As I said to my mate yesterday; You need to break the financial circle to make things work in your favour. Hammer the mortgage. Don't buy on tick. Pay off in full each month the credit card. Spend accordingly. Ah..... happiness Obviously you need to add in buy a few bikes into the above somehow as you need some spares for all these adventures
There is only one person who can make retirement work for them and that is themselves. As @Eldon has said you need to plan your exit, which can mean a little sacrifice now but reaps the benefits in the future
Oh I know all that. The mortgage is paid off, pensions are in place, but there is an unforeseen blockage that is stopping us buying our home for retirement. Our current home is supplied by my employers and I need to give at least three months notice to quit. So I can't retire until we have somewhere to live and the housing market has frozen courtesy of our current government's handling of the economy. "Best laid plans of mice and men ..."
Monthly start up, polished it lubed the chain, ran it up through the gears tried all the lights(yipppeee they still work) then put it to bed again
Had the 600 mile svc done on it yesterday. Has 781 miles on it but dealer said 'No problem'. Closest dealer is in Decatur. Al - about a 110 miles up the road from B'ham. Trailered it up & back due to weather. Nice dealership & people to deal with. A few friends & I are riding up to Warehouse 319 in Jasper. Al today for lunch. Warehouse 3Nineteen Only about 50-55 miles one way then back to the house & put a good polish on it. 1st svc cost was $337 bucks, which is reasonable I guess in today's mkt. Labor rate was $135/hr. But svc on my DCT 'Wing is about $50 bucks cheaper. Go figure.
Winning prizes at Sammy Millers Triumph day for the 70 TR6C and finally Sammy let me sit on the bike i saved a deposit for but Triumph never put into production.
Had 14 riders for our lunch ride today. Weather, food, & our route was dang near perfect. https://photos.app.goo.gl/m1ypudA5DqGg8pUDA
Winning prizes! Blimey, well done. If Bert Hopwood's description of the Bandit was correct then probably best you kept your deposit
On Sunday I took the Street Triple and Helmut the Mutistrada and we went to the Old Station, Tintern for a bite to eat https://www.visitmonmouthshire.com/things-to-do/old-station-tintern-p1502751 It's a great spot with decent food and coffee and we had a lovely ride there and back, dodging the rain!
So my parcel arrived A before pic. and yes it does need a wash. An easy job to swap over, whip the exhausts off both sides and plenty of access. Wound all the settings to zero counting the clicks and surprise surprise left and right weren't set the same..... they are now Always worth inspecting your parts carefully rather than just throwing things together, here is one of the mounting bolts showing a crack, so destined for the bin.
Figured out the proper size pin for my front Pit Bull stand and ordered one (Speedy3R). Got an oil filter wrench in the mail. Took a look at the New Mexico and Colorado Butler maps to start some ride planning.
Where do you like to ride in New Mexico and Colorado, Marco? I'm always interested to learn where others like to ride when they're planning trips around where I ride. I'm in Tucson and my hubby and I have ridden lots of northern New Mexico and southern/ceentral Colorado roads.
Front Fenda Extenda arrived today so I’ve fitted that to the Tiger. Boring I know, but as I found with the one I put on the Fireblade when I got that, it will help keep the crude off
Too numerous to list, but here are a few: Just outside of Albuquerque we have a great sportbike road that goes from 6,000 ft to 10,600 ft in about 12 miles - Sandia Crest road with dozens of switchbacks with the rest very, very serpentine - all through high alpine forests and great views. Park at the top and take in the view of Albuquerque and the Rio Grande basin. Weekends are busy. Just south of that is what we call "South-14" between Tijeras and Mountainair - high speed sweepers and twisties. North 14 (actual highway 14 between Tijeras and Santa Fe) is okay, and scenic - some twisty bits; nice way to get to Santa Fe through the village of Madrid. Another favorite is the Jemez Loop through the Jemez mountains. About a 200 mile loop from Albuquerque - start with Highway 550 in Bernalillo toward Farmington for 20 miles, then Highway 4 through the Jemez mountains is the meat of it with lots of twisties and sweepers mostly through high alpine forest and the Valle Caldera, then take a left to go through Los Alamos National Laboratory to the town of Los Alamos or keep straight toward White Rock and then loop back through Santa Fe and down highway 14 to Tijeras and Albuquerque. Take the 599 loop road to avoid the traffic in Santa Fe, which runs right into 14 south. We usually stop in White Rock for lunch. From Santa Fe go north on 285/84, take a right toward Nambe and do the "High Road to Taos" - fantastic ride that ends in Taos. Once in Taos you can do the Enchanted Loop which takes you through and around some of the highest mountains in New Mexico through Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, and Red River. If you find yourself on 285 going north toward Colorado (or on 64 between Taos and Chama) take a left in Tres Piedras onto highway 64 toward Chama. Fantastic road. Also some great riding in the Mogollon Mountains in soutwestern New Mexico between Reserve, Glenwood, and Silver City, and while you're there slip into eastern Arizona to ride Highway 191 between Alpine and Clifton - one of my favorites, but the road can be rough in some spots. In the 94 miles of 191 I usually encounter only ten or twenty cars, and about as many motorcycles. Just north of us in Colorado there are numerous routes including the Million Dollar Highway between Silverton and Ouray. If you're in Ouray, might as well take the road between Ridgeway and Gateway, then toward Grand Junction. That's just scratching the surface. Colorado tends to get more traffic than New Mexico - I think most have the impression that New Mexico is nothing but desert, hence the lower population here. They should keep thinking that!
