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Oi ! I bought someone a pint a few years ago. Then I gave up drinking and don't go to pubs anymore so I don't have to buy someone a pint again. ?

Yeah, thought that'd be a bit too serious and real for you lot. Lets just remember those exotic holidays of yesteryear... VID_20200428_111217_360.mp4

I remember someone asking him, "was racing Dakar hard?" and he laughed and said no - because all he had to do was ride. In fact, it was the only race event where he actually put ON weight (from all the Argentine barbecues he would stop at between the end of the stage and the bivouac point). The thing that made it easy was having a support team to do the maintenance and logistics. "No, Dakar wasn't hard," he said. "Not compared to all those years racing small enduro eventus in New Zealand every weekend - you'd drive down on Friday night, race Saturday and Sunday, work on the bikes on Saturday night, and drive back on Sunday night, and then get up on Monday morning and go and do your real job. That was hard." So, kudos to him for having put in the hard yards to get to a place where he gets to ride motorbikes for a living, and for being a nice bloke too.

Unfair advantage ?

My lovely 2003 XR400, out enjoying Ribatejo's summer, And the GS: Ericeira: Algarve, near Santa Clara Dam: near Faro: Mertola:

That little Beast looks like a heap of FUN....

@Specs That's Nigel's mate Jason we met up the farmyard party ?

Nah, just people letting their imaginations run away with them.

No such thing as ghosts, it’s a shame to see buildings like this going to ruin.

You need to ask Jason Lewis (one of Cupid's mates) about our meeting one of the inmates at a filling station near there ?

@Renegade has developed tightness into an art. Having retired I’m doing my best to emulate him. ?

A good friend of mine Tony Smith from Tonypandy ( i hope that's how you spell it) is a keen photography and a lot of his photos are of abandoned places like the institutes already mentioned and old factories and the like, I'm pretty sure he's been in that place in Denbigh

On a trip across the mountains to Benidorm with a pillion I came a cropper on a very steep descent on a gravel road and yes I now hate ABS, and yes I will buy new tyres and yes I did cry a bit, However luckily only minimal damage to both humans and machine and we did manage to continue to our destination. There is an article on here about heavy dual sport bikes what I will say is "When is a bike too heavy for off road use?" When you can't pick the dam thing up ...!

That there's a novel coronavirus is not in dispute, but it's still just a virus. It's the way the world has reacted to it that's new and worrying. That's why I linked the Rockefeller report, it shows that they saw a future pandemic as an opportunity and explains what they propose to do with it. Like I said, I'm resigned to what comes next, so have no real desire to convince anyone of anything. Most people go along to get along, so it's not my wish to make anyone feel uncomfortable. This social distancing nonsense, like crabs scuttling around each other in a bucket, is seriously doing my head in though and it's hard not to want to vent.

Still? Not sure what you mean by that. I just question shit and don't like to be hoodwinked is all and the Rockefeller Report is an actual report and Event 201 is an actual pandemic simulation. To be honest I have a degree of resignation and gallows humour about all of this shit, if I didn't I'd just get depressed. Watching actual families, all of whom are asymptomatic (no fever, coughs, no sneezes or means of spread by aerosol despite the nonsense being spread by CNN and the rest of the mainstream media), strictly keeping 2 metres apart, just baffles me. And when I question them on this the only answer they can give is, 'well, you never know'. If that's the level of critical thinking we've reached at this point in history, we're well and truly fucked. History shows that this sort of passivity and unquestioning acceptance of authoritarian rule is far more dangerous than any virus and most of the world just rolled over on it's back.

That, or there's a higher level of cooperation not apparent to us. No conspiracy, this is a freely available Rockefeller Report from 2010. In the light of that report last November's event 201 pandemic simulation makes sense. Read from page 18. Rockefeller Foundation.pdf

Is it ok to say that was Amazing Grace? lol Welcome!

After the 2005 Speed Triple came the 2006 Speed Triple and one would think that it would be exactly the same, but actually it wasn't. It felt different from day one, a lot less engine braking meant an increase of use of the bracks. Also different was the amount of throttle needed to get the same feeling of acceleration. It was a struggle to find out what was going on! Eventually I got the answer from Triumph. The maximum torque had been moved, from 5500 rpm to 7250 rpm, which doesn't seem a lot, but made a big difference. When questioned about this difference, Triumph explained it was in response to customer feedback, that the customers wanted more top speed and also more acceleration beyond 90 mph. Oh well, options! Can't say I loved it, but also did many miles on this bike. The best trip was 12 days riding in the North of Portugal with 3 other Triumph owners plus 1 Virago! It was such a nice tour with many funny moments and amazing roads, Some of those roads are @Pedro territory! Sold it in 2008 to help pay for my brothers school not with a heavy heart or sadness. It was always going to be a disappointment after the other one, but it was also fun and a good companion in all the trips across Europe while I was in charge of Jack Lilleys Triumph Rat Pack.

Sure will, Pete. Count on it.

