Universal truth of traveling... supplemental.

Whenever you ask directions, no matter that you're wearing full bike gear, carrying a lid, standing next to a bike, getting off the bike or still on it, people will always ask you, "Are you driving?"

I asked a guy today, the bike in plain view behind me, me fully kitted in bike gear and carrying a lid and he gave me directions to the underground station... Weird...

he probably looked at you and thought your a tramp (bum for the yanks) and needed a dry place to sleep... not really his fault

Cross Country moto... No Challenge

Quite an easy day today. We’re still suffering under the curse of womens issues so instead of a longer drive into Lyon we had a shortened trip into Albi which took roughly an hour. Getting out of Toulouse was pretty straight forward and I was able to follow the signs all the way from one hotel to another. If I’d followed the GPS or google maps I’d probably still be there now...
Anyway, one minor issues was with my front tank. There were marks on the front upper lip where I can only assume the tyre has made contact. I’ve tried to replicate the conditions by jumping it up and down curbs loaded and unloaded and braking as hard as possible but nothing. I’ve marked the front with powder and cannot get the tyre to mark the fresh powder. I can only assume it’s from Barcelona where we braked for our lives behind a scooter, it’s the only full-blooded emergency stop I’ve made. From now on I’ll ride more carefully and keep a close eye on it. When I get back I will look at moving it. I might be able to move it back or down a bit or maybe switch it to mount on the side of the bike (my original idea) so we’ll have a play when i get home. I like the weight where it is but frankly the spot will be fine to mount other heavy gear so nothing is really lost
Ambi is nice. An old town full of French clichés and impressive architecture. The cathedral was open to the public and she went into shutter-bug mode instantly, firing snaps off at everything. We were allowed to just walk in and she observed, quite rightly, “not like England... they want paying for everything...”
We found an old monument bridge and my vertigo oddly flared up. It was only a hundred metres high above water and chances of survival if you were to fall were good. Yesterday chances of survival were less than none but I was fine. I guess irrational fear is not meant to be logical. Nice to know I’m still carrying totally baseless emotional baggage. In any case, I still walked across it and the view was very impressive. People are nice here too. I like France but it’s so damn expensive. Food is now three times the price it was a hundred miles ago. It’s good though, the cooking here is top notch. I want to try a McDonalds at some point to see what they’re like here but we haven’t even seen one.
We had a bit of rain today. The weather forecast says it’s in for tonight and then clears up. Showers by Thursday but we’ll be in another country by then so we’ll see what happens.
My brother has bought a V-strom for touring. He’s coming away with me on the Europe leg of my ride to Asia. It’s going to be a more hard-core trip, we’ll be packing less weight and running cheap. No hotels this time, camping rough. I think it’s the wrong bike, not just for the trip but for him. He tends to get bored with bikes too quickly and I can’t see the Strom getting under his skin and I think he needs to learn to love a bike and keep it long enough to bond with it. I also think that while comfortable it might be a bit too bland and heavy but we’ll see. It’s got more power than i’ve got and his bum won’t be as sore... maybe I’m jealous of that.
I think my bike is perfect for my big trip and the modifications make it just right but there’s other considerations. I use my bike daily at home. I can’t afford to take it off the road for 6 months at a time between trips to prep it. She always needs to be ready. She’ll also be daily used when i arrive in Thailand so I had to consider that too. The only thing I didn’t consider is this Europe trip, 2 up. I didn’t have that in mind when i bought my bike or even when i started the upgrades. The suspension work was just for my own benefit. The upshot is that she’s doing fine but I’m not happy with the extra weight. She’s not designed, built or rebuilt for this. I’m being careful and so far no sign of problems. I wanted the Touratech rear boxes which come with a steel subframe and can handle the weight. The cost was over £1100 and boxes are not ideal off road. My solution was £300. I thought about the 09 rear steel subframe but that was £800 from BMW (I could buy a Honda Dominator for that and just ride it). Again, not worth the cash for the possibility of snapping the subframe which is a slim possibility and I’m already taking precautions against by packing carefully. Power wise... I guess the truth is I could have done with a V-strom. I know there are crazy (American mostly) people on the ADV forum (mostly crazy Americans) who reckon the Strom is a true enduro capable of anything including travelling through time, flying and fighting robot dinosaurs but the truth is that’s a low-slung multi-strada machine with cast wheels that can just about handle some fire-roads. With two up that would have suited me fine. Acutally I looked into possible weight savings of stripping one to the bone and reworking it with better shock and forks but I found the cost prohibitive and still thought the Beemer the better bike (opinion varies).
In any case it’s always exciting to have a new bike on the table so I’m keen to see what he does with it. For my money I’d add HID spotlights straight off, upgrade the horn and look into a sturdier bash-plate. I don’t know much about the suspension but the upgrades I made to mine were well worth the money so I’d look into that. I’d not use plastic boxes, I think they’re too flimsy, especially on unmade roads which we’re planning to use. I’d go with bags and simply bungie them to the racks. Anyway, I’m keen to see what he does.
I find myself looking at the back of bikes now everywhere we go. My partner doesn’t speak English as a first language so sometimes the conversation is a little basic. Being surrounded by foreigners is making me feel even more isolated. I speak a little French but not enough to hold a worthwhile conversation. I find myself hoping to meet some English people, ideally with a bike so we can talk bollocks over a . Maybe that’s why I’m rambling so much in my blogs but hey.... you don’t have to read this crap...

