My new red two-up touring bike

[Bigyin]

So, any updates on the big comfy bike or has it been forgotten now the new love Triumph has taken all your affection and attention

[Tricky]

This is a bit embarrassing, I didn't realize it had been that long since I'd updated this thread- the Triumph has been gone over a year.....

The big red comfy bike is still very much here, no plans for replacement and although it hasn't had a huge amount of use ( I've put less than 1000 miles on it over the last year ), it's never failed to start no matter how long it's been standing for , and every mile has been enjoyable.

Anyway, I've dug the panniers out of the loft today and we're off to Belgium for the weekend on it tomorrow morning to drink beer and mooch about- as I've probably previously mentioned, Isabella (my OH ) had never been on a bike until we met 2 years or so ago, and this will be her first venture out of the UK by bike- she's a girl who likes clothes options and on all our other trips we have full suitcases so the packing has been interesting

Thankfully the weather gods look to be on our side, but even if we do get a bit of rain, I know it will be fun - update to follow soon

[weeksy]

So she gets 2 panniers and a top box, you get a pair of spare undies under the seat?

[Taipan]

Safe journey Amigo!

[Tricky]

So she gets 2 panniers and a top box, you get a pair of spare undies under the seat?

Almost

She gets the topbox and LH pannier, I get the RH pannier- it's about half the depth of the LH one as the exhaust is behind it

[Bigyin]

So she gets 2 panniers and a top box, you get a pair of spare undies under the seat?

Almost

She gets the topbox and LH pannier, I get the RH pannier- it's about half the depth of the LH one as the exhaust is behind it

If i had known earlier i would have offered you my GT panniers ....... almost double the size of the regular ones and enough for my 2 weeks away a few years ago including cooking/food and camping kit. I doubt Isabella could have filled them all for a weekend

Enjoy the trip

[Tricky]

A bit of a late update to this as we got back last Sunday, but, well, that’s not untypical for me I guess...

Anyway, it started with a nice uneventful ride down to Folkestone Friday morning, to arrive at an almost deserted Eurotunnel – I’ve never seen it so quiet as it was for us last weekend, definitely not complaining about that!

We pretty much rode straight onto a train along with a large gaggle (21 bikes/trikes and 30 odd people according to the guy in our carriage that I had a chat with) of Wild Hogs, who were having a couple of days in northern France







The Road Captain ( I knows as he had a badge saying he was ) was bringing around trays of pastries and pasties, which looked pretty inviting- I was chatting to one of the guys but never got offered one though which I thought a bit strange, but well, I could do with losing a few pounds anyway....

Off the train in brilliant sunshine and a very pleasant bimble through the french and Belgian countryside, and into Bruge- we are (of course) all intercom/bluetooth-ed up, which really does make these sort of trips for me- I do also appreciate that it might be the complete opposite for others.



The Hotel Rosenburg which I’d just booked blind on Booking.com was just the job all considered-- great room with the comfiest bed ever and a decent breakfast, lovely location on a canal 10 mins stroll to the Markt with a garage to chuck the bike in too- there were also a couple of other British guys on bikes staying there, so the Multi had a speedblock XSR and a GSA to keep it company and it never moved from when we arrived Friday until we left on Sunday lunchtime.



Great couple of days, di the obligatory canal trip , very entertaining with a boat driver who could have been the Dutch cousin of Mateo from Benidorm, and lots of mooching around the shops and bars, in 25-degree sunshine, with much Leffe Blonde consumed- watched the FA Cup final in one of the bars too with a handful of Chelsea supporters








Sunday came and it was time to head home, very nice ride back to Calais in brilliant sunshine, the Eurotunnel terminal was again almost empty, and funnily enough, another bunch of Harleys on the train this time too- different chapter this time though ( that I didn't take pics of )

Off the train at Folkestone and it was noticeably colder (approx 5 degrees colder ccording to the Multi’s dash) and overcast, but still reading 20- within approx 15 or 20 mins of leaving the train though, the heavens opened and it pissed it down for the remaining 100ish miles home- not particularly pleasant as we were using motorway all the way and there was standing water for most of it, but we kept ourselves going by singing Onward Christian Soldiers and other assorted Hymns ( we both had fairly strict Baptist/Chapel upbringings so we both know quite a few ), and once we hit the M25 it was jammed so 50 or so miles of filtering took my mind off the rain

We arrived home shivering and a bit cold, as neither of us had bothered packing waterproofs, but I am pleased to report that my HD Bateman boots ( I showed them to the wild hogs on the way out but it still didn't get me a pastry )were 100% waterproof- I was just wearing Bullit Denim jeans and have to say they weren’t bad either, I was soaked in places but not others and they certainly kept me drier than regular non-bikey denims or leather jeans would have.

