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I watched them the wrong way round. I saw Long Way Round on tv in bits, but I always caught a random episode here or there, and not nessesscerily in the right order. However, when Long Way Down came out, it was on immediately after Top Gear, and it was about motorbikes so I wasn't about to move off the sofa. I did finally see almost all of Long Way Round in order, I think I got a few episodes into the US. I seem to remember Euan being clunked from behind, but I'm not sure if that was that episode or the "next week on . . ." (not a spoiler, half the drat adverts had that clip). I felt Long Way Round was definitely better, but I did enjoy Down. Not really sure why I felt Round was more fun, maybe I just prefer the mountains of Mongolia and the forests of Siberia to the plains of Africa, but there did seem to be more aggro between them on Down. Changing the subject completely, I've finally got a job so I'm actually riding my bike along the same route again and again. It's scary how quickly I can do the Five Bridges when there's nothing else on the roads. On the other hand, jeans really don't protect you from the cold when it's 6am and you're at 60mph. I normally wear my motorbike trousers but I wasn't sure if there would be storage space at work. However, my knees got bloody cold so went back to my proper trousers.
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Oct 16, 2008 23:33
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I think part of the problem I had with LWD was that almost half of it was cheating (or at least I think so). John o'groats to bottom of italy was some nice filming, but there really wasn't a challenge. Can't actually remember them crossing Europe in LWR, but it's still poo poo-tons less proportionally. Really didn't get interested in Charley's new one, By Any Means (i think it's called). Watched the first couple of episodes and got bored. I think it was the fact that it was all Charley on camera, if it had lots of Russ and the cameraman as well, I think it would have been better. Half the awesomeness of LWR and LWD was the interaction between Charley and Euan, but this was just Charley talking for the most part. Did reinforce my desire to go to the Isle of Mann though. Has anyone actually been to the Isle of Mann, either to the TT race or just to ride? Is it as good as it looks? *edit* Ok, so my geography's off. Scotland to Italy is less than a quarter of the total distance, but it's still proportionally more than the Europe segment on LWR. Orange Someone fucked around with this message at 18:31 on Oct 18, 2008 |
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Oct 18, 2008 18:27
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Awwww /me feels left out I still forget that I don't have an extra gear, but I run into this at 45mph if I've been enthusiastic in my acclerating. I do wish I had a tacho though, even if it were just to see how badly I'm raping the bike. Overtaking though, whole new ball game, dropping the gear, backing off a car length to get the runup for the speed to actually overtake. I have honed my skills on many a long trip. Having a top speed of between 55 and 60 means you really do hoarde each and every one of those miles-per-hour, thus anyone slowing me down is A: driving really slowly and B: going to get passed as soon as I can see what the gently caress is coming.
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Oct 22, 2008 11:30
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ReelBigLizard posted:Love my SMC, just wish the weather hadn't closed in and the clocks hadn't gone back. Now I get out of work onto slick roads, pissing rain and darkness. I want sun and dry asphalt again. See, now, I love the clocks going back. I leave work at 6am and now I get to ride home just as the sun is rising through a crisp wonderland and the silent stillness, only broken by the brapp of a holey 125 exhaust revving it's heart out. . . . Apart from when it's pissing it down, like sunday morning. Then I just wrap up warm, hope my bike starts and laugh merrily at the crazy crazy world. I may be a touch insane, but then motorbikes will do that to you.
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Oct 29, 2008 12:41
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Z3n posted:Of course the killswitch is off... I had something similar to that. First time my sister took my bike out for anything more than a potter around the housing estate, I got a frantic phone call about 20 minutes later. Seems she'd been attempting a U-turn and the bike conked out on her mid turn. After verifying that the side stand was up and the lights were on, it was just not turning over, I knew it was the kill switch because I'd spent a frantic 20 minutes on my second ever bike ride trying to work out why my beloved and new bike wasn't running.
