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  It's about the things we... fix?

  Gary 23:01 on October 20, 2009 | 3 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: Adventure (30), BT2009 (24), Damage (5), France (12), Gladius

  Things always look better the day after that night before. That night you feel nothing but despair; there’s no way we’re finding a Suzuki dealer, no way we’re going to get the parts we need for the bike, are we even going to get home?

  I woke after a night of troubled “sleep”, I had a horrible feeling in my stomach as I was still unsure how this would all play out; we didn’t have those spares yet… We got ready and rode two-up to where we had researched the Suzuki dealer to be the night before. We found it within minutes as it was literally one road away from the Etap. Now we had another problem; how do you ask for a spare clutch lever and a spare brake lever in French? Well, you find a Gladius in the showroom, point and make grunting noises until an English speaking motorbike racer comes along to help translate. Props to the dealer, they promised that if they couldn’t find the parts in stock they would take them off a showroom Gladius for us, there was now no way we were leaving the dealer without the parts we needed.

  

  We found our way back to Gen’s Gladius first time, it seemed lady luck was finally siding with us again. I removed the clutch lever and as expected the bike started up first time as the kill switch was no longer being pushed in by the bent metal. 10 minutes later and I had replaced both the clutch and the brake and we had a fully functional bike once more, we taped up the broken indicator and we were pretty much good to go.

  

  We have now been stuck in the middle of a foreign country with a broken bike and managed to come out the other side on top, but we’re not going to forget quickly that without the help of our French friends the problem may not have been solved as easily as it was…

  

  We managed to get back on the road around 11:30 and though we took it very slowly today with several good stops, we still managed to knock off almost 200 miles and arrived in Orleans way before dark with plenty of time to find a Premiere Classe.

  Cumulative Miles: 3,073.9

   

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• 

  Oh, Shit.

  Gary 21:10 on October 20, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: Adventure (30), BT2009 (24), Damage (5), France (12), Gladius

  We pushed hard yesterday, to do the very thing we never wanted to do on this trip… race to a pre-determined destination. There were plenty of places we could’ve stopped at before it got dark but we both decided to push ourselves and get to Clermont-Ferrand, we could make life easier for ourselves on the remaining days by having less miles to ride if we did this. Little did we know then that this would turn out to have the opposite effect.

  When we got to Clermont-Ferrand it was about 19:15 it was pretty much dark (pictures were taken the following morning) and we were both fairly tired and cold from a long day of riding. All we had to do was find the Premiere Classe and settle down for the night, we’ve done it several times before, how hard could it be? On this particular night, very. After riding around for a while with no luck we stopped outside a McDonalds to steal their Wi-Fi and find out where to go and as we were backing the bikes out the spaces I heard Gen struggling so turned round only to watch her drop the Gladius, I was too slow to help her. We picked it up and found the brake lever had snapped, though this sucked it wasn’t the end of the world and Gen wasn’t hurt so we carried on looking for the hotel.

  

  We took yet another wrong turn at a roundabout and I knew we needed to turn round so I tried to find somewhere to do so. I should never have taken us up that hill, I knew it was a bad place to turn but I carried on anyway, Gen keeps saying it’s not my fault but I can’t help but feel responsible when I’m the one leading her. Crunch the bike goes down and all I hear is a long, never ending scream, it was horrible. At this point I’ve already turned and am facing down the hill, as anybody who rides knows you can’t park a bike facing down a hill so I’m stuck there listening to Gen crying in my headset and I couldn’t do a thing to help her.

  

  I eventually managed to get the bike up and over the central gravel island and facing up the hill just as the first car (and the most important of the night) would pull over to help. Gen had got herself out from under the bike and the lady who had stopped spoke English (thankfully) and asked if we needed a doctor etc, she was very nice but eventually we said we were ok and she left us. What the hell do I do now? The Gladius wouldn’t start (same kill switch problem we had at home), we are 1,000+ miles away from home, we don’t speak French, we still have nowhere to stay and I have a battered, bruised, crying Gen, we were in trouble.

  

  I started looking around for a better place to put the Gladius, we were still in the middle of the road with hazards on at this point and I though the best thing to do would be to at least get to a safer place. just as I came back from this hunt another car stopped to help (not another one…) but this one was different, we had seen this one before, it was the English speaking lady who had just picked up her daughter and was heading home. It turns out this English speaking lady was an English teacher (I kid you not) and she lived ~600m up the road, she told us where to find hotels and she even told us there was a Suzuki garage around and most importantly she offered us her garden to store the bike.

  

  I pushed the Gladius up the hill (do not try this at home) and down the road to the lady’s house and she then drove me back to Gen and my bike. I rode my bike there while she took Gen in the car. We were offered drinks and were given all the info we needed to find the hotels, garages and our way back to her house in the morning. We both owe this lady and her family everything and we will be ever grateful to them for their kindness that night, decent people do exist.

  I rode us two-up and we found an Etap hotel one road along from the first road we tried that evening.