All in all a great little trip , and Isabella, my OH, loved the bike aspect of it as much as Bruges itself too which was the main thing for me TBH.
She even wants more so the plan is that we’ll be popping across the channel again and /or across to Ireland for another mooch before the summer is out – packing wasn't even an issue as it turns out and we had space to spare- amazing what can be done when needed eh

Oh and @Bigyin - I never did get around to gluing those pannier rubbers on , I know you told me too, but I only found out how important this is last Friday morning when I went to put the panniers on the bike - thankfully some old inner tube and gaffer tape in the garage sorted us for this trip, but I need to get a little order in at my Ducati dealer before the next trip!

[Dodgy69]

I wonder if the GS chapter would of offered you a pasty.

[Tricky]

I wonder if the GS chapter would of offered you a pasty.

I think they would more likely have had foie gras ( and of course werthers )- whether they would have shared any of it though, I guess we'll never know!

[Mr Moofo]

I was in Bruges today ..
It pissed it down !

[Bigyin]

Oh and @Bigyin - I never did get around to gluing those pannier rubbers on , I know you told me too, but I only found out how important this is last Friday morning when I went to put the panniers on the bike - thankfully some old inner tube and gaffer tape in the garage sorted us for this trip, but I need to get a little order in at my Ducati dealer before the next trip!

Yeah they are a pain in the arse when you dont realise you have lost one till that vital moment when you are about to leave on a trip .... i have 1 at the moment and also need to order a replacement

Glad Isabella enjoyed the trip on the bike despite the crap weather on the way back and had to laugh at the intercom singing. I finally kitted out the wifes helmet with a bluetooth intercom after years of us riding without them. First time i tried to speak to her about something on the intercom she complained i had cut into a track of music she was listening to from her phone

[the_priest]

Love going to Brugge/Bruges. Would definitely do my first Europe bike trip there. Hymns are a good way of getting the spirits lifted and mind focused! I've ridden in Hungary and done an Ireland tour, but yet to go to Europe. This post gives me a good idea! My brother wants to go to Ireland again, I'd rather get to Bruges!

[Supermofo]

Road Captain

[Tricky]

Well, the Multi hasn't seen a lot of use since the Brugge trip, but we're going to hop across the channel again and have a bimble around northern France once the weather warms up a bit, and probably one or two UK weekend trips too and the rear tyre has really flattened off and is just about done so I slipped the wheels out today and am dropping them in to my tyre man today.
It's got Angel GTs on at the moment, and after toying with the idea of Dunlop Mutants or PR5/6, I've decided to stick with what I know (and like) , so it's getting a new pair of Pirellis.



Not the most interesting post I know, but there will be more once the weather warms up a bit and we get out on it

And sort of related to this bike thread, we're also off for a jaunt around northern Italy in May- original plan was to ride to Dusseldorf, put the bike on the train to Salzburg and go from there, but those trains have all just about stopped since covid so we're flying to Bologna and picking up a rental V4S Multi , will be an interesting bike comparison I reckon- for both of us

[Supermofo]

Yup I can't wait till the end of winter. I've got 2 weeks off work the end of March to use up some holiday. Mrs is working and kids are at school. If it's dry/mild/no salt I plan to be riding as much as possible. Which means of course it'll be snowing!

[Dodgy69]

Well, the Multi hasn't seen a lot of use since the Brugge trip, but we're going to hop across the channel again and have a bimble around northern France once the weather warms up a bit, and probably one or two UK weekend trips too and the rear tyre has really flattened off and is just about done so I slipped the wheels out today and am dropping them in to my tyre man today.
It's got Angel GTs on at the moment, and after toying with the idea of Dunlop Mutants or PR5/6, I've decided to stick with what I know (and like) , so it's getting a new pair of Pirellis.