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Nov 13, 2008 17:19
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I've taken my XR125L on the motorway quite a few times. It's not completely pleasant, mostly down to the lack of power so I'm always alert and checking for people trying to merge into me. It's fairly comparable to a supermoto in terms of riding position and fairings (or lack thereof), and it's not too bad. Obviously there is some wind and buffeting, but it's not about to blow you off the bike. Coming down to a supermoto from something a little more fairing'ed and highway orientated, might feel rough, but I've nothing to compare it to.
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Nov 13, 2008 19:42
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It might just be a stereotype, but there's some truth in there. True, I have met quite a few really nice Harley riders, and just because they ride a Harley doesn't mean I get to sneer at them automatically. However, going by my own personal survey, I get the least number of waves from Harley riders, even if I've waved at them first. Maybe it's the fact that I'm 20 and most Harley riders are middle aged men who are just trying to get away from their screaming kids and hagged wife for a while (incorrect assumptions ahoy). I'll wave or nod at every biker I see, and make sure to chat if we're both parked up. I have no opinion on the build quality of Harleys either way.
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Dec 5, 2008 21:37
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redscare posted:My speedo/odo decided to go out on me the other day. Guessing your speed by engine speed/flow of traffic is fantastic. I won't even be able to get to it until Saturday since it gets dark so early these days. I think it might be the little hub thing on the wheel that went out. Bah. I did hundreds of miles on my bike with a bust speedo. It actually made me somewhat of a better rider since I'd be paying attention to the road and the other drivers rather than constantly watching my speedo. I had a good time, right until I ran into speed cameras. On the other hand, mine's a 125 dualsport so breaking the national speed limit doesn't happen easily. I guess it'd be harder on a bigger bike, I'd just make sure to stay in second when going through 30mph cameras. The reason for mine was a bust speedo cable, which is fairly easy to check. Also a remarkably simple fix.
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Dec 9, 2008 18:37
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TapTheForwardAssist posted:Any ideas? Everything seems just fine except that hitting the starter in 1st or whatever does absolutely nothing, and previously it started fine in 1st, and I bascially never used Neutral because it's hard to hit without deliberate effort. I'd guess the sidestand switch is stuck on, though clutch switch is just as likely. Depends on what your bike has.
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Jan 13, 2009 19:11
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Krakkles posted:I do, though I've taken to doing the English "thank you" (flashing blinker left right left) when I'm actually doing something fun - easier to do without taking a hand off the bars. That's the english way? First I've heard of it. Or is that like how you crazy people call spin on a pool ball "English"? I just nod my head at bikers, or if I'm lazy, a slight sideways inclination instead.
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Feb 2, 2009 23:04
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redscare posted:Here's question that came up on my ride home from work today in the rain: how are you supposed to deal with the whole not having a wiper thing? Either open your visor and squint . . . or just use your thumb or index finger from your clutch hand to wipe the rain off. It does help if you can get some of those products that makes the rain run off more easily. I got some really wierd smelling pink stuff that is supposed to stop the visor steaming up on the inside, it works really well on the outside, keeping it clean and keeping the rain off. Some fancy winter gloves have a sort of flexible plastic strip along the outside of the thumb or the first finger for you to use as wiper. I've got an unlucky habit of opening my visor to see just as an oncoming truck sprays a huge pile of snow in my direction. I have still to learn to take cleaning supplies with me.
