After a great but eventful Flash Tours weekend with Paul and his mate Dave, decided it was time for a new bike – one that I can rely on to get me there and back. More of that later, first the Flash Tours!
The Monday before the trip Ginny and I decided to go for a quick ride out to check all was well with the bikes and of course mine wouldn’t start, just click click and wouldn’t turn over. Sure the battery was charged so after much rocking while in gear, it fired up. Convinced it was starter motor, over to Grahams Motorcycles in Taunton with my tail of woe and as luck would have it, he had one in stock. Left it with him over night. Picked it up Tuesday morning and he told me it wasn’t the starter, he had that out and all was well but the battery was a little down. With a slightly uncertain felling that this isn’t a good idea, loaded the bikes and we set off to stop over at Pauls place in London, were we met the other Dave (soon to be called Evil Dave by Flash?!) and enjoyed a very relaxed evening.
Wednesday morning and…..
my bike wouldn’t start again, had been fine all the way up the day before. After much swearing and kicking, it started and we headed off to the Chunnel and into France, on the hottest day ever!
One R1200S - me, one R1200RS - Paul, one K1300S – Gin and one Triumph Speed Twin – Dave. All 50bhp of it. I must admit to feeling ‘he’s a bit brave’ riding that thing for what we were planning but it preformed fantastically.
With the temperature reading 39 and my constant worry of will it start we continued down into France for the first nights stop off in Verneuil Sur Avre. The heat was unbearable, at one fuel stop, Paul and Dave had to catch me as I got off the bike as I couldn’t stand, heat stroke or exhaustion is not to be messed with!
Consumed many bottles of water and got to the hotel stop to find all roads to the hotel closed for a music festival and had to push the bikes to the hotel car park. By this time I was beaten and was serious, in my mind, about giving up bikes, I’d really had had enough. Several cold showers later, we dragged ourselves down to meet Paul and Dave for some food and cold beers. After several of the latter, felt mucho better and ready for the next day. I’m easily led astray! No pics from that evening, I really wasn’t bothered but some from the morning.
IMG_1190 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1188 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1187 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1184 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1186 by David Carver, on FlickrSticking to form, while loading the bike that morning, I noticed oil had dripped onto the rear wheel from the final drive; this was beginning to look like a crap holiday. Paul found a BMW dealer in Le Mans, Boxer Passion, so we de-toured to them for a check-up. Diagnostic was a very small leak, bike lost a tiny amount of oil and hadn’t lost any of the run to Le Mans. They couldn’t fit it in anyway so I decided to risk it. It had, however, decided it would start on the button every time. After lunch in Le Mans, we headed off and got down to Flash in Melle that evening and started to enjoy ourselves.
After three days off stunning roads with no one else on them, great banter around the Flash households many beautiful locations, my bike playing up all the time; now it was sounding like a clay shoot though the villages – cracking and popping, almost impossible to ride slowly - the invertible happened and the bike suddenly shook and felt like I’d caught a flat. Stopped and oil was all around the rear wheel. Bugger. (I think I must have hit a pot hole or something as no puncture and bike rode okay back to Château Flash)
P6240015 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6240010 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6240012 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6240022 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6240025 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6240019 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6240018 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6240016 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1202 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1199 by David Carver, on Flickrhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiclNnDauWY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-AKHKmgKD4
The bike was recovered to a local car dealer that evening by the RAC (can’t rate there guys highly enough, RAC European cover at £80 for the six days proved well worth it) and I thought that’s it for the last day until Flash said I could take his K12S! The last day included a stop at Oradour–sur-glane. Whilst to say looking forward to seeing this place isn’t really appropriate, I had wanted to go.
P6260035 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6260033 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6260038 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6260078 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6260076 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6260073 by David Carver, on Flickr
P6260070 by David Carver, on Flickr
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P6260067 by David Carver, on Flickr
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P6260076 by David Carver, on FlickrOn the Tuesday we set off home, one bike and one man down, Evil Dave went via another route to see some friends or maybe was worried my luck would spread…
Gin rode pillion with Paul, we don’t ‘do’ pillion riding at all, for the next day up the Lorie valley, enjoying the stunning views it offered.
Stopped off for lunch along the Lorie Valley at the Cafe de la Loire,
P6270081 by David Carver, on Flickrwere we spotted this R1100S.
P6270085 by David Carver, on FlickrThen continued for a coffee stop in Blois.
IMG_1205 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1203 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1204 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1211 by David Carver, on FlickrRAC updated me with the chance to repair in France (they pay the first 7 hours labour!) but would take a few weeks. They would however provide a car for me, pay for the additional channel crossing and hotels to collect it again! A very temping offer but I just couldn’t afford the time so had it recovered to the UK.
Stopped over night at Vendome (can really recommend this hotel, basic but all you needed). Hotel Capricorne 8 Boulevard De Trémault, Vendôme.
A walk around the town that evening and a good dinner saw us ready for the last day.
IMG_1221 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1237 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1234 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1226 by David Carver, on FlickrNo idea what the blue light is on the bloke in the photo
IMG_1225 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1239 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1223 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1246 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1253 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1258 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1217 by David Carver, on FlickrNot much to say about the last day, lunch stop at Rouen but no photos for some reason, then motorways to speed things up and back to the Chunnel for a 6pm crossing, Gin again riding pillion on Pauls RS. Filled up on the UK side, Gin jumped on the back of the K1300S and we said our farewells, all of us heading for London but with us staying at our flat.
After two days of riding pillion and enjoying it, in about 30 miles we were at each-others’ throats with the serious possibility of one of us being left on the hard shoulder! We really don’t do pillion!
So, to the new bike. Whilst I love my R12S, we so enjoyed the European riding – it was our first time overseas on the bikes – decided I needed one bike that can do it all. A call to Mr Parry and a deal was done and on the 30th July, picked up a shiny new R1200RS. It hasn’t stopped raining since, the photos are from the first day with it and it’s covered!
IMG_1395 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1396 (1) by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1578 by David Carver, on Flickr
IMG_1581 by David Carver, on FlickrVery pleased with it, rides so much smoother than the R12S. Suspension soaks up the bumps but is not soft and wallowing. I notice the extra weight while wheeling it around but that disappears when moving. A back brake that works is a pleasant surprise!
Rode my two R1200S’s for the first time since France (the French one was recovered to CW and fixed with a new gear box seal and new stick coils). CW’s had delivered it back to us in Taunton at no cost so went for a spin on Saturday and Sunday. The S feels tiny compared to the RS but is so much rougher, even though it’s now all fixed and runs better than it ever has.
I’m keeping the troublesome one(??) and selling the other, not sure if that’s a good idea but I have done so much to the Silver one – which is probably why it keeps playing up - that I’ve not the time to take all the bits off if it doesn’t go as is, plus I do like it really.