Not the most interesting post I know, but there will be more once the weather warms up a bit and we get out on it

And sort of related to this bike thread, we're also off for a jaunt around northern Italy in May- original plan was to ride to Dusseldorf, put the bike on the train to Salzburg and go from there, but those trains have all just about stopped since covid so we're flying to Bologna and picking up a rental V4S Multi , will be an interesting bike comparison I reckon- for both of us

Might be down that way myself in May.

[Tricky]

The Multi has had a few local trips out over the last few months, but nothing substantial- as I mentioned in my last post here, we were planning a little hop across the channel into northern France for a few days, we haven’t really got around to that yet this year, but this weekend just gone was a clear one, and we had a dog-sitter sorted (thanks Kev ) so we thought we’d have a weekend away on the bike.

We only had from Friday until Sunday, the places we’d want to stay in France really need a bit more time than that, as although we like being on the bike, we like doig other stuff too, so as Isabella had never been to the Isle of Wight, and apart from quarterly trips to Newport for a couple of years a few years back (I had a couple of really good clients there), I hadn’t been there since I took my kids as real little ones, we decided on a couple of nights away in the land that time forgot – well, that’s a bit unfair as it isn’t quite that bad, but some of it did remind me of Lincolnshire…

Portsmouth is 90-100 miles from us, so really wasn’t going to be a big trip at all, realistically only a couple of tanks of fuel, but a ferry ride in the middle which always makes it seem like a bit more of an adventure for me.

The bike was all good and ready to go, the only thing I’ve done to it since sticking a new set of tyres on earlier this year has been to treat it to some fresh oil and filter, and put a Triboseat on the rear perch
She’s never complained of the seat being slippy before, but the V4 Multi we rented in Italy a month or so back apparently had a much grippier pillion seat and she really preferred it so I got one for our bike.



So Friday morning came, and sod’s fucking law meant that after weeks of glorious weather, it was going to be a very wet weekend, and although I was fine on our previous Italy trip where it also pissed down, Isabella had got well and truly drenched, so she planned ahead for this one and invested in some stylish waterproof Dainese boots, and the same Oxford Rainmaster over-jacket that I use, and we were ready to go.



And indeed it did of course piss down all day on Friday, torrential for a lot of the time, but we still had fun- stayed off the motorways, and there are some nice roads between us and the south coast, and we didn’t have that much traffic which meant despite the shitty weather, it was still a pleasant bimble down to Portsmouth for us.
Three other bikes on the ferry- two girls on Z900s and an old boy on an old side-valve Beeza.



The weather was of course exactly the same ( horrid) on the Island too, but we couldn’t check in to our Shanklin hotel until 4ish so we did an orientation lap of the Island with a nice long pub lunch in the middle- we were still smiling, it was sooo wet though.....





Now you may be thinking what’s the point in going to the IoW, it’s a dull and crappy place with bugger all to do, but you would be wrong as it turned out to be an absolutely cracking little trip away- we had a right result and Friday night we saw these boys



- Live !! (well, one of them still is )

Seriously though, only one of the original band is still playing-, Romeo Challenger ( ) the drummer, but they were absolutely excellent.
Before we saw them I knew very little about them other than the hits I remember ( and love) from the 70s and 80s growing up, but after the night, I read up on them a bit, and TBH it’s not that surprising only one’s still playing, as they had their first hit in 1973.
They sounded just like they did in the 70s and 80s though, and Andy, the current (since 2011 when Dave stepped bck) lead vocals/talker even looks like Dave Bartram, the original frontman, who apparently still manages them.

