[Devilwrench]

Lappland

Hello, here i few pictures from short summer trip to Lappland. Fine gravel roads, forest trails, hills and water places 260km from total 2230km trip. Stayed at Rovaniemi, capital city of Lappland, hometown. Had open exhaust so reindeers know when getting close.
Trail picture with gloves from 66,302N and 27,204E.
-Marko-

 

[tlchris]

1st picture :Near my summer house at St-Donat, Quebec,
2nd picture : Matane, Quebec on our way to Percé
3 rd picture : Percé, Quebec in the midle of our Gaspésie tour.

 

[Tjiunta]

I just completed a cross country trip on my triumph street twin, 4,500 miles in 2 weeks. For details see the forum on trips.
I will post pics as I sort through them in the near future.

 

[urbandread]

I passed my Mod 2 Thursday afternoon. Thursday evening I get home and see a delivery van waiting for me with my new bike (2013 Bonneville). Payday today, so she is now insured and road taxed. Tomorrow I shall be fitting some new (but temporary) mirrors, filling up the tank and taking her out for her first trip, 60 miles from London up to Bedford to visit my family. The weather forecast for tomorrow is grey with possibility of a little rain. But that's why I invested in some thermal waterproofs. Penny (my bike) already has heated grips, so I should be fine for this trip. Not the kind of trip where I'll be taking photos, but I may take some pics of Penny outside my parents house.

 

[GiddyG]

Congrats urbandread, I hope you and Penny have a great ride today.

 

[urbandread]

First Ride Report: Firstly, the weather was beautiful; sunny and mildly warm. Only thing that could have made it perfect was less wind (there were some stretches of road that were a little gusty).

So, after my 130 mile round trip to visit my family, what have I discovered?

1- Penny is comfy, nimble, smooth and fun. Such a stark difference in power and power delivery to my 125cc.
2- It may have been a mistake wearing an open face helmet with the gusty wind (think I'm gonna have to invest in a full face mask for future long trips like this and keep the open face just for riding inside London)
3- I think a screen would probably be a good idea as well for long trips. I didn't mind the wind hitting my chest, but it was getting inside my mask a little. Will see how I feel after doing the same journey with a full face mask.
4- New handlebars are going to be needed, just to lower my arm position a wee bit. Wasn't uncomfortable, just more of a personal preference
5- It's fun accelerating away from traffic lights and leaving cars behind, especially when you have drivers who previously tried to block you filtering or are inching forward trying to get ahead of you while the lights are still red.
6- The front brake is nowhere near as bad as some review videos have made out. Yes, they don't have the stopping power of the T120's twin disc or a sports bike, but for the kind of riding I was (and will be) doing on Penny, they are more than good enough
7- Going through farm country roads and being able to truly appreciate the natural beauty of the English countryside will never get old
8- Heated grips are not essential, but were nice to have. My fingers were getting a little nippy due to the wind chill. The grips really took that out of the equation and I arrived at both destinations with slightly sweaty hands!

So, Penny's first ride was a joyful one. I did today's journey last year on my 125cc and it took me almost 3 hours. And at one point I thought my bike was gonna have an asthma attack! Lol. No such issues today. I can definitely see many a day and weekend trip in my future, especially as the weather starts to warm up.

 

[urbandread]

Just got home from second big ride out. 130 mile round trip back to my home town again (for a funeral).
New things I learned about Penny this time:

1- Her acceleration is delivered so smoothly it always brings a smile to my face, especially leaving cars behind at traffic lights.
2- I resolved the open face helmet issue by wearing my ARMR face mask. Wind didn't bother me once.
3- I definitely need to put a new exhaust on her to really unlock the sound potential she has within her
4- The new mirrors I out on from a Triumph Tiger 800 are awesome. And don't look out of place on her at all
5- The 4 display lights in the a cluster next to the speedometer are very hard to see if they're on when the sun is shining. But, I was planning on changing them anyway for some low profile LED ones.
6- Now I have more power at my disposal, getting stuck behind slow drivers is more frustrating. But it's equally balanced out by easily being able to overtake them once there is space to do so.
7- Having the choke pulled out halfway means she starts up first time, every time. Even waking up in the morning to discover heavy frost had occurred during the night.
8- I really love the HUGE headlight. But will need to remove the chrome and paint it black.

 

[urbandread]

Me, Penny & heated grips vs Storm Dennis.

So, another 130 mile round trip to the hometown (for reasons) and I learned a few new things about when Penny gets wet.

1) Her tyres are pretty good in the wet. Only had one cheeky moment going round a roundabout on the A10. Other than that, no issues.
2) Waterproof boots and woollen socks are a godsend
3) For really windy and wet weather I may have to invest in a screen
4) For really windy and wet weather I definitely have to invest in a full face helmet
5) Penny's low down torque makes being stuck behind a really slow moving car almost bearable
6) Much better using A-roads than the motorway when there's a headwind
7) Penny begins to get a little vibey over 80mph. Although that may be fixed once I change the forksprings and rear suspension.
8) She is a very dirty girl and in need of a wash.

