Not every ride or trip needs or deserves its own thread,
so an "endless" thread to post up a pic from your rides.
Doesn't need to be special, always good to see others bikes, countries,
weather and landscapes. Even just a pic with your phone on the next ride.
Take a snap on your ride and post it up.... :onya:
Lets see them... :cool:
Today, 7-5-17.
No big ride. Just a quick spin around the local suburbs...
Clear Mountain Rd...
(https://s17.postimg.org/hc5ed6vrz/image.jpg) (https://postimage.io/) (https://certificity.com)
North Pine Dam...
(https://s21.postimg.org/erd5nps3r/image.jpg) (https://postimage.io/) (https://certificity.com)
Hornibrook Bridge...
(https://s8.postimg.org/3yzjpimhh/image.jpg) (https://postimage.io/) (https://certificity.com)
(https://s22.postimg.org/ycnqxqpdd/image.jpg) (https://postimage.io/) (https://certificity.com)
... and over to the ocean at Shorncliffe...
(https://s22.postimg.org/420iqnlk1/image.jpg) (https://postimage.io/) (https://certificity.com)
Coffee at Lake Taupo today, went for a 330km ride to look at the changing colours of the trees.
No problems finding a park for the bike. Different story in the summer.
Just a few random ones.
from last and year before...
Blinking in the sunshine after slumbering for 6mths & with a fresh mot.
Forecast was good for today.
Got up at 5am for a day out.
It's was very foggy and misty and damp out.
Feet up with a coffee, TV on, perving over the red head bird on Myth Busters instead.
Couple of hours later, suns out, roads are dry.
Scrubbing in a new front tyre and trying my free'd up disc bobbins.
Happy with both.
(https://s22.postimg.org/yb54cxfm9/image.jpg) (https://postimage.io/)
(https://s7.postimg.org/t13vk54e3/image.jpg) (https://pixxxels.org/)
(https://s9.postimg.org/d2rcragnz/image.jpg) (https://postimage.io/app.php)
...... and I managed to comfortably fit into my leather bike jeans
for the 1st time this year!
:boogie:
5 months since last time out. Running better now after replacing diaphram on one carb. :)
Something unusual in orange with a Bloodhound Mk2.
Quote from: mjgt on Sunday, 21 May 2017, 09:00 PM
Something unusual in orange with a Bloodhound Mk2.
1000SF ?
I haven't seen one of those in ages !
Today...
Before I took my bike apart.
Quote from: Tony Nitrous on Sunday, 21 May 2017, 09:04 PM
Quote from: mjgt on Sunday, 21 May 2017, 09:00 PM
Something unusual in orange with a Bloodhound Mk2.
1000SF ?
I haven't seen one of those in ages !
According to the DVLA there are only 3 left in the UK. Great you recognised it, most don't know what it is.
This was a pretty cool day although it is only 50km to the Dragstrip.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi59.tinypic.com%2F2621aub.jpg&hash=891f49ce5884bcd745631406678676866f1be2ca)
My best time on the GSX1400 (T132)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi57.tinypic.com%2F9krz2e.jpg&hash=dabb951b03233dd9bada94bddb4258276e130a0d)
The Spitfire pic I promised, this afternoon at Christchurch Airport.
Bikes looking good.
Great day for a ride Col.
2015 Muscle Bike Muster
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi59.tinypic.com%2F29gke54.jpg&hash=3c430247c2a925a52ecdc9a1a3896b529a18c1f8)
sat morning coffee run
Quote from: KiwiCol on Sunday, 11 June 2017, 01:16 PM
The Spitfire pic I promised, this afternoon at Christchurch Airport.
Hey Col,
Great shot! and you managed to get the 'Golden Arches' in there as well, good work :clapping:
Red
The Canary at Sydney Motorsport Park 17/6/17.
Looking good Ross! Still fairly flexible & limber for an 'Oldfella'.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Monday, 19 June 2017, 02:57 AM
Looking good Ross! Still fairly flexible & limber for an 'Oldfella'.
Not really Col. I can hardly move today. :rofl2:
Quote from: Ross on Monday, 19 June 2017, 04:26 PM
Quote from: KiwiCol on Monday, 19 June 2017, 02:57 AM
Looking good Ross! Still fairly flexible & limber for an 'Oldfella'.
Not really Col. I can hardly move today. :rofl2:
That's a downside, but, least you're doing it & enjoying it at the time. The 'cruiser / tourer only' time will come soon enough, so ya gotta do these things whilst we're still able, aye. :cheers:
I like Canery's Ross
Not really Col. I can hardly move today. :rofl2:
[/quote]
But i bet you had a great day :onya:
A couple of weeks ago I made my long waited return to the Mosel, this time with the GTR.
No bike involved but great shots.
My mate Tim is working in the Antarctic for a bit.
Posted these yesterday.
Hope the ice is thick enough to keep the CAT afloat :happy1:
Love living on the shore of the beautiful Lake Macquarie.
Adventure motorcycling this weekend
An old log lift.
Irish..that looks like a right wee collectors day out!
Quote from: ARH on Tuesday, 04 July 2017, 06:25 AM
Irish..that looks like a right wee collectors day out!
Yes ARH
2 early Z900, 72 CB350/4, 76 CB400/4, 81 1100 Katana. I ride about four times a year with these guys as they live about 225klms north of me, but we usually manage about 300 to 600 k's per day depending on roads we use. My plan was to bring this little bloke to fit in with the Honda's but I didn't get my brakes repaired in time.
Those little RD400 things haul arse. :onya:
Probably why Irish wanted to do the brakes then Col.
RD400 motor into a 50cc Yamaha FS1E..... :rofl2:
(https://s14.postimg.org/5garetuj5/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/4e0kwabpp/)
I'm fairly sure I wouldn't want to be cracking that puppy open!
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 04 July 2017, 04:04 PM
Probably why Irish wanted to do the brakes then Col.
Love riding that little bike, believe me there is NO engine braking.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 04 July 2017, 04:36 PM
I'm fairly sure I wouldn't want to be cracking that puppy open!
At least he put the big disc up front.
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Tuesday, 04 July 2017, 04:57 PM
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 04 July 2017, 04:36 PM
I'm fairly sure I wouldn't want to be cracking that puppy open!
At least he put the big disc up front.
The MRS has a brake setup that looks like that on her GN250. When I haven't ridden it for a while, I forget the breaks are . . . shall we say 'lacking' in any stopping power compared with the 14, which is nothing startling anyways.
Those early discs definitely left room for improvement, but much better than the wee drums.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 04 July 2017, 05:06 PM
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Tuesday, 04 July 2017, 04:57 PM
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 04 July 2017, 04:36 PM
I'm fairly sure I wouldn't want to be cracking that puppy open!
At least he put the big disc up front.
The MRS has a brake setup that looks like that on her GN250. When I haven't ridden it for a while, I forget the breaks are . . . shall we say 'lacking' in any stopping power compared with the 14, which is nothing startling anyways.
Those early discs definitely left room for improvement, but much better than the wee drums.
Yeah, I have mixed feelings about my 14's brakes.
It's the same age as my B-King, and the Kings full radial set up master and callipers are brilliant, they really do show how dated the 14's (and Gen-1 Busa) are..... then I remember my time spent on SOHC CB750, early Z1000, GSX1100 Katana and Harley Sportster etc, and the 14's 6-plops don't seem so bad again...
..... :grin:
The 14s brakes are not bad, but could be better (can't everything be better!?) I hope that with braided lines, EBC HH pads, and a rebuild of the master cylinder, mine will do much better. The calipers and discs are still quite good, will be rebuild/replaced when money is more plenty.
The rear was a mess! Got new disc (ABM Peak), braided line, rebuild calipers, rebuild master cylinder, EBC HH pads.
This morning.
Not bad for mid Winter.
(https://s16.postimg.org/b75psk8id/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/wgtc3eosx/)
(https://s16.postimg.org/mx5v4i7dh/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/5jvkpnc29/)
(https://s4.postimg.org/ezuzy41x9/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/rehryftfd/)
(https://s18.postimg.org/y7zz77chl/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/4suay77xx/)
Looks like a top day for a ride Tony.
Yeah, but that the remains of an ice berg on the beach in pic 2, just behind the bike.
That's why it's empty!!
Where is that one Tony? Marochydore / Maloolaba way? Looks like it.
Found ths on a ride today
Quote from: KiwiCol on Sunday, 09 July 2017, 05:33 PM
Yeah, but that the remains of an ice berg on the beach in pic 2, just behind the bike.
That's why it's empty!!
Where is that one Tony? Marochydore / Maloolaba way? Looks like it.
Closer to home.
It's Redcliffe (where the Bee Gees found fame) except for the first pic which is Brighton just the Brisbane side of the bridge to Redcliffe.
Just a trip in the Derbyshire countryside
In the woods ... :smoke:
(https://images82.fotosik.pl/686/4906cf3666d54cdegen.jpg) (https://images82.fotosik.pl/686/4906cf3666d54cde.jpg)
Saw this in Rome, no idea what make it is - not my choice but have to admire the workmanship. :smile2: - mainly 98% scooters, bikes seems to be BMW and Triumph adventure types but strangely very few Ducatis - everyone wearing shorts and T shirts, or dresses for the girls,
Hmmm, just a piece of art. and we all know art is subjective. It'd be totally useless as a bike.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 11 July 2017, 03:18 AM
Hmmm, just a piece of art. and we all know art is subjective. It'd be totally useless as a bike.
Saves him polishing something that his mum said would make him go blind. :stir:
Weekend came early Friday yesterdays ride on the old timers
Nice!
I had a real nice US import KZ1000LTD and a much modified 1100SD Katana in the UK. I'd had more than a few bikes and wasn't fussed when I sold them. Regret that now. Had better bikes since but most don't give me the same feeling.
The Z900 has just been restored.
Went for a short run this arvo, much later than I would normally head out, I'm a morning person usually.
Only nine degrees but the sun was out and their was no wind.
Pullled up and parked next to big Roller Coupe.
Big beautiful car, poked out both ends of the space.
Waiting for Snapey and Boothy, Berowra Ferry yesterday.
Just got sent some pics I didn't even know existed !
Willowbank Raceway, Qld, AU, 2008.
(https://s22.postimg.org/qduy02uo1/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/q13jtwce5/)
(https://s17.postimg.org/gnb0j71an/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/eiqni3znv/)
(https://s22.postimg.org/gesleuy35/image.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/tiy5rjq4t/)
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Sunday, 16 July 2017, 05:10 AM
Waiting for Snapey and Boothy, Berowra Ferry yesterday.
Brought back a few good memories. Used to get around there in the early 80's. When I lived in Castle Hill.
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Sunday, 16 July 2017, 09:05 PM
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Sunday, 16 July 2017, 05:10 AM
Waiting for Snapey and Boothy, Berowra Ferry yesterday.
Brought back a few good memories. Used to get around there in the early 80's. When I lived in Castle Hill.
Glad they brought back memories mate. We do the ferry rides maybe once a year, usually 5 for me 6 for others, I could make it more pending the route I take to meeting point via Wisemans Ferry Road to McGraphs Hill. I love the River Road from Wiso to Sackville and after to Windsor.
The River Ride Today
great pics, you must really love that bazooka Irish. so rare they are starting to look good.
Great pics indeed grog but the Bazooka only looks good in one place and that's the scrap heap :hat:
Quote from: grog on Friday, 21 July 2017, 06:48 PM
great pics, you must really love that bazooka Irish. so rare they are starting to look good.
Grog I have a Staintune for it, I just can't be bothered with the noise and it only attracts attention from some those who don't like motorcycles.
I have my original muffler in the back shed, it's in good condition so kept it. Happy with the Delkevic carbon can I put on, but it has been 'mentioned' once when I was pulled randomly on the road. Had a new WOF (be the same as your MOT I'd suppose) since it's been fitted & no issues, but the boys in blue are still drawn to it.
Today.
2 months into Winter.
What a beautiful day!
Absolute cracker of a day Tony! Mid winter in Qld - eat your heart out everyone.
29/07/17. Back at Sydney Motorsport Raceway. Another perfect winters day except for the 3 deg start. :)
,
Spur of the moment. Sick of work, so took the Friday off & told the missus, I will be home Sat afternoon sometime.
Done a nice little 800km overnight trip to an old gold mining town at Hill end, for a Pub stay & some great riding around the local area.
Sometimes it's great to get out by yourself & clear your head a little.
Couple more :)
Poland sea and lighthouse in Krynica Morska :cool:
(https://images81.fotosik.pl/723/8845a42b4184bd07gen.jpg) (https://images81.fotosik.pl/723/8845a42b4184bd07.jpg)
(https://images81.fotosik.pl/723/7d521a7a012e3866gen.jpg) (https://images81.fotosik.pl/723/7d521a7a012e3866.jpg)
First ride on my new bike was to Belgium and back 600 miles of pleasure
First ride on my new bike was to Belgium and back 600 miles of pleasure
sweaty, harvey and kozi, well done you blokes. a decent ride is the best thing in the world. got me planning now. try to match your pics, all superb. 10/10 you blokes.
Great photos guys :onya:
sweaty:
I'm off to Hill End tomorrow morning for 2 nights staying at The Hill End Lodge. :boogie:
here's a few random pics when in Wales etc.
(https://i.imgur.com/OZpaG2Z.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/zOkZFdE.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/DfTYtwv.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/w8kIhxF.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/9lE5sGb.jpg)
Great pics Typan. Thought you were in Aussie for a moment, then saw the sheep didnt have lipstick on !!
I liked Sweaty's pictures of his part of Australia I thought I'll show my backyard as well from the other day.
Nice thing about Australia is it's pretty much very similar from top to bottom and left to right. Lovely big country. I'm from outback western NSW.
This is coming back from O'Reilly's Rain-forest Retreat via the Lamington Nation Parks Rd in southern Queensland (not the best road but ...)
Quote from: Ross on Thursday, 03 August 2017, 10:32 AM
sweaty:
I'm off to Hill End tomorrow morning for 2 nights staying at The Hill End Lodge. :boogie:
Good stuff Ross :clapping:
Not sure what the weather is like, but just watch the frost in the morning. I was frosted in till 9am.
Nice photos Typan & Sheepdog :onya:
took an afternoon ride down freo way
Like the river rides, just meandering along.
A cold 3 day charity ride around central NSW with 60 others to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis NSW.
Spent both nights at the Hill End Lodge. Fantastic weekend on some great roads through Bylong Valley, Sofala, Bathurst, Blaney and Orange.
Lovely shot of pit straight of the Hardie-Ferodo race circuit. Sorry, showing my age.
Just memories of taking my first lovely GSX1100 across the mountain in 1981. Bucket list stuff for me but no photos unfortunately. Pre chase days at the end of Conrod straight. Just loved it.
Just magic. Well done.
Hey Ross, there's some young fella sitting on your bike in pic 2??
Good on ya mate, what passes for cold over there now? 10 - 12 degrees?
We weren't subject to too much except for up ay Mt Canobolas where it was friggin' freezin'.
Perfect winter weather. It ranged from about 5 to 12 degrees. We've have had it much colder in previous years.
Quote from: SheepDog on Monday, 07 August 2017, 06:00 PM
Lovely shot of pit straight of the Hardie-Ferodo race circuit. Sorry, showing my age.
Just memories of taking my first lovely GSX1100 across the mountain in 1981. Bucket list stuff for me but no photos unfortunately. Pre chase days at the end of Conrod straight. Just loved it.
Just magic. Well done.
It's not like the old days, heavily policed, with a 60km speed limit and is 2 way.
There's push bikes, joggers and walkers everywhere so you have to keep the speed down.
It's surprising just how tight some of the corners are.
Not sure about posting multiple pics but here it goes - Ride I did a year ago to uluru and the olgas. There was a bunch of rain a few months before so everything was in bloom as it warmed up. Beginning of winter I did a camel expedition into the Simpson desert - absolutely carpeted with flowers. People expect it to be desolate and not much growing. Bike loves these long rides, I whack the sheepy on and she's comfortable all day. Wouldn't mind a throttle lock though.
Great pics Endless, looks amazing :onya:
Yep, love 'em too.
Snowies NSW Australia
Sorry its not the 14, but here is my Rocket and I at Lands End yesterday.
@Proteous I know Rocket and 14 cant be compared, but still, if you could, what would you say?
By numbers, Rocket have almost twice of torque of 14 - what about feelings?
Yes Jay, I'd be interested too.
Quote from: northern on Monday, 21 August 2017, 03:12 AM
@Proteous
I know Rocket and 14 cant be compared, but still, if you could, what would you say?
By numbers, Rocket have almost twice of torque of 14 - what about feelings?
Well to be honest i cant compare them anyway. I have never ridden a standard 14 as mine is a 1550.
That said, as for the size, the R3 feels like it has a much greater road presence due to the stance, seating position and the sheer size. The pull is quite similar between my 14 and the R3, they both give you that satisfying need to hold on for dear life when you pull the throttle back.
As for cornering, well, i am extremely supprized with the R3's abilty to corner. I have already started to grind the pegs. Something i never felt confident with on the 14.
For me, the comfort is amazing on the rocket i did 784 miles this weekend between 5pm friday to 5pm today i dont think i would have been as well off as i am now if i had been on the 14. (Broken spine n all.)
All being said, the 14 has an extra thrill factor and a top end that the R3 does not have. They compliment each other perfectly, they both give you a massive grin from ear to ear but for different reasons....
One last thing to note, i was quite supprised by the attention and respect you get from other bikers and in fact none bikers when they see your R3. And pulling up at traffic lights next to a Hardly is hillarious, they bow their heads in shame :lol:
Thanks for the comparison. I think Triumph should hire you for advertising shootings. Maybe one with you "pulling up at traffic lights next to a Hardly". You and the bike together look like a great match.
Pic 1- Me 80yo mum wanted to stay with a friend for 2 nights. Doesn't know the meaning of packing light but we fit it in the Tardus
Pic 2 - Me daughter chillin
Pic 3 - Weekend away with the kids, the dads and the 14s
Pic 4 - Cambodian Friends - First time in Australia on road bikes but champion Asia x country racer
Pic 5 - Top of the Rex Range near Port Douglas K2 & K7
Went for a little trot this morning. Confidence is improving after many years out of the saddle and I'm really enjoying it.
Just a pic of some local scenery about 10kms from home.
ok, try again with the pic
Went for a scoot around the lake yesterday, even went up the hill....400 ish K's....a big ride for me as i usually crack the shits after 45 min or so on the thing...
Good on ya mate, big effort to get that far if you're used to just 45 min stints. Long may it continue. :onya:
Quote from: northern on Monday, 21 August 2017, 03:12 AM
@Proteous
I know Rocket and 14 cant be compared, but still, if you could, what would you say
I looked at both the Rocket 111 and V-Max as alternatives to the B-King.
Both offer heaps of grunt and a more laid back riding style but neither have
the tuning potential, Sportsbike spec running gear (chain drive and 17" wheels etc) and the "hooligan" feel of the Busa based naked Suzuki.
I can certainly see why folk buy them, and I would take one any day over a
Harley / V-Rod / 109 etc but they just didn't suit me.
@HLAH Lot more snow than when l went earlier this year. Looked like a nice day too. :onya:
A lazy little 509k (316 mile) ride this morning.
A nice mix, some relaxed cruising and some fun twistys.
you are the ride king :worshippy:
509K...Down though Peaks Crossing to Boonah, back way up Queen Mary Falls, Warwick, head towards Toowoomba, down through Ma Ma Creek to Gatton, across to Esk, to Kilcoy with a detour up and down Gregors Creek Rd, Neurum Creek Rd, across though Wamuran and home just after lunch.
Theres a 770K Northside loop I should do again soon.
I have a couple of BIG 1 day rides planned for later in the year (when there's more day light and I've worked out the fuel stops. I just need to get some longer rides in and get "ride fit" again.
I'm no great rider, I just like to put in seat time. Its my escape.
300 on the Katana js like 1000 on the 14.
Is that your Titan Irish?
Not mine a mates. Kat is mine. Closest I have to a Titan is half of one a 69 Hustler.
My first bike was a 250 Hustler.
I started with 1973 model T 500. Great bike with huge torque. After 50 and 125cc machines.
Titan's have become sought after, you can expect to pay 5 or 6000 AUD for a decent one.
Another mate just parted with this one for 6500.
That's very good coin for a 500 2 stroke aye! That'd be more than they were brand new too, oh well, good luck to those that have them. I have some good memories of them from way back myself.
On arrival in Oz in 1986 I bought a brand new RZ500 for $3300. Exchange rate at the time less than 1500 pounds, in UK they where about 2500 pounds. They now sell for about 12000 AUD. RG's go for more.
:)
Some pics from today's "Bikers Against Bullying"-visit to a local school. Over 60 bikes took part in the happening.
Looks like a good turnout for a good cause. Well done. Nice day too.
With Yamaha 5000km and Suzuki 12000km during this year.
Nice ride out with the bride for coffee in Te Aroha.
Taking a break in Belgium
You have the best looking exhaust system.
I'm not gonna start this, but I reckon there'd be a few who beg to differ on that. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, -
(even the blind?) :rofl2:
A photo of my bike with a friends limited edition "Barry Sheene" replica which he has had from new in 2005.
Taken in The Lake District in the UK on Sunday
Quote from: KiwiCol on Monday, 25 September 2017, 03:22 PM
I'm not gonna start this, but I reckon there'd be a few who beg to differ on that. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say, -
(even the blind?) :rofl2:
I didn't see a thing Col
Not only pic, but from a ride.
Taken on annual season closing run. This year, Guinness world record attempt was made (longest motorcycle one-row parade), but unfortunately it didn't happened. And not because of lack of riders(~2000), but because 5m rule between motorcycles. Also some a..hols were not wearing helmets and other a..hole drive car into the parade line...
But anyway, nice and beautiful tradition.
Not mine, but spotted on a Facebook photographers page.
Kennilworth a week or 2 back.
Anyone on here ?
A few from last week ride
Went for a play on the Oxley this weekend. There was a pro photographer sitting just up the hill from Mount Seaview Resort on a 35k corner so we stayed a while and had a play. It was a hoot just running up and down on that bottom hot mix section.
Nice one Ross. Hope you got the appropriate permission from Rogues prior to your jaunt though. :cheers:
Good stuff Ross :onya:
I like the 2nd shot, but you need to polish your underside if your going to be a camera Hog :grin:
Today out with a mate on the way to Hawes (North Yorkshire)..
Former roomates :boogie:
Whilst we are on the 'room mates' theme :onya:
This is in Wick 20 minutes South of John O Groates
The Triumph is my previous bike I sold to my mate :onya:
Most likely, today was my last ride of season 2017. It was a wonderful not cold and dry day (first over few weeks). Perfect! :)
Saturday saw me meandering through Belgium and Luxemburg. In Belgium the road surface is notoriously in bad shape. I mostly know by the roads when I enter Belgium :sad:
The pic is taken in the largest nature preserve, a high moorland, in Belgium. It extends by a third into Germany. In midday half a dozen hinds with a mighty stag making up the rear, crossed my way. An awesome view and not much of a scare. A couple of miles later a dead bore by the roadside added to the reminder to ride safe.
Saved enough on petrol (30 cents less per liter) in Luxemburg to pay for yummy Belgian fries and coffee.
Riding with the evening sun in my back, I was almost front ended by a blinded driver veering onto my side of the road while fiddling with the sun visor. He must have gotten an extra scare when I honked while being a couple feet from his front fender. Normally I don't ride during the evening hours this time of year for that reason. Either you don't see or you are not seen. Should have gotten on the road earlier. I'll do that tomorrow on my trip through the Eifel. Well maintained roads and fantastic corners for the taking at projected sunny 26 Celsius. Taking in the fall colors during sommer weather - what a treat it will be :drool:
It was a surprisingly decent day yesterday for late October. The Z1000 was due a turn out of the garage so I took it for a run to Moreton Corbet Castle. Only about an 80 mile round trip but that is enough for my backside on the little Zed.
I'm often at a loss as to where to ride out to and often lose part of my Sunday sat in front of the computer trying to make my mind up. The English Heritage web site is a good starting point though and even if what you finally arrive at turns out not to interest you too much at least it has focused your attention on getting out and maybe taken you down some roads that you might not have thought to ride on.
Moreton Corbet turned out to be a nice little spot to wander around with the camera though, more pictures here if you want them: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157662007320598 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157662007320598)
I felt the need for a day on on the 'busy' roads of the Yorkshire Dales, found a lovely pub at Kettlewell for lunch and then kept exploring the 'wide' roads.
It must be getting cold as the rear wheel twitched out on several bends when there was nothing on the road to cause it.
Hooli you and I were pretty close on Sunday as I was in North Yorkshire myself with a friend on his XJR1300.
Gorgious weather and loads of bikrs about.
VJMC ride yesterday
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 30 October 2017, 05:21 PM
Gorgious weather and loads of bikrs about.
It was rude not to go out wasn't it?
Nice XJ :cheers:
found this while looking for a photo of my Abba stand - they were both a great laugh
Bike looks sharp in white Del :onya:
South of Brisbane 5/11/17
5/11/17
Ya know if Barmy see's that last pic, he'll be knocking on your door Tony! He's over there somewhere, so he can get to you!
Quote from: KiwiCol on Sunday, 05 November 2017, 02:32 PM
Ya know if Barmy see's that last pic, he'll be knocking on your door Tony! He's over there somewhere, so he can get to you!
Why do you think I posted it.... :twisted:
I might not clean this one anymore.
I'll clean the Busa and King, the 14 I'll just oil and WD untill I get bored... :grin:
Bad Tony.......there you are Barmy, mine is nice and clean. Heading out for a ride today.
Then again if its dirty.....its gettin ridden. :onya:
kiwi, must be huge flys in your area, that is a trap on rear? :grin:
Composting toilet Grog........
We are all for looking after the environment over here. I do give it a rinse out if I gotta get some shopping tho. :onya:
The first 2 from 2 days ago in Belgian Limburg. Dry but windy with lots of wet leaves in the woody areas. Last pic is a month ago in Dutch Limburg.
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Sunday, 05 November 2017, 04:05 PM
Bad Tony.......there you are Barmy, mine is nice and clean. Heading out for a ride today.
Then again if its dirty.....its gettin ridden. :onya:
Damn - missed this and have just flown back home. Ah well, just have to get on the next plane out I suppose given the temperature in the UK.....ooh and the crickets on in Brisbane :whistling:
Getting out & about exploring my new surrounds when work/home life allows...
This is Burt Munro's old stomping ground...
Nice Invercargill day !!
Great part of the country.
Watch out for the camera vans on the road to Bluff.....they look like a tradies van. Have seen two parked within a couple of k's of each other.
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Thursday, 07 December 2017, 12:18 AM
Nice Invercargill day !!
Great part of the country.
Watch out for the camera vans on the road to Bluff.....they look like a tradies van. Have seen two parked within a couple of k's of each other.
Oh dear..
You have Parasitic vans as well do you !!
Aaah yes our climate seems ideal for them. :thumbs_down:
I believe ours can be culled with fire, has it been tried over there?
Not that I'm aware of Hooli
we have random parked trailers now, speed camera installed.
today was annual major service day. all serviced, shiny bits touched up. photo for no reason. she just felt lonely. what a great bike. never looks older as years go by.
Quote from: grog on Thursday, 07 December 2017, 07:42 PM
... what a great bike. never looks older as years go by.
Class never goes out of style.
Yep looking good Grog, unfussy no nonsense beauty!
Good comfy looking seat too.
Nice ride Grog :onya:
Looking good Grog. Who done your seat & are you happy with it ?
Seat by Guzzler in Bris. Have a google, mine was done nearly 6 yrs ago. Still like new so quality is good. Comfort is the best. Still amazes me just how good. Have sheepskins for longer trips, bit of air flow and stops mrs sliding. Yeah highly recod.
Cheers Grog. Just something I'm starting to think about doing :cheers:
Another great day out on the bike with the missus. Left home at 9.00am went down the east coast to Matata again looking at the Pohutukawa trees in flower. Stopped for a stretch by the local store. Sign on the side of the building caught my eye Col, thought you'd be well catered for round these parts. Then across to Rotorua, stopped in on some friends that live by Lake Rotoiti, he was busy filleting his two nice 2kg trout he had caught this morning. (Sorry no snaps) Then off to Cambridge to catch up with father, across to Matamata to catch up with my son and the grandy. Then home at 6.30. Pat the scooter on the tank, 360km day out.
Thats what Sundays are for ..... :onya:
You Scottish blokes been looking for Nessie?
Great way to spend a Sunday KF :onya:
well done mate, a ride, the rellies and lockie the monster. keeping all happy. like your style. love those sort of days, a beer and a sit, think about the day. doesnt get better.
Nice trip Col, did you give the pies a test? I see Mrs KF has a matt black LS2, so does mine. She picked it & did it on her own, just arrived home with it. The intercom fitted in the pic looks the same as mine (ours) too.
No pies mate, coeliac !! Wife said it was the most comfortable helmet and the intercom works great......on occaisions get some static from the pillion though :)
As it's disgustingly warm for the time of year I thought I'd see if my 14 still worked. Did about 115miles & remembered a couple of things - cold wet roads are slippy, I really should pump the tyres up before going out and Squires cuppas are over priced & barely warm.
Hi Hooli
I got out yesterday (Sunday) for a few hours as well..
I notice the temp has gone up since I fitted the hand guards !!
Quick buy a heated vest & it'll be summer all year :lol:
Riding lots of gravel roads around the catlins atm
Good on ya mate, stay safe on the gravel. 1400's n gravel are not the best bed pal's.
I agree Col, we both found that out in 2017.
Some nice riding around the Catlins.....
It was just so flippin cold when were there.
Nice and handy for the Burt Munro, think its in February.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Saturday, 30 December 2017, 03:45 PM
Good on ya mate, stay safe on the gravel. 1400's n gravel are not the best bed pal's.
I thought gsx1400 and ditches didn't match.... :whistling:
Out on the CBR125RR a few days ago.
Jomtien down to Ban Chang and back on the back roads, about 175 kms altogether.......and only 3.1 litres of fuel!!!
new member from Taiwan
Welcome :hat:
Hi Bourne,
Welcome along, looking very casual on your bike :onya:
you should introduce yourself in the 'New Members' thread :hat:
Cheers
Red
Nice ride with the wifey to Lake Taupo for lunch yesterday. You can just see Mt Ruapehu in the distance.
Don't think I could handle that Gold Wing..... It's huge !!
great pics kiwi. one day ill get there. ill tell a story, sorry if off track but thats me. ask my wife. my mate wal bought a goldwing 10 yrs ago. he was 72 then. biggest, bluest thing youve ever seen. his opera music blared constantly, loud stereo that wing. he decided to just ride and he did. nearly 300 th ks around oz. reverse gear failed, honda fixed it free. only prob. he would go to shop for milk, appear back 3 mths later. would say took wrong turn, ended up in wa. grand prix, nthn territory, wherever. all on his own. now very sick but says he did what he wanted. was a very rich building speculator, gave it all away to ride his bike. follow on, his grandson has now taken over. wants to ride the wing till it dies. now nearly 400ks. best story i know. sorry to bore yas but needed to tell.
That sounds like a proper retirement plan Grog! you guys are lucky to have the climate and such a big Country to explore :hat:
Red
We are luckier Red......no crocs, no snakes, can sleep in most places and not get eaten. :whistling:
Nice story about your mate Grog.
A former workmate and remote ex-relative of mine (German) flies every other year to NZ on vacation. Greatest place on earth for him. No crocs, no snakes is a not to underestimated bonus. How about other poisonous critters such as spiders?
Oz has all those critters. you forgot the sharks, jelly fish, disease ridden fruit bats by the millions. killer wasps, fire ants. i guess we have a few. never really a problem. just be wary, its a really safe place. i never wake up thinking about any of that stuff. more wary on the road, wary at home, some druggo doesnt rob me. same story as everywhere else. id be more concerened with salt on roads. my bike sits in sun lots of days, i have a cover. i play golf in heat, use a cart and apply sunscreen. your cold i dont understand, my heat you northerners prob. dont understand. how long since you put ice in your fishtank to keep them alive? how long since your oil temp gauge on 14 showed 35c for a cold start. mine did today. one day ill have xmas with snow, just a plan. this is a great forum, to be able to talk to the world. im waiting for cooler, others waiting for heat. amazing. tomorrow here is forecast 40c, too hot. try putting riding gear on, wife wont even ride in it. harley boys do, full riding gear. shorts, singlets n thongs. wankers i reckon.
I have lived in a couple hot places for quite a number of years. Lots of manual labor at 40+ on my property. My skin was almost black. Met a mountain lion face to face. They are civil creatures though. Glad I didn't have the same experience with a bear. They are nasty beasts. Both common where I lived. Poisonous snakes and spiders as well.
Here in Germany you can see these critters too- in the Zoo. The last 2 months were the darkest in over 25 years. January hasn't been better. All excited now for Sunday as we are supposed to get 6 hours sunshine. Guess what I'll be doing!
6 hours of daylight Andre. Hard for us to imagine, as at the moment we have 14 hours of daylight. Sunrise at 5.55am Sunset 8.10pm.
Give us plenty of time to hunt for critters :grin:
Slight misunderstanding there Sweaty. Sunrise here is about 8:30am Sunset 5pm. But these are just theoretical as you not really notice it much at all. Amount of sunshine has been nearly 0 repeat ZERO hours a day for the last 2 1/2 months. Exceptions confirm the rule. If you are lucky you catch 15 minutes sunshine every once in a while. And most days it rains.
Now that sounds very bleak Andre :thumbs_down:
It's a major suck. At least we don't have crocs populating the overflowing rivers and no poisonous critters falling from the sky - just rain. :rofl2: Never minded rain before but since having my new 14 and decided to only ride in dry weather it gets to me. :furious:
Been messing around on the old canvass:
That looks cool, some sort of image editing / apply filters etc.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Thursday, 18 January 2018, 02:01 AM
That looks cool, some sort of image editing / apply filters etc.
LOL well spotted Col, it's just the effects you can use off FB, this is Me and Mrs Red :salute:
And at JOG
Very nice Red! The JoG one looks unreal.
Well done Red, they look great :onya:
Mid week ride.
Nice photos Irish. :onya:
month ago, I get 360° camera (with 2 lenses) so I'm opening new foto world for myself. It's pretty fun
I do not think, forum will support this kind of picture, so here is external link from my last week ride (actually fix on a road).
https://photos.app.goo.gl/b3swiAG8agtbptX4A
After picture is opened, just click on it to navigate with mouse (or finger, in case of mobile device)
That's amazing, never seen anything like it before. That technology should do well. :onya:
That is amazing, why did you remove your bikes fuel tank?
Quote from: Bielie45 on Saturday, 21 July 2018, 04:10 PM
why did you remove your bikes fuel tank?
there is the story:
http://gsx1400owners.org/forum/index.php?topic=420.msg40036#msg40036
there is one more, from the same day:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2bkHFtpfUyLWcaUX9
Another nice day for it.
Whats the history on the fluffy slug Irish ?
Great pics.
Asking another guy about his Fluffy Slug Kiwi, could be taken a few ways :embarassed: :grin:
Fair point Sweaty........
Ummm.....hey Irish whats the deal with the roadkill tucked into the pannier frame....... lunch ?? :whistling:
Quite a few years back my cousin did a tour of Scotland, he bought the wee highland cow tied it on and it's been there ever since.
Who has a fluffy slug these day's.
Sunday morning ride with the missus.
It's about time I put a few of my doomed tour up. The big stone thing is the top of the highest paved road in Europe, about 9,200ft up Col de la Bonette. The last one is where it all went wrong on the Slovenian border.
Great pics Hooli...shame you never got the chance to finish the trip!
I'll just have to finish it next time.
Good to see some of the positive aspects of your trip. :cheers:
Great photos Hooli. Awesome looking roads. Shame you had problems that stopped your adventure.
Amazing looking roads - look forward to completing the trip :)
Left the 14 in the garage whilst my wife and I had a ride out today to the Derwent Valley and a walk around Ladybower Dam. Mine is the 1200, my wife's is the 600. Lovely day and a beautiful part of Derbyshire
Nice photos Mark. :onya:
Cheers Kiwi, Jenny took them so I can't take the credit. The water was low so I was hoping to see some of the village they flooded to make it - not low enough on this occasion. No Lancaster flew by either
Wow beautiful countryside ! What roads ! :)
On Wednesday afternoon a mate and I went on a gorgeous ride out.
Very atmospheric with zero traffic..
Stopped on a bridge that was originally a Roman crossing.
My mate has a degree in ancient history!
Hopefully the photos portray the tranquil feel of the ride..
Im not normally a graveyard dweller but my mate errrr is !
I did find these ancient words on a grave a touching tribute to a wifes passing...
What really struck me is how young some people died..
Especially women.. I can only assume during child birth..
Loads were just 19 to 28 years old !!
Quite a few children as well....
It certainly makes you think !
I read the inscription at the bottom of the stained glass windows. 1852 - 1854, sad. 1850's NZ was just being settled, nothing here.
Yep photos do convey the tranquil feel for sure, good job.
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Friday, 31 August 2018, 05:11 PM
Stopped on a bridge that was originally a Roman crossing.
My mate has a degree in ancient history!
You're lucky having so much history in your country.
I've got a degree in ancient history as well. To be honest, I don't have much call on it though :)
Bronze Age Greece a particular interest of mine, but I also love the later Greek and Roman stuff.