Well we went into town for a wander. I feel like a proper tourist now. I tell you what, it was ok just wandering round snapping pics and mingling. Sunday is death in France. Everything is closed. I speak enough French to get by in a shop but somehow just couldn't get it today. I guess it was a regional accent, I couldn't get a word of it. That said, everyone was so nice about it. Last night we went for a pizza and a girl working there came over and told us in broken English she could help us with the menu. Tonight the waiter did the same. He caught me on the way to the toilet and showed me what things were in the kitchen to help me decide. Honestly, people out here could not be nicer. There were a few arsehole kids knocking about but if you look at them they smile and wander off sheepishly. All front, no real animosity anywhere. What a really lovely little town. So unlike England.
Once I had to go to Birmingham with my regional manager on a conference. We got a bit lost looking for the hotel and crossed in front of a car by accident. This big black car pulled up beside us and the window came down and a massive Indian looking guy leant out. We went into combat mode ready to give some abuse back and the guy just said, "Are you guys lost, can i help?" Such is life in London. We get shit all the time and we learn to expect it and be ready. It's a horrible way to be but it's life. I worked in Cash Converters for a while (those ends don't meet by themselves.) I managed the buying counter in a real scumtown. Fights every single day, usually constant. We were on first name terms with the local police we saw them all so often. I guess you just get so used to this kind of life you don't notice any more. Being out here where life is easy and there's nothing to prove is so refreshing.
We drove into town with no jackets, no gloves, no tube, nothing but our lids. I felt like a total criminal. Again, we just parked anywhere and no problems. Of course we showed due respect and so long as you do there's no problem. You don't cause one for them, they won't cause one for you. Far cry from London where you make a slight deviation from the hopelessly complicated and heavy-handed laws and you get an on-the-spot fine and a good telling-off.
Sorry to brits everywhere... this way is better by far. England is wrong, very wrong and the more I see of the world the more I think so. Travelling by bike obviously has it's own problems but I still prefer it to flying out or backpacking. I'm a biker first, i guess.
Not much else to report that will be relevant or vaguely interesting.
We're staying in an F1 hotel. It's clean but very, very basic. Cheap too, cheaper than a camp site, at least those I can find online. 30 euros and you get a room with a double bed with a bunk over the top. You get a sink but toilet and washrooms are seperate. The door has an entry code but the buttons are in a strange non-logical order. The same code lets you in the building or inside the locking front gate. It's fairly secure and has CCTV and an all night attendant. It is basic but it's decent enough. I would definitely recommend if the time is dragging on and you're tired. Even better if there's 3 of you although if you're biking you could get 2 more on the floors. Nobody cares.
Water pressure is a bit ferocious, the shower is like get pressure washed.
She's feeling better now, more like her old self so we're pushing on to the black forest. Once night in Lyon and then Mulhouse and onwards towards Poland... Hopefully.

Added info...

The bike saw 185 miles before the little yellow warning went on. I filled up at the French border, well she was filled up for me. The girl did a good job, it looked like and took both the main and front tank to the brim. There were som curly, curvy mountain roads, a 75mph blast for 40-50 miles, some getting lost in Toulouse, a gentle 65mph cruise for 60-70 miles today and the rest pottering about in town. That's over 2 days in 28-30 degree heat so some escaped and two up with heavy luggage. I'm impressed, the fuel capacity and economy is bang on. That's delivering a genuine 76.45mpg (uk) overall. I'm happy with that. at that rate the fuel is literally cheaper than the tolls.

