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Post by steve63 on Apr 3, 2021 11:53:31 GMT 1
The Mrs dragged some old photo albums out the other day. I've been stripping some LC wheels and one of them had traces of gold paint under the black and I was saying I couldn't remember them ever being gold. She then found this photo from 1988. We travelled to Spain via North Sea Ferries in Hull. This was taken somewhere near the French/Spanish border. Notice the seat had been removed. It was so hot we quickly learnt that you couldn't sit back on the bike as the seat ended up too hot after a few minutes so we took it off and out it out if the sun. Proof also that it had gold wheels.  |
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Post by reedpete on Apr 3, 2021 16:51:04 GMT 1
Great to see old photos!
Looks like a nice Spondon TZ front caliper and disc upgrade going on there too!
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Post by steve h on Apr 3, 2021 17:01:48 GMT 1
Thats some tankbag.. Not for me though, I couldn't see the road with one that high!!  |
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Post by steve63 on Apr 3, 2021 18:26:21 GMT 1
Great to see old photos! Looks like a nice Spondon TZ front caliper and disc upgrade going on there too! That was the TZ disc and Lockheed caliper I was talking about in another thread. I made the mounting bracket from 10mm stainless. I got the disc off someone I used to work with at the time who raced a TZ350. I think he said he wanted it back. I guess he can have it back now. I took it off a couple of weeks ago  I think the centre is the same as an early RD250/350/400. That's where the TZ guys used to get the centres from. They're an aluminium centre and steel outer. The two didn't want to seperate after over 30 years together! |
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Post by steve63 on Apr 3, 2021 18:36:28 GMT 1
Thats some tankbag.. Not for me though, I couldn't see the road with one that high!! It's maybe not as tall as it looks I used to make sure I put soft stuff in the top of the bag like clothes and a towel. I would pretty much rest my chest on it and we could do quite a lot of miles in a day like that. My Mrs. would sometimes fall asleep on the back. She never told me until weeks afterwards We went for three weeks. I gave her the panniers (you can see them in the background) and said you can take whatever you can fit in them and that's it. |
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Post by steve63 on Apr 3, 2021 18:41:24 GMT 1
This is us somewhere in Lloret Dr Mar 1986.  |
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Post by copper99 on Apr 3, 2021 19:16:02 GMT 1
Excellent photos, thanks for posting.
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Post by midlifecrisisrd on Apr 3, 2021 19:35:13 GMT 1
Brilliant 😀
Steve
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Post by arrow on Apr 3, 2021 19:38:53 GMT 1
Great photo that. I've ridden abroad myself like that. Back in the day it seemed much more acceptable.
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Post by steve63 on Apr 3, 2021 21:56:39 GMT 1
Great photo that. I've ridden abroad myself like that. Back in the day it seemed much more acceptable. I felt like I rode differently when we were not wearing all the gear. I guess the issue would be if we were there long enough for it to become routine then it could beome dangerous. The second time we were there a couple of Welsh guys we met on the campsite would go out on their bikes for a night out. One of them got stopped by the local Police because he had two girls on the back of his GPZ750 turbo and was going up and down the main drag. The Police confiscated the bike, one of them just rode off on it, and he had to go to court a couple of days later. He got a fine of about £30 or something. The worst part for them was the court case was on the day they were supposed to be heading home so they had to re-book their ferry. On that second trip we were stopped about 20miles down the coast while on a night out (not drinking) by a copper on a motorbike and he was told us a few times to go put out helmets on whilst repeatdly tapping his gun with his hand. Apparently helmets were required for anything over 50cc We were with a couple from Newcasle who we met. They were riding a GS1100, so a bit over the size limit. He was a copper himself. It was like Being in a different World. |
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Post by arrow on Apr 3, 2021 22:09:03 GMT 1
Different world is right. I rode a hired DT175 in Corfu dressed like that, in 1988. Got terribly sun burnt that day as riding along I couldn't feel the true power of the Sun, silly me.
The bike was maintained terribly, bent nail for the clutch lever pivot. I also had to lube the chain with that "brown oil factor 2 stuff" because it was bone dry.
Happy days.