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Feb 7, 2009 10:36
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Krakkles posted:I do this. If you're going 20+, you can rotate your head about 10 degrees to each side, and the rain will just slide off. Does depend on how much rain there is, and how fast you're going. The reason I was opening my visor was that it was my 8hr trip from Scotland to the Midlands on A-roads, and I'd got my visor all splattered with mud from a lorry. Stupid me, I'd still not learnt to take something to clean my visor with, so the only way I could see was to open my visor all the way. I was actually being mostly facetious, I wouldn't recomend opening the visor unless there really is no other option, but for me and that situation, it was the only way I could see. I did suffer for it later, my eyes were glued open with all the mud and salt by the time I got home, and completely bloodshot. Spiffness posted:If your helmet is going nuts and you can't see at all, thats a different story and you just sort of have to tough it out. Yes, I'd rather be glaring through the rain, than glaring through the rain and a fogged up visor. But the other problem with opening the visor is that any muddy spray that does come up is likely to hit the inside of the visor, so you'll be stuck with the visor open until you can be bothered to stop and clean it.
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Feb 7, 2009 14:00
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Those ramps look fun. My two favourite ones are the A38 into Birmingham off the Southbound M6 and the westbound M4 onto Norhtbound M5. Both of those still freak me out every so often, party because you can almost look sideways and see cars directly beneath you. But Simkin is right, you will get used to them, it's just a matter of practise.
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Feb 15, 2009 11:51
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And normally when you lube it you're not removing it from the covering, you're putting oil/lube down the tube with the wire still in there, so even then he'd have had no chance of actually checking the cable. Does make me happy that both of my cable failures are/were the speedo.
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Mar 2, 2009 20:52
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Zool posted:Quit tailgating you rear end in a top hat. If you're doing that you need to ride without a helmet. Helmets reduce how much you can see, and you only need it when you crash. And you won't crash if you ride faster than everything else on the road, obviously then nothing can hit you, and you can see everything coming with your improved visibility.
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Mar 6, 2009 08:02
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I'd agree with wringing as well, though I'd be more likely to call it ragging the bike or really fricking pegging it. I've also used the term wringing when it comes to a car engine, it's nothing to do with the method of applying the throttle, or at least as far as I'm concerned. When you're wringing a towel you're trying to get every last ounce of liquid out of the towel. When you're wringing a bike, you're trying to extract every last ounce of horsepower or performance from that screaming throbbing engine.
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Mar 10, 2009 11:22
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Nerobro posted:RS50's are legal. And sold here. The 50 and 125 are both maintenance whores. I was giggling when a bloke at work turned up on a RS 125. We were chatting all day and he was telling me all about how awesome this bike was and how it wasn't the restricted one although he was only on a CBT (you're limited to 12bhp on a CBT, iirc the RS125 makes somewhere near 30). I was slightly cautious, especially due to the fact that it was parked next to my CB400 and he was trying to tell me how to do things. Anyway, the reason I started giggling was that at the end of the day we got back to the yard and the first thing he does is run over and start the bike, then leg it off inside. Slightly puzzled I unlocked my bike and proceeded to get all my kit on, then he came back. When asked about the idling bike next to me, he told me it had to be warmed up for 10 minutes before you can use it. I had a good chortle, started my bike, waved him goodbye and drove off. It might be awesome to have a bike with 30-odd horsepower on a CBT, but I'm not sure I could put up with idling the bike for 10 minutes before I went anywhere. Hell, I'd beat that dude getting anywhere if I was on my XR125, at least on a shortish ride.
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Mar 11, 2009 13:02
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Trintintin posted:This is very very true. But since I go to an art school its ok, because there aren't many people into the automotive scene here it helps me meet riding/talk car buddys. It's even worse on my 400. The power peak is really late, and passengers get somewhat worried when they hear the engine screaming like that for long periods of time.
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Mar 12, 2009 21:24
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Linedance posted:. . . I'm planning on doing a multi-day trip around Wales later this spring or early summer, and trip down to Cornwall might be in the cards. Plus some continental touring when I can . . . Is it bad that I want to drive down to Cornwall from the Midlands and back, purely for a decent cornish pasty? For those with a less than stellar grasp of British geography, that's a 4 and a half hour journey there. Even worse, I'm considering taking the friend on the 125 who can't use the motorways, that bumps it up to about 7 and a half hours there. They do make the best drat Cornish Pasties in Port Isaac though.
