Pedro

Well, I hope you're not counting on my visit to recreate that momentous occasion from your past. I don't remember the olive, but doesn't surprise me either.

I'm pretty glad that the future doesn't hold a guy jumping on my dinner table and pissing on my strawberries. Me and two dudes once drove from Germany to Portugal mostly at well over 200kmh, did 2100km in 14 hours. Might not sound very impressive but we stopped for a few times and had a couple of big stops for meals. I don't think that will ever happen again except if I'm running from the cops and don't actually care about my license anymore.

Is it cold, there, Tym? Or is it like tropical storm?

I love it when after a few days of holidays you loose track of what day of the week it is to be replaced with going to the beach day, or sushi day, or mojitos day, or riding motorcycle day, etc

I had made up my mind to not fit in the straight through exhaust colector, but now an acquaintance has told me he's going to switch bikes and has his titanium akrapovic colector for sale.... hmm ....

to be honest, Thumpertalk is not really about touring or anything more than proper offroad and racing, and Horizons Unlimited is not really about bikes.

Could be worse, couple of years ago there was a guy on a car forum that drained his gearbox and topped up his engine with gear fluid. After a few miles the gearbox started acting funny ...!

Damn right, Pete, give the guy a chance a go try the electrical scooter.

On liquid cooled bikes, since 2013 or so, it's been a wet clutch that you access from the front of the engine.

A modern GS is not a bike you want to have problems with, that's certain, as things get expensive fast. However, my bike has done 60.000km last week and has never needed anything. It'll get new clutch plates, though, as I've been advised to change them to improve the gearbox smoothness and as preventive measure against oil contamination fucking up the engine. Plates will be 300€ plus fitting, which is easy compared to previous generations. It is frugal, I love the handling, the brakes, etc, and I really like boxer engines, no other engine I would rather have for the riding I like to do. Also, when I bought it I chose it specifically with two up touring intended, and there is absolutely no other big trail that can do that better than this bike, period. Would I live with a Super Tenere? Surely I would, and I would love that if I had one, and maybe it would last longer too. But I like riding my bike a lot more so that's what I do and just put up with the risk of fixing it.

Bloody hell Ian, thank you for that trip through English culture

I would like to thank everyone that made this possible, it was a team effort and it's your award as much as mine. God bless America!

just leave the honey jar in plain sight and make it easy on the poor guys

@XTreme

Here you go, @XTreme

OK, do you want it via email?

Yes, very similar in texture to codfish livers, which I think you guys in the UK know about It's cooked with sliced garlic and white wine.

I see a bike with an aggressive road geometry like that and tires pretending to be offroad, and I instantly default to hate mode. Also, what's up with bigger diameter rear wheel, is this reality or is this just fantasy? Bloody hipsters!

My dinner was composed mainly of cuttlefish eggs, just to let you guys know.

Nowadays, being good and gentle to others. Used to be going off on killing sprees accross the middle east

Welcome from Pedro, also known as Pedro

I say this as a joke towards the UK, but those guys go through hell. When Maria died I was put in a cell for a while before being questioned, and all other 6 or 7 guys where black dudes (proper dark black, from central Africa) having been caught trying to jump the border. I was living a nightmare, but even so managed to see the shambles they were in, most destitute people I have ever met. And even then, not knowing anything about me and half wearing ripped clothing in winter, a couple of them tried to comfort and support me.

Poor deluded fools, imagine the disapointment after months of walking accross Africa and risking their lives in a shoddy boat, enduring months of refugee camps, to end up in the uk.

A long time ago, spanish magazine La Moto put a fast rider on a DR650 on road tires, and compared it to a CRB600 on a stretch of road used for what can best be described as a mix of motorcycle hillclimb and wrc tarmac rally, they used to have that kind of racing back then. Result was pretty much a tie.