  Cumulative Miles: 2,881.8

   
• 

  The North Norfolk Coast

  Gary 12:16 on August 8, 2009 | 4 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: Gladius, Norfolk, Preparation (23), SVF 650 (4), Trip Report (8), V-Strom 650X (6)

  Gen and I spent this past weekend in Loddon, Norfolk for a gathering with friends and we decided to take the bikes to get some more of that all important road experience…

  We set off on Friday night at around 17:30, hoping to at least get off the motorways before it got dark. The first part of the journey seemed to go well, but as we got to the M25 we hit traffic, and I mean traffic, it was almost 21:00 by the time we got to our first service stop on the M11, already starting to get dark with 100 miles still to go. Our luck then changed as we managed to stop at the same services as Dave, Steph and Adrian, we both breathed a sigh of relief realising that we could follow them the rest of the way and the pressure was off now I wouldn’t have to navigate in the dark (a good thing considering my navigational skills in the light). We arrived at Nina and Ollie’s at around 23:30 and after a bit of chit-chat with everybody we all settled down for the night.

  

  I woke up at 08:00 Saturday morning, the plan was to go for a ride with Ollie and his GSX-R 750, we were on the road by 09:00 the weather was looking good. We rode to Lowestoft first, to tick off the most easterly point in the UK; Ness Point on Gas Works Road. I admit I have seen better scenery elsewhere, Gas Works Road is aptly named but regardless, this is the most easterly point in the UK and it deserved a visit and some photographs. We continued north from here up to Great Yarmouth and then north-west around the north Norfolk coast, we rode some fantastic roads here; nice and twisty, the way all roads should be. It was good fun riding with Ollie, it’s always good to watch other people riding; how they take their corners, where they position themselves in the road and even the small things like where they park their bike are interesting. We met up with the rest of the guys for lunch and then walked around Norwich for a bit before riding back. In the evening we stayed up playing nerdy board and video games into the early hours of the morning, alcohol was consumed by most and great fun was had by all!

  

  On Sunday we did more of the same; nerdy games with a BBQ for lunch, but all of this unfortunately made us late leaving and we didn’t set off until around 16:00. We’d just got onto the A11 when I had an unpleasant experience with an idiot car driver. We’d just come off a roundabout onto a section of dual carriageway, there was a junction on the left and a place to u-turn off of the right-hand lane. I had accelerated up to around 60mph and a the car driver decides to pull out of the junction, “moron” I thought and proceeded to move out into the fast lane so I could avoid colliding, my plan would have worked too had the idiot not moved over into that lane too. I panic-braked causing my back wheel to lock, I veered over to the centre of the carriageway and found myself between the car and the curb, at this point I was so close to the car, I was getting ready to hit the road, I remember thinking “this is going to hurt”. To avoid hitting the car I went up on the grass verge in the centre of the carriageway and somehow managed to come to a stop without falling off, I was VERY lucky.

  

  We carried on for the next 100 miles or so, the M25 thankfully was pretty good all the way, but we weren’t taking any chances and left it for the M40 where we stopped at a service station which by pure chance was home to a Starbucks, I was a happy man! We left the services around 20:30 and unfortunately it dawned on me that we would be riding, yet again, into the night. The rest of the ride home was fairly uneventful, we took the A338 from Oxford until a road closed sign threw us off track and onto a lovely “B” road, one which I wouldn’t mind revisiting during the day sometime. I decided that it would simply take too long to get home if we kept going like this so I took us to Newbury and then used the A34 and M27 to get us home as fast as possible. We arrived at around 23:15, it had been a long ride and it wasn’t in the most enjoyable conditions but we made it none the less, it was definitely challenging and we came out on top. France, Spain & Portugal… we’re ready.

   
• 

  Camping Brecon, A Test Run.

  Gary 22:27 on July 28, 2009 | 2 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: Adventure (30), Brecon Beacons, Gladius, Motorcycling (12), Preparation (23), Trip Report (8), V-Strom 650X (6)

  The story so far is this; we’ve got our bikes, we’re in the process of gearing them up and we’ve done our first long(ish) ride up to Avebury stone circle. In October we’re going to Spain for three weeks, which means at some point along the way we’re going to have to camp. I’ve bike-camped quite a few times now but for Gen who has only just started riding it’s something else that was on the list of things to experience.

  

  We decided to ride up to Brecon last weekend; the longest trip we’ve attempted thus far and stay in a pre-booked campsite, one step at a time. The weather forecast wasn’t looking great for the weekend but we decided to go anyway, as I’ve said before (and get constant reminders about from Kev); we can’t control the weather in Spain so why try and control it over here? Besides, we need all the riding experience we can get!

  

  We arrived at 19:00 and set up camp after finding our way around the campsite (Gen’s first experience of riding on grass)! After spending a while getting setup and sorting everything out we decided dinner was in order; a bit of tinned Chilli and some rice, it was simple but it filled a hole. We then played on our DS’ (in true adventurer style) and had a coffee before going to bed.

