Oldfjman

Nice little ride out with yesterday a couple of pals to Caffeine and Machine, on the outskirts of Stratford. No other bikes there, but some nice cars. It was a bit chilly first thing, but a lovely ride along some back lanes. Being with a new Enfield Himalayan 400 kept the speed down, but I really enjoyed the back roads around Southam/Gaydon/Kineton and Stratford

Yeah, it's do-able, but it would be a long day with quite a bit of waiting about for the group to form etc. There was a big group this year that met on the M5 I think down below Gloucester, would be a nice ride back though, down the Fosse (I live in Rugby and commuted daily to Melksham on the Fazer 600, Fazer 1000 or even the Aprilia RSV, whenever it was going to be dry/warm, a lovely ride except for the traffic around Chippenham at 8.30am), but that would likely be a 12 hour day for you.

Hi Mike, It's just outside of Lichfield. The next "Ride to the Wall" is on 1st October 2022, but I'm sure there's no issue in driving there, if its not practical to go on a bike. I didn't really serve - I was "in the RAF" at Biggin Hill for 10 days going through the selection process for a Pilot Officer Training sponsorship for University (I wanted to be a fighter jet pilot), but was invalided out due to my hip issues. They couldn't risk me wearing a G suit, as my leg would likely freeze when the suit pressurised my lower body, and I'd be in agony....and probably just crash. At the time I turned down the chance to be a "transport" pilot or ground crew. But, I have an affinity to anyone who served, they deserve our support. Here's a couple of links, one to RTTW and one to the Arboretum. https://www.rttw.org/ https://www.thenma.org.uk/

Yeah Mike, it seemed impossible until I realised you have to take up a paid membership to get the Attach Files option. I actually didn't even realise there was such a thing as the paid membership until this - maybe it was just me not paying attention, or maybe I missed something. TBH I really don't mind this, it's much better than paying a hosting service and it costs little enough that I think it's very worthwhile. Now I find posting photo's a piece of cake - hence I've put a few up There were people from all sides of the Armed Forces there, as well as Police, Fire and Ambulance personnel. It was a really moving day. I thought this was a stunning piece of work for a jacket and just had to get a decent photo of it. It's a really visual reminder of the Falklands conflict.

Come on.....she's not all that bad, after 30 odd years of use and neglect I'd say she's a pretty good find and a great starting point.

And a few more photos - this time from the "Ride To The Wall" event, at the National Memorial Arboretum, back at the start of October - truly one of the most moving experiences of my life. Over 8,000 people, on 6,000 bikes, all joined together in remembrance of those who have lost their lives in the Armed Forces and Emergency Services (Police, Fire, Ambulance etc) since the end of WW2, and in support of their families, friends and comrades. I joined with a couple of mates at Leicester Forest Services on the M1 for one of the 11 group ride-in's.

And a couple when I'd given her a good clean up to show at the Rugby Bike Fest. I LOVE this bike !!

Now that I've sorted myself out (didn't realise I had to become a member to get the "attach" option), here's a couple of pics of me and the FJ from a ride out a couple of weeks ago.

I must be me being thick (or maybe just old!) - I can't see any "attach" option in the dialog box as I'm typing out this comment, all I can see is the "Other Media" box in the bottom right of the text panel, but when I click on that I get 2 choices, the first says "Insert existing attachment" - which only has 1 photo in it, of a FS1E, and a text box which says "search this media type" (I've no idea what to type in there, putting in jpeg does nothing); and the second says "Insert Image From URL", with a box to type a www. location into. I think I used to use this one to type in the links to the photo's in my "tinypic" account. So, I think I can see how to link photo's from the likes Flickr, but not photo's I've got on my PC. I might be going crazy, I might be stupid, but this has just got the better of me at the moment - and I can't include screen shots to help with my explanations..........I do feel like a right plonker right now

Looks like I won't be posting any photo's then. I'm not having a Flickr account, got my fingers burned twice before with these things losing everything once they decided to start charging you for using their "services", which included receiving incessant adverts I suppose that's why I migrated over to other FB user groups and forums, they're just so much easier to share stuff with, but at least I'll still hang out here though.

Thanks lads, it's been a bit of a rollercoaster...you know, the bit where it just goes downhill fast ......we're seriously trying to make the best of things right now and just trying to get on and enjoy our lives. Am I right in thinking the best way to post a photo is to put it in the gallery first and then link it somehow ?

Welcome in Doc' and please ignore Snakebite's Bandit comment, the whole biking world knows that the best first bigger bike you can get after you pass your test is a 1998-2003 Fazer 600 (the later model the better!). But now isn't the time to worry about upgrading your bike, its about upgrading your riding skills. Ride as much as you can, learn as much as you can and sign up for some advanced training as soon as you feel comfortable. You've made a great and sensible start to your riding career, lets hope you have a long one. Too many riders say "I've got 20 years experience, I don't need any more training" - what they're really saying is "I've got one day of experience that I've repeated for 20 years", because they never learned anything, just did the same thing over and over again. Although these guys are American, everything they preach (apart from travelling on the opposite side of the road) and teach is what you need to know. Here's a link to their beginners cornering guide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjLVwTGt2Ds Good luck and happy riding

Welcome in DT - as has been said, restoration of an old bike has lots of benefits............and no drawbacks, except money Enjoy yourself and good luck !

Jeez, it seems like an age since I've been on here. A lot has changed, but nothing has changed (wife and I both lost out remaining parents during lockdowns; wife lost her sister and 2 aunts, I need a hip replacement, wife has been diagnosed with angina and our son has been diagnosed with FND and now needs a wheelchair to get around), we still have the same bikes and like everyone else we're getting to used to life outside lockdown again. This past year I've made a couple of subtle changes to the FJ (Fazer 1000 mirrors, wavy rear disc, braided stainless clutch line) as well giving her a bit of a deep clean, but mostly I've just been riding her. Quite a few 100-200 mile day trips and a couple of 300-350 mile ones, but no touring holidays......buying a motorhome and touring the UK in that, has put paid to multi-day bike trips for a while (at least until the novelty wears off). We usually take our bicycles and kayaks with the motorhome, so at least we're always "moving". The 2 Fazers have mostly sat in the garage, apart from the occasional time I take a ride on them just to keep everything moving. We're hoping for much better things in 2022 health-wise, so expecting to put a lot more miles on the Fazer's (the FJ has only done about 4,000 miles in the last year or so). So, I am alive, I'm still riding and the bikes are going well. Now I just need to remember how to post/insert photo's - can't remember how it's done !!!

Great thanks Mr Hat - would be good to know if sizes are the same ?