Beautiful morning, even if I did get to the Cafe an hour before it opened! Still it was worth it for the early cool start and empty roads. 381k's (236 miles) and home by 11am. Furthest I've done on a tank thanks to the modded tank neck.
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Photo taken at the top of the Rimutaka hill. I take this route into Wairarapa on pretty much every ride I take as there are only two routes out of Wellington, west or east, and the west route is just straight up & down for miles with barely any options for getting off the main drag. The eastern route however means going over this hill and down to some great motorcycling country. The video link below isn't from my ride [don't have a go pro or equivilent yet] but it it'll give you an idea of how good the hill can be on a good day :boogie2:
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=rimutaka+hill&&view=detail&mid=C9D49748BCF0B9EE726EC9D49748BCF0B9EE726E&&FORM=VDRVRV
great sculpture.
Looks like a nice run through there Gegs 👍
Yeah its a great ride If you can judge a time when the traffic is OK as there aren't many passing places.
The sculpture is a memorial to the soldiers of WW1 who trained in the camp at Featherston [to the north] and, after completing training, marched from the camp to Wellington docks for their departure overseas [Egypt, then Gallipoli in the first years]. This 62 KM march was their 'right of passage' from training.
Back home after a thoroughly enjoyable ride out around the Wairarapa :wheelie: :wheelie: :wheelie: :wheelie:
Great photos Gegs. Wonderful memorial.
Hope you enjoyed your ride :cheers:
Got mine out for a wee tour round the Port Hills today.
Looking down Lyttelton harbour from about ½ way up from Gebbies pass side
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(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-091218104223.jpeg)
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Bit further up here, just before you go through to the Christchurch side
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-091218104330.jpeg)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-091218104357.jpeg)
Through the other side here, Lake Ellesmere in the distance on left & sea beyond that.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-091218104424.jpeg)
Bit further round now, can see (a bit) of the flat expanse of the Canterbury plains
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-091218104515.jpeg)
Black back home in the driveway, now it's the Blues turn -
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Black n Blue - tucked up together after their runs.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-091218104614.jpeg)
TBH, I prefered the naked over the screen. I took the black out first & jumping on the blue with the fairing etc, the buffeting & wind noise on my helmet was very noticable indeed. Think I may ditch the screens n go back to naked for both.
Great pics Col.
My screen sits under my bench, and it looks heaps better naked as well 👍
Nice work Col, brings back memories of the week i spent riding over there :onya:
Nice Col :onya:
Excellent photos. Col i understand the no screen , mine hangs in shed, not a thing i like. If it cut wind blast properly id like it. My lodger, Diavel, has a tiny little screen, wow, it works perfectly. Quite amazing how it stops the blast. we just add a screen, hope it works. i guess Ducati actually tested in wind tunnel etc. its bloody good for something so small. im guessing my mrs says same. :)
Another vote for no screen quieter and more comfy here too.
It's the only way to ride.
Last Sunday's ride :) 570 km round trip on a beautiful day.
Far out Gegs, didnt know a name could be that long. Imagine asking for a bus ticket, bus would be gone before you finished.
Climbed a hill & played a flute (abrev) . . Thailand has one longer, 161 letters!
i always thought Landsborough was too long. What is the Thai one Col?
Yucomeseemysistershevellynicesheluff youlongtimedogudtingvelyhapiendingyulike.
That one Col :facepalm:
Here's a piece cut n pasted from Google about the long name in Thailand - corrected, 163 letters.
THAILAND: "Bangkok is a city of extremes and superlatives, a city you do not react to indifferently," says Thailand at a Glance. "Recently declared the world's hottest city by the World Meteorological Organization, it also boasts the world's longest name: Krung-thep-maha-nakorn-boworn-ratana-kosin-mahintar-ayudhya-amaha-dilok-pop-nopa-ratana-rajthani-burirom-udom-rajniwes-mahasat-arn-amorn-pimarn-avatar-satit-sakattiya-visanukam.
"Not surprisingly, only a handful of Thais can remember such a mouthful, although the abbreviated translation of the whole is a relatively brief Jewelled city of the god Indra. However, most Thais simply refer to it as Krung Thep, City Angels."
We sought a ruling from a Bangkok wordsmith, Theppitak Karoonboonyanan who said the correct spelling (163 letters) is Krungthepmahanakornamornratanakosinmahintarayutthayamahadilokphopnopparatrajathaniburiromudomrajaniwesmahasatharnamornphimarnavatarnsathitsakkattiyavisanukamprasit.
Theppitak separated the words of K161t and translated them as:
krungthep mahanakorn
The great city of angels,
amorn rattanakosin mahintara yutthaya mahadilok phop
the supreme unconqueralble land of the great immortal divinity (Indra),
noparat rajathani burirom
the royal capital of nine noble gems, the pleasant city,
udomrajaniwes mahasatharn
with plenty of grand royal palaces,
amorn phimarn avatarnsathit
and divine paradises for the reincarnated deity (Vishnu),
sakkatattiya visanukam prasit
given by Indra and created by the god of crafting (Visnukarma).
"It's a kind of honoring or celebrating in (royal) Thai culture to name long (I couldn't confirm this in terms of historical background, though)," Theppitak said. "King Rama 1, the founder of the city himself, was named yet longer than the name of the city, in his ascending to the throne. Our King Rama 9 (King Bhumipol) also has a long name of a hundred letters.
"The name of the city was given by King Rama 1, the founder of the city, to celebrate the new capital, 219 years ago, after Sukhothai, Ayudhaya, and Thonburi. He moved the capital of the country from Thonburi to a place called Bangkok at that time, and named the new capital as rungthepmahanakhorn. The name has been changed a little by King Rama 4 (King Mongkut) which has been used until now.
"The name Bangkok is still used in international context because it was more familiar to foreigners in the past. In Thai, the city is called Krungthep in short, and is written with an abbreviation sign after it.
So the challenge now it to get someone there to get the photo with their GSX 1400, until then I'm keeping this claim to fame :lol: :riding:
I think we had a member in Thailand at one stage, don't think I've see them for a while though.
Today.
31 degrees C / 88F today. Cloudy but warm and dry.
Sneaked in a quick 260k's (161 miles) to go get a coffee.
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Took a quick jaunt to Queanbeyan today with Her Indoors. 430kays return to Sydney. Managed to roll into the servo at Goulburn and squeeze 21.62 liters in. 348kays gave 6.2l/100kms. Not bad for two up and 120-130 kph.
And the speedo ticked over 40000kms
Nearly run in, it'll start getting quicker soon!
Seriously, mine felt quicker when it got over 30k miles than it did at 10k on.
Quote from: Hooli on Monday, 14 January 2019, 02:35 AM
Nearly run in, it'll start getting quicker soon!
Seriously, mine felt quicker when it got over 30k miles than it did at 10k on.
Quicker!! Oh geeze, I think I'll better be careful.
Yesterday...
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great pics
Screen is now off and I'm preferring it :onya:
Public holiday. Early start. Lap of the dam. Breakfast. Home before it's too hot.
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Thats the way to do it........ :onya:
Roads like that, wow! make a guy dead envious.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Monday, 28 January 2019, 04:33 PM
Roads like that, wow! make a guy dead envious.
Thanks Col.
The twisty road is "Clear Mountain Rd".
Quite near my house, I use it to start and finish most of my rides.
This is the view a little further along Clear Mountain Rd. (old pic)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.tinypic.com%2F15oh5ar.jpg&hash=67166eea12d806d379189325381387a0997355ee)
Today I doubled back and did this road (old pic) up Mt Glorious...
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi67.tinypic.com%2Fmbr28h.jpg&hash=f5a9e320a0b0824390ee9685356700e34513568f)
..... and came back over Mt a Mee (another old pic)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi68.tinypic.com%2F2dkafrp.jpg&hash=cc48b404e0b338874684c4cc2878a1f9d12c0d94)
Beautiful roads. Then ya get some halfwit putting shingle on the corners??! All the pics show empty roads too? Is that pretty much how you get to ride them?
I like early starts, so I normally miss the weekend traffic. I have over 20 spare days off banked at work so get to play in the week when there are no tourists or day trippers too.
Chilling out in the shade at Matamata.
Thought I would share like Tony Nitrous and my backyard / regular run is out through Mt Mee and around Somerset and then split coming home via Mt Glorious or travel via Fernvale, and Centenary Hywy back to Northern Brisbane.
Attached some pictures of the girl. I pock along and enjoy the solitude, the country, and the thrill.
Wouldn't be dead for quids.
+5°C. Season opened.
Looks excellent riding weather T24! :facepalm: Do you fit / carry chains for the bike? Looks decidedly dicey to me.
No, we don't use chains. We use spikes at winter time.
Now that's what I call GRIP! :onya: :clapping:
A little jaunt to Whitby & back along the coast today, with Moonie on his z1000 thing he's riding these days and his mate who's name I can't remember.
Nice looking bikes :cheers:
Gotta love those big duck-arse number plates over there in England. I mean ... they're just so big compared to us in Australia.
Air brakes :whistling: keeps the bike stable in the turns. ;)
This morning...
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Looks like a damn fine day T. Nice pics :onya:
Took the red/black gsx1400 with the bodywork from m other gsx recently painted by
@Del for a ride up to Aberdeen (70miles)
To help a mate out with a photography project he's doing
Here's the first results .
:cheers:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Sunday, 07 April 2019, 04:34 PM
Looks like a damn fine day T. Nice pics :onya:
It was a little bit warm in bike gear, but I sat in the shade with an ice cold can and my second breakfast Knackwurst and watched the world go by for a while.
Came back from the Busa meet at Capalaba over the Gateway bridge yesterday. I haven't ridden on an evening recently, I'm more into my early starts, it was quite pleasant.
Didn't realise Emma had so many tattoos :whistling:
Seth I do like the new lay back riding position she has there :onya: :stir:
Back on topic :facepalm:
Really like the paint job on the tank Seth :clapping:
Is that a std seat and cowl?
@Red Biker It's a standard seat but recovered with an aftermarket cover fitted from someone on here(i don't know it's origins but it was new)
The single seat cowl is a powerbronze part I got ages ago.
Tank and seat plastics are standard paint by
@Del .
All these parts will be fitted to my b/w k6 just on this bike for the photo shoot it will be r/b again tomorrow.
:cheers:
@Mrg this was much more laid back a riding position and the looking over the screen position
:doh:
collector could do with a bit of a polish . . . :stir:
Looks the part with the new seat cover :grin: :grin: :grin:-
@seth
The tattoos must have cost a small fortune :whatever:
Well spotted Col :worshippy:
@KiwiCol that's the cleanest that bikes ever been but they'll be nice and shinny when the photographer photoshops them chrome lol
:stir:
The bike did 150 miles in the rain today such is life in Scotland
:doh:
:cheers:
Bit of a catch up for me, haven't been active on the forum, but here's some pics of a recent ride through NSW, Aus.
Quote from: seth on Monday, 08 April 2019, 01:36 AM
@Mrg this was much more laid back a riding position and the looking over the screen position
:doh:
Seth.. you did explain to the model why the 14 is called a naked bike?
your model still has the plastics and covered them :lol:
Quote from: Andre on Monday, 08 April 2019, 05:37 AM
The tattoos must have cost a small fortune :whatever:
Going rate at "my" tattoo artist is €125 per hour. (Only got one tattoo - 3/4 sleeve Polynesian )
It does come with a 5 year quarantee on defects.. e.g. free touch up's for parts that brighten quicker than the rest.
Dont know if that's normal but i found it classy of them.
My bikes not standard :doh:
nither is the model :stir:
:whistling:
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi68.tinypic.com%2F64ies1.jpg&hash=67e4cf132acd43f9f85aef52012019556e91244a)
Afterwork, chill time :cheers:
(https://images91.fotosik.pl/164/2c4dfeaf942843bcmed.jpg) (https://images91.fotosik.pl/164/2c4dfeaf942843bc.jpg)
FFS, Bhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
You won't have been there long, those Blue & White sheep run faster than others :stir:
Quote from: Thumper on Friday, 19 April 2019, 03:33 AM
FFS, Bhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
I'm South Wales based too
@Thumper ...
Sheep are a right bloody hazard at times :furious:
310 or so miles around the Dales today, I found a self service tearoom with lovely cakes, went to the highest pub in the UK (I really must book a room there one day) and got airborne seven times, twice high enough to land stood on the pegs...
It was a damn good day out really.
Nice day out by the looks of it. And a nice piece of countryside too.
The third pic down, is that some kind of "honesty box" cafe arraignment?
On the way to Portrush
Quote from: Taniwha on Sunday, 21 April 2019, 01:31 PM
Nice day out by the looks of it. And a nice piece of countryside too.
The third pic down, is that some kind of "honesty box" cafe arraignment?
It was indeed, that's how far from town I'd got. Far enough for people to be honest!
Brecon Beacons :)
I was a bit north of you today then, I did Snowdownia including lunch at Llamberis after riding the pass & then back over the pass heading home.
The last two weekends have seen the GSX getting all the love. The first time round because I was meeting up with a mate who also had one (although he confounded me by actually turning up on a Triumph café racer), on Good Friday the GSX was therefore at the front of the garage and being fundamentally idle it seemed like a good idea to go out on it again – anyway, it is the perfect bike for the sort of ride I was planning; no need for a fairing on a warm dry day, comfortable and agile enough for a good few miles and there was no need for luggage – just my DSLR camera in a back pack.
It was to be an invasion of Wales – well, a bit of a border skirmish I suppose.
Once I had cleared Bewdley I was free of most of the bank holiday day trippers and the oldies heading for the garden centres and ran out toward Leominster. I'd considered the café frequented by bikers at Crossgates for a refreshment break but whilest biker's cafes are great places to meet up you can sometimes be waiting ages to get served on a sunny public holiday – I opted for a Costa Express out of a machine the other side of Leominster and cracked on.
At Crossgates (where the biker's café did not actually look that busy after all) I turned north in the direction of Welshpool but after passing Newtown I cut back east for Montgomery where I parked up in the small town's square and had a two course lunch of Ginster's sausage roll and Walkers French Fries. It was washed down with a Cherry Coke as the place did not seem to keep a good cellar.
The bike hauled me up the hill above the town where I roamed the ruins of the castle for a while (free admission). Not the greatest of the border castles by any means, but I had never been to Montgomery before and that for me was as good a reason as any to go.
The return run to Stourbridge was a bit more direct than the run out and started with some less familiar roads before reaching Craven Arms where I was on better known territory and was able to pick the pace up just a little.
A good day out on the bike, hopefully there will be more to come soon.
That's an average of less than 40 mph, I hope it was quicker on the bike ;)
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Thursday, 25 April 2019, 04:17 AM
That's an average of less than 40 mph, I hope it was quicker on the bike ;)
Oh, the bike shot through it OK, but the coffee and cigarette breaks overran catastrophically.
Test ride of a new fuel pump.
Took the Zed bike out for a lap of the Reefton Spur couple of days ago - the road has recently been reopened after bush fires...
The sign used to say "Sections of this highway are subject to frost ice and snow. Drive slowly."
At least the views have improved with the bush next to the road gone...
Reminds me of the VJMC Rally at Healesville 2010 just after the fires.
Had a lovely weekend away, touring North Wales with a group of mates on bikes.
This is us stopping on the way up at the Claerwen Dam. You might have seen it on TV a few years ago in Top Gear, when for some reason they decided to tow a Landrover up the face of it using only the winch on the front.
Anyway after it stopped raining I am pleased to report that North Wales is beautiful and there are lots of great roads to play on.
By the way, we were passed yesterday on the A470 southbound by a blue & white GSX1400 - anyone on here?
Today we visited the annual "Bikers Against Bullying" happening at a local school.
Dropped into the garage of the guy who set up my suspension.
He' s an ex copper and amateur racer,
gave up the force to work on custom builds, he also runs tig welding courses.
He's recreated this Mick Doolan bike, I'd kill to have half his knowledge/skill.
He's probably not the best person to confess this to :whistling:
He was CID mj, I thought about giving the names of all those still with original exhaust cans so they can be charged with offensive behaviour :smoke:
Yesterday I escorted my missus to WRWR ride. She will ride 1000 km with her "sisters" in three days.
Today I was watching their main happening in Finland, Acecorner Lahti.
Now I have riden 670 km in two days for that reason.
288 km for a cup of coffee and an icecream..
"Bike night" at Joe's Diner Eagle Farm in Brisbane last night. :cheers:
A wee run out by the Danube this morning.... just to tip it over the 20k mark and to 'empty' the tank before checking the fuel filters next weekend :onya:
I joined local bunch of riders on FB & met them for the first time today. Seemed a decent bunch, if a bit short in the miles...
We went to the Yonderman Cafe in the Peak District, my tyres are now scrubbed enough to trust & I like how it rides on them.
Took the big girl for a 175 mile ride in finnish country roads.
Home from work, nightshift.
Bingo!
Full raid. Papers, turbo, tyres, sound check. Lots of questions. Passed!
Well done T24
Just remember they are making the roads "safer for you" :rofl2:
Motorbike cops vehicle number 069 :drool:
Pie time on the south coast
Quote from: GSX1400Convert on Friday, 24 May 2019, 02:19 PM
Quote from: Masterbates on Friday, 24 May 2019, 01:10 PM
Pie time on the south coast
Robertson?
The one and only... truthfully the pies are better at Fast n Fresh in Nowra, but that isn't much of a ride. :lol:
Convert, a great spot on police bike number, T24, can imagine if cops saw me taking a pic here, wouldnt be happy. Well done.
Little ride yesterday.
:onya:
@Icebreaker The clear roads and beautiful scenery make me quite jealous :)
@Icebreaker looks stunning where is this ?
Quote from: GSXKING on Saturday, 25 May 2019, 05:05 PM
@Icebreaker looks stunning where is this ?
This is where i live, land og the Vikings. Iceland, this road goes in to one of the fjords :cheers:
It's really Nice, when the sun is out.
GS 1000 at Bike Shed Show :onya:
Quote from: Masterbates on Friday, 24 May 2019, 05:01 PM
Quote from: GSX1400Convert on Friday, 24 May 2019, 02:19 PM
Quote from: Masterbates on Friday, 24 May 2019, 01:10 PM
Pie time on the south coast
Robertson?
The one and only... truthfully the pies are better at Fast n Fresh in Nowra, but that isn't much of a ride. :lol:
When I lived in Sydney (moved to Qld 15 years ago) I used to do Maquarry Pass every second weekend, if not every.
A girl on yellow GSXR hung out at the pie shop, and she could ride the wheels of it.
I know, because she blew me ........... into the weeds one day :embarassed:
Yatala Pies is a landmark and is legendary for handmade pies. This was Curry with Mushy peas. Delicious. :cheers: :cheers:
A couple of pics from my last big ride from Melb to the Gold Coast & back, on my old VX800 on club plates, pre GSX1400.
Rode to a local bike gathering the other day and spotted this 14 parked up, never got the chance to chat with the owner.
Perhaps a member on here ??
(https://i.imgur.com/8Om40S9.jpg)
Thought I'd follow up my previous post a page back with the finished article!
Honda NSR500 Doohan Replica
Thursday ride in windy weather with my girlfriend.
Went to a popular Sunday bike meet at Boxhill in Surrey this morning, and met a very nice guy from Lancing Sussex on an early GSX1400.
On a closer inspection all is not what it seems! Dyno'd at 252bhp at rear wheel, trying to recall all the mods but have probably forgotten most, but the engine was professionally built by Big cc Racing, runs a Garrett roller bearing turbo with external filter, modified airbox, slipper clutch, power commander, Yoshi exhaust ?? trigger switch to select optional power settings, plus more i can't remember!
I mentioned this forum to him and said he'll check it out, and hopefully join up :onya:
Will upload some photos from my phone apologises for poor quality. He was good enough to allow me permission to include the photos.
Would be good to meet up with him again sometime.
(https://i.imgur.com/Qk21UD7.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/CmQoqFb.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/zp0UAWq.jpg)
That is insane :boogie: :boogie: :boogie:
Nice ride out lake Vassiviere, bumped into Harley Davidson gathering. I was sweating my chuff off in Leather and Kevlar, and they are riding very gravelly roads in f...ING vests.
Quote from: lil4399 on Tuesday, 04 June 2019, 06:09 AM
Nice ride out lake Vassiviere, bumped into Harley Davidson gathering. I was sweating my chuff off in Leather and Kevlar, and they are riding very gravelly roads in f...ING vests.
I parked mine subtly out of the way. 😊
Quote from: lil4399 on Tuesday, 04 June 2019, 06:16 AM
Quote from: lil4399 on Tuesday, 04 June 2019, 06:09 AM
Nice ride out lake Vassiviere, bumped into Harley Davidson gathering. I was sweating my chuff off in Leather and Kevlar, and they are riding very gravelly roads in f...ING vests.
I parked mine subtly out of the way. 😊
very wise - wouldn't be good them all wanting to trade in their tractors for a 14 after seeing yours !! :)
What a wus lil4399, don't you know there is nothing cooler than a road rash tattoo, you are less likely to get one in a leather jacket. :whistling:
Took the black rat out tonight.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi67.tinypic.com%2F2w4gxhd.jpg&hash=ca8caa48a09dcc932e088db0819ebbd08ef1be55)
Parked near this, Nice Old Skool cool.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi65.tinypic.com%2F28mpjwg.jpg&hash=f1f2de81b3538859a6f7fda2e5127cf097a9ac93)
Was that Joe's Diner Tony ?
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 16 June 2019, 08:07 PM
Was that Joe's Diner Tony ?
Yes. Took the 14 to this one, the B-King to the last one.
Heaps of Harley's and Hayabusa's but the venue, food and company are OK.
Previous Joe's meet I took the King with the Busa club...
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi67.tinypic.com%2F2n99dz6.jpg&hash=69483dac4715e4a3ac5051aff1452b2c644bd912)
.... the one before that a couple of us took SX's....
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi64.tinypic.com%2Fw7ifsn.jpg&hash=fd0919a5c5c299c135f58e57c5576851f1c55ede)
I've been a few times now. Lamb shanks look good :drool: :drool: :drool:
I did a Coddiwomple around Yorkshire again today.
Hooli, looks very nice mate. :onya:
Is it summer there?
Quote from: SheepDog on Tuesday, 18 June 2019, 04:55 PM
Is it summer there?
Yep, you can tell it's summer by the black rain clouds overhead :whistling: :stir: :happy1:
Occasional rain in the summer is great.
Yes, but not every fu*&ing day. :furious:
Quote from: SheepDog on Tuesday, 18 June 2019, 04:55 PM
Hooli, looks very nice mate. :onya:
Is it summer there?
It is mate, but no one has told the weather!
Well into Winter here now. Had a late start, 16 degrees C at home, 11 over the mountains, back to 21 back at the bay. A bit cool but fine in bike gear, beautiful day.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi64.tinypic.com%2F25s606e.jpg&hash=7f40da2898527822bb1285c0436bc8c207f40ef9)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi66.tinypic.com%2Fnv2vt5.jpg&hash=838d2fd9bfb7e21d277675f9aee05434111320fb)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi63.tinypic.com%2F2rwxope.jpg&hash=5f77b20d6fd60808a62f0336cf8a7b0ef2dbd069)
Quote from: Tony Nitrous on Saturday, 22 June 2019, 02:29 PM
Well into Winter here now. Had a late start, 16 degrees C at home, 11 over the mountains, back to 21 back at the bay. A bit cool but fine in bike gear, beautiful day.
Beatifull bike, can't imagine how it rides! I hope Kawasaki makes a proper naked bike with that engine someday.
Carr's Lookout near Queen Mary Falls. Around 11 deg brrrrrr :hat:
Near Legume facing West.
Good pics mate. Yeah, good no sweat.
500km in 9 hours today, friend with the 636 turned back home after 150km.
200 miles today in memory of Paul who drowned trying to save his Labrador - the dog survived
his biker mates ride every year :)
Good gathering to remember a friend Notty. Not a bad looking day for a ride .
:cheers:
I think this counts as a successful post service test ride.
The oil leak from the cam cover is cured and I did the Kirkton, Honister, Whinlatter, Hardknott and Wrynose passes in the Lake District during a good 364 miles on my bike today.
Hardknott is the steepest road in England for your convict types, it's a 1in3 at the western side. So that's the side I went up...
Great ride & pictures Hooli. Unfortunately the camera will never do justice to gradients, from the pics it looks just like our Porters Pass.
The other trouble is there's no where to stop on the steepest bits either.
Not doing harknott again as it put a dent in one of my downpipes :furious:
My helmut cam was pointing too high as well!!!
A mate of Proteus & mine did Hard Knott 2up, hard enough to do solo!!!
Quote from: KiwiCol on Monday, 01 July 2019, 09:02 AM
Great ride & pictures Hooli. Unfortunately the camera will never do justice to gradients, from the pics it looks just like our Porters Pass.
That road up to the Denniston Mine is pretty steep Col. I know you are familiar with it. What do you reckon the gradiant of that is.
How long is Hardknot. I play tennis with a Scotty he seems to think it is also known by another name. Said something about Applecross ?
Quite by chance I found this photo of Sophie and 2 of her mates from a time before I sold her..
Ironically the 2 other bikes have been sold and replaced since this photo was taken October 2018
It was taken in the Trough of Bowland on a small bridge that crosses a stream..
Blime that was just before i sold her !
Can't remember if I posted these somewhere...
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi68.tinypic.com%2Fv76uys.jpg&hash=40d762a379121b69d67611077753f8c6ecac0b7d)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi66.tinypic.com%2F33ufojn.jpg&hash=67c304ca7bcfcd427931df46549b2ce1dd33573c)
Wow, what a tree :notworthy:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Wednesday, 03 July 2019, 04:53 AM
Quote from: KiwiCol on Monday, 01 July 2019, 09:02 AM
Great ride & pictures Hooli. Unfortunately the camera will never do justice to gradients, from the pics it looks just like our Porters Pass.
That road up to the Denniston Mine is pretty steep Col. I know you are familiar with it. What do you reckon the gradiant of that is.
How long is Hardknot. I play tennis with a Scotty he seems to think it is also known by another name. Said something about Applecross ?
Hardknott is 1,289ft high & as it's near the coast I reckon it's about a 1,000ft climb on the actual pass.
Applecross is the 'Pass of the cattle' in Scotland, a totally different pass to Hardknott which is in the English Lake District.
Porters Pass here is around 3,200ft. A very steep gradient towards the top, heavy vehicles are down to a crawl there.
We here in Christchurch, have the Port Hills. They separate the city from the port. It's an extinct volcano that's been opened to the sea through erosion, anyway, I regularly ride a circuit round & through the rim, that's some very narrow unforgiving crappy sealed roads that go over 1000ft in many places. It also drops down to sea level in less than 1 km , so some steep gradients there too.
Hardknott is a 1in3, so about 33% in foreign terms for part of the climb. All single track too with very sharp hairpins on the steepest bit & goes past an old Roman fort of the same name.
I'll see what I can find out in regard to gradients on Porters etc.
Thanks for that Hooli :onya:
I think the steepest hill in the UK is Porlock hill in Somerset, it's not very long but by fuck is it steep. There are a lot of hills of similar gradient around Exmore (what goes up must come down) and it's a great place to ride. Er indoors does not like it at all as some of the hairpins take you back on yourself but 30 foot up. Went there on my own last weekend, brilliant.
Well this answers that https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel-and-adventure/2018/06/top-5-steepest-roads-uk
The steepest hill is a housing estate in Wales...
Got some "official" pictures back from when I did the Prescott Hill Climb the other week in the pouring rain
Looks an awful day Dave, I'm surprised you went out in that!
Quote from: Hooli on Saturday, 06 July 2019, 03:29 AM
Looks an awful day Dave, I'm surprised you went out in that!
With something like the Tex Andy you only have the tank and beak on the bike to polish, everything else is jet wash. These days (since retiring) I'm much more into riding than cleaning, must admit I do miss my "hobby", but just love riding the Tex whatever the weather (well maybe not ice and snow, but you get the drift). The thing was made to get grubby, I just oblige !!!!
Quote from: Hooli on Saturday, 06 July 2019, 01:30 AM
Well this answers that https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/travel-and-adventure/2018/06/top-5-steepest-roads-uk
The steepest hill is a housing estate in Wales...
There are houses off that road but it's the road up the front / ocean side to Harlech Castle. If done it on many bikes, last time I think was in a VW or Mini. It's quite twisty so so can't carry any speed, more of an issue than being extra steep.
Quote from: gsxbarmy on Saturday, 06 July 2019, 07:18 AM
Quote from: Hooli on Saturday, 06 July 2019, 03:29 AM
Looks an awful day Dave, I'm surprised you went out in that!
With something like the Tex Andy you only have the tank and beak on the bike to polish, everything else is jet wash. These days (since retiring) I'm much more into riding than cleaning, must admit I do miss my "hobby", but just love riding the Tex whatever the weather (well maybe not ice and snow, but you get the drift). The thing was made to get grubby, I just oblige !!!!
TBH mate, it looks sunny in the pics!
Quote from: Hooli on Saturday, 06 July 2019, 07:02 PM
Quote from: gsxbarmy on Saturday, 06 July 2019, 07:18 AM
Quote from: Hooli on Saturday, 06 July 2019, 03:29 AM
Looks an awful day Dave, I'm surprised you went out in that!
With something like the Tex Andy you only have the tank and beak on the bike to polish, everything else is jet wash. These days (since retiring) I'm much more into riding than cleaning, must admit I do miss my "hobby", but just love riding the Tex whatever the weather (well maybe not ice and snow, but you get the drift). The thing was made to get grubby, I just oblige !!!!
TBH mate, it looks sunny in the pics!
Yes those pictures were from my second run in the afternoon literally just after it had just stopped its latest downpour. They didn't do any on my first run in the morning due to it pi$$ing down with rain - some of the others who I went with managed to video me, and you can def see the rain slanting in heavily in the video.
I wouldn't have minded but the forecast for the whole weekend was "possibility of light remote showers" - hmm more like "it's going to rain cats and dogs most the time".
Still had a good time though, some fantastic bikes at the meet
@Hooli I've had a look & found Porters Pass is an average of 16%, some steeper bits towards the top but it's nothing compared to Hardknot.
The 'steepest street in the world' (Probably the steepest residential St) is here in Dunedin, it's called Baldwin St, & it has a gradient of 1:3.41 (up to 35%), it's hard enough walking up that thing & you guys have a whole hill of the same!
Agreed, you wouldn't even think of getting off in the steep bits for a pic, the bike would fall down the hill! A challenging ride for sure.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-45420155
Ahhh, but do those guys have 'Wheelie bin' races down it? no? What about a Jaffa run? :happy1:
Wheelie bin race: student from the Uni jumps into said rubbish bin & free wheels down the hill, no steering or brakes. First to the bottom wins. Unfortunately at the bottom it's an intersection with a busy arterial road. Mayhem, injuries & think there was a death as well once. :facepalm: :thumbs_down:
Jaffa Race: Jaffa, small round lolly with orange coloured & flavoured outer shell with a hard chocolate centre, about the size of a small marble. Put numbers on said lollys, people get assigned a number. Take thousands of them to the top & tip them out! first lolly down the hill wins. A sea of lollys rolling down the hill, quite a sight tbh. :whatever: :happy1:
Wheelie bin & Jaffa races :clapping: I love it.
No big
rides today. Too much to do.
14 has its new battery, new voltage display USB plug and its Chinese cheap levers, and I have some new gloves, so I used it to run some errands this morning. Everything seems fine.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi64.tinypic.com%2F30mxt9h.jpg&hash=bb7af5bb5352f37a51b92a9834bcfab9637eed56)
260K's / 160 miles this morning.
Sports mode, full boost, quick shifter on,
starting riding a gear lower and keeping the rev's / boost up.
It go's OK.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi64.tinypic.com%2F6ejl8n.jpg&hash=3113e08d5f6acefffedd505f229a821eb55aab1e)
Im sure it goes ok Tony.
I rode my Bandit to the MOT station yesterday for it's yearly lookig at...
249 miles covered since last year and as always passed with flying colours :imrgreen:
I did 400kms on Sunday morning through some of the best country - Border Ranges in northern NSW - a lot of it was dirt/gravel but geez you miss a lot if you don't ride some of these roads - most of these roads I probably could have done on my old 1400 too!
Was not far from there today but driving this DAF not riding unfortunately Beaker :facepalm: :facepalm: :facepalm:
Quote from: Beaker on Tuesday, 16 July 2019, 07:51 AM
I did 400kms on Sunday morning through some of the best country - Border Ranges in northern NSW - a lot of it was dirt/gravel but geez you miss a lot if you don't ride some of these roads - most of these roads I probably could have done on my old 1400 too!
Really beautiful and I'm so jealous, here where I live it's hard to find a road without seeing other people every minute, let alone a gravel/dirt road allowed for vehicles!
Donaello, yeah guess were lucky. We have a choice of roads where no people. I built my house 27yrs ago at gateway to some nice roads. Sometimes on weekends the bikes going past drive us crazy, most times i love to hear them. I often play a guessing game, which brand is that.
Quote from: Donatello on Thursday, 18 July 2019, 04:43 PM
Really beautiful and I'm so jealous, here where I live it's hard to find a road without seeing other people every minute, let alone a gravel/dirt road allowed for vehicles!
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/07/18/B2C10897-0399-4198-89A4-4D090526EE9F.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/07/18/07A62A10-F77E-490C-9426-49414D165709.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/07/18/C8076F0C-C97A-44B7-BB89-80CC9F7C20C5.jpg)
@Donatello No crocs in the water that day Tony......
Took today & tomorrow of work at the last minute as the winter weather was so good and jumped on the bike for an overnight solo trip & gave my new front tyre a good 480km test today. Will give it another good test on the way home tomorrow. Very impressed with the Michelin road 5's (will do a small review on them tomorrow sometime)
Beautiful clear skies, but still quite cool (no screen or hand guards) and great country roads with no traffic :boogie:
Looks like the weather we are experiencing at present, and it was 27 deg today. We could sure do with some rain, I'm not complaining though. :riding: :riding:
Quote from: KiwiCol on Sunday, 07 July 2019, 05:59 AM
@Hooli I've had a look & found Porters Pass is an average of 16%, some steeper bits towards the top but it's nothing compared to Hardknot.
The 'steepest street in the world' (Probably the steepest residential St) is here in Dunedin, it's called Baldwin St, & it has a gradient of 1:3.41 (up to 35%), it's hard enough walking up that thing & you guys have a whole hill of the same!
Agreed, you wouldn't even think of getting off in the steep bits for a pic, the bike would fall down the hill! A challenging ride for sure.
Not any more ;)
Today we went to beautiful Finnish Archipelago for "ten o'clock coffee." Nice weather, nice view but crowded roads on weekends. GSX1400, R1 and Hornet 900:
Looks nice mate. At lest you had the best bike.
Went on the 4 counties reservoir annual trip - 170 miles :)
Looks a lovely day for it Notty.
You must be due your annual tank of fuel now Notty?
I went to the self-service tearoom at Halton Gill in the Dales again today. You can't really see it in the pics but I shared the seating area with four house martin chicks, who got fed regularly while I was there.
The tearoom is in that barn btw, a table with a kettle etc on the left & a large selection of cake. Seating is on the other side of the road.
I love how just up the road from your Arncliffe is a self serve cafe, just up the road from my Arncliffe a wallet in your back pocket is generally considered unattended and self serve.
Although my Arncliffe is a lot closer to Bangor and Menai than yours. It's also just up from Brighton. :grin: :grin:
453K's (281 miles) this morning.
It was dry and sunny, 12 degrees C on the way out, and 24 C on the way home, I took winter gloves but never needed them and wore summer gloves all day. Not bad for the 2nd half of Winter.
Had a nice chat over coffee / breakfast with Garry McCoy (500cc MotoGP race winner). Nice bloke, very friendly, helpful and down to earth.
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/07/26/E12338D0-BDFB-48C5-A516-8F63E5CEEFB5.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/07/26/E132719D-C19D-4F3C-B07B-03370372648A.jpg)
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Garry McCoy
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-tqxykKDck0
We spent a weekend in Rottaralli (= Rat Rally)
There were over 1100 bikes (but only two of them with turbo, both Suzukis)
Lots of beer and rock'n'roll and nice people.
Nice looking Wing behind that XJ :whistling:
Quote from: KiwiCol on Monday, 29 July 2019, 03:33 AM
Nice looking Wing behind that XJ :whistling:
No, it's not any Wing, it's a Civic cabriolet.
a 200 mile trip to the seaside at Aberystwyth .. that is 10% more miles on my 14 in 3 weeks..now 9000! :smile2:
I had troutble keeping up with the z1000 and an MT07 ...then I realised I was leaving the 14 in 6th (not 7 ) instead of changing down.... :bugga:
Test ride with two of the older bikes.
@Tony Nitrous , Gazza is a top bloke and full of knowledge. That Kwaka is starting to blend in to the green background LOL. :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:
Used mine for the commute to work today.
Motorways was very quiet at 4:30am as were the tunnels near the city.
It wasn't a boring journey.
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/06/61AEC625-23DE-44FB-B35E-D76E7A32112A.jpg)
I had the pleasure of a few days out on my own in Devon at the back end of May.
Here's GerTRude at Frogmore in South Hams and at Burrator Reservoir on the edge of Dartmoor.
A sunny day on the lightwieght 07/07 - the Z1000 took me to Raglan Castle via the Malverns.....