Grin and bear it

Today was a test of endurance. over 9 hours in the saddle, well I call it a saddle but it's a device of torture after a day like this. I had it fitted with a gel-seat by a top bloke in the Kent countryside. Mr. Archer has a good reputation and is cheap. He works out of a shed but should by charging ten grand an hour telling BMW off for making crap chairs.
Anyway, the Gel seat made an instant improvement but not enough of one. My fault, we didn't really discuss my needs, I just said a few long trips and I wanted a gel seat. Chances are he would have told me I needed something else, I should have gone into more depth with him. Anyway, my fault and my sore arse.
I've felt it today, the pain is getting to us both and on top of that the bike is pissing me off. She's done nothing wrong and I'll be in love with her again soon but after a day like today I'm venting spite and she's getting blamed.
You see I'm a sportsbike rider. I love 2 strokes especially. I love the kick of power in you back, I love the blast of acceleration. I'm used to having 140+ BHP and the drag coefficient of a fully jacketed rifle bullet. My ideal bike would have a 200bhp engine and deliver 200mpg. Frankly I don't see why that's asking a lot.
Now I have 53. Actually around about 55-56 with my mods. Oooooo. Big improvement, worth every penny. The size of the bike is to small too, too small for me to carry this load with the extra ballast of a needy pillion. I've done todays trip with thoughts of what I would do different.

I love the Country. It's a great go anywhere, do anything bike with just enough of everything to make it work. The thing is I didn't buy it with this trip in mind and it's wearing thin now. I guess I should have bought a BMW boxer and cruised around happily and sold it at a profit when I get back. Anyway, I didn't.
On paper the R1200gs is the best bike for all my needs, rolled into one. In reality it's just not reliable. Maybe I should have gone to the 1150 or the 1100 but the performance figures were just too low against the weight when i was looking and I still had a different set of dynamics in my head. I don't test drive bikes. Waste of time. I buy them, ride them and make my mind up. You have to own a bike to know it, you can't get an impression any other way. I just didn't have the time or inclination to buy any more big boxers after my 1200 let me down (time and again).
I really wanted the 800 to be the one but it isn't. I was approached at Box-Hill by a Dakar rider who chatted with me and he said it was just too flimsy. Not what I wanted to hear but he was quite right. The bike is built to sell, not to work.

One time I had an Aprilia RSV Millie. I wanted a big V-twin and it was between this bike and a Suzuki SV1000. The SV had lost it's fairing in a shunt so the price was right but the seller was a dick. He messed me about so I went to see this Italian Millie knowing what to expect. Now Italian bikes are gorgeous to behold but flimsy and unreliable. The Millie is actually not a pretty bike. Somehow the styling is just bland and uninteresting compared to the visually stunning Dukatis. They do work though.
This one was not what I expected. I went with my brother and as the light went on we just stopped and stared. It was a thing of beauty. Repainted in a custom mixed glass black and it looked like a dark mirror had been melted on top of the fairing. It was just jaw-dropping. I bought it.
In fact it wasn't that quick so I had to derestrict it to make it fun but fun it was. THis was a great fun bike. A Lamborgini once had to pull over to let me pass on a motorway, this thing was an animal and I never got off of it without a grin on my face.
I bought a Sprint for daily use, the first ever Sprint RS with a certificate from Triumph. Sadly when i sold that it went to Poland to be broken for spares. Anyway, I stopped using the RSV. It was just too difficult when i could just jump on the Sprint and go without having to worry about thefts or damage.
In the end I thought they were just too alike. I bought an Aprilia Pegaso instead, a 95 in black (my favourite and the second of these I owned). I still never used the Millie. I walked out and just thought, no, I'll just use the Peg today.
I sold the Millie pretty soon after, just no point having it. It's probably dead now. The guy who bought it had never ridden a big bike before and was meant to come back for a load of expensive spares and was never heard from again.
The moral of this story is I want a faster bike but I know there's no point. The Country is the right bike and I'm griping over nothing. It was just a long-arse day and I have the hump with being lost and over-taken by solo-ridden sports bikes.

