InvictaMoto's Red Pepé Blog

It's been a mild winter so far this year. But since I got back from Ostend, Pepe has sat in the garage unused. With work and then Christmas, allied with miserable drizzle, I've not been out. This needs to change. During a routine in-garage check I found one of the grub screws had gone AWOL from one of the screen brackets. Dashing off a quick email to Skidmarx resulted in a couple of spares arriving g in the post. Now maybe I can get out for a ride before the end of the year? Happy New Year everyone.

Friday . I like to prepare for a trip and usually lay my riding gear out the day before to look for any defects. So this was a job for Friday. We were both home as the night before we had been to see Deep Purple at the O2 in London, getting home in the wee small hours. Claire then had provided the extra hands it takes to adjust the Skidmarx windscreen. Loosening off most of the fittings needs a pair of hands to hold it in the right place, and another to tighten the bolts and Allen bolts. In fact I did the holding as the new position meant my hands were too big to get into place to tighten up the lower mounting points. Once completed,  I was almost ready for the run to Belgium the next day. Saturday . I had everything laid out for a 7.30am start but as usual I had forgotten some things. The alarm went and Reggie was up wanting to go out. After a night on the bed he needs his "garden break" before his breakfast. I double checked the

There's a screen.  Or at least there is now. The screen worked pretty well. It took the wind off my neck, chest and shoulders but has increased the noise a little around my helmet. When it started to get covered in wet in the misty conditions I could see over it okay. It needs a bit of adjustment to shift it forward an inch or so and a little lower to be closer to the headlamps. Weekend I think for that.

Decided to go to Thurrock and join there. Arrived about 1230 after a petrol stop on the way. Pepe does about 180 to the tank before I start to get nervous. So as it clipped up 115 on the odometer I decided to fill up to ensure I had enough to get to the start and join the ride. It is easily 60 miles home from here. Doing the maths convinced me to tank up. Even in misty drizzly weather sitting in a large column of bikes is hot business, once the fan kicks in. We were on the road and the M25 just before the allotted hour. Well done to the marshals in the absence of the local police service.  The photographer, former SOC member and Kent Centre Sec, Roger Wood, for the run from Thurrock stood atop the van belonging to  one of the charities we were supporting. I had cable tied one of the Ride of Remembrance car-flags to the sissy bar but sadly I didn't get enough wind to fly whilst  stopped.

Today I was working from home after the trains were cancelled and I came home from the station!  I did a bit of work, you can only do what is in front of you on the helpdesk software, and so  I had a late lunch and decided to have a look at the screen fittings. In the end, it was a 90 minute lunch and it is fitted. The four brackets have to be done one at a time, offering up the screen each time before tightening them in place. In the end it looks pretty central.  No time to test it today. That will have to wait until the weekend. Fitted! The instructions are pretty rubbish, and look like an eighth generation photocopy of the original drawing. Still, the photo on Skidmarx website was marginally better. My positioning looks a little different but it seems rigid. Only a test ride will tell if it is okay.

The next and who knows, last Devall Boys trip? https://devallboys.blogspot.com/

The final requirement to take a bit of the wind off my head and shoulders is a screen. I looked at the Triumph flyscreen, and although it looks good, it might not be what I need. Instead, I ordered one of these and it arrived recently.  I need to spend a few hours in the garage and get it fitted. Skidmarx advert The instructions are pretty poor and I have a better idea from the picture of where the fittings go. So far have only had the time to offer it up and have a look at where it will go. Trying it for size

I can't say that I have ever stayed in biker specific accommodation before.  That's not to say I don't like the idea, it's just that anywhere I have been across Europe for the better part of 40 years, I have only ever been turned away from one place, and that was a restaurant in St Tropez! Generally, Europe is far more biker-friendly that the UK. That said, the Loft is a good idea for a social event like we had over the weekend.  The place was full with different biker groups staying there.  As a former woollen factory it is on the edge of the village. From the loading doors on the front of the building that now act as windows to the bar area to the parking in the warehouse section, and the rooms on two sides on two floors. Bikers Loft In the centre, there is a strange looking adobe building that houses the showers, male and female. It all works though.