I went for a little ride from Lincolnshire to Ypres in Belgium. Pics are of my K6 loaded up. With the Givi pannier racks from a VFR800 as in my post. Second pic is using the bike and Bungie as a drying line. The third is of the old girl Parked up in front of the Cloth Hall in Ypres centre.
Such a versatile motorcycle aren't they :boogie: :boogie: :boogie:
Only 362Ks / 225 miles today, but it is a Monday in Winter. I did get to see 49 and 48 degree lean angles cornering on the way home, bit better than last time. Had a minor moment when launching hard out of a corner the dash started flashing a warning, then I realised the shift light was set a bit low, Dhoo!
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/12/BC5D3736-786F-454A-9AA3-A01C11EC83A6.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/12/09B78B13-41EF-4C7D-87D9-999CAB9BC761.jpg)
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You went to Ricks on a quiet day, well chosen. Usually packed. What lean angles do we get on 14. Did have App once that measured, maybe Michelin app, not sure. Cant remember angles it said.
Not a bad looking winters day for a ride Tony. Pleased you didnt go hungry :onya:
Our weather has been pretty cruddy lately so the bikes been in the shed a bit more than l would like.
The early blossom is out so spring is on its way.
Scotchlund last week...
Superb Hooli, you don't 'arf get about a bit! :onya: :cheers:
It's a bit boring sat at home mate, I'd rather be out living life. After all we only get one of them.
Great photos. I love trekking about with a tent and some kit on the bike.
Yep thats living life Hooli :worshippy:
Hope you had a fire permit :facepalm:
Fire permit? we'll have none of that sillyness thank you! Firepits made of stones are a common site in any popular wild camping area up there. I had another campfire on Applecross beach looking out to the Cuillins on Skye, no pic of the fire though.
362K's (225 miles) yesterday on the H2-SX and another 466K's (289 miles) today on the GSX1400. I'm up to 514 miles in the last two days. Heading West tomorrow but I need to use the car, hopefully i'll get to take the B-King out later in the week.
Today....
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/13/2F1C8509-5FBA-4B55-B1DA-0349F40D1038.png)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/13/13F2004F-4778-4CEF-B29A-67D16993BD38.png)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/13/23BFC364-BDAB-4F58-A249-D71D7AA2F0FB.png)
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(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/13/1BAA4B54-AB64-4C1A-97AB-98BEE6AF7464.png)
Lucky man in the lucky country.
Glove dryer.... and T-34-85 tank at Salpa line..
A turbo & a topbox is a brilliant crazy combination!
@T 24 I'd like to hear the exhaust as it looks like you have standard mufflers. Is it possible ? :whatever:
@GSXKING They only look like standard ones, they are 2.5" => 2" absorption mufflers. A bit sleeper style..
Open flow, but not too loud due to turbo.
You can see the differense ;)
That's very similar to what Simon
@Speedy1959 has done to his exhausts and they sound lovely.
:cheers:
If those Simon's mods are made like in topic "standard exhaust modification", mine are totally different.
In that topic they are using 45mm diameter pipe, lenght 80mm on rear end of the can.
In my silencers are 63mm diameter absorption tubes, lenght of 400mm, with silencer wool.
And they were much too loud without turbo. Now they were 92db in MOT.
Quote from: Tony Nitrous on Tuesday, 13 August 2019, 07:04 PM
Today....
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/13/1BAA4B54-AB64-4C1A-97AB-98BEE6AF7464.png)
Ah, my old stomping ground, and local pub .............. Forest Hill.
Anyone here from Brisbane going to Joe's Saturday night ???????? :wheelie: :lowside:
Quote from: GSXKING on Thursday, 15 August 2019, 09:57 PM
Anyone here from Brisbane going to Joe's Saturday night ???????? :wheelie: :lowside:
Maybe. I've been to the last few.
Lots of Cruisers and Hayabusa's but normally a few interesting bikes and the foods OK.
Probably out during the day so depends on what time I'm home and how I feel.
Out on the B-King today, so far this week...
Mon: 362K's / 225 miles on the H2-SX.
Tue: 466K's / 298 miles on the GSX1400.
Fri: 379K's / 235 miles on the B-King.
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/16/57A51BEE-69AA-4DEB-9B79-C03C72D50938.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/16/99DAA1E7-3E50-4D26-87EC-A424851C48B9.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/16/C9E46782-F45C-4CD5-A948-8CED7FF531AB.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/16/4F57393B-926F-44FE-93A8-E9BA8963F155.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/16/7BCFA55F-B749-4D8B-8B9A-1EAD2CCF8346.jpg)
But you have to factor into it that Mondays ride was only an hour & a half on the H2 . . .
Goat track @ back of Tamborine I'm thinking
@Tony Nitrous ? :whatever: :whatever:
Great photos are they phone photos or a camera ? :confused1: :confused1:
Quote from: GSXKING on Friday, 16 August 2019, 10:12 PM
Goat track @ back of Tamborine I'm thinking @Tony Nitrous ? :whatever: :whatever:
Great photos are they phone photos or a camera ? :confused1: :confused1:
The first 4 pics are from Canungra going up to O'Rileys.
The roads been re-done and apart from the last tight bit through the trees it's not bad now.
The blue tree is near Kerry, the loop around the back of Beaudesert that joins up with Xmas Creek Rd.
All my pics this year are just unskilled point and click with my phone.
I think it's an iPhone-8.
O'Rilleys...
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/16/5A9B9AA6-5725-4E5E-B7CF-624971AA7472.jpg)
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(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/16/FA586A05-D077-4D04-8BF7-7C8789C70DDF.jpg)
Great pics Tony. I'm looking at them, especially the ones in the trees & hairpins, just so dry looking - and it just after mid winter! can see how fire would rip through an area like that.
Those rides you have at your back door - you're living the dream!
I didn't make it to Bike Night. Brisbane Lion's won, so too many beers. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
Quote from: GSXKING on Saturday, 17 August 2019, 07:42 PM
I didn't make it to Bike Night. Brisbane Lion's won, so too many beers. :cheers: :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/08/17/513A6F05-A296-4E2B-A105-861235FA1411.jpg)
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Duck spring rolls @ Cloverlea on Mt.Glorious. :notworthy:
Pinot Grigio @ Bar Spritz on Kangaroo Point Cliffs. :devil:
I normally go to Joe's with the Busa club or meet up with H2 / SX owners,
it would be good to have a group of 14's there one day.
The Harley's, Hayabusa's and M109's get a good turnout.
Gold Coast Show in 2 weeks, I know the guy who is sponsoring it,
he wants a good Suzuki turnout, but I might take my B-King to that one.
What date bud ? :frustrated:
310 km's today..
@T 24 That XJR seems to be following you everywhere just nicely :)
That's a Russian missile tractor isn't it?
@Andre It's my trailer, don't you have one? :smile2:
@Hooli Russian yes, but for tank, not for missile.
I think they used them for both if you look at pics down this link http://www.comtourist.com/history/pervomaysk-icbm-museum/
Damn similar cab unit anyway.
Quote from: T 24 on Sunday, 18 August 2019, 06:44 AM
@Andre
It's my trailer, don't you have one? :smile2:
No trailer whatsoever. :grin:
Popped over the Kaimai's to visit dad in Cambridge. Just 80kms each way. Good to get out on the scoota.
Stopped at the Kaimai Lookout on the way home.
No snow ????????? :confused1: :confused1: :confused1:
I found a damn nice proper old pub in Wharfdale today, The Craven Arms. It's got a campsite about 300yrds away too, I see a plan forming one weekend....
The barn at the back is apparently the first one build that way in about 500 years. I forget the name, Crick Barn maybe? with a huge Oak frame in the centre formed of single trunks on each side. It's a wonderful building.
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 18 August 2019, 06:34 PM
No snow ????????? :confused1: :confused1: :confused1:
[/quote
The lookout is more likely to be covered in litter than snow but it can happen :angry:
The GSX got a turn out today.
A little bit of motorway to clear the urban areas and then through the Staffordshire Moorlands up to Macclesfield.
A cautious run through the Cat & Fiddle pass and then dropping in to Buxton where I took a break by the Grade II listed fan window at the end of the station.
Return was via Ashbourne and Blithfield reservoir before finding my way back on to the motorway near Cannock.
717 Cat & Fiddle pass
720 Buxton
723 Blithfield
A good day, shame there aren't more weekends in a year.
Shame there arn't more weekends in a week....... :onya:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Monday, 19 August 2019, 06:18 AM
Shame there arn't more weekends in a week....... :onya:
No please leave it as is. :stir: Makes my retirement great as it keeps the hordes off my favorite roads for 5 days a week. :boogie:
Fair point Andre.
Quote from: Hooli on Monday, 19 August 2019, 03:07 AM
I found a damn nice proper old pub in Wharfdale today, The Craven Arms. It's got a campsite about 300yrds away too, I see a plan forming one weekend....
The barn at the back is apparently the first one build that way in about 500 years. I forget the name, Crick Barn maybe? with a huge Oak frame in the centre formed of single trunks on each side. It's a wonderful building.
Cruck Barn Hooli
Looks a fabulous place...
KymiRing, place of MotoGP 12.07.2020, 60 km from my house.
So.... what's your best lap time? :8:
That "lap" today took three hours :grin:
Just spotted these online.
Might have to pay up and order a higher res one without the watermark.
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/09/01/FF276F83-E2A4-4FDD-B10E-CB9049E68B5E.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/09/01/92DE768D-A181-4F63-95BC-31BC39818AC6.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/09/01/4061DCE8-2A81-4822-A084-6AFA18D75FE7.jpg)
(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/09/01/9D0354C4-C59E-4180-9566-F0223EF933E5.jpg)
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(https://imgshare.io/images/2019/09/01/CDE153B9-5719-426C-9130-5414B3FB1286.jpg)
Great quality from a speed camera Tony :stir:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Sunday, 01 September 2019, 09:08 PM
Great quality from a speed camera Tony :stir:
I'm old now, that's why I bought a smaller safer sensible bike.
Cruise control, luggage, ABS.
Less of that racing about on those big nasty 1400's...... :whistling:
Rode to Maleny today with the guys I went to WSBK back in Feb 2019. Stopped at Mt.Mee lookout. That's Glasshouse Mountains in the background :hat: :hat:
Went and did a training course today. If you do two courses, cost being $50 each you get $100 off your ACC levy for the next two years. In NZ $440 of a 14's rego is ACC levy.
The 14 still turns heads. Some very complimentary remarks from a few of the guys.
Finished the course then went and visited my dad, its Fathers Day here today.
A very enjoyable day, home 358 kms later. :boogie2:
If you do two courses, cost being $50 each you get $100 off your ACC levy for the next two years.
I didn't know that Col, is that the Ride for Life courses? Might go & do a couple myself. Was the 2nd one you went to the 'gold' one?
Yesterdays course was run by ProRider in Tauranga as part of the ACC Ride Forever scheme. Might be another provider in Christchurch.
I did the Gold Course Col, they presume you have already done the Silver course. Have done both the Silver and Gold before. You can do one ACC subsidised refresher course each year. So cost for each course is just $50.
Biggest thing l learned yesterday was about the information available from understanding the road markings.
Went out for a ride yesterday to Minehead, ended up following a K2 into Minehead, anyone from here? After a bacon butty I went for a walk around Minehead and met up with Nelly Welly and his wife out on a ride out with around 100 other bikes, he has THE best number plate on his bike, saw 3 other 14's, again anyone from here? Then I carried on up porlock hill and onto Lynmouth and then Linton where I stopped to take a picture with Swansea or Port Talbot in South Wales as a backdrop. Then over Exmore to Dunster Castle and back home, sun was out but it wasn't all that warm.
OOpssss already posted this :doh: :facepalm: :frustrated: ???
I went for a small* trip out last weekend, I planned to head for the Alps & do a few passes. Seemed rude not to go through the Black Forest on the way down too.
The list of ones I know I did includes
Klausen, Susten, Grimsel (looking down from here to the Furka pic 2), Furka, Old St Gothard (all cobbles, pic 4), Nufenen, Simplon, Tremlemo, Splugen, Maloja, Albula, Filelas, Berniner, Livigno, Fuorn, Stelvio, Umbrial, De Tonale and Mendola. I did quite a few more but didn't write them down...
As mentioned elsewhere I lost my phone mid trip, so that's most of my pics gone. But I've downloaded what I'd put on FB & took a real camera (worse pics than my phone! but has zoom) so still got a few.
Old WW1 trenches 9,500ft up above Stelvio in pic 5. I climbed to 10,000ft (the pass is 9,045ft) but didn't get to the summit as it's too slippery & I don't like heights! The pass looks miles down in pic 6 eh?
Eagles over the Stelvio in pic 7
I can't name the others sorry, you'll just have to go for yourself.
3,200miles in 9 days btw.
Great photos Hooli. Thanks for sharing . Always good to see where others ride.
:onya:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Tuesday, 03 September 2019, 05:45 AM
Great photos Hooli. Thanks for sharing . Always good to see where others ride.
:onya:
Spot on. GSX14 pics are great but ride pics from around the world on any bike interest me. A local run to the pub or a tour of Europe the pics tell and show so much more than just a bike.
Keep 'em coming guys.
Amazing piccys Hooli. Now i want to go there.
I've managed to grab a couple of stills of the video from yesterday, on the run to Kaikoura. They're from the Hundalees section, going up one of the hills.
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-030919175831.png)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-030919175924.png)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-030919180003.png)
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/5-030919180045.png)
As mentioned, these are grabs off the video, so quality not the best probably.
Just beautiful Col. Feel like im there, im really just looking and beer drinking.
What a great trip Hooli 👍🍻
I just know some of the forum Brain Boxes will be working out your angle of lean.
😬
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Tuesday, 03 September 2019, 10:27 PM
I just know some of the forum Brain Boxes will be working out your angle of lean.
😬
Probably higher than mine downhill around a hairpin at Stelvio last week, but I bought the pic anyway because why not? I'm not good on fast hairpins uphill or down, I don't get on the power enough.
Quote from: Tony Nitrous on Tuesday, 03 September 2019, 03:49 PM
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Tuesday, 03 September 2019, 05:45 AM
Great photos Hooli. Thanks for sharing . Always good to see where others ride.
:onya:
Spot on. GSX14 pics are great but ride pics from around the world on any bike interest me. A local run to the pub or a tour of Europe the pics tell and show so much more than just a bike.
Keep 'em coming guys.
Passo Di Stelvio and Grossglockner in 1991 with GS 1000 G and GS 1100 G.
Notice that top box. I made that Rickman copy in 1985, over 370 000 km ago.
@Hooli How was the traffic over those passes? Looks like light traffic on your pics.
Light as you say, except Stelvio which you have do to early or late to enjoy it.
Thank you Hooli for the confirmation. Want to see the Alps again but not when roads are overcrowded.
I'll be back down there next year I'm sure. Meet for a beer if the timings work out?
Quote from: Hooli on Wednesday, 04 September 2019, 06:06 AM
I'll be back down there next year I'm sure. Meet for a beer if the timings work out?
That would be great. Let me know which route. Might want to meet on your way down.
My normal route is down belguim etc & through the Black Forest. I refuse to stay in france longer than I have to as the french are such annoying fuckwits.
No need for me to ride through France :8:
You lucky man :onya:
@Hooli those pics are amazing. I've just added some of those rides to my bucket list. :drool: :drool:
I'm off to Vietnam at Christmas time to ride from Quy Nhon up into the Central Highlands. They don't have any GSX renters unfortunately :lol:
One week into a Spring. Very windy today, picked a local ride to avoid the bush fires and took the B-King out.
Very nice Tony..
Your lucky being just into spring..
Yesterday on my ride out I had my heated grips on for the first time..
A noticeable chill in the air..
Autumn is coming!!
Will be digging out my hand guards soon.
S.
Last weekends pics....
Was there a fee to remove waterprint Tony ? :whatever:
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 08 September 2019, 08:31 PM
Was there a fee to remove waterprint Tony ? :whatever:
Yes. Wasn't a lot.
These are low res and he's going to knock the fee off me buying a larger high res copy of one of them.
Great pics Tony :onya:
OK, not much of a ride really, but I dug the old Z1300 out of the back of the garage and it seemed in the mood to start.
A quick local loop taking in a cup of tea at Quatford - it was nice to see the old girl still gets a few looks and a bit of comment from the regulars.
Good to see bike are still welcome at the café at Quatford, used to go there at least once a month when I lived in Staffs. Nice 1300 :onya:
Quote from: mjgt on Tuesday, 10 September 2019, 06:42 PM
Good to see bike are still welcome at the café at Quatford, used to go there at least once a month when I lived in Staffs. Nice 1300 :onya:
I was VERY familiar with it.
I used to live in Kidderminster, had mates in Bridgenorth and used to be a regular at the Cider House at Quatt. Brother in laws family lived near the cafe.
16 km's from home to work. 206 km's back to home. Strange.
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-6 in pick.
https://ilmakilta.info/mersu.php
My nan didn't like Messerschmitts...... she said one machine gunned Walthamstow high street.
My mom didn't like the Mustang P 51 that trained its guns on her when she was 10. However, I like the P 51 as well as the Me 109. Go figure :confused1:
I like aircraft of that era Andre. Think its the design. The pilots really flew them. Cables, linkages, gauges, primative radio and radar.
I'm just wondering how a P-51 trained it's guns, as it only had fixed ones in the wings.
Quote from: Hooli on Thursday, 12 September 2019, 02:17 PM
I'm just wondering how a P-51 trained it's guns, as it only had fixed ones in the wings.
Got me there Hooli :notworthy: It was the pilot who trained the guns.
QuoteIt means to point them at the target. It originally referred to the guns of a warship, "the destroyer trained her guns on the submarine", but is sometimes used for other guns, "the policemen trained their guns on the suspect". It could be used figuratively, to mean give close, possibly hostile, attention to something. "The directors trained their guns on the manager responsible for the costly mistake."
I've just not seen the term used for fixed guns before Andre.
I normally head North, but went South for a change. Yatala, Bearded Dragon, Canungra, Beachmont, Advance Town, Natural Arch, over the border into NSW, Numinbah, Chillingham, and Flutterbies Cafe at a Tyalgum. A bit of smoke about but not a drama, no fires or roads closed on route, a couple of rough sections most mostly good roads. Kedron to Flutterbies was about 175K's I think. Funny little cafe, a good feed but no bacon or pork! Nice setting and great service. Reverse route back may be better than my detour via Tweed Heads / Gold Coast! 370k / 230 mile round trip.
Its 5.30am here and I have just seen the photo of Tonys food..
Sudden hunger pangs..
Stunning views Mr Nitrous..
Great photos, looks like a nice ride Tony.
Don't let Col see that kai.
I've been too busy pretending to be a roofer this weekend to get out on the bike.
Hope l fixed the leak or l'm going to have a sense of humour failure :smiley sign0181:
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Sunday, 15 September 2019, 02:24 PM
Its 5.30am here and I have just seen the photo of Tonys food..
Sudden hunger pangs..
Stunning views Mr Nitrous..
It's a funny cafe! Well out in the countryside in a village. All the staff are in costume / uniform from the past. Food is great but they won't serve pork or bacon! The bits on the plate lower/right are chicken. Tasted great but a bit different!
I wonder if they are of a certain Faith?
I will eat anything...
But not mad keen on Beetroot!
It's a bit La-de-da fancy and a bit trendy for me!
I'm normaly a greasy spoon / truck stop / full English fry up but the location and service make up for it.
http://flutterbies.com.au/drink-1
I like the sound of the CRISPY SOY GINGER CHICKEN BURGER !!
I wish OZ wasnt so far away!
Speedy, not liking beetroot, now that is against my faith. I reckon i have it on every sanger i make.
I recall having beetroot sandwiches as a kid, loved them. Nothing else in it, just beetroot, was home done stuff though, bit better taste than tinned.
Kiwifruit, im also sick of demolishing deck/ pool. Going ok. Anyone know best way to get steel stumps with concrete footings out? Bobcat would be easiest but would break pipes etc.Is jackhammer the only option?
What did impress me today was fuel consumption.
I was in Sports Mode / Full boost, I wasn't riding THAT hard but was on the speed limit or a little over everywhere. Some highway cruising but lots of twisty mountain / country roads on the brakes and on the throttle constantly.
The bike only takes 19 ltr's but I still had 1 bar showing after 325K's / 202 miles.
Quote from: grog on Sunday, 15 September 2019, 04:45 PM
Kiwifruit, im also sick of demolishing deck/ pool. Going ok. Anyone know best way to get steel stumps with concrete footings out? Bobcat would be easiest but would break pipes etc.Is jackhammer the only option?
The Bobcat/jackhammer combo should do it :8:
Thanks Andre. Looks my option. Tony, did you come back from Murwillimbah up over range, thru border? Always a fave ride for me. The Raceway road near Advancetown was amazing back in old days, maybe too police heavy now.
Mate of mine had his prostate removed a fortnight ago. So won't be riding for a while. I picked up his BMW K1600 GT from the BMW Dealer the other day. OMFG 320 kg bike (two up add 180 kg) that accelerates and sounds like a Ferrari. Straight line is unfucking believable. Cornering is another story, I have only ridden it to Canungra and back so far. It has every accessory you can think of :onya:
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Sunday, 15 September 2019, 02:39 PM
I wonder if they are of a certain Faith?
I will eat anything...
But not mad keen on Beetroot!
Difference between an egg and a beetroot ?
You can beat an egg..........................but you can't beat a root :happy1: :rofl2: :lol:
Quote from: GSXKING on Thursday, 19 September 2019, 09:12 PM
Mate of mine had his prostate removed a fortnight ago. So won't be riding for a while. I picked up his BMW K1600 GT from the BMW Dealer the other day. OMFG 320 kg bike (two up add 180 kg) that accelerates and sounds like a Ferrari. Straight line is unfucking believable. Cornering is another story, I have only ridden it to Canungra and back so far. It has every accessory you can think of :onya:
Reminds me of my dad's Burgman 650 SCOOTER :facepalm: I had the pleasure of riding it for a couple of years as he had a hard time maneuvering it in the shed.
Quote from: GSXKING on Thursday, 19 September 2019, 09:12 PM
Mate of mine had his prostate removed a fortnight ago. So won't be riding for a while. I picked up his BMW K1600 GT from the BMW Dealer the other day. OMFG 320 kg bike (two up add 180 kg) that accelerates and sounds like a Ferrari. Straight line is unfucking believable. Cornering is another story, I have only ridden it to Canungra and back so far. It has every accessory you can think of :onya:
I chased one of them through the Black Forest back in May time, they corner bloody well with a rider who's used to the buggers.
Quote from: GSXKING on Thursday, 19 September 2019, 09:12 PM
Mate of mine had his prostate removed a fortnight ago. So won't be riding for a while. I picked up his BMW K1600 GT from the BMW Dealer the other day. OMFG 320 kg bike (two up add 180 kg) that accelerates and sounds like a Ferrari. Straight line is unfucking believable. Cornering is another story, I have only ridden it to Canungra and back so far. It has every accessory you can think of :onya:
Ride it down to Jindy if your coming Chris - reckon she'd be comfortable!!
Actually Beaker my R1200RT is more comfortable :onya:. I've just ridden them back to back.
I've just started a new job so won't be riding down to Jindabyne. Maybe next year :hat:
Out at 5:30am, roads were quiet. Good fun!
Met a few folk I know on the way home...
Quote from: GSXKING on Tuesday, 24 September 2019, 08:46 PM
K1600 GT
The 1600's do go VERY well.
They aren't huge horsepower but there's sooooo much torque.
They pick their feet up surprisingly well for their size!
If you want to put it up against a little bike under 1000cc let me know... ;)
Good pics Tony, showing off our lush green pastures. Some nice bikes amongst that lot.
Quote from: grog on Sunday, 29 September 2019, 07:04 PM
Good pics Tony, showing off our lush green pastures. Some nice bikes amongst that lot.
At one point we had Brett's GSX1400 with the USD front,
A mates back-to-stock B-King,
Jules's GSXR1000 Streetfighter,
Robs 260-something hp H2
and my H2 SX together.
Certainly an interesting mix!
Really is dry. I just hope with have some gentle rain for a while before this years storms hit. Heavy rain straight up will just run off and take a lot of stuff with it as it is at the moment.
(https://www.laverdaforum.com/gallery/albums/userpics/11173/IMG_2730.jpg)
Worked in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, had a hint I could pick up my bike from the shippers (after my ride around Europe), picked it up on the Friday, and true to form, Aunty Jack fired straight up :clapping:, and went to Eastern Creek to see some mates racing in the BEARS.
Pictured all loaded up, making an adjustment to the return throttle cable at the Creek.
Did The Putty Rd, up the New England and right at Tenterfield, down though Casino and then Kyolgle, where I went past a parked up 1400, and then shortly after went past a parked up Candy Car, no chase, hope there wasn't a camera onboard :rolleyes: Through Mt Lindsay Hwy to home in Brisbane.
Again, not any bike issues, it just loves being ridden. But, I must do something about the seat, I think the foam is buggered, cause my arse was hurting after about 600klms. Just as well I was moving around a bit off the seat on the Bruxner Hwy and Mt Linsay Hwy. ;)
As a suggestion for the seat, buy some gel inserts (ebay) & have them fitted in the std seat, thicker gel the better.
Convert, just go and see Guzzler. Hes in Brisbane. Hell fix it. Mine is super comfy, sheepskin for long rides adds more comfy, quality is perfect, mine coming up 13 yrs. http://custommotorcycleseats.com.au/custom-bike-seat-photos/suzuki-bandit/
Thanks for the tip, I'll talk to Bill soon.
Hi, ive just joined the site tonight. Previously owned a 14, bought it new in 2001 and loved that bike. ALWAYS said i'd own another one, and hopefully i will by the end of the week 🤞
Picture is me leaving Holland heading for Scotland in 2001 👍
learning to ride in sand :grin:
Bike is build the way, nothing was broken after this drop!
Quote from: gmars70970 on Wednesday, 02 October 2019, 07:43 AM
Hi, ive just joined the site tonight. Previously owned a 14, bought it new in 2001 and loved that bike. ALWAYS said i'd own another one, and hopefully i will by the end of the week 🤞
Picture is me leaving Holland heading for Scotland in 2001 👍
The best year & colours :onya:
Of course it is...
There, there, there !
Great run out to Thomson Dam and Walhalla pub for lunch yesterday.
3 x 1400 (K3, K7, FE), 1 x 1250 Bandit, 1 x BMW F800GS (as Stig's 14 isn't running right - in the shop Wednesday).
:cheers:
One of my friends turned up on one of these Saturday. An awesome bit of gear and for a BMW cheap deal.
8-10-19.... 835K's / 518 miles.
I know my SX-SE is OK around the mountains and dams, it does OK in the twistys, but I wanted to see how it went on the boring, more distance type roads before I plan any longer runs. I put in 835K's / 518 miles today. Seat and bars aren't super comfy but I can live with them. The cruise control is excellent for what I do. Tank size isn't a drama as it doesn't drink it badly when off-boost. My iPhone works well as sat-Nav but shut down twice in the heat, temps were up in the high 30's C / 100 degrees F. Up at those temp there's a LOT of heat around inside legs / thighs. No bush fires but a couple of dust storms on the way home, not bad though.
Saw 41 degrees C on the dash going into Dalby.
That was when the phone shut down, I had sweat in my eyes and my inside legs were bloody hot!
I had a wee trundle around the Dales today, that ended up being 280miles & 12 hrs long...
I even got an entry in the silly place names game, but I saved Star Bottom for another trip even though I rode through it.
Ive been to that pub several times Hooli
Some great views around that area.
@Hooli you could double for one of "The Hairy Bikers" :rofl2: :rofl2:
12 hours ???????? was most of that in the pub :cheers: :cheers: :cheers:
The morning advanced riding training, so 50/50 talking & riding. Then lunch & the afternoon was mostly single track occasionally flooded roads, sitting in pub near a fire & the same roads home.
Wee run to Trump Turnberry yesterday 👌
I used to know one of the chefs there.
At the Somme. Only battle there these days is at the cash register.
Ahhh, beer at last in Spain. After two days riding through France!
Two days in france? you must be starving! everytime I go to that bloody place the only things open are automatic petrol stations which allow me to escape again.
+7°c, winter is coming :cry2:
Quote from: T 24 on Thursday, 24 October 2019, 04:33 PM
+7°c, winter is coming :cry2:
28 degrees C, dry and Sunny, middle of Spring here.
I used my smallest, safest, most fuel efficient, legal bike to commute to work.
I got there early, and got home early too for some reason.
(https://i.ibb.co/4fHJcJ6/FF14-D252-31-C3-4-D30-B8-C4-1-AF569-F98-CA9.jpg)
Must be a tourer, it's got a centre stand.
Work on the B-King today...
(https://i.ibb.co/tbXRmNQ/797-A4-EA3-B604-48-A3-9-C74-78-D67-C4-DDAA5.jpg)
Went to work on the 14 today...
(https://i.ibb.co/6bV715f/DB8-FA2-C0-3-E18-4195-B768-8-E50-CB737662.jpg)
Went to work on my :confused1: hang on, no I didn't, I've jacked work in :whistling:
Quote from: mjgt on Monday, 28 October 2019, 07:45 PM
Went to work on my :confused1: hang on, no I didn't, I've jacked work in :whistling:
I'm close to that to, but I have a few things to sort to make sure that the new lifestyle and toys are an upgrade.
Went for ride yesterday, stopped off at one of the local reservoirs along there way.
Not a lot of water to see these days but the ride is still good.
Went for ride to wales yesterday and some of the rivers were very wide and full of water, some of it even wanted to use the roads as well, which caused a few cars to stop, water in the engine is not a good idea.
I was out saturday, some of the roads around east Yorkshire were that moist the 'police road closed' signs where half submerged.
While I was out in wales some guy was taking pics of bikes so I found this.
Tidy looking rig mjgt.....what are you towing it with ? :stir:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Wednesday, 30 October 2019, 07:06 AM
Tidy looking rig mjgt.....what are you towing it with ? :stir:
That's my rucsak, with a spot of lunch in it :whistling:
mjgt: It is a nice looking rig. Same colours/year as mine. :cheers:
Poland autumn...
Right time to bore you lot with a few* pics from my tour of western Spain, Portugal & Gibraltar over the last couple of weeks.
These cover Spain to northern Portugal via the Picos de Europa.
Northern Portugal
More Portugal
Yet more Portugal, and ferry into Spain
More Spain and into Gibraltar
More Gib
And heading back up Spain to the ferry
And that was about 3k miles in just over two weeks, can you tell I only a few of the pics up?
I will be going back to Portugal, it's fantastic riding country & so cheap to eat & sleep.
Nice pics & Looks like it was a great trip Hooli :onya: :cheers:
Nice couple of selfies of you & the boys monkeying around in Gibraltar too :stir: :whistling: :grin:
Bloody awesome trip & pic's Hooli! Far more to see & do up that side of the globe. Being on a couple of relatively small islands can have advantages, but we also miss out on the type of trip you've just done. :onya:
@Hooli Some great photos there, thanks for sharing :onya:
Looked a great trip
@Hooli I followed with interest and enjoyed your pictures and comments .
Cheers
Hooli, what a ride that must have been! Totally fantastic, with truly awesome photos. A huge thanks for sharing :onya:
Glad you all liked them, was a damn good trip. Hassle free too which was great, the biggest issues were having to adjust the chain in Gib & the can of tyre weld bursting under the seat which I discovered when I got the tools out to adjust the chain.
The chain & sprockets are overdue for changing as I have to adjust it every 1k or so, but I'm waiting till the salt is gone as there is no point ruining a new chain right away.
:drool: Riding Spain was my best ever riding trip ............ I'll be back.
Awesome photos, but who's the guy in the open faced helmet with ginger beard :happy1: :happy1: :happy1:
Hooli. A great series of photos. Looked at them all. How you fit all the pics in with all your miles quite amazing. When i ride dont like stopping to take pics. Lazy? :hat:
Quote from: grog on Friday, 31 January 2020, 06:26 PM
Hooli. A great series of photos. Looked at them all. How you fit all the pics in with all your miles quite amazing. When i ride dont like stopping to take pics. Lazy? :hat:
Oddly mate I don't feel like I tried to do many miles on this trip. I just plodded along & stopped where I wanted as often as I wanted. I think I had four days I didn't even get on the bike too.
Looks Great Hooli, I'm very envious and wish I could do a trip or two like that! :worshippy:
Cheers
Pete...
Anyone can do such trips Pete, just start riding & don't turn around.
I`ll remember that the next time my wife sends me to the local shop for a tin of beans...... :happy1:
I took my first little run of the year yesterday, it's a bit disappointing that it has took this long to get out, in past years I have managed the odd ride in January and February but circumstances and motivation had not combined up until now.
The GSX was picked for this one and I also finally got to waer some new gloves that I had been gifted for Christmas. The bike felt great, I was expecting it to grumble a bit from being neglected. My ride was only a couple of hours, a slightly shortened version of my favourite local loop to give me the opportunity of beating a brave retreat if the rain came in.
The winter has been very unkind to the road surfaces around shropshire. Potholes abound and most of the time I was very focused on where my front wheel was pointing and making sure I was steady into the bends in case there was anything lurking just out of sight. Some that I encountered must have been 150mm deep and it is pretty shocking that these have not been attended to - many could be a genuine risk to life.
I made time for a coffee break in Ludlow, the town seemed quiet for a Sunday with a famer's market in the castle square, I guess everyone was staying at home due to the Coronavirus (or down at Tesco stripping the shelves of toilet rolls), the traders seemed to be giving up on it and packing up early.
Good to be back on the road though, hopefully I can call this the start of the "season".
Enjoyed skimming through your pictures Hooli, some of those landscapes seemed familiar from my 2018 trip and stirred some memories.
You even caught the road at the back of the cathedral in Cadiz where I used to park my bike for the few nights we stayed there :)
I love this thread :)
Brid today for fish n chips with Moonie & two others. Damn lovely day out & it felt like spring at last. That's another 200 or so miles on the old bus without issues.
Used to live there in 1966, bet it's changed a bit since then. :lol:
A couple of pics of my recent 1100km ride in southern WA
Quote from: mjgt on Tuesday, 17 March 2020, 08:15 PM
Used to live there in 1966, bet it's changed a bit since then. :lol:
Yep as you can see in the photos - no dinosaurs.
Quote from: mjgt on Tuesday, 17 March 2020, 08:15 PM
Used to live there in 1966, bet it's changed a bit since then. :lol:
And now in colour too
Quote from: VladTepes on Wednesday, 18 March 2020, 10:05 AM
Quote from: mjgt on Tuesday, 17 March 2020, 08:15 PM
Used to live there in 1966, bet it's changed a bit since then. :lol:
Yep as you can see in the photos - no dinosaurs.
Ho fucking ho, don't give up the day job. :)
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Wednesday, 18 March 2020, 10:15 AM
Quote from: mjgt on Tuesday, 17 March 2020, 08:15 PM
Used to live there in 1966, bet it's changed a bit since then. :lol:
And now in colour too
Another bloody comedian, I'm sure it was in colour then. :)
Managed a 200k self isolation today. Perfect weather, no traffic, bike running sweet. Feel so sorry for you lot that cant do it at present. Our turn will come.
@grog Glass House Mountains gotta love em :onya: :onya: :onya: :hat:
First longer ride today to Wisemans Ferry north west of Sydney. Clear sunny day around 23C.
From Saturday, May 15 here in Qld we'll be able to travel as far away from home as 150kms !
(starts may 11 in SA)
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-08/coronavirus-covid-19-scott-morrison-key-moments-roadmap/12228858
Quote from: Johno on Friday, 08 May 2020, 03:47 PM
First longer ride today to Wisemans Ferry north west of Sydney. Clear sunny day around 23C.
Bike looks great Johno :onya:
Johno won the VJMC Virtual Show in the 2000-2005 class, but he cheated because he put the cannon back on it to take pics, I notice it's not in that recent snap.
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Saturday, 09 May 2020, 06:28 PM
Johno won the VJMC Virtual Show in the 2000-2005 class, but he cheated because he put the cannon back on it to take pics, I notice it's not in that recent snap.
I won the popular vote despite the fact that I wasn't supported by by VJMC members on this forum.
My bike isn't a show bike but it was streets ahead of the tatty old Bandits, an SV650 and a Kawasaki.
One of the Bandits was definitely ineligible as it wasn't entered to be in the original Rally at Toowoomba.
The pristine cann comes out on special occasions.
The winner:
Oh so that's why my Bandit didn't win, someone just happened to get me disqualified on a technicality.
Well I don't care anyway but I will be speaking to the President directly.
Thanks for your support Kiwifruit.
Winners are grinners. Now let's let this thread get back to random rides and Irish can go sulk somewhere else. :clapping: :clapping: :clapping:
Thursday 15/05/20 - Wigmore Castle & Ludlow
I've been itching to get some use out of the bike and although the lock-down was partially lifted on Wednesday it was looking like Thursday was going to be warmer, sunnier and altogether better for a run out with the camera.
The GTR was chosen from the garage and before I had even pulled it out I knew that the first job would be to check the tyre pressures as it had been laid up pretty much since its MOT in December. Sure enough, as soon as the monitoring system got out of bed it started warning me about the front tyre but I was already headed for a supermarket in Kidderminster to get it sorted out and fill up with some fuel (which seems amazingly cheap at the moment).
