A bit windy!

Ride out this morning with the rejuvenated RoSPA Hampshire RoADAR group; a 100 mile round trip to Goodwood for coffee.

We met at Wickham Square and the weather seemed to be getting brighter after a wet start, although it was pretty gusty. Andy led the group and Lillian was back marker. Six of us, three BMWs, Two Hondas and a Suzuki, headed towards Southwick but were soon being trailed through country lanes with a whole variety of surfaces, bends, gradients and gravel.

As we went across the South Downs the wind increased, and the rain returned in patchy showers. After slightly more than an hour we got to Goodwood for a break, coffee and a chat.

The weather was no better for the return trip which took us past Cowdrey Park through Midhurst, and on along the A272. Some of the wind on the exposed sections made the going difficult, keeping your line through the bends was certainly a challenge.

We finished at junction of the A272 and A32 at the famous Loomies cafe. Thanks for an interesting run chaps. More at the end of April - hopefully with good weather.

Now what happened in the MotoGP opening round in Qatar ... ?

Riding in the rain

Let's face it, this is England. If you don't ride in the rain, your bike will hardly ever see the light of day. If you don't ride in the rain, you're missing half the fun.

Check out the wet weather fun on YouTube. (with music this time)

When I was a teenager (Lambretta Li 150 followed by a BSA Bantam) I only wore what was hanging in the wardrobe.  I spent most of my rides wet and cold and wishing I was back home. When I returned to biking I decided that I would get the right gear, and be as comfortable as I can.

Most important is protection - from contact with other things, mainly the road surface and any street furniture that is along your trajectory. So that means decent gloves, boots with ankle protection and CE grade armour for knees, elbows, shoulder, hips and back.

Keeping rain out, and warmth in, are next. I use a 3/4 length jacket with close fitting collar and cuffs, zip and Velcro fly fastening, air vents for the occasional warm day in summer, and removable quilted lining. Over-trousers to match. As a special treat I wear Gerbing heated gloves in the winter.

With all this gear, riding in sub-zero temperatures, or torrential rain, is not a problem.

To keep your head intact on impact, a good quality helmet, with a Pinlock anti mist system for the visor is pretty useful.

All this stuff could cost a fortune, but you don't have to buy the most expensive - £500 should get you covered.

Enjoy the video.

Chaos avoidance

I thought I'd try a different route to work.

Since the Highways Agency have bridge repair work at Juntion 9  of the M27, the adjoining roads have been gridlocked most mornings during rush hour - not the the HA care.

The roads are choked, the tail backs then bring Segensworth roundabout to a halt, that in turn blocks the A27 back as far as St Margarets roundabout - basically it's chaos.

Anyway, I thought I'd try something different. So instead of heading to Junction 9, I decided to head for Junction 8, via the A27. I happened to choose the day that the A27, Bursledon Road qualified as the worst traffic jam in Hampshire.

I thought you might like to see it, here it is on my YouTube channel, Scratch600

Why not subscribe and catch new videos as they are uploaded?

Another Vid on YouTube

Whenever I ride I always clip on my Drift HD helmet camera. You never know when you'll need that little electronic witness.

On the days I work in Winchester I usually use the M27 / M3 to get there in the morning, and have a relaxed ride home across Morestead Down. On 14 August, as I had heard on the local radio - Jack FM, actually - that the M27 was blocked due to an accident, I decided to go in to work over the downs.

It was a sunny morning, which made the contrast between shadow and bright sun difficult for the camera to adjust to. My view, as the rider, was better than the video shows because the good old human eye works better than the best lenses in that department.

Anyway, of the 40 or so minutes I travelled to work, these seven are the best - overtaking!

I've got a leisurely ride planed for the beginning of September, I'll try and get some interesting footage for you.

Here's today's offering - The Morning Rush Hour

The bike is my Honda FJS600 Silver Wing, and the route is from Park Gate, through Burridge, Bishops Waltham and Morestead on B, and unclassified roads.

An observed ride

For reasons I shall keep to myself, for the time being, I have switched my allegiance from the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists) to RoSPA's RoADAR (RoSPA Advanced Drivers and Advanced Riders).

