps in the tarmac, and he's trying his hand at geology.
Skeggy Epilogue
In the final reckoning was the trip to Skeg-Vegas a rip-roaring failure or and majestic success? Neither - but you already knew that. Still, here's Ren's tuppence on the issue at hand.
Everyone Has Their Troubles
A long, cold and moist ride today for Bogger and Pete. Turns out their host isn't having the best of days either. Fear not there's still beer and smiles.
Prologue, Rain, Lost, And Hot
Another short winter break in Shropshire. This time Much Wenlock provides the location and the weather does what winter weather does. It'll be fine, hopefully.
Much A-Wenlock About Nothing
Title page for a short winter break in Shropshire.
Better Weather, Getting High, Warm And Cold
Andy is still heading homewards while doing some serious looking around. Mountains, a castle, miradors, and architecture today.
A Rough Last Day
In keeping with the theme of this trip - the return home for the Dynamic Muppets is "wet" to say the least.
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A Day Of Classic And Vintage Vehicles
nab301 said :-
That was excellent , the bikes the cars the people , the lunch the countryside , hopefully the sheep wasn't permanently traumatised...
Nigel
09/05/2026 16:37:22 UTC
A Day Of Classic And Vintage Vehicles
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Sounds like a brilliant day. Those relais places are great - supposedly set up for lorry drivers but everyone uses them. I'm always slightly amused that a half litre of red wine appears on the tables although maybe not as often these days. That Commando looks brilliant, and I love Traction Avants. Ducatis? Don't do a lot for me.
05/05/2026 09:56:38 UTC
A Day Of Classic And Vintage Vehicles
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Although, I'm sort of envious, it sounds like a blummin good day....in a French sort of way of course. No kissing for me though please. Pffffffftttttt.
05/05/2026 09:32:23 UTC
A Day Of Classic And Vintage Vehicles
Upt'North ¹ said :-
You see right there, that had the makings of a good day, but, pubs closing at 8 and hugging and kissing blokes. France is strange innit. It's all a bit French.
05/05/2026 09:30:41 UTC
Anaerobic Gasket Maker
Upt'North ¹ said :-
We had a heated trichlorethylene cleaner Ian at the HGV workshop, about the size of a family car. It was very good at what it did and that included sending the bloke completely bonkers who operated it, although he was probably nuts in the first place. If you heard him shouting you'd give him some space. It did smell blummin lovely, a great place to get rid of a headcold.
04/05/2026 13:25:15 UTC
Anaerobic Gasket Maker
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Like trichlorethylene (trike) and perchlorethylene (perk) which when I was an apprentice we used to clean inside instruments (pressure gauges etc not violins). Later it turned out to be carcinogenic as well as hallucinogenic. I wondered why I liked working in the instrument shop.....
04/05/2026 12:22:06 UTC
Anaerobic Gasket Maker
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Maybe, but it smelled blummin lovely.
I seem to remember it did a sound job on coolant and oil but it's a while back.
28/04/2026 16:41:44 UTC
Anaerobic Gasket Maker
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Green hermetite? That's the "permanent" stuff that meant it fell off the bits it was supposed to stick to then you couldn't get rid of it elsewhere.
28/04/2026 12:45:39 UTC
Anaerobic Gasket Maker
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I really don't like seeing sealant where it shouldn't be seen. But better that than a leak I spose. Never heard of that term either Ed, it's probably sales speak for b......s. But what do I know. I'll tell you one thing I do know, sniffing Green Hermitite is addictive. Blummin lovely stuff and great at keeping stuff where it should be. Sadly I have none on the shelf and my last bottle was probably 40 years old. Pffffffftttttt.
That picture Ed shows that idiots and vehicles shouldn't mix.
28/04/2026 11:07:51 UTC
Anaerobic Gasket Maker
Ian Soady¹ said :-
The original plastic gasket was itself anaerobic in that it only set when it was squeezed and the air excluded. It was also know as RTV - room temperature vulcanising - sealant. I agree it can be awful stuff and I would never use it where there was any risk of it getting into oilways etc. However, I don't have a problem with things like Norton primary chaincases which are notoriously hard to seal. Mind you once you've applied the silicone (note not silicon which is entirely different!) you can't get the thing apart again..... I also found that ordinary bathroom silicone worked perfectly well and indeed can even help fix loose exhausts contrary to popular belief.