Not so much where I live, I go out as much as I want really, but there's been a lot of overreach in various places. I've got plenty of country lanes to play on. And, contrary to the fearmongering, should I bin it and break something, I'll likely have the ward to myself and bunch of nurses glad to have a fit older gentleman to look after.

Heated grips and a flask of coffee ?

La belle France..........

I absolutely love riding in fresh snow, by the next day it's no good as it gets compacted and then it's like ice. I was very dissapointed that we didn't get any this year ?

More snow Bruce ? This is actually outside my house , it was taken just after I'd fallen off as I hit the kerb that i couldn't see ? and then off to see how far I can get before it gets too cold or I fall off..........

South Gloucestershre, this is actually a roman road

Wales isn't it butty........

Shropshire .....

Salisbury Plain........... and resting in the pub at lunchtime ?

In the mountains of central Sulawesi, Indonesia, before I got serious about offroad and added full knobbies + machete. But not a bad spot, eh? People call the village Ollon, because someone once said it looks a bit like Switzerland.

Monday 4th Sept Lovely road over to Geiranger. Hassle with petrol pump payment system with apparent large payments from my account, but seems it’s a deposit which they never claim. Weird. Piss break. Apparently this stuff is edible, the reindeer eat it. Blowing like crazy here with dust stinging the face. Another speeded up clip. This trip was all about taking it easy and saving fuel! Great road down to Geiranger but place crawling with tourists from cruise ship. Think it was Costa Cruises. The platform at the top is the place at the end of the clip that I didn't bother with. Here I am at Geiranger after having a great ride through the mountains to get here. Great scenery, wonderful roads and enough hairpin bends to give Santa Sprocket apoplexy! Straight to the campsite at the edge of the fjord with only a cruise ship from Costa Cruises to spoil it a little. At least the ship lends the scene a sense of scale. The place is overrun with camper vans. Mostly middle sized ones with plenty of coach built ones. Fuel consumption today, mostly keeping to the speed limits, was a gratifying 68 mpg! Not bad for a loaded up 1200. Just a few random photos with the phone as I'm still missing the lead to my card reader. ? — at Geiranger Camping

Sunday 3rd Sept The road up to the Swedish border with Norway was very interesting passing through several ski resorts. The road coming down from the heights was quite enjoyable but the Swedes supposedly have an idiot proof system whereby the whole stretch is limited to 70 km an hour regardless of the straight bits in between the bends. Crossed over into Norway and stoped at a cleared bit of forest to take in the view. A shame about the tree stumps. I stopped at Lillehammer for a McDonald’s. Unfortunately the Wi-Fi didn't work so really it was a wasted break, but I was ready for the food. Rode about another 20 kms to find this place called Odden Camping, quite expensive at €20, but beggars can't be choosers. Somewhere to the west of Lillehammer having only done about 250 miles today. The tent was wet so I needed an early break in order to get it dried out. Tent up and dry now. Time for a brew and shower before chilling with a book.

Saturday 2nd Sept I can't believe that I have so little media. I must have been enjoying the ride. Sorry for the rather boring video. Up early, again, but had half a pizza from last night to eat, and a brew to chase it down was just what I needed. Visiting the toilet block I checked and found that the office didn’t open until 0900. I was all packed and twiddling my thumbs by 0730 despite having drawn out the packing. Tent had to go in wet again but at least the inside has stayed dry up to now. Having got my deposit for a card, that I didn’t even use, back, I aimed for the bridge to Sweden, just the other side of Copenhagen, about twelve miles away. Turns out it was half tunnel, half bridge. I thought that I’d arrived at the island that’s in the middle, when in fact I was in Sweden. I should have realised with the slightly different road signs. I rode north west along the coast for an hour or so before turning north towards Karlstad, it was a pleasant ride with fewer cars, maybe because of the weekend, and pleasantly scenic with rolling hills, occasional views of the sea, with farmland and forestry giving it all a bit of interest, a pleasant change from the last couple of days. When I left the motorway, more of a dual carriageway really, I ended up on a great road, down to single lane in places such as bridges, and was able to cruise along at about fiftyish. Really enjoyed it, sun shinning and dry roads. Best of all not a great deal of traffic. With fuel getting low I stopped at a garage and managed to put the wrong stuff in the tank. At least it wasn’t diesel. I transpired that it was ethanol. The bike didn’t like it when accelerating, but wasn’t too bad at a steady speed. Braking or changing down caused a lot of popping and the fuel consumption dropped to 40mpg, whereas I’d been getting just over fifty before. I passed some lovely lakes and rivers but nowhere to stop. They have the odd lay-by, that always seems to be randomly chosen with no view! All the lakes seem to have cabins or holiday homes around them with hardly any public areas. There was one area but it was full of lorries parked up. Not encouraging really. Another tankful of fuel sorted out the poor running and the consumption returned to about 50mpg. At the same stop I had a chilly dog, and a coke to keep me going. Rather than going to Karlstad I headed north slightly earlier so missed the built up areas. Not much overtaking needed really as most traffic seem to drive at the limit or slightly over it. It’s 90 kph most of the time which isn’t a bad speed for fuel consumption and the wind noise isn’t too bad. Eventually needed somewhere to stop so saw a track going into the forest. Followed it up to a cleared area where there was the remains of someone’s fire. Good enough but a bit rough, nothing that the sleeping mat couldn’t cope with! I heard some strange dog like noises late in the evening. Looking at Google found that there are wolves in this area but can’t say that it bothered me. They’re said to be wary of man unless starving, and this time of the year I can’t see that being the case. Did hear some strange bird calling, some sort of raptor I think. Probably eagle owl. This is a distribution map link for wolves in Sweden. wolfeducationinternational.com

I have the clear one on my Donkey (DR650), it's ace. When we were riding in Spain I came out of paying for fuel and my tank had gone blue !! Who knew that Repsol colour their petrol blue ?