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Post by steve63 on Apr 3, 2021 22:31:50 GMT 1
Different world is right. I rode a hired DT175 in Corfu dressed like that, in 1988. Got terribly sun burnt that day as riding along I couldn't feel the true power of the Sun, silly me. The bike was maintained terribly, bent nail for the clutch lever pivot. I also had to lube the chain with that "brown oil factor 2 stuff" because it was bone dry. Happy days. We ended up in Corfu in 1990. I say ended up because we set off with only a very brief plan of where we were heading and that was Greece. I was just eaten alive by Mozzies. We left the tent un-zipped during the night We were on my GSXR1100H. We were out and about coming up to a tight corner when a scooter and rider came sliding along the road towards us. I managed to miss him and the bike but only just. The guy jumped up and tried frantically to drag the scooter up but he was holding it by the throttle grip so as soon as he picked it up the tyre gripped and it shot off the road and down an embankment. Turned out the guy was English and it was a hire bike, Suzuki I think, he was on the phone trying to tell the hire shop owner that the brakes diddn't work and he was trying to get me to back him up. What it was though was the bike was nearly new and the brakes were perfect and he had just locked the front and gone down. I could push it and lock the front wheel. I think the tarmac in those countries is maybe harder than ours to allow for the high temeperatures. English tarmac seems to melt even during our summners. |
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Post by stusco on Apr 4, 2021 10:08:50 GMT 1
Different world is right. I rode a hired DT175 in Corfu dressed like that, in 1988. Got terribly sun burnt that day as riding along I couldn't feel the true power of the Sun, silly me. The bike was maintained terribly, bent nail for the clutch lever pivot. I also had to lube the chain with that "brown oil factor 2 stuff" because it was bone dry. Happy days. I did the same in Kos, how can your head get sunburned when you have hair! it was as dt250 ypvs someone tried to steal it luckily they couldn’t break the steering lock as it was third party insurance 😬 |
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reggit
Drag-strip hero
Posts: 230 
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Post by reggit on Apr 6, 2021 18:36:47 GMT 1
Took the LC to la sables d’olne (or something like that) back in around 1994, throw over panniers had around 6 litre bottles of el cheapo 2 stroke oil in them when I set off.
No dramas whatsoever, seems funny that the same bike now likes blowing engines every few hundred miles!
Hopefully this time I’ve taken my time and done it properly....
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ajh
Thrash Merchant
Posts: 415
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Post by ajh on Apr 6, 2021 21:24:48 GMT 1
Great photo that. I've ridden abroad myself like that. Back in the day it seemed much more acceptable. Blimey you’ve reminded me of some horrendous sunburn while riding trail bikes in Mallorca. I’d forgotten about that pain🙂 Tops of my thighs with just the shorts I was wearing and still about 2 hrs riding in the sun to get back to the rental place. Seem to remember about 5 of us taking a short cut across the main beach on these old knackered Italian bikes belching out premix. Happy days! |
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Post by 29davyt on Apr 6, 2021 22:32:51 GMT 1
Great memories mate, reminds me of a KLR250 i hired in Rhodes back in about ‘86 , I did actually wear tracky bottoms to stop my legs burning, my head got baked ! Bought a KLR 600 not long after we got home, ok for green laneing but to big and heavy off road, anyway got pinched not long after I’d bought it , never saw it again 😢
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Post by itsnick350 on Apr 6, 2021 23:43:29 GMT 1
Took my rd400f for a 2 week 2,000 mike tour around france, ace bars, rear sets, allspeeds etc, no sleeping bag to avoid carrying too much (a mate carried the tent) didn’t think it would be so cold at night.....
1983 reading bike magazine test if the power valve whilst hoping my one was safe whilst I was on the ferry to France. Met a French girl whilst travelling so the 350 hit some serious use over the next 2 years including a 800 mile trip in one hit to get home. Happy days!
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Post by pdxjim on Apr 7, 2021 7:18:59 GMT 1
I hired a knackered TDR250 on Kefalonia in'98.
Despite the badly notched steering bearings I ripped lidless round the island drunk on wine.
I had a 350B at home, but even tho it was shit, that TDR was a revelation.
Found one for sale in San Francisco about a month after my return, which is rarer than the rarest of rare things.
Still got it almost 25 years later.
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Post by liffy16 on Apr 7, 2021 8:40:43 GMT 1
We hired some bikes in Corfu about 92 I got a dt125,me mates on a kmx125 and a tsx125,I had to have the yam obviously!no helmets shorts and t shirt same result burnt to a crisp,eaten alive by mozzies at night,great memories
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Post by arrow on Apr 7, 2021 9:13:28 GMT 1
I hired a knackered TDR250 on Kefalonia in'98. Despite the badly notched steering bearings I ripped lidless round the island drunk on wine. I had a 350B at home, but even tho it was shit, that TDR was a revelation. Found one for sale in San Francisco about a month after my return, which is rarer than the rarest of rare things. Still got it almost 25 years later. Lol! My mates fizzy had steering bearings like that. Made it a horrible bike to ride! |
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Post by billbott on Apr 7, 2021 11:28:26 GMT 1
Great photos and some excellent stories too.
Having never travelled further than Rhyl until I was 19, I never experienced a proper bike trip abroad until I was 30 but have made up for it since.
We were supposed to be riding to Corfu last year - three weeks of a trip and having a week with the wives in the sun, but covid put paid to that. Daren't risk re-scheduling just yet.
I hired a KDX200 in Zante and took the Mrs all around the island on it, shorts and tee shirts without any helmets or even rear pegs (1992 at a guess). Remember riding back to the hotel in Tsilivi one evening, she passed out on the back after copious amounts of cheap wine.
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Post by abar121 on Apr 7, 2021 11:38:21 GMT 1
OP, love the photos!
My girlfriend is Greek, so we go quite regularly. I just love island hoping.
I did ride over via Venice with a couple of friends, then down to Ignomenitsa and onto Lefkada. Then down to Athens. That was on a modern Triumpet though!