It was my second ride out with my new observer, the first was about as wet as you'd like and in the growing gloom of a murky evening. This time we took the Silver Wing and his GS1200 from Ower Services on the A36 up to Romsey, Otterbourne, Wickham and Denmead, crossing back to Burger King at Hedge End for a debrief.

The Honda behaved perfectly, and I received favourable comments from the observer. In all, a good morning's ride, with constructive advice, and a good chat about the biking world.

What a different ride. Nearly 100 miles, by the time I got home, and in the dry, and in the daylight. Much more progressive. No Drift-cam footage unfortunately, but I will get some more on YouTube as soon as I can find something to entertain you.

Hampshire RoADAR can be found at : http://www.roadar-hants.org.uk/index.html
The group is not very active, unlike the IAM, but are helpful if you contact them. Why not join? With some new blood, things could be a lot different.

Rhapsody in Blue

I've been talking about a new bike for some time, well the deed has been done.
I spent a lot of time considering what I wanted from motorcycle, and after considering the options I've settled on the Honda Silver Wing.

The 'Wing is a 600cc maxi-scooter, capable of more than 100mph, and with its CV transmission, rapid acceleration. For me the selling points were the on-board storage, and its weather protection.
I took delivery from Farnham Honda just over a week ago and I've covered 350 miles in some of England's finest winter downpours.

Already I'm glad to have made the change, and I'm glad I took the offer of Farnham Honda to take a demonstrator out for a few hours - an offer not matched by any other dealer in my area.

Honda out - Suzuki in

I rode out with an IAM group on Sunday, and apart from a few sideways glances, we all got along fine. The ride was along some very dirty, leafy, wet and slimy Sussex lanes. I kept up, and did everything that the 'big boys' did, including the flood water, so once she's loosened up we'll be pushing my friendly observer for some road time.

Out to play at Goodwood - spot the Silver Wing

Still looking ...

I'm still looking around for the perfect new machine, big scooter, adventure bike, tourer? Anyway in the mean time the GS500f is still doing good service, We are just about to clock 16000 miles.

I've got some time off work coming soon, so I will be booking a test ride on a Honda Silverwing, and paying a visit to my local BMW dealer, as I found that their prices weren't as bad as I had originally thought. Might even give Triumph a glance.

While my search for a new bike continues, I am occupying my spare time by warming up for the Institute of Advanced Motorcyclists (IAM) test. I've done a couple of observed runs under the watchful eye of my allocated observer and I'm glad to say that what I learned 25 years ago (30 years for my car training) has stuck with me, and I just need some fine tuning to bring me back up to standard.

Dave, my mentor, has bought a bike mounted camera so that he can film the ride and play it back with his comments - video evidence, guilty as charged! I think it is a good teaching tool, as they say a picture paints a thousand words, and you can see exactly where it all goes wrong. He is experimenting with it to see how useful it is.

I don't suppose you want to see the video, do you ... ?

...

You do?

...

Are you sure?

...

OK then.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWnp4W9Blg8&feature=plcp

A Change is as good as ...

I've had the Suzuki GS500F for nearly two years, and covered loads of miles! Now the engine has loosened up she really flies. She still returns over 65 mpg, too. But is it time to think about trading her for something different, or should I keep her 'til she's knackered?

The other thing to consider is whether I should look for a motorcycle or scooter? The bike handles really well, but the Burgman I had before also handled well, only let down by the smaller diameter wheels. But the 'big scoots' have better weather protection and on-board storage. Whereas 'proper motorcycles' perform better. Bit of a quandary.

Honda Deauville

My thoughts so far ...
1 - I shall be commuting for the next few years, so if I splash out on a bike I will want it to be reliable, and not too expensive to run.
2 - I only commute. I don't ride for pleasure, although this may change later, but is not a big consideration now.
3 - I need at least 400cc - I have to travel on motorways a lot. I don't want to go bigger than about 650cc otherwise servicing costs become expensive.
4 - The GS500F has a sports fairing which offers minimal protection from the weather. The Burgman that I owned before, was better in inclement weather.
5 - The GS has no on-board storage, so I wear a rucksack. Big scoots have under-seat storage of varying sizes. I'm not fond of top-boxes as they have an adverse effect on handling.

