Tell us about your latest ride

[Marty_d]

Starting a new topic, similar to the "tell us about your last flight" on the sister site, but for motorbikes. (Or whatever else you've been riding. Just remember it's a family site 😜)

 

Had a lovely ride this morning, met @nomadpete and his better half for a coffee then down to Dover.

From there I took the Esperance Coast road (which I've never done before - but it was a beautiful riding road), which comes out at Surges Bay.

Beautiful day, no pesky cars in the way for most of it. Pure fun!

 

[willedoo]

My last ride wasn't very exciting at all. It was on a battered old postie bike down the driveway to pick up the mail from the letterbox. Uneventful trip down but broke down halfway back up and that's where it stayed for a few years. Haven't had a road registered bike for quite a few years now. Still remember my first ride (175cc BSA Bantam) and some of the more exciting ones. Some memories I cherish, some involving hospitals I'd rather forget.

[willedoo]

The two longest trips I ever went on were both two up with a mate on his Guzzi, sharing the riding. One was from Melbourne to Adelaide and back, around 1,500 klm, and the other was from the Sunshine Coast to Cairns and back, around 3,200 klm. There's a ton of bikes I could name that would make those trips a horror story two up, but the Guzzi was a great tourer with a nice long comfortable seat and quite low from top of seat height to the ground. I could imagine it as the sort of trip where a BMW would be good as well.

[nomadpete]

I'm keen to read the test ride report on a custom bush trike.....

[Marty_d]

When I was young and stupid (I'm no longer young) I rode from Hobart to Surfers Paradise on my Honda VFR750 for a holiday.

The viffer is a fantastic bike for throwing around corners, but it got a bit uncomfortable after 2500 km.

I did it in 3 days from memory. About 800km a day is enough on a bike, especially when you're cruising at 150 and still getting overtaken by semis.

[willedoo]

Marty, that's a big ride, a bit longer than the one we did from the Sunny Coast to Cairns. I think from memory, Brisbane to Melbourne is about the same as Brisbane to Cairns. We did that trip up in about three days as well. Slept the first night in some concrete pipes at a road construction job, second night in Townsville at a mate's place and when we got to Cairns we got talking to a bloke and his wife who both had Harleys and they invited us to camp at their place. I think it was in Rockhampton from memory, a bloke approached us in the street to have a look at the Guzzi and he invited us around to his place to check out his bikes. He had Black Shadow and Rapide Vincents and a Norton single, a long time ago so I can't remember if it was a Manx or International. Talk about envy, I would have chewed my arm off for that Black Shadow.

[Jerry_Atrick]

From the workshop --> home... Electrical gremlin fixed; sunny day, light breeze,  cooling weather (about 18)... traffic reasonable. Smile back on face. 

[facthunter]

 I can't see any Point in chewing your arm off and then be unable to ride ANY bike.. Have you ridden a Vincent? Nev

[nomadpete]

9 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

From the workshop --> home... Electrical gremlin fixed; sunny day, light breeze,  cooling weather (about 18)... traffic reasonable. Smile back on face. 

Never was a problem in the good ole days - bikes had a kick starter and a magneto to make the motor go and a carbide lamp up front to light the path.

 

Batteries? Bah!

[Litespeed]

4 hours ago, facthunter said:

 I can't see any Point in chewing your arm off and then be unable to ride ANY bike.. Have you ridden a Vincent? Nev

Agreed,

 

I'd chew the arm off the owner to get the Vincent would make better sense.

 

Then you can enjoy riding with two arms.

[facthunter]

They aren't such a nice bike to ride anyhow.. They have gone off their elevated value quite a bit lately.. Nev

[Marty_d]

8 hours ago, nomadpete said:

Never was a problem in the good ole days - bikes had a kick starter and a magneto to make the motor go and a carbide lamp up front to light the path.

 

Batteries? Bah!

Hmmmm. So your current bike has no battery and a carbide lamp?

[willedoo]

I've got two magnetos on the place, neither attached to bikes. One lives on an out of comission David Brown tractor, and the other one I'm not 100% sure, I think it's off an R-670 Continental.

[nomadpete]

3 hours ago, Marty_d said:

Hmmmm. So your current bike has no battery and a carbide lamp?

Not mine. But OME's might qualify

[facthunter]

It doesn't . Generator Elec horn Lights  stop Light and battery. Coil with Points ignition. Kick starter. Nev

[nomadpete]

5 hours ago, facthunter said:

It doesn't . Generator Elec horn Lights  stop Light and battery. Coil with Points ignition. Kick starter. Nev

Ok, older than a WLA.

OME knows I was only joking about his ride. No offense intended. I know he has broad shoulders.

Edited Thursday at 05:11 PM by nomadpete

[Jerry_Atrick]

My daughter moved into a house in Exeter yesterday with two others ahead of the start of the new academic year. I decided to use the bike to deliver some odds and sods and go for my first decent ride in a couple of months - after the best summer we have had for riding for ages. 

 

It was about an hour each way, country lanes and roads to the motorway and then through Exeter to her house. The ride on the motorway was relaxed, maintaining around 70mph. A few groups of bikes passed and we all waved to each other - excellent comradery amongst UK bikers. 

 

From the motorway, travelling to and through the main part of Exeter is a pain as it is single lane, busy and has buses. It is often little more than a traffic jam. But with the bike, filtering between the two oncoming lanes was a breeze. Cars move out of your way and when passing or facing oncoming wider vehicles (buses mainly), one just zips back in and everything is OK. Passed two police cars who waved as I went past. 

 

On the way back, the traffic was a little lighter and I was a little faster on the motorway. Weather was lovely - sunny, little wind, and about 18 degrees, although a little humid. 

 

I return the rental car today. And will go for a ride again after that.

 

Still smiling.

 

The dark blue was the route I took

 

Edited 4 hours ago by Jerry_Atrick

[Marty_d]

3 hours ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

Passed two police cars who waved as I went past. 

 

"Waved", or "gesticulated for the offender to pull over"....

It's all in the perspective. 😜

[Marty_d]

My wife and I had a good ride yesterday. Weather was absolutely magnificent so we went to Richmond via the lovely bends of Grasstree Hill.

At one point, coming the other way were half a dozen bikes which I exchanged nods with (no waving in the twisty bits!) - but the last one in line was a police bike. We don't know if he'd pulled out and was about to book them, or if it was a training ride (although they didn't look like learners), or if it was just a bored cop who decided to have a bit of fun himself.

We had lunch at Pooleys vineyard, then went via Tea Tree and Brighton back to Hobart.

After a coffee with Kate's brother we headed home via Taroona, which is also a great road for bikes. 

Very enjoyable day.