Anyway, was a top night, massive fun, albeit I reckon even though we’re in our 60s, we were some of the youngest there, we felt a bit out of place not having a walking stick or hearing aid between u, and I’ve honestly not seen that many pairs of Sketchers outside of a Sketchers shop- not that I’ve ever been in one, you understand…

I took this in the queue going in - you'll probably get an idea of the mix of the audience from it



We finished that night off we one of the nicest curries that I’ve long time and retired to our nice hotel, so all in all a cracking day, despite the shitty weather.
Saturday was good too- we never knew until we got there but this weekend was Pride weekend on the Island.
We didn’t see any big parades or such like you get in London and Brighton, but there were a good few interestingly dressed and happy people milling about in the pubs in Ryde where we spent most of the day, and it turned into a really fun day for us

We didn’t use the bike at all when we were there, but Sunday lunchtime put the luggage back on and headed off for another mini-lap of the island en route back to Fishguard for the ferry.
It was then I discovered that the RH indicators had packed up and the LH ones were intermittent too- even more frustrating, the indicator switch just put the dash into engine or suspension change modes rather than putting any indicators on, but I’m pleased to report that within an hour or so back on the bike ( in lovely sunny weather on Sunday ), things were back to normal so I guess water got in somewhere and dried out.

Anyway, I’ve just read this back and realized that pretty much everything I’ve written has been about the IoW, Shawaddywaddy ( ) or the weather and I haven’t really said much about the bike at all, but it was good, and completely re-inforced my opinions of it that I mentioned in the V4 thread- here if you haven’t seen it and are interested http://revtothelimit.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=7582

Not once on this (admittedly not big mileage, but still probably 8ish hours in the saddle over the weekend) trip did I ever think that the bike felt heavy, unwieldy, or wish for better suspension, and I couldn't honestly say that of the V4 I had.

Yup- I don’t bother using top gear unless I have at least 75-80, and it’s clunkier down low than the V4 but make no mistake this is still a fabulous engine, and I am so much happier on it than I was on the V4- I can filter for England as if I’m solo even though I’m two-up with luggage on it, was nowhere near as comfortable doing that the V4, and use the engine and have fun if I want - it just feels lighter and a lot more nimble and sporty than the V4 I had did- I think it’s a good looker too, so she’s definitely a keeper this one

[Bigyin]

Just clarifying i am liking the above post for all the bike related stuff of the magnificent Multistrada .......the showadawadadaaa stuff is however deeply suspect

[Tricky]

Blimey, it's been a while since I've posted in this one, but having said that, there hasn't really been anything to say as it has seen very (very) little action since the IoW trip...

Anyway, we’re off on our next little adventure on it in a couple of days time, the trip won’t be massive in terms of miles, but it'll be approx 1,000 , across the channel to Paris for a few nights so although it did embarrassingly few (in the 100s rather than 1000s ) miles over the last year, at the week-end it got a little annual service from me.
Just oil, and a clean and check-over really, so not particularly interesting, but it was the first time that I’ve ever had to adjust the chain on this one in some 3k miles, and it’s the first bike I’ve ever owned that’s had a chain tension measuring gauge in the standard toolkit ( along with all the other tools needed to perform the adjustment) , so although I’m sure this will be non-news to anyone who’s had one of these, it was new to me and I thought it was worth posting a pic or two of that.

And this is said gauge- the little piece of bent tin in the middle of the pic



Basically the oddly shaped cut-out on it slots onto a plastic protrusion on the chain guide on the underside of the swinging arm, and if your tension is correct, the centre of the chain rivets should be in the middle of the little slot (bizarrely when it’s on the side stand? ) – in this pic as the chain’s slightly loose it’s a little below that.



The chain is the original and a bit corroded here and there, but has no tight spots and doesn’t lift off the rear sprocket at all so it got a good clean and lube and after a little adjustment should be good for a while yet

After removing 4 or 5 5mm Allen bolts the stone guard and rear part of the chain guard is off


allowing us to get to the hub pinchbolts and the eccentric adjuster


The hub wasn’t seized so a couple of minutes later with the tools supplied in the OE toolkit, the job’s a good un



it’s had a little whizz around the lanes to check all’s well , so just need to pop those panniers on,stick the CRIT 'Air ULEZ-thingy sticker that's just arrived to the screen, charge the helmet intercoms and we’re all set

Update to follow on our return next week with pictures of French things , and more than likely us us in wet-weather gear too, as it always bloody rains when we go away on a bike!

Anyway, whether it rains or not, it'll still be an adventure and we'll have fun

[weeksy]

Enjoy the trip !!! Sounds fab mate.