InvictaMoto's On The Road Again!

On the ride to the Kettle Club meeting at Rye last week I went past the BikerPics photographer and the kinks as you enter East Sussex from Kent. The last time they were there I was leading Cal on his Forza 350 and they missed me and got him.  This time I was late and making progress. I think the pictures look good!  Comments? It's nice to have a couple of views of me actually in motion!

The seat arrived today a out 1600. By 1615 it was fitted. It needed the locking post plate taking off the old yellow seat.  It's used but in excellent condition.  Let's hope it is not a white elephant and is comfortable. I'll give it a try over the weekend.

So now the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friend I'll say it clear I'll state my case of which I'm certain I've lived a life that's full I traveled each and every highway And more much more than this I did it my way. (Paul Anka - 1969) Not so much of the final curtain, but the end of the 2022 Kilometerfresser competition. As far as I know the odometer photos I sent will also be the start of the 2022/23 competiton. After a cock-up with the June mileages that saw me shoot up the table from 108th to 3rd, I think I am more likely to have returned to around the 100th mark. If that high! What was the cock-up? I have always sent in the V-Strom odometer photo with the clocks on the bike set to kilometres. But the GT750 is old school and so I take a photo and then multiply the reading by 1.6! It seems the spreadsheet at their end does that automatically, so when someone entered the kms it multiplied by another 1.6 times! Suddenly I was flying up the...

Po velkém výletu do České republiky v květnu na návštěvu Českého centra a zúčastnit se jejich rally, teprve moje šesté od roku 1989 se dívám na možná znovu v roce 2023. Právě jsem odešel do důchodu na webu akce 2022 a vytvořil Nový pro rok 2023. Téměř stejná adresa URL, ale rok se změnil! Předseda Českého centra Romana potvrdil, že se shromáždění v příštím roce přesune zpět do jižní Moravy. Počasí v letošním roce nebylo tak dobré a mnoho aktivit a jízda ven byla zrušena. Myslím, že to není poprvé, a tak členové centra hlasovali, aby jej znovu přesunuli. Všechny předchozí shromáždění, na které jsem byl, byly drženy v Pod Horkou v Chudčice poblíž Brno. Pro rok 2023 se shromáždění přesune na jih poblíž Znojmo. To je na jihozápadě od Brno a poblíž rakouské hranice. Více podrobností, když přicházejí v jedné nové lesklé, téměř nikdo navštíví blog - České centrum Soc „Invader Rally“ 2023

After a great trip to the Czech Republic in May to visit the Czech Centre and take part in their rally, only my sixth since 1989, I have been looking at maybe going again in 2023. I have just retired the 2022 event website and have create a new one for 2023. Almost the same url but the year changed! The Chairman of the Czech Centre, Roman, has confirmed that for next year the rally will move back to Southern Moravia.   The weather this year wasn't all that good and many activities and the ride out got cancelled. I think this isn't the first time and so the centre members voted to move it again. All the previous rallies I had been to were all held at Pod Horkou in Chudčice near Brno. For 2023 the rally will move south to near Znojmo. This is to the south west of Brno and close to the Austrian border. More details as they come in one the new shiny hardly anyone will visit blog -  Czech Centre SOC "Invader Rally" 2023

Since returning from the Czech rally, I have cleaned the upper and lower portions of the Airflow screen.   The upper (and outer most) section gets all the flies and of course in the rain it gets filthy.  The lower section that is fixed to the fairing simply gets filthy.   In the rain the upper does a great job of keeping the wet off the upper body and neck of the rider.  I have it set about halfway along the possible positions as I prefer to look over it rather than through it. The lower however does its best to direct any water that hits it up and into your face!  The upside to this screen is that you can ride with it (for me anyway) as I have set it and the buffeting from the wind that wobbles the riders head is all but gone.   It is even possible to ride at up to (cough cough) 80mph (indicated of course!!) and be almost totally wind free. It meant in Germany when we were having a few 30°C days on the back roads and it was stifling hot, I w...

When I bought the V-Strom I decided not to start a new blog just for travels with this bike.  It was a habit I got into when I bought the Triumph Explorer back in 2013.  Until then I had just this blog and everything went into it from holidays and of course, bike stuff. Then I created  Dora the Explorer  and retired that when I traded her for Red Pepe. Of course, Pepe had his own blog. So to catalogue the renaissance of the GT750A I called Suzi Triplo , she had her own blog.   But with so few hits it is time to retire Suzi's blog and put everything into this one. The original and my first ever blogging experience with Blogger.  I used the export/import tools in settings to create an XML file and then import here. So all the posts should appear somewhere here!!!! It's easier to maintain and the old blogs are still there, it's just they are no longer updated at all.