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Mar 13, 2009 20:03
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Nerobro posted:So I'm not the only one..... Definitely not the only one, though it can get infuritating when I've got some really crappy song stuck on my brain. I went to pick my sister up from Uni yesterday, she told me after we got back that she'd been singing really loudly and had worried at some point that I'd heard her. For even more insanity, I have arguements with myself when I get bored.
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Mar 16, 2009 09:50
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sklnd posted:Looks like Texas has a lanesplitting bill that actually made it out of committee this year . . . . Is that similar to the statutes in Cali about lane-splitting? I'm referring to the speed limits. Over here (UK) it's at speeds under 40mph and no more than 20mph faster than traffic. TBH I rarely approach those speeds, but it's easier to have a little more speed than just crawling past the traffic. In other news, I think I'd love to come over there and split on some of your roads. The majority of roads around my local towns hardly have enough room for the car lanes jammed into them, let alone an iterant biker trying to get past. I have recently learnt to move past the traffic when it's stopped at a pedestrian set of traffic lights, there's never anyone coming the other way as they're all stopped on the other side of the red light. The one thing I have learnt about fighting through traffic is that you should never assume anything that anyone's going to do.
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Mar 22, 2009 12:45
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Not quite understanding the state codes, but am I right in gathering that you have to wear your helmet in some states but not in others? Mind-blown. For some reason I'd previously had the assumption that you never had to wear a helmet in the states. I can't imagine not wearing kit. I mean, we don't have the temperatures that you guys can have, but it's bleeding windy at speed, and the jacket and gloves make it comfortable. vvv I've come off 3 times, but only at low speeds and I've never managed to hit my head in the process. But I was more thinking of the normal squid who thinks they'd never crash. Even for those people, gear makes you more comfortable. And a helmet reduces wind noise, stops your eyes drying out, makes sure you can see and keeps you more warm. Orange Someone fucked around with this message at 18:55 on Mar 23, 2009 |
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Mar 23, 2009 09:24
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Simkin posted:Nobody ever told me to push start in 2nd. In relation to that, the coil on my XR125 was dodgy, turns out there had been a recall/replace by Honda but I hadn't realised so was riding around having a hell of a time starting the bike when it was cold outside, or even keeping the engine running when it was really cold and/or wet. Letting the bike drop to idle would normally just let it die. One morning, going downhill approaching a mini-roundabout, I dropped down into first as I approached, but hadn't let the clutch out yet. Engine idled for a second then died, so I instinctivly let the clutch out to try and bump start it before I lose too much momentum. Rear wheel immediately locks, so it's clutch in, change up, clutch out and throttle, off we go without even stopping. Bike runs beautifully now she's got the new coil, though I've still got the bad habit of giving my throttle a little bit of gas at stops. It used to be the only way to keep it running (choke was under the tank and made it lumpy at the top end of the throttle. It's a 125 so you're always at the top of the throttle) but now I randomly find myself sat at lights with 2k or 3k of rpm going on.
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Mar 26, 2009 10:09
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There's a large part of me that's screaming "get back on the horse". I know when I crashed I avoided the bike completely for a month or so. It was partly because I'd bolluxed up the shifter, the clutch lever and the forks in the crash, so it wasn't too easy to ride, but part of it was a general uneasiness about getting back on. On the other hand, if you're hesistant to ride and you are riding, every single close call is going to reinforce your perception that you shouldn't be riding, and it might force you off the bike forever. I hesistate to use the term scared, as I don't really feel it per se and most bikers or men don't like admitting to fear. I do get worried and/or really apprehensive about getting back on when I've not ridden for a while. That and I get out of the habit of relying on the bike, I start walking or cadging lifts instead. 5 miles? Probably a push bike, I used to do 6 each way a couple of years ago. Now I do 8 or 9, but I use my motorbike. Partially because I'm lazy, partially because it's a manual job and after 10 hrs of moving other's people furniture, I sometimes really don't want to cycle 8 miles of unlit country lanes in the dark.
