Discussion
Krikkit said:
bolidemichael said:
My consumption is typically 10 miles per litre.
Very impressive all things considered, perhaps because you typically do longer journeys than just heading for a 100 mile blat?It didn’t have an issue starting in this warm weather and since I’m away for a couple of weeks now, have booked it in with the local indy for my return.
Some of you may recall that I took a reccy up to Hinckley a couple of months ago for the second of two 40th anniversary celebration tours that I organised for my club ofimmortal superpowered advanced motorcyclists. This was the weekend… unfortunately, it coincided with my nephew’s first communion and annoyingly a sense of duty came over me. Sigh. Nevertheless, it did open the door to a solo ride through the country on a beautiful summer’s evening. My route took me up the M40 and A43 until I could break the back of the journey and jump onto the sweeping fast, mostly poorly surface and clear roads.
We didn’t move from the Hinckley Leonardo, but that’s okay, food was decent and there was beer and company. I even bumped into a fellow PHer who joined us towards the end of the evening.
The next morning, I decided to join an early run back. There were just four of us, leaving at 8am — bed at 1.30am, up at 6.45am, brekkie at 7am and off sharpish. The route was all of the local yoakle bumpy roads, with some crackers thrown in for good measure. The VFR was absolutely superb and a totally biased opinion, looks fantastic, too.
This was actually the start of a really good road through Ashendon
Of course, in my eagerness to join the crew the previous evening, I’d forgotten to top up, to the roll eyes emoji of the run leader, so we stopped at a services which had a Starbucks. Unceremonious perhaps, but judging by the number of bikers around it must’ve been the only place o. the area to stop.
After the ride ended, I headed to Ryka’s at Box Hill. Whilst the riding around there is no longer enjoyable due to average speed etc, I’ve always loved the atmosphere and being amongst bikers. This hot Sunday was particularly enjoyable and the revamped cafe and surrounding area really adds to the buzz. I even saw someone emptying the many bins interspersed amongst the bikes!
I particularly like this saddle made by Zero Gravity
Total trip
Gave the bike a good wash
Some of you eagle eyed observers may have noticed that I no longer have the windshield screen. Well, I squeezed a wash mitt underneath it before I left and cracked the already broken and repair lug, so I was forced to source another. Miraculously, available on ebay under a non standard description I was bidding against someone determine to get it and ended up paying an indecent amount, but, judging by the amount of wind noise in my lid at motorway speed without is an investment well worth the outlay.
Anyway, I await that bit for now, what a fantastic bike — if it were named Super Duper Blackbird rather than VFR, it’d’ve sold bucketloads, it’s an awesome thing.
Some of you may recall that I took a reccy up to Hinckley a couple of months ago for the second of two 40th anniversary celebration tours that I organised for my club of
We didn’t move from the Hinckley Leonardo, but that’s okay, food was decent and there was beer and company. I even bumped into a fellow PHer who joined us towards the end of the evening.
The next morning, I decided to join an early run back. There were just four of us, leaving at 8am — bed at 1.30am, up at 6.45am, brekkie at 7am and off sharpish. The route was all of the local yoakle bumpy roads, with some crackers thrown in for good measure. The VFR was absolutely superb and a totally biased opinion, looks fantastic, too.
This was actually the start of a really good road through Ashendon
Of course, in my eagerness to join the crew the previous evening, I’d forgotten to top up, to the roll eyes emoji of the run leader, so we stopped at a services which had a Starbucks. Unceremonious perhaps, but judging by the number of bikers around it must’ve been the only place o. the area to stop.
After the ride ended, I headed to Ryka’s at Box Hill. Whilst the riding around there is no longer enjoyable due to average speed etc, I’ve always loved the atmosphere and being amongst bikers. This hot Sunday was particularly enjoyable and the revamped cafe and surrounding area really adds to the buzz. I even saw someone emptying the many bins interspersed amongst the bikes!
I particularly like this saddle made by Zero Gravity
Total trip
Gave the bike a good wash
Some of you eagle eyed observers may have noticed that I no longer have the windshield screen. Well, I squeezed a wash mitt underneath it before I left and cracked the already broken and repair lug, so I was forced to source another. Miraculously, available on ebay under a non standard description I was bidding against someone determine to get it and ended up paying an indecent amount, but, judging by the amount of wind noise in my lid at motorway speed without is an investment well worth the outlay.
Anyway, I await that bit for now, what a fantastic bike — if it were named Super Duper Blackbird rather than VFR, it’d’ve sold bucketloads, it’s an awesome thing.
The VFR went to the garage for the cold start idling issue and the only thing that my excellent indy could find was a very dirty air filter -- the previous very very dirty air filter was replaced in late 2022 (for the first ever time!) and has probably covered around 10,000 miles.