Southend were relegated from the EFL to the National League in May 2021. Sadly Oldham Athletic, my team, joined them in the National League in May 2022. So on August 20th this will be a kind of reunion now at the fifth level of the English football pyramid. I have been to Southend a few times on the bike and on the train.  This game looks like a bike trip.  At the moment I have no idea whether we are able to pay on the day or whether we can get tickets beforehand.  I dropped the ticket office at Oldham an email and they said they had asked Southend for the tickets and were expecting them soon.  Hopefully, the postal system might be back in operation where they charged a quid and posted them out. Last season there was some problems and we had to collect tickets either from the Oldham people or from the home club ticket office. Maybe once the Club's new owners take over we can get back to some semblance of normality.

I have been after one of these for a long while. They seem to have stopped making them and although Google searches takes you to the Shad official website, there are no tabs or links to the seat any more. I emailed them months ago and they never got back to me. It's a complete replacement seat and what you see is what you get. I was prompted to look again after I saw fellow Meldrew Trevor C has one fitted to his 2016 1000 V-Strom when the club last met. If I had thought about it then we could have swapped it off his bike onto mine to check that it fits okay.  In the end I didn't think about it until the next day. I found this one on eBay but in Germany. As it is pretty rare to see one advertised I took the plunge. My MasterCard taking the hit for the best part of £250 for it.   I checked on the V-Strom UK Facebook page that the seat from 2014 upto and including 2018 when mine was built all have the same seat fitment. I hadn't heard and then checked on the tracking. The Ge...

Vera has very dirty wheels. The rear is badly covered in dirt and oil that splashes off the chain.  It's a real pain in the proverbial to keep clean. I did some googling and found a test from one of the bike magazines.  I skipped the bumph and went to the table where each product they tested was rated for damage and how good it cleaned. I was particularly interested on wheel cleaners that could get oil off.  Only R&G and Unlimited Passion scored 10 for cleaning (with agitation) and a high score for spray and leave it for a bit! Unfortunately I couldn't find anyone selling UP "Ungrease" online or even a shop with a website I could try.  I did find another UP product that is supposed to degrease on Amazon. So I ordered a can.  It's not cheap but if it works it will be a miracle. If not, it's another can to add to the loads I have on the shelf in the garage! It will also come in handy for keeping the Kettle wheels clean. Even better if it can be used all over...

I wore them today and have a few points that I'd like to raise when I complete my feedback on eBay. The material seems good. They are quite "skinny" in 42 waist. So much so that there isn't much room for the knee armour.  The sponge foam hip armour goes in no problems.  Pockets. The two front pockets are too small. A handkerchief in one is okay. Forget loose change. On the bike the shallow pocket and angle the rider sits at combination are not good. The pockets need at least two inches more depth. Back to knee armour. The "bag" it fits in is not that well thought out and it kinda hangs down the leg. Combined with the lack of legroom already, it's painful and irritating. I dispensed with it after a few yards of walking. The rise from crotch to waist could be better. Maybe on the smaller sizes this isn't a problem. For security in a slide, trousers on the waist would feel more secure than on the hips? For me anyway. I ordered olive green to be differen...

It had to happen. It rained. After record temperatures last week and a few "cooler" (read normal UK summer days!) it had to rain.  Not the hard and fast rain. But the drizzling misty kind of rain. A brief run down the M20 to Cheriton and it let down like hell on earth.   So I was dressed in the old FT Aqua Jacket and a pair of Cube (by M&P) textile waterproofs.  In Cheriton the rain stopped. I dropped the bike off and after being told it would be 45 minutes, I set off for the cafe nearby. The one I have used before. Closed. So I went further up the high street and found Beano Cafe . I had a coffee and wandered back to find it was done.  All passed and no advisories. as you would expect from a 4 year old bike.... I came back the A20 to enjoy the twists and turns but this was ruined as the road was full of trucks that had been turned away from the rear entrance to the channel tunnel. So they were on an A road at 30mph.  Great thinking. I put the Yamaha Ri...

My first stop was Jo's Café at Brookland. I was going to have breakfast with a couple of fellow Meldrews'.  In the event there was only Ian J on his 1250GS that made it and then we were joined by his friend Dee on her BMW. So I was late setting off and arrived at the biker parking in Rye about 1115 instead of 1030! I did pass the guy taking photos for bikerpics and saw he got a few of me from the right side. The lot was packed. I met a few Kettle owners from the Autumn meet and had a chat. Then I was approached by Ed B. I haven't seen him since the maybe the 1980's when he was the guy running the Kent Centre SOC.  He has recently got a surprise gift from his wife of a completely restored A model. It's the work of Peter Omerod. It is truly stunning. It's probably better than new. New parts that are probably better than when they made the bike in 1976. I spent too long chatting that I forgot to take any photos myself. Photography by Ed Bannock  I had also...