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Mar 27, 2009 23:03
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I always chuckle when I come across the discussions of riding season and what-not. I can't drive and I tend to work odd hours in odd places so public transport is a no-go. Thus my bike is my only means of transport, which means I've had to travel im every sort of weather that Britain throws at me, and most of it on a stubborn 125 thumper. I do have a particular dislike for snow, mainly after I spent two or three hours riding through the Scottish borders with only trainers on my feet, I was too stupid/poor to own motorbike boots. Wierd, considering all 3 of my accidents/wipeouts were in the rain, you'd have thought I'd be more afraid of that form of precipitation. That said, the climate over here is quite mild, so I suppose we don't get the extremes that some of you do. I much prefer snow when I'm on my 125, the knobblies and the dualsport suspension give me more confidence than the street tyres on my 400. Plus it's easier to get a foot down.
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Apr 1, 2009 13:10
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I managed to blow a fuse on my bike when I was replacing the tacho, oil temp and headlight bulbs. Quite lucky then that I'd just found where they were. Must have done with when checking with the tester screwdriver that everything was working. There was a definite heart sinking moment when I plugged everything back in and turned the key on, and nothing lit up. Then I pressed the horn and, lo and behold, it didnae work, so I knew instantly that it was the fuse (the horn, instrument lights and the tail lights are all on the same fuse).
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Apr 7, 2009 12:25
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Usability? Cruisers tend to be bigger and heavier than an equivalent standard. Bigger and heavier means less fuel economy and a tougher time lane splitting/filtering, plus harder to cram into tiny parking spaces. I'd file that under the heading of less usable. I'm not saying they're useless for anything except a sunday ride in the sunshine, but partially because of the reasons above, and partially becuase of the clique that ride them, they're not known for anything except transporting douchebags or gleaming. Not particularly known for being able to fit the shopping for a family of 4 onboard. There is a bloke who uses his HD something regularly to get shopping. I've seen him at Tescos at least 3 times in the past couple of months. In other news, I've discovered I can fit four cans of Carling in the space under my seat. I didn't buy the Carling, it was given to me as a tip for the house-move today, I don't like the stuff. I did have to fit the last 2 cans in my thigh pockets, w00t for combat trousers.
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Apr 17, 2009 17:21
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wzm posted:Maybe things are different in the UK, but in the US most cruisers seem to have full hard bags and a top case. The only thing I see regularly with more storage space are goofy adventure touring bikes with 10 gallon fuel tanks and 200 gallons of storage. I have never ridden a cruiser, but it seems to me like lots of storage and really low seat heights make for very usable bikes, especially compared to all of the 35"+ seats on dual sports and adventure bikes. I've had plenty of short friends who can't even get one foot all the way down on a dual sport. It is a different culture, and unfortunately the stereotype over here does actually exist, and a lot of riders do play into that stereotype. The majority of HD/cruiser riders seem to be 40-something people with midlife crisis. OK, that is the stereotype, and before I rode I was convinced that it was just a stereotype portrayed by tv and it didn't really exist. Then I started riding, and discovered that, to my horror, it does exist. Not every HD rider is having a midlife crisis, but they do seem to be older. Could just be that they used to ride other things, and then found that a HD/cruiser is more comfortable as they get older. Oh yeah, the other thing I was convinced was a stereotype was that HD riders are snobs who only recognise other HD riders exist. Sad that it is that way out in the world. Most cruisers I see over here don't have a top box, and the large majority don't have the full hard bags either. I've seen a fair few of the soft saddlebags, but I tend to see people without any sort of luggage capacity. It does depend on why you ride. If you want to carve twisties, a cruiser's not for you. If you want to tour and experience the countryside (and a cruiser doesn't kill your rear end, like z3n), then I expect a cruiser with lots of luggage would be brilliant. Personally, I use my bike as my primary means of transport, often through busy traffic and thus I wouldn't need/like/want the extra size and bulk of a cruiser. Part of that might be down to the fact that Britain tends to be a lot older than the US, and our roads are so so much narrower most of the time. I'd love to have a cruiser, or even a decent test ride of one. I've only ever sat on one when it was stopped, and it seemed OK, maybe better than OK because it was big, and I'm tall so it was more in proportion to me. Maybe I would want a cruiser, but there's always that lil' voice in the back of my mind yammering about HD/cruiser riders being dicks. It's the same thing as BMW riders, the stereotype is that they're really old, and I was looking at BMW bikes when I was getting my new bike, but that same voice was yammering about the stereotype again. I apologise for beating z3n in length, but I wanted to explain how I felt accurately. Maybe other UK riders could speak up from their point of view. People in the Midlands tend to be dicks anyway, so it may be distorting my data.
