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Post by clem on Mar 9, 2015 9:29:56 GMT 10
Dog came around yesterday (Sun) morning while I was doing some light gardening so after I had done that, we jumped on our bikes and rode a few kays to Goonellabah where we had a Subway lunch and then to our respective homes.
A short but enjoyable ride.
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Post by Turtle on Mar 10, 2015 8:29:57 GMT 10
Eggzelent stuff, Clem & Dog. Great to see you both on the bikes and out there on the road. A beautiful part of OZ and I am envious lol.
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Post by clem on Mar 16, 2015 20:54:11 GMT 10
Yes, I like it here Turt. :-) I've just about finished attaching a couple of extra luggage bags on the mighty Virago! My idea is to head out for a few hundred kays in the next couple of days. Will I or won't I do it? ? :-)
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Post by Turtle on Mar 17, 2015 7:45:01 GMT 10
Clem if you add another 1000km onto that, it will be around my place ya will end up Which ever route ya take mate be safe and keep out of mischief.
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Post by clem on Mar 17, 2015 19:25:26 GMT 10
Clem if you add another 1000km onto that, it will be around my place ya will end up Which ever route ya take mate be safe and keep out of mischief. I might just do that sometime Turtle, I'll let you know when I might roar up your driveway!:-) I have enjoyed two days of perfect health (with surely more to come), soooooo I plan to head out tomorrow (Wed) morning, and ride, over a few days, to and through Casino, Drake, Tenterfield, Deepwater, Glen Innes, Guyra, Armidale, Dorrigo, Coffs Harbour, Nana Glen, Grafton, home = 775 kays.
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Post by Turtle on Mar 18, 2015 8:51:24 GMT 10
Eggzelent route you have picked there, Clem. Enjoy a safe and fun ride mate.
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Post by clem on Mar 20, 2015 22:32:34 GMT 10
Eggzelent route you have picked there, Clem. Enjoy a safe and fun ride mate. Thanks Turt, I got home at 3.30pm today (Fri), having covered 785k of sheer pleasure. Tomorrow I'll pop in a few pics and stuff. I'm so awake (at 11.30pm), thinking about lots of things about the ride, that I've just taken half a Mogadon so I can get to sleep!!! See you tomorrow...
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Post by clem on Mar 22, 2015 11:31:06 GMT 10
I enjoyed a great ride. Day 1 (Wed): Due to rain at home and all places I intended riding today, I left home at 11.30am when rain had largely stopped. Home, Lismore, Casino (filled bike tank and a 5 litre container in luggage bag), then on to Drake, Tenterfield and Deepwater, where stayed overnight in Deepwater Motel. Kays for the day = 235. Day 2 (Thu): A lovely fine and sunny day, rode from Deepwater to Armidale, Dorrigo, Coffs Harbour and Nana Glen, where stayed with my youngest son, Glen and family). Kays for the day = 358. The road from Armidale to Coffs Harbour is called 'Waterfall Way' and has to be one of the best bike road when uphill and down-dale plus lots of corners are desired. Plus loads of lovely scenery. I reckon weekend boy racers would scrub off lots of rubber on this one! Day 3 (Fri): My son Glen decided to ride with me from his place at Nana Glen to Grafton, from where he rode back home and I rode to my place. This was the hardest part of my three day ride as I had a pretty strong head wind most of the way which kept reminding me that I had only 250 cc's under my bum! Kays for the day = 192. Total kays for the trip = 785. Average kays per litre = 31. Attachment DeletedAttachment DeletedAttachment Deleted
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Post by clem on Mar 22, 2015 11:40:50 GMT 10
The last photo above was taken somewhat early on Day 3 at my son's place when his two littlies decided to hop into my bed!!! They had told me the night before that when any of their grandparents stay at their place, they pile into bed with them "at about five o'clock"!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the 3-day outing. Yes, there were times I would liked to have had the power of my Nightster. But there were even more times when I found myself on all kinds of gravel at the Deepwater Motel, rest areas and other places, that I was very pleased to have a light bike that I am very unlikely to drop at around zero kph.
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Post by eldiablo on Mar 22, 2015 17:55:13 GMT 10
The last photo above was taken somewhat early on Day 3 at my son's place when his two littlies decided to hop into my bed!!! They had told me the night before that when any of their grandparents stay at their place, they pile into bed with them "at about five o'clock"!!! I thoroughly enjoyed the 3-day outing. Yes, there were times I would liked to have had the power of my Nightster. But there were even more times when I found myself on all kinds of gravel at the Deepwater Motel, rest areas and other places, that I was very pleased to have a light bike that I am very unlikely to drop at around zero kph. Good stuff Clem it is a shame tho that you did not have company.
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Post by Turtle on Mar 23, 2015 10:46:24 GMT 10
Nice report, Clem.