 

[DriftlessRider]

8) She is a very dirty girl and in need of a wash.

That's a good sign Glad your liking your bike. The Bonnies do do better on the secondary roads, which are prettier and twistier and more fun anyways, so it's a good thing IMO.

 

[urbandread]

That's a good sign Glad your liking your bike. The Bonnies do do better on the secondary roads, which are prettier and twistier and more fun anyways, so it's a good thing IMO.

Because of the weather I initially was on the A1M as I thought it would better. Soon realised that this was not the case, so switched back to A and B roads. Much less wind. Am gonna wait until next weekend before I give her a wash. Might have some new parts for her too.

And yes, I am loving the bike. She's always fun to ride no matter how long the trip.

 

[GiddyG]

And yes, I am loving the bike. She's always fun to ride no matter how long the trip.

Tell your friends how much fun you are having. It is nice seeing a new rider and we need more to join in with us.

 

[urbandread]

Tell your friends how much fun you are having. It is nice seeing a new rider and we need more to join in with us.

They already know. Especially after my post about cruising along yesterday singing along to Free Bird that was on my earbuds! ??

A small handful ride scooters or 125cc bikes. But the cost of doing the Mod 1 and Mod 2 tests to get the full UK licence is putting them off. Hopefully, now they see how much fun I'm having, they will go ahead and join the club.

 

[Kylemason]

Went for a ride with the "old man now" T100 build. Found the stream crossing in the Upper Waccasassa Conservation Area about as deep as I like to wade....
NSFW - fbomb drop, sorry guys, I couldnt figure out how to edit it out easily.

Kyle

 

[urbandread]

It was my birthday yesterday. I had booked the week off from work as leave, but thanks to the lockdown I had nothing to do. So, I thought I would take advantage of the trafficless roads and left London to ride the 65 miles back to my home town to visit my mum. First time I've been back since her funeral in February. Took this photo down by the river on my way to the cemetery.

Really enjoyed getting away from London for a few hours and unleashing Penny's full potential on the A-roads. On my way home I had to pull over to take a couple of photos as it was just so picturesque and beautiful.

First time really putting the progressive fork springs and preload adjusters from Tec through their paces and they were marvellous. I found this same journey before I made this mod very bumpy bouncy on certain stretches of road, with the handling a little wonko at times. However on this trip, the front end was transformed; stable and solid with no bounce. I even managed to get her up to 90mph on one stretch of the A10. I really must change the rear suspension though to ensure the ride is perfect though.

 

[urbandread]

As restrictions for motorcycles in the UK have eased a little, I thought I would take advantage of the wonderful weather and take Penny for her first trip down to Brighton. The roads are in much better condition than when I head in the other direction out of London to go back to my hometown.

Anyway, a quick 90min jaunt and I was down on the coast.

And it seems some other riders had the same idea

And some more (best angle I could get without getting running over)

 

[GiddyG]

As restrictions for motorcycles in the UK have eased a little, I thought I would take advantage of the wonderful weather and take Penny for her first trip down to Brighton. The roads are in much better condition than when I head in the other direction out of London to go back to my hometown.

Anyway, a quick 90min jaunt and I was down on the coast.
View attachment 725969
And it seems some other riders had the same idea


And some more (best angle I could get without getting running over)

Talk about angles. This one should have been down a bit and a little more to the right. Just saying.

 

[urbandread]

Talk about angles. This one should have been down a bit and a little more to the right. Just saying.

Which one are you referring to?🤔

 

[urbandread]

Did a nice circuit. Left London to go up to Cambridge. Got caught in a light shower (should have worn my other jacket 😔). Had lunch by the river. Then popped over to my hometown of Bedford to visit my mum at the cemetery. Then back to London via awesome country road between Baldock and Buntingford.

Penny is now a very dirty girl and will be washed tomorrow. The new levers I put on are awesome. Much better feel to the front brake. Still getting used to the clutch feeling a little different, but I like it.

 

[BlueGarden]

LOL, maybe that's the problem. I'm a wuss. I want to try it, but I'm going to have to at least get the gel seat.

Me and you both! I have to take stretch break after every hour. It takes me 5 hours to take what should be a 4 hour trip.

 

[urbandread]

Decided to take Penny out for her first trip to Southend-on-Sea. Apart from the fact there was so many shops closed you would have been forgiven in thinking there was no lockdown still in place. But, aside from that, the journey there and back was pleasant. Lovely weather today and still very little traffic on the roads.

Getting Penny so I could do short jaunts/long rides away from London was definitely a good idea. I can see myself racking up a fair few miles this summer.