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Apr 17, 2009 18:00
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I managed to drop it once wearing full kit, plugs in, luggage loaded, whilst trying to bump start it down the hill outside my house. Couldn't lift the drat thing with gloves and helmet and boots on, my MX boots really don't give enough bend at the ankles for that. I also managed to drop it off the centre stand. About a week later I'd arrived at a house to help move them, stood it up on the centre stand on the driveway, turned around and walked off to the lorry to help undo the doors. I hear this groan, turn to watch my bike topple sideways at an agonisingly slow speed. I got a load of ribbing later for the speed at which I legged it towards the bike to get it back up again. Broke the brake lever off 2/3rds of the way down. Turns out the tarmac was old and it just gave way beneath the pressure of the stand. It was a bitch bump starting it after some of the fuel had spilt from the carbs. Took me three runs. Finally goaded me into replacing the battery.
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Apr 18, 2009 12:42
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ARGH!! New tyres and chain and sprocket were put on at the garage, before they gave it the MOT. Which it promptly failed. Aparently the rear shocks are gone, the front seals are gone, the indicators on the right side aren't working, the bars are bent and the brake pedal sticks. And to make matters worse, the parts aren't in stock at the suppliers, so they have to order them in, which won't appear until at least tuesday. The MOT finishes at midnight on monday. At least I have another bike I can use until this one is fixed. On the other hand, the new rubber (BT45s) feels so drat nice, and I finally realise how flat the other tyres were. It's just so easy to tip it in now.
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Apr 21, 2009 18:07
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2ndclasscitizen posted:Get new sprockets. You should always replace the chain and both sprockets at the same time, and there's a good chance there'd be some damage to some of the teeth if the wheel tore the chain in half. It sounds sensible to replace the sprockets as well as the chain. Possible damage sounds plasible. But I'd heard that you should replace the sprockets every other time you replace the chain? Having said that, I've not had either bike long enough to have more than one replacement chain, so I've done (or had done) the sprockets at the same time. In fact, I had the chain, sprockets and tyres done on my new(er) bike last week, it feels like a different machine.
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Apr 27, 2009 08:32
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It's amusing, on my dualsport, when I wanted to brake and gas at the same time, I'd use the ring and little fingers for the gas and the first and middle fingers for the brake. But on my new bike I've gotten a habit of using my ring finger for gentle braking. I imagine it's a really bad habit, and I have no idea where I picked it up from.
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May 2, 2009 18:12
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I had new tyres bought and put on last week. Cost me £180 in total. But those weren't massively sporty tyres, just some normal battleaxes.
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May 9, 2009 09:36
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I did that on the motorway the other day on the way to an interview. 70mph, about 7k rpm, tried to shift up. As far as I can remember, 6th is a smidge below that, so I reckon I tried to shift up about 5 times before I gave up and blamed my memory.