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Post by clem on Mar 26, 2015 17:32:05 GMT 10
Thanks Turt, I enjoyed a great ride. Many more to come I reckon. :-)
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Post by clem on May 22, 2015 18:43:51 GMT 10
The day's forecast was 'mostly sunny', my melon was good, so off I went for a ride of about 150 kays (there and return), to a small village called Wiangaree (a stone's throw north of Kyogle), where a friend of mine lives. After a cuppa and yarn, I tootled back home. I had to, of course, take a photo of my mighty Virago! I had stopped on the grass area behind where the bike is in the photo. But lo, the side stand made a grand descent into the mud below the grass and the bike was going over! Thank goodness it is a light bike which enabled me to pick it up quick before it, too, was in the mud!
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Post by Turtle on May 23, 2015 11:28:10 GMT 10
One advantage of a lighter biker. Glad ya melon played nice for you, Clem.
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Post by clem on May 24, 2015 10:37:13 GMT 10
One advantage of a lighter biker. Glad ya melon played nice for you, Clem. Thanks Turt, it was good to have a reasonably clear head day. Yes, I think, if I had been on my Nightster, it would have laid down in the mud! A 250cc certainly has it's negatives, one being that it can't maintain, say 100kph, up a hill. Maybe it would, if I throttled the shit out of its 4th and maybe 3rd gear, but I want to treat the engine better than that. So I have to be satisfied with speed slowing down to about 80kph. Apart from that, tho, my going 'light bike', I have definitely extended my bike riding days and enjoyment by some years and I like that very much.
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Post by clem on Jul 4, 2015 9:23:15 GMT 10
It has been more than a month since my last ride, so yesterday I started the bike in the carport and let it run its little motor for about five minutes! Exciting innit!
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Post by Turtle on Jul 7, 2015 8:50:12 GMT 10
Well ya did more than I have in the last few weeks. I must take it for a ride soon before it forgets it is a bike.
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Post by clem on Oct 18, 2015 13:22:10 GMT 10
You will see in the below photos part of the bonnet of a car but you won't see that there is possibly a little bike under cover in front of the car? That is because, yesterday, I rode into Lismore and bought a bike cover, and it is camouflage.
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Post by Turtle on Oct 18, 2015 20:54:13 GMT 10
I couldn't see the cover either cause it is camouflage
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Post by clem on Oct 20, 2015 16:37:03 GMT 10
Hehehe I can't find it meself now, Turt!
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Post by clem on Dec 8, 2015 15:03:13 GMT 10
I enjoyed a short/sharp ride from home to South Lismore where I left the bike for a new front tyre and major service at Lismore Motorcycles. They were happy to have the bike, starting today (Tuesday), even though it may not be ready for me to collect for a week which is quite okay for me. Lee picked me up from where I left the bike and we went and had lunch at the Lismore Workers' Club. I don't know how come I'm allowed as a member cos I don't work!
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Post by clem on Dec 20, 2015 14:50:50 GMT 10
My bike still isn't ready for pick-up yet, probably because it is getting a new clutch installed. I must admit, I had not noticed its clutch slipping but the mechanic rang to tell me the slip was quite bad and would become increasingly bad. Maybe the bike will be ready for collect tomorrow or Tuesday.
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Post by clem on Dec 21, 2015 15:54:42 GMT 10
Well, Lismore Motorcycles rang this afternoon and said my bike is right for collection, so Lee took me in, I paid the bill, bought some oil and some chain lube, then rode a whole 32 kays home.
Although I had not noticed that the clutch had been slipping, I sure notice the difference now that it has a new one. Slot into a gear and it sticks there and off I go. I think I hadn't noticed the previously slipping clutch as the bike was 'as is' when I bought it from my son, and being 'new' to me, I just accepted that's how the bike was. It is certainly sharper now.
I hope my health will be better through 2016 than through 2015 so I can get out on my lil bike and enjoy frequent rides, both short and long. I would like that.
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Post by clem on Jan 22, 2016 11:33:53 GMT 10
I need counselling!!!! Yesterday, My head was clear (after I took a home-brew of pills!), and so, I re-attached 12v leads to chare-as-I-go, the GPS and my phone. And then, off I went! From home, onto the newly constructed Pacific Highway, then a few kays north of Bangalow, where I stopped for a smoke, and then back home. It was interesting to ride through the new tunnel, completed only a few weeks ago, under the area which is called St Helena. These two tunnels (one for travel north, the other for travel south), are part of the major upgrade of the Pacific Highway. All-up, I travelled only 80 kays but I loved every second of it. Except! And this is why I need urgent counselling!!! Regular readers will know that my previous bike, HD Nightster 1200, became too heavy for me (not that IT got heavier but because I got more frail!), so I exchanged it for a little Virago 250. This little bike is, to be completely honest about it, absolutely ideal for me. It is beautiful and light and I am in complete control of it, and not in the slightest concerned that I will drop it at zero kph in garage or outside a coffee shop etc. Again, this little bike is perfect for me. Well, not 'completely perfect' (which I think is a nonsense two words together!), in that, although having this little bike, has extended my riding days, both for now, and probably for many years to come. But but but!!!! And here is the rub!!! How's a bloke supposed to feel okay when, on his or her ride, when making some effort to stay on 100 kph, the occasional hefty V-Twin roars past me? ? So do cars, and Utes and 4WDs of course. But it's the BIG BIKES, with their tons of power and roar of pipes!!! That gets to me!!!! Can you understand why I need counselling? About an hour ago, I took a mix of pills, so anytime now my head should begin to function properly and I will jump on my mini-bike, ride into Lismore and see if I can get a nice waterproof, with pockets, bike jacket, and then to Bunnings and get a pair of side-cutters. Who knows where after that... and who cares! But if some BIG BIKES rip-roar past me, I will try as hard as I can, to not give a fig, but rather be A-OK that at least I'm out there! Thanks for listening!
