InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

The popular name for the Rocket's in black with white stripes is "Pepe" after Pepe le Pew the cartoon character. So my R3 can be "Red Pepe".

It's two years since my brother Neill and I had the whistle stop trip to Scotland to take our Mum's ashes to their final resting place near Aviemore. It's even longer since the bike club's "indoor camping weekends" came to a halt. Every year for four or five I organised a trip up to Scotland for the SOC and we stayed in youth hostels and student rooms where colleges were closed for the summer. So this year we are going back, but in the car. Claire will be the co-pilot and front seat the back seat driver will be Reggie. The plan is to get away after work and get part way on the road, at least get around London so we can have a clearer run on the Friday morning.  I have planned a second stop near Carlisle. Hopefully the route will take us near some part of Hadrian's Wall as we cut across from the east coast and the A1 to the M6/A6.  And then into Scotland near Gretna. We have two overnights in Glencoe and three near L...

Another new Givi Tank Bag? Why? Simple, the Givi 3D604 I bought and that fitted wonderfully on the Explorer was way to big to fit on the Rocket! So big that once in place it was impossible to see the clocks, nor could I turn the bike as the bars wouldn't turn more than a few inches. So it went on eBay and I sold it and used the funds to buy a much smaller Givi XS319. Even one this small, a mere 3 litre capacity, and even then there is still a little contact with the handlebars. It comes with a  fluorescent yellow waterproof cover. Inside there are no partitions just one space. It takes my little Sony Cybershot camera, my glasses case and a pen.  There is space for a few other small items. When travelling abroad I put my passport in there too and occasionally my wallet.  Easier than fumbling in pockets. It's a superb little bag.

Finally managed to get a picture or two of the sissy bar in place and fitted! Side view Rear view Looks good.

YAH! Today was billed as sunny and once the dog walking and lunch had been taken, I could get out on R3, I decided to have a ride to Dungeness and the Railway Cafe to have a cup of tea and at the same time test the camera. Lining it up with the app on the iPhone was child's play.  Rather than start at home I stopped on the back road on the marsh and did a short ride before stopping it. The iPhone app won't stream from the camera but you can download, With limited space on the phone this is not an option. I had to wait to get home and get them on the laptop and then have a look. Two of the four look all right but two seems to have been taken through a steamed-up lens or "soft focus".  The camera looked okay when I checked it out. Here's the first vid: The music is Joe Bonamassa "Slow Train".

Originally I had planned this as a bike raid across the Channel to visit the cemetery where a guy that is probably my grand-uncle is buried. Or great great-uncle. Charles was killed a hundred years ago on the 13th September.  We have been before but this time we are going as a family. Claire, Reggie and me. Now we are going for a weekend as Reggie needs his own passport that will show his vaccinations are up to date, that his rabies jab has been given and that he has been wormed.   Apparently there are some nasty tapeworms in Europe that we don't have here in the UK. So the process means they are killed before they get can get a toehold in UK. The system means he needs to be wormed up to 120 hours before return and would mean visiting a vet in Europe to get the worm treatment. As we are away for a weekend it all gets done this end. I have booked hotels for Friday evening and Saturday evening that are dog-friendly.  T...

Not for me! But for Claire as she is used to having a top box behind her back.  Enter the Fehling Sissy Bar. I checked a few custom websites and it came out at about £135 inc vat. Then I got a tip to check German custom sites and found this one at €115 plus €16.99 to get it to me. Still a massive saving. Bought online on Monday evening, delivered Thursday morning.  Fitted? Hopefully it will go on at the weekend when Cal comes back with his Allen keys. Photos to follow.

The action camera market is massive and I have come late to it. Not wanting to spend too much on a camera in case it proved to be a fad, I bought this Denver AC5000W. It comes with loads of accessories and a waterproof case. To that I have added a RAM ball with a standard camera screw mount. I've tested in the house. This model comes without a screen on the back but a wifi link to my iPhone and an app. The app allows full functions to line it up and start recording.  Just need a bit of sun to get out on the R3 to test it.

The 2015 trip is over. Read about it here: http://rocket3man.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/weekend-on-somme-day-1.html http://rocket3man.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/weekend-on-somme-day-2.html

Couldn't help myself! Rocket Man!

Day 2. After the long day the day before I was feeling a little tired and after the early night,aided by two pints of Monaco at the restaurant, I slept most of the night. I set my alarm on my phone for 0800. By the time I had showered and got changed I got to breakfast to find all my travel mates already there.   We had a good chat over breakfast and by the time we were ready to leave it was easily 0945.   The first stop was to be the site where the Red Baron was shot down. Somehow we had missed it last year.  It would be easy to miss as it is simply a small notice board at the side of the road. The next stop was only a few miles along the road. Grove Town Cemetery where David wanted to look up one of his relatives buried there. Although from Google Maps the cemetery looks to be in the middle of farmland, what it didn't show was the rough track to get there. Unlike the Pals, we couldn't miss this one. At least Neil got to take his new Honda Cross Tourer "off road"!! P...

An early start on Saturday. I had old friend Ken Fulton staying over. My plan was to be up about 5.30am, leave at 6am to arrive Dover at 6.30am. Except Ken was up earlier and we left and arrived  at Dover way before 6am. I messaged Cal to say we were going through immigration and check-in. We were first in the line. It took so long at Costa to get a coffee that the others had arrived and we were almost ready to load. Bugger. The crossing was pretty straightforward and after breakfast we were disgorged into dull weather Calais. The plan was to head down the A26 to Arras and then cut across to the first stop at the Accrington Pals Memorial.  First delay was that the autoroute ticket machine played up and some of us got tickets and others had to wait to get one. At the pay station near Arras, the lucky ones from the ticket collection found their tickets were not recognised!!! More holdups. Then we got split up twice! The eight bikes became four and then two. Luckily, of the eight...

The Givi tank lock ring fits almost perfectly on the R3. The Triumphs use BF02 and the only fly in the ointment is the bolt configuration.  The Explorer was three long bolts and one short. The R3 has two of each. Oops. Luckily I had a spurious other bolt with the same thread. Unfortunately, the "only used once" tank bag is too big and fouls the clocks! So what to do.  Buy another and sell this one. Done. At least I nearly broke even on the deal. Once that was completed I had to fit Baloo. There aren't many options of where he can go. So. Fettling 2 over.

After taking the dog for a walk I pulled R3 out of the garage. As it was billed as potentially the hottest day of the year so far, I chose to wear my Kevlar lined cargos and Joe Rocket mesh jacket. In the end it turned out to be the hottest July day on record. Riding along was really okay but once stopped the sun and the heat from the engine was scorchio. My run was up through Sandling to take a look of the M20. The two lines of trucks parked up during the French strike had gone. I then headed through the country roads through the Elham Valley to Canterbury. The idea was to check out a camping shop. Except I couldn't find it! I headed south to see what was happening in Dover. The port was supposed to be closed as the French were still revolting and the port at Calais was closed giving the ferries nowhere to dock. I stopped off at Whitfield to get to an ATM, and then into the store to get some water! The R3 attracts and audience and guys wanting to chat about Triumph. Many amazed th...