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May 22, 2009 01:18
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Z3n posted:Probably a salvage title. Very nice bikes, very high seat height and very much a supersport. No worse or better than the rest of them. From what I've heard the Daytona is a little better than the rest of them if you want to ride it daily, due to the triple engine instead of the I4. If I remember right, it's got more torque at low end, so it's easier to ride on the roads. But you're mostly right, it is still a 600 supersport.
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Jun 6, 2009 10:17
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I'm back to hating the newbie feeling. Nothing to do with riding a bike, but I'm learning to drive, and there's some habits from the bike that really aren't helping. Plus I'm finding it tough to modulate the steering when I have to move my hands. Oh, and I keep forgetting that I can't brake, gas and clutch at the same time in the car. Motorcycling for 2 years has given a huge sense of traffic flow and clutch control though. I just hate sucking at things.
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Jul 27, 2009 07:30
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Linedance posted:I passed my M2 exit test the other day. Now I'm fully licensed and can exchange for a UK license. I got dinged for shoulder checks on turns mainly, but still passed with room to spare. Looking at the test form it's pretty much impossible to not get dinged for shoulder checks at some point. I'm glad I did a shoulder check at the urinal before the test, that could have been a costly mistake! What's an M2 exit test? And I was doing fine on my shoulder checks, I actually failed my first test with 2 majors and 2 minors, neither of the minors being shoulder checks. I only got 3 shoulder check minors on the second test because the shifter broke/slipped and I was so concentrating on that on the way back to the barn, I forgot to do my checks. My tester put the missed shoulder checks down to added nervousness due to a false shift into neutral at a roundabout. Ironically the false shift happened because of the slipping shifter. And regarding the getting on the bike, I'm lanky enough that I tend to mount the bike from the high side. If I can't swing the leg over the back, I just kick my leg over. There are times when being lanky helps, and then there are times when it sucks (I'm currently being a removal man, I can't tell you how many times I smack my head on doorways and light fittings in new houses).
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Jul 31, 2009 12:20
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I once transported my pc tower, all the cables and games in a big sports bag and my 22" TFT to a LAN. Luckily I had a carry case for my tower so I could carry that slung over my shoulder, resting on the seat behind me. The other two I bungee'ed onto the seat behind me, bag first and then the screen facedown on top of it. If I was going to do that again I'd get a bigger sports bag so my screen would actually fit in. The thing I was most scared of was that it would rain and get water all over my lovely lovely screen. Stupid really.
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Aug 26, 2009 20:53
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Doctor Zero posted:Is there such a thing as None of your gear All of the time? What's the difference between that and all your gear, none of the time?
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Sep 16, 2009 18:52
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| # ¿ May 2, 2024 21:05 |
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My best friend and I attended a charity ride on saturday. I mentioned it in another thread, but thought I'd put it where people could see. Six thousand bikers riding to raise money for the National Memorial Arboretum. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/staffordshire/8300693.stm I reckon about half the bikes there were Harleys, which meant the overwhelming sound was that throbbing V-twin noise. The bike that rode in behind me was a 1941 Indian with a sucide clutch and tank shifter. It was a sight and a half watching him start the bike and pull it off. The convoy route was only about 15 miles, but we were doing between 40 and 60mph so it took a lil' while. There were people lining the route almost all of the way, I wish I could have been doing that. With 6 thousand bikes, only a few metres between each of us and a speed of 40mph, it must have taken ages for us all to pass. Once we got the Arboretum, we wandered around, checked out the memorials and the Armed Forces Memorial, which lists the names of all 16,000 people who lost their lives due to conflict or terrorism since the end of WW2. There was a short memorial service, the Last Post then a few speeches. Then there was a flypast from a Spitfire, which was absolutely awesome; he started the flypast by coming in straight over the top of the Memorial we were stood in front of, so the first thing we knew of him being there was the moment he was over the top of us. We watched them lay the wreaths, then we left and headed home, behaving like right little hooligans as we did so.
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Oct 11, 2009 22:06
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