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Post by Turtle on Jan 23, 2016 7:51:35 GMT 10
Hmmm - interesting stuff here, Clem. Firstly, you may have heard this before but in case you haven't - give up smoking. Now for the bike stuff. Is it the big bikes give you the poo's overtaking, or your desire to still have one so as to be in the pack, so to speak? If it is to be in the pack then get ya HD back. If it is because the ones are overtaking you are the problem, then get the HD back. Or, you can just sit back and enjoy what you have and let the others go past as often and as fast as they like enjoying their ride . My counselling invoice is in the mail .
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Post by madametarot on Jan 23, 2016 18:34:32 GMT 10
But but but!!!! And here is the rub!!! How's a bloke supposed to feel okay when, on his or her ride, when making some effort to stay on 100 kph, the occasional hefty V-Twin roars past me? ? So do cars, and Utes and 4WDs of course. But it's the BIG BIKES, with their tons of power and roar of pipes!!! That gets to me!!!! Can you understand why I need counselling? About an hour ago, I took a mix of pills, so anytime now my head should begin to function properly and I will jump on my mini-bike, ride into Lismore and see if I can get a nice waterproof, with pockets, bike jacket, and then to Bunnings and get a pair of side-cutters. Who knows where after that... and who cares! But if some BIG BIKES rip-roar past me, I will try as hard as I can, to not give a fig, but rather be A-OK that at least I'm out there! Thanks for listening! You have been conned Clem. Noisy bikes are a nonsense, even the riders use ear plugs to make them quieter. The listeners get pissed off. They are not safer either with the exhaust facing backwards. You have been conned. They are not even powerful, compared to a hissing superbike. So mate that is your counselling you was brainwashed.
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Post by Turtle on Jan 24, 2016 8:23:40 GMT 10
lol @ MadamE. Don't listen to him Clem he is mad . When bikes become electric powered we noisy exhaust bike riders will have to convert to playing a recording and wearing earmuffs to listen to roaring pipes. It just won't be the same.
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Post by madametarot on Jan 24, 2016 18:41:35 GMT 10
lol @ MadamE. Don't listen to him Clem he is mad . When bikes become electric powered we noisy exhaust bike riders will have to convert to playing a recording and wearing earmuffs to listen to roaring pipes. It just won't be the same. If you really like the sound of an open exhaust then don't deny your self. If you honestly think you like "that sound". Take the muffler off your mower. Or your car.
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Post by madametarot on Jan 25, 2016 6:32:05 GMT 10
lol @ MadamE. Don't listen to him Clem he is mad . When bikes become electric powered we noisy exhaust bike riders will have to convert to playing a recording and wearing earmuffs to listen to roaring pipes. It just won't be the same. If you really like the sound of an open exhaust then don't deny your self. If you honestly think you like "that sound". Take the muffler off your mower. Or your car. Maybe all you like is "look at me" and not the sound at all. Just having the sound and someone looks and sees you cutting the grass, will that give you a buzz - probably not. You have been conned to associate a particular noise with an activity. I must admit tho I do not like the sound of hissy exhausts. Do you feel better now Clem.
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Post by clem on Jan 30, 2016 12:19:06 GMT 10
Thank you very much, MadamT n Turtle, funny stuff. Some pipes are LOUD, with probably no baffles. Then there's the QUIET ones. And then there's the BMW's which scare the daylights out of a bloke cos, all of a sudden, you hear a bloody SEWING MACHINE flying past!!! For the last few days, I have been purchasing and packing all kinds of camping stuff, with a view of taking off to 'wherever for a couple of weeks. I'm all packed except for clothes and pills (I'm having three weeks of pills put in Webster Packs which ought to keep them safe and dry. I've never used Webster Packs before. They should be ready to collect on Monday next and so, if the weather is not forecast to be daily thunderstorms, I might head off on Tuesday. I think you are not on Facebook are you, MadamT? I looked for you the other day and didn't manage to find you. Reason I mention this, is because: 1. I plan to keep family and interested friends informed of my whereabouts on Facebook. 2. On Cuppas here, before I can post a photo, I have to use the desktop and reduce the photo site to about 20% of size, otherwise, it blows out to more than the width of the Cuppas screen. On FB, however, I can pop photos straight in without having to resize them. I need some lunch, I'm starvin! See you after..........
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