We've eaten and eaten to a mediocre standard. In France anything less than amazing is actually quite poor. We went to a pub/bar/bistro and the food was ok, not great. I ordered Caesar salad and it came with thousand island dressing. The service was top notch and everyone continues to be so friendly. A guy in the hotel even apologised for talking in front of me but he also tried bumming fags of my partner who, being Asian is terrified of unplanned human contact.
We're in Lyon now. It's a nothing special city, same as any other really but there's still a uniquely French flavour to it and by that I mean than just confusing road signs.
We had a long trip today. We started out with hassles straight off the bat with an empty tank. I didn't worry last night, I hold about 50-60 miles in reserve and the petrol station was right next door. Unfortunately this morning it was closed. We tried finding another but no luck. We drove round for ages until we found one and then got back tot he main road to find a cheaper, better one only 100 yards from where we started.
My GPS luckily advised me it could help me out so I pressed the icon to be told that to get petrol i simply had to turn around and travel 500 miles in the opposite direction. Nice one Garmin. Money well spent.
So we finally got ont he road and to be fair, navigation was simple enough. We took the scenic route which at first was a bit on the dull side. It reminded me of my first few days riding solo when i had wished she was here to see the lovely French countryside and now she was so that was nice. She's a country girl (she farts in public) and she appreciated the spectacle. Suddenly it broke into mountains and the scenery went from nice to amazing. This is a really beautiful country but the road design is poor... whenever you see something amazing there's nowhere to stop and photograph it.
This went on... and on.... and on. Bum-breaks got more frequent and the trip just seemed to get longer and longer. The GPS just kept slipping back and back and we had to stop several times to check maps because the signs don't always make sense and nothing agrees with each other.
In the end I just wanted a motorway so we could get to the hotel, eat and sleep. Getting there was a real challenge and I was just too tired. It's a lot harder with a pillion, always trying to justify yourself and the constant nagging responsibility. It's so much easier on your own.
Anyway... we finally made it and I was berating the bike for not being faster because by the end I just wanted to make up time and we can't. We can do 70mph before the vibrations kick in and I had in mind something around roughly double that.
Of course the fact is that anything over 70mph on foreign, unfamiliar roads when you're tired is stupid and dangerous and after calming down I'm glad the bike is limiting me really. The vibes don't normally kick in until around 85 which is the quickest I've been on her. My Pegaso 660 I saw 110, my old Peg cube about 120 and that bike got there pretty fast too.
Anyway, we went into town for some food without the luggage and what a relief that was to rider her normally. It's just the weight.
On top of everything there's a knock in the front steering bearings. It was ok before but I guess the weight and the miles are adding up. It will need changing when i get home and from the feel of it will be fine for now. I'm not overly concerned. My front brake pads are low as well but again, I'm not worried. I'll look for some as I go around. I swapped them out in my living room last time in about 10 minutes. Very straight forward job but might be more difficult now my tool kit is spread around the motorway outside of Milan.

So what's been on my mind today? Well I've been wondering if this is the right bike. Practically it is but is it the right bike for me? I'm a big guy and the bike is small. I'm down to 16.5stone now but was 19 a few years ago when i was overdoing the gym a bit. Because of that I'm also top heavy, even now. I like plenty of power and I'm a big fan of carbs. I always go back to singles but unlike some people I don't think they're the key to life. I reckon the mighty V-twin is the best configuration but it's not an economical setup and that's something I want. Parallel twins or split singles are just a modern way to soak up vibrations, a way to sanitize the engine. Ok, some modern P-twins put out impressive figures but what would modern singles be doing now if the bike companies had continued developing those a bit harder? Modern 400s are now showing impressive performances because they're a racing class. P-twins seem a bit pedestrian because they're not used in competition. Either way, they're not really my cup of tea. Having said that if I was looking for a basis of a great all-round adventure bike I'd look twice at the early 850 TDM. The frame was ok and the engine was good. I reckon with a completely new set of suspension and a style upgrade there might be some potential there. I had one though and the exhausts dragged on speedbumps, it wasn't very reliable and it only managed 125mph.
Maybe the V-strom. Now the performance figures of the 1000 are very appealing, especially with the potential to easily ring more power out of them but the economy is laughable and they're really too heavy for any enduro work. The 650 is good but I feel it's too aimed at touring. Absolutely nothing wrong with that but I'm looking for something else.
The Kawasaki Versys has a good engine but it doesn't speak to me.
I guess the modern world of bikes is just not for me. My opinion is that nobody builds something you can just get on and ride any more. I mean KTMs you can't ride at all without extensive modifications and they still have engine management issues. Having said that I love the Super Duke (in principal) but that's another story. I doubt there's a single biker anywhere who doesn't want a KTM if only they worked properly.
Modern bikes are built to sell. That's a simple fact. The worst example of this was the Triumph Tiger who originally in 95 had off-road pretensions but a lousy engine (I had one. Fantastic to ride but just so unreliable.) Then the pretensions melted away as Triumph caught on to the fact that people were never using them off-road so they just become a toy for showing up at the coffee shop. I'm keen to see what happens with the new Mini-Tiger. It's over-styled and that's never a good thing and apparently it's having engine management problems straight off. Nothing new there (I love Trumpets, I've had 5 or 6 or 7 of them but they're not good.) On that issue though, I thought about a Triumph Scrambler. How cool would that be?
Anyway.
Maybe an older bike. Africa twin, Tenere, XT, DR. I like the DR Big, I like it a lot. I don't know much about them other than they're big and qualified to perform medicine. It's got a big engine and lots of potential. With modern shocks and forks and some not-too-far tuning I reckon this would be a beast. My brother had one but sadly backed out of making it something special. That was a project I really wanted to see.
BMW Boxers are not reliable, I mean the engines are great but the electronics let them down. Don't get me wrong, I'm not technophobic. CDI was a huge leap forward from points and I think BMW were on the money with the Canbus and it's a shame it's not catching on. I hear people moaning about it but instances of Canbus failures are very few whereas wiring looms are a pig to work with. I believe in good technology, not ways to make things cheaper to produce or more appealing in the short term. A good example of what I mean is modern headlight design. Round headlights gave way to shaped and styled units but those units date very fast and have no real benefit over round ones. BMW Gs headlights have the best setup you can imagine but somehow the light from them is appalling. It's bad technology where the advancement only benefit the company producing the bike.
So in other words.... All I managed to think about today was bikes I didn't want. Nothing else ticks all of those boxes. Reliable, durable, economical, versatile, enduro-capable, adaptable, good handling, good acceleration, light through traffic and off tarmac, cheap to buy and support (parts, etc). A lot of bikes fill those criteria. I mean you could argue that a V-strom would but the trade off is less economy and more weight in exchange for more power to cruise. Well cruising is not my cup'o'tea.
Traveling to me is a means to an end and the means is the end. Riding long distance in a straight line is the wrong end. Tough to explain that one.
Anyhow... All bikes are compromise. You compromise on quality, against cost, power against economy, etc, etc. The G650 is a good set of compromises and I can't see a way to improve on it without building a bike from the ground up. When I get settled somewhere then maybe I will do just that. Till then... I will stick to what i have and have a sore bum..

