Any Motörbike riders here?

AK99

^ Worst riding partner I ever went on a trip with was my brother, who would neither take responsibility for leading, nor on the other hand follow quietly, or indeed fail to complain anytime I deviated off the planned route 

Few years back we caught a ferry to LeHavre, with a plan to ride down the West Coast of France to LaRochelle, and then on into Spain. First row was at Mont St.Michel - where I saw the signpost for the place and hung a right to go over and have a wee look. always wondered what the place looked like in real life. (No actually that was the 2nd row, the first one was when he couldn't choose between the two restaurants on the ferry, and I picked the better one..) Back in the car park at the Mont, a proper row ensued. No matter that we had no schedule, no accommodation booked anywhere, and zero reason to be anywhere by any particular time - "you can't just be f*king off down every hole in the hedge just 'cos you want to". Ok ..you lead then @sshole, 'No, that's your job' says he..

Then the tool decided instead of following relatively closely as a pair, he was going to regulate the speed from the back. I was on the VRod, him on a VFR, which could comfortably cruise about 30mph faster, with the full-fairing. I was cruising about 70mph ish. He unilaterally took an executive decision that 60mph was better (fk knows why). After about 15 minutes of me slowing down and straining harder to see the ever dimishing headlight in the mirror, I realised I had the ferry tickets stashed in the bottom of my pannier - and - he had no roaming on his phone, so I thought fkit, I'm heading on, he can keep up or figure out another way home.

Oh the joys of family ..

Dominic

I used to have a riding partner who was a joy to go riding with ;basically because he was very easy-going and was always happy to do whatever I wanted him to do . When he had a normal Softail that was fine .
One day he bought himself a CVO Roadglide complete with the built in 16 speaker Stadium crushing stereo sound system .
He was quite deaf anyway but you could hear the fucking thing from the next village down the road .
Worst still ,he was a bit older than me  with a love of 50s type Doo-Wap music , Everly Bros, Buddy Holly and even more recent shite like ShowaddyWaddy !
 It used to embarrass the hell out me .......especially when turning up to biker events like the Bulldog Bash or Faaker See .
 Getting stuck together at a traffic light alongside cars was a huge embarrassment.
He was oblivious but often said to me ....."I don't understand why you ride so fast these days ........always making it difficult to keep up .....you gonna lose me like that ! "
In the end I had to tell him gently what the problem was . 
He was a bit upset because he thought the very uncool mobile disco was just the coolest thing in the world !
Sadly he misunderstood ....he thought it was all about inapprpriate music content.
I'll never forget a journey through peaceful Cambridge with 'Born to be Wild ' and 'Back in Black ' rocking the Cloisters and Quads following a mere 20 yards behind me !!!!

cruxiform

@Haych You have a flair for writing reports, that was an enjoyable read. Ah, the French and their national tradition of gravelling the roads. They do it in the alps too which can be unsettling.

I felt for you when you sounded fed up. Been there myself. In 2017 I was going through a tough time mentally and while in France with a group I just decided ‘I can’t do this’ and decided to ride home to see my son. I can be socially anxious anyway but something was telling me to just get out of there. Kudos for sticking it out. 

Thats why I I like trips on my own or with 1/2 friends. I treat trips as a holiday and not an endurance test to see how many miles I can cover in a day, done that in a group and it’s soul destroying. I like doing some ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ at scenery and taking pictures. Take each day as it comes, have breakfast, agree a plan for the day. No pressure. I like a quiet life.

I’m away in 3 weeks on my own, just riding everyday and getting an airbnb every night. I’ll just take it as it comes, a loose plan is to see some mountains  

Haych

Thanks, @cruxiform, I always wanted to be a writer or a poet, finding the time to be alone with ones thoughts is a tough challenge these days though.

The other thing I experienced on the trip was a serious amount of guilt for leaving my family home while I was out having fun.  I was quite happy seeing new places but all the while I was thinking that they should be here with me.

They were all cool about it though so I shouldn't have been so hard on myself.

Enjoy your trip, sounds like a much more relaxing way to do it, and if there's a next time for me I'll be doing it in a similar way - flexible and taking each day as it comes.

AK99

Dominic said:

He was quite deaf anyway but you could hear the fucking thing from the next village down the road .
Worst still ,he was a bit older than me  with a love of 50s type Doo-Wap music , Everly Bros, Buddy Holly and even more recent shite like ShowaddyWaddy !

  

Jzz..You're a much better man than me Dominic
 
Not even a bit of Mud - Tiger Feet or the like to raise the tone ? 

Dominic

No but I can't hear ' My boy Lollipop ' without being reminded of a big bearded 67 year old on a Harley only 40 yards behind me ...........I wanted to get a sign saying "He's nothing to do with me "

Kurtis

Anyone getting into electric bikes? 

Dominic

No thanks

Kurtis

Those verge things look pretty mad with the hub less back wheel.

Or Damon. 

Silly fast, handling meant to be really good too because all the weight can go at the bottom...silly expensive too though, for now.
Direct instant torque, very few parts between rider and road. 
200 miles, 25 mins charging. 

Going to really take off soon!

Haych

Kurtis said:

200 miles, 25 mins charging. 

This is the bit I have trouble believing.  Under optimal conditions it might be true, at the right lab controlled speed and at optimal temperatures it might be possible.

But on a cool mountain pass in the Alps with luggage?  

And 25 mins charging to what capacity and using what kind of charger, and are those chargers readily available in every petrol station?

Electric is the future for sure, because "they"state it has to be, but for serious touring it's a long way off yet.

Dominic

I think the performance can be fantastic........I've ridden the Harley........ but it's just a soulless experience 
I want gears ,the smell of petrol ,the throb of a Vtwin ,the growl of an exhaust 

Kurtis

Haych said:

Kurtis said:

200 miles, 25 mins charging. 

This is the bit I have trouble believing.  Under optimal conditions it might be true, at the right lab controlled speed and at optimal temperatures it might be possible.

But on a cool mountain pass in the Alps with luggage?  

And 25 mins charging to what capacity and using what kind of charger, and are those chargers readily available in every petrol station?

Electric is the future for sure, because "they"state it has to be, but for serious touring it's a long way off yet.

I couldn't tell you how accurate it is, but I wouldn't say it's that far off for serious touring. A few years maybe. 

How far do you ride before taking a break? 


I used to do a bit of trials and I think it could be ideal for that, or other off road stuff. 
Plus shorter runs obviously. 

p90fool

cruxiform said:

Thats why I I like trips on my own or with 1/2 friends. I treat trips as a holiday and not an endurance test to see how many miles I can cover in a day, done that in a group and it’s soul destroying. I like doing some ‘oohing’ and ‘ahhing’ at scenery and taking pictures. Take each day as it comes, have breakfast, agree a plan for the day. No pressure. I like a quiet life.

This is me too to be honest, I hate riding in groups. I only really ride with the missus now and occasionally with our singer, so for three quarters of the band it's a great way to unwind after gigs or to spend a bit of time camping together away from music.