Suzuki Burgman 400

What have I found ...
Motorcycle-wise, I like the Honda Deauville. The new model is 700cc, it has a good sized screen and has shaft drive. Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki have nothing comparable, BMW are too big, too expensive and Triumph have nothing that appeals. The next best thing would possibly be a Suzuki Vstrom, Kawasaki Versys, HondaTransalp  or Yamaha Tenere which are all 650cc, but a more 'adventure bike' stance.

Big scoots, well, Suzuki have Burgmans of 400cc and 650cc, Honda has the 600cc Silver Wing, Yamaha the 400cc Majesty and the 500cc TMax. Aprillia have their big 850cc, which although bigger, is cheaper than some others.

Yamaha TMax

There is also the Sym MaxSym. A 400cc scoot whose lines are similar to the small Burgman. Piaggio have the new X10 at 350cc. Pity they are not importing the X10, 500cc. Perhaps I should take a trip to Europe.

But there is no rush, any ideas or suggestions from you avid readers out there?

Spring in the air ... or is it?

After a few days of sunshine and dry roads, I got the feeling that spring had arrived.
The GS500F has been going well all winter. She was serviced at 11350 miles, 2000 miles ago, and has just gone in for her annual MOT test (for those outside the UK, this is a test of road-worthiness carried out by government certified inspectors). Other than a liberal covering of road grime and filth there is nothing wrong.
Being able to ride on dry roads is a real pleasure, excitement returns to the bends and the bike's full potential can be used.

The 500 cc air-cooled twin is still returning 65-70 mph (Imperial) depending on whether I do the slow, stop-start route to Gosport or Fareham, or the flowing motorway route to Winchester or Havant (or the occasional blast into the New Forest).

It must have been because I cleaned it, because the weather has recently taken a turn for the worse, lots of English rain. Next week I gotta go back to work after a week's holiday. Apart from having to do a full, five day stint, the first day is due to be a long trip to Frimley Park, in Surrey. Let's hope it's a dry day, otherwise, after 50 miles, I'll arrive pretty soggy. Then there will be the run home ...

 M3 between J4 and J4a - © Copyright Nigel Cox and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

Winterize your bike

Sounds suitably American, doesn't it. At this time of year there are two options for motorcyclists. You can either wrap your bike up in cotton wool, stick it in the garage and wait for spring, or service it and ride it through the winter.

If you are going to be a total wimp and put it in the garage, you will need to make sure it is suitably pampered. Give it a good clean and service and park it on the centre stand, or special axle stands, to keep the weight off the tyres.

A cosy dust cover

You'll need a small electrical greenhouse heater to keep the chill off, and a battery 'conditioner' to trickle charge the battery and keep it perky until next year. To finish off the ensemble, perhaps a hand embroidered dust cover. It may be a good idea to run the engine occasionally during the lay-up, to keep the oil from draining off all the bearing surfaces.

Before you take it out into the warm, spring sunshine check oil and coolant, chain and tyre, just in case something disastrous has befallen your pride-and-joy during the dark months cowering in the garage. Search the Internet for more details of winter storage for your bike.


On the other hand, you may be a real tough biker and keep riding in all but the most severe weather. If so give it a service and check the condition of the tyres - you're gonna need some tread on that rubber. The chain will need to be oiled and the coolant levels topped up. The coolant mixture is important as it will act as an anti-freeze.

Keep your bike clean. The salt and grit spread on the roads by our highways people will corrode the iron work and scour the shiny surfaces. There is lots of advice out there, go search for more info.

Brrr!

Last year, I rode on days where the temperature didn't get above freezing, days where it didn't stop raining, in fog, high winds and most other conditions. But I took the car in the snow and in freezing rain. Just use a bit of common sense. You may be a rough-tough biker, but you don't have to kill yourself to prove it!

Keep it shiny side up!