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Post by steve63 on Apr 7, 2021 13:03:42 GMT 1
The last trip we did was to a friends place in Alsace Lorraine on the R1. It was about 450 miles from the North Sea Ferry in Rotterdam. I was a lot more stressed that I was in my younger days. I kept filling up even though I thought I had plenty in. I guess I don't ride the bike day in day out like I used to ride the LC and I really didn't know what I could get out of a tank. Running out of fuel on a Belgian or French motorway on a Sunday is not my idea of fun. We pulled into a garage in Belgium somewhere and everything was automated and nothing was in English so a gave up and left! It was before a lot of pumps were pay by card in England so I didn't have a clue. I always said that going on a 'touring bike' might be slightly better on the way there and back but you're stuck with it when you get there. At least we had a YPVS/LC/R1 to ride when we got there. Riding over the mountains and down into Germany was great fun on the R1. Even being hounded by a push bike on some of the tight and twisties. Basically you just need a comfy seat and a good fuel range. The YPVS was spot on for both of those. Not blowing up is also a good attribute to have for touring and none of them have. I planned to book 4 weeks off work this year and go across to Spain but A) work wouldn't allow me 4 weeks (I got 3) and B) I don't have a fully working bike. The RGV could be made working easily but there are limits to what bike I will use for a 3 week trip abroad and I think the RGV is over that line  |
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Post by julianboolean on Apr 7, 2021 14:55:21 GMT 1
I did about 500 miles in a day on my 98 R1 (Ipswich to Abergavenny on twisty roads and back because I was a bit bored) and the last 100 miles were agony, my arse was killing me, the riding position was fine on my back and arms, but the seat got seriously uncomfortable. It would also only do about 100 miles on a tankful of petrol, so the tank range was worse than a YPVS, and a nearly £200 rear tyre only lasted 2000 miles.
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Post by abar121 on Apr 7, 2021 15:04:49 GMT 1
Running out a fuel abroad is why I switched from pure sports bikes, to sport tourers for my yearly Euro trips. A good 50+ miles more range and being a bit better two up / with luggage, makes all the difference. I had a Sprint ST 1050 that was just magic for trips to Portugal, Austria, Italy, Greece etc. Wonderful memories. That triple was brilliant for touring. Plenty of poke to hit 165mph indicated with luggage on the 'bahn, steered well. With enough grunt to loft the front from < 3k, you could leave it in top all day long Some great memories hacking along with full luggage, hassling the locals on their sportsbikes. The Rhonda road down to Marbella was great fun. I'm not doing long trips anymore, so a two stroke will do perfectly and is much more license friendly. I sold my 98 R1 last year. |
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Post by julianboolean on Apr 7, 2021 15:29:36 GMT 1
My R1 was a fantastic bike, but it was way too fast for the road, I owned it in 2000, so I was a lot younger, but I couldn't go for a ride on it without going over 150 mph, it was like a stupidly fast LC, it wanted to be ridden quickly.
I've got a 31 year old FZ750 now for any touring type riding, it's plenty fast enough, and at 100mph you know you're speeding by 30mph. Before that I had a Honda CB400SF, that was about as fast as a 250LC, it was a great little bike for going places on.
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Post by abar121 on Apr 7, 2021 17:58:25 GMT 1
I remember thrashing my AR125 at night after what I thought was a TZR125, across Oxford. The rear lights look somewhat simliar! The horrid truth came as we hit the street lights on the ring road and the FZ750 it just buggered off Oops. Always wanted one since and did think about entering the CMCRC rounds a while ago. Probably past that point now though. |
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Post by steve63 on Apr 7, 2021 20:56:15 GMT 1
My R1 was a fantastic bike, but it was way too fast for the road, I owned it in 2000, so I was a lot younger, but I couldn't go for a ride on it without going over 150 mph, it was like a stupidly fast LC, it wanted to be ridden quickly. I've got a 31 year old FZ750 now for any touring type riding, it's plenty fast enough, and at 100mph you know you're speeding by 30mph. Before that I had a Honda CB400SF, that was about as fast as a 250LC, it was a great little bike for going places on. I often used to look down at the Speedo on the R1 and think to myself I would have been doing 10/20 mph quicker than this on the LC back in the day and it would be quite normal for me. My average speed has gone down for sure. When, and it is a rare when now, I do go to work on the R1 it is a rare treat. I'm straight out onto open B roads. They're a bit bumpy but I've lived here for 6 years so I know the them quite well. When I get the LC done it's gonna be a good test of the handling. The RGV is like riding a push bike with an engine in it but the bumps don't bother it. Best handling bike I've ever ridden easily. |
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Post by steve63 on Apr 7, 2021 21:05:25 GMT 1
This is the YPVS we went to Spain on and me. Guess which one is me 🤡  |
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Post by steve63 on Apr 8, 2021 15:00:09 GMT 1
I have been spending a bit if time in the garage lately. I think the Mrs is under the impression I'm getting one of the LCs ready for another trip. She seems quite keen on me doing the work and even asks if I'm going in the garage most nights. Either that or she wants me out of the way for some reason. I know someone who has A BMW K1200RS in his garage and wants £1500 for it. I'll probably just get that off him.
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