You will have to behave yourself now Bob LOL

We had a break in the weather for a couple of hours so while Alan was catching up on some sleep (i think) i had a little walk along the coastal path i didn't go far as i could feel the pub calling ? looking back to the campsite I did see a couple of seals popping their heads up at a distance why i was excited i don't know ?

Having spent a day in the pub, the following was better so we decided to head west towards Ullapool. Loads of these rentals about. This was at Dunnet Point, the northernmost part of the mainland. J O G is further south. It's Orkney in the distance. Heading west. Fred adjusting his load. Hmmm. Coffee break not far from Tongue. This is why I usually stop there when passing. Another one of my favourite photo stops. Now if I ever come up on the lottery ....... Kylesku bridge. This bee took a dislike to Fred. He caught it before it could do too much damage. Another nice place to live. Plenty of colour here and there. It was a mad dash to Ullapool from here as it was trying to rain with the wind getting up. Managed to find a hotel with rooms but only for one night. The whole town was packed it seems.

Wind and rain? I think not, the sun always shines in Scotland, It's like 30c or something right now in fact.

Getting Kawasaki's bean counters to ok disc brakes was a brutal fight down at Corporate let me tell you....lol

things can change daily here when it comes to weather this was me and a couple of mates last November And this is the same lane a week later a (different mates photo)

Here’s a few of mine.

not done any real off roading with the tiger yet, but just a couple of lanes and bits

A bit of tunnelling on this ride the guy that's with me is 70 years old this was 2018 he's given up the trail riding now. He said something about me trying to kill him LOL

The downside to owning a kick-start only bike had to drag it out the rut to kick it up

First trail ride on the T700, on my way back from taking it to the dealer for first service ?

Yes the S10 is a big old bus but then I#m a big old boy LOL. Not long after I bought the bike I was going out on her for a spin she was on the centre stand so while sitting on her I pushed forward to get her off the stand without looking, I had left the side stand down as well! so as she came off the centre stand she bounced off the side stand and threw the bike over to the right and over she went, again no damage but it was on flat solid ground and I managed to pick her up on my own I think the panniers help by not letting her all the way down, Where I had my little spill a few weeks back what doesn't show up on the photos very well was it happened on a steep hill with loose gravel and sand underfoot that's where the trouble lay I have had a fair few bikes in my time over the last ten years they have been mainly large cruisers/tourers IE three Harley's a Goldwing and a Honda Valkyrie Interstate and even an immaculate XJ900 after my Yams first service she would leave all of them for dead, I have had her sitting at 206km/h according to the sat nav which is fast enough for me, And when fully loaded as per the photo no difference she doesn't even notice the weight, I'm certainly not dissapointed with the engine in fact somewhat surprised at how good it is even the mpg is brilliant on my trip to the UK and back she averaged 5.2 litres/km which is just over 54 mpg and on an unladen trip of just over 450 miles taking it easy I returned an incredible 4.6 litre/km which is a little over 61 mpg this is not unheard of on a Super Tenere. Throw in their legendary reliability and and a brilliant shaft drive then I have to admit in over 45 years of riding this is by far the best bike I have ever owned. Perhaps the Gen2 engines were re-mapped a bit? Yes I do agree the S10 is perhaps too heavy for serious off roading especially if you have road tyres on like I did ,, they are going to be changed once we get out of this lock down situation and ABS that can't be switched off is a pain, I have since learnt that a fuse can be removed to turn the ABS off. Everyone is different and its horse for courses I suppose and of course everyone will admit that their current steed is the best bike in the world.......probably!!!

Following a fatal road traffic collision that occurred in Barry yesterday (26.04.20), the family have released a tribute. Alan Jones, 62 years old, from Penarth was travelling on his silver Yamaha motorbike, westbound on the A4050 Port Road East, Barry when the collision happened. His family have said, “Alan was a husband, father and devoted grandfather and was well known as a postman in the local area. The family are devastated by his sudden, tragic passing and this will leave a massive void in all of our lives.” Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 11.15am following the collision which involved Alan’s silver Yamaha motorbike and a brown Volvo XC 40, both of which had been travelling westbound. Tragically, Alan suffered fatal injuries and was declared deceased at the scene. Officers are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision, or the manner in which either vehicle was being driven prior to the collision, to come forward. Please contact 101, quoting occurrence 2000142848.