From Kidderminster I took a familiar road that passed Tenbury Wells and beyond to the junction with the A49. At this point though I crossed the A49 and continued west into some uncharted territory. Now, you probably know by now that I like a good ruin and the destination for today was Wigmore Castle which I had selected from the English Heritage site as being unattended and accessible at all times. Wigmore was reached by a series of minor roads which were enjoyable enough to ride although I did seem to get more than my fair share of horse boxes, tractors and quarry wagons which dulled the speed a bit. On parking up in the village I found myself outside the small village shop which served up a fairly decent coffee from its machine which was a bit of an unexpected bonus.
The bike was re-parked in a less busy location and I took the 15 minute walk through the village, churchyard and up the hill to the remains of Wigmore Castle. The castle is not what you would call the most impressive of those in The Marches and has been largely reclaimed by nature but nevertheless it was nice to wander around to take my obligatory exercise (which is why the government were releasing me from house arrest after all). I pretty much had the place to myself and after a quick smoke it was back down the hill to the bike.
The return route was via the outskirts of Ludlow where I parked up at the top of Whitcliffe Common to take a couple of pictures of the view over Ludlow's castle and town before heading back for home. My intention to ride back over Clee Hill was thwarted by a rod closure so in the end I returned pretty much by the road that I had taken my outward journey on which was a slight disappointment but did not really take anything away from the fact that I had been back out on two wheels again.
It looks like I am not going to be back at work until the end of June, so hopefully this will be the first of many opportunities to go exploring again.
Busy place the Marches, back in the day.
Quote from: Hooli on Friday, 15 May 2020, 07:40 PM
Busy place the Marches, back in the day.
And at the moment still a dangerous place for unwary Englishmen who may stray accross the border - The Welsh government still have the Wicker Men ready for us :whistling:
We can get them back if we see them in York, on a Wednesday afternoon and we have a longbow to hand.
Or something.
16/05/2020 White Ladies Priory, Shropshire
I was only going to take the Z1000 out for an hour but was enjoying myself so much I strung it out a bit.
A run through some local minor roads that I don't usually touch took me around and to the north of Wolverhampton where I parked the bike up at the start of the footpath to White Ladies Priory.
Like Wigmore Castle which I visited a couple of days ago this English Heritage site is unstaffed with free admission anytime during daylight hours so there were no social distancing issues to worry about; a lady playing with her dog and a couple of lads sat passing the time were easily avoided even though it is a tiny site.
After half an hour with the camera I was back on the bike and this time I chose a series of "A" roads to complete the circuit. When I reached Bridgnorth I found myself reluctant to take the direct road home (remember those days when you were a kid and your mom was calling you in for your tea but you just didn't want to stop what you were doing?) Instead I followed the Severn valley southwards for a while until felt the obligation to return to domestic life.
This is just about the right length of run for the Z1000 and the little Zed is great fun on minor roads -as long as you are not too far from home so that you can hear your mom calling :smile2:
Tuesday 19/05/2020 – Minster Lovell & Evesham (140 mile round trip)
After dropping my daughter to work (I'm not happy with her being on public transport at the moment) it was time to take advantage of another furlough ride with a couple of short walks thrown in.
It was the turn of the GSX1400 today, the bike is easily comfortable enough for this distance and with a warm and sunny day in prospect I would not be missing a fairing. During its lay-up it had been polished and waxed so it was time to show it some sunshine.
My route took me south in the direction of Worcester before swinging east, passing Evesham and taking in the hairpins of Fish Hill near Broadway. From there it was a cruise through the Cotswolds before finally picking up the A40 at Burford. From Burford it was just a handful of miles before I turned off for the village of Minster Lovell.
Today's destination (again, unrestricted access to an English Heritage site) was Minster Lovell Manor, the ruin of a large house on the banks of the river Windrush in West Oxfordshire. The bike was parked up in the lane leading to the church and it was a short walk along it and through the churchyard to the remains of the manor. There were more people around than I was expecting, but not so many that wandering round and keeping two metres apart would be a problem. A few shots were taken with the K50 and then it was back to the bike.
I had considered a circular route to get home, but I had enjoyed the roads that had taken me down there so was more than happy to return the same way. It was largely single carriageway roads with good opportunities for safe overtaking of anything that got in the way.
On the way back I stopped off in Evesham. It is a town I used to visit regularly but in recent years tended to pass by. Again I had the chance to get the camera out and take a few pictures of the older buildings as the place was fairly free of shoppers and people generally cluttering up my shots.
I've heard some people griping about those of us furloughed from work "treating it like a holiday" but my conscience is pretty clear, I have been dutifully staying at home throughout Aril and early May and what I am doing is not bringing me into contact with anyone. Added to this, in normal circumstances I would be touring France this week and next anyway. I'll hopefully be taking advantage of a few more rides out before I get the dreaded call back into work.
But for tomorrow I have a lot of flies on my visor to deal with...
A few shots from Saturday ride - about 250 kms ;)
(https://images92.fotosik.pl/374/6f9c8ad7b4872bd5gen.jpg) (https://images92.fotosik.pl/374/6f9c8ad7b4872bd5.jpg)
(https://images92.fotosik.pl/374/b450841035079bc9gen.jpg) (https://images92.fotosik.pl/374/b450841035079bc9.jpg)
(https://images90.fotosik.pl/374/372bcbb92edf0e24gen.jpg) (https://images90.fotosik.pl/374/372bcbb92edf0e24.jpg)
(https://images92.fotosik.pl/374/9f9f817f66964491gen.jpg) (https://images92.fotosik.pl/374/9f9f817f66964491.jpg)
(https://images91.fotosik.pl/374/5d3837c12568f4cagen.jpg) (https://images91.fotosik.pl/374/5d3837c12568f4ca.jpg)
(https://images91.fotosik.pl/370/d72db9d8c1f0b714gen.jpg) (https://images91.fotosik.pl/370/d72db9d8c1f0b714.jpg)
@KoZi Liking the way you are able to magnify the image by clicking on your photos :confused1:
where as other peoples photos don't.
Maybe someone can expand on this? (sorry about the pun :whistling:)
Quote from: Milts on Tuesday, 02 June 2020, 11:15 PM
@KoZi
Liking the way you are able to magnify the image by clicking on your photos :confused1:
where as other peoples photos don't.
Maybe someone can expand on this? (sorry about the pun :whistling:)
Kozi's pics are uploaded elsewhere & linked here, hence they work like that. Pics uploaded here don't seem to do it as the forum reduces their size to save on storage space.
Some great photos guys, thanks for sharing :cheers:
Thursday 21/05/2020 Shrewsbury, Ellesmere & Whittington
Another furlough day ride out – I may as well take advantage of the spare time and good weather.
Under strict rotation it was really the Z13's turn out today, but although the old hippo is starting up with a bit of coaxing she is not running right, I'm pretty sure that there is not always the full six cylinders making a contribution to moving her bulk forward. She will have to stay in the garage for a while and I need to look into getting a top end service sorted out.
Instead, the GTR was pulled out again and just over 120 miles were covered, but it did not really seem like it. I think that it is because I used roads so often travelled in the past and I didn't really get the sense of breaking new ground. The start of the trip which covers Bridgnorth and Shrewsbury was certainly nothing new, but I left Shrewsbury on the direct road to Ellesmere which at least was something fresh. It started out well until halfway along I caught up with a quarry wagon which was occupying three quarters of the road and the last few miles into Ellesmere were spent looking at its backside.
There's plenty of motorcycle parking at the edge of the lake at Ellesmere so the bike was left for a few minutes whilst I wrestled a coffee out of the machine in the petrol station just along the road. Coffee and cigarette finished, I set out for the A5 near Whittington.
Today was going to be a "ruin free" day, but when I reached Whittington I could not resist parking up again and spending a few minutes around the castle with the camera. Strictly speaking it is shut due to the Covid situation but the owners (a charitable trust) are allowing people to access the grounds in return for chucking a quid into the pay and display machine which I was happy to do.
The run back down to Shrewsbury on the A5 was pretty swift affair as was the ride down the A458 to Bridgnorth. As I say, it is a road well travelled so I'd seen it all before – not that it was a problem, it's just good to be on the bike.
Like my previous visit to Shropshire I was reluctant to go directly home from Bridgnorth, so stayed to the west of the river Severn taking in Highley, Kinlet and Bwedley before a final fuel stop in Kidderminster and the last few miles home.
There's not so many flies on the visor today, that's the beauty of a bike with a decent screen.
Saturday 30/05/2020 Sutton Scarsdale Hall
Not such a good day on the bike today – the normally ultra-reliable GSX decided to throw a wobbly...
I'd decided to head north for a change, I may have said before but it always seems a waste of precious riding time to spend the first hour cutting through the urban midlands to get out the other side. Sure enough the day started with something like a commute until I broke free of Walsall and progressed to Lichfield.
From Lichfield I had an enjoyable run through fairly familiar roads taking in Ashbourne and up to Matlock which whilst not as busy as I have sometimes seen it still had a fair few bikes parked along the road running alongside the Derwent. I'd normally have stopped here briefly but being mindful that the police can still be funny about "gatherings" I carried on ploughing my own furrow to the centre of Matlock and from there travelled roads that were new to me through Clay Cross and on to my first intended destination of Sutton Scarsdale.
I found my way to the ruins of Sutton Scarsdale Hall, the roofless shell of a once grand manor house and enjoyed half an hour in the sun with my camera. Having had my fill of it I returned to the bike with the intention of perhaps carrying on to another destination in north Nottinghamshire – it was a bit later in the afternoon than I had intended, but I felt that I had the time on my hands.
Turning the key in the ignition resulted in – nothing. There was a quick sweep of the needles as I turned back to the "off" position, but several attempts at trying to switch the bike on went unrewarded. A quick check of the battery connections suggested a little play in the negative lead although it looked as if it should have offered a reasonable connection. I tightened it up with the Plasticine screwdriver supplied in the tool kit and this time the bike responded as it should to the turn of the key.
It looked as if there was no real drama after all, but I started to become a little cautious and decided to point the GSX toward the motorway which was not that far away and head directly home from there. The bike was running perfectly down the M1 and A42 so I thought that I would perhaps leave at Ashby de la Zouch and take the old road from there to Tamworth as it would offer more interesting riding.
As I approached Tamworth problems started to resurface; the bike started to "miss" or momentarily cut out, the needles kept dropping to zero and I was losing the LCD displays. I managed to get safely parked up in a residential access road whilst I had another fiddle with the battery connections. It did then fire up again and run nicely enough to get me home although the digital clock had obviously rest to 12:00 suggesting a total electrical power loss. It's parked up in the garage now, someone has offered to test the battery for me, but I suspect that the answer to the problem may be elsewhere.
The run through Derbyshire was great but the other parts of the day I am more than ready to forget.
(Bigger picures for those that want them throgh here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums) )
You certainly have some cool stuff many hundreds of years old there.
I could post a pic of a sharpened rock but..... :lol:
Quote from: VladTepes on Monday, 08 June 2020, 01:58 PM
You certainly have some cool stuff many hundreds of years old there.
I could post a pic of a sharpened rock but..... :lol:
Bet the rock is older Mike !! :rofl2:
Quote from: VladTepes on Monday, 08 June 2020, 01:58 PM
You certainly have some cool stuff many hundreds of years old there.
I could post a pic of a sharpened rock but..... :lol:
Go on, send us a picture of the shrapend rock anyway!
(Or you could wait until it has gone blunt and crumbling at the edges, then it would be
truly historic) :smile2:
Tuesday 02/06/2020 Longtown Castle, Herefordshire (c.137 miles)
The next open (and free!) destination I turned up on the English Heritage website was Longtown Castle in Herefordshire. Dangerously close to the Welsh border, but most of the route down to Hereford was well known to me and was something of a favourite. Another warm sunny day was on the cards so it made sense to take advantage on my continuing Furlough.
The GTR was due a turn out and took me though Stourport, Bromyard and beyond to Hereford. I'd intended to drop into the city centre for a walk round the cathedral but the one way system had changed since I used to go regularly and I found myself quickly dumped back where I started. I decided to write it off for now as I didn't fancy the congestion for a second time. Considering the country is still in lock-down there seemed to be a lot of people going somewhere. Indeed, the queue for the McDonalds drive-thru was something to behold with staff trying to marshal the traffic on the A465.
Continuing in the direction of Abergavenny I left the A465 at Pontrilas where the village shop turned out a coffee for me whilst I had a break from the bike. At this point I turned west toward the Welsh border riding through what was for me virgin territory. The roads were now distinctly rural and called for some more cautious riding as many were more or less single track and the GTR was competing for space with agricultural machinery.
Upon reaching Longtown the bike was pulled up at the roadside at the castle entrance, the adjacent green provided a picnic table for a quick smoke and the cold drink I had been carrying with me before I started to explore the castle ruins.
There is not too much to see at Longtown Castle, but nevertheless it had provided me with a destination to aim for and a very remote and quiet spot to relax and get some use out of the camera. The view from the keep emphasised the castle's position at the side of the Black Mountains. There are a couple of similar border castles nearby but on the Welsh side and I'm looking forward to taking these in at some future date when we can all move more freely.
The return trip took me back the way I came to Hereford, but from there I varied the route to take me back through Leominster, around Ludlow and back home via Bridgnorth.
It had been a perfect day out on the bike, I had come pretty close to places starting with two "L"s, but I think I got away with it.
Monday 15/06/2020 Sharpness & Purton Ships Graveyard (c.145 miles)
The previous week had been a bit hit and miss with regard to the weather so the bikes had been left alone whilst I dealt with drudgery such as swapping out some failed double glazing units and other jobs around home.
I still did not seem to be wanted in my day-job and the sun was shining so it was time to pull the little hooligan bike out for yet another furlough day ride. I knew right from the start it was going to be the wrong bike for the job but I couldn't resist it. The Z1000 is always great fun for a short blast and although I am not a "quick" rider there is something about the little Zed that wants nothing in its way that is not doing at least every one of the legal MPH for the road and just pulls you into overtakes.
In more liberal times I have ridden the GSX and GTR down to my holiday chalet in Devon via the A38 and often wondered what lies to the sides of the route, so I decided to have a look at the Severn south of Gloucester.
I picked the A38 up at Worcester as I usually do and followed it down through Tewksbury where the high street shops were opening for the first time since lock-down. All of the high street parking bays had been closed off by plastic baulks to increase the pavement width where shoppers were queuing, but I was quite content to leave them to it and pass through.
From Tewksbury I continued south at which point I had a bit of a scare; I was pulling off from traffic lights behind three or four cars as the raod was opening up to a dual carriageway. As I accelerated for the overtake I was looking down the road and to the right and I was too late to see the car in front of me jig round something in the road which I then hit full on. Even now I not sure what it was other than it was black, about the size of a brick and bloody hard. It lifted the bike into the air for a moment but thankfully I managed to hold on and keep the front and back end of the bike pointing in the same direction. Happily soon after I chanced upon a burger van that provided a polystyrene cup full of tea and a chance to check over the bike. Continuing, I rounded the Gloucester bypass and eventually I left the A38 at Berkeley Heath for Berkeley and Sharpness, which up until then were no more than names I had seen on signs.
I found my way to the picnic area at Sharpness where I parked up the Zed for half an hour while I took some photos around the point where the Gloucester & Sharpness canal links with the Severn.
From Sharpness I navigated some fairly minor roads up to the tiny village of Purton, a little further upstream. There is no sat-nav set up on the Z1000 so it was back to the old days of memorising the route and looking out for sign posts.
Having locked up the bike on the village car park I started to walk along the banks of the canal back in the direction of Sharpness and as I expected after about 10 minutes came to the Purton Hulks. I was aware of them from seeing them on a map, but was unaware of their history or circumstances but there were various information signs along the mile or so of the bank of the Severn where they were resting and I got to learn that they had been intentionally beached along the section of the river as an aid to preventing tidal erosion of the river bank that could lead to breaching the canal that was running parallel and above. I now also knew what a "concrete lighter" and a "FCB" were. Life is wonderful – nearly 58 and still learning. A few souvenir photos were taken before walking back to the bike for the return journey.
The thing about the Z1000 is that it takes twice as long to get home than do the outward journey. After 80 miles my backside has had enough of it and I seem to need relief from it every half an hour on the way home. First stop was at Gloucester for a service station coffee, then again at Tewkesbury around the back of the abbey and two further random lay-bys were needed before I made it home. I should really look into seeing if there is a gel seat available for this bike, or perhaps more sensibly I should pick out one of the bigger bore machines when I know I am going to be out for any length of time.
Still, a really good day out though and so much better than working for a living.
(Photos to follow, the site will not let me upload at the moment even though the files are less than 500kb)
Map
1427 Sharpness canal entrance
1439 Purton hulks
1454 Purton swing bridge opening
1455 Z1000 Tewksbury Abbey
@Rynglieder Weather looks awesome :rolleyes: :rolleyes: are you sure you're in the UK :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:
Since I have my Triumph, I discover for myself gravel roads and trails (some times little bit scary :)). Unfortunately, those roads are not for 14.
Pics made last weekend
@northern - That looks like the right sort of bike to pay on for those roads, enjoy yourself and keep it upright :)
Not fan fan of gravel myself, I get nervous when they have just gritted the roads!
Quote from: GSXKING on Friday, 26 June 2020, 06:10 PM
@Rynglieder Weather looks awesome :rolleyes: :rolleyes: are you sure you're in the UK :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:
Oh dear, you guys in the southern hemisphere have a real misconception of our weather. The sun does shine sometimes, probably around eight days a year, even up to 12 in a good one. I remember back in 1976 we had two sunny days consecutively, we still talk about that Wednesday and Thursday even now.
The problem is that these sunny days never happen on a weekend, they are strictly Monday to Friday when we are all working down the pit or in the corned beef factories and can't get out on our bikes which is why you never see blue skies in our photos.
Fortunately due to the coronavirus thingy I'm currently furloughed from work (and as of this Monday apparently "at risk" of redundancy), therefore the government is paying me £2500 per month to ride my bike on weekdays as long as I go for a walk at some point (usually from where I have parked the bike on the forecourt to the coffee machine in the petrol station).
This is why there is a bit less of the nimbostratus in the sky at the moment – it won't last, but I'm making these days count.
@northern that looks great. I did consider a cheap 955 Tiger I saw recently to start looking for places like that.
Quote from: GSXKING on Friday, 26 June 2020, 06:10 PM
@Rynglieder Weather looks awesome :rolleyes: :rolleyes: are you sure you're in the UK :rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2:
Nothing wrong with old Blighty...just needs a roof... :lol: :lol: :lol:
Quote from: Rynglieder on Saturday, 27 June 2020, 02:58 AM
I get nervous when they have just gritted the roads!
me also, if there is 190 street tire on rear. Knobby tires and different sitting position is absolutely other thing!
Also, this type of bike is not always stay on 2 wheels ;)
Myself and a mate from work went for a wee blast up to Glenshee chairlifts last night. It was a beautiful night and one of the best biking roads going. Luckily its right on my doorstep. 👍
Fantastic road that, especially the section south of there.
It sure is, I live about 25 miles or so south of there and it's a great stretch of road with some long sweeping bends, a few strait-ish bits and plenty of tight ntwisty that'll put you on your arse if your not paying attention.😉 Great fun! 👍
Great roads around perthshire .
Still to explore alot of them as only recently moved gown here from.the north east corner of Scotland.
Hopefully I'll catch up with you at some point
@SteveD :cheers:
Went for a quick spin over Mt.Glorious with my buds :onya: :onya:
The infamous "T-Intersection" on the Western side. Note all the tyre debri from drift cars most nights. :confused1: :confused1:
You have friends? Photographic proof of same? Well, who'd a thunk it?!
P.S. How quick ;)
Course he does, no handbrake & no kids.
Bobbie and I rode to Canungra today and it was a fabulously clear day. :rolleyes: :boogie: I decided to take her to The Best of All Lookout @ Springbrook pics attached.
Our GOOGLE MAPS trip :onya:
https://www.google.com.au/maps/dir/Mount+Cotton+QLD/Canungra+QLD/Beechmont/Best+of+All+Lookout,+Springbrook+National+Park,+Repeater+Station+Rd,+Springbrook+QLD+4213/@-27.8281154,153.1454658,11.25z/data=!4m26!4m25!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b91683b8fa869cf:0x502a35af3de9140!2m2!1d153.2166667!2d-27.6166667!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b9121177c31ea0d:0x502a35af3dea140!2m2!1d153.1647202!2d-28.0171604!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b90dfe7c7876ab9:0x502a35af3dea010!2m2!1d153.188!2d-28.126!1m5!1m1!1s0x6b90e6ee04933a39:0xbde5add834a8df5a!2m2!1d153.2651781!2d-28.2430237!3e0
Now that's a view........ spectacular !! :onya:
Night ride, my Town...
(https://images89.fotosik.pl/413/e084a6e35cf78990gen.jpg) (https://images89.fotosik.pl/413/e084a6e35cf78990.jpg)
Great picture KoZi, cool colours :onya:
Monday 22/06/2020 Guys Cliffe & Kenilworth (79 miles)
Following on from the last problematical run on the GSX I had pulled the battery out and had it tested, the result came back OK so it was dropped back into the bike and I decided to venture out on a relatively short run to see how it behaved.
There was a bit of a dull dual carriageway run to the other side of Redditch followed by some better riding out to Warwick. I've visited Warwick for work many times over the last few years and had always intended to try to find the time to investigate Guys Cliffe manor to the north of the town.
The ruin is in private hands and only open to visitors on odd occasions but the GSX was parked up next to the very attractive Saxon Mill pub where a public footpath runs alongside, past the water wheel and over the weir bridge. It is only a couple of minutes' walk from there until you draw level with Guys Cliffe House which is on the opposite bank of the Avon. Views for the camera were limited but I took a couple of shots anyway. Back to the bike and it fired up without any problems again so I took a short ride north to Kenilworth for another pause.
The return run was via Birmingham city centre as I was stupid enough to let the Zumo pick the route. That aside, it was a nice couple of hours out and whatever was upsetting the GSX last time out seems to have cleared up. Hopefully re-seating the battery and remaking the connections may have perhaps dealt with a dodgy earth. At least I feel up for taking it a bit further next time.
1469 Guys Cliffe
1482 Kenilworth Castle
Nice little solo run around the block yesterday, the sun was out and roads not to busy almost made a full day of it with plenty of stops and socially distanced chats along the way. Even got caught on camera part way around (but not the speed type for a change) :onya:
Out on the weekend:
Oh yes, the yellow rear wheel was what I got back when the tyre fitter chipped my rim and sent the wheel off to be repainted (free of charge), I guess colour matching wasn't a priority :whatever:
Not their finest colour match :facepalm:
But l do like that tailpipe :onya:
This Saturday, cruising b-roads. ~300km.
Nice pic is it filtered at all ? :whatever:
Quote from: GSXKING on Tuesday, 22 September 2020, 08:11 PM
Nice pic is it filtered at all ? :whatever:
It's standard picture made by Samsung s20, exported via Google photos. HDR mode on.
No postediting by me.
Samsung phones are making now a little bit to saturated pictures.
Quote from: northern on Wednesday, 23 September 2020, 01:22 AM
Quote from: GSXKING on Tuesday, 22 September 2020, 08:11 PM
Nice pic is it filtered at all ? :whatever:
It's standard picture made by Samsung s20, exported via Google photos. HDR mode on.
No postediting by me.
Samsung phones are making now a little bit to saturated pictures.
A coincidence that you mentioned that, I have just had a new Samsung phone and took a couple of shots with it and they all seem over saturated -it must be what users want.
Here is a picture I took of the Z1300 on a short run up to Dudley Priory, the rest are here if anyone is interested.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157715960739607 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157715960739607)
Pete.
29/03/2021 Edvin Loach Old Church, Bromyard (c. 65 miles)
The Covid shackles have been eased a bit and the weather was good enough to pull a bike out. I'm unsure what "stay local" means exactly, but as I have been as far north as Norway, East as Croatia and South as Spain on bikes I reckon Herefordshire is pretty local. I decided to take the GSX out and save the GTR for a longer run, the other two bikes are both on SORN at the moment.
Just 65 miles around familiar roads to start off, it's been 6 months since my last decent ride so I thought I should ease myself in. Destination was Edvin Loach Old Church which is a small unstaffed English Heritage site with unrestricted access so no advance booking, social distancing or crowds to worry about. The church is a ruin, last used around 1860 when the new church was built adjacent – there was not much to look at but as always it is the ride out that counts.
Return home was via Bromyard and Worcester. It was good to be out again, I'm just watching the forecast for the next opportunity.
More photos in the usual place: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157718810245646 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157718810245646)
First ride for 5 months as lockdown travel allowed within Wales :)
Nice one Notty - what a cracking view too! Great pic, great location, great bike. Perfect day out..... :cheers:
Good looking photo there Notty. Pleased you blokes can get out and about again. Enjoy :onya:
Well done Notty, good scenery. Whos the young bloke with your bike? 😎
Quote from: grog on Wednesday, 31 March 2021, 08:20 AM
Well done Notty, good scenery. Whos the young bloke with your bike? 😎
Was thinking the same grog :stir:
Notty!! some gnome has knicked yer bike & is posting pictures of himself on the froumoh wait,
never mind, ignore that.
@Notty
Quote from: DP1400 on Wednesday, 31 March 2021, 06:23 AM
Nice one Notty - what a cracking view too! Great pic, great location, great bike. Perfect day out..... :cheers:
On the edge of the Brecon Beacons looking North. 100 yards away from the Army firing range where the SAS train :)
@DP1400
31/03/2021 St Briavels, Forest of Dean (c. 138 miles)
Another nice day on the cards so it was time to pull out the GTR. Like most Englishmen I am currently banned from Wales but there was a bit of scope to flirt with the border.
My ride took me down the A38 through Worcester, Tewksbury and onward toward Gloucester. Aside from the couple of town / city centres this is a nice road to exercise the bike on as it was once the main artery between the midlands and south-west, before someone hit upon the idea of building the M5. It is therefore fairly wide and free flowing without too many hazards and has the bulk of the Malverns as a backdrop to the west and the Cotswolds rising to the east.
Once at the Gloucester bypass I swung onto the A48 and ran along the west bank of the River Severn. This is not a road I have used that often as when I am going the Forest of Dean or Chepstow I would normally go via Monmouth and the Wye Valley but the border restrictions at least gave me a chance to take a less familiar road. It turned out quite an enjoyable ride and I must factor it in again for a future run.
There was a brief stop in Lydney to feed the inner man before climbing up into the hills that form the Forest of Dean and then some B Roads into my planned destination of St Briavels. This small border town has a castle which in more normal times serves as a Youth Hostel although in these Covid days it is of course closed. I took a quiet walk around the moat and a few snaps with the camera before embarking on the return journey.
I managed to remain in England through the Forest of Dean taking in Coleford and Ross on Wye and then continuing north through Ledbury before climbing the Malverns. There was another brief break from the bike in Great Malvern where I parked up the bike to take a look at the exterior of Malvern Priory. I seem to have a lot of photos of ruined abbeys and priories in my photo collection, it is a bit of a change to see one with the roof still on.
In not much more than an hour I was back through Worcester and home again.
Additional photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157718520005184 (https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72157718520005184)
04/04/2021 The Cotswolds / Chipping Camden (c. 90 miles)
Easter Sunday – Somehow a lot of the day had disappeared in mundane things like washing the car and clearing away a lot of old decking we had ripped up to replace. All of a sudden it was three o'clock, but it was still warm and sunny so there was no way I was going to pass up the chance to use up the rest of the afternoon on the bike. It was only going to be an hour, but as usual I got carried away.
As two of my grand fleet of bikes are still on SORN due to Covid and work being needed I am alternating between the GSX and GTR, today was a GSX day (and probably the better bike for a warm afternoon).
I glanced over Google Maps looking for something that would take me in a different direction from the last two rides. My eyes settled on Chipping Camden and I couldn't remember if I had ever been there. A look at Google Street view confirmed that I had not, so I decided to set about filling this void in my life.
For variety I dodged Worcester by going through Droitwich and then on A Roads toward Evesham There is then only a short bit of the dull section of the A46 before I turned off to bypass Broadway but take in Fish Hill with its steep climb and the sort of hairpins that are rarely found in the southern part of England.
As it was late in the day most of the visitors had gone from Chipping Camden but at least there was somewhere open for a take-away coffee while the bike cooled down. I hadn't bothered to take out the camera as it was not intended to be a big day out, but the market hall and high street were recorded on the smart phone as a reminder of my visit.
To avoid going over the same ground my return took me through Honeybourne and up to Biford-on –Avon and then home via an over-familiar route though Redditch and Bromsgrove.
Chipping Camden has been crossed off the list, but I am now motivated to dig a bit deeper into the Cotswolds later in the year.
My old stomping grounds Notty - Loved riding the Brecons!
:cheers:
Stan
24/04/2021 Flintshire (c. 180 miles)
Since my last ride out to chipping Camden the weather had broken down a little (and these days I have the luxury of time to be a fair-weather biker), followed by the partial ending of lock-down which meant that I could at last spend a week down at my place in Devon. The result was the bikes had been neglected for a couple of weeks and as the weather had picked up again I was itching to get out.
Although it was the turn of the GTR to come out I had another ride planned with friends for the following Tuesday so I thought I would save the camera for that run and pulled out the GSX again. (The Z1000 and Z1300 are still on SORN but hope fully will make their appearances next month).
As per my usual practice, a monument or two was picked off a map as somewhere to aim for and hopefully take me down some new roads.
Once I had cleared the over familiar run past Telford I was able to enjoy the roads of North Shropshire and the first stop on the itinerary was the Raven Café at Prees Heath, just south of Whitchurch and a popular biker's haunt. I was not sure that it would be open but it turns out that I was not to be disappointed and managed to secure a Covid complaint mug of coffee.
From here it was very new riding for me, I passed through the village of Malpas and continued on bike friendly B- Roads just over the Welsh border to the village of Holt in the Wrexham area. The bike was parked up in the centre of the village and I took the short walk along the footpath to the castle on the banks of the River Dee so that I could take a few snaps.
Once back on the bike it was barely two minutes before I crossed back into England over the Dee via the Farndon Bridge where I jumped off again to grab another photo.
The ride then took me to the outskirts of Chester before taking a quick blast down some of the A55 North Wales Expressway although it was not long before I left it to enter the village of Ewole. The bike was secured in a lay-by at the south edge of Werpe Country Park from where a 10 minute walk through wood land brought me to the remains of Ewole Castle. It's a very hidden and tranquil spot and the park would probably have stood a much longer exploration if I was not clad in bike gear on a warn day.
Having had my fill of it I returned to the bike and began the return journey. To make a bit of a loop of it I rode past Mold and on to Ruthin where I selected the road that would take me over the Horseshoe Pass and drop in Llangollen. I was expecting to see a few bikes at the Ponderosa Café at the summit of the pass but it looked closed up and no one was around. It is possible that it has not yet reopened but to be fair it was late in the day now (getting on for 5 O'clock) so they may have done their trade and packed up.
Once through Llangollen it was rapid spin down the A5 just stopping for a coffee outside Chirk (and a moment to ring the wife to explain that I was going to be late again). Even when this road is busy there are plenty of good safe overtaking opportunities on a bike so rapid progress was made back down to Shrewsbury.
A quick fuel stop at Much Wenlock was the last event of the ride.
It had turned out to be another good day, the bike and the route that had linked the points I had selected had proved a good one.
apparently caught on camera on a recent ride out with my mates, Frank on an XJR1300 and Mark on an 1000 Fazer and posted on Facebook !!
Photographic evidence
@Notty I'm impressed :lol: :happy1: :rofl2: :rofl2:
Quote from: GSXKING on Monday, 10 May 2021, 05:07 PM
Photographic evidence @Notty I'm impressed :lol: :happy1: :rofl2: :rofl2:
Could be photoshopped :stir:
It was on police camera action, they are looking for these three as they are suspected of being ugly, and are also suspected of riding unnecessarily slow. :lol:
The B&W 1402 mustve been parked up, everyone knows they're the fastest bike.... :stir:
Sunday here was Distinguished Gentleman's Ride in Brisbane estimated 500 riders involved raising approx $30,000 AUS . :onya:
Very dapper! So where do you source these curved shirts then Chris? :whistling: I'm in the market for some myself . . . :onya:
Tauranga has one this weekend Chris, they hoping for 200.
Great cause :onya:
VJMC members in Sydney have been doing a series of Dam rides, the latest to the Lake Burragorang Lookout overlooking the back waters of Warragamba Dam, the principle water source for Sydney. A mix of modern and classic Jap machines.
Some nice stock there Johno :onya:
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 25 May 2021, 03:40 AM
Very dapper! So where do you source these curved shirts then Chris? :whistling: I'm in the market for some myself . . . :onya:
They're terribly expensive Col. :doh: :doh:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Thursday, 27 May 2021, 04:38 AM
Some nice stock there Johno :onya:
There were two RZ350s and a ground up H1 Kawasaki that would be nice to have in the garage.
Dam you Johno
I remember my wee RD350 blew it to pieces on the way back from Jerry's.
I pic came up the other day from Facebook 10 years ago, how time gets away.
Irish l reckon you'd sell plenty of those and the 350 today. Except the pollution nazis would soon put a stop to that idea.
Mates brother rode his blue tank H1 in the first NZ Castrol 6 Hour at Manfield. From memory he ground through the oil pump and nipped it up.
I've taken my Strumpet to the north of Scotland last week, never even saw a drop of rain & I'm sunburnt!
Did most of my favourite bits, I never do the whole NC500 as I find JoG dull so stick to the areas I enjoy more.
Great scenery Hooli, interesting back roads, very narrow.
All the best ones are Col. I think the narrowest I found was on the Assynt coast road, but there are bugger all people down there to need bigger.
Good photos Hooli, great shot of your bike too, nice angle :onya:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Monday, 07 June 2021, 08:24 PM
Good photos Hooli, great shot of your bike too, nice angle :onya:
I stood in a drainage ditch for a pee as there was no other cover, then thought it'd be a good pic. I hope the story doesn't ruin the image :lol:
Wonderful pics Hooli, what a ride out. Nice one :onya:
Quote from: Hooli on Monday, 07 June 2021, 08:45 PM
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Monday, 07 June 2021, 08:24 PM
I stood in a drainage ditch for a pee as there was no other cover, then thought it'd be a good pic. I hope the story doesn't ruin the image :lol:
Would have thought you'd have a porta poti in one of those boxes :whistling:
25/04/2021 Ludlow & Clee Hill (c.78 miles)
I finally got to meet up with another GTR Owner's forum member, although I have been aware of him being based near me since I bought my GTR and joined the forum I had yet to run into him.
We met up in the village just down from my home and splendid fellow that he is, he gave me some advice on the possibility of fitting some risers to my bike as a quick sit on his machine showed me that they may be an improvement for me – something to think about.. We also looked at how we had set up our respective Innovv cameras to see if we could exchange any ideas for a better set-up.
Having got to the point that we decided that bikes were better for riding than standing by talking we set off around my usual default loop; the ride that I take when I want to be out but am not heading for a particular destination.
The ride out from Stourbridge to Craven Arms was always a blast, one of my favourite roads, although I soon found out that it had not been well looked after over the lockdown era and it was a bit of a bumpy ride despite this I think we still both enjoyed the ride to Ludlow.
In Ludlow we parked just off the castle square and made our way to the local Costa Coffee and hauled our beverages back to the main square for another chat. This is where we found out that although we did not know each other there were a few people that we both knew – a small world as they say.
We got back on the bikes briefly for a short run up to the summit of Titterstone Clee. I love it up there as the views extend for miles and although not that far in distance it seems worlds away from home. The domes and towers of the radar tracking station set above the derelict quarry workings and buildings add to the other-worldly atmosphere.
Our route home took us past around Bewdley before we split on the outskirts of Stourbridge. It was good to put another face to a forum name, hopefully we will manage another run out soon.
The sun was shining so why not.... 394 miles today !
Loch lomond,
Glencoe,
Fort William,
Mallaig,
ferry to Skye,
across bottom of Skye to the Skye bridge, up to Plockton, down Kyle of Lochalsh, Eilean Donan Castle, Fort William and back to Ayrshire.
Good Scottish roads, mountains, castles & a ferry 🏴🌞
Nice trip Gmars, I did most of that (except the Skye bit) at the end of May when I had 4 nights in Tyndrum.
The ferries always looked expensive in the past, are they reasonably priced for a bike now?
Ferry to Skye was £8.20 bike & rider 👍
Superb photos Mate, your bike also looks superb. Love the blue n black look. :clapping:
30/04/2021 A Cotswold loop (c. 150 miles)
I got a call from a former work colleague to say that he had just taken delivery of a new BMW XR1000 and was itching to get out on it if I was up for a run. Steve, who accompanied us on the Elan Valley run last year was also supposed to join us but called off on the morning we were due out as he had suffered a dead arm as a reaction to his second Covid jab. The forecast was not perfect but even the prospect of getting his new steed dirty was not going to put Mike off so I duly took the GTR for ride down to our arranged meeting point in Pershore.
Mike knew this area very well having only recently moved from there so I tailed him on a loop around the Cotswolds. Initially I had the feeling I had picked the wrong bike for this run, his "local knowledge" included several tight and twisty minor roads that made the GTR feel very cumbersome, but eventually we broke out on to some proper A Roads where I was able to keep up with him a bit better. To be honest I struggle with my mental compass a little bit in following other bikes when the lead bike is riding "on the fly" rather than to a pre agreed route or waypoints, in fact it was only when I got home and reviewed my video footage that I fully understood where I had been!
