Archive for Honda
Bike repairs and thoughts of a new bike..
Posted by: | CommentsI rang South London Motorrad but was told they only had two techs (out of four they were supposed to have) and couldn’t look at my bike until the end of next week. This was too late for my liking as I am planning more off-roading on the 19th April and I want to be sure to have the bike ready for that (I’m assuming/hoping/praying that my wrist will be OK for it!). Accordingly I rang an independent service shop (Mark Holden Motorcycles) who could see me straight away. I took the bike over there pronto and that was easy as it’s only a couple of miles from my place. The workshop isn’t inspiring itself but Mark Holden the owner seems to know his stuff and after a few phone calls seemed pretty confident of having the necessary bits by Wednesday of next week. Replacing the broken bits should be a very easy job so I am looking forward to having my bike as good as new in short order – albeit at considerable expense because BMW parts are NOT CHEAP!
The cost of the bits has reinforced in my mind the merits of looking at a small bike (a Pogo) that will be a lot easier to ride on the more challenging trails I’d like to try. It would also be a lot easier to pick up being lighter. The bike I am very close to ordering is a Honda CRF 230 F which has a very good reputation and although perhaps best known as a beginner’s trail bike is also apparently very competent in more experienced hands as some of the Youtube video attests. I am not that experienced but equally not a beginner anymore so I want something that will satisfy me for a while. Other possible contenders are the Suzuki DRZ 400E and possibly the Yamaha WR 250R but I like the idea of simplicity too and the Honda has an aircooled motor and a spark plug that is actually accessible, so even if it gets drowned in a water crossing, it ought to be easy to sort out..
It doesn’t come road legal but I have found a place online that will convert them and ship them, so that is not a problem. More of an issue is understanding what mods I might need from the start, there are all sorts of possibilities ranging from stronger handlebars to a new front suspension. I shall do some phoning around next week and see what I can find.
12,000 mile service
Posted by: | CommentsI’m looking at the weather forecasts with a somewhat nervous eye at the moment. I have booked a 12,000 mile service for the Goldwing at Doble’s on Wednesday and there is a possibility of snow that day according to a couple of the forecast sites I use. Another says nothing about snow, so as usual, “You pays your money and takes your choice”. Of course, I paid no money to any of these sites, so can’t really complain if their prognostications are wrong. Either way, I am not a fan of riding in snow.
Doble’s unfortunately don’t operate on quite that principle – a service for free - and as the 12,000 mile service is a major one for the Wing, I can expect a big bill 
However, I see from a recent flyer that they are offering 25% discount on everything apart from bikes over the coming weekend. The trouble is I don’t really need anything from them at present and a 25% discount isn’t enough to persuade me to buy stuff that I don’t need. Although, having said that, there is quite a decent range of Honda branded clothing (Joe Rocket stuff in actuality) that includes a Goldwing jacket that would look better on the bike than the BMW Rallye 2 Pro jacket I often wear..
Welcome to my latest attempt at a blog
Posted by: | CommentsWell if you made it over here from my old blog, you’ll understand that I am totally pissed-off with WordPress. Trying to upgrade to version 2.7 completely hosed my blog and all the archived entries have become inaccessible. I don’t know if I’ll have better luck here but it’s worth a try I guess.
If you have stumbled across this for the first time, then I’ll just say that this blog is about my experiences on two-wheels – a BMW F800GS and a Honda Goldwing 1800. These are very different bikes and designed to do different things but I enjoy both more or less equally.
Off-Road Again
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Well, I survived another bout of off-roading. This was certainly an experience and totally unlike the BMW course last weekend. I have to say that the BMW course was in my view much better value and far more professionally run. To be fair, the BMW course advertised itself as skills building whereas the Honda offering is labelled an “experience”. There was no instruction to speak of and the environment – a motocross track – didn’t lend itself to the more structured tuition I should have liked. Instead we were just left to get on with it and to ask questions if we wanted although this wasn’t always easy as the instructors were hurtling round the track themselves half the time, ostensibly to check on the guests but it meant that they couldn’t easily be questioned.
Motocross is supremely tiring and I found it difficult to maintain the necessary concentration for very long before my jumps and cornering got sloppy. Still I am glad that I went although I sincerely hope that riding in Patagonia will be easier going and more like the enduro/trail type riding in Wales.
I managed to test my new Alpinestars Tech 7 boot which worked very well albeit they were a bit stiff to start with but are definitely more broken in now!