smilinjack

You see, slowly but inexorably, you're all learning that motorbike luggage is the future. It's so liberating-distance and weather aren't half as scary when you're adequately prepared.

Even I wouldn't go that far. Strictly for Lead Wing users I reckon.

I almost passed your house on Sunday mate-got fed up of the A66 so I went through Middleton, Alston & back onto the M6 near Brampton. Not a bad stretch of road that. I might have to do it on the bike sometime.

I think you might be advised to check your reg/rec if that's a new battery. These things don't tend to happen randomly.

I'm in Inverness most of this week, and found an interesting little stroll only a couple of miles from today's job. Quite a tough climb but worth the effort. It's Fyrish Hill near Alness. The monument at the top has an interesting story too (see bottom) Halfway up, that's the Cromarty Firth below and the Black Isle opposite. Cairngorms not that visible are in the background. At the top is this monument.... The Fyrish Monument is a monument built in 1782 on Fyrish Hill (Cnoc Fyrish), in Fyrish near Evanton, Easter Ross, Scotland, on the orders of Sir Hector Munro, 8th of Novar, a native lord of the area who had served in India as a general. As the local population were being cleared off their land to make way for sheep, employment was a problem and so it was built to give the locals some work. It represents the Gate of Negapatam, a port in Madras, India, which General Munro took for the British in 1781. It is visible from almost anywhere in the parishes of Kiltearn and Alness.

Itchy-that route is going to be approaching 2k miles. I budget around £1500 if I'm touring over a week as I don't camp and hotels can occasionally become expensive if you take pot luck and find all the cheap ones are full. Ptolemyx et al there are two ways I can approach next year. I can do a shorter trip (Picos for example) but would need to swap bikes at my place so might need to razz off, or we could do Pyrenees and detour from there (quite a detour as it's 120 miles south of Barcelona) French side is equally nice with some great looking roads so you could call it a two country tour for not massive effort. Or, I could do a short tour with yourselves but make my own way home having swapped bikes. No rush, but I will say for me it would have to incorporate late Spring Bank Holiday to gain a day's leave. Let's hope we can make something hang together.

I might very well be doing just that in any case to bring my VFR home for it's MOT. I was thinking N-260 west from Santander/Bilbao, swap bikes (I was planning going on my ZZR) at my apartment, up the Med coast to Grasse and then Route Napoleon to Grenoble, onwards to Calais & the tunnel. Won't come cheap mind which is why I've already started saving.

Yep I was going to point that out. I'd organise for a max of 6 bikes personally. First come, first served.

You'll get good help on the zzr forum

Are you absolutely sure you put the pipes back on correctly? Don't know the specifics of a ZZR600 but it may be you have the vacuum tube on wrong, which prevents fuel from flowing through the tap. PS I did that with my Bandit-I'd pulled the vacuum tube off at the carburettor end when lifting the tank. Follow the tubes to their ends to check.

Bet you did Dave cuz frankly it's a load of old bollox really. Just a lot of doped up actors indulging themselves. Seemed good at the time.....

Blimey mate where you bin? They've been there for the age of a crow. In fairness I've seen some pretty shit riding up there so unfortunately we're all going to suffer for the sins of the few. No change there then...... Oops sorry mate I had a bit of a dribble there. Snake Pass is a new one. My apologies.

I passed a Bentley dealership today, but his p/x offer on my bike was derisory

....of Motorcycle Maintenance. Quite by chance a young workmate of mine got to asking me about it, and I sort of wondered- is there anyone on here who's read it, and what did you think? First time I read I guess would be late 70's early 80's, and I've read it twice since, plus odd chunks of it if I happen to find it when looking for something else. You know how it is. Am I just an ageing weirdo or do others share my passion for this seminal book?

You do this to make me jealous Dave I am actually on holiday tomorrow but I'm delivering a machine I bought a while ago so no ride, but good profit

Interestingly enough, I read a piece about Jessica Ennis a few days ago. She's set to be the first British athlete to pass £1m in sponsorship. She was given a £78,000 Jaguar car to use at the beginning of the Olympics, so the romantic notion of these heroes & heroines being up at the crack of dawn and slogging away for love of the sport and nothing else is not necessarily an accurate one. But of course when did the Sun allow the facts to get in the way of an outpouring of populist bile?

what a pain the ones in the RF are just 303 mm thanks for looking Alan Nae bother dude. I think I'm going to put them back in and use the bike once I've got it taxed & ticketed. It's been a second bike all it's life so really ought to get some use from it.

The Hagon springs are 380mm long. Interestingly the originals are 375mm, dunno if that's old age or they are a bit shorter.

Distinct possibility mate. I'm in the office so won't be late in, just a question of what work there might be up at the unit.

As regards rooms, you're only a mile or two out of Nottingham centre and even more local is West Bridgford which has a good few guest houses etc.

Well after numerous hours I've got the thing pretty much nailed, so it looks like I won't need a restore or OS disc. Let's see how long it lasts when she gets it back

No point me staying out really but I'll try & attend at some juncture.

I'll measure them tomorrow mate-they're up at my work unit.