There was a chance for a coffee, toasted sandwich and a catch up at Teddington Hands before we continued around taking in Stow-on-the Wold and Banbury. As we started to close the circle Mike suggested that we stop off in a town where he used to live for a coffee and cake and so I found myself back in Chipping Campden for the second time in a month and coincidentally he chose exactly the same point in the street to park up that I had on the GSX a few weeks earlier.
Having refreshed ourselves and agreed to arrange something for another run soon we finished off the loop to Pershore before splitting for our own runs home.
It was in the end much drier than the forecast had threatened and good to get another post-lockdown run done.
07/06/2021 Brockhampton
Back in December my Z1000 failed its MOT due to a buckled front wheel that I had been riding round on for several months without noticing. Due to the lockdowns in place during the early part of the year I decided to SORN the bike and keep an eye out for a replacement wheel on Ebay. By the end of April nothing had come up so I took the plunge and ordered a new genuine part – I got a good deal through my sister's contacts in the trade, but it was still a £750.00 thump on the credit card to get it up and running again. The bike was taxed from the first of June and now needed somewhere to go...
I chose a short ride out to the National Trust property at Brockhampton. The Z1000 is a literal pain in the arse after any distance and this property was not too far from home. As a NT member it costs nothing for me to have a walk around and you can usually rely on a decent cup of coffee at your destination.
Brockhampton is not that far from Edvin Laoch church that I had visited on the GSX a few weeks back, but it was still possible to vary the route to reduce repetition. As well as the medieval moated manor there were also the remains of a Norman church to get the camera out for.
It was good to have the Z1000 back on the road, just the job for a little blast.
08/06/2021 Talley Abbey & Dinefwr (c. 235 miles)
A decent sunny day was forecast and I decided to have a good long day out on the bike with a trip into Carmarthenshire in mind. The Z1000 was all well and good for the previous day's ride but something more comfortable was in order for this so it was time to stretch the legs of the GSX. (The GTR had only recently completed the Scotland trip so it was the time of another bike to get some mileage).
The route out takes in some stunning English and Welsh countryside on very useable roads, I was absolutely in my element all morning. The final approach to the village of Talley was a bit fraught, I had foolishly let the Garmin Zumo take me through the last 5-6 miles and of course it picked out a number of narrow lanes with grass growing up the middle, but I should be used to this by now.
At the edge of the village of Talley lie the remains of a medieval abbey to which there is free admission so I had a half hour in the sunshine with the camera and a bit of a rest from the bike.
Having done that I felt the need for a coffee and a public convenience, neither of which was immediately to hand. A quick search on the phone turned up a nearby National Trust property which looked to be the solution to my needs and so my ride out was extended a little further to Dinefwar.
As well as the manor house at Dinewfwr which offered the café and toilets there are the remains of a Norman castle in the estate. I was in no rush to return home so although it was a bit too warm in the bike gear I took the 10-15 minute slog through the estate and up the hill on which it sat. A bit more time was spent capturing some photos before the walk back down.
The run home was via Brecon and Hereford and I'm looking forward to heading down that way again later in the year to have a proper run around the Beacons.
It was well into the early evening before I got home, a long day but a perfect run out. Regrettably it was slightly spoiled the next morning when my wife noticed the rear tyre of the GSX was completely flat. The traditional check with a bit of washing up liquid and water turned up a pinhole puncture. Ah well, back to two working bikes again...
10/06/2021 the Cotswolds (again!) (c.110 miles).
Having missed out on the last ride to the Cotswolds due to his Covid vaccine reaction, I caught up with Steve at a motorway service area situated between us and we set out to cover a bit more of the Cotswold countryside. For my own sanity I picked a route that would take in some different roads to those that I had ridden recently with Mike and on my own. I also made a mental note to avoid Chipping Campden this time, it's a very nice place but a third visit would almost certainly leave me exposed to being charged Council Tax there.
I decided to take the Z1000 out again and "save" the GTR for a longer run that I had in mind and so I set out for the very attractive village of Broadway with Steve in my wake on his Honda VFR. Taking the A46 would have been a faster route but it is not the most interesting of roads so we crossed the Avon at Bidford and rode the more pleasant route via Honeybourne. Broadway was busy but we still managed to find a table at a café where we caught up on how life had treated us since we last met during our ride out to the Elan Valley late last summer.
Back on the road again we pushed on to Stow-on-the Wold but this time I looped toward the west where we stopped off at Bourton on the Water for a late lunch and short walk.
More Cotswold countryside was put under our wheels before crossing the Severn at Tewksbury and riding north for a while to reach Upton on Severn where we made our third stop of the day at bench overlooking the river.
Circumnavigating Worcester on our ride home was a bit of a nightmare, the roadworks on its outer ring road seem to have been going on forever and we would probably have been quicker straight through the city, however it was eventually cleared and we split for our respective homes just north of Bromsgrove.
It was good to have a ride out and catch up with an old friend again but I think I may leave the Cotswolds alone for a month or two now.
15/06/2021 Newstead Abbey (c. 160 miles)
Another sunny and free day – I love being retired. It was time to break out the GTR as I had a suspicion that some motorway work may become involved today.
I was aiming for a destination to the north-east of home and as usual Birmingham was in my way. I decided to break through it by using the M5 & M6, basically my old commute to work. Nothing has changed – by the time I reached west Bromwich the matrix signs were advising of long delays on the motorway and in my opinion the GTR is too porky for filtering. And so I diverted through Walsall and up to Litchfield, an hour of suburban crawl before I could start to use the throttle.
Once in the Staffordshire countryside I was at least moving, but the speed limits seem to have dropped in this area compared to how I remember them. There didn't seem to be any option but to sit in the lines of traffic at 40mph or risk your licence when you came to a straight bit.
Eventually Ashbourne was reached so I took the opportunity to stop at Costa for a take-away coffee and a small cigar. After this break things cheered up a bit and the remainder of the run through Derbyshire and into Nottinghamshire was not too bad.
The bike was parked up at Newstead abbey and I enjoyed a couple of hours in the sunshine around its grounds with the camera. After a final coffee I walked back to the bike where a couple of peacocks seemed to take exception to its colour and looked to be sizing it up for a fight.
Due to my late start from home and the delays at the beginning of the run the day was running away from me and I left the Zumo to pick the fastest route home. This turned out to be the exceptionally tedious A38 dual carriageway followed by being dropped back into the rush hour traffic on the motorways around Birmingham.
Whilst it had been a pleasure to visit Newstead it had not been a particularly great day / route for the bike, a bit of a disappointment as a ride-out.
The will be others...
Beautiful sunny Sunday, 21deg. Took youngest daughter for a cruise through the Perth Hills.
All up only about 230kms, but nice roads, not much traffic and a decent feed at the Gidgegannup Bakery.
13/07/23021 Weston Park (c. 50 miles)
According to my rather vague and flexible rota It was supposed to be a day out on the GSX today but the tyre that had been punctured on the previous month's ride out to Talley Abbey still hadn't been sorted (the workshop booking time at my local dealer was still 4-6 weeks).
Not wishing to pass up on another sunny day the Z1000 was called out again to deputise. I can't face a long ride on that machine these days so I decided on a short loop that would give me a stop at Weston Park in Staffordshire.
Not a National trust property this time, so I had to put my hand in my pocket at the gate to get in with my camera and then again for my coffee before the ride home.
The bit of B Road riding on the way out was good fun on the little Zed, the return via Wolverhampton perhaps slightly less so, but it got a bit of oil around the engine and staved off any barbed comments from the wife about the number of bikes I have and how often they get used...
Nice house you have there RL! :whistling:
Looks like it would have been a great ride.
Quote from: Rynglieder on Wednesday, 10 November 2021, 02:07 AM
the tyre that had been punctured on the previous month's ride out to Talley Abbey still hadn't been sorted (the workshop booking time at my local dealer was still 4-6 weeks).
Wait. what? :confused1:
Why would you go to a dealer for a tyre change? :whatever:
I'm sure you wouldn't have to wait that long at any tyre place they'd probably do it ride on ride out.
Or to save some $ just take the wheel in and get it changed.
Quote from: Globalrider on Thursday, 11 November 2021, 02:08 AM
Nice house you have there RL! :whistling:
If I had a house like that I'd probably have a 'bike museum' sign out the front because all those rooms would need filling. :D
Wait. what? :confused1:
Why would you go to a dealer for a tyre change? :whatever:
I'm sure you wouldn't have to wait that long at any tyre place they'd probably do it ride on ride out.
Or to save some $ just take the wheel in and get it changed.
The thing is that I get tyres done at two places;
1] A local small workshop where I get service with 24-48 hours, but he would not offer the Avon that would match the front.
2] A dealership where my sister works and consequently I get a more realistic rate. They would do the Avon for me, but there was a long lead time on workshop booking - you've probably heard but there seems to be shortage of all sorts of labour over here as British businesses have not been training people up and the Europeans have all gone home!
I suppose that I went with option two as I had the luxury of other bikes to ride whilst I was waiting, plus it gives me chance to catch up with baby sis for an hour and get a free cup of tea.
Method in my madness? :smile2:
Quote from: Rynglieder on Thursday, 11 November 2021, 09:48 PM
2] A dealership where my sister works and consequently I get a more realistic rate. They would do the Avon for me, but there was a long lead time on workshop booking - you've probably heard but there seems to be shortage of all sorts of labour over here as British businesses have not been training people up and the Europeans have all gone home!
The issues I've heard everywhere is lack of tyres due to distribution issues. As the ones from the EU aren't getting here Avons sell out faster etc etc.
I was lucky I had a pair sat in the garage waiting for when I needed them.
I caught up with some old school friends in Boyanup and went for a ride together, been a long time for us all to be riding again.
Anyway all excited I edited a video together ended up going for 20 minutes, a bit longer than planned. Also experimented dropping music in but accidentally dropped in a bit of cinematic thriller music at one point.
There's some very nice roads in the S/W of West Australia.
sSTInnUg7LA
Lovely, I enjoyed that, Thx Batty. Nice roads alright.
Very nice, Ferguson Valley is also a nice ride
Thanks for sharing
@Batkwaka.
Nice to see a diffent landscape even if there was a disappointing lack of clouds and rain :grin:
I'm dying to know how you get along for three days with no obvious luggage though!
23/07/2021 Lake Vyrnwy (c.176 miles)
Time for a proper ride out today and Wales was calling to me again, one for the GTR I thought.
To avoid repetition I took a slightly less direct route out than I usually would, the route from Shrewsbury through Rhos Common was particularly enjoyable riding and I can't recall having travelled that road before which adds to the pleasure.
The day was warm and sunny throughout and I found time to park up at a couple of different spots around the lake for a short walk and my reward of a coffee and a smoke.
I did a complete circuit of the lake and then, being in no rush to go home, road back to near the northern end where I had spotted a sign for Dinas Mawddwy when I had passed previously. I had not realised that a link existed between there and Vyrnwy but it seemed worth exploring.
It's unsurprising that I was not aware of it, it's barely visible on Google Maps being a single track mountain pass - sometimes these roads end up being a bit of a fraught ride with grass growing up the middle, but it turned out OK, practically nothing else was using the road so I had it to myself and the scenery and views from the mountain tops was stunning and is a route I intend to ride again. Annoyingly my Innovv camera decided it did not want to record this leg of the journey, but I have included a grab from Google Street View below to give you an idea.
The extra bit of concentration that was required over that stretch resulted in me feeling the need for a break at Dinas Mawddwy but that was followed by some spirited riding without a further break to get me straight through to home at a decent time.
A really good day out for the GTR even though it did feel a bit heavy on the mountain road.
12/08/2021 The Malverns, Wye Valley & Severn Valley (c. 168 miles)Although I am more than happy to ride out on my own at my own pace and in my own time it is nice to catch up with old friends and have some company now and again. I gave a shout out to a couple of friends, this time including
@Boa an acquaintance from the GSX owner's forum. Having finally got a new tyre sorted out for the GSX it seemed right to use the day to break it in, so that was the bike that was selected for the day.
A rendezvous was arranged at Hopwood Park Services on the M42 and after introducing Chris to Mike and Steve we got one junction's worth of motorway under us before turning south to Bromsgrove and then Worcester on the A38. I took the guys through Worcester city centre to avoid the interminable roadworks on the bypass and then we began the climb of the Malvern Hills allowing us a stop and the first drink and chat of the day at the kiosk at British Camp on the A449.
From there we descended into Herefordshire where we skirted Ledbury and continued at good pace on the A4449 past Ross on Wye where there was a bit of dual carriageway riding to be done down to Monmouth.
On reaching Monmouth we took the A466 which meanders southwards alongside the River Wye, a good single carriageway road through pleasant wooded valleys. Eventually we reached the riverside village of Tintern where we parked up and headed into the Anchor Inn for lunch and a drink in their garden overlooked by the ruins of Tintern abbey. Suitably refreshed, we continued south to the town of Chepstow to satisfy my desire for a quick view of the castle, a possible subject of a future ride out for myself.
My return route then took us north along the A48 with constant glimpses of the broad stretch of the River Severn all the way to the outskirts of Gloucester. From there it was a curvy stretch of A38 back to Worcester. Although a little out of my own way home I lead the guys up to Alcester as it seemed a convenient point to for everyone to break up and from there make their own way home.
The weather had been reasonable, there was a good variety of roads and landscapes involved and the odd monument passed, I'd had a good time and hopefully my fellow riders had too.
Quote from: Rynglieder on Saturday, 13 November 2021, 10:46 PM
23/07/2021 Lake Vyrnwy (c.176 miles)
Time for a proper ride out today and Wales was calling to me again, one for the GTR I thought.
To avoid repetition I took a slightly less direct route out than I usually would, the route from Shrewsbury through Rhos Common was particularly enjoyable riding and I can't recall having travelled that road before which adds to the pleasure.
The day was warm and sunny throughout and I found time to park up at a couple of different spots around the lake for a short walk and my reward of a coffee and a smoke.
I did a complete circuit of the lake and then, being in no rush to go home, road back to near the northern end where I had spotted a sign for Dinas Mawddwy when I had passed previously. I had not realised that a link existed between there and Vyrnwy but it seemed worth exploring.
It's unsurprising that I was not aware of it, it's barely visible on Google Maps being a single track mountain pass - sometimes these roads end up being a bit of a fraught ride with grass growing up the middle, but it turned out OK, practically nothing else was using the road so I had it to myself and the scenery and views from the mountain tops was stunning and is a route I intend to ride again. Annoyingly my Innovv camera decided it did not want to record this leg of the journey, but I have included a grab from Google Street View below to give you an idea.
The extra bit of concentration that was required over that stretch resulted in me feeling the need for a break at Dinas Mawddwy but that was followed by some spirited riding without a further break to get me straight through to home at a decent time.
A really good day out for the GTR even though it did feel a bit heavy on the mountain road.
@Rynglieder Great write up and pictures as always, I can remember riding over the B4391 from Bala which is above the lake on a ride out from the old Org days & almost every grid & manhole cover had been removed by the pikeys over the mountain which made for interesting riding, I think we ended up in Welshpool for ice cream before heading North towards Wrexham & home. I'm also fairly sure that
@Hooli was there who diverted to Vyrnwy rather than heading straight for home - not sure how I remember these things but good memories
Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...
This was the small collection of 14s that went.
Quote from: Hooli on Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 07:59 AM
Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...
This was the small collection of 14s that went.
@Hooli have you got a date on that picture?
I remember the missing manholes very clearly as I nearly lost my front wheel down one of them, not to far after climbing out of Bala & seem to remember a cattle grid on a bend that was a bit on the slippery side as well :furious:
@Hooli @Will14 Great to see that picture of so many 14's together, we should make a determined effort to get a forum UK ride out or some regional mini-meets sorted for next spring.
16/09/2021 The Wirral (c. 197 miles)
A road I had not ridden this year was the A41 which takes me from the West Midlands, through Shropshire, Cheshire and onto the Wirral. The Z1300 was still indisposed (now in a local workshop for a major service and set-up), the Z1000 too uncomfortable over this distance and the last one to take a turn was the GSX so the GTR was the natural choice for the day. The A41 is quite an enjoyable road to ride once I have broken out of Wolverhampton, single carriageway flowing bends in the main rather than twisties and other than skirting Chester fairly free of major towns until the Wirral Peninsular.
Wolverhampton was cleared within half an hour and from there it was straightforward cruising until I reached the Raven Café just south of Whitchurch where I took the time for a mug of tea and fifteen minutes off the bike.
Back on the A41 I rounded Chester and continued on to Birkenhead. First proper stop was at Birkenhead priory where I took an hour for a walk round the ruins with the camera. That done I continued onward to New Brighton where the bike was parked up whilst I took some photos of the outside of Fort Perch Rock and New Brighton lighthouse.
The final box to tick on the day's planned schedule was the Leasowe lighthouse, now land-bound as the shifting coastline had built up in front of it. Unfortunately I had chosen the wrong costal road car park and was left with a 10 minute walk along the sea wall wearing bike gear in strong sunshine before I reached it. On return to the car park I dropped into a café where the bike was parked where I was served with a cup of lukewarm tea without the requested sugar – I shan't be going back there.
The return loop started with a run down the spine of the Wirral peninsular which is somewhat speed limited and stop-start progress but eventually I returned to Chester. As time was running out yet again I took what I knew to be a quicker route home, passing Wrexham and then joining the A5.
Nothing to complain about on today's ride out and the GTR was the perfect choice.
Quote from: Will14 on Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 09:03 AM
Quote from: Hooli on Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 07:59 AM
Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...
This was the small collection of 14s that went.
@Hooli have you got a date on that picture?
I remember the missing manholes very clearly as I nearly lost my front wheel down one of them, not to far after climbing out of Bala & seem to remember a cattle grid on a bend that was a bit on the slippery side as well :furious:
@Will14 it was 1st March 2009 according to the folder name I've got the pics in. I'll dig some more of it out later if you want, I'm meant to be working now though.
Quote from: Rynglieder on Saturday, 13 November 2021, 10:41 PM
Thanks for sharing @Batkwaka.
Nice to see a diffent landscape even if there was a disappointing lack of clouds and rain :grin:
I'm dying to know how you get along for three days with no obvious luggage though!
I had planned on some camping but it didn't happen. I have pretty much culled my pack to fit into the K1600 bags. I am still working on area minimisation and weight saving.
20/09/2021 Bridgnorth (c. 53 miles)
As usual I had been watching the weather forecast for the next sunny day to get out combine a ride on a bike with a few photographs, a short run on the Z1000 was in order.
The road to Bridgnorth was a well beaten path but although only a short distance from home I had never visited the castle. The run out was the sort of rapid blast that you can have on a small(ish) bike on roads that you are very familiar with and know every safe overtaking point and bend like the back of your hand, always a buzz...
The castle and gardens are not big, but looked good in the sun and the outcrop on which it sits offers views down the Severn Valley including the terminus of the Severn Valley Railway – well worth a visit if you are in the area.
Not quite ready to go home I continued northwards through Broseley and into Coalbrookdale where I stopped briefly at some old kilns that I had passed many time previously. There are a number of museums and heritage centres along this section of the gorge and I will no doubt return when I have more time to look a little more deeply. The intention of a further stop and a coffee at Ironbridge was initially thwarted by a road closure but I followed the detour through the suburbs of Telford and made a new approach to Ironbridge from the North. Rather than parking up by the historic bridge as I usually would I pulled into the visitor centre a little further up river where I managed to get my drink.
Return home was through Much Wenlock and Bridgnorth, a perfect little loop for the hooligan bike.
Quote from: Hooli on Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 07:59 AM
Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...
This was the small collection of 14s that went.
@Hooli Just looked at your picture again and I think I actually star in it, RHS of picture, black jacket with blue on the upper arm - famous at last :grin:
Quote from: Will14 on Friday, 19 November 2021, 07:15 AM
Quote from: Hooli on Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 07:59 AM
Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...
This was the small collection of 14s that went.
@Hooli Just looked at your picture again and I think I actually star in it, RHS of picture, black jacket with blue on the upper arm - famous at last :grin:
In that case, you're in this one too! So am I as I didn't take this one.
Is that Seth & Emma in there too? Downunders have no idea wot ewe lot look like.
Emma ,me (in the middle) and big Richard
@Blubber in the Netherlands a few years ago
Quote from: seth on Friday, 19 November 2021, 10:48 PM
Emma ,me (in the middle) and big Richard @Blubber in the Netherlands a few years ago
That picture is taken in April 2016.
Indeed a few years back
Quote from: Hooli on Friday, 19 November 2021, 07:18 AM
Quote from: Will14 on Friday, 19 November 2021, 07:15 AM
Quote from: Hooli on Tuesday, 16 November 2021, 07:59 AM
Strange, I remember the ride & so forth but not the missing manholes...
This was the small collection of 14s that went.
@Hooli Just looked at your picture again and I think I actually star in it, RHS of picture, black jacket with blue on the upper arm - famous at last :grin:
In that case, you're in this one too! So am I as I didn't take this one.
@Hooli Yup that's me, fourth from the right rear row behind the young lady. Toecutter (Dan) on the far left from the old Org, used to ride a bit with him, was a top bloke & can remember a few others which surprises me after my head bump but then again long term memory is good just can't remember what I did yesterday lol :embarrassed:
Had a nice little run out today, only about 70 miles but first time in a month or so getting out, totally enjoyed it & as well as the bike running like a dream it made me realize how good the 14 is. The weather was pretty good, sunny earlier on, colder over the Denbigh moors and just got home as the heavens opened ;)
Sounds like a great ride 👍
Your bike looks absolutely spotless 🥇🥇🥇
24/09/2021 Coughton Court (c. 66 miles)
The "rota" made this a GSX day, but annoyingly as I tried to roll it out of the garage I very quickly discovered that a 2" screw had decided to make a nest in the rear tyre which was only about 250 miles old. I manged to get enough air into it to rearrange the bikes in the garage so that I could pull the GTR out, I had promised to do a small job for my sister out in Warwickshire so sorting out the rubber on the GSX would have to wait.
The GTR was a bit low on fuel when I got it out and I was aware there seemed to be a national panic going on over petrol supplies. Personally I refuse to change my habits when this sort of thing goes on, I will not queue for petrol that I don't yet need (it only adds to the problems) and I set off confident that I would find something along the way.
The direct route out to Studley where my sister lives is a very dull dual carriageway which is OK in the car but not what I wanted on a bike so I set out on a more circuitous but interesting ride. The first garage that I passed seemed to have the forecourt closed off and the next had queuing traffic spilling out onto a difficult junction which I did not want to involve myself with but I was content to press on through Hagley, into Droitwich and out on the old salt road toward Feckenham and Alcester. The LCD display on the GTR was now nagging me about the fuel level but may patience paid off, I pulled straight into the service station at Arrow, onto the pump and was filled up and on my way again without any drama or waiting.
Five more minutes on the road brought me to Studley where I discharged my family responsibilites by fitting a new garden hose reel and mending a dishwasher rack slide in consideration of a free cup of tea. These things have to be done.
There was time left in the day so I rode back south to Coughton Court where I spent an hour around the gardens and purchased the obligatory National Trust latte.
The ride back was again through Studley and a bit of back-road navigation through North Worcestershire back past Hanbury and then picking up the route I had come by.
Another enjoyable day, soured slightly by having to order and fork out for another tyre when I got home.
Nice :) :onya:
Like in the other thread, tyre can be safely plugged
Nice 200kms today, for the Kiwis the Pahiatua track is still getting a patch up so closed for 3 more weeks.
Up to the Saddle road and across to Woodville and down instead.
Got home and the dumped the oil out to give her a birthday.
Clock just nudged over the 31,000 kms as well.
Quote from: Roo on Tuesday, 23 November 2021, 11:19 AM
Nice 200kms today, for the Kiwis the Pahiatua track is still getting a patch up so closed for 3 more weeks.
Up to the Saddle road and across to Woodville and down instead.
Got home and the dumped the oil out to give her a birthday.
Clock just nudged over the 31,000 kms as well.
Almost run in then
@Roo :salute: :salute:
06/10/2021 Stokesay Castle (c. 73 miles)
Another ring of Avon rubber had been would round the rear wheel of the GSX so it seemed only right to make a start on the 100 miles of dry riding that they recommend before it is worked hard.
Not being sure where to go I decided that my favourite Shropshire loop would do, a combination of nice A and B roads through pleasant countryside.
To add a bit of interest I disregarded Ludlow where I would normally stop, but made a visit to the English Heritage site at Stokesay Castle. It is more of a moated and fortified manor house than a typical border castle, the grounds are quite small but there was a reasonable amount to look at within the castle and slightly unusually for an English Heritage property it did have a café by the car park where I took a break before continuing home though Cleobury Mortimer.
Nothing new or innovative about the route that I had taken, but I had put a few miles on the new rear tyre and it is always a good ride out there.
We went out & played in the rain both days. The most rain today was at Upper Beechmont ☔️☔️
Good pics Chris. You blokes would be well happy to have some rain I'm sure :happy1: :onya:
Yes Col and it's amazing how quickly the waterfalls start, they're a bit of a distraction when riding through the scenic areas. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
Brisk ride up the hill today.
Out and about around the Brecon Beacons Wales UK
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Wednesday, 12 January 2022, 01:05 AM
Brisk ride up the hill today.
Beautiful spot and great pics Jeff. The Red & Black looks great. you always have a good eye for a bargain
Quote from: Wanderer on Wednesday, 12 January 2022, 01:24 AM
Out and about around the Brecon Beacons Wales UK
Good looking bike you got there :onya:
Does look good Wanderer. Great pic
21/10/2021 Bala & Llyn Celyn (c.172 miles)
I'd wanted to take the GTR out today but to get to it I would have to shift the GSX from the front of the garage as it was the one I had used last. UNBELIEVABLE – having just replaced the rear tyre twice within a month now it seemed to have a flat front tyre. Once again I got some air back into it enough to shuffle the bikes around, I was not going to waste a good free day messing with it any further just now.
It seemed that I had not been around lakes or mountains enough this year so today's destination was to be Bala. It's a place I have ridden to many times in the past but usually as a stop off when going deeper into Snowdonia, this time as I was working with reduced daylight in autumn I picked a more direct route that would take me over some "new" roads.
The road up to and just beyond Shrewsbury was all very familiar and routine but this time I broke away from the A5 at Nescliffe through the village of Knockin and the passed wonderfully named Knockin Shop. There was then a beautiful sequence of minor roads through places that I would not begin to try to pronounce, stunning Welsh countryside with alternately dry and wet tarmac under my wheels, it looked as if I had been lucky enough to dodge a series of showers passing before me.
I took a break with a coffee in the town of Bala and rested a while before carrying on the few hundred yards to the lake shore. As I often had before, I found myself wondering why I had bothered, the views from this main visitor car park don't strike me as being that special so after the length of a small cigar I re-mounted the bike and rode back through the town and on up to Llyn Celyn which I recalled had better views. I pulled up at the dam and walked its length taking a few photos, probably rather too many of a spectacular rainbow that I was being treated to.
The ride home was the way I came and I managed to push home in time to be back before darkness fell.
Another five star day on the bike, the days will now shorten with the clocks going back so there will probably be few such long days out for a while now.
It was nice to get out on the bike today, a little cool and wet in places but overall not bad for January. Had a great brekkie at Whistlestop MCC Cafe, followed by visits to AD Motorcycles in Denbigh & Woods Motorcycles in Abergele where I saw a mint 2016 DL1000 V-strom that I quite fancied :undecided:
After taking an hour or so, a few more miles, Coffee & Cake to help ponder it over as I don't want to part with my 14 and can't really justify keeping more than one bike due to the amount of spare time I have to get out :angry: but it also crossed my mind if they were both parked in the garage which would I choose to go out on, and the answer was straight away the GSX which says it all really :smitten:
I even remembered to stop on the way home for a photo
Will, a pic of the Strom in the same place just isn't going to do it . . . That looks great.
Me and the wifey down on the Durham coast last year, sorry there's a Yamaha in there but she insisted on riding it! Andy.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/1871/29337128427_0c53d41a3e_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/LGqsc6)IMG_2300 (https://flic.kr/p/LGqsc6) by Andrew Jolly (https://www.flickr.com/photos/151601941@N04/), on Flickr
Lovely sunny but cold day, had a run to Chepstow for a bacon roll, only 80 mile round rip but f***ng road salt is a bitch !! :furious:
@jolly748 Seems we share similar passions #34, plus l recently bought a Yamaha too :) :onya:
The gsxr hardly goes out..... come to think of it neither does the 14 :facepalm:
(https://i.imgur.com/FWjupWO.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/r9BJj9L.jpg)
Some nice photos fellas. That's one of the good things about this place. There are so many great bikes that we enjoy, not just our 14's.
Quote from: Milts on Monday, 31 January 2022, 06:51 AM
@jolly748
Seems we share similar passions #34, plus l recently bought a Yamaha too :) :onya:
The gsxr hardly goes out..... come to think of it neither does the 14 :facepalm:
(https://i.imgur.com/FWjupWO.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/r9BJj9L.jpg)
Ha ha, i've one of those Exup thingys too! Andy.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51368421969_b1f9abdf6c_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgfAcK)IMG_0184 (https://flic.kr/p/2mgfAcK) by Andrew Jolly (https://www.flickr.com/photos/151601941@N04/), on Flickr
22/10/2021 Bridgnoth (36 miles) & 30/10/2021 Clee Hill (60 miles)
The Z1300 is back!
It had spent most of the last 18 months firmly at the back of the garage and although it had been pulled out in late November 2020 for its MOT, it made sense to put it onto SORN as my area was still under lockdown and opportunities to ride it were limited even if I wanted to risk its very unreliable running.
There seemed no point in it just gathering dust in the corner so I decided to throw a few hundred pounds at someone to do a major service and get the carbs ultrasonically cleaned and set up again.
The ride home from the workshop bode well and once I arrived back home I was disinclined to just put it away again. Still not being absolutely certain of how it would be running I decided to go for the Very Short Loop which I use when I just have an hour and want to blow the cobwebs away. I took the loop in the opposite direction to usual as I needed to fuel with some premium fuel which I knew I could get from a supermarket in Kidderminster, given the general switch to E10 fuels I am not sure how the 38 year old Hippo would deal with running on stewed cabbage which seems to form the basis of new standard petrol.
I must say that I was very happy with the way it was running, I even let it cool while I had a coffee in Bridgnorth to see how it would behave on restart. All good, I really enjoyed the ride home although there was a bit of traffic in front of me and I had yet to get confident enough for overtaking on it.
The next opportunity to get out was a week later, during these shorter days it takes me a while to get motivated to go out and by the time I did the day was ebbing away but there was enough time to get out to Bridgnorth again but this time feeling a bit more secure I was happy to press on through Kinlet, on to Cleobury Mortimer and finishing at the summit of Clee Hill.
The Z1300 is a heavy old bike at low speed but not too bad when moving, I had good clear roads on this day and the six cylinders were singing to me again, all was well with the world.
Going forward I need to make sure it is used more regularly, I think it really does not like fuel sitting in the carbs going stale, so note to self – ride more!
17/11/2021 Wellsbourne & Hanbury Hall (c.88 miles)
Another sunny day was on offer and having replaced the front tyre on the GSX it seemed an opportunity to make a start on some steady mileage to scrub it in.
I'd enjoyed to road out east that I had taken to Coughton Court a few weeks back so I thought I would do it again but push on through and past Stratford on Avon. Beyond Stratford I made my way to the Touchdown Café on the edge of Wellsbourne Airfield. I had been there once before with a few members of the old GSX owners forum, one of them had suggested it as an add on from one of the April Fools Meets at the Motorcycle Museum and it seemed as good a plan as any to revisit it. It still seems a popular bikers destination, there were half a dozen there even on a weekday.
I spent half an hour with my mug of tea on the balcony watching a few light aircraft come and go before I decided to move on.
There was still a bit of the afternoon left so I took more or less the same route back but took the opportunity to stop off at Hanbury Hall near Droitwich to take a few photos and indulge in a National Trust latte.
Not a bad couple of hours riding in the sunshine, a bit of a bonus for November.
How is Wellsbourne doing? I heard something about it being under threat of closure the other year. Which I heard about on the XM655 support pages on FB.
Quote from: Hooli on Friday, 04 February 2022, 02:01 AM
How is Wellsbourne doing? I heard something about it being under threat of closure the other year. Which I heard about on the XM655 support pages on FB.
I'm not aware of anything newsworthy over there, but it's not really my side of the West Midlands so I probably would not hear much.
It certainly seemed active enough during my visit but like everything else Covid may have been affecting activity over the last couple of years.
Quote from: Rynglieder on Saturday, 05 February 2022, 12:35 AM
Quote from: Hooli on Friday, 04 February 2022, 02:01 AM
How is Wellsbourne doing? I heard something about it being under threat of closure the other year. Which I heard about on the XM655 support pages on FB.
I'm not aware of anything newsworthy over there, but it's not really my side of the West Midlands so I probably would not hear much.
It certainly seemed active enough during my visit but like everything else Covid may have been affecting activity over the last couple of years.
As far as i know it's safe, i popped in there late last year and was told so. Tbh, i can't remember the detail.
That's good news, cheers.
I haven't been out for a fun ride for over a month! really need to do that...
31/12/2021 Berrington Hall, Herefordshire (c. 68 miles)
New Year's Eve and it looked like there would be a chance for one last ride in 2021.
It was to be a dry, dull day but not too cold for the time of year – nevertheless I was minded to take the GTR out and take advantage of the heated grips and a decent fairing.
The ride-out took me to Berrington Hall, near Leominster. It was another run down often travelled roads but despite the repetition I knew they would be roads that I enjoy. The days are too short at this time of year to travel far enough away from home and find much that is new.
Berrington Hall served up a walk, some photos and a decent coffee but it was not a long visit and the day could have done with being brighter for any decent pictures.
The ride home was by much the same route except for a short additional loop to take me to Tenbury Wells via a more minor road.
Nothing stunning, but every chance to get out in the winter feels like a bit of an achievement.
20/01/2021 Much Wenlock Windmill (c. 45 miles)
Strictly speaking, it was not the first ride of 2022 as I had taken one of the bikes out for an hour earlier in the month, but it was one of those quick blasts where I never actually got off the bike until I was back home. I know I went to Worcester, down one side of the Severn and back up the other, but frankly I can't even remember which bike I took – I need a souvenir photo these days to aid my memory...
But it was time for another run and the Z1000 was at the front of the garage so that seemed the obvious one as I was not planning to go far.
My ride took me up to Much Wenlock where my idle browsing of Google Maps had revealed a ruined windmill that I did not know existed.
Just over an hour on the bike all in and a bit of a walk up a hill, at least it was a chance to blow the cobwebs away.
Great work on the ride routes and pics
@Rynglieder .
You guys are fortunate to have so many historic sites nearby.
I remember doing a road trip and fitting in Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral and Bath all in one day it was sun up until sunset. :cheers:
27/01/2022 Erddig (c.150 miles)
Time for a real ride, one worth digging the GTR out from the back of the garage for.
A fairly decent January day was forecast, there was supposed to be a bit more sunshine to the north of me than the south so I started looking for destination options. A lot of places that I had been eying up are closed at this time of year, many historic sites seem to be weekend only until spring which limits choice a bit.
In the end I settled on Erddig, a National Trust estate on the outskirts of Wrexham. I chose to push up through Shropshire on the A41 which I had used last summer on my run to the Wirral, The sun shone as promised and I had a steady run up to the Raven Café at Prees Heath which provided the usual biker-friendly mug of tea.
After continuing on to the Whitchurch bypass I then took the A525 in the direction of Wrexham until I picked up the NT tourist signs for Erddig. The bike was parked up and the membership card waved at the entrance before I set about my customary walk. That done and fortified with a pasty and another cup of tea I set about my return journey, and this is where my nice day out on the bike started to unravel...
I joined the A483 just south of Wrexham and was initially making good progress down the dual carriageway toward Chirk when traffic ground to a halt. I spent about 45 minutes sat in the queue as a procession of ambulances and police cars shot down the outside of the line, occasionally creeping forward a bit as vehicles in front of me were presumably turning round. Eventually I found myself third in the queue approaching the bridge over the river Dee which was clearly blocked. The air ambulance was circling and I could see that given the terrain its only chance of landing would be the road that I was standing on – sure enough the police walked up the line and directed everyone back in the direction of Wrexham.
I left the northbound A483 at Ruabon with the intention of going west and cutting underneath the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct – inevitably I was not the only one who had this idea and the road to the village of Trevor was heavily congested with the volume of traffic. The turning down into the valley below the Aqueduct was snarled up as HGVs totally unsuited for it were struggling to pass each other – I decided to give it a miss (the GTR is no fun to reverse up a hill if needed) and push on further west to Llangollen.
Llangollen was just as congested as trucks took it in turns to cross the bridge from either side, plus there were upgrade works going on at the A5 which further restricted flow. I'd lost a lot of time but I reckoned I should have an easy run home once I got back to Chirk.
And so it was – for a while... All was well until I left the A5 at Shrewsbury to take the A458 back home. Upon reaching the village of Cross Houses I found myself stationary once again and seemingly no traffic flowing toward me on the other side. Another crawl ensued and I eventually found myself confronted with the Culprit.
It seemed that a waste carrying wagon had shed it load on the westbound side of the road completely carpeting the carriageway with something that looked like ground glass or plastic. It looked as if every resident in the village was out with brooms or snow shovels trying to clear at least one side of the road so that the east-bound traffic could crawl past. The debris extended all though the village and started to thin a little at the other side, but it was far from clear – all the time traffic on the other side was throwing it up and I could hear it beneath my tyres and bouncing around under the bike's fenders.