If you guys recall... when I first got the bike I dropped it frequently. It seems as though the VFR is very susceptible to breathing issues if the air filter is unhappy -- as it stands, I may just have it replaced annually as a precaution. We caught this with the earliest symptoms, so it's just as well that I did.
Other than that, I was also fortunate enough to source a replacement windshield from ebay -- unfortunately, the pricing was eye-watering for a small, but rare and vital (for my frame size) component. I just set the price to a very high max bid and rode out the attempts by the second bidder to secure it. This was fitted by the indy, too.
Sunday, went for a round robin ride in Surrey which involved a lot of stopping due to the leader's sat nav issues -- but the sun was welcome.
then spotted this in the club car park -- it shares the same engine -- unique colour scheme, however!
If you guys recall... when I first got the bike I dropped it frequently. It seems as though the VFR is very susceptible to breathing issues if the air filter is unhappy -- as it stands, I may just have it replaced annually as a precaution. We caught this with the earliest symptoms, so it's just as well that I did.
Other than that, I was also fortunate enough to source a replacement windshield from ebay -- unfortunately, the pricing was eye-watering for a small, but rare and vital (for my frame size) component. I just set the price to a very high max bid and rode out the attempts by the second bidder to secure it. This was fitted by the indy, too.
Sunday, went for a round robin ride in Surrey which involved a lot of stopping due to the leader's sat nav issues -- but the sun was welcome.
then spotted this in the club car park -- it shares the same engine -- unique colour scheme, however!
I’ve had a fairly eventful June with a last minute decision to spend a long weekend in Normandy with my club. Friday AM to Monday PM.
Alarm set for 4.45am, I woke up at 5.30am — “your alarm’s been going off”, my wife helpfully remarked. I was out of the door at 6am for an 8.18am train and I wanted to stop and fill up at the hugely expensive Folkestone Services before boarding, too.
Empty roads and 50mph average speed zones didn’t prevent quite a brisk run down — the accelerative performance of this engine is simply bonkers.
As per two years ago, the route down was chock a block of small roads and goat tracks. A lot of second and third gear stuff and hustling the bike around was pretty hard work. Particularly keeping up with the smooth and rapid run leader.
Once again we traversed the free river transport from La Bouille to Sahurs
Highlight of the day was the excellent D14 just after Guerville.
Arriving in L’Aigle just after 6pm, I was absolutely knackered!
To be continued…
Alarm set for 4.45am, I woke up at 5.30am — “your alarm’s been going off”, my wife helpfully remarked. I was out of the door at 6am for an 8.18am train and I wanted to stop and fill up at the hugely expensive Folkestone Services before boarding, too.
Empty roads and 50mph average speed zones didn’t prevent quite a brisk run down — the accelerative performance of this engine is simply bonkers.
As per two years ago, the route down was chock a block of small roads and goat tracks. A lot of second and third gear stuff and hustling the bike around was pretty hard work. Particularly keeping up with the smooth and rapid run leader.
Once again we traversed the free river transport from La Bouille to Sahurs
Highlight of the day was the excellent D14 just after Guerville.
Arriving in L’Aigle just after 6pm, I was absolutely knackered!
To be continued…
After hitting the 6.8% lagers as though they were Carling, I wasn’t feeling too splendid the following morning. So after a slow start, we headed to the Saturday market in Mortagne-au-Perche. After a wee bumble around and sampling of various produce and many, many coffees and mineral waters, we headed to the ‘Versailles of Horses’, Le Haras National du Pin.
We were fortunate to stumble upon the restaurant which turned out to be quite chilled, having lunch on a balcony in a modern complex watching some showjumping practice in nice countryside.
and a little wander around the grounds
we posed for a photo before heading back to the hotel
Unfortunately, I’d picked up a little passenger along the way for what would turn out to be their last.
We were fortunate to stumble upon the restaurant which turned out to be quite chilled, having lunch on a balcony in a modern complex watching some showjumping practice in nice countryside.
and a little wander around the grounds
we posed for a photo before heading back to the hotel
Unfortunately, I’d picked up a little passenger along the way for what would turn out to be their last.
I woke up early on Sunday, enough to step outside and see the market sellers setting up
and to hear them bemoaning having been booted out of the square thanks to the mairie securing the space for club bikes
I was given a nudge for the naughty boys’ ride on Sunday — knocking on for a three hundred mile round trip with no aim to visit any destinations or sites. Just ride briskly and have fun.
There were some really interesting places, however. Suisse Normande was really very surprising for mostly flat Normandy and catered for all manner of outdoor activities on land and water. The coffee was crap, however.