The last day. After leading yesterday's run to Ypres, I decided to take a back seat, or a different place in the line of 8 bikes. And so after a repeat of the previous day's self cook breakfast we packed the bikes and headed off. Aiming for Nieuwpoort aan Zee as the first stop. The plan to follow a canal all the way there to where it meets the sea at a huge marina. I was bringing up the rear of the column and saw a sign like this one. "No Motor vehicles" After only one short section of the towpath/road. We tried to alert those ahead but Cal and I were the only two not heading past this sign. We chose to turn left across a lift bridge onto the other bank, where Nieuwpoort was signposted 15kms away. As we headed along we sounded our horns and waved at the "first wave" to no avail. Some miles further on their side came to an end. By then we were way ahead despite dropping the speed to 40. We carried onto t

We were up reasonably after a latish night and the self cook dinner! Breakfast is included in the room rate and is also self service as well as self cook. I'm not used to eating breakfast and so opted for the continental style rather than the bacon and eggs style!  The rooms are pretty basic. I shared with Trevor and we had two single beds. A little re-jigging of the room ensured that there was a man-gap between the beds! Early suggestions for the Saturday ride out had been to the Wire of Death. An electric fence that was built by the German occupation army in 1915 from the coast at Knokke to the German border, and just inside the Belgian frontier. It was to stop Belgians escaping into neutral Netherlands.  Over the course of the war it claimed over a 1000 lives. Read more.  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wire_of_Death I can't tell you any more as we didn't go!! In the end we decided on Ypres, only  30 miles away, ins

Packing Pepe (or Red Pepe to use his full name)  doesn't take too long. The panniers aren't that big. Enough for the weekend for one person. I might have to invest in a sissy bar pack in future! The plan was to meet Trevor from the Meldrews at 3pm at th fuel station in Dover. I was a little late as the traffic was horrendous and Pepe is a little too wide to squeeze through.  After a malfunction on the Sprint owned by Graham, another Meldrew, we were checked in and waiting to board the ferry at 3.30! A little early. The crossing was smooth and once across in France I led the way with TomTom's assistance to the Loft. Parked up in the Loft More about the loft later. We met up with the other Meldrews, eight in total for dinner and a few beers. Day 1 ended with us already into Day 2 and bed.

The popular name for the Rocket's in black with white stripes is "Pepe" after Pepe le Pew the cartoon character. So my R3 can be "Red Pepe".

Finally managed to get a picture or two of the sissy bar in place and fitted! Side view Rear view Looks good.

Not for me! But for Claire as she is used to having a top box behind her back.  Enter the Fehling Sissy Bar. I checked a few custom websites and it came out at about £135 inc vat. Then I got a tip to check German custom sites and found this one at €115 plus €16.99 to get it to me. Still a massive saving. Bought online on Monday evening, delivered Thursday morning.  Fitted? Hopefully it will go on at the weekend when Cal comes back with his Allen keys. Photos to follow.

Day 2. After the long day the day before I was feeling a little tired and after the early night,aided by two pints of Monaco at the restaurant, I slept most of the night. I set my alarm on my phone for 0800. By the time I had showered and got changed I got to breakfast to find all my travel mates already there.   We had a good chat over breakfast and by the time we were ready to leave it was easily 0945.   The first stop was to be the site where the Red Baron was shot down. Somehow we had missed it last year.  It would be easy to miss as it is simply a small notice board at the side of the road. The next stop was only a few miles along the road. Grove Town Cemetery where David wanted to look up one of his relatives buried there. Although from Google Maps the cemetery looks to be in the middle of farmland, what it didn't show was the rough track to get there. Unlike the Pals, we couldn't miss this one. At least Neil got to take his new Honda Cross Tourer &qu