  We woke up on Sunday morning to the now familiar sound of rain; I pretty much expect rain when it’s time to take a tent down now. We had some porridge for breakfast, got dressed and packed up the tent when we got a bit of a gap in the weather. Not long into the ride home and the light showers turned into heavy showers, and the heavy showers just got heavier, eventually allowing Gen to experience the “bullet effect” you get when riding along at 60mph+. The bad weather caused us to miss an exit for the M4 and we accidently carried on into the centre of a very wet, very busy Cardiff. I think this was the single most depressing ride I’ve ever had; I was cold, wet and angry at myself for missing that exit, but I suppose it was a good learning experience for Gen and I’m glad that she pulled through it, wet weather doesn’t really get much worse than that. We eventually arrived home safe, excited and proud that we had completed the goal we had set out to achieve.

  

  We clocked up 320 miles on this trip; Gen has now experienced a motorway, a rather windy bridge, some nasty weather and unfortunately more of my shockingly bad navigation skills. It sucked that we didn’t have more time to explore this weekend as there are some beautiful landscapes and fantastic roads over there, the Brecon Beacons will definitely have to play host to a future trip or two.

   
• 

  A Lovely Ride, A Broken Bike.

  Gen 20:04 on July 15, 2009 | 1 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: Damage (5), Gladius, Mechanics (2), Ride Report (4), Suzuki (11), SVF 650 (4)

  It’s Thursday 9th July and Gary decided to organise a little trip to get some more miles under my belt; around 50 miles of country roads with a few stops and a practise on some gravel. We also invited Mikey along for the ride. I won’t go on about it too much; I was a little shakey, still nervous round tight bends and couldn’t open her up because of the amount of revs I’m limited to, but all in all it was a nice ride. The gravel was a little bit scary but I managed it ok, we had a run in with a crazy Bandit lover who was admiring Mikeys bike a little too much!

  

  After our ride we decided to join our friends at the local pub for a pub quiz. Just as I put my bike on its side stand and went to get off, the bike decided she loved me too much and came with me, side stand pinging back up and to my complete horror she was on the floor (admist a lot of swearing and throwing of gloves by me). Thankfully Gary and Mikey were there in seconds to pick her back up. We checked her over maticulously; broken clutch lever, a scratch on the mirror and a scuffed handle bar, not too bad really, much better than I was expecting!

  

  About two hours later around 23:00 Gary and I go out to make our way home. I Get on my bike and turn her on, pull in my poor broken clutch, press the ignition and nothing… Dead. Well at least we know that my recovery works, I paid for it in my insurance premium (Carole Nash) so why not use it?! I’m making good money sense, right?! We tried everything we could think of to get the bike working but she just wouldn’t start so we had to call them. When he arrived, the recovery man couldn’t get her started either and so loaded her into his van and took us home.

  Come Saturday after purchasing a new clutch lever, costing £20.30, we removed the old one and replaced it, she worked again! At least the experience gave Gary a chance to show off his manly mechanical skills, well done

  Zuki is fine again; all ready for the next ride!

   
• 

  My New Bike

  Gen 22:58 on June 28, 2009 | 0 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: Bikes (13), Gladius, Ride Report (4), Suzuki (11), SVF 650 (4)

  I picked up my baby yesterday; Saturday 27th June 2009. With just 4 miles on her she was so pretty sat there in the showroom with her colour-matched top box fitted!

  The Gladius is definitely a nice little bike, from the moment I sat on her and started up the engine I knew we had made the right choice, she purrs like a kitten! I’m finding riding a bit scary after having been off a bike (apart from test riding the Strom) for almost three months, but the Gladius is helping me through it. Nice handling, nippy little engine, great dials and my favourite part – she tells me what gear I’m in!

  

  We did 24 miles yesterday, just a little ride around town, went to show Kev and then out on to a dual carriage-way and a country-ish road; nothing too far, nothing too fancy, just settling myself back into it. Today we have just got back from another 25 mile ride; we went down to Poole Park, stopped for a few photos then on to Sandbanks for a ride around the peninsula and a couple more photos. We finished the ride via the Wessex Way (dual carriage-way) and then along Castle Lane to home.

  

  All things considered so far I believe the Gladius was a great choice; it’s a really good first bike, I feel in control and I feel happy!

   
• 

  Weeeeee! Finally!

  Gen 22:18 on June 25, 2009 | 2 Permalink | Log in to leave a Comment
  Tags: Bikes (13), Gladius, Preparation (23), Suzuki (11), SVF 650 (4)

  After three moths of searching I have finally found a motorbike! After all the trouble, let downs and problems I had trying to find a second-hand bike I have ended up just going for a brand new one. Buying new might be a bad idea, but when I can pick up a brand new bike for only £1k more than a secondhand bike with 30k miles on it, you’ll forgive me for my choice! Here it is, the Suzuki (SVF 650) Gladius…

  

  The Gladius isn’t the adventure bike we were originally looking for, it’s no V-Strom and it’s no F650GS, we have infact gone in a completely different direction. We thought it made more sense to forget about buying a bike to do the trip on and get on with just buying a bike that would be a good first bike for me, that combined with the amount of time we were wasting looking at second-hand bikes when I should be out there getting experience led us to the Gladius.

  I’m picking it up on Saturday, I’ll let you know how I get on!