I've just had my H2 SX "filmed" by Ben at Ultimate Auto. This is the third bike that Ben has fitted 3m Ventureshield paint protection film to for me and I am a very happy chappy. Ben does an excellent job. He fits the film so well it's really difficult to even see it's there. He was even happy to custom make some protectors to fit the top of my panniers where there is a risk of my boot scuffing the painted section.

If you're thinking of getting paint protection film fitted to your bike, then I can recommend the 3m Ventureshield and Ben to fit it.

https://ultimateauto.co.uk/motorcycles.php

 PS I't my K1300S Sport on the last page of the gallery pictures.

The details of the 2024 trip are now finalised and booking for the trip has started. In 2024 we will return to the Pyrenees, and more specifically, the French side of the Pyrenees.
 
The dates for the trip are Saturday 1st June to Sunday 9th June, giving us 2 days to get to to the Pyrenees and 2 days to get back, with 6 days to enjoy the wonderful roads.
Schedule for the trip is:
 
Morning of Saturday 1st June 2024 - Cross the Channel – Eurotunnel
There is the option to cross the Channel on the evening of Friday 31st May 2004 and stay overnight, probably in Bethune, hotel to be confirmed
 
 - 1 night in Brive-La-Gaillard - KYRIAD BRIVE LA GAILLARDE OUEST

 
 - 3 nights in Vernet-les-Bains - Hôtel Restaurant Princess
       https://www.hotel-vernet-les-bains.com/en/
 
 - 3 nights in Lourdes - Hôtel ROISSY
      https://www.lourdes-roissy.com/en
 
 - 1 night in Limoges –Ibis Styles Limoges Centre
 
Afternoon/evening of Sunday 9th June 2024 - Cross the Channel - Eurotunnel
 
There are up to 20 spaces reserved at both of the main hotels in the Pyrenees. Those spaces will be allocated on a first come, first served basis so booking early if you want to join us is recommended.
 
The total cost for the 8 nights in the hotels, single use rooms, parking included, B&B is expected to be around £700. Channel crossing costs will be additional to this and will likely take the costs to around £825. Likewise, a stay at the Ibis Bethune Centre Gare on the Friday night will be additional and is around £90. That makes the whole trip, including the Friday night stop-over, just over £900. All you have to add to that is food, beer/wine and petrol.
 
If you'd like to join in but would prefer some alternative "there and back" options, then those can be discussed.
 
Booking will require a £250, non-refundable deposit. This will be allocated towards the costs of your trip when you attend but will not be refundable if you drop out before the trip. As ever, I don’t make any profit on the Old Gits trips so the money you pay reflects the direct costs of your trip.
 
If you have any questions or would like more details, then please let me know.

Images from previous Old Gits trips to the French Pyrenees so you get an idea as to what to expect!

The continuation of a worrying trend.

https://www.rideapart.com/news/659272/high-pyrenees-park-bans-motorcycles/?fbclid=IwAR1vaOz0aW9SmNF_GG6JONXcZw7xfq-oCUzWWk1a2RRnpeoO62XbNP4efzc

Due to the noise emissions accompanying that two-wheeled tourism, not all Pyrenees communities appreciate the additional patronage, though. One such sector is Spain’s Natural Park of the High Pyrenees, and the Park has banned all internal combustion “motorcycles, quads, ATVs, and non-electric buggies all year round for noise protection reasons.”

The biking community really does only have itself to blame even though it's generally a small minority spoiling it for everyone.

Loud pipes wreck lives!

I met this chap at the London Motorcycle Show at the Excel. He's never done a K1?00 S/R/GT rad before but was confident he could.  If anyone has a "dead" rad they'd be willing to let him look at/pull apart he's happy to investigate.

May be worth a try for someone?

As I'm sure we all have, I've had a number of conversations around the fact that torque is what is needed on a road bike (not power) and that more torque is always welcome. But, I think that is too simplistic a presentation of what is best, as it's not actually the headline figure of the engine torque that is really important, but the "thrust" that the back wheel provides when you open the throttle. To get to the back wheel, the crank torque has to go through the gearbox, whose job it is to effectively change the torque, increase or decrease, before it gets to the rear wheel.

[nerd mode]
So that I could actually compare the real "thrust" at the rear wheel, and while in a really boring meeting, I put together a spreadsheet that calculates the thrust at the wheel value from a given engine through the attached gearbox to the wheel. This gives (near) real world comparison figures between different bikes.

There are inevitably a large number of assumptions in the calculations including that losses through the gearbox and final drive will be the same across all bikes, that the diameter of the rear wheel is the same and that no account is taken for the weight of the bike as it takes more to move a heavier bike.

I found it interesting and, for the bikes I’ve actually ridden, similar to the results form the “seat of the pants” dyno.