Not the greatest photos, but this image off t’interweb is similar to the first view that we got from the top
The rising was just brilliant, such a good pace with competent riders, it really gave me an opportunity to fine tune by riding at speed and with excellent curves. I was noticing that it was difficult to gauge the accuracy of my turn in and to hold a line.
Still, the weather was scorchio, the food and company good and it was a carefree day. Bliss.
and to hear them bemoaning having been booted out of the square thanks to the mairie securing the space for club bikes
I was given a nudge for the naughty boys’ ride on Sunday — knocking on for a three hundred mile round trip with no aim to visit any destinations or sites. Just ride briskly and have fun.
There were some really interesting places, however. Suisse Normande was really very surprising for mostly flat Normandy and catered for all manner of outdoor activities on land and water. The coffee was crap, however.
Not the greatest photos, but this image off t’interweb is similar to the first view that we got from the top
The rising was just brilliant, such a good pace with competent riders, it really gave me an opportunity to fine tune by riding at speed and with excellent curves. I was noticing that it was difficult to gauge the accuracy of my turn in and to hold a line.
Still, the weather was scorchio, the food and company good and it was a carefree day. Bliss.
Edited by bolidemichael on Tuesday 2nd July 23:54
It is indeed. The basic accommodation, variable at best, is almost out of necessity as there are few places to accommodate such a large cohort with appropriate parking. We’ll be looking at other options, too, particularly since they’ve been bought by a chain called Brithotel and the chef changed for the worse.
However, should the food improve I’d say that it’s perfectly adequate and the weather is commensurate to the distance travelled south and also, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.
What’s your status with respect to membership, moved away, lapsed etc?
However, should the food improve I’d say that it’s perfectly adequate and the weather is commensurate to the distance travelled south and also, proximity to the Atlantic Ocean.
What’s your status with respect to membership, moved away, lapsed etc?
Yes, that’s the way it goes sometimes. I didn’t really get on with the club thing first time around, the second coming however saw me attend the french trip last minute (there’s a theme here) and was fortunate enough to be buddied up with a couple of guys with whom I got if off straight away. That really made the difference for me this time around.
Following on from Sunday’s ‘secret squirrel’ ride, one of the adjustments that I had made successfully in order to get a little more control over the line, from the front end, was to remove the tank bag which has been an ever present for me ever since sourcing via FB. What a difference that made in tight left to right hands flowing bends at pace. All of a sudden, rather than having to lift my head up and over the bag i.e. an awkward trajectory, I could just move from side to side, sliding across my seat or by ‘squatting’ on the pegs.
On to Monday for the return leg and the run leader had taken our feedback on board and generated a more flowing run. Boy, was it fun and fast!
As it was Monday and he wasn’t so confident of finding places open for lunch, we opted for old school and stopped at a boulangerie. Watching these baguettes strapped to the back of his GS across the panniers was hilarious, wondering when I’d be called upon to catch a flying piece of pain.
Eventually we stopped for coffee, were greeted by a buxom waitress which was delightful and I wondered to pick up some fillings for the flyingbaps baguettes.
One thing that was a common theme throughout our rides within Normandy was the proliferation of villages with signs turned upside down.
One of the chaps said that this was a protest by / in support of French farmers who had recently been railing against what they claimed was a excess of bureaucracy, restrictions and unfair competition imposed by the EU overlords.
As we’d stuck exclusively to small roads, stopped in small town, shopped in small shops and eaten our baguettes on a picnic table on a public lawn on the side of the road (as is commonly available in France), it had felt like such a proper French road trip. Discovering hidden gems is not hard when travelling on the quiet lanes.
The bike was superb throughout.
I did have a moment where my mate noticed my headlight wasn’t working, but then it was working fine..?
950 miles covered in total… a good weekend.
On to Monday for the return leg and the run leader had taken our feedback on board and generated a more flowing run. Boy, was it fun and fast!
As it was Monday and he wasn’t so confident of finding places open for lunch, we opted for old school and stopped at a boulangerie. Watching these baguettes strapped to the back of his GS across the panniers was hilarious, wondering when I’d be called upon to catch a flying piece of pain.
Eventually we stopped for coffee, were greeted by a buxom waitress which was delightful and I wondered to pick up some fillings for the flying
One thing that was a common theme throughout our rides within Normandy was the proliferation of villages with signs turned upside down.
One of the chaps said that this was a protest by / in support of French farmers who had recently been railing against what they claimed was a excess of bureaucracy, restrictions and unfair competition imposed by the EU overlords.
