InvictaMoto's Red Pepé Blog

Pepe's insurance was renewed for another year today. So I thought as I have owned this monster for six years it was time to bring this blog to an end and import the contents to "On the Road Again". So that it what I have done.

After the problems of last weekend when TomTom decided to have a bit of a loon, I managed to visit only three of the waypoints. So I have had to re-plan for the last four places I need to complete the challenge. Finding U isn't the easiest in Kent. Finding one on a main road is even harder.  Many of the tracks and shitholes I had to go down on Sunday aren't for the Rocket. The last four? I hope!!

Well that didn't work out as I expected.  The TomTom satnav/GPS had a wobbler and so I only managed P, O and E before calling it a day. I need to connect it and delete the routes it thinks it has and update the one that I will amend on MyRouteApp. The E wasn't the one I was expecting.  That both village signs were in quite dangerous areas meant a stop wasn't very clever. Some of the roads TomTom chose would be difficult on a DR trail bike. But we managed it in the end. P - Peene Railway Museum O - Ottinge Court Farm E - Eythorne Maybe a POE challenge! In the end the stats were:

The best laid plans of mice and men.  Unfortunately there is a balancing act to be done as a married man with a dog. I sometimes envy people that on a whim, tog up, and then go for a ride all day on their expensive motorcycle. My brother for instance.  He regularly plans trips with a mate that take three or four weeks in the summer before the school holidays make hotels and accommodation too expensive. I can't do that. So when "real life" gets in the way, then the bike trips have to take a back seat.  Don't get me wrong.  I like going out in the car with wife and dog to places of interest or just to the White Cliffs for a cake and coffee and walk with Reggie. But. Sometimes I want to get my gear on and go for a ride. Last Sunday the "Family Paul" won out.  Hopefully tomorrow, June 6th and of course the 77th Anniversary D-Day, I can get out and do the trip around the county and get the "Cup of Tea Challenge" chalked off. I need to ride the £15000 wo

Looking to next year for what maybe a jolly-boys trip to the Czech Invader Rally or what might end up a Billy No-Mates trip. I have been to five previous Czech Invaders but only once when I rode there completely alone. I did that in 1992 on my DR800SL. It's not something I would do again. Not in one hit. When I arrived I could hardly get off the bike I was so stiff for sitting in one place for hour upon hour. Those were all held at the same "rally-inn" in  Chudčice  near Brno. The last one I did was way back in 2004 with Claire as pillion. The BMW GS wasn't well received - not being a Suzuki! BMW at Rally. There is no way I'll be on the Kettle. At 37mpg it will cost a kidney to ride the 1700 mile round trip. So Pepé will need to be the bike of choice. If only I had cruise control as well to help with the saving of fuel. If I am to go over as a solo traveller I will stay in Youth Hostels. After all I will be an old age pensioner by then. We did that way back in 199

The "Devall Boys" are booked in.  We registered last year but it was cancelled due to Covid. This year the registration was capped at 4000 also due to Covid. Our wristbands and screen stickers arrived so we are in that first group. The organisers and those not in the initial 4000 will have to wait and see if the Government relaxes the lockdown later in the month of June. This year I bought a t-shirt. I have loads but the cause is good. See how it goes shall we?

The plan for Sunday 30th May is to complete the challenge.  In the latest "Nacelle" there was a reminder of the challenge and what needs to be done. I have chosen towns/villages but it could be places of interest as well.  Leaving home and looping around Kent with a coffee stop at H's. I have the route in the TomTom.

I decided to move the TomTom mounting from "in the wind" by the left side switchgear. As it is already removed what could be simpler? Easier said than done!!!! For some reason the spare RAM mounting kit I had in stock came with 11mm nyloc nuts. I hate nyloc nuts. Also who the **** uses 11mm! The supply spring washer too! In the end after what seemed like hours I finally managed to get it behind the screen and above the clocks. The area is so confined I could only turn the nut about a quarter each time.  It took wiggling and a jiggling to get it where I wanted it, also to be able to lock it in place with the anti-theft kit!  The key to the ram-ball mount is a little bit of a squeeze. The next job is to fit the new power cable and connect it to the battery rather than the accessory socket. Oh yeah. Baloo is back after a wash and brush up.

At the moment it looks as though the event could be cancelled again this year.  It's planned for July 3rd. This is after the Government relaxes the Covid rules that will allow us more freedom to move about the country. From June 21st we are supposed to be free again for the first time since March 2020!! In England anyway.  As I am unlikely to travel to Wales or Scotland I am not bothered what they do. I have planned a route up there as usual with MyRouteApp for the TomTom.  It's a round trip of about 230 miles so I have planned in a couple of petrol stops.  The first might be unnecessary but I like to have a full tank before setting off on the motorways.  I have an aversion to paying motorway services petrol prices! I might add a few other stops before the actual day. I am interested in a memorial to the WW2 pilots the flew Mustangs and Thunderbolts from Steeple Morden Airfield near Royston. 

After what has been a few weeks that could be described as "summer" the weather has turned into distinctly early spring weather. Low temperatures and rain.  The rain heavy at times and also with the odd hailstorm mixed in. The Greta supporters claim it's "global warming". The other side say "it is bollocks".  As I have no degrees in climatology I have no idea. Then again Greta also has no degree either. So today I wore the FT jacket over a t-shirt. A wool v-neck jumper went in the left pannier with a Triumph waterproof jacket and my Held overtrousers. It was another test day for my new Hood K7 jeans. They have been worn once before. They are quite tight and I am hoping they will "give" the more they are worn. Pepé started first push of the button. Not bad since it has only been used on the road once since November. That was last week when I had my MoT.  It was case of getting used to new tighter jeans. I guess inches have got smaller over the

On the way back from The Meldrews meeting at H's near Canterbury I detoured off the A20 to get my first entry for the Triumph Club's photo competition for 2021. I had planned on "C" being Cheriton but couldn't think where the sign might be! