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Tomorrow I will be filing the panniers ready for an early start 10/07/25 for this year's trip.

I've given the GTR an oil change, new oil and air filters and swapped out the shaft oil – I'm wondering if not doing the plugs will come back to bite me, but I chickened out. It's also had a new Angel GT on the back, I think there's enough meat left on the front.

The map shows an approximation of what I hope to achieve, although the Bing map has calculated on motorways, which I will largely be avoiding. The true route will be more direct in some places and decidedly more wiggly in others.

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If I survive it I'll let you know how I get on when I'm back.

Under a previous topic I had suggested that anyone interested should pencil in 7-8 June for a get together and short ride.

I haven't exactly been inundated with replies, but I have been keeping the dates free so I thought I should throw out another post as the date is getting close.

If there is any interest, I will put together a firm plan, but in outline it would be meeting up around Bridgnorth or Stourbridge late morning (to allow time for people to get here) followed by a couple of hours around one of my favourite loops where I know there will be enjoyable roads.

It can be Saturday or Sunday (depending on any response) or both if anyone fancies finding a hotel for the night in the area.

Pete.

A few weeks back I got a call from a mate suggesting the day looked good for a short run out. It would be the last one of the year together as Steve wraps up his bike for the winter.

I suggested a run out into Shropshire as there was a castle I wanted to visit and the route out there would provide good roads for motorcycling. All went well until we left Craven Arms and turned toward Clun but as I lead us south toward Clungunford we came across "Road Closed" signs. Being the optimist, I gave the barriers a bit of a swerve and tried to push on, but sure enough I found the road completely flooded and was forced back onto the B4368. Carrying on toward Aston on Clun, I spotted another sign for Clungunford and decided to give it a try, but it just bought us back out at the road closure barriers.

Back onto the B4368 again then I reached the village of Purslow and found another signed left turn enticing me. We probably got a mile down this one before we found it impassable and once again was forced into a 180-degree turn. Thankfully I was on the Z1000 which is a light enough bike to do this sort of thing, turning the GTR would probably have needed help from Steve and three or four farm labourers.

In the end the planned destination was abandoned and we settled for a coffee and BLT baguette at a pub in Clun. Some of the locals seemed surprised "tourists" had got through and were asking us where we had come from, I think some believed they were completely cut of – certainly, as we left the pub and glanced down toward the town's bridge all we could see were the parapets above the flooded river and an abandoned pick-up truck impersonating a swan.

To cap off a frustrating day we got hit with rain that the BBC had failed to forecast for our run home. Steve had a much harder clean down on his baby than he was expecting before tucking it up.

Roll on a couple of weeks and I decided to go for a short run on the Z1000 again as the GSX is currently out of reach. I knew very well it had been raining a lot over the last few days (Storm Bert) but there were no big issues at home and as I was only planning a few miles I set out with no preparation and an innocent smile.
A brief stop in Bewdley revealed the River Severn was looking quite high, but well below the flood defences. I pushed on toward Tenbury Wells in yet another shower on a supposedly dry day. Pulling up in Tenbury for a coffee I was confronted with flashing blue lights at the far end of the main street and "Road Closed" signs barring my intended destination. A quick chat with the natives when I bought my coffee confirmed there was no chance of getting through on the Bromyard road, so once again The Environment had stuck its boot on the neck of my ride out.

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It wasn't until I got home and caught the national news that I realised how bad things were, specifically in Tenbury. The main river through the town (The Teme) hadn't breached, but a smaller river (The Kyre Brook) at the other end of town had washed away its retaining wall. Video on the news showed the effect of some inconsiderate agricultural type driving a tractor through the flood and adding to the already considerable damage with his bow-wave.

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Which brings me on to Climate Change – now, some of you may be mentally switching off at this point, I know I have started to do so. The dreaded CC is being forcibly inserted into every documentary or news item these days (in the same way that every drama has to have one woman in a position of power, a minimum of one person of an ethnic persuasion, a character with a disability and one or two that are implied Gay if not overtly so. I now sit in front of my TV every evening ticking them off, I can't settle down into the plot until I've got them all).

I believe the climate is changing, I'm not a "denier" but I also believe that the climate and planet have always changed. Even if humankind was not around, the planet and climate will change. Go to Wrens Nest Nature reserve on a hill near Dudley and you will find fossils showing it was once a tropical sea bed. The isle of Wight used to be connected to mainland Britain – The Needles on the IOW and Old Harry Rocks in Dorset reveal the point of connection. England was linked to France years before the channel tunnel was constructed and none of this change was due to industrialisation or human CO2 emissions.

If there is a way of producing cheaper, cleaner energy, I'm all for it. Despite this, some bloke from Stourbridge going for a blast on an orange Kawasaki for the shear joy of it is probably not helping. I think it makes little or no difference. We are going to have to live with change whatever and just make sure we are more prepared.

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Stay out of the deep stuff.

Pete.

After a lot of indecision I eventually managed a late run out to the Sauerland as my trip for the year.

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I'll put up some details over the next week or so, but for those who just want to cut to the pictures they can be found here:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rynglieder/albums/72177720320500838/

Pete.

Would there be any interest in a meet up for users of this forum later this year?

If so, post up on here – I'm away for a week or so now, so we'll see if there are any takers when I'm back and take it from there.

Pete.

After over 40 years of ownership, I've finally let my Z1300 go.

It was a bit of a wrench, but it was the right thing to do, despite being retired I wasn't getting the time to ride it and hopefully it is now I the hands of someone who will do the necessary work to it and have some pleasure in riding it.

After helping to heave it into a van and seeing it off I was expecting my wife to present me with a list of things that a "windfall" should be spent on, but it was not the case – I think there was almost a tear from her, we've had it longer than the kids after all.

I doubt that I'll ever be up to four bikes again, three seems enough, but you never know.

There was a reasonably tolerable day last week so I decided to give the Z1000 a short run. It was obviously feeling deeply hurt by the lack of attention it had been getting over the winter and proceeded to run like a bag of nails.

Without giving them a fair trial, I accused the spark plugs. Coincidentally I had only been thinking about them the week before - at about 5-6k miles it had misbehaved in this way and the Kawasaki dealer said at the time that these bikes were heavy on plugs. As the bike has now done 13k I had almost been bracing myself for some sort of tantrum.

Being a "poor pensioner" these days I have been doing bits and pieces that would have been shoved in the direction of a workshop and flush with my own success of doing an oil change on the GSX I decided I'd have a go at the Z1000.

What a pig of a job. The tank came off easily enough but it was all downhill from there. The plugs are buried deep in the cylinder head and the socket set I possessed extracted numbers 1 and 4 without any drama. Before I could even see cylinders 2 and 3 the coolant reservoir had to be excommunicated and some heavy-duty hosing dragged through the spaghetti surrounding them.

Whilst I could now see the plugs there was no way my limited armoury of tools was going to get them out. The extension bar I had just about poked out above the cylinder head when seated on the plugs but there was absolutely no room to swing the ratchet down there. And thus, it was hand-in-pocket time again and an order to Amazon for a set of three extension bars of various sizes and a universal joint to suit.

Once everything was to hand, I pressganged the Dear Wife into an apprentice role to hold various bits of wiring loom and hoses out of the way as they were profoundly interfering with the plug's exit strategy, constantly trying to drop them back down into the head. I found myself reminded of those amusement arcade games with the grab that lets go of the coveted cuddly toy just before it gets to the drop chute.

New Iridium plugs were eventually eased in. Luckily, it all seemed to go back together OK in the end and I seem not to have forgotten any vent hoses, ground wire clamps and bits of bodywork that fell victim to the process.

Next up was an oil change. I thought that the filter wrench I had invested in for the GSX was going to come in useful, but no, the Zed needed one 3mm smaller, so that was something else added to the Amazon order. The new tool bill came in at about £20 and whilst I was not expecting to buy anything at all, I suppose it is probably less than the cost a half hour's labour at a dealership so I think I won out on the end. At least the oil change was totally straightforward.

The other morning, I decided to put some air in the tyres (as this is rumoured to improve handling) and took it for a short ride into Warwickshire. It was now running beautifully again and I allowed myself a self-congratulatory coffee in Alcester before the ride home.

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My thoughts are now turning to the GTR, but there's an awful lot of plastic around that and an even bigger tank to lift out of the way. Maybe I'll hang on until just before my next European excursion and let someone else tackle that.

Picked up from another forum while discussing our age and ailments...

I've finally got round to uploading to Youtube a couple of videos from my 2022 trip to France on the GTR. Nowhere near to the standard of most of what is out there, but if there is nothing on TV and you want to sit back with a mug of tea, it might do.

Day 7:

This year's little European excursion has just ended, all over now bar washing the bike. It was a relatively short one this year, about 1700-1800 miles over 10 days. On the whole I enjoyed it but in truth there were some disappointments that pulled down the good bits. Oh, and I lost my trousers on the Autobahn...

Once again, the GTR1400 was selected from the garage as the right bike for the job, all of the hotels were booked around a month beforehand via Booking.com. For crossing the channel, I chose the DFDS Dover-Dunkirk ferry this time round; Yes, the tunnel is theoretically quicker but the return crossing by the ferry came in at £81.00 as opposed to £130+ for the tunnel. As one of the "economically inactive" chaps living off his savings, fifty quid is fifty quid, plus quite frankly after 200 motorway miles down to Dover I'm more than happy to rest my ar$e for two hours and get something to eat and drink.

The map shows a rough overview but there were a few more twiddly bits to it than it suggests.

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For various reasons I haven't got a big trip planned for this year so I may content myself with a 7-10 day trip to  old haunts in Germany.

If any sensibly paced (and well behaved!) rider fancies keeping me company drop me a PM.

I'm thinking of July or August but am fairly flexible.

Pete.

Some of you may know because I've posted on the subject before, but I'd love to have a 4-2 system for my GTR, I do prefer the "balanced" look.

At the time I bought my bike there didn't seem to be anything about but I recently stumbled on this lot from Delkevic...

https://delkevic.co.uk/s/Kawasaki/GTR%201400/2016

Some are UK road legal, some are not, but the big issue for me is that none seem EU compliant and as I like to spend a couple of weeks every year on continental roads there could be complications.

It's probably another "Brexit Bonus" whereby the manufacturer can't afford the cost of going through two lots of type approval for their product so just focuses on the home market and loses any chance to export (sorry, political rant over  )

That and the fact that I'm now retired and less able to afford bright and shiny things when there is the electric bill to pay means I probably can't or won't follow it through, but I'd be interested in everyone's thoughts...

Pete.

Think of this post as a "coming soon" trailer...

My last excursion into Europe was the 2018 circuit of Spain and Portugal. During 2019 no arrangements were made as my mother-in-law was terminally ill, and then Covid scuppered any plans for 2020 and 2021.

I had planned and booked a trip around France in 2021 and having shelved it managed to rearrange it for this year, I should be heading for the ferry terminal in Portsmouth on the 23rd June. It's going to be a solo ride for me this time – my wife who has accompanied me over the last 10 years on these excursions is just not up for it, but she knows how much I want to go so I've been given a pass...

There will be a bit of coast, some time exploring the river valleys and gorges, a break on the Mediterranean, a couple of days in amongst the Alps and a return through the centre of the country picking up on a few historic towns and sights. 19 nights away from home in all, about 2900 miles but I'm allowing another 200 as the Garmin Zumo is bound the get me lost once or twice.

A rough map is attached but this has included motorways which I will be studiously avoiding, so the routes linking the stops will be straightened out to a degree.

The planning is all done now, a service has been arranged for the GTR just before I leave and I'm looking forward to getting on with it. Once I'm back I'll post up a bit of a report with photos – probably over several instalments.

I've just got sigtht of something I wasn't aware of and I'm in a rush now before I get caught out.

It seems that all vehicles travelling in France now are recommended to display a Crit'Air vignette, this is a permaent requirement in three cities but clean air zones can pop up on a temporary basis anywhere, anytime and if you are caught in one without the sticker you are in for a fine.

It's not expensive to get hold of one (although I am tight for time) but the online form is asking me which EURO STANDARD applies and I can't see it anywhere on my V5.

My bike is a 2016 model. Does anyone on here know with certainty?

A quick reply would be much apprecaited.

Pete.

Just in case you missed it - If anyone is going abroad in the future they will need a UK identifier on their vehicle.

Previously I always used to order a registration plate with GB surrounded by the EU stars so I was covered for my European trips and I was quite content to carry on like this until forced to stop.

It seems they day has come – Unsurprisingly since we have now left the EU if we take our vehicles abroad it must have a UK sticker. Carrying a plate with GB on will not do it, if your registration plate shows a GB (even with a Union Flag rather than the EU stars) you will have to apply a UK sticker as well.

https://www.gov.uk/displaying-number-plates/flags-symbols-and-identifiers

I rather suspect that the switch to UK from GB is all part of Bojo's intention to make us feel that we are one united country and the peoples of Scotland and Northern Ireland are not in any way discontented.

