Project GSXR

I had been looking for an 1100 for while, ideally a K model, these had a poor reputation, but for me, the best looking and the handling issues identified in the early 90s could be overcome with some modifications.  I looked at a few but as is common for 20 odd year old bikes, the …

Spa 2018

Its hot, dam hot, well into the 30’s during the day, there’s no better place than Spa in the summer, packed with classic Japanese muscle bikes.  Trick frames abound, housing big air cooled motors of yester year, we love it. A bout of food poisoning from the ferry trip over on the Wednesday night is …

Highlands and Islands

A visit to Orkney in 2016 on our NC500 trip confirmed we needed to spend some more time on the Scottish islands.  With that in mind we book the ferry from Aberdeen to Shetland and have three days making use of the well surfaced open roads on the islands.  A couple of ferries from Shetland …

Blurred

Adding a couple of days onto our North West 200 trip seemed an eminently sensible way of sampling the delights of the west coast of Ireland.  Two days is an injustice, we barely scratched the surface of what this area has to offer. An early start on the Monday morning after a heavy weekend at …

Pyrenees

Our practical sports bikes, a pair of Harris Magnum 4s,  are tied down in the hold of the ship as we cruise across the Bay of Biscay, heading for Bilbao. We have taken the slow boat from Portsmouth, leaving Sunday night, arriving early Tuesday morning leaving us with a full day of riding ahead.  One …

Project X part 3

Gathering parts for a project can be a long process, waiting for the correct parts to fit this model, battery box, or at least one with more metal than rust, oil tank, switch gear, ignition, although I opt to but new for the last two items as fitting 40 year old versions of each is …

Dal Lake, Srinagar, India

Described as the Jewel in the crown of Kashmir, Dal Lake in Srinagar provides a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of the main town.  We stay on one of the many house boats, reached by water taxi. Every morning there is a farmers market were the locals meet and trade goods, we rise …

NH1

Shortness of breath, world spinning, banging headache with the biggest views imaginable, That’s all part of the Khardung La experience. Billed as the highest motorable road in the world at 5,359 metres, that’s a shade over 18,000 feet in English, although the measurements are questioned these days with more accurate calibration of such instruments.  All …

Egg n Chips

Tsarap Chu, Ladakh, India The peace and quiet of the high Himalaya, our put in manages to be in the exact same place as two JCBs, working the roadside verge George Younger, Spade kayaks. a short carry from roadside to river is mind bendingly difficult, laden boats, altitude, shortness of breath, steep banks, dodging the …

Jota progress

So, project Jota is beginning to take shape, the resto would be going quicker but its not the only build going on in James’ workshop. Rough cast wheels are stripped, prepped and treated to a coat of paint Frame is dipped and a couple of minor repairs sorted before being primed and two packed The …