29 March 2011

Ride of Respect 2011 - Wootton Bassett

Only a few days to go...  The bike all ready to go and a new MoT in the bag.
This year it seems there are only three of us going from the Kent Centre - Ian G, my brother Neill and me.

I have the same run as last year dialled into the Quest and expect to make the first pit stop at Sainsbury's in Bracknell like last year.  The petrol stops nearer WB will be chock full as they were last year, especially as the numbers look to be more than were there last year.

21 March 2011

Pioneer Run - 20th March 2011

There were just two of us from the Kent Centre on this run across to Brighton for the annual Pioneer Run.

The plan was to stick to the A259 all the way, but that had to be aborted outside Hastings as the town centre and sea front was closed to traffic for their annual Half Marathon.


We arrived in Brighton and parked up on the lower Madeira Drive with loads of other bikes. We spent a bit of time looking at the visitors bikes before moving onto the Veterans.

Both Cal and I took a few photos and then after lunch of sausage and chips we had a wander back through the enclosure and then back to the bikes and the A259 run home. This time the marathon was over and we got the full seaside experience.


17 March 2011

10 March 2011

HD WLA 45 Bobber

On a walk at lunchtime I was in Holloway Road when I saw this HD parked up outside the University.

Looks pretty minimalist but nicely put together.

Lovely job.

9 March 2011

Evening Ride

Got home a little earlier than usual and decided to have a ride on the bike to see if it would start (!) after the weekend's messing about, and also nip to Alford Brothers, Suzuki dealers in Folkestone, and book my MoT.

I also gave the iPhone version of Everytrail a run out to see how accurate it was.  It's not bad but it looks in some places that I rode through some people's houses!!!

High Speed Train


High Speed Train, originally uploaded by Invicta Moto.

It costs an arm and part of a leg every week to get to work on one of these....

New Top Box

Although I like the BMW box that the bike has at the moment I have bought a new one.
It's a Chinese copy of a Givi for a fraction of the price.
After some scrote forced the box open the lock is suspect on the old one. With a lock kit costing about £100 it was easier and cheaper to but a new one.
Fingers crossed the old one will come off!! And thsis mounting plate fits!!!

8 March 2011

Window scraping!

Can't believe I woke up to a thick frost this morning. You hope that once into March that the better weather is on the way.

Luckily is was soft, almost like a sorbet! So easy to scrape and accumulate in a rough pile by the wipers.

6 March 2011

First Ride of the Year

It has taken longer than usual to get out on the bike this year. 

After a long lay up in the garage the battery was flat. I had already charged up the spare battery out of the Kettle but it did have the oomph to provide a charge big enough to fire the bike. It started very easily this time, but after 20 minutes running on the drive I turned it off and it wouldn't start. I whipped off the starter motor cover and hooked it up to the Punto again. 

Cal from the Kent Centre dropped by to pick up some cards I had made for the Centre. I togged up and followed him for a while then headed up through West Hythe, then Lympne. Then a little nip down the M20 to give it a few more revs. Then off by the tunnel, over the downs via Peene and off to Stowting and a look at the Tiger Inn, from the cars outside it looked packed, then out via Brabourne to Ashford and another squirt down the motorway and home. Forty five miles to see if I can get a charge in the battery! Good to be out on the bike again. 

Can't wait for the summer to come round!

Jumping from the car!!


Jumping from the car!!, originally uploaded by Invicta Moto.

Paul Devall

3 March 2011

Earth Hour 2011– Any chance we can do it?

Here’s the details.
On March 26th you'll be urged to switch off all your lights at 8:30pm (GMT) for an hour.
The environmentally friendly concept started in 2007 in Australia and only a year later more than 50 million people across 35 countries participated. Even global landmarks such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, CN Tower in Toronto, Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and Rome's Colosseum have stood in darkness for Earth Hour.
Can we do it?

Welsh National Rally Accommodation

When we were in Ironbridge last week we visited the Coalport China Works. In one of the buildings there is a newish Youth Hostel. We booked in last year but I missed out as the GS broke down on the way.

Whilst there I booked for the Friday night before the rally. For the Saturday night after the rally I am looking for alternative accommodation so when a "sale" email arrived offering rooms from £10 I had to look on http://www2.travelodge.co.uk/. A bit like Ryanair it is almost impossible to find any rooms at that price!

Search on still!

Away at the Mancs

Managed to get lucky and made the criteria for a ticket to the Qtr Final of the FA Cup at Old Trafford.

Now have to work out how to get up there for a 1715 kick off. And more importantly how to get back so the entire weekend isn't lost at home.

Aaaaarrrggghhhh!

Need to get the GS started this weekend. Will miss the Robinson's event for the release of the new 2011 GSXR750 on Saturday and hoping to get to the open day on Sunday though.

Once again after a lay-off the battery is too weak to start the engine. At least the clock still works!