Archive for Clothing
Bike clothing
Posted by: | CommentsI am somewhat at a loss to know what to wear for the Patagonia trip. Temperatures can range from the 90s down to the 30s (Fahrenheit) apparently, it can also get very wet and windy. My money is really on the colder weather but we’ll be on rough dirt roads for most of the trip so if past experience is anything to go by, I’ll get hot wrestling the bike around. OK, it’s not likely to be real motocross but even so the chances of coming off the bike, putting my feet down and so forth are probably quite high so I want appropriately tough gear. The last time I got really wet in my Aerostich Roadcrafter suit it let in some water (it is 14 years old) so I have been thinking about what I might replace it with. So far it seems likely to be either Rukka or BMW stuff. The Rukka SRO looks good but is hardly to be found anywhere for a trial fit, let alone to buy. So yesterday I took myself off to a new BMW dealer on the Wing.
It was a hoot to pull up on the Goldwing amongst all the BMW machinery and then to ask to try on the Rallye 2 Pro gear. It is a very close fit and very heavy with little in the way of chest ventilation although you can open up or even remove the sleeves although I see little point in doing that. The supplied Goretex liner is supposed to keep you dry (assuming it is zipped in) and any additional warmth will have to come from another layer. I tried adding the Airvantage waistcoat underneath (which is similar to the one Rukka uses for their SRO) – unsurprisingly, it adds to the feeling of constriction in the suit. I might add that I was already in a suit a size up from my usual fit! So – I am not sure about this thing.
This morning I was in Park Lane and went to the BMW Motorrad shop there – it’s very small – but was able to try the Enduro helmet and the Motocross boots. The helmet looks the business and feels very light – it can be used with or without the visor but unfortunately, it folded my ears over and despite several attempts I couldn’t unfold them and get comfortable. The boots, similarly were a touch too tight in my size and a real bastard to get off. They felt very secure for the feet and ankles when on but I wonder if I really need that level of protection for the riding I shall be doing?
Essex Ride
Posted by: | CommentsI had a few hours riding the roads in the Essex/Suffolk border area today. Lots of evidence of heavy rains in the previous day or so with mud and grit on the roads – usually the corners – and a car or two that had found it too slippery and ended up in the ditch. Plenty of council workers out and about sweeping up though. Top marks!
I slipped in a visit to Hideout Leather to have a gander at their stuff and be amazed at the price of Rukka SRO jackets (£999 if you please! Doubtless very good but can they really justify such a price I wonder?)
So what did my first tour teach me?
Posted by: | Comments- Get a half cover for the bike, it must surely beat all that mopping up in the morning when it rains the night before.
- The stock seat suits me just fine and the heated seat and grips are very nice to have when it’s cold.
- The large information panel on my bike is great for reading without spectacles – I guess Honda know their age demographic pretty well!
- I waste a lot of space taking camera gear on the bike that I don’t use. Basically a whole pannier for an SLR and lenses is daft when all I take is a couple of snaps. In future I shall use a simple point and shoot camera.
- Storage on the bike is OK but no better and a little worse in fact, than my Pan with its OEM panniers and a Givi top box.
- The Wing corners very well and I didn’t ground the pegs once although I fully expected to. Part of the reason is that I wasn’t prepared to corner at high speeds on the roads with stone walls and blind turns – not to speak of oncoming traffic.
- The gearbox is plainly designed in the expectation that one will use the engine torque to overcome its limitations – rather like the Pan’s in that regard. I do wish both bikes had a decent 6 speed box. The gearbox on my ancient ZZR is simply miles better than either the Pan”s or the Wing’s – it’s like silk and and I am never in the wrong gear. The gearbox on the Wing is the same kind of agricultural job that the Pan has and first and second sound like straight cut gears.
- Throttle control is very nice and responsive and there is no backlash right through the drivetrain.
- I really need to test out the brakes in a big car park, they don’t seem too powerful but I haven’t really slammed them on (except once – see next post!) and I am probably not using the rear brake as much as I need to on this big heavy bike. The rear disk is obviously built with heavy use in mind – being both vented and of larger diameter than the front disks.
- Rough surfaces cause unpleasantly harsh feedback in the front wheel/suspension. I need to see if there is some way of adjusting the compliance at the front end – maybe I need that Traxxion gear?
- The satnav works very well for point to point navigation (and perhaps for more complicated routes too although I haven’t tried that). I would like to be able to enter destinations as a postcode and also to load overlays of things like speed cameras. Perhaps the next iteration of software will permit this? The speakers are fine for listening to the route instructions. They are not bad for music either although a headset would doubtless be better.
- As usual, I took too much clothing. I need to make a proper list that I can use to pack for trips in future. It will include the new Hood jeans I bought recently but which I did not take on this trip – this was especially dumb considering what I had written here. I regretted that oversight because I could have left the Roadcrafter trousers in the B&B at Llanberis where I stayed for two nights and would then have been more comfortable with the jeans during the many stops I made to wander about and take photos.
YeeHaa!
Posted by: | CommentsWell, I got the service done and without getting wet – which considering the forecast was a minor triumph. Now I am all set to do some serious riding except that the next few days are taken up with various obligations that will prevent me from getting on the bike at all. I got the dealer to fit an Optimate charging lead during the service, this should ensure that even when I am not able to ride the bike for a few days, I will be able to keep the battery in good condition.
Another maintenance thing I want to do is to apply the tankslapper vinyl I ordered and have now received, to the areas of the paintwork likely to get scratched. One such area is the engine cover just above the brake pedal where the leg zip of my Roadcrafter suit seems to rub.
Bike Clothing
Posted by: | CommentsI have been musing about possible changes to my biking apparel. I normally use an Aerostich Roadcrafter two piece suit which I have found very practical both for touring and commuting. However, rather more in keeping with the style of the bike and the summer days I hope to see again before too long, I am now thinking about a separate jacket and pants – either Draggin Jeans or Hood jeans as they seem to offer a fair degree of protection and would not require me to stow the pants of my Roadcrafter suit when I am off the bike. I have roadtested the Aerostich suits a couple of times in 15 years of using them and both times the suits survived the impact and slide and more importantly, so did I – with minimal damage and I am pretty sure the Roadcrafter is a lot stronger than a pair of jeans even though it”s based on Cordura rather than Kevlar as the basic construction and stitching is far heavier but I ride more sedately these days. 
I am a bit reluctant to get these mail order if there is any chance of trying a pair on, so I will go looking for supplier, not necessarily local as it will make a good outing on the bike when I get it.