As we’d stuck exclusively to small roads, stopped in small town, shopped in small shops and eaten our baguettes on a picnic table on a public lawn on the side of the road (as is commonly available in France), it had felt like such a proper French road trip. Discovering hidden gems is not hard when travelling on the quiet lanes.
The bike was superb throughout.
I did have a moment where my mate noticed my headlight wasn’t working, but then it was working fine..?
950 miles covered in total… a good weekend.
When I returned, I thought that I should give Darren at MCT Suspension a buzz; after all, the suspension was serviced in December and was working absolutely fine in all but the bumpiest roads -- and I knew that my riding was alright once I'd finessed a few riding techniques -- dropping the inside elbow, looking through the bend, being smooth and loosing grip on the handlebars etc... but I just wasn't getting feedback from the Michelin from 0 thru 15 or so degrees of the initial lean. Once leant over it was fine, but not enough to get it really nice and also comfortable keep up with the smoothest and swiftest riders.
He knew of the issue and was quite familiar with it -- apparently, they run ZZR1400 with the same tyres and they take up to 42psi at the front! So he recommended trying 38psi to begin with and see how I get on. Well, it has been two rides and a couple of hundred miles now and I can say that at 38psi there is an immediate difference to how the bike rolls in to bends... enough to convince me to get the same tyres again, since they've covered 9,000 miles but are excellent and sure footed in most conditions -- though the roads were quite slippery this morning. However, when I have encountered gravel, they've always given me a lot of feedback as they break away.
In other news, I've dropped the as-new expensive 45L Honda top box with Doble's in order to match the barrel to my key. I don't envision using it too much, but it may be handy on occassion if I go touring with a pillion once again.
He knew of the issue and was quite familiar with it -- apparently, they run ZZR1400 with the same tyres and they take up to 42psi at the front! So he recommended trying 38psi to begin with and see how I get on. Well, it has been two rides and a couple of hundred miles now and I can say that at 38psi there is an immediate difference to how the bike rolls in to bends... enough to convince me to get the same tyres again, since they've covered 9,000 miles but are excellent and sure footed in most conditions -- though the roads were quite slippery this morning. However, when I have encountered gravel, they've always given me a lot of feedback as they break away.
In other news, I've dropped the as-new expensive 45L Honda top box with Doble's in order to match the barrel to my key. I don't envision using it too much, but it may be handy on occassion if I go touring with a pillion once again.
After chatting to a mate about the Pilot Road 6, he made a good point — ‘why would you run a tyre that hasn’t been designed to be over-inflated’? So I ordered the Metzeler Roadtec 02, motivated also by curiosity and that I tend to enjoy Metzeler tyres — exclusively Sportec until now.
First impressions are that they’re stable and neutral with a more consistent turn in.
I also picked up the 45L top box from Doble’s, having matched the barrel to my key and fitted the back rest pad.
I’ve also ordered a now discontinued foam and pad interior kit for it from a retailer on ebay.
First impressions are that they’re stable and neutral with a more consistent turn in.
I also picked up the 45L top box from Doble’s, having matched the barrel to my key and fitted the back rest pad.
I’ve also ordered a now discontinued foam and pad interior kit for it from a retailer on ebay.
Biker9090 said:
black-k1 said:
I've not yet tried the RoadTec 02 so will be interested to hear what you think. I currently have the RoadTec 01 SE on my bike and I think it's superb. More grip than I'll ever need on the road, loads of feel and a decent range. 
I did like the Road 6 when I tried that though I thought the 01 SE was slightly better ... but only slightly!
I think your friend is slightly missing the point. Believing that either all tyres on a bike should be set to the same pressure or all bikes using the same tyre should use the same pressure is naïve. Different makes and models of tyre are different, just as different bikes are different. Your bike does not need a Road 6 to be "over inflated". Yes, the Road 6 needs more pressure than some other tyres but the pressure in the Road 6 is still within the range applicable to that tyre even if it is more for a bike that weighs less.
I'm inclined to agree tbh. It does seem weird that 36 42 is practically universal once you get to a certain size.I did like the Road 6 when I tried that though I thought the 01 SE was slightly better ... but only slightly!
I think your friend is slightly missing the point. Believing that either all tyres on a bike should be set to the same pressure or all bikes using the same tyre should use the same pressure is naïve. Different makes and models of tyre are different, just as different bikes are different. Your bike does not need a Road 6 to be "over inflated". Yes, the Road 6 needs more pressure than some other tyres but the pressure in the Road 6 is still within the range applicable to that tyre even if it is more for a bike that weighs less.
Another downside of getting Metzeler over Michelin is that only Michelin officially recognise and authorise repairs to their tyres. The other manufacturers cover their arse.
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