Most of the Japanese manufacturers supply their own version of what you describe above eg Yamabond (the generic name is Threebond). My personal preference is Wellseal which I've used for decades. In fact I've just run out and need to order some more. If I remember correctly it's made from crushed beetles dissolved in acetone.
I've just remembered that all (or most) Loctite products are anaerobic eg their thread locking stuff. Stays liquid in its bottle - for years - but as soon as it's squashed in between threads it sets and after a few hours is very strong.
https://www.bikerstoolbox.co.uk/products/wellseal-jointing-compound?_pos=1&_sid=...
28/04/2026 10:26:28 UTC
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nab301 said :-
I can (possibly mistakenly!) remember in the 70's, petrol (post decimalisation) being 30p per gallon ,my Yamaha 80 (yes it was a two stroke) could be filled for 50p , 1.5 gallon tank but when I search I'm told that petrol prices at the time were around 90p per gallon... it was however a time of shortages, queues, abusive customers , (working part time in a filling station, no different from today I guess) and exponential price rises but still a lot cheaper than todays €1.90 per litre / €8.62 per gallon.
Nigel
09/05/2026 17:28:34 UTC
Glyn said :-
Just to add my bit, I remember 3 star petrol ( that had to be mixed with oil in my bantam ) was three shillings and six pence a gallon! I’m so old I cant be arsed to do the conversion to this modern day numeration stuff. What was wrong with 12 pence in a shilling, a florin, a half crown, 10 Bob etc? I would add that my first wage packet was for £4 per week out of which was deducted 10 shillings and 3d for whatever the government needed it for. Hopefully it was better spent back then. I’ve just spent a week in Munich and either the authorities have more money or they’re spending it more wisely. Not a single pothole to be seen anywhere.
09/05/2026 10:58:06 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
A pound a gallon!!!! Robbery!!! Mind you ROD that's back when a pound was the average annual wage.
Let me think. When I started riding I can still picture the sign at Gilsons Garage, £1.65 per gallon. And it was a pound for a can of pop in the club.
Today it's £1.52 per litre or £6.90 per gallon. I'm paying over bloody £3 for a bottle of cola. On my straw poll cola is a bit cheaper or petrol is more expensive these days, but not all that much!
09/05/2026 06:18:33 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
I was about to respond but I thought Ian would trump me with lower prices for a pint.
My pints when first going decimal were 12p for special mild or special bitter.
I also seem to remember a conversation where people were saying that they would stop driving when fuel reached £1.00 per gallon!
I hope things improve with your knee Ian.
The doctors advice to strengthen surrounding muscles sounds good.
08/05/2026 12:03:11 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
20p a pint? Extortion. My first pint was in the High Force Hotel after a school walking club hike from High Cup Nick, passing the crashed Wellington(?) bomber up on the high fells and fording the Tees just above the waterfall. We must have been mad as any slip would have seeen us doing a Professor Moriarty. I remember the beer as being 1/9d (one shilling and ninepence) or about 9p in new money.
You lot don't know you're born although it's more recent in your memories than in mine.
In other news, visited a physio yesterday who confirmed I have a torn meniscus in my kne. Basically not much can be done other than exercise to strengthen surrounding muscles, and time. Maybe up to a couple of months of the latter....
Surgery is no longer recommended.
08/05/2026 10:15:18 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Goodness me you're REALLY old Upt'! When I were an 18 year old yoof my night out was a fiver. £2 of petrol into the H100A (2 stroke, this is what put me off 2 strokes). 2 quids worth of juice would see me right for a full week's riding. A whole £1 to get into Maxime's Rock Night in Wigan, leaving the remaining £2 for 2 cans of Coca Cola. I'd spend the evening failing to gain the affections of various "rock chicks" then ride home through the cold and the rain.
It was this time in my life I gave up drinking. The nights I was sober and failing with the girls were much more fun than the nights I got drunk while still failing with the girls. Sleeping in a warm bed sober is so much nicer than trying to sleep on Wigan Bus Station with a hangover.