With all of the delays I was now riding in the dark. I (and everyone else) was taking it very steady not knowing what we were riding on and we were often confronted by opposing traffic "off-siding" to avoid the biggest clumps. I became very aware that my visor was long overdue replacement; I can't remember the last time I did any night riding and vision was not great with the oncoming headlights. And so it went on, at the village of Cressage a police patrol was dealing with another large mound on a sharp bend in the village under blue lights and trying to direct traffic through. The torturous ride carried on to Much Wenlock where the problem cleared (and presumably had originally started) a total of eight miles from where I first encountered it.
Feeling the need for a break from the concentration of riding through it all I stopped at the service station in the town for a coffee and to ring home and let he wife know I was still intending to come back. I suppose if she was cooking fish tonight she could put it in the cat...
At least the final few miles were clear. I'd had a nice run up to Wrexham and an enjoyable visit to Erddig, but what a long day and sh1t ride home.
Those crap rides just happen sometimes, all sorts of reasons cause them. Im sure weve all been there at sometime. Glad you made it home. Youre ride reviews are a credit to you Mate, i couldnt do any of your maps etc.
Has the Raven been renamed from Lynn's Raven Cafe on the Whitchurch bypass or is that a different one?
We used to go there quite a lot when we lived in Staffordshire, the breakfasts were legend.
Quote from: grog on Saturday, 19 February 2022, 04:43 PM
Those crap rides just happen sometimes, all sorts of reasons cause them. Im sure weve all been there at sometime. Glad you made it home. Youre ride reviews are a credit to you Mate, i couldnt do any of your maps etc.
Thanks Grog. These little write-ups are my only way of contributing to the forum; my thechnical knowlege is almost zero and I'm not into mods (I still like my GSX the way it came out of the showroom). I just like riding the things...
I have done some bigger posts on here about my trips to Norway and Spain / Portugal but on the old forum were the reports from Picos de Europa, Italy, France / Pyrenees and Hungary. Those all disapperaed with the old forum, but I still have the pictures and texts so maybe I'll post them up again in case they are of interest to newer members.
Quote from: mjgt on Saturday, 19 February 2022, 08:04 PM
Has the Raven been renamed from Lynn's Raven Cafe on the Whitchurch bypass or is that a different one?
We used to go there quite a lot when we lived in Staffordshire, the breakfasts were legend.
Yes, same place - Prees Heath is just south of the Whitchurch bypass and rammed with bikes in the better weather. (You get served a lot quicker in January :grin: )
Rode to Brecon for fuel then off to Abergavenny via the A40 and home - 90 miles sunny but cold :)
Quote from: Notty on Saturday, 26 February 2022, 03:09 AM
Rode to Brecon for fuel then off to Abergavenny via the A40 and home - 90 miles sunny but cold :)
Forgot to include a map :bugga:
Quote from: Notty on Saturday, 26 February 2022, 03:09 AM
Rode to Brecon for fuel then off to Abergavenny via the A40 and home - 90 miles sunny but cold :)
Every ride counts and the sun is going to be shining again next week.
BTW that looks like it needs more bacon.
Pete.
Quote from: Notty on Saturday, 26 February 2022, 07:01 PM
Quote from: Notty on Saturday, 26 February 2022, 03:09 AM
Rode to Brecon for fuel then off to Abergavenny via the A40 and home - 90 miles sunny but cold :)
Forgot to include a map :bugga:
Looks like your GPS is one of the early original ones . . . :onya: :clapping:
:rofl2:
Notty, very impressive - I make that 52 miles before a toilet stop. Well done :rofl2:
Judging by the sheer scale of the toilet building, (compared to the size of the cafe), I can`t help wondering whether that was one of those National Trust toilets attached to an old castle or something? I`ve looked all over Google Earth and can`t find it...... :confused1:
Quote from: DP1400 on Sunday, 27 February 2022, 06:58 AM
Notty, very impressive - I make that 52 miles before a toilet stop. Well done :rofl2:
Judging by the sheer scale of the toilet building, (compared to the size of the cafe), I can`t help wondering whether that was one of those National Trust toilets attached to an old castle or something? I`ve looked all over Google Earth and can`t find it...... :confused1:
Bus station car park, Abergavenny - around 100 bikes on a sunny weekend..sorry the scale wasn't quite correct. Wetherspoons in Brecon bigger than toilets :bugga:
I must say
@Notty it's early in the year to have completed your normal annual mileage. Have you got other hobbies too?
What's the scale on your map Notty? my trigonometry may be a bit rusty, but from your map, the ride home from the toilet should have been 42 miles, so you may have gone over your annual allocated mileage....
Plus how's the wear on your tyres, no corners on your ride?
Don't forget it's a topographic map so distances maybe deceptive as they allow for mountainous terrain.
@Notty take no notice of these Luddites :whatever:
I quite enjoy your drawing maybe next time do a finger painting to appease your detractors :stir:
Was thinking the windows at the toilet could use cleaning, then realized it was graffiti :onya:
Great detail Notty :worshippy:
On Saturday it was the Beemers turn for a run. The good lady wife wanted to go to a cafe she's read about. We had only been out on the K1300 together once before, so this seemed like a good chance to get some more two up time. It would be mostly suburban riding, but the coast road up to Perth is not too bad. Forecast was for 32 deg so definitely summer gear on.
Quick check of fluid levels and tyre pressures and all good to go. Easy ride out to Henderson and onto Fremantle, Saturday morning traffic but was flowing ok. I found the K1300 shows its weight when riding in traffic, still getting used to the weight transfer when stopping, timing to get your feet out needs to worked on. Through the windy bit of Cockburn road, I'm finding the way these bikes handle through corners despite their substantial weight is fantastic, hardly any need to swap cogs, plenty of torque. Once in Fremantle, the traffic slowed and there was a fair bit of stop start. The panniers meant no lane filtering.
Turning inland up past City Beach to get onto Scarborough Beach Road and our lunch destination arrived soon after.
After lunch decided to head further east through Perth and onto Guildford, then taking Albany highway through to Mundijong then a short blast home via Thomas Road.
Not a huge mileage day, but enjoyable. The report from the pillion seat was positive. All in all a comfortable ride and a decent lunch to boot.
Your Ozzy rides always make me laugh, all those familiar English place names then a random one like Didyabringabeeralong
Exactly, here in WA though a lot of region place end in UP: Dwellingup, Nannup, Mandjimup, Boyunup, Ballup, etc,going back to the indigenous place names.
We have some rippers Hooli. Fanny Bay, Shag Knob, Rooty Hill, lots more. The best, a street where i work, Upper Gay Terrace. Hard to beat.
Quote from: grog on Monday, 07 March 2022, 08:51 PM
We have some rippers Hooli. Fanny Bay, Shag Knob, Rooty Hill, lots more. The best, a street where i work, Upper Gay Terrace. Hard to beat.
that could explain a lot :whistling:
how about you explain what you mean mjgt.
oh FIGHT! :stir:
I`m def up for a run out to Fanny Bay...... :whistling:
Something fishy about that place.
Still havent explained mjgt, just wanting to know what you meant.
Quote from: grog on Saturday, 12 March 2022, 06:39 PM
Still havent explained mjgt, just wanting to know what you meant.
You're a proper Shit stirrer grog :stir:
But when someone says they work on Upper Gay Terrace you cant expect no-one to jump in with a quick comment. :lol:
All good Mate. I expect what i get, nothing really worries me.
12/03/2022 Bradgate Park (c. 140 miles)
The weather had not been great since my last decent ride, not even a proper winter, just cold dull and windy and other than a quick trip on the Z1300 to the local café I hadn't been motivated to get out.
This day promised to be better with some sunny intervals for the right hand side of the country so it felt like time to pull out the GSX and head for the Middle East. (OK, the East Midlands).
At the risk of repeating myself, I tend to leave that side of England alone as the first chunk of the ride is either a commute through Birmingham or a motorway drag. I chose the motorway, pulled down the visor and got on with it for 45 minutes until I could leave the M6 at Coleshill.
This was then the decent part of the ride, some nice roads through north Warwickshire and into Leicestershire, nice countryside and villages with the chance to stretch the GSX's legs past some slower traffic here and there.
My destination for the day was Bradgate Country Park, just north of Leicester. You may know by now that I like a ruin and I'd spotted that it had one... The bike was parked up on the car park and first job was to head into the café and "facilities" to set myself up for a walk.
There then followed a three quarter mile walk along the tree lined banks of a small river until I reached the remains of Bradgate House where I took a few shots with the camera. Much to my own surprise I felt I still had a bit of energy left so decided to walk across the deer park, up a hill in the direction of Old John Tower, a folly on the summit. The truth of it is that I didn't make it all the way up there, the sun had gone in spoiling the chance of decent pictures and I'd also been distracted by some deer that had wandered into the range of my lens so I spent a bit of time on those instead before returning to the car park.
As is so often the case it was later than I intended when I started back; a combination of heading out later than I should have and spending too long at the pace I was visiting, so to get home at a sensible time it was going to have to be motorway all the way home. At least I had escaped from the car park without paying, the barrier is about a GSX width shorter than the exit road it was guarding. The extra money in my pocket was squandered on a coffee at a service area on the way back.
In terms of a motorcycle ride it was not the best, only the section between Coleshill and Bradgate was really enjoyable, my car would have done just as well for the rest of it. But, I'd had a nice day out, done a bit of walking and there was at least some pleasure to be had from the bike along a section of the route.
As usual there are more photos on my Flickr Photostream - link in my signature strip.
Need some work doing on the house there Bii! :grin:
Sounds like a good day out Pete. Nice write up and snaps. Thanks for sharing :onya:
I do like to be beside the seaside.
Good looking day for a ride Irish :onya:
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Saturday, 19 March 2022, 02:34 AM
I do like to be beside the seaside.
Like most crustaceans 🦞 :stir: :stir: :cheers: :rofl2:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Saturday, 19 March 2022, 07:08 AM
Good looking day for a ride Irish :onya:
Still a tad nippy probably 10 degrees C but with the wind chill factor felt like about 6, all those years in Oz have made me soft.
Weather was sunny so took my eldest out for her first proper ride today.
I have a pair of Sena Bluetooth headsets so was able to check how she was. She loved it!
(https://gsx1400owners.org/forum/gallery/0/2362-200322060237.jpeg)
Looks like Seaways car park?
Quote from: Hooli on Sunday, 20 March 2022, 06:31 AM
Looks like Seaways car park?
Certainly is. I only live about 20mins from the cafe so it is a nice quick blast for a coffee and a look at a few different bikes it was quite busy today. Only did a 40 mile round trip today
It's a common stop for me, the back ways from the A19 are lovely roads to ride over on.
Quote from: paulr5604 on Sunday, 20 March 2022, 06:09 AM
Weather was sunny so took my eldest out for her first proper ride today.
I have a pair of Sena Bluetooth headsets so was able to check how she was. She loved it !
Nice thing to do with your daughter :onya:
Quote from: Kiwifruit on Sunday, 20 March 2022, 09:03 AM
Quote from: paulr5604 on Sunday, 20 March 2022, 06:09 AM
Weather was sunny so took my eldest out for her first proper ride today.
I have a pair of Sena Bluetooth headsets so was able to check how she was. She loved it !
Nice thing to do with your daughter :onya:
Definitely making memories together
Had a nice run out yesterday with my mate on his Hornet, left Wales after a breakfast & headed to J&S Northwich then explored some of Cheshire's finest roads before heading back into Wales and up to the top of the Horseshoe Pass for Coffee and cake in the Ponderosa, then on to Betws y Coed for a final cuppa before heading home
We did just over 160 miles, the weather was fine & lots of bikes out, although blowing a gale up at the Ponderosa, started with a full tank of fuel and still two bars left when I got home which I think is pretty good. I have to say it was a top day & the bike is running as good as I have ever know her to :clapping:
I think I got caught on camera by one of the local photographers so will add pictures when they get uploaded, just hope that was the only camera that got me as it was quite a spirited but safe ride at times :boogie:
This was taken by one of those photogs up at the Ponderosa two years ago. Not my 14 but still a Suzuki. One of the last times I was on the bike, came of my push iron last May and buggered by shoulder and ribs, hopefully fit now so back out soon!
How does a Bandit's torque compare to a GSX ?????
@Stargazer :whatever: :whatever:
I'd say the GSX1400 is a torguier beast but the Bandit more nimble.
Aksu the 1200 bandits were more mental / fun that the water cooled 1250.
Today i saw a beautiful green painted 14 as i drove by. Very heavy traffic, thought i have to photo this one for forum. I spent 20 minutes, multiple traffic lights, just to get back to it. Drove into its parking place, was a XJR, was i disappointed, annoyed mainly.
LOL
Hahahaha plonker :lol:
Quote from: GSXKING on Thursday, 24 March 2022, 09:07 PM
How does a Bandit's torque compare to a GSX ????? @Stargazer :whatever: :whatever:
It doesn't! This is only a 600 so lots of going up and down the 'box around the twistier bits in North Wales. The 14 is more like a twist a go scooter...
As Vlad said the Bandit is little bit more nimble but with my talent there's not a lot in it! :grin:
I took the fat lass along a twisty road a few times & upset a BMW XR1000 when I overtook him on a short straight between tight bends. Dunno why as he was only toddling along slowly but sped up after I'd gone past. He was quicker on slow tight bends where I ran out of a ground clearance but couldn't keep up on the faster bends :lol: it is funny how some people really can't ride their bikes.
I'd taken it for it's first service this morning so was on the edge of the Peak District when it was finished just before lunch, so rude not to stay down there for the day I thought. 1,250 mile so far in 20 days...
Oh & I need to remember to roll my feet on the pegs when playing as my heels touch down first & my boots are too expensive to wear out like that...
Last weekend when I was down visiting my mum I got her to get her bike out too, I've given her a heated waistcoat so it needed trying right?
She's not doing back for 70, still enjoying a 250 Virago.
I promise some 14 pics soon, it'll be going to Seth's Scottish meet next weekend unless it turns into monsoon season here.
@Hooli my friends with HD's do wear out a lot of heels of their boots with footpegs and with floorboards it's the floorboard. I know which is the cheaper option DOH :doh:
I'll bet your boots have never touched the road on your GSX :hat: (other than crashing) :happy1:
17/03/2022 Llandovery (c. 190 miles)
After my previous mostly motorway excursion it was time to go and find some proper riding roads and impose myself and the GTR on the Welsh, even though we hadn't been invited.
It's always a pleasure to start a ride out from home in the direction of Tenbury Wells and beyond and although very familiar it passes quickly. I crossed the A49 and continued west on a series of B roads through Herefordshire and crossed the border near Prestiene. Picking up the A488 I mixed it with the free-range sheep a bit before dropping down to Crossgates where there is a bike-friendly café at the rear of the service station at which I took the coffee I had earned and topped up the bike.
From there it was a case of following the A483 southwards, this has to be one of my favourite roads for riding a motorcycle, drifting through the hills and valleys. The full-on sunshine that the BBC had promised me never materialised but there was a bit of hazy sun through the high cloud and at around 12 degrees was pretty comfortable for the time of year. Somewhere in the middle of this the GTR finally rolled over 17,000 miles, it seemed to have taken a long time to get there on this bike but lock-downs and travel restrictions had curtailed many European adventures so I suppose it is no real surprise.
Eventually I reached my destination, Llandovery Castle, and stood the bike on the car park below the ruins. I could see there was not going to be much to explore so I decided to have a walk round the town first and pick up something for a late lunch. Back at the castle I took a couple of photos and then prepared for the return journey.
I varied the middle section of the return ride by taking in Leominster, in order to get back home before it got dark it seemed preferable to stick with the main trunk roads and skip the B Roads, this worked out OK and I made very good progress home, there seemed to be very little traffic in my way.
All in all a real pleasure to have had the day out, in many ways the opposite to the last ride – perfect biking even if there was not much to remember at the actual destination.
@Rynglieder your ride reports maps & pics are excellent 🥇🥇🥇
Indeed they are :onya:
Morning, just a couple of pics taken whilst out on a recent rideout :grin:
(https://i.postimg.cc/rFZgwfFd/GSX-01.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/KRLt9rTF)
(https://i.postimg.cc/W3mXpjhj/GSX-03.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/HcxQ3qwP)
When are you going to get it painted Blue and White??!! :grin:
Slower colours are less intimidating to ride though.
A quick run over Mt. Glorious today 😈😈 passed quite a few sportsbike riders Bobbie yells encouragement just to rub salt in 😂🤣😋
South Warwickshire 28/03/2022 (c. 94 miles)
Despite being retired and having time on my hands I think I have become fundamentally lazy and it seems a bit of a chore to dig out the Z1300 from the back of the garage. At least the effort is a bit more worthwhile now, since the last work was done on it I feel a bit more confident in its reliability and minded to take it a bit further.
I picked out a couple of spots in south Warwickshire as destinations, for no other reason that it was the opposite direction to my last ride-out. Not too many miles were intended as it was well into the afternoon before I set out.
It all started with a fairly dull dual carriageway ride up to Redditch but from there it was possible to take some fairly nice roads through to Warwick, which being a smallish town is not too much of an ordeal to ride through. From Warwick I picked up the old A41 London to Birkenhead road which since the construction of the M40 is now downgraded as the A4100, but still an easy ride. Just before reaching Gaydon I left the main road and picked my way through the country lanes to the remains of Chesterton Mill.
The old zed was parked up at the side of the gated field and I took a fairly gentle walk across to the old windmill and absorbed the views including a sizeable earth mound in the middle distance which if it was not for a handy information panel I would not have realised that was the site of the Roman town of Chesterton. Disappointingly the mill was without it sails which I believe are out for repair, it may well be worth a return visit in the future for another photograph or two when it is all sorted out.
At this point I decided that I would extend the ride a little further south to Dassett Hills Country Park just beyond Gaydon. This destination offered another hill, another old mill and another set of views. The approach to this one was over a cattle grid, a bit of a hill climb through sheep fields to a car park at the summit.
The return run included a stop off for coffee in Leamington Spa with the remainder completed on the M40 and M42 which was the price I paid for extending the ride and still getting home on time.
Not a bad ride and good to get out on the Z1300 a bit more this year.
Didya find enough diesel enroute!!! :grin:
Once again great ride report and pics. :hat: :hat:
The 6 cylinder bike must be much heavier than a GSX. How's the handling in comparison ? :confused1: :confused1:
Quote from: Globalrider on Monday, 11 April 2022, 02:21 PM
Didya find enough diesel enroute!!! :grin:
Well the old tractor is a bit of a thirsty girl and sometimes it seems that the fuel needle is moving faster than the tacho, but it made it there and back.
The biggest problem at the moment is getting hold of the Super Unleaded grade of fuel which I would prefer to put in this; a lot of the supermarkets seem to have dropped it now.
Quote from: GSXKING on Monday, 11 April 2022, 08:18 PM
Once again great ride report and pics. :hat: :hat:
The 6 cylinder bike must be much heavier than a GSX. How's the handling in comparison ? :confused1: :confused1:
Awful.
It's much safer to get off it and push it around traffic islands.
To be fair, once you have a bit of momentum the wheight seems to drop off but the GSX is way easier to ride. The real thing you have to watch out for is the braking, the single pot calipers are near useless and it is not a bad idea to make a note in your diary with a reminder notiication for any impending bends or junctions.
It's getting on in years, overwheight and expensive to keep but I hang on to it because it reminds me of the wife...
After a round trip to a cafe that was somehow twice as long as it needed to be I met a few mates today. One had passed her test this morning & we dragged her out on her HD Sporty to stop her being nervous about it, she did really well too for a new rider.
She went home to meet her bloke though & I went to Squires with two girls on girl's bikes, slower colours ya see...
They haven't been fast enough to collect dirt on them like your fast blue and white
@Hooli :rofl2: :rofl2:
Good excuse, I'll remember that one :lol:
What's with the bumblebee 1400 in the middle?
Yeah, its a shocker. No excuse for doing that to a 14.
Quote from: Rynglieder on Monday, 11 April 2022, 08:38 PM
Quote from: Globalrider on Monday, 11 April 2022, 02:21 PM
Didya find enough diesel enroute!!! :grin:
Well the old tractor is a bit of a thirsty girl and sometimes it seems that the fuel needle is moving faster than the tacho, but it made it there and back.
The biggest problem at the moment is getting hold of the Super Unleaded grade of fuel which I would prefer to put in this; a lot of the supermarkets seem to have dropped it now.
If you want to avoid ethanol (always a good thing) especially with older bikes you should use Esso super, it's the only fuel in the UK without ethanol in it. The pump will say it's E5 but that's just to comply with the law.
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Tuesday, 12 April 2022, 05:56 PM
What's with the bumblebee 1400 in the middle?
Grizz likes yellow, all his bikes seem to end up like that.
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Tuesday, 12 April 2022, 05:56 PM
What's with the bumblebee 1400 in the middle?
Perhaps its a transformer and transforms into a real colour under certain circumstances?
Circumstances like.. paint stripper.
Quote from: VladTepes on Wednesday, 13 April 2022, 05:13 PM
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Tuesday, 12 April 2022, 05:56 PM
What's with the bumblebee 1400 in the middle?
Perhaps its a transformer and transforms into a real colour under certain circumstances?
Circumstances like.. paint stripper.
Following that analogy, All 1400s other than b&w (and the bumblebee version in the aboce pic) are then Deceptacons. I think we are in danger of getting off topic...
Wroxeter Roman City (c. 60 miles)
Having wasted a morning trying to fit what turned out to be an incompatible new fan to our oven I decided that I needed something worthwhile from the rest of the day and rolled the Z1000 out of the garage. There is nothing quite like a hyperactive lightweight 1000cc bike for clearing a few cars and releasing a bit of tension
Only around 30 miles from home is Wroxeter Roman City, one of the few local English Heritage sites that I had never visited and today seemed as good a day as any, it's just about the right distance for the little zed.
Okay, most of the road out there is one that I can say without exaggeration that I have ridden hundreds of times but when you want a blast that's just fine, every overtaking opportunity, bend and possible speed camera location is logged in the memory allowing you to focus on the inevitable new potholes and MAMILs.
The truth is that you can see most of the Wroxeter site by looking over the fence if you are just passing by and don't want to put your hand your pocket, but for ten quid you also get to look around the museum with the usual collection of broken pots and pointy metal things. Also across the road is a reconstruction of a Roman town house which also can take your attention for 15 minutes or so – there is no plumbing, electricity and it is very badly insulated, however it is significantly bigger than other houses in Telford.
What I did learn is that Wroxeter was originally as large as Pompeii even though there is just about a football pitch sized area that has been exposed to view. Shropshire does not really have an equivalent of Mount Vesuvius but the mound of the Wrekin a couple of miles away does at least add a bit to the topography.
As Wroxeter lacks a café I took a trundle over to Ironbridge to find a coffee and for the sake of making a loop out of the afternoon I returned via the "Rabbit Run" road between Telford and Dudley.
I felt much better when I got home but still have a duff fan to package back up and return...
14/04/2022 Gloucester (c. 100 miles)
My initial plans for a run out were to take myself further south, I had Malmesbury in mind but in looking for a suitable interim stop I started to look at the city of Gloucester. It turned up a number of places that interested me and although I had visited the city a number of times during my working days I'd never really had the chance to explore it so the fair city of Gloucester became the final destination.
Having extracted the GSX from the garage my ride down there took me through Worcester and down the A38 which I always enjoy. Parking the bike up in the centre was a case of trial and error, cruising the streets until I chanced upon a bike park near the cathedral quarter. First job was a walk to the ruins of Greyfriars scooping up a takeaway coffee as I plodded through the main shopping streets. I sat myself on a bench overlooking the ruins with a hopeful squirrel looking over one shoulder and a seagull looking over the other.
Greyfriars did not take long to view so it was off on foot to do a lap of the cathedral taking in the architecture and it its attendant close and gardens. Another five minutes on foot brought me to what is left of St Oswald's Priory, another monastic ruin now hemmed in by busy roads.
I fancied a different route back and managed to follow the western side of the River Severn up to Upton upon Severn, a road that I don't think I had taken before and all the more pleasure for being "new". The remaining part of the run is at the foot of the Malvern Hills which is nice riding until the fight through Worcester city centre.
A decent day out and Malmesbury will keep until later in the summer.
30/04/2022 Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings (31 miles).
A short run was in order for the Z1000 and somewhere I'd always intended to visit was the Avoncroft Museum of Historic Buildings. It was barely a ride out being just over 30 miles all in, but there is so much more fun doing the run on a bike than in the car.
I had a good couple of hours around the site where a charitable trust has dismantled several "at risk" historical buildings from around the midlands and re-erected them where they can be conserved and enjoyed – well worth a visit if you are in the area and like a bit of history.
There's a wide range of building types there, a good few were picked up by my camera and a lot more photos can be found on my Flickr stream (link in my signature strip below).
The return journey home was less direct, just because I could. :)
Cool trips.
I see a photo of one of those flashy new-fangled wind turbines... :lol:
Couple of weeks ago
Quote from: VladTepes on Friday, 20 May 2022, 10:44 AM
Cool trips.
I see a photo of one of those flashy new-fangled wind turbines... :lol:
We'll export the technology to your penal colony at some point Vlad.
Went for a Quick squirt Love this bike..
I'm really jealous
@Rynglieder we have had a years worth of rain this month and I've only had one ride and I got absolutely soaked that night. :worshippy:
Keep up your excellent reports and pics :onya: :onya:
Finally had some fine weather and 17 riders turned out today (see pic attached) for a run from The Gap BP through Mt.Mee to Woodford for a hearty breakfast at Jalla's. New owners and remaining true to the previous owner exact same menu and food was awesome. I had the heart attack breaky pancakes bacon maple syrup and two fried eggs. :lol: :lol:
Took advantage of the first sunny Sunday in quite a while today...great ride with good people, and a chance to dial in the new suspension set up.
Heart attack breakfast pic :cheers:
Looks like an Entree . . . what was the main? :whistling:
So not a vegetarian then Chris ??
I haven't used mine recently, but this was the last time it was out...
(https://i.ibb.co/PNSStJr/57992-E09-A89-A-4-A92-A42-B-4-D5-DCD1-ECD0-F.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XbwwV6W)
(https://i.ibb.co/9NWnXmc/423-EE77-E-C7-FE-4769-9-F8-D-57-EBEE34-E676.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Y3h294P)
(https://i.ibb.co/9cDJ2f3/0-FFB95-F1-C886-4-D3-E-9-BC0-01-E364-A3-E852.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bQ0xLyR)
Much as I dislike moving house at least it means I'll have the 14 where I can get to it easily again soon.
I'm not a huge fan of single seat cowls on retro style bikes but this bike never gets a pillion and I needed to change a few bikes to Single Seat Rego to make them affordable to run.
To both Col's it was very filling if you need more than that you are giants LOL. :rofl2: :rofl2:
Quote from: GSXKING on Tuesday, 31 May 2022, 07:57 PM
To both Col's it was very filling if you need more than that you are giants LOL. :rofl2: :rofl2:
Well . . . TBH, there is rather a lot of me, 1.95m & just tipping the scales at 141kg! :imrgreen: Have to have the bike set up as if it's always got a pillion. :happy1:
Quote from: KiwiCol on Wednesday, 01 June 2022, 03:06 AM
Quote from: GSXKING on Tuesday, 31 May 2022, 07:57 PM
To both Col's it was very filling if you need more than that you are giants LOL. :rofl2: :rofl2:
Well . . . TBH, there is rather a lot of me, 1.95m & just tipping the scales at 141kg! :imrgreen: Have to have the bike set up as if it's always got a pillion. :happy1:
That has the classification of "fat bastard" here in the UK. :whistling: :lol:
Quote from: GSXKING on Saturday, 28 May 2022, 05:00 PM
Finally had some fine weather and 17 riders turned out today (see pic attached) for a run from The Gap BP through Mt.Mee to Woodford for a hearty breakfast at Jalla's. New owners and remaining true to the previous owner exact same menu and food was awesome. I had the heart attack breaky pancakes bacon maple syrup and two fried eggs. :lol: :lol:
I must have missed the invite :upu: :stir:
Quote from: VladTepes on Friday, 03 June 2022, 01:40 PM
Quote from: GSXKING on Saturday, 28 May 2022, 05:00 PM
Finally had some fine weather and 17 riders turned out today (see pic attached) for a run from The Gap BP through Mt.Mee to Woodford for a hearty breakfast at Jalla's. New owners and remaining true to the previous owner exact same menu and food was awesome. I had the heart attack breaky pancakes bacon maple syrup and two fried eggs. :lol: :lol:
I must have missed the invite :upu: :stir:
I only invited my mates. I remember you doubted :doh: :doh: whether I had any previously. :stir: :stir:
Today. The winds calmed down, the temps came up a bit, and the next lot of rain hadnt got here yet, so....
"It's Show Time"
(https://i.ibb.co/v3smJLB/05-E9-D3-B1-FC1-A-4-C90-ACC9-2-E62-C68171-D6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZBHKhcJ)
(https://i.ibb.co/JRDydvp/02-EDCC3-B-D036-46-B2-98-B1-ADB9-A9-F99-A8-E.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HD5x2tP)
Good pics Mate but that can is a shocker. IMO.
They are HUUUUUGE!!!
They can stay on for a while, untill I decide what the future holds for it.
I'm tempted to not do just cans this time and hold out for a full system... maybe.
I'm a big Yoshi fan and they are normally my first choice but I'm tempted by the Akra full system.
(https://i.ibb.co/gF4JJKT/E197-F6-C0-66-EF-4599-8002-55-D206-AD4684.jpg) (https://ibb.co/G3HRRS2)
Nowhere in same realm but Yoshi Tri Oval BJ gave me, best my old 14 ever sounded. On my 4 th type, sounds great and gives much more mid range, didnt think link pipe and can could make a difference but does. Yoshi know there stuff for sure.
I'm a big fan of Yoshi stuff. I'm very happy my Cyclone full system. It's on the long side but the quality, sound and performance are spot on.
(https://i.ibb.co/dcnVqSc/EA5-A8534-E68-F-4506-A519-A1-C46-F260-D8-D.jpg) (https://ibb.co/59qSyd9)
Some of the newer Yoshi full systems just look odd to me. I don't doubt they work well, but I'm not a fan.
(https://i.ibb.co/1vQCMrG/C0-F6-E2-C2-E7-DE-42-F4-A0-C8-C1-C5-CF73-BE03.jpg) (https://ibb.co/M2Szfck)
(https://500pxdownload.com/)
No rush. Woolich have hacked the new Euro-5 ECU (that are a bit harder to get into) but they are still playing with the software and haven't issued the leads etc yet.
Quote from: grog on Friday, 03 June 2022, 07:33 PM
Yoshi Tri Oval
Great exhaust. Springwood Suzuki we're doing a deal where they blinged up brand new Gen-1 Busa's, paddock stand bobbins, tank pad, polished rims, Yoshi Tri Oval cans etc on the showroom floor.
I'd never had Tri Ovals before but they sounded great.
I like my Tri-Oval. Cheated and put carbon fiber look a like vinyl on it ages ago. Still looks like new and sounds good. Never going to get pinged for it being to loud.
Today.
(https://i.ibb.co/0JPW19C/3319-D4-E9-A463-466-C-8-D40-64-A514973893.jpg) (https://ibb.co/f0mKZNk)
I really should take the 14 out but I'm trying to get 1000k and a first service done on this one.
Could become collectable if Suzuki go broke.
Quote from: grog on Sunday, 05 June 2022, 05:07 PM
Could become collectable if Suzuki go broke.
I wouldn't be surprised if it's the end of their big bikes. The days of 1ltr+ bikes like Katana's, GSXR1100's, 1135E's right through to Bandits, GSX14's, B-Kings, Busa's might be over. The Euro bikes still seem to sell big capacity, but it's something the Japs have backed out off, the new Kat, GSX-S, H2 range, MT's etc etc have nothing "BIG".
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 22 May 2022, 10:51 AM
I'm really jealous @Rynglieder we have had a years worth of rain this month and I've only had one ride and I got absolutely soaked that night. :worshippy:
Keep up your excellent reports and pics :onya: :onya:
Well as you know the weather is notoriously unpredictable here, but the beauty of being retired is that you can pick out the dry days.
I'm sure your winter season will throw up a few dry days soon, make the most of it when they come. :)
05/05/2022 Shrewsbury (c. 70 miles)
There was a bit of sunshine around and it felt like time to take the Z1300 out again. After years of little use it seems right to keep it moving regularly since I spent a few quid on it last autumn. Having taken it out a few times this year my confidence is growing in it a bit now and I'm even inclined to overtake traffic on it now and again without fear of it spluttering and dying halfway through a manoeuvre.
That said I'm still a bit reluctant to go too far from home on it, the GSX or GTR are a after bet for a long run but I was happy enough to point it in the direction of Shrewsbury so that I could enjoy the full complement of six cylinders for a couple of hours.
I pitched up the '13 by Shrewsbury Abbey and then walked over the English Bridge to take a photo or two. It was a bit too warm to slog up the hill into the main town in the bike gear so I returned to the bike and after a brief pause to view Lord Hill's Column made my way to Cantlop Bridge, a little off my usual route but another place I had been aware of for years but never got round to visiting. Of historical significance due to its design and association with the engineer Thomas Telford, it is at least possible to pull up by it for free even though you've seen it all within two minutes.
A very routine ride home was made more interesting by chasing down and passing the traffic built up by a couple of slow HGVs, the Z13 is still singing to me at the moment.
So just back from completing the Wild Atlantic Way - had previously (pre-Covid) completed the South and West, the North has waited 2 years and now its done. Just over 1600 miles in a week, mainly dry weather, but one day it just poured! Even got to ride the NW200 route as well :onya:
Looks like a decent ride Dave. Rugged coastline thanks for sharing :onya:
Thanks Barmy. Sure looks like southern coast of Oz in places.
Went for another loop of Queensland's beautiful Sunshine Coast Hinterland yesterday.
Not a heap of kilometres covered, but definitely a heap of fun.
It was a bit cold early on (for me anyway!), the first time this season I've needed my Merlin and it's thermal liner.
Mate, we live in a great place. Hinterland roads are why i live where i do. 40 yrs ago was fun, today its cameras, speed limits, cops everywhere, so many cars, glad you still like it. I do but just not the same.
Hehe-40 years ago I didn't have a licence🤷🏼♂️
Looks good
@gsxbarmy I've not been to Ireland for years, I need to get over there again.
Quote from: Hooli on Monday, 06 June 2022, 08:30 PM
Looks good @gsxbarmy I've not been to Ireland for years, I need to get over there again.
You most definitely do
@Hooli the roads and the Guiness are just brilliant!
Quote from: grog on Monday, 06 June 2022, 07:18 PM
Mate, we live in a great place. Hinterland roads are why i live where i do. 40 yrs ago was fun, today its cameras, speed limits, cops everywhere, so many cars, glad you still like it. I do but just not the same.
There's a few things I miss about living nearer the coast. It was a bit warmer, I wasn't nearly 200K's from some of the bike / tool stores I like or the airport etc, more choice of everything from finding work to eating out.
Not missing the traffic, house prices or the very enthusiastic cops anywhere near the coast or suburbia.
Sundays ride out here was good, very little traffic, saw one cop who lives in the next town, he just put his hand up to say "Hi".
(https://i.ibb.co/9GxLLny/3-E9824-B7-F080-4-FC9-B5-C7-19-FA18-F72038.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Yb5MM2f)
Both town and country have benefits and suit folk in different ways, but there's there's a very noticeable difference between them and not just in the view. Funny, this week a mate was in Cairns barefoot in shorts and a T-shirt, whilst the news was showing the ski slopes down South. I love the variety and choices of this place.
Castle in both pics.
Another stunning day of riding in the Great South East
Brunch at The Edge Cafe Montville
Home via Mt.Mee
A cool morning. 5 degrees C at home, 9 at the cafe, 11 to 13 on the way home.
Hopefully the GSX14 will be getting some use in about 2 weeks time.
(https://i.ibb.co/cFc3Qqb/3-A496-A68-9-EF1-4-E20-AD90-23-CB7-BD9-EC3-E.jpg) (https://ibb.co/yynPq2h)
(https://i.ibb.co/x1rLcZD/8894-D04-C-867-C-4-FAE-B214-B201-F217-A55-C.jpg) (https://ibb.co/QPxQq0f)
To prove I still use her, I took 14 to Whitby today. Two hundred & eight miles, with two bars still showing. Flickering to reserve but still on two bars, cant argue that as we weren't riding silly slow. Had a wander around goth shops, pint in an Irish bar & home.
Had a very agreeable day out in the sun myself today ...scrubbed a new back tyre in...
Quote from: Hooli on Monday, 13 June 2022, 05:11 AM
To prove I still use her, I took 14 to Whitby today. Two hundred & eight miles, with two bars still showing. Flickering to reserve but still on two bars, cant argue that as we weren't riding silly slow. Had a wander around goth shops, pint in an Irish bar & home.
Did you fill it on the mainstand and do you have the hole punched on the filling tube.
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Monday, 13 June 2022, 08:11 AM
Quote from: Hooli on Monday, 13 June 2022, 05:11 AM
To prove I still use her, I took 14 to Whitby today. Two hundred & eight miles, with two bars still showing. Flickering to reserve but still on two bars, cant argue that as we weren't riding silly slow. Had a wander around goth shops, pint in an Irish bar & home.
Did you fill it on the mainstand and do you have the hole punched on the filling tube.
No.
