A Good Test

Finally, it looks like Spring has sprung. One weekend it's about 10 degrees down on the seasonal norm, next, it is the hottest April day for 70 odd years! That then was the cue for me to get my gear on and take a short road trip.

With time running out for me to get 600+ miles up on Ginny before my trip to Ireland, I'd penciled in a ride to my friend Jo in Wincanton and a ride out with my friend Helen and her husband David (Vid). The former I was doing whatever, the latter may have been cancelled if the weather had been inclement. As it turned out though, it was warm and sunny the entire trip, bar about 5 minutes of light rain when I left Wincanton.

With a mixture of motorway and back roads, to aid the running in process, I was in the saddle for about 3.5 hours on the run down. It's a worry whenever you buy a new bike about how comfortable it will be but I have to say, Ginny proved she's more than capable of cushioning my backside for miles on end. Sure, I had to move about a bit, the longer the journey went but it wasn't excruciatingly uncomfortable. As I said, I was in the saddle non stop for 3.5 hours. Normally on tour, I/we would be stopping after 90 mins or so, as Grizzly has to keep his caffeine levels topped up! So I'm well pleased with the comfort, especially as  I've got used to the Sprint's gel seat.

With a run down to Selsey Bill with Helen & Vid, Helen on her brand new Honda NC750 collected that morning, my round trip clocked up the best part of 360 miles, so I'm just a short dash away form the magic 600 and first service.

I fuelled Ginny up twice on the trip, to the tune of almost 37 litres and £46. That's the first fuel I've put in her since new. MPG was about 45 for the original tankful and 63 for the second, which included the motorway stints on cruise control. If 63 is indicative of cruising mpg, then I'll be well pleased with that. I'd get something similar from the Sprint on a run, with half the cylinders and two thirds the CCs.

With 18 days left until I leave for Ireland, my main focus now is on getting all the paperwork together and creating my daily tomtom itineraries.

That's all for now.

All Change

or should I say, Alles verändern?

 With just 37 days to go until I leave home on this trip, there's little new to report, with the exception of one major item. You see, Michael Dunlop isn't the only one switching manufacturers for the North West. Both he and I have taken the decision to move across to the BMW camp, he with Tyco BMW race team, me with the purchase of a beautiful K1600 GT SE.

I have been toying with the idea for well over a year and postponed the idea for last year's Scandinavia trip due to uncertainty at work. With that side of things clearer, i.e. I'll be jobless in August, I decided now was the time to take the plunge. My beautiful baby girl, Ginny, was born on 17th March and weighs in at a healthy 334kg.

I've decided to keep the Sprint for now, as I don't really want to commute on Ginny, so given that and the crap weather we've had so far this year, there's a slight time pressure on me, to get 600 miles covered AND Ginny serviced, before I set off for Ireland. So far, she's just over the 150 mark. I've got  a couple of friends I can visit over the next few weeks and one of them is a biker, so I'm hoping we'll get to ride out together. Ginny is already booked in for her first checkup on the 8th May, so my fingers are crossed that springtime arrives really soon.

The Sprint has been a great servant and I'd not hesitate to buy another, IF it came with shaft drive. Unfortunately, the chain adjustment on the Sprint is the most difficult you'll ever come across and that, together with the mess a chain creates, was a big factor in me wanting to go for a shaft. She'll still be ideal for nipping through the London traffic over the next few months though, so she's not being consigned to the scrap heap just yet. It'll be like having a wife and a mistress at the same time. On the one hand, the pretty, petite, reliable British girl, on the other, the glamorous, buxom, exciting fraulein.  Lucky me! 😉   

Both my GT SEs