Pedro

The Triumph looks nice with that topbox, Chris! Not like some others …

It was sorted early thing yesterday, running smooth and crisp like always.

Nice season colors out there!

Went out for a drink to Porto, haven't done that in ages on a saturday night but a friend was staying overnight there while bringing his new car from Germany to Lisbon and me and my brother had to look at the amazing new set of wheels. This turned into a later night than I was expecting so it was a struggle to leave the house by 9:30 or 10, I was set on taking the long scenic route to my home instead of the motorway, and I did. A short 30 or 40 minutes on the motorway to get going and then off in search of twisty roads. I took few pictures at first, it was too cold for me to feel like stopping and taking the warm gloves off and go for the phone which was inside my jacket. First stop was for lunch at a small rural cafe on the N2, Portugal's longest road A bowl of hot vegetable soup to warm up, it hit the spot before a pork sandwich Two other customers showed up for a taste of my sandwich Not a bad view, the whole time I was there I think only two bikes passed, and two cars both arriving to the cafe, very quiet for a sunny sunday. I think both the MotoGP and the cold morning stopped people from getting out. Better for me! A while later, a brief stop for a picture stopped over a dam Later still, stopped by Portugal's geodetic center, in Vila D'El Rei On some of the smaller parts of the N2, stopped for a short walk on the Penedo Furado viewpoint. I was going south and it warmed up a little in the afternoon, suddenly no more cold. Back on the road And no more pictures, sun was starting to go down so pressed on home, perfect winter weather today!

A fake roman bridge? WTF? Looks like a nice ride out.

It's leaning again, Pete

Are you always worried people might miss out on your ride reports without a little warning?

That looks really nice. I don't care much for those corrugations but what a nice looking road.

Indeed. I was told that BMW and KTM use the same part supplier with very identical problems on those bits, almost identical parts. The new updated ones are supposedly trouble free. Probably not, and that's great. That's why Japanese bikes rule. As I said, it's a weak point, and something that was being routinely checked for. Now it shouldn't happen again.

On today's visit to the BMW doctor I was advised to change the GS's engine weak point, the valve rocker arms. When inspected they showed signs of starting to loose their coating, so tomorrow the replacement ones are being bought and installed. Not wanting to hurry things up, I will show up in the morning with coffee or cookies, and proceed to watch things get done and help by asking questions about stuff. Part of me is annoyed about it, the other part is happy it's getting fixed and the issue eliminated. Pictures: R1100RT being washed RGV250, very cool: Bike ready for inspection Knowing about some engines collapsing prematurely, and what causes this to happen, every time we check the valves we also check the valve rockers. The valve rockers have a coating that can be brittle and sometimes fall apart and once it happens it spreads around the engine and shit happens. To prevent from shit happening they are checked, and turns out that they indeed were starting to go bad: There's a white spot that is actually a little bit of worn surface 1 rocker is starting to show signs of faillure, on each cylinder, so I'm having all 8 rockers replaced with the upgraded version. The updated version is significantly different and eliminates the issue, so I'll be sad to have to fix it but happy to have had it done and off my mind. The weakest point of the engine being the weakest no longer. Surely another one will show up in time, but that's for another time. Cozy and snug waiting for tomorrow: Updated plan for the weekend now includes preventive maintenance on the bike, and moving Saturday's ride to Sunday

So, did he call the guardia or what?

Just looked it up, they're from Pandora

This afternoon I'll take my bike for a service. It's got 81000km, time for spark plugs, air filter, all fluids plus taking the valve covers off and check valve clearance and overall wear on the camshafts. Being this engine's most known weak spot my dude is going to have a proper look around, I will take pictures and think the bike is falling apart while he tells me everything is ok, that's our routine Will also fit a borrowed center stand while mine goes to be stripped and painted. If everything is normal, tomorrow I'll pack up and go for a ride, taking some small and pretty roads all the way home, again turning what could be a 2,5 hour commute on a motorway into a day's ride, might make it home instead of sleeping away this time. It's really cold but nice clear skies, hopefully it'll be a nice day's riding without too much weekend traffic or too many bikes out.

That is very much an occupational hazard and not a nationality thing

Why not? show me a time travel rule that says that!

Now you're on a spending spree, time for a Magura setup?

Ride it with no top box on a long ride, see if you don't like not having the sail effect on sidewinds. Don't come up with the excuse for locking your helmet and jacket, you stop in deserted places where nobody would steal shit. He probably knows how to take it off. He's just too scared to not being able to put it back on

I have almost always wore Dainese, jackets since I've bought my first bike up until now, jeans, boots, only wearing a pair of bmw summer gloves now. Dainese used to be the brand that Honda dealers carried back when Honda was THE main brand in Portugal. Now my new home is near a Dainese outlet and portuguese distributer, so ever since I bought the 1150 it's just been convenient to buy the brand. That's the place I stop by for a coffee and sometimes to buy a box of wine to take home, people treat me nice and their cuts suit my weird body better than anything else I've tried. I wouldn't say no to other brands of stuff, but I do like design and like to feel like something suits me. I went shopping for jeans and a jacket last year and tried several BMW, Revit, Spidi, etc, but somehow ended back with Dainese. I like my Schuberth helmet and I'm on my second one of the same model. To be honest I like it because the C3Pro is the lightest of the modulars, and supposedly the quietest, but I've bought the second one because being a previous model it was 250€ cheaper than anything else I would consider an alternative.

Up for what, exactly …?

Do that, I’ve got a garden and space for them

I can't! Feels wrong throwing them out ...