Back in August, since other touring plans were scuppered due to the pandemic, we undertook a Wales motorcycle tour. A staycation, crashing with family in Welshpool for a couple of weeks with a plan to explore the best roads Wales outlined in Simon Wier’s Bikers Britain book. Check out this video of the key highlights from the trip – enjoy!
If you want to get more details of the routes, you can grab yourself a copy of the Biker’s Britain book from Amazon here.
Exciting news – I have finally bitten the bullet and upgraded from my old Honda CBF500 to a new Triumph. I’ve always been fond of Bonnevilles and their retro styling from my formative teenage years when hanging around with classic Bonneville owning bikers in Shropshire. Although this Triumph Street Twin deviates more from the Bonnevilles of old, it won my heart.
I have test rode several bikes before settling on the Street Twin.
If you have a motorcycle with a chain you will be more than familiar with the regular maintenance it requires. Spraying on chain lube every few hundred miles, the inevitable fling of oil all over the rear of your bike, and the periodic clean of thick gunk from excess lube and dirt. Depending on how much your commute and ride, it’s a chore you need to do every couple of days to a couple of weeks. On a long tour, chain lube is just one more thing you need to pack. If you don’t have a centre stand or a handy paddock stand, the job is even more hassle to ensure the entire length of your chain is sufficiently lubed. There are no two ways about it, chain maintenance is a hassle, almost enough to make you buy a shaft drive BMW or a belt drive Harley… almost. 🙂
This is where an automated motorcycle chain oiler comes to the rescue. Essentially a small reservoir of chain oil you mount to your bike, with a long hose to dispense the oil directly onto your chain and sprocket as you ride.
How the automated oiler is activated can vary:
Electronic systems are expensive (~£200+) and need wiring to your battery. Vacuum systems are cheaper (~£100) but require additional hoses connected to an engine vacuum or induction outlet. This leaves the Tutoro Auto Trek, which is activated by suspension movements as an option that is both easier to install and cost-effective (£105). It is an intriguing option that I was keen to investigate more when Tutoro offered a kit for review.
Unfortunately, there’s come a time when we as riders know that our motorcycle’s time is up. Despite all the memories that we’ve made with our motorbikes, all the challenges we’ve faced, all the ups and downs we’ve encountered, there’s a time where we have to sell our motorcycle and say goodbye.
But how do you sell a motorcycle? For one, you don’t want to underprice your bike. That’d be cutting its value short. But at the same time, you don’t want to overprice your bike for fear of no one buying it.
Today, we’ll be teaching you exactly how to sell a motorcycle and what you can do to get the maximum price possible from your bike. We’ll give you our favourite tips on selling so that at the end of the day, when it’s time to say goodbye, you’ll be able to give your motorbike the proper farewell.
If you can’t see yourself selling your motorbike, you can always rent out your motorbike to paying customers!
Mary being one of them! However, after 5 years of ownership, it’s time for her to move on from her Honda CBF500. Initially purchased to regain her riding confidence after many years off bikes, the CBF500 was a great choice for her. After we lowered it that is, she is fairly petite. Nonetheless, it’s done its job and some, from commuting around London, weekend rides, biking rallies and tours around Wales, Scotland and France.
We picked the bike up fairly cheap, but we’ve given it plenty of TLC and it’s held up well. All the routine maintenance has been taken care of with no short cuts – “Do it right, do it once” as Guy Martin would say. These Honda’s are well known for doing astronomical miles in the hands of couriers and motorcycle schools, and I’m sure this one will keep going for many more miles yet.
It’s a well-known fact that riding a motorbike fast is bloody noisy. Stock exhaust or not, wind noise can often drown out your bike at speeds upwards of 50 mph. Even with a good quiet helmet like a Schuberth, the wind noise can have a deceptive impact on your ride and the health of your ears. Excessive noise can obviously cause hearing damage, tinnitus etc. But less obvious is the fatigue it can cause as your brain unconsciously tries to process and block out the noise. As such, it’s highly recommended to wear earplugs to reduce wind noise and to maintain your concentration on riding.
One disadvantage of earplugs is they can block out too much noise, making it difficult to talk to other people, either when parked up, pillions behind or mates over Bluetooth helmet intercoms. So, when I saw Pinlock had released a set of motorcycle earplugs with a special core that selectively blocked out higher frequencies like wind noise but let through lower frequencies like voice, I was most intrigued and purchased a couple of pairs for Mary and myself to try out. Read on for our Pinlock earplugs review.
Time does fly, it seems like only yesterday that I started this journey. 8 years ago I finally heeded my better half’s advice, got myself a motorcycle license, bought my first motorcycle, hit the road and I haven’t looked back since. At the same time, I kicked off this blog to document the adventure in the vague hope others might find it somewhat interesting and perhaps learn the odd thing as I progressed. Fast forward to today, 8 years later and it’s been one hell of a ride!
There’s been biking adventures all over the globe, track days, advancing riding, innumerable group rides and lots of tinkering with bikes. Not forgetting riding together with Mary and the kids, seeing them grow up in the pillion seat. This blog has also grown from strength to strength with many great collaborations over the years. Of course, there was the odd mishap and crash, but you dust yourself off and learn from your mistakes.
Recently my news feed threw up some articles extolling the advantages of an e-bike and what struck me was how they were exactly the reasons we all love and ride motorcycles. Hardly newsworthy and of no surprise to bikers. The articles described how the electric motor assistance on an e-bike provides the following so-called advantages:
Yeah, everything us motorbikers have been taking advantage of for decades, except a motorcycle takes things much further. You can cover much longer distances, carry more luggage, carry a pillion, cut through city traffic with greater speed and explore way more on days off. So, what are the true benefits of electric bikes compared to a motorcycle? Why not just get a motorcycle instead? Read on to find out.
Being London based bikers, we are through necessity always interested in the latest motorcycle security developments. Keen to stay one step ahead of bike thieves and keep our bikes secure. So, when Litelok approached us with their new Litelok Moto lightweight motorcycle security chain, we were of course, excited to check out this innovative British designed and built security chain.
Litelok was founded by ex-Rolls Royce aero engineer Professor Neil Barron and his company has built up a reputation of producing strong, but lightweight bicycle locks. The Litelok Gold Moto 108 is their first heavy-duty product aimed at motorcycles, essentially taking their tried and tested design and beefing it up. We’ve been using the Litelok Moto over the last couple of months, read on to find out our verdict and if this really is the best lightweight motorcycle security chain currently on the market.
Looking for Motorcycle tyres in London? A new garage has just opened up which should definitely be on your list of places to check out. Two Tyres recently opened in August 2020 selling motorcycle tyres online or fitted at their bricks’n’mortar shop near Oval in South London. Formed by Ben (original founder of the VisorDown website) along with Chris (one of the founders of FWR – another reputable shop for motorcycle tyres in London) and Deano (another ex-FWR mechanic). Between them, they have plenty of experience of the real-world mechanical, customer service and shop running side, in conjunction with the online and marketing side.
I visited Two Tyres a couple of weeks after it opened to fit a fresh pair of Metzeler RoadTec 01 SE tyres on my Yamaha FZ6, check out their new facilities and grab a quick interview with Ben.
Read on to find out more and blag yourself a discount code for Two Tyres.
Edit: Two Tyres have now grown and moved to larger premises at: Unit 1, Peterboat Close, Greenwich, SE10 0PX