Never mind, if the Scots do achieve independence and Northern Ireland starts to blur into the Republic there will just be England and Wales in the union and we can all pay to  change our number plates again to read Wangland.

OK, the stickers to cover up my EU plates aren't expensive, but it's yet another few pounds to add to my personal Brexit bill.

I've just taken the plunge and booked a ferry and some of the accommodation for a 2-3 week run around France for August.

I's all "free cancellation" but have I been too bold?

Attached as a .pdf file due to current problems with posting.

Pete.

During September I hooked up with three friends and lead them out to the Elan Valley on the GTR.

Some video here if anyone is interested:

Now I know that in the surrounding circumstances this is sort of wrong, but at the moment I'm feeling quite content.

The government are paying me £2,500 a month to ride my bike around looking for interesting an beautiful places in uncrowded locations. (but only in England, anywhere vaguely celtic is out of the question as they are all building thier wicker men in anticipation of me crossing a border  )

It's quite flexible, I only have to do the days that I want to.

On the downside, no welfare facilities are provided; there are no facilities for meals and not even anywhere to take a pee.

It's a pity I could not hang on to the job once Covid-19 is behind us 

Enjoy your new freedoms and stay safe.

Pete.

[440 planned milesWe had a nice easy trip down the M40 / M25 / M20 toward Folkestone, although we were riding into a head-wind and it was literally a pain in the neck. Early on the run I encountered the first problem with the Zumo which was mounted on the bars through the front brake lever retaining bolts; At any burst of acceleration or coming from behind an HGV I got a message <Lost external power source shutting down in 15... 14... [Cancel]> I can only assume that wind pressure was pushing the unit away from its contacts. From Clackett Lane service area the Zumo started to insist that we get off at every junction and turn around, but as I knew better I pushed on. We arrived at Folkestone with a bit of time in hand for a quick take-away from the terminal and then were through the Chanel Tunnel 20 minutes earlier than our booked departure. On the train I interrogated the Nav unit and found that Clackett Lane Northbound had been selected for the scheduled stop hence its insistence on the detour.Out of the Calais terminal and onto the motorway network I ran into my next problem with the Zumo; although it indicates the initial exit in good time, where there is an immediate split of the exit road it is not quick or clear enough to indicate the correct route; given a 50/50 I took the wrong choice. Directed off at the next exit I expected to be turned around and back onto the motorway network but instead was directed on secondary roads through the countryside, eventually ending up in Guines. Here I found road signs for the A16 north and south but the Zumo ignored these and pushed me on in an uncertain direction of travel. Eventually I find a road sign for the A26 and make a break for it despite Zumo's protests.We were doing OK down to Cambrai where we were to exit and head eastwards, but again I got bitten by Zumo at the split in the exit. Pulling over at the first available rest area it became apparent that I now have an unwanted 15 mile ride south to the next exit. When we get there the Zumo did not turn us around, but took us away on secondary roads. I was now feeling really uncomfortable with the unit, it felt like "tunnel vision" with only a view of the road ahead and no idea of the bigger picture of where we were or were heading. Eventually we ended up on the outskirts of St Quentin, a place that I had found my own way to without any trouble two years ago. From here we were lead along another succession of minor roads and some while later we reached a junction with a more major road signed toward Charleville Mezieres which I knew to be one of my way points. Stupidly instead of following my instincts and taking this road I continued to allow myself to be lead along a different route by the Zumo eventually ending up at Hirson and back onto the route I had originally downloaded to the unit. Don't get me wrong, we ran through some beautiful countryside on nice roads and in good weather, but the run was spoiled by a feeling that it was unnecessarily circuitous on a day that the intention was to get as many miles under the tyres as quickly as possible.Where the hell am I? (Wimy, it turned out).<1506>Eventually we broke through the border into Belgium and my mood was lightened by seeing the signs for my destination of Bouillon and an approach to it through some great curvy roads set in woodland.We reached Bouillon as the light was fading and checked in at the Hotel Porte de la France for the night, we were given a decent room overlooking the river and bridge. There was just time for a quick walk down the banks of the Semois River to the next bridge before crossing and returning to the hotel. The town is built on a loop in the river and is overlooked by a sizeable fortress; I confess I took an immediate liking to the place and look forward to another visit at sometime. A quick beer (or was it two?) was had before bed and the chance to recover from a day that was longer than expected.Bouillon at night <2120>]

Again, as it is quiet this time of year on a bike forum I thought I would post something to keep the traffic up.

