Biking 1000 miles in... (Long post - Motorcycle content)

[Noops]

Good write up Shug, brings back a few memorys

Your 1000 miles reminded me of a new bike I bought when I was a young lad..... We grew up with trail bikes on the farm and loved them, I used to spend hours hooning in the feilds or the woods covered in mud,oil and sh*t...... However commuting to work on them everyday in rain,snow etc took their toll after a few years and a few near misses then eventully coming into contact with a lorry head on ???? it seemed the right time to add an extra two wheels and buy a car....... Mags would never allow me back in the saddle, although I do get the use of the odd quad bike here and there thats as much as I can handle or be bothered with .

[transglobal]

Sold my bike in May and am seriously thinking about selling the Elise too. In fact its a 95% certainty.

Do you think its the weather or could it be my diet thats causing this irrational thinking?

[hiscot]

i got back into bikes this year , 98% of the time i am rubbish sure i can accelerate hard , brake hard, corner hard, but stringing it all together thats another story however when i am focused and it does gel wow feels like the bike is dancing its a different buzz that the elise cannot give , same as when my rear tyre popped at 80 tuts with a big fish tail, or the bike shakes it head whilst cranked over you step off with a big grin and a healthy heart beat
but the difference between being in the mood and pissing down an dark is huge , still miss the elise though

[j2 lot]

Sold my bike in May and am seriously thinking about selling the Elise too. In fact its a 95% certainty.

Do you think its the weather or could it be my diet thats causing this irrational thinking?

Don't do it !! You will regret it when the toy box is empty. Keith

[Ardiem]

Good write up, Shug. There's usually a healthy congregation of bikers at the Green Welly when the weather's dry (any time of year unless it's snowing) which always welcoming to new bikers and old ones.

I'm heading up North to Ullapool this weekend on a bike trip with a few mates, you simply can't beat it. I also did a 2500 mile round trip of Europe this summer, ferrying to Zeebrugge then riding straight down through Belgium, Luxembourg and into France to meet my wife in Nice (she preferred to fly, can't think why). Got stopped by police in Belgium along with an Aston DB9 driver I had been 'chasing' at 140mph. 100Euro fine made me glad I wasn't caught in Switzerland! Rode back via Italy and through the Alps into Switzerland and then back up through France to Belgium and the ferry.

Biking is so much better in Europe, I really, really recommend you do a trip next year. Car drivers give you plenty room instead of being oblivious to you and the roads are much better nick - and usually dry. And of course you don't need to worry about the wheel being on the wrong side!

The ZX7-R is a great bike - iconic even. Just be careful though, they can be a handful in the wet cos of their weight and if you don't have a steering damper already, it might be worth considering one. My mate was killed on his ZX7-R 4 years ago after a really bad tank slapper... Don't let it put you off though, like you say the throttle goes both ways, hope you have great fun racking up the miles.

[Shug]

Cheers mate - Welly has already been visited, like you say, good bunch up there. If it's nice this weekend, I expect to be out once more...

Europe is a definite possibility (although I think it'll definitely get saved until next year when I have a little more experience). I get the impression that the Ape is keen for some of this action!

Cheers also about the advice on the bike and really sorry to hear about your mate. Certainly, it has my full attention and respect and I can't see that diminishing - had never considered that a damper might be an idea on a 7R, but will seriously think about it now.

[Lazydonkey]

Europe is a definite possibility (although I think it'll definitely get saved until next year when I have a little more experience). I get the impression that the Ape is keen for some of this action!

I was still vibrating some hours after climing off after doing 110 miles with one break. Europe may be a challenge

[Shug]

Should get a bike with a full brace of cylinders then... Although I think Ferry from Scotland/Newcastle deffo the way to go. Could not stand riding down the UK just to get to Europe.

[Lazydonkey]

Remember we have a fully furnished crash pad in normandy to abuse

[DDtB]

Remember we have a fully furnished crash pad in normandy to abuse

And so the plan began to form......

[Lazydonkey]

Only 4 hours from zeebrugge. And less miles than it takes for white finger to develop from Caen

BTW i realised last night that i passed my test 1 year and two weeks ago.

[douglasgdmw]

This thread has given the motivation to do my CBT Where's best in Edinburgh?

Been a while since I took my test but I think Two Wheel training have a good rep http://www.twowheels.co.uk/training/index.php. Has advantage that Scottish Elise's could come along and spectate

Outside of Edinburgh but would highly recommend Lothian Motorcycle Training http://www.lothianmotorcycletraining.com/ (wife passed her test years ago with them) and also ProScot in Dunfermline http://www.pro-scot.com/.

Cheers
DMW

[BigD]

Not long after I passed my test I decided to go to Northern Spain on the bike on my lonesome. I had read in Ride magazine that there were some excellent roads in that area.

So I booked the ferry from Plymouth to Santander and set off on the journey south. I was riding my trusty old CBR600F fully loaded with tent etc. My intention was to get a base and just do day trips out and about. Anyway arrived in Santander after the overnight ferry and immediately was toasted as I had my leathers on and it was roasting hot. Found a camp site in Santander and set about exploring. Ended up just in jeans and a t-shirt with a thin jacket as it was so warm. I hadn't really thought it through too well.

Decided after a couple of days that camping was not for me as it was so bloody hot in the tent and I was away from any nightlife. (On my own remember). Found a dingey little b&b for 20 Euros a night near the centre of town which became base number 2.

Every 2nd day I ventured out a different road and absolutely loved it. The roads were so good and pretty quiet. Scenery was great (Northern Spain is pretty Green), people were very welcoming as they do not get any Brit tourists like the popular locations and the nightclubs were open until about 6am, hence only riding out every second day.

My drink of choice whilst I was there was Desperados which seemed fitting sitting in a bar on my own.

[Ardiem]

I hear what you're saying about the heat. I took a ventilated jacket which acted I had hoped would keep me cool. But riding through the tunnels along the cote d'azur and into Northern Italy was the only thing that allowed me to keep cool. At one stage I was stuck in a traffic jam outside Genoa in 35C heat surrounded by lorries chucking overheated engine gases at me. My 'heat-proof' panniers melted to the exhausts. OK I could've avoided Genoa but the coastal road is magnificent and I was able to stop at a town just after and hurl myself in to the sea (after I got of my bike obviously) - absolute heaven! Made it all worthwhile.

Stay off the toll roads in Europe as not only are they bloody expensive, they're really boring too. Stick to the windy roads, you'll have much better experience. Three countries to visit would be Spain, Switzerland and Italy. France is a bit boring to be honest unless you're near Spain, Switzerland or Italy...

I did my training in Edinburgh at Two Wheels about 11 years ago and they were pretty good then. In Glasgow you could try Jim Harleys in Springburn - he's a nice bloke and I've heard good things about him as an instructor. In Falkirk you could try Jim Allans which also has good remarks.

[pete]

You are all nuts. Would it be wrong tro start a "who ends up in a wheelchair first "sweep?