More rambling...

I'm tired but I can't sleep. My brain won't turn off. I am a lousy navigator because I just don't care. I have a good sense of direction but can never lock down reference points to make judgments from. When I can't find something I get stressed and then I don't sleep, so here I am.
Other observations from the road. French drivers aren't as bad as people say. Most are quite courteous but a few are just overtaking monsters who have to get in front of you even if it kills them. They'll overtake anywhere.
We had a chav-scum green Golf behind us today. Over-tuned and really played with. They'd made such a mess of it that it didn't even run. He was sat behind us at some lights revving the engine. I mean we're loaded with gear, do we look like we want to play? Then he just hung back so I figured I had to have been wrong about him. I kept my eye on him just in case. He overtook us on a roundabout, nearly lost control as he did. Then he got in front just in time for the lights and couldn't pull away, his car splutteing for life and stinking of unburnt fuel. Finally he got away, lurched all over the road and chased a 4X4 up the road. Little man with something to prove but he's the only one we've seen so far. In the UK, these pricks are everywhere.
There are a lot of bikes out here and a very high number of BMWs. Most wave and are very friendly, even come up to chat. There are some well used bikes but most are brand new. Oddly the newest, cleanest and shiniest bikes are ridden by people with the worst gear. People wear gear I wouldn't look twice at back home, really bad budget brands. The nicest lid you see is a Caberg. I'm not knocking them, they're plenty good enough for a 650 single but back home a GS rider wears a high quality level of gear and if they'll talk to you they want to make sure you know it. maybe it's just that the weather is so predictable. I don't know.

Hmmmm, a DR big.

My mind is racing over this one. I love the Wilbers shock on mine, it's a great upgrade. It would need front shocks too as the original ones are just awful. The brakes are a bit weak too so they'd need replacing. My guess is there's a common mod for this, a whole front end transplant from something else that won't break the bank. The tail and headlight need replacing. They're the only things that date this bike, otherwise the styling is still great today. I'm thinking along the lines of a Buell style headlight arrangement and taller screen, replace clocks with a new, up to date dash, etc. Engine bars and a better Bash plate... probably custom made as I doubt there are many upgrades about for these. Better find a good welder.
New exhaust is a must, save enough weight to cover the cost of engine guards and match them with filters and maybe a new set of carbs. I assume there's a kit somewhere for these. I'd be surprised if there isn't. Any more tuning than that would probably be too much. New handle bars, LED indicators and tail light and probably the same bags I have now. All finished in black and grey with HID spots and ultra-bright LED rear fogs an enduro tail and as much crap stripped away as possible but I doubt there's much. I bet it could easily go to 65bhp with a corresponding torque increase in the same range.
The brain is ticking....
You'd have to sink another 3-4 grand into it, more like 5 once you've got it painted. I can handle matt myself but gloss might be better.
.... I know where there's a good one going....