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Ian Soady¹ said :-
Good to hear the knee is improving Glyn. I seem to remember it was a replacement? If so, the rehab does take a long time but you'll get there in the end. Mine is a torn meniscus. Claude reckones 3 - 6 months at my sort of age so I'm half way there. These knees are a right bummer.
I must say, being out of touch as I am, at those hp figures. Do they come with a corresponding lack of flexibility? I was sorely disappointed with the little grey import 400 4 I briefly owned. Even after sorting out its various problems it was totally gutless under 6,000 rpm which to me is generally a maximum. A red line at 14K was not something I appreciated.
02/06/2026 16:19:00 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ay up me ducks.
Been thinkin (yes I know I shouldn't) about where to ride this year and got thinking about alternative mountain areas. Then thought about the High Tatras in Slovakia (is that still a place?) and thought some reprobate on here may have ridden the area or visited at some time. I would love to hear any relevant or for that matter irrelevant views, Bogger did you get to the Tatras in Poland. One forgets.
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt and anxiously waiting.
02/06/2026 16:26:36 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I would think the power blip starts at 8000 rpm Ian and disappears around 8100 rpm, just as you're wearing the handlebars as a tooth brace. I had a derestricted DT125 which was surprisingly chirpy.
Upt.
02/06/2026 16:30:07 UTC
Glyn said :-
The engine performance of my 600cc Suzuki is extremely dull, it has no discernible power band. However, just like you Ian, I don’t like lots of high revs and 6k is probably my limit rather than that of the bike. Firing at 70 degrees ( like a Harley ) usually means low down power. Sorry Up’t can’t help you with the Tatras as I’ve never been to Poland.
02/06/2026 19:37:04 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
The KR1 really needed too be at 70mph to accelerate in top gear, but was fairly flexible with the reed valves and variable exhaust timing technology.
I think that I am pushing my luck regarding a ban with the two stroke conversation.
02/06/2026 21:09:32 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I shall quietly ignore all this 2 stroke nonsense...
I had to google The High Tatras in Slovakia. Google maps suggests it's a thousand miles from Calais although I suspect you'd cross farther north Upt'. Do-able, probably similar kinds of distances as your previous Sicilian trip. I know nothing at all of the area. As such it's your duty to go there so you can inform me and our readership what the area is actually like.
I've had a cursory look via street view - it looks lovely. It also looks far less developed and less touristy than that which I'm used to. Yes I think you should go. Oh poop - if it all goes wrong he's gonna blame me innit.
03/06/2026 08:18:30 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Never mind the scenery - what's the food and wine like?
03/06/2026 10:06:31 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
That's why we need him to go Ian.
03/06/2026 11:31:46 UTC
nab301 said :-
Glyn thanks for sending me down an Aprilia rabbit hole with talk of Rotax kart engine modifications ( not sure if they're interchangeable) , pneumatic power valves and power bands that start at 8k and finish at 10k . I fear the Aprilia may be less flexible than your knee currently is...
Nigel
03/06/2026 12:55:25 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Ed, if, and it's a big if, we do venture that way then it'll probably be through the tunnel. The Newcastle-upon-the-Tyne ferry is blummin expensive and usually pretty busy to book it late. We can't travel over water without a butler. I'm hoping Bogger can enlighten me.
I did a Google, it said about 1600 km from Calais which sounds OK. There was a map and everything. Just sayin.
I'm sure the ferry was about £1100 two years ago. With man maths you can make sense of it but I'm not sure man maths is always that accurate. But then you've got the M1, M25, M2 scenario.....we may stop at home.
Pffffffftttttt.
Upt.
03/06/2026 14:45:52 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
It's a drag down to that there "daaan saaaf" from Manchester Up't so it'll be a real drag from Wooler! Her Ladyship and myself will be making that drag in the not too distant future - but after that we'll be barely covering 200 miles let alone 1,000.
May I recommend doing what we're doing? Rather than going to "daaan saaaf" in one long dull wet cold miserable day - do it over a couple of days. That way you can extend the misery! Sorry - I mean that way you can have a nice break on the way down and on the way back - thereby breaking the misery into 2 less miserable days.
04/06/2026 08:31:02 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
If we head for the tunnel of excitement Ed there will be a stop. The last time we rode North from France to Wooler we stopped in Cambridgeshire....Elton I think. When we went from Portsmouth we stopped in Leicestershire on the way down. My brothers is an option in Derbyshire. But it's family innit!
We have ridden from Staffordshire to Northern France in a day, it's doable but a bit of a jaunt for two ageing two wheelers.
Changing the headlight bulbs in the STrom today, blummin nightmare. Decided it's better done in the garage than at the side of the road somewhere. Long life Bosch replacements going in. Now where does that screw go?
Upt and looking despairingly at a lot of bits of Suzuki.
04/06/2026 13:24:18 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
The good news is the lights work and all back together. One broken/lost plastic fastener. I'll take it.
Pffffffftttttt. Upt.
04/06/2026 16:22:02 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
So much plastic!
04/06/2026 16:23:40 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I know many cars are the same but roadside changes are sometimes a thing of the good'ol days. Although the lights were yellow and didn't actually illuminate anything. I seem to remember Cibie did a replacement unit in't day.
I've got no experience of the Bosch replacements so fingers crossed.
04/06/2026 16:27:30 UTC
nab301 said :-
My DL 250 single headlight is considerably easier than that but the worst bike of all is my CB125F , front and rear bulb require some fiddly stripping .
I sure you'll be fine now with long life bulbs ,(was it the older model that had stator failure issues ?) they really do make a difference on cars and more so commercial vehicles. I've always found H4 bulbs were fine but the likes of H7 / H9 needed regular replacement.
Nigel
04/06/2026 18:26:51 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
The H4's on the Pan would normally fail on a long trip, at least one dipped beam, maybe two. The manual adjuster was a godsend to lower the beam so I could use the mains. Folks said there was something up with the wiring/alternator etc but I checked it all out and found nowt. On switching to Osram Longlife jobbies it was cured.
Upt.
04/06/2026 21:11:10 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
I was thinking "eeee wen i wur a lad it wur ded eezy". But then I recall the headlamp in a bowl things from back in the day (ie bates style).
First off you'd be fighting the (probably JIS) crosshead screws that would always be corroded and have mangled heads. Once you'd removed them with pliers and a hammer the headlight wouldn't just come out the bowl, it'd pop out under the immense pressure of 47 miles of wiring and 224 block connectors stuffed in there. If you were lucky the three wires connected to the H4 would prevent the headlamp crashing and smashing on the floor. Changing the bulb at this point was a doddle. However getting the 47 miles of wiring and 224 block connectors stuffed back into the tiny bowl was another thing entirely. Once you did this you'd search the nuts and bolts drawer but end up replacing the mangled screws back into the bowl-cum-headlight. Ignition on - now your dip beam no longer works, when you indicate left your brake light flashes and right - the starter motor clicks, and there's a smell of burning plastic from the wire you've trapped between the bowl and the headlamp.
Yeah, the good old day's weren't quite as good as we seem to think they were.
04/06/2026 22:17:50 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
The good old days may not be as good as we seem to think they were, but an average home mechanic could sort these problems out without worrying about confusing the can bus system or frying the ECU.
05/06/2026 10:33:59 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Rod, my point above.
Who will have the knowledge to fix these things?
Mechanics change parts these days, or entire assemblies, paints shops are only interested in Insurance work.
05/06/2026 11:04:15 UTC
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