No mainstand on mine because of the Akra. I fill it sat on the bike and shake it a bit to get more in. I didn't fill up when home but the last tank did 207mile on 21,25litres or so. I always consider the hole in the filling tube but never bother.
I'm doing some fuel calculations presently, thought it was using to much but it looks similar to your figures.
Just checked mine, on 21.2 litres Hooli, yours is 333ks. Mine wouldve done 380 on same amount. No, its not running lean.Runs perfectly. Yours is 45mpg, mine 51. Always been same last 10 yrs. No idea why, i thought with your colder temps yours would be better than mine. :confused1:
I have to agree with you Grog, my K7 in Oz did more that's why I have been looking at it.
Quote from: grog on Monday, 13 June 2022, 07:18 PM
Just checked mine, on 21.2 litres Hooli, yours is 333ks. Mine wouldve done 380 on same amount. No, its not running lean.Runs perfectly. Yours is 45mpg, mine 51. Always been same last 10 yrs. No idea why, i thought with your colder temps yours would be better than mine. :confused1:
Dunno, i make it near fifty mpg I'm getting. Which is the best it's ever done really, when it was new to me I got about one sixty / one seventy miles to reserve, now it's one ninety to two hundred. I might be riding a bit slower but I don't think I'm that much slower than before.
shrugs
I was out and about the other week when I got to 188 miles when it dropped onto one bar but then I came across an esso station just outside Banbury and decided to fill up there and then rather than go on to the next one and risk running out of fuel. All A roads, riding briskly where possible and obeying speed limits in towns and villages obviously. Btw mines a k7fe. :riding:
Well ...I've been out everyday on mine for the last 6 days......and it has a £29 a day V power habit......and absolutely no where near what hoolies getting.....in fact.....I'd say half :whatever: :lol:
I only do this ride during the week because there is very little traffic.
Torr Head Road, Co. Antrim, N.Ireland.
Seth's place in the background.
Quote from: AndyB on Tuesday, 14 June 2022, 05:59 AM
Well ...I've been out everyday on mine for the last 6 days......and it has a £29 a day V power habit......and absolutely no where near what hoolies getting.....in fact.....I'd say half :whatever: :lol:
Yes, it's getting a bit scary filling up in the UK with these prices at the moment, I used to use premium fuels regularly but it's only every thrid or fourth tank-full now.
07/05/2022 Woodchester Manor (C.139 miles)
As the GTR had recently done the run to the National Memorial Arbouretum to meet up with m'colleagues from the GTR forum the GSX got the gig this time. I think I'm also being mindful of a forthcoming trip to France and wanting to conserve the GTR's tyres a bit.
Now I have time on my hands for riding I'm finding that there's a lot of repe tition in the roads that I'm covering, especially close to home – there are only so many directions you can chose to turn at the end of your drive (in fact as I live at the end of a cul-de-sac I have no choice at all). I've bitten the bullet now and decided to spend the first hour of some rides on a motorway, it's not enjoyable riding but it gives a chance to get out to somewhere new as a starting point for some proper riding.
And so it was that I came to belt down the M5, past Glouscester where I had been a couple of weeks ago so that I could exit at Brockworth and start to dig straight in to the Cotswolds. I parked the bike up in Painswick as it is a pleasant little town to search out a coffee and having catered for that need continued on some lovely roads through and out of Stroud.
The destination chosen for the day was Woodchester Mansion near Nympsfield. The mansion is owned and operated by a charitable trust and sits inside land managed by the National Trust so it was a case of tracking down their car park – I didn't enjoy this bit, a long loose gravel drive that had un-compacted and over large stones that were sending the wheels of the bike in any direction but the one I was trying to point it in.
Once the bike was secure I was in for a three-quarter mile walk along a woodland drive down the valley to the Manor. Woodchester is a Victorian pile in the neo-gothic style that was never finished as the owner had run out of money. The roofed shell of the building stands and it is watertight but very little of the interior is anywhere near finished, still it was interesting to see what might have been... Not for the first time a scaffolder had got there before me to spoil my photos.
The walk back up to the bike was more challenging being uphill and I have a few health and fitness issues at the moment but I made it back with some time to spare for a return ride home leaving the motorway out.
I was going to get the bike out this morning but when I realised I'd have to get the ice off the Ute to move it first I decided to head back indoors for another coffee.
(https://i.ibb.co/PYrYmsw/396-DFA8-C-BB5-F-47-D2-8647-48-CC8-DC1-DA31.jpg) (https://ibb.co/GJdJxfc)
(https://500pxdownload.com/)
That's global warming for you Tony.
Mid week ride again.
Wednesday Bude bike night by the canal, last week was a lot busier probably over 100 bikes, perhaps yesterday was too hot...strange saying that in Blighty :happy1:
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Funny looking sun Tony . . .
Is it a snowflake alert on the built in web browser?
"Attention Tower, Flight Busa01 requesting permission to land" "busa01, this is Flight Tower, permission granted, cleared for runway 211"..."copy Tower, I have on my ILS...."
For those in and around the South East of Queensland we did a loop yesterday from Goodna via Esk, Hampton to Toowoomba and had brunch at Cafe Valletta I can highly recommend this establishment. Brisbane cafes could learn some lessons from their country cousins. The best service, coffee & food certainly in Toowoomba 🥇🥇🥇
We headed back via Silver Pinch road through Flagstone Creek this is simply a stunning scenic road 👍 You must concentrate & brake hard on downhill sections however it's well worth the effort 😁😁
I'm never far from the coast.
Being from a small island nation, I'm never far from the sea either, I just can't imagine what it'd be like to be a landlocked country & never having seen the sea.
We don't have as many historical spots that
@Rynglieder enlightens us about. However South East Queensland has beaches & mountains in abundance & spectacular scenery 🥇🥇🥇
We are certainly blessed for motorcycle riding adventures 😁😁😁👍👍👍
Today.
Only 302K's (188 miles), not great roads or weather but still nice to be out and about.
(https://i.ibb.co/GHFxgfs/9-CBBCCD0-30-E2-4-D99-8257-77596-A9-A9-F3-E.jpg) (https://ibb.co/tL3mywZ)
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Quick trip around the Southern Gulf Islands and Victoria BC - perfect weather
Overnight in my brother's stable!
Out with two mates today, as they wanted a scenic route home from where they'd gone to visit another lass with a 14 yesterday.
I did a minor tweak on my 14 in the pub car park, I'd guessed the fast idle mech setting when I rebuilt it & it was holding the idle speed up. Tank off to turn a screw one turn... sorted it though. Still getting the FI light at times but she's fully rideable which is a big improvement.
I got asked to take the yellow one out to listen to a clunky noise, only a dry chain but it came back with no chicken strips :cool:
If boys will go to Belgium on their own, then someone has to show their lasses decent roads eh?
Oh & finished the day with a gallon of ice water at one of their houses with her son's 14 parked in front of me too.
Early ride this morning before it got too hot.
Filled up with 4 star got me all the way to Uluru.
Hmmm, a tad greener than I'd of thought for that area, but there ya go, sometimes I'm just proven wrong - again.
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Monday, 18 July 2022, 09:44 PM
Early ride this morning before it got too hot.
Filled up with 4 star got me all the way to Uluru.
Is there an Uluru in Ireland 🇮🇪
@Irish in Oz ??? 🥴
@GSXKING Sure, it's our version of it called Slemish, St. Patricks old stomping ground. Not as big as Uluru but at least it doesn't have snakes.
Have the indigenous population reclaimed your uluru as well then? Maybe to grow potatoes on it?
The indigenous person Saint Patrick turns out to be a POMME, that's probably why he herded sheep there.
At Kenilworth Bakery we admired the murals
Me with Bob
Bobbie with Elvis
There are plenty more 👍👍👍
Quote from: GSXKING on Thursday, 21 July 2022, 08:50 PM
At Kenilworth Bakery we admired the murals
Me with Bob
Bobbie with Elvis
There are plenty more 👍👍👍
It's a pretty cool place there, although changed a lot from what it use to be.
Another Sunshine Coast blast today with a few friends...Chevallum-Peachester-Stanley River-Conondale-Kenilworth-Moy Pocket Road (if you know, you know), Obi Obi Road, back down the hill and home.
Although the track was a little damp, still managed to bed in the new rear tyre and do a little more suspension fine tuning.
The fairly aggressive set up wouldn't suit everyone, but for sports riding I can't fault it!
Bike turns in fast, changes direction easily, holds it's line well, and scrapes absolutely nothing. The rear tyre is used edge to edge, and the tyres are still wearing evenly so the bike isn't operating beyond it's capabilities.
Magic.
Instead of watching what turned out to be a rather boring (for the Swans) AFL Grand Final, around 13 of us did a run up to the Vic high country on Friday and Saturday. Friday out from Healesville, Eildon/Jamieson Rd, Mansfield/Whitfield Rd then the run up from Harrietville to Mount Hotham on mostly wet roads, before the dry long sweepers down through Dinner Plain to Omeo for the motel and pub.
Back via Mitta Mitta, Dartmouth (to see the dam spilling), Dederang, Ovens and Whitfiled/Mansfield Rd the other way. Home via Yea and Yarra Glen.
Was a little damp on Friday and there were a lot more people on skis and snowboards at Hotham than there were people on bikes (er, just us!) - we got a friendly wave and a lot of head shaking from the local pol ice...
Absolutely awesome fun!
For some reason I never imagined Australia getting snow.
S
Last Wednesday I went on a decent ride through Hardknott Pass, Wrynose Pass and Kirkstone Pass in The Lake District.
Hardknott Pass is not done for fun!!
If you do survive there are some great views.
That's where I was born, Cumbria! Back in the day we'd ride over Hardknott and Wrynose to Ambleside. Have plenty of beers in the Unicorn pub and ride home again. Fond memories... :cheers:
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 26 September 2022, 09:05 PM
Last Wednesday I went on a decent ride through Hardknott Pass, Wrynose Pass and Kirkstone Pass in The Lake District.
Hardknott Pass is not done for fun!!
If you do survive there are some great views.
I do it for fun at least once a year. It's entertaining, especially to watch all the car owners who have no idea how to drive struggling.
Quote from: Hooli on Monday, 26 September 2022, 09:53 PM
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 26 September 2022, 09:05 PM
Last Wednesday I went on a decent ride through Hardknott Pass, Wrynose Pass and Kirkstone Pass in The Lake District.
Hardknott Pass is not done for fun!!
If you do survive there are some great views.
I do it for fun at least once a year. It's entertaining, especially to watch all the car owners who have no idea how to drive struggling.
The air is full of the smell of burning clutches !! :bugga:
Quote from: Notty on Monday, 26 September 2022, 10:09 PM
Quote from: Hooli on Monday, 26 September 2022, 09:53 PM
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 26 September 2022, 09:05 PM
Last Wednesday I went on a decent ride through Hardknott Pass, Wrynose Pass and Kirkstone Pass in The Lake District.
Hardknott Pass is not done for fun!!
If you do survive there are some great views.
I do it for fun at least once a year. It's entertaining, especially to watch all the car owners who have no idea how to drive struggling.
The air is full of the smell of burning clutches !! :bugga:
I was in the Alps two weeks ago, the smell of clutch & brakes was a sure fire way to know there was a motorhome ahead. It always amazes me how incompetent most drivers are.
Quote from: Notty on Monday, 26 September 2022, 10:09 PM
The air is full of the smell of burning clutches !! :bugga:
It actually did smell of clutches (Not mine)
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Tuesday, 27 September 2022, 02:47 AM
Quote from: Notty on Monday, 26 September 2022, 10:09 PM
The air is full of the smell of burning clutches !! :bugga:
It actually did smell of clutches (Not mine)
very pungent smells considering its in the middle of no-where on top of the world :bugga: oh and overheating radiators
Caught on camera, Saturday 17th September heading up to the top of the Horseshoe Pass outside Llangollen :cheers:
Nothing worse than someone playing up to the camera, never catch me doing anything like that, unless...
Quote from: mjgt on Tuesday, 27 September 2022, 07:45 PM
Nothing worse than someone playing up to the camera, never catch me doing anything like that, unless...
:lol: I know what you mean - I have missed them on a few occasions if pushing on a bit though :facepalm:
20/12/2022 Croft Castle & Shobdon (c. 80 miles)
Just a day off the shortest day of the year but at least it was bright and mild after the two weeks of severe cold we had been through and I was feeling in the need for some Motorcycle Therapy.
The GSX had not been out since its new chain and sprockets and because of the grumbling from the old ones I had left it alone for much of the autumn, it seemed right that this was the bike to pick for a couple of hours out.
I didn't go far, just a blast along familiar roads out to Croft Castle near Leominster where I had a walk round with the camera and took advantage of the coffee shop. From there, just a few miles further to the village of Shobdon where a private drive lead me to the parish church – very ordinary looking from the outside but the interior has been given the "Strawberry Hill Gothic" treatment by Walpole and is a lovely example of this type of architecture.
I left he bike parked outside the church and trudged uphill along a grass tree lined avenue to the Shobdon Arches. This is a collection of stone arches salvaged from the original medieval church before it was demolished and incorporated into a folly on the hilltop that also gives some good views over the Herefordshire countryside.
The ride out had been a bit odd, one of those days where I was not entirely at one with the bike – nothing wrong with the GSX itself, the roads seemed to have a lingering damp sheen despite the bright day and I seemed to be over-reading the road conditions, bends and potholes. Perhaps it's just that I hadn't been riding much over the last month... The ride back along the same route was much better, I was back in the zone and I didn't let much get in my way.
Back home before dark, but not enough time to attack the bike with the pressure washer, which would be tomorrow's job.
As usual, there are more photos from the visit in my Flickr photostream (below).
Some fabulous historic relics 🙏🙏 thanks for sharing 😁😁😁
Bunya Mountains today 🏍️🏍️
The pier @ Urangan 🧐🧐
Taken a few years ago now, the K1600 has since been traded on a newer model, the GSX1400 was sold to some fortunate soul and the ZX10R has had a Turbocharger attached.
29/12/2022 Lake Vyrnwy (c. 170 miles)
It looked like there was going to be one useable day between Christmas and the New Year and I was minded to take advantage even in the bleak midwinter. A message from my mate Mike who was also in the mood to shake off the blues sealed the deal.
Usual thing, he proposed a rough idea of a ride and then as it was my side of the midlands I tinkered with it to include some roads that I knew he would enjoy – it works the other way if we head to the south or east midlands, I'm happy to bow to his superior knowledge of that patch.
The intention had been to use the GSX but as it was not looking quite as dry as the BBC had promised me I decided to hide behind the GTR fairing and bask in the heat from the grips. Having rolled of my drive at about 10:00 with his Multistrada behind me, we took the "Rabbit Run" toward Telford and dropped into the Severn Gorge at Coalport, ran along to Ironbridge and parked up for the café overlooking the bridge. Whereas I'm usually happy with a couple of cups of coffee on a day out Mike likes to be fed, so this is always factored into a joint ride.
A bit of "B Road" work brought us to the outskirts of Shrewsbury and we then had to tolerate the rather dull dual carriageway that orbits it, but it passed by quickly enough and we were back into some enjoyable riding through Knockin and into the land of the Celts.
Whilst we never got properly rained on the roads were constantly wet which encouraged a bit more caution in our riding but we eventually pitched up at Vyrnwy where I stopped long enough for a cigarette. (Mutual tolerance, I hang around during the double breakfast sandwich and he politely waits whilst I feed my own habit).
It was then time to tackle the mountain pass across to Dinas Mawddwy. As soon as we broke away from the road around the lake shore I stated to wonder if we were doing the right thing – the road is steep, narrow and there are virtually no passing places. Add to this a ridge of winter mud and debris up the middle of the road surface and a good deal of concentration is required with speeds down to a crawl at times. Once we had got above the tree line of the mountain the road surface became a lot cleaner and we could at least see a little further ahead for oncoming traffic.
There were still rivers running across the road here and there plus the obvious sheep infestation to deal with but eventually we were descending through the valley farms and into Dinas Mawddwy village we could park up for a quick break.
The return journey took us on the A458 where we could get along at a decent pace - I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this road and have now placed it on the list for a run out to the coast when spring arrives. Another stop took place in Welshpool where Costa Coffee had a bit more of my money and suitably refreshed we pushed on back home. It was the A458 all the way for me, Mike broke away at Shrewsbury to pick up the M54 and M6 and get him home without getting involved in the evening rush hour around Birmingham.
It was a lot more miles than I usually do at this time of the year but thoroughly enjoyable none the less. No photos this time as there was not a particular "destination", but here's a couple of screen grabs from the Innovv...
13/01/2023 Normanton Church (c.200 miles)
I'd long wanted to visit Normanton Church on Rutland Water and once again waited for a suitable day. It turned up at short notice and I messaged Mike on the off-chance, although he had less than 24 hours notice he was up for it and proposed a small adjustment to the route I intended.
Although I had ducked out of using the GSX on the last ride it was really due a run and with little prospect of rain I was happy to give it a go. A bright day was forecast and although not too cold for January it was very blustery and there was a definite wind chill – inner gloves and an extra layer under the jacket was needed.
And so I headed out on 40 miles of motorway to our rendezvous at Costa Coffee, Leamington Spa. That run on the M42 is an absolute pain at 09:00 in the morning, the low sun strobes through the trees and as the motorway bends sits right on the horizon causing traffic to slow almost to a stop as those with dirty windscreens find they can't see where they are going – I always leave plenty of stopping room and try not to get involved with the Competitive Commuting.
At least, once we had tanked up with coffee and drawn some fuel from the adjacent forecourt we had a decent ride to look forward to. Mike had picked a nice selection of A and B roads through the Northamptonshire and Leicestershire countryside. There was the odd attractive village to slow down for but the only bit of congestion was through Market Harborough. There seemed very little traffic on the open road and what we did come across could be cleared quickly and safely and I quite enjoyed the challenge of hanging on to the tail pipe of the Multistrada.
Eventually we reached the car park at the Normanton visitor centre and parked up the bikes, there was then a half mile walk along the shore of Rutland Water to the church. At the point it was decided to flood the valley for this huge reservoir it was planned that the church should be demolished but local objections lead to a different solution; the crypt was infilled with stone and a new floor put in so that the upper half of the church could be saved as the water level rose. The effect in the end is that the remaining building appears to float on the lake – all very photogenic.
The strong wind across the reservoir was really whipping the water up into waves, it was almost like walking along the coast but very cold and we retreated to the café for a welcome hot drink and a late lunch.
The return home was by the same roads as far as Crick where I broke away to pick up the M1, M6 and M5. It was an absolute grind around the top of Birmingham but it is the price I pay for enjoying the roads of the east midlands. I got home at around 17:00, just before it was completely dark and warmed up with a hot bath, the bike will have to wait another day or so for its wash.
In the UK we have a fast food outlet called Greggs- they do sausage rolls, pasties , donuts etc. BUT if you get there before 11.00am you can get a coffee and a bacon Bap for £2.50 - so its a must on a Sunday - ok there is a branch 500 yards from my house but you have to have a ride first, but today no rain but wet roads 120 mile round trip - had to be done
Did a week long trip down to Tassie couple of weeks ago - what an awesome place to ride a bike!
There were 20 or so of us on all types of bikes from MT07 to XJR 1200 to ZH2 and H2SX to RC45!
The roads are in pretty good condition and the scenery is spectacular.
Perhaps my favourite stretches were from Westerway up to the Gordon Dam and back, and from Bicheno up the cost to St Helens, Derby and on to Scottsdale, but the entire trip was excellent.
If you haven't been and get the chance, go - an incredible experience that I'll be repeating next year.
:cheers:
More pics
@black14 Got that T shirt, 2 weeks about 6 years ago, I hope to make it back there. Did Stig go with yous.
No mate, Stig on a different run couple of weeks earlier.
But Stig, Boof and I off to the Grampians on the 14s this weekend coming. :boogie2:
Enjoy, say hello to them for me.
Great pics Black. Amazing roads, ridden lots of them. Lake Leake road maybe the best.
QuoteEnjoy, say hello to them for me
Will do Jeff. :cheers:
Another great ride over the weekend - Boof, Stig (both say g'day Jeff!) and I decided on a change of scenery (from the usual high country runs) and headed out west.
Healesville, Broadford, Lancefield, Upper Coliban Reservoir, Daylesford, Maryborough, Landsborough to Stawell on Saturday on a hot and windy day. Some fun roads and some long straight stretches through wheat country.
Back via Wartook, Halls Gap, Dunkeld, Skipton, Mt Egerton, Maddingley, Gisborne, Wallan, Whittlesea and Arthurs Creek to Yarra Glen. Tight and twisty through the hills (and a bit chilly!) with some more straightforward roads south of Ballarat, then fun stuff again through Werribee Gorge Park and through Christmas Hills.
About 1000 kms all up.
Great to see some different roads and country and sink a few beers with some good mates! :cheers:
Launching Place kick off.jpgUpper Coliban Reservoir.jpgStawell.jpgBoot repairs.jpgSkipton.jpgLost in Ballarat.jpgYarra Glen pub.jpg
Excellent report & pics thanks for sharing 🙏🙏✅✅
10/02/2023 Upton House & the Cotswolds (c. 120 miles)
53a.jpg
There looked to be one more run left out of the GTR's rear tyre and with a relatively fair day for February forecast I thought I'd have a Cotswold run.
The outward run was via Stratford upon Avon and brought me to the National Trust property at Upton House, not too far from Banbury. Being out of season the house was not open and there was not a great deal to see in the gardens but at least I got to have a walk and a coffee to warm myself up.
53b.JPG
Not wanting to go straight back I set about a loop that allowed me a brief pause above Bliss Tweed Mill near Chipping Norton. I'd passed this many times before but never had the chance to get the camera out. The mill sits in the bottom of a valley; in such a location drainage was always going to be an issue, however as you will see from the picture the architect had the foresight to fit a giant sink plunger to the roof.
53c.JPG
Back home via Evesham – not a bad ride for the winter.
14/02/2023 Elvaston Castle & Country Park (c. 137 miles)
54a.jpg
It was Valentine's Day so I thought I would give my wife the gift of having the house to herself.
The GSX was drawn out of the garage rather later than it should have been for a day out but it was a cold start t the day and I was hoping it would be warming up a little as the morning drew on. Since its recent chain and sprocket replacement it has been beautifully smooth to ride again and I was even prepared to start off with a bit of motorway so that I could head north for a change.
Leaving the M42 near Tamworth I was at least able to get a few miles in on "proper" roads through north Staffordshire and South Derbyshire.
Once the bike was parked up I forked out for a pay and display car park ticket – usual problem, where are you supposed to put it? I tucked it under the fuel filler tab and took a photo of it in case anyone nicked it – it's never happened yet but you never know...
54c.JPG
I had a pleasant walk around the country park which is centred around a "castle" which is really more of a manor house, but the light was fading fast and there were too many long shadows for many decent photos.
54b.JPG
The penalty for my late start was a return home entirely on dual carriageway and motorway plus getting tangled up with all the commuters around Birmingham, but no regrets – it's always a pleasure to get out on a bike.
23/02/2023 Long Mynd (c. 70 miles)
55a.jpg
It was about time to set the Z1000 on the local scenery – naturally because it is a literal pain in the ar$e to ride something short was in order.
Although not far from home it had been some years since I had visited Carding Mill Valley so I had a blast out taking in the views along Wenlock Edge. Carding Mill Valley was too busy for my liking but I parked up alongside the stream and hunted down a coffee from the National trust Café before going back into Church Stretton and commencing the ascent of the Long Mynd.
In a matter of minutes I parked up the bike again to spend some time taking in the views of the Shropshire Hills and back down into the valley I had jut left. The last time I was up here was on the GTR, just after I had purchased it.
55b Z1000 Long Mynd.JPG
55c Bur Way.JPG
The road across the top of the Long Mynd is known as the Bur Way and after passing the fields used by the glider club there is a very steep descent with a precipitous unfenced drop to the right. Being a single track road one goes cautiously in case an unexpected car pounces from behind a hedge. The Z1000 was a much more agile bike for this sort of road than the GTR and I was soon at the Western edge of the road picking my way though muddy lanes back toward Church Stretton.
The ride home was pretty much as I had travelled out, but with a quick stop in Much Wenlock for another coffee...
55d Much Wenlock.JPG
Although the Z1000 never goes far from home it is always a pleasure and allows a little more spirted riding, the smaller bike is much more suited to my own build.
Today and Yesterday
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K800_20230421_155603.JPG
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02/03/2023 Shropshire Hills (c. 90 miles)
56a.jpg
A bit of a déjà vu ride really. Mike got in touch and suggested a ride out and having fresh and fond memories of my recent blast on the Z1000 I suggested to him that he may fancy a variation of the same ride.
As it was a sort run I decided to make use of the Z1000 again, whilst the heated grips on the GTR would have been welcome the big tourer's tyre was on its last few microns of rubber and was scheduled for a new Angel GT the following day.
We met up at my home and flicked through the A Roads via Bridgenorth and Wenlock Edge though to Church Stretton. My usual diet of coffee and cigarettes had to be adjusted to accommodate my companion so we left the bikes in a car park in the middle of town and settled down in a café we had spotted the night before using Google Street view – the internet is a wonderful thing.
Suitably refreshed I was pursued by the Multistrada over the Long Mynd and then picked our way through Craven Arms, skirted Ludlow and then (as I so often seem to do) ended up on Clee Hill summit to take in the views under the sunshine.
56b.jpg
We went our separate ways beyond Bewdley, it hadn't been too much of a ride – we are still in the season of cold, short days but I know there is better to come and these little rides help keep the mind and body ready.
In London that would be £100k fixer upper. :lol:
Quote from: mjgt on Sunday, 23 April 2023, 06:41 PMIn London that would be £100k fixer upper. :lol:
Oh I don't know, his bike's not that bad - a good clean and a service at a Ducati dealer should be less than £2k :laugh:
Not totally sure on that Mate, bloke i know had a dual purpose similar Ducati. All he did was hit front side into tree. Didnt look too bad. They wrote it off, no parts available. Headlight, brackets, bars, mirror etc. Hes happy, much prefers the Tenere he bought from payout.
This morning. First ride on the Gen-2.
It's not slow. It's not quiet. The motor feels REAL strong, but loud pipes, a good fuel map and not having to meet Euro 4/5 is an advantage over the H2 SX and Gen-3.
Gear box is excellent, the seller mentioned it but I'm deaf to salesmen. Nicer than any of my other bikes including newer ones costing twice as much.
I used the H2 and Gen-3 a lot with traction control / wheelie control on, just being lazy and being able to gun in out of corners and off the lights with minimum brain input. This thing will and does stand up and point the front at the clouds, in a controllable and entertaining way.
Gear lever needs to go down a fraction, suits builders boots but not bike boots. Genuine Suzuki chipped keys are not cheap but I'll bit the bullet, having one key makes me nervous, I can turn the immobiliser off in the ECU and use a cheap key but I'd rather not.
Lots I want to do to it, a BTL lock up is a must before it go's to the drags, and I might rehome those new Angel GT2 tyres, but it's a start.
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(https://i.ibb.co/RYhk7GJ/F74522-AF-158-B-4-B5-E-A55-A-ABB2-D9-DA4651.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ZGHpNRb)
(https://i.ibb.co/BjYmnZX/219-D3092-038-A-46-D9-9-DAC-310697-E1946-A.jpg) (https://ibb.co/gwcG4T5)
post picture (https://imgbb.com/)
(https://i.ibb.co/BrMdZ5J/64-B3-C3-F4-38-D5-492-F-A17-D-179921-F913-B5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/2s4mt1r)
Nice ride Tony,so is this thread going to turn into "Tony's Nitrous Drag GSX1300R build"?
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Thursday, 04 May 2023, 10:26 AMNice ride Tony,so is this thread going to turn into "Tony's Nitrous Drag GSX1300R build"?
The bike might but I doubt the thread will. I need to limit by passion for Busa's on here! I have been looking at wet-60 Holley / NOS kits, they are a bit basic and dated but simple and reliable, my favourite kit. I've done big bores, nitrous, a supercharger etc but only ridden other folks turbo's so that's a box I'd like to tick too. No rush, I might run it around a while, dyno it and find a test and tune meet at the strip first. My stock Gen-1 and King both ran 10.3's, I think this'll be quicker although I'm waaaay out of practice.
Trying to find a pic of something unrelated this morning and I came across these from a while back...
Mt Mee...
(https://i.ibb.co/WDVpfcN/746166-B4-5034-4-C75-B117-50-CD8-A37-A042.jpg) (https://ibb.co/PTDzg5s)
(https://i.ibb.co/q910JN4/6000-C2-CA-6-A37-4212-8-E7-B-C5-E09-A0-CA1-B5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/NpY1T9k)
... and I think this was South Side of Brisbane ?
(https://i.ibb.co/8Mx8Rrj/E8-A071-BE-44-AB-4877-B1-EC-AEE38-F788709.jpg) (https://ibb.co/sj13DKF)
... and I'm guessing this was early 2008...
(https://i.ibb.co/vsvwjLT/C7-CB0-A3-E-CC4-F-4-FB1-A113-AF7327470350.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
I used to do loads of early (ish) morning rides and havent done one for a while until Wednesday..
Set off at 7.40 am..
Sunday would have been better as I still had to contend with the traffic as its a work day, but that soon disapeared once I had got to the "middle of nowhere" places I like..
1st photo on a clear day gives fantatic views..
2nd photo shows a route a do regularly from Slaidburn (Lancashire) to Bentham (Yorkshire)..
3rd Photo I noticed a gnarly old Barn (No not me) and couldnt resist a photo..
04.JPG
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Part 2:
4th photo shows a church Ive always liked the look of.. This morning the sun was in just the right place to show it off..
last photo just a general view over the countryside near Caton..
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I love the wide open spaces.
"The bike might but I doubt the thread will. I need to limit by passion for Busa's on here! I have been looking at wet-60 Holley / NOS kits, they are a bit basic and dated but simple and reliable, my favourite kit. I've done big bores, nitrous, a supercharger etc but only ridden other folks turbo's so that's a box I'd like to tick too. No rush, I might run it around a while, dyno it and find a test and tune meet at the strip first. My stock Gen-1 and King both ran 10.3's, I think this'll be quicker although I'm waaaay out of practice"
Times haven't improved much since 1984.
fj11.jpg
Managed to get out for a few hours this afternoon,not to far 70 miles or so but the first proper run since the winter maintenance was finished & happy to report it was well worth it as the bike feels better than ever :grin:
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Friday, 05 May 2023, 09:47 PM"The bike might but I doubt the thread will. I need to limit by passion for Busa's on here! I have been looking at wet-60 Holley / NOS kits, they are a bit basic and dated but simple and reliable, my favourite kit. I've done big bores, nitrous, a supercharger etc but only ridden other folks turbo's so that's a box I'd like to tick too. No rush, I might run it around a while, dyno it and find a test and tune meet at the strip first. My stock Gen-1 and King both ran 10.3's, I think this'll be quicker although I'm waaaay out of practice"
Times haven't improved much since 1984.
fj11.jpg
The lower times get the harder it gets. It's a huge step that stock bikes can now run in the 9's.
Every 1/10th to shave off is harder than the last, the fact that a professional rider did something once, on a prep'd track in ideal conditions to set records, and is still slower than a clumsy old bloke sat upright on a naked bike at his local track shows how bikes have moved on.
When I ran a 10.3 Bec ran a 9.9 on an identical bike, I'm never going to be competitive, it's just a bit of fun for me.
To anyone who follows drag racing, although Busa's have been around 24 years at the drags, and the Gen-2 has been competitive for 15, a new Gen-3 Busa got a turbo and has absolutely smashed all existing records for a stock wheelbase bike in the quarter mile.
This morning.
(https://i.ibb.co/xgfkXDt/75-BBE3-B5-5708-4-F48-A7-CE-8632-BDF89278.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HPxSBVf)
(https://i.ibb.co/5kS7Zzb/046657-F1-AD03-4-DA5-B57-D-63-FD81-B6-FA98.jpg) (https://ibb.co/qCcZ64T)
Pretty happy with it so now I can start looking at pipes, stacks, filters, BTL lock ups etc etc. I wouldn't mind a run in the Street Series at Willowbank. No long arm, not super low, no slicks, needs lights and foot shift etc so no proper drag bikes. Might be interesting.
(https://i.ibb.co/4fsmdN6/2-B86-EFC8-09-B4-4-CE0-B7-C6-334817-B993-A2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/DbGVpKx)
Wanted some washers from Bunnings, Bunnings is 40K's (25 miles) away. It took me 245K's (152 miles) the way I went.
(https://i.ibb.co/gMVv4Fg/CEA8-DABD-06-DE-403-E-BD5-D-F2-CBA1-A183-A0.jpg) (https://ibb.co/8DczY48)
(https://i.ibb.co/wywXCZR/6-A5-C635-B-ABAF-40-ED-8-D1-C-BCFA80638443.jpg) (https://ibb.co/hsZjHxy)
(https://i.ibb.co/JRXSWHg/36-F2-EDBE-0340-438-A-81-FF-3364-DAE68000.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XZmGftM)
(https://i.ibb.co/SrHsPrt/2-E7-CB638-2-CBA-4-ADC-9-B64-B821-BB5-CE9-A5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/9tB8Ntb)
Blime you have some great countryside around you Tony,,
Showing my ignorance now but Australia ( around your area) looks more lush than Id imagined..
My Pom idea is something like watching "Opal hunters" or other Aussie programs !
Hot dusty desert/scrub land with annoying flies ! :embarrassed:
Lots more than deserts Mate, but yes we do have flys by the millions some areas.Something needed to experience to believe.
I still don't believe anything I didn't see in Mad Max is really Oz, they're lying to us @speedy1959
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Friday, 12 May 2023, 04:44 PMBlime you have some great countryside around you Tony,,
Showing my ignorance now but Australia ( around your area) looks more lush than Id imagined..
My Pom idea is something like watching "Opal hunters" or other Aussie programs !
Hot dusty desert/scrub land with annoying flies ! :embarrassed:
This is the road past by place...
(https://i.ibb.co/BrFVgjN/0-D5-A27-A6-9-E1-F-4461-A2-C5-8-FF53711-ACEE.jpg) (https://ibb.co/txFMbcX)
This is the few from my Sofa / lounge...
(https://i.ibb.co/30tNCSX/8-C4-E5845-A3-DE-4-C0-D-8-AC7-28-CA076-F3-E5-D.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fCmpxrR)
Folk get the wrong idea about AU, it's so huge there's a massive variety from the deserts, to the coastline, to the ski slopes and snow fields, to the tropical rainforest. There's a huge variety. Imagine Norway or Scotland compared to Greece or Cyprus.
EDIT: We're a couple of weeks off the start of Winter here so not as green as it was.
Went to the Numduc rally just outside of Dowerin in WA. We could only stay Saturday night because we're old and that's life. Actually started the weekend Friday by Riding 200km south to Boyanup and picking up my friend pictured and his Z900RS, then 300km n/e to the Rallysite, beautiful day and leisurely ride.
Ended up going to bed at 3am, awoke about 8am and because there was no canteen available we started back at 10am. Made it to a servo nearly 2/3 home and fitted the rain gear. The rain hit as we pulled back out onto the road, last 30km before home the skies went black and the rain was coming in sideways. Made it home just as the thunder and lightning started.
Today I rode the last 200km home and it rained the whole way.
Excellent weekend.70747713289__09B19B7C-573C-4AA7-BFE9-E02AEE6A2801.jpeg
Liked for the plate on Ze Germin
Quote from: Batkwaka on Monday, 05 June 2023, 10:38 PMWent to the Numduc rally just outside of Dowerin in WA. We could only stay Saturday night because we're old and that's life. Actually started the weekend Friday by Riding 200km south to Boyanup and picking up my friend pictured and his Z900RS, then 300km n/e to the Rallysite, beautiful day and leisurely ride.
Ended up going to bed at 3am, awoke about 8am and because there was no canteen available we started back at 10am. Made it to a servo nearly 2/3 home and fitted the rain gear. The rain hit as we pulled back out onto the road, last 30km before home the skies went black and the rain was coming in sideways. Made it home just as the thunder and lightning started.
Today I rode the last 200km home and it rained the whole way.
Excellent weekend.70747713289__09B19B7C-573C-4AA7-BFE9-E02AEE6A2801.jpeg
Quote from: Batkwaka on Monday, 05 June 2023, 10:38 PMWent to the Numduc rally just outside of Dowerin in WA. We could only stay Saturday night because we're old and that's life. Actually started the weekend Friday by Riding 200km south to Boyanup and picking up my friend pictured and his Z900RS, then 300km n/e to the Rallysite, beautiful day and leisurely ride.
Ended up going to bed at 3am, awoke about 8am and because there was no canteen available we started back at 10am. Made it to a servo nearly 2/3 home and fitted the rain gear. The rain hit as we pulled back out onto the road, last 30km before home the skies went black and the rain was coming in sideways. Made it home just as the thunder and lightning started.
Today I rode the last 200km home and it rained the whole way.
Excellent weekend.70747713289__09B19B7C-573C-4AA7-BFE9-E02AEE6A2801.jpeg
Another one of those "character building" rides eh 🫣
Did you sleep on the ground ?
Is Numduc a place or the rally name ? 😳
Whiteways Arundel
Brecon Beacons - SAS training range :)
mynnydeppynt.jpg
Quote from: Notty on Tuesday, 06 June 2023, 08:24 PMBrecon Beacons - SAS training range :)
mynnydeppynt.jpg
Brings back some memories, I did the Cambrian March over the Beacons several times in the 1980's as a boy soldier, one of the hardest things I have done, the third and last got aborted half way through due to the adverse weather conditions, I can still hear the "end ex" call now
old stomping grounds!