[/nerd mode]

A good friend of mine, Mark, is from Australia and, after over 11 years in the UK, is planned to return to Aus, for good. He has, in the past borrowed both my Aprilia Futura and then my K1200S to join in on the Old Gits trips, enjoying them so much, he actually bought his own K1300S MotorSport.

As he well be returning to a land where great mountain roads are best described as "in short supply", and where speed enforcement is both enthusiastic and rigorous, a small group of Old Gits though we'd give him a final Euro-tour he'd remember.

The full route is defined here: https://www.myrouteapp.com/en/social/route/5142831?mode=share  but the image for the back of the trip tee shirts we had made up says it al:



So, on Friday 10th Sept, we set off on the tunnel.



stopping overnight in Bethune (bikes tucked up safely at the hotel):




before we did a 500 mile across France and into Germany on Saturday. The Autobahns were fun:




Sunday was through Austria and into Italy. The sun shining all the way.


with some serious fun being had.




Monday was Italy then into Switzerland via a number of passes including Stelvio


Mark

Roger

James

Steve

Me






Tuesday had Mark and I looking for somewhere to fit a new tyre to his bike (forward planning it wasn't!!!) before heading back into Italy




Wednesday morning in Aosta and, for the first time on the trip, it was raining, and raining quite hard. The weather slightly reduced the fun as we ran over into France then started down the Route des Grande Alpes.

However, the rain eased towards the end of the day and the final run of the day up the Col de l'izoard was done at significant pace in the company of a Lotus Exige 380 Sport. For those that don't know, it's 1100kg, 375bhp and f**king quick! He had me on the slightly damp bends but I pulled him back on the short straights. Very childish, but great fun. We both stopped at the top of the Col and thanked each other for a good ride/drive. I'm not sure his passenger enjoyed it quite as much as he did!

That night we were witness to a fantastic lightening show with accompanying thunderous rain.

Thursday was again wet (rain and waterproofs tend reduce both the opportunities and the interest in taking pictures but I did manage to get one at the very top of the Col de Bonnette


before we headed down for the Med coast and our overnight stop. As it happens, once we'd parked the bikes ad checked into the hotel, the rain stopped and the sun came out!


Friday was a ride up the Route Napoleon. The sun was back and it was warm and dry again.


With another change to have some fun


A stop for lunch in Gap had us reminiscing over previous Old Gits trips



Saturday arrived and it was time to think about heading for home, but not before some more fun and stunning roads




Sunday morning was dry again as we did our 200 mile dash to the ferry



Then the run home



It was a superb trip, enjoyed by all but, most importantly, enjoyed by Mark.

 

OK - Third time lucky I hope!!! After COVID cancelled the 2020 and the 2021 trips to Northern Spain we're going to give it another go in 2022. Hopefully by June 2022 we'll all have been jabbed and Spain will be a fully green, visit as you please, country.

Brittany Ferries have been very good and transferred over the 2021 bookings to 2022 so the dates are confirmed as departing Portsmouth at 21:30 on Friday 10th June to arrive in Santander on Sunday 12th, then depart Bilbao on Saturday 18th June to return to Portsmouth on Sunday 19th at 18:30.

The ferry crossings are £756 each. That allows for bike, and rider in a single occupancy cabin, both ways. We've not booked the hotels yet but the outline plan remains that we will do a 2 center trip with a move of hotel mid week. Hotels will be 3* or 4* and each room will be booked for single occupancy. The estimated hotel cost for the 6 nights is £450.

Beyond those costs you'll have your own food, drink, fuel etc.

At the moment we have 13 people booked on the ferry crossing and another 3 who plan to travel overland and meet us in Spain.

TomL and myself from this site are already booked on the trip and a few others from here have been on previous Old Gits trips so can comment on what happens. If you're interested in joining the 2022 trip then please PM me and let me know.



Just to answer a few of the FAQs from those thinking about their 1st Old Gits trip.

This is not the sort of trip where we all ride in a big long line, blocking the traffic and generally going slower than the speed of the slowest to keep the group together. We're all booked on the same ferries and in the same hotels but beyond that, it's your trip. Small groups tend to organically form (normally at breakfast) when discussions identify who's doing what that day. We recommend that a maximum of 4 people ride in a group so as not to cause problems with local traffic. However, if you want to do your own thing then that's totally fine too.

There is no tour guide with an umbrella guiding you around the local sites and making up a history for them. (If you'd like that job then feel free to volunteer!   )

The hotels are always chosen with a bar and restaurant but the evenings, like the days, are totally up to you. Again, groups tend to form to visit local bars and restaurants but you do what you want.

I do all the bookings and don't make any money from it. All bills are divided equally across those on the trip. As such you share the benefits of group discounts (estimated at around 10% to 15%) for ferry and hotels but likewise, you are tied to the times, locations, terms and conditions associated with the group booking.

Some pictures from previous trips to Northern Spain so you have an idea what you might be letting yourself in for.

Whilst a VERY limited sample, I though the results were interesting ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GAUo8eUXeU