A significant milestone for my Triumph Explorer; somewhere on today’s ride out to the Scottish Borders I did my 60,000th mile on it. I’ve enjoyed every one of ‘em and reckon it’s just about run in now! A good days riding, up to Jedburgh (very wet up there) and back home through Northumberland, Cumbria and Yorkshire Dales.
So, ok this was yesterday but didn't have the time to write it up until now. Took the Street twin out for a spin on it's maiden voyage with the new YSS shockers and the first half of the day was dry although it was surprising just how much mud was on the roads. With the Quadlock/Google map combo I picked a proper minor road route out, after the A1 blast to jump up country. First stop Manor farm for a coffee and cheeseburger just as the rain started, rush hour here as you can see. From there was again a jumble of small lanes, especially ones with jumps, to assess the rear suspension officer There was still quite a bit of flooding around the Leyburn to Hawes road. Thats a grass field normally with no water. The weather was pretty poor now, but hey ho I'm out so get on with it. Jacket good, trousers sh1te although they are now 12 years old so I'll forgive them despite them now filling my new boots From there I was loosely aiming for home but with time on my side for once so nice to have some slack. Next stop the Leeds PALS monument. Interesting history on this from reservoir building to army camp to pow camp. From there I went to Scar house reservoir. Now it must be 30 years ago since I did this byway on enduro motorbikes but hey a 900 street twin is an adventure bike isn't it and it can go anywhere, can't it? Look carefully and you can see the line of the route? It starts getting a bit dodgy near the top as the traction control is now bringing me down to about 1 bhp irrespective of the throttle request. These roads are getting worse, potholes here there and everywhere And onwards to Pateley for some fuel. Who needs knobbly tyres and a BMW GS for an adventure? Plus we all know that the majority of these enduro styled roadsters never see off road use.
[QUOTE="With the Quadlock/Google map combo I picked a proper minor road route out, after the A1 blast to jump up country.[/QUOTE] Fantastic ride it looks like! Question about your using Google Maps if you don't mind. I've created saved Google Map routes on my computer browser, and I can pull them up on my Android (S21), but I haven't figured out a way to actually use/navigate the intended mapped route. I tried with just a starting and an end point and a specific (scenic, not fastest) route, then when I get it on my phone when at the start point and click the end point, it wants to use its own "fastest" route, although it does show mine, it just won't let me select it as an option. What am I missing? Much appreciated
Fantastic ride it looks like! Question about your using Google Maps if you don't mind. I've created saved Google Map routes on my computer browser, and I can pull them up on my Android (S21), but I haven't figured out a way to actually use/navigate the intended mapped route.[/QUOTE] Umm I've not tried using it as you do but will have a play next time out to see if I can throw some ideas into the pot. I use mine in "please myself" mode So I select a destination, say Manor Farm cafe. I then review Googles intended route and miss out the first 25 miles or so near home as I know it. Then when I get to my chosen point I look at the sky for a weather forecast, rain in the east go north etc. Any road that takes my fancy is taken and Google maps has to compensate and reroute accordingly. A typical rideout may include 10+ reroutes depending on options on the ground. I've found some cracking little loops and alternative areas, even for ones that I previously thought I knew well. Even the wife commented on how we are seeing alot more countryside and small villages now. A couple of points to note; By setting an end destination you end up at the right place With a target selected the screen will stay lit up and on Observe the screen after taking a random lane as it will show if its a dead end and ask you to U turn If a certain road takes your fancy add it as a "stop point", I can't see a "way point" option. You can select this on the map, move the map (not the arrow) to the fixed arrow pointer until in the right place and press done. If you want to jiggle the stop points into the right order move the equals sign to the preferred position i.e. stop point 4 into position 2, press and hold the equal sign moving up 2. If you use your left thumb upside down on the screen, fingernail pointing to your groin, it oftens works the touchscreen even with gloves on Enjoy.