"Not another t-shirt" she'll say when this one plops through the door at the end of the week. "Not another bike one".  Well. Yes. If I am to ride up to London on August 7th to attend "Suzuki Sunday" on Suzi Triplo, then I need to be suitably attired. I could have done with it in a few hours at the Club's Rye meeting, but I didn't think about it quick enough.

I went out to do a little polishing to pass a few hours, okay an hour. Nothing on the TV and well, I have a ride out tomorrow.  Someone might get the camera out and Suzi needs to look as good as I can get it.  I was using Peek  to clean up some surface rust on the shocks and luggage rack when I saw a bit around the top of the large exhausts. I think the active ingredient in Peek is something that smells like pee. Pee not pea.... To make it easier I was also using a pan scourer! A little Peek and a light rubbing. Nothing too hard. The idea is to get the surface off and not scratch the chrome to buggery.  I cleaned up the frankly disgusting oil coated chain guard with some oil/grease wipes and then Peek on there too. I even had a go at the rusty rear mudguard. It's not in too bad shape apart from the rust around the frame mounting points. A shame but unless I can get a new one or maybe find someone to repair and rechrome then the 45 year old one has to stay. Around 30 ...

Just some pics I took testing the new memory card in the Nikon D50.

With the Kettle Club meet on Sunday in Rye I decided to get the bike out and give her a short run. It took a few kicks to get her to start. Not a lot of action from the electric boot. First stop was Six Mile Garage to fill the tank. I couldn't remember when I last filled up and so 14.05 litres seemed a reasonable amount to squeeze in. Suzi still wasn't on reserve so I didn't know how much I could squeeze out of her. She started first press of the button. Of course. I set off back the way I had come and took a run down the M20 to Folkestone and then up to the Battle of Britain Memorial. Purely to put some miles under the tyres. Another quick jab on the button to start and back into Folkestone to drop into Bob's for some whelks. One kick to start this time. A smooth run back.  Another thirty or so miles since the rebuild. Run in yet? Fuelly shows she has done 506 miles since she came back last year. Averaging around 34.5 to the gallon. Not the high...

There is another Kettle Club meeting in Rye on The Strand by the harbour on Sunday 24th.  Hopefully the "record breaking" temperatures of the last few days that saw southern England above 40°C for most of yesterday, Tuesday 23rd, will have gone. I can't remember the last time I put fuel in the Kettle!  I'll have to check and see how far I have gone on this latest tank.  maybe I'll need to top off the tank to ensure I can get the 44 miles there and back!  :) This time someone else has done the organising and hopefully there will be a good turnout. Photos and report to follow.

The problem of losing weight is that much of the gear I have bought over the last few years, two of them under covid lockdowns, are now way too large for me. I have a pair of Hood Jeans that I have worn once last summer and then once I was a convert to Slimming World  I started to lose weight, plus a few lockdowns meant I didn't get a change to wear them.  Okay they maybe to go down the pub, but not on a bike where they need to be secure around the waist in the event of a fall.  I can take these off without undoing the top button or the belt! So I fell back on the RK Jeans cargo pants I have had for a few years. These are a smaller waist and I wore them on the Czech trip in May/June.  The problem is that they are very faded on the thighs where the sun has got to them.  They still fit and will still be worn. What to do? I had a look before I went away on the family adventure in the MoHo and decided to wait until I came back. I have ordered a pair of Bikers G...

Whilst we were away in France on holiday Robinson's Foundry sent me three letters reminding me of my MoT and annual service. I have only done 4000 miles or so since I bought the bike and so I don't think it is necessarily ready for a service  I think we can get that done when we get back from Aragón. As for MoT she is booked into Cheriton Motorcycles on July 26th. Gulp.

After the distinct failure of the last seat cushion with air bubbles when on the Czech trip, I decided to give it another go... This time I bought one that is more foam pad. This one isn't very thick and has two straps to hold it onto the seat and a non slip base. If this doesn't work, I'll need something like a seat rebuild or to see if I can get a full replacement. I went on a short run today for Meldrews' Sunday but didn't fit it. I'll see about it tomorrow.

I decided that trying to maintain different platforms for the blog(s) was getting difficult to maintain and so I have decided to move all the travel blogs to Travellerspoint. All the vehicle specific blogs such as "Suzi Triplo" will stay in Blogger. Only any that are travel oriented such as "Cruising" and "Devall Travel" have been given up and entries in future will be in  The new home of Devall Travels .