Pete

.....exploring the mountain roads of northern Granada! Firstly the ascent to La Sagra...... You really don't want to get it wrong up here.... Parked up near the summit.... ....where you can see for miles! Then it was on to Santiago (about 40 miles) for a coffee....then back down the mountain. I decided to follow a forestry track....bloody Siracs are awful on this type of surface. Then turned off the track and went through the forest... Back onto the roads.....congested as usual..... There's dirtriding as far as the eye can see in every direction. But it's a lot of fun on the tarmac too.... Ended up in the mountains near Castril..... Great views as usual.... Back down to the approach to Huescar.... ....and battled my way through the heavy traffic again! That's been my weekend......haven't been far....just exploring backroads through the mountains. And whether you're on the road or on the rough....you can just keep on riding and never see anybody else. I love Spain! Hope you liked the tour!

That's what you get for buying a gayassed POS! If you'd bought a Fazer you'd have had a tank range of over 200 miles!

Take a look HERE Tom. It's happening late April!

Nice shots Tom....the Hornet looks great....in a slightly Gay sort of way!

Haven't a clue!

Great little run today on the XT! Temperatures have dropped dramatically down to the mid 20's....so it's warm off the bike and cool on it. Unlike July and August when it was regularly 40 and above, and riding just wasn't an option. I went up the Sierra de Segura mountains on the Santiago road again....where you have 25 miles of hairpin bends on narrow roads, with road surfaces so bad it looks like they've been hit by Allied bombers in places! This is not a road for self-professed internet riding gods! This is real life and you're playing for keeps. :lg: You don't get a smooth racetrack surface with good visibility....in fact on some bends, vision is reduced to just a few feet. In some places there's barely room for one car, so expect anything coming the other way to be right in your face before you even know it. If you run wide on a bend, don't expect a run off....expect a 200 foot drop onto jagged rocks below! On the few bends where there aren't huge drops, you can expect to be launched into dense undergrowth full of various wild animals. The area is remote with no houses for 20 miles....and you can't plan on getting a phone signal if you're injured. But you can plan on being food for everything from vultures to wild deer. So....if you think you're something and you need tales of daring-do to impress people on forums, stick to trackdays, parking lots, muddy fields or fast A roads......Don't come here! Because one small mistake and it's all over. Let's take a look then! Over the 25 mile stretch there's probably about 150-200 bends, many of them very tight indeed. This is an example of what appears to be a gentle left hand bend with limited forward vision. In fact it's one of the better ones in some respects because the surface is good. But in other respects, it's a bit nasty. Because if you overcook it here.....this is where you're going! Straight over the top of a 150ft drop onto rocks! And if you do manage to avoid the rocks you'll probably land on the road below! When you get off the mountain you can relax a bit....the roads are still twisty, but you're not balancing on a ledge any more. However, this is still Spain....and anything can happen! Because you can come howling out of a bend and end up face to face with this nasty bastard! And be prepared for the eventuality that's he brought about 100 of his mates with him! This is not the best place to be when you're riding a RED bike! And you may find yourself (and your bike) completely surrounded by them....front and back. You now have nowhere to run and nowhere to hide! It's important to outwardly remain calm and not to make any sudden movements or loud noises! When you can hear your heart beating, and you feel your bowels about to discharge into your underpants, then you know you've got it right! So if you've survived the 25 miles of lethal roads, and emerged unscathed from the unwanted attentions of 100 bulls.....then you know you're on a roll. So you can sit back and admire the views as far as the eye can see! Until you hear the sound of vultures overhead.....which prompts the fastest getaway outside of a Vin Diesel movie! :lg: Moral of the story? Bullshitting on the Internet is a lot safer than The Spanish Inquisition! You didn't expect it did you?

I don't think fully synth on an old tech bike like that is a good idea you know. Could give you problems if it's done a fair mileage. I always used semi-synth 10w40 on mine...Castrol GPS or Silkolene. When I brought it to Spain I switched to 15w50 GPS, but on the last oilchange I didn't have enough....so I used Castrol GP mineral oil instead. And it ran much better....smoother and quieter. So it's staying on that now...and of course it's cheaper too. Mind you, I change the oil every 500-700 miles....so any longterm benefits of the synthetics wouldn't make any difference anyway.

Will do Martin! PM me your e-mail address and I'll send them over.

Ardon's post is 21 months old Alex!

Photos/info would be better.

Pretty much a mix of riders really....but remember this is a UK based board and cruisers are not that popular here. Lot of classic Yamaha guys here though XT/RD/XJ/FZR etc....but there are a few cruiser people here too.

PM Mozzy you fat fuck!

Sorry John....only just seen your post now! Try finishing it off with Armor-All....I've had good results with that. Or silicone dashboard spray is another option.

Hi John! Here's my 91. Off the road at the moment waiting for a regulator!

Bugger off you Twat!

Halfords is usually the best place....and the cheapest.

How's Barry Docks these days? Still as scenic as ever?

Well tell the Dimwits to say it properly then!

Apparently every year the town has an old bike festival...and today was the day! So off I went into town on the XT (with no battery or regulator in it) to check it out. Loads of European bikes, some of them with names I've never seen before. Only one Jap there from what I could see....an early 80's CX650 Turbo. Oh...and one Beemer! More on that later! So here's some shots....with some real weird and wonderful machines to see! They were all parked up on the central plaza in the town by 10am...... Then at 11am they all moved off with horns beeping and crowds cheering! Apparently they all ride up to the La Sagra picnic area in the mountains overlooking the town. They rode off the central plaza..... ....and round the town in a convoy! Now with all this old stuff here, somebody just had to break down in the middle of the procession! And they did! Can you guess what it was? Yes....it was a Beemer! And the only one there! This whole event was amazing to me! Because in my youth, the cops moved us on and hassled us. In later years, cops would still be in attendance pointing speed cameras at you. But in Spain, they celebrate bikes as part of their culture....cos just about everybody has ridden one at some time in their lives. And you can see from the photos the old bikes in attendance (around 50 of them) were mainly Spanish, a few Italian, one Jap, and one Beemer (which broke down). The whole town had a carnival atmosphere with food and drink laid on for them free! And the participants were treated as heroes by the huge crowd lining the streets waving and cheering as they passed. Absolutely unreal! And only in Spain!

You've now got the dragon......oh....and I'm a Jack! So I might nick it back off you! You'll find a lot of Welsh boys (and girls) at my forum HERE! Unfortunately quite a few of them are Carediff Dimwits!

I've been a bit busy too Gavin! I'll try to sum it up in the words of one of the guys from my site...."Pete ran off to Spain, became a Gypsy, bought a Beemer, and now lives in a cave with a donkey".

Are you Welsh?

It should all be in the handbook....but I don't think there's much to do at that mileage except oil and filter change. The rest are just checks and things like chain/cable adjustment. It would be worth investing in a Haynes manual too.

Hi Gavin! Long time no see! Bike looks great!

Shoei Raid!