Right - I have reviewed Ian's words and images re compressing the string. Now armed with the diagram and a better comprehension I can see the problem. This all leads me to be thankful I live in a time where we have hard rubber cush drives, it's a wonder anyone from the 40s and 50s has and fingers left!
08/05/2026 08:15:07 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Made me think....yes I know....I shouldn't.
I'm sure the first pint of beer I bought in the late seventies was about 20p in new money. It would have been in Talke Working Mens Club in North Staffordshire, it had a great snooker room underneath the main building. Happy days, I was probably running a Gilera Trial 50 and petrol was 17 new pennies a litre.
Upt.
07/05/2026 17:19:34 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Show off. Don't come on this ere forum for the aged flaunting your wealth. It's tough being a pensioner you know. I remember when you could go to the flicks, catch a PMT bus there and back and have a bag of tripe and chips in proper newspaper for 10 bob. Maybe even play around on the back seat of the bus too!
Tell that to the kids today and they won't believe you.
07/05/2026 17:11:24 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
What ya gonna do with the £3.64 that you could steal from my account Upt'?
07/05/2026 15:32:10 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ed, of course I'll oblige. You deserve it.
Please post you bank account and credit card details including your security and pin's and I'll get right onto it. You're welcome.
No what should I spend it all on?
Upt and Sincere.
07/05/2026 10:19:34 UTC
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Ian Soady¹ said :-
Thanks both. Electra (wife not bike) says it's the prettiest bike I've ever had. But what does she know.
I've had some tentative interest on the C11/C10 forum. I'm looking for a couple of thousand or thereabouts which is about what it owes me.
13/05/2026 10:13:47 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Cor blimey that's a tidy machine. You're welcome to advise us of the price. It's a pity the old knee is giving you so much grief though.
CG125 you say? Another classic Honda. Should be light and easy on the knee - but I seem to recall you're a tall fellow, might it not be a bit cramped?
13/05/2026 08:13:19 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
She looks a beaut Ian, a really nice little BSA.
12/05/2026 16:28:27 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
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12/05/2026 16:14:31 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
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12/05/2026 16:14:17 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
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12/05/2026 16:13:56 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
I've been off the road for 2 months after tearing the meniscus in my right knee by carelessly dismounting my B'Zuki outfit. I saw a physio last week and she's given me some exercises which are helping but she did say that kickstarting bikes was not advisable. Not that I'll be trying for a while.....
I therefore may reluctantly be parting with the little C11 which I've done a nut and bolt rebuild over the last year or so. This is not an ad as such but I just wondered if there was any interest here. Nice lightweight post-war single which is ideal for anyone without dodgy knees for meandering along the B roads. I may look for a deal with a CG125 (electric foot model)
Some pics:
12/05/2026 16:13:33 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I'm only fairly sure I went to Ireland ROD after seeing that website. The country I went to had the same place names, the same kind of scenery, even the same kind of things going on. However I saw all this between raindrops on the visor and peeping out from my tent.
In all honesty I did get some rain but it wasn't a washout. You can read all about it if you've a spare hour...
https://bikesandtravels.com/biker.aspx?ride=777...
10/05/2026 13:17:42 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
That is strange Ren.
Are you sure you went to Ireland?
The website attracting tourists to Ireland says:- walking, horse riding, entertainment in the bars, and not a mention of rain.
https://www.ireland.com/en-gb/things-to-do/what-to-do/?ds_c=TI_GB_EN_PRO_BM_All+...
10/05/2026 11:51:06 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I will recommend Ireland too - with one proviso.
It WILL rain! It's not the Emerald Isle because of it's dry arid climate. You might be lucky and only get drenched a few times, otherwise prepare for rain.
It's a very green and pretty place. The west coast is reminiscent of The Highlands although not quite as dramatic or remote. There's countless pleasant small villages and towns.
They do drive on the correct side of the road and speak a sensible language. I was however disappointed to find there's NOT a singalong traditional music evening in every pub every night. I expected fiddles and accordions, guitars and bodhrans. I got nothing...
10/05/2026 10:27:49 UTC
Random Link - 5 Ferries In One Day