A Vroom with a view ! :embarrassed:
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What country is this in ?
I see blue skies so not UK is it 😝😝😝
Quote from: GSXKING on Thursday, 08 June 2023, 06:27 PMWhat country is this in ?
I see blue skies so not UK is it 😝😝😝
Hi Mr King,
It is indeed in the UK.
It's just east of the city of Lancaster near an area called "Quernmore" ( pronounced Kworma).
It's one of the routes I go along on my way to other remote roads.
I will show them to you if you ever come over.
S.
Just been over to ride the Isle of Man road circuit it was incredible but seriously cold.
Paris was sunny but chilly.
Berlin was bland.
Prague was amazing 😎
Athens & two Greek islands were warm & sunny.
Next time I'll look you up 🙏👍😎
Antrim Coast and Glens N.Ireland. Great riding weather and not an axle nut in sight lol.
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nice pic's Irish :onya: mine on the coast road looking towards Morecambe bay showing its nut off :grin:
(https://i.postimg.cc/L5VJ6BTj/20230608-153536.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/XBpjs5tv)
If there was a nut on the front axle what side would it be on.
Quote from: hard road on Sunday, 11 June 2023, 07:29 AMnice pic's Irish :onya: mine on the coast road looking towards Morecambe bay showing its nut off :grin:
(https://i.postimg.cc/L5VJ6BTj/20230608-153536.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/XBpjs5tv)
Nut found its place on the sunny side of life :stir:
Nice badge btw :onya: Breaks up the monotony of the non-color :whistling:
Quote from: Irish in Oz on Sunday, 11 June 2023, 08:27 AMIf there was a nut on the front axle what side would it be on.
guess what ? on mine its on the right !!!! but the spindle is clamped at the bottom of the fork leg so going nowhere. just like the rear is locked to the swingarm and can't unwind its self and undo the nut.
Rode out to Scotty's garage at Flagstone Saturday morning. He has a garage full of old cars, some restored some not.
Big breakfast was excellent 😎
Pics are too large again 💩💩
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 11 June 2023, 04:53 PMRode out to Scotty's garage at Flagstone Saturday morning. He has a garage full of old cars, some restored some not.
Big breakfast was excellent 😎
Pics are too large again 💩💩
If I'm not in a hurry I head that way home. Blacksoil get off the highway, Wallon, Rosewood, Laidley, Gatton, up past Flagstone to Toowoomba and up the New England Highway. Makes a change from Brisbane Valley, Fernvale, Esk, Blackbutt, etc
Wen't for a short 45miles ride today, just too fecking hot :furious: but somewhere on the edge of the lake district.
(https://i.postimg.cc/Y2hVkWG5/20230611-141906.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/s1CK41Jm)
(https://i.postimg.cc/tRwcg4FY/20230611-142137.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/4nvPLZLg)
You should have worn a singlet, stubbies and thongs.
Even by my standards I did a particularly remote ride today.. 170 miles in total (275km)
If my Google maps link Danes to work you can see my meanderings here:
In fact some of the moorland roads were inhabited by a large heard of Cattle with loads of young calves and a very large muscular Black Bull.
I did get off my bike to photo them but left Sophie ticking over just in case the Bull took a shine to me !!
I got caught in a very heavy rain storm on my way back.. I was only wearing a mesh jacket over a T shirt..
It was surprisingly enjoyable actually, due to it being pretty warm and humid (for the UK)..
I was slightly concerned when I looked at my weather app that it said heavy thunder storms were 2 hours away from where I was..
No problem inside a car but I suspect a bike isn't the best "Faraday cage"!
In the very depths of nowhere I came across the cutest thing I've seen for a long time..
Just outside a very remote farm gate there was a sort of box on stilts.. It said "Water & Cake for sale"
On the top shelf was a T pot which served as the "Honesty Box"
I paid for a bottle of water and a piece of very nice lemon drizzle cake and notice what must have been over £30 in the T Pot!!
How many places anywhere can you do such a simple, wonderful thing without being robbed by scum bags!
It was heartwarming to see.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=10Amc8DSPb3KJ7ItOWa3aUr-vNOzvQWU&ll=54.11472672904415%2C-2.4102637319514986&z=10
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Quote from: Irish in Oz on Monday, 12 June 2023, 04:15 AMYou should have worn a singlet, stubbies and thongs.
don't know what they are but i'll ask the Mrs when she gets home, plus they don't sound very protective :whatever:
The Aussie's will let you know when they get out of bed.
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 12 June 2023, 04:39 AMEven by my standards I did a particularly remote ride today.. 170 miles in total (275km)
If my Google maps link Danes to work you can see my meanderings here:
In fact some of the moorland roads were inhabited by a large heard of Cattle with loads of young calves and a very large muscular Black Bull.
I did get off my bike to photo them but left Sophie ticking over just in case the Bull took a shine to me !!
I got caught in a very heavy rain storm on my way back.. I was only wearing a mesh jacket over a T shirt..
It was surprisingly enjoyable actually, due to it being pretty warm and humid (for the UK)..
I was slightly concerned when I looked at my weather app that it said heavy thunder storms were 2 hours away from where I was..
No problem inside a car but I suspect a bike isn't the best "Faraday cage"!
In the very depths of nowhere I came across the cutest thing I've seen for a long time..
Just outside a very remote farm gate there was a sort of box on stilts.. It said "Water & Cake for sale"
On the top shelf was a T pot which served as the "Honesty Box"
I paid for a bottle of water and a piece of very nice lemon drizzle cake and notice what must have been over £30 in the T Pot!!
How many places anywhere can you do such a simple, wonderful thing without being robbed by scum bags!
It was heartwarming to see.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=10Amc8DSPb3KJ7ItOWa3aUr-vNOzvQWU&ll=54.11472672904415%2C-2.4102637319514986&z=10
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Looks like a fair old run that you had there Speedy :onya:
There are a few of those honesty box type stalls not far from me, the closest is approx 10 miles up the Conwy valley towards Betws y Coed, it is an old milk float that they fill the back with fresh vegetables and spuds from the local farm, although I have never stopped it's been there a good few years which would indicate that people must be pretty honest and leave the cash, closer to the coast I doubt it would work as the local clowns would simply just take and leave no cash!
Cheers, Pete
Quote from: hard road on Monday, 12 June 2023, 04:40 AMQuote from: Irish in Oz on Monday, 12 June 2023, 04:15 AMYou should have worn a singlet, stubbies and thongs.
don't know what they are but i'll ask the Mrs when she gets home, plus they don't sound very protective :whatever:
Singlet = singlet
Stubbies = short shorts
Thongs = (UK) Flip Flops, (NZ) Jandals - was a brand name here & they got called that.
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 12 June 2023, 04:39 AMHow many places anywhere can you do such a simple, wonderful thing without being robbed by scum bags!
It was heartwarming to see.
Not where I used to live.
Where I am now the next property over from my neighbour has a van parked at their front gate (probably a non-runner). Doors always open. It's a fruit and veg stall. I buy onions, oranges, potatoes, apples, pineapples etc etc from there as do a lot of the local village. It's not on the main highway but very visible for anyone up our road heading to the next village. Never seen anyone staffing it. Money in the box.
There's a few honesty box roadside stores out here but most as low value items, home grown plants, horse manure, firewood etc with honesty box's but the fruit and veg one near me is the most shop like.
I think you have found UTOPIA. Byron Bay, Nimbin etc. used to be like that. I even remember it being like that when I moved to my place 37 years ago.
I used to know a tea room run with an honesty box in the wilds of Yorkshire, was a lovely spot so I stopped when near there.
Quote from: Andre on Sunday, 11 June 2023, 08:28 AMQuote from: hard road on Sunday, 11 June 2023, 07:29 AMnice pic's Irish :onya: mine on the coast road looking towards Morecambe bay showing its nut off :grin:
(https://i.postimg.cc/L5VJ6BTj/20230608-153536.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/XBpjs5tv)
Nut found its place on the sunny side of life :stir:
Nice badge btw :onya: Breaks up the monotony of the non-color :whistling:
Non-colour hits the nail on the head @Andre 😈😈
Did a little East loop yesterday morning. 441K's / 274 miles. Changed a heap of setting, quick shifter speed, shift light gaps, display etc, and tested the taller screen. Pretty much how I want it now. 2 little jobs still to do then I'll leave it alone and just ride it.
(https://i.ibb.co/jD9PvwZ/49-ACFC26-EA25-4-FBA-A5-CA-B12-BE4-BAFE4-B.jpg) (https://ibb.co/JHWwRpF)
(https://i.ibb.co/CwMKcKs/0-E2-E1097-9669-446-D-BF49-F7050-C7-A910-E.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Fh04r4q)
(https://i.ibb.co/YQ1Y36t/39-BA7-D5-B-C5-C2-459-E-934-E-07-C19-FAB63-F5.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bmCqPxr)
Today. A very extended coffee run along the range and down into the valley. Almost a month into Winter here.
Now without that awful iridium windscreen and now with the correct coloured seat hump. It go's surprisingly well, although I lack confidence in its Chinese touring tyres. Roll on getting my painted rims back and fitting something sticky.
(https://i.ibb.co/6Dcj4bs/38-C271-B1-923-E-42-C5-A922-41-A9-EF2781-E7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/XFfczpJ)
(https://i.ibb.co/GPVQt6C/FDEE7-DCD-A32-A-4-A9-C-A0-F0-F8-EB3-A0731-AA.jpg) (https://ibb.co/PC5G9L1)
(https://i.ibb.co/zGwVtmc/ABD44-C45-1678-484-F-A958-79-EBF90463-E1.jpg) (https://ibb.co/HnQT9Kv)
I'm not a Busa fan, but those colours do suit it.
Quote from: Hooli on Wednesday, 21 June 2023, 05:35 PMI'm not a Busa fan, but those colours do suit it.
The Blue on blue wasn't high on my wish list but it's growing on me. They used the same blue another year with a gold Kanji and gold wheels, but it's a pale gold.
As it's the summer solstice (except in upside down land) here's a pic from Callanish five years ago. It wasn't taken on a solstice but I like it anyway.
DSCN5571.jpg
Remember folks, from tomorrow the nights start drawing in towards another long, cold & wet winter.
...and for us the days get longer and warmer...
Thanks Hooli mate, now I've got something to look forward to.
Went on one of my favourite rides yesterday..
This area is really pretty remote..
1st photo was a view I just had to stop for.. A friend who I sent it to, described it as "Picure Post Card stuff."
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The nearest place those in the UK might of heard of is Kettlrwell (which isnt that near actually)..
2nd photo..Stumbled acros this lovelly pub and had the best Steak & Ale pie I have ever had !! (And believe me I REALLY know Steak & Ale Pie very well!).
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3rd photo..The road is so remote that Cattle roam freely.. So freely I took this photo of "Mum and Calf" from about 5 feet away!
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I love the long day's in the UK summer, this one taken from my place about 22.30 in evening.
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We got used to the extended sunset on our European holiday recently.
It just doesn't linger here downunder.
Great pics guys.
That pie looks very appetizing :cheers: :cheers:
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Thursday, 22 June 2023, 04:00 PMWent on one of my favourite rides yesterday..
This area is really pretty remote..
1st photo was a view I just had to stop for.. A friend who I sent it to, described it as "Picure Post Card stuff."
1.JPG
The nearest place those in the UK might of heard of is Kettlrwell (which isnt that near actually)..
2nd photo..Stumbled acros this lovelly pub and had the best Steak & Ale pie I have ever had !! (And believe me I REALLY know Steak & Ale Pie very well!).
3.JPG
3rd photo..The road is so remote that Cattle roam freely.. So freely I took this photo of "Mum and Calf" from about 5 feet away!
2.JPG
Nice pretty village pic
Pie looks great
Ain't that remote, there's still a road...
I went out a lot this weekend, two days on my 14 & Sat on the tractor. I don't work every friday before you ask about three days?
Yesterday we were forecast thunderstorms, but I went out anyway as it often doesn't happen. They did while I was sat at a cafe, so I stayed there for an extra hour till things dried up.
14 In Rain Strawbs.jpg
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Thursday, 22 June 2023, 04:00 PM"
Ooops a Typo.. I meant to put "The nearest place you might have heard of is KETTLEWELL..
Quote from: Tony Nitrous on Tuesday, 27 June 2023, 02:33 PMQuote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Thursday, 22 June 2023, 07:11 PMAin't that remote, there's still a road...
Remote, in the UK ?
Yes Tony..
In Ausralia it would be classed as "round the corner"
After so many miles on the Busa's recently the 14 feels like riding a chopper! Made a nice change. Definitely needs a few jobs doing and I wasn't loving the cold morning, but it was still nice to be out on it.
(https://i.ibb.co/yYBT4p9/6-A5-AE81-F-0-A6-D-4050-9-BC4-17896-BCB7-C26.jpg) (https://ibb.co/MG5TBfv)
(https://i.ibb.co/cyLCJC6/96-C2-AFFF-22-B0-477-F-ABBA-43-C461-F3682-F.jpg) (https://ibb.co/S6rdNdt)
(https://i.ibb.co/MRnn1CN/659-DEEEA-1-CD3-4-A3-E-8145-0-C5-B994-B313-B.jpg) (https://ibb.co/BgLL6Cs)
A set of ET clocks would look good with the ET headlight Tony :onya:
Quote from: hard road on Saturday, 01 July 2023, 09:18 PMA set of ET clocks would look good with the ET headlight Tony :onya:
Yeah,I've seen it done.
I'm running a KOSO dash that I'm happy with. It has a few features the stock clocks don't. I did think about fitting the KOSO dash inside some ET clock cases.
Bike only owes me $2,625 (£1,375) and is a bit rough but it's fun even as it is.
Back roads today.
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Looks great Jeff what's the location?
The first 3 about 2 mile from where I live, the water one about 18 mile Larne Lough, just north of Belfast.
(https://i.ibb.co/hKXpcVJ/35-C9-A85-F-7-BA1-489-A-B03-F-7-AAA5-AEB5-D8-C.jpg) (https://ibb.co/wKJD74F)
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^ I was offered the keys to the new Suzuki 8S to try. I declined as they were on a group ride and I was heading off. I did say I might take it out soon though and they said feel free too.
A 776cc twin isn't really my thing, but it's a rare day Suzuki now builds anything new so I might give it a spin out of interest. Those that have ridden it seem impressed.
It's one of the bikes I've earmarked to try this year.
I'm quite attracted to the GSXS1000GT. It's about time Suzuki started getting some new ideas out there. I'd really like a full blown tourer similar to my BMW R1200RT. Imagine a GSX1400 motor in a full faired sport/cruiser with all the bells and whistles. :hat:
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 16 July 2023, 06:11 PMI'm quite attracted to the GSXS1000GT. It's about time Suzuki started getting some new ideas out there. I'd really like a full blown tourer similar to my BMW R1200RT. Imagine a GSX1400 motor in a full faired sport/cruiser with all the bells and whistles. :hat:
I do like the idea of the GSX-S1000GT, but if I ever got serious about buying one I'd have to try and get a back to back with the Kawasaki Ninja 1000 which is very similar but has better luggage etc. Both bikes that interest me.
I've said for a long while there should have been a Busa-GT to go up against the H2 SX SE. Its the only big bore bike that Suzuki have that's Euro-5, and higher bars, taller screen, comfy seat, factory luggage, centre stand, heated grips are all do-able and mostly stuff folk add anyway. A Busa that's closer to the Kawasaki GTR / Concours type bike.
Quote from: Mick_J on Sunday, 16 July 2023, 05:50 PMIt's one of the bikes I've earmarked to try this year.
They use the same motor in the new Vstrom which I'd like to try. I have a few road bikes but nothing for the many gravel roads, forest tracks and fire brake trails around here. That's getting good reviews too.
Pulled in for a cuppa when out testing new rear shocksIMG-20230811-WA0004 (2).jpg
We went to Sticks & Stones Cafe in Woodford today. The winter weather has abated it was 24 deg & clearest of blue skies.
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Quote from: dave55 on Saturday, 12 August 2023, 05:24 PMPulled in for a cuppa when out testing new rear shocksIMG-20230811-WA0004 (2).jpg
Those shocks look the business 👍
Can we get a close up pic please 🙏
Of course you can :cheers:
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Quote from: dave55 on Saturday, 12 August 2023, 09:24 PMOf course you can :cheers:
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🙏 thanks Dave 👍🧐
Whilst I remember I'll post a pic of my standard shocks that have been refurbished 3 times.
Last one was full rebuild including rechrome of shafts & every seal etc. by Rads in Brisbane 🥇.
I've had the lifter kit fitted since 2005. Which helped tip in and planted the front end. I also upgraded front springs and heavier weight fork oil as I'm over 100kgs.
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Dave, those YSS look so bloody good. First time ive seen them. Just look quality. 👍👍
Agreed Grog, I think the technical term is "schmicko".
yes the YSS shocks look the dog's danglies :onya:
Whiteways last Thursday
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Border Crossing Numinbah Valley today and Flying Bean Cafe Beechmont.
This is winter by the way 🙀
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Winter you say, so that must be green snow then eh? :whistling:
No snow Col it's been probably the mildest winter and very dry. So I'm expecting a wet summer. I've started a new job and been riding to work leaving home at 4:15am Monday to Friday. It's not been unbelievably cold at all.
GSX,Bris must be warmer than Landsborough, had two of 2 degree morns this Winter. Brrrr
Quote from: GSXKING on Tuesday, 22 August 2023, 07:08 PMNo snow Col it's been probably the mildest winter and very dry. So I'm expecting a wet summer. I've started a new job and been riding to work leaving home at 4:15am Monday to Friday. It's not been unbelievably cold at all.
The road to yourself ??
The road to yourself ??
[/quote]
Surprisingly NO 👿 heading to Port of Brisbane the traffic volume is quite heavy 🤬🤬🤯
A bit of this...
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... and a bit of this ...
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Both on S22's now. Happy days.
how do you cope with all that traffic on them roads Tony :whatever: :grin:
Quote from: hard road on Thursday, 24 August 2023, 03:38 AMhow do you cope with all that traffic on them roads Tony :whatever: :grin:
No traffic out here.
5am on the day of the Dawn Service is the only time I've seen a queue of cars in 2 years.
No roundabouts or traffic lights either.
There is a local cop, he normally gives me a wave in a morning.
Lots of downsides to living more rural, but the roads and traffic isn't one of them.
Shobham Airfield on Tuesday
Just testing Picture upload, i need to revisit the sizing :)
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We tried a new venue today at Belli Creek called Mrs. Browns Diner the food was very flavourful, service was excellent. I didn't have coffee but my fellow riders said they enjoyed it. Reasonably priced as well considering how good the food was.
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Monday morning, went West exploring, breakfast heading home.
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Keep heading west Tony and you'll see this (eventually)
I love the atmospheric "feel" of your photos..
Gorgious blue skies as well.
S
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 28 August 2023, 04:29 PMI love the atmospheric "feel" of your photos..
Gorgious blue skies as well.
S
First 4 pics are from what was a mine town, now a bit of a Ghost Town, but most of the houses have now gone. Hidden away as it's not on the way to anywhere. One of our forum members who doesn't post much tipped me off where it was last week.
The 5th pic is a cafe about 15 miles from my house that I use as it's fun empty roads on the way there.
2 days to the end of Winter here, nice weather but really need some rain, none in ages, very dry here. Still OK for a week day in Winter.
The cafe a tiny bit famoous Tony. https://advancedbuildings.com.au/media/behind-the-storefront/
Quote from: Speedy1959 on Monday, 28 August 2023, 04:29 PMI love the atmospheric "feel" of your photos..
Gorgious blue skies as well.
S
ta, and that was middle of winter in the nw of WA too.
I was a lovely clear day here today, so I decided to get the bike out & blow out some cobwebs (for both of us!) Wasn't planning on anything much, but ended up in Karamea, that's about an hour & a half north from here. The roads were empty round me, so I just kept on going, got to thinking about the hills coming up n thought, yeah may as well go for a bit. Ended up going all the way to Karamea.
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Now although it was a clear sunny day it was still quite fresh & by the time I got there, I was damn cold, chilled right through & I had to ride back :facepalm: Had to shut it out & keep going. I found the body was seizing up and not moving properly for the brake & gear lever. When I got home it was 24 degrees inside & I still felt cold. I was so cold I couldn't even face a beer! :whatever: That's bad! Coming right now after 4 hours or so.
Well done Col, when the cold creeps in, so bloody difficult. Had a few rides like that. I once had a 80k ride in snow, body hardly functioning, got there, spent 4 hrs in front of oil heater shivering.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, 05:14 PMNow although it was a clear sunny day it was still quite fresh & by the time I got there, I was damn cold, chilled right through & I had to ride back :facepalm: Had to shut it out & keep going. I found the body was seizing up and not moving properly for the brake & gear lever. When I got home it was 24 degrees inside & I still felt cold. I was so cold I couldn't even face a beer! :whatever: That's bad! Coming right now after 4 hours or so.
The zip up boots would have come in handy, you probably wouldn't have got laced one's off.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, 05:14 PMI was a lovely clear day here today, so I decided to get the bike out & blow out some cobwebs (for both of us!) Wasn't planning on anything much, but ended up in Karamea, that's about an hour & a half north from here. The roads were empty round me, so I just kept on going, got to thinking about the hills coming up n thought, yeah may as well go for a bit. Ended up going all the way to Karamea.
2nd.jpg
Now although it was a clear sunny day it was still quite fresh & by the time I got there, I was damn cold, chilled right through & I had to ride back :facepalm: Had to shut it out & keep going. I found the body was seizing up and not moving properly for the brake & gear lever. When I got home it was 24 degrees inside & I still felt cold. I was so cold I couldn't even face a beer! :whatever: That's bad! Coming right now after 4 hours or so.
amazing how quick hyperthermia can set in, normal body core temp is 37, hyperthermia occurs at 35, so a very narrow band. Glad you're ok Col
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, 07:42 PMQuote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, 05:14 PMI was a lovely clear day here today, so I decided to get the bike out & blow out some cobwebs (for both of us!) Wasn't planning on anything much, but ended up in Karamea, that's about an hour & a half north from here. The roads were empty round me, so I just kept on going, got to thinking about the hills coming up n thought, yeah may as well go for a bit. Ended up going all the way to Karamea.
2nd.jpg
Now although it was a clear sunny day it was still quite fresh & by the time I got there, I was damn cold, chilled right through & I had to ride back :facepalm: Had to shut it out & keep going. I found the body was seizing up and not moving properly for the brake & gear lever. When I got home it was 24 degrees inside & I still felt cold. I was so cold I couldn't even face a beer! :whatever: That's bad! Coming right now after 4 hours or so.
amazing how quick hyperthermia can set in, normal body core temp is 37, hyperthermia occurs at 35, so a very narrow band. Glad you're ok Col
Quote from: Eric GSX1400K3 on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, 07:42 PMQuote from: KiwiCol on Tuesday, 29 August 2023, 05:14 PMI was a lovely clear day here today, so I decided to get the bike out & blow out some cobwebs (for both of us!) Wasn't planning on anything much, but ended up in Karamea, that's about an hour & a half north from here. The roads were empty round me, so I just kept on going, got to thinking about the hills coming up n thought, yeah may as well go for a bit. Ended up going all the way to Karamea.
2nd.jpg
Now although it was a clear sunny day it was still quite fresh & by the time I got there, I was damn cold, chilled right through & I had to ride back :facepalm: Had to shut it out & keep going. I found the body was seizing up and not moving properly for the brake & gear lever. When I got home it was 24 degrees inside & I still felt cold. I was so cold I couldn't even face a beer! :whatever: That's bad! Coming right now after 4 hours or so.
amazing how quick hyperthermia can set in, normal body core temp is 37, hyperthermia occurs at 35, so a very narrow band. Glad you're ok Col
If you add in windchill factor that's a very cold temperature 🥶🥶🥶
Chris, the outside temp was 7 degrees (as per the thermometer I have mounted on the bars). The wind chill for 100 - 120kph with 7 degrees ambient, is -1 (on exposed skin). Riding in minus 1 isn't so bad, but doing it for 3 hours is what got me, came right though, just took a while.
We're looking at a South Island motorcycle tour late 2024 or early 2025 Col I'm guessing we'll need thermals no mater the weather 🥶🤷�♂️👗
Quote from: GSXKING on Wednesday, 30 August 2023, 01:37 PMWe're looking at a South Island motorcycle tour late 2024 or early 2025 Col I'm guessing we'll need thermals no mater the weather 🥶🤷�♂️👗
Thermal Borat suit for summer should do ya Chris !!
Col just went too far looking for Whitebait fritters :stir:
Quote from: GSXKING on Wednesday, 30 August 2023, 01:37 PMWe're looking at a South Island motorcycle tour late 2024 or early 2025 Col I'm guessing we'll need thermals no mater the weather 🥶🤷�♂️👗
Think Tazzie temps for the time of year & ya won't go far wrong, similar latitude n all that . . .
:drool: :drool: white bait fritters omfg 🙀 I remember those.
And baby back lamb ribs :devil:
Never far from the sea.
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It must have been a solo ride eh @irishinoz ?
No luggage :stir: :stir:
Quote from: GSXKING on Sunday, 03 September 2023, 10:33 AMIt must have been a solo ride eh @irishinoz ?
No luggage :stir: :stir:
Well Chris it was a case of go on my own or go to her 7 year old niece's birthday party.
I think you got the better end of that deal 🏍�🏍�🏍�
Monday morning.
200k / 125 miles for a coffee.
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200K (125 miles) prob took ya an hour & a quarter Tony, cause of traffic . . . :whistling:
Floating Cafe, :whatever: didn't when Grantham flooded.
But seriously it's not a bad cafe 🥘🌯☕️☕️🧁🥧
Cool this morning, so thought I would take the fully faired bike out, the Pan Euro. Doing my usual irish back roads was getting into it. Then over a rise we decided to get airborne, all was good and a nice landing then a rather large change in exhaust note.
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Must have been a fairly heavy landing for the ST. Least it's in an easily accessible spot & a man of your talents will be able to fix that up with a bit of braising in short order. :onya:
You could get all carried away & re-sculpt that end of the link pipe arrangement, but it's probably not necessary really.
Anything that lands with me on it is going to be heavy. No braising gear but a chance to use my recently purchased tig/mig/mma welder from Lidl (Aldi).
If that doesn't work I have an expert on hand. It's a weird manifold looks so restrictive but it seems to work.
ST1300?
From memory that area looked different on the ST1100 I had. I can confirm a ST1100 shouldn't get lots of air over a humpbacked bridge with a 20kg sack of dogfood riding pillion as they land very nose high...
ST1100, but it could be different as the headers and collector box where changed by previous owner.
I don't remember a collector box, just a Y-piece. Mine was the original pipes but rather rotten.
Stan ( Globalrider)was in Wales so we met up for a coffee - top guy :smile2:
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Great photo @Notty. Was it cold there ? I noticed you both have puffer jackets on 🥶🥶
Great photo guys. Nice how forum members make the effort to catch up face to face :onya:
That's awesome
Couple of good lookin roosters, well done on meet up :clapping:
Quote from: GSXKING on Tuesday, 17 October 2023, 05:38 AMGreat photo @Notty. Was it cold there ? I noticed you both have puffer jackets on 🥶🥶
Our winter (nearly) here - the wind has a bit of a bite to it! Up to LHR today the back to VCR 18th (non-stop flight) - must get out on the 1400 before the insurance runs of on 4th November, then she goes to sleep for the bassmonkey weather.
Great meeting Notty (and better half) yesterday - we'll be back in the Spring to tell more stories! Cheers!
Nor really a random ride, as we'd been planning it for a week or so.
Took the Bride and my Bavarian Mistress out for the weekend for a run down south.
Was the Brides first long trip as a pillion and I must say, she took to it like a duck to water. We took all the back roads for a leisurely run with the overnight destination being Margaret River, in the heart of WA's wine growing region. Perfect weather, 26-27 deg C and clear blue skies.
First day was from home to Serpentine, to Pinjarra to Harvey, then on to Brunswick before a lunch stop in Bridgetown. Then the valley run to Nannup and onto MR in the afternoon.
Dinner in MR and a nice bottle of red, the next day breakfast in Cowamarup, then onto Gracetown, Yallingup and Dunsborough, before lunch stop in Busselton, before the cruise home.
Rolled into the drive at 5:30pm Sunday a bit tired but happy.
Bike ran flawlessly, fully loaded no issue, trip computer showing 5.3l/100km and we covered over 500km.
The Bride said she enjoyed it and was looking forward to the next trip.
My bike is currently on a "random ride" but I'm not.
The story: My brother & 2 of his mates (and their wives) started a round the South Island roady last Saturday, I met up with them on day 1 at Berlins & rode through the gorge with them, the 2 mates & their wives carried on towards their overnight stop at Punakaiki (about 45-50 min south of here) while my brother & wife came round home for a visit & catch up.
We hadn't been home long & they got a call to say one of the riders were down (he was fine though) & the bike is busted, coolant hose punctured & leaking, throttle cable snapped & indicators busted and do I have a trailer?
They said they were about 15 min past the turn off & I figured they'd probably be between Big Totara river & Little Totara river (which is exactly where they were) So we get there with the trailer, load up the bike & I take it back home. I offer my bike as a replacement for them to continue their trip, they say they'll go on to the hotel and consider their options.
Later that night I get a call and they will accept the offer of the bike, but don't know how they'll get it back to me, I said well I'd quite like it back here and not left hundreds of k's away, so they worked on a new plan.
I was a bit concerned for them & the bike because the guy who came off is only used to a DL650 & my bro rides a 900 Thruxton, both significantly lighter and less power than the GSX, and I know they tend to swap bikes on rides like this.
I had a talk to the bike before they arrived to collect it & told it what was happening & asked how it felt about it, it was excited & promised to behave & look after the newbies, so I set about readying it for the trip for them.
Next day my bro arrived as pillion on his mates GSA, he's going to ride my bike and Greg will ride his. They collected my bike & headed off back to the hotel to collect the others and continue their trip for the day to Fox Glacier.
I thought during the day yesterday where they'd be and wondered how they were getting on. Just after teatime I get a pic of the bike and my brother at Fox Glacier Hotel. He has the silliest grin on his face I've ever seen! which I recognised straight away, that's the GSX1400 grin!! & I knew what sort of day he'd had.
I know now he'll have a great trip, and so will the bike.
All going to plan, I should have it back (in 1 piece) next Saturday.
Youre a very trusting/generous bloke Col.
That's a great spot I love Punakaiki, lovely ride along that coast.
Did you give them the quick one or the blue one Col :whistling:
Some pic's of the bikes solo journey thus far.
First stop away from home, Fox Glacier accommodation
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Makarora, after going through Haast Pass. (Dave Barmy will know this place / route)
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Rooms at Alexandra, 2nd night away from home.
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There's just a subtle subconscious shift in these pics, first one has the wee 900 Thruxton (his bike) to the fore, but subsequent shots he's got the GSX to the fore! I reckon there's a subtle mindshift going on there as I know he's liking the power and the ride in general. He might move to a muscle bike.
last night the bike spent the night at Tekapo, awoke this morning to -1 and a dusting of snow & frost. Bugger riding in that, but they're heading off to Hanmer, where the expected high is just 6 degrees! They're going to be damn cold by the time they get there, if they get there as the road is closed from Waipara to Hanmer at the moment. 4½ - 5 hours of freezing riding, yeah nah, think I'd be delaying for a day.
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Is this normal or has global warming changed the weather 🙀🙀
HOW DARE YOU 🥸
No such thing a climate change or global warming - its just cyclic! :8:
The dinosaurs were warned about global warming and they took no notice. They continued driving their cars, flying around the world having expensive holidays, they didn't even try to stop farting. Just look what happened to them. If they could've payed a Carbon tax they'd still be here.
Those temps were 'out of the blue' for this time of year. Down this way we say 'no frosts after Labour weekend' and garden planting begins. We had a slight frost this morning at home in Westport, hope the tomatoes survived.
They made it to Hanmer yesterday as the road re-opened before they got there, but unfortunately the bike was dropped on arrival. Some scuffing to the engine covers & bars. Haven't seen it in person yet, but hoping to be able to buff it out? :whatever: His leg didn't work as expected when he went to put his feet down when he stopped & he & the bike fell over. I know how it happened, they'd have been so cold the body freezes up, had it myself at times, so I understand how / why it happened, it's still a shame that it did.
It's due back home to me about 11am today, so I'll get a look at the 'carnage' then. She'll be due a wash n oil change too . . .
Oh dear 🙀
I hope he and the bike aren't too bad.
You're very generous in lending the bike in the first place 🥇
Oh bugger, hope there's not much damage.
The bike is all good, only minor scuffing on the generator cover & the bar end weight, I think the tank was saved by the body underneath it!!
I'll set about cleaning her back up, as she's a very dirty girl at the mo, Hooli would be proud . . .
He had a great time on the bike and said it was a great touring bike, better than his Thruxton & the seat was comfortable all day. So, pleased they had a great week away & covered approx 2500km's.
All good Col, your mate should at least buy you new gen cover and clean it. He had cheap rental. I rode thruxton, nowhere as nice as normal Bonnie IMO.Maybe im just too old for it.
You'll need to lend it out more often to mate my mileage :cheers:
Quote from: Hooli on Saturday, 28 October 2023, 05:56 PMYou'll need to lend it out more often to mate my mileage :cheers:
:rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: Pretty sure he was talking about how dirty your GSX is @ Hooli
Nice try though 👍👍
Quote from: GSXKING on Saturday, 28 October 2023, 10:10 PMQuote from: Hooli on Saturday, 28 October 2023, 05:56 PMYou'll need to lend it out more often to mate my mileage :cheers:
:rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: Pretty sure he was talking about how dirty your GSX is @ Hooli
Nice try though 👍👍
Yes, it was just the stealth coating I was referring to, which is coming off this morning, after the World Cup final game.
Quote from: KiwiCol on Sunday, 29 October 2023, 03:55 AMQuote from: GSXKING on Saturday, 28 October 2023, 10:10 PMQuote from: Hooli on Saturday, 28 October 2023, 05:56 PMYou'll need to lend it out more often to mate my mileage :cheers:
:rofl2: :rofl2: :rofl2: Pretty sure he was talking about how dirty your GSX is @ Hooli
Nice try though 👍👍
Yes, it was just the stealth coating I was referring to, which is coming off this morning, after the World Cup final game.
Are you washing it with tears 😭
RU Kiwis lost to Sth Afrika
RL Kiwis lost to Australia
WCC Kiwis lost to Australia
All last night and early this morning 🧐🧐🧐
Nope, soap down then waterblaster. That mostly fixes it. Now moved on to the boatshed, got the cladding on yesterday, yay, about time. Now to start planning the new work benches & power point positions.
Yeah, we were our own worst enemy in that game. BTW, did ya hear Wayne Barns got man of the match for the most assists . . . :happy1: :onya: :cheers:
Terrible performance and it's abnormal to remember the referee's name in any game let alone a World Cup match.
Rules need to be unable to be interpreted or ambiguous
That was definitely not worth a red card in any game.
As Tana Umanga once said, "were not playing tiddly winks"
Not saying South Afrika didn't deserve to win, they finished with more points. However the inconsistent officials imposed themselves on the game to the detriment of the contest...... in my humble opinion.
video ref is destroying the games :furious:
I totally agree Notty.
It's a shame that as a World Cup Final, the pinnacle of the sport, at full time nobody was able to say "what a thrilling game".
But.....I did go for a ride on the bike yesterday so the day wasn't completely wasted :boogie:
Didn't bother me in the slightest, but then I never watch as I find sports totally dull to spectate.
Me either.not into Union but love Leauge. Cant stand Soccer either.
24/01/2024 Herefordshire, Monmouthshire & Worcestershire. (c.158 miles)
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First proper ride of 2024 – a succession of either storms or cold spells had kept me at home but a dry bright day of around ten degrees came into view so after a couple of messages back and forth with a mate who sometimes keeps me company, we met up at a spot on the edge of Worcester which was equidistant for us.
I took the GSX out partly because it seemed the right bike for the ride and partly because it was at the front of the garage and these days I can be a lazy so-and-so.
It was goo to get out again, it seemed like ages since my last decent run. Some nice fast A-roads to us through Hereford on to Pontrillas were we settled down for a hot sandwich and coffee in the GV Café.
For the return home Mike took the lead and it was my turn to try to keep the Multistrada in view through Monmouth and across the top of the Forest of Dean. A pleasant bit of Gloucestershire and Worcestershire followed before we split at Upton on Severn.
Hopefully it will be the first of many, you have to grab these days when you can in the British winter.
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Hmmmmm 10 deg Celsius isn't exactly what I'd call a great opportunity 🥶🥶🥶
We haven't gone under 20 degrees Celsius for about 3-4 weeks. Regularly going over 34 during the days with unending oppressive humidity.
I'm not complaining as this is a "normal" summer.
Your bike looks in great condition 👍
Thanks for the report and pics.
I've been enjoying your other videos too 🎥🎥🎥
Well my prediction of a wet summer was spot on.
I can't remember a wetter one. I've lived in Brisbane since 1972. Cyclone Tracy was 1974.
Today I rode to work at 4:30am in just drizzling rain.
The ride home at 4pm was a deluge very WET to say the least ☔️☔️☔️