Here's the trip report I did for the Suzuki GSX1400 owner's form as that was the bike I was touring on in those days - OK, not a GTR but perhaps it may be of interest....

Planning

At last my annual trip into Europe had rolled around. As usual I had been planning in outline since last Christmas and then booking rooms & crossings since February / March. Again, the GSX1400 was the steed for the trip, and Carole, my wife of 30+ years was to keep me company a pillion.

I had considered either buying some hard luggage for it, or a satellite navigation unit to help with the city centre parts; in the end a Garmin Zumo 390LM was purchased in the belief that it would save some time and save me having to carry a load of maps around – something I was to bitterly regret over the next 16 days.

The journey was fully planned out on Garmin Base Camp as 12 separate sections, double checked and downloaded into the Zumo unit.

Friday 22/05/15 Stourbridge [UK] > Bouillon 440 planned miles

We had a nice easy trip down the M40 / M25 / M20 toward Folkestone, although we were riding into a head-wind and it was literally a pain in the neck. Early on the run I encountered the first problem with the Zumo which was mounted on the bars through the front brake lever retaining bolts; At any burst of acceleration or coming from behind an HGV I got a message  <Lost external power source shutting down in 15... 14... [Cancel]> I can only assume that wind pressure was pushing the unit away from its contacts. From Clackett Lane service area the Zumo started to insist that we get off at every junction and turn around, but as I knew better I pushed on. We arrived at Folkestone with a bit of time in hand for a quick take-away from the terminal and then were through the Chanel Tunnel 20 minutes earlier than our booked departure. On the train I interrogated the Nav unit and found that Clackett Lane Northbound had been selected for the scheduled stop hence its insistence on the detour.

Out of the Calais terminal and onto the motorway network I ran into my next problem with the Zumo; although it indicates the initial exit in good time, where there is an immediate split of the exit road it is not quick or clear enough to indicate the correct route; given a 50/50 I took the wrong choice. Directed off at the next exit I expected to be turned around and back onto the motorway network but instead was directed on secondary roads through the countryside, eventually ending up in Guines. Here I found road signs for the A16 north and south but the Zumo ignored these and pushed me on in an uncertain direction of travel. Eventually I find a road sign for the A26 and make a break for it despite Zumo's protests.

We were doing OK down to Cambrai where we were to exit and head eastwards, but again I got bitten by Zumo at the split in the exit. Pulling over at the first available rest area it became apparent that I now have an unwanted 15 mile ride south to the next exit. When we get there the Zumo did not turn us around, but took us away on secondary roads. I was now feeling really uncomfortable with the unit, it felt like "tunnel vision" with only a view of the road ahead and no idea of the bigger picture of where we were or were heading. Eventually we ended up on the outskirts of St Quentin, a place that I had found my own way to without any trouble two years ago. From here we were lead along another succession of minor roads and some while later we reached a junction with a more major road  signed toward Charleville Mezieres which I knew to be one of my way points. Stupidly instead of following my instincts and taking this road I continued to allow myself to be lead along a different route by the Zumo eventually ending up at Hirson and back onto the route I had originally downloaded to the unit. Don't get me wrong, we ran through some beautiful countryside on nice roads and in good weather, but the run was spoiled by a feeling that it was unnecessarily circuitous on a day that the intention was to get as many miles under the tyres as quickly as possible.

Where the hell am I? (Wimy, it turned out).<1506>

Eventually we broke through the border into Belgium and my mood was lightened by seeing the signs for my destination of Bouillon and an approach to it through some great curvy roads set in woodland.

We reached Bouillon as the light was fading and checked in at the Hotel Porte de la France for the night, we were given a decent room overlooking the river and bridge.  There was just time for a quick walk down the banks of the Semois River to the next bridge before crossing and returning to the hotel. The town is built on a loop in the river and is overlooked by a sizeable fortress; I confess I took an immediate liking to the place and look forward to another visit at sometime. A quick beer (or was it two?) was had before bed and the chance to recover from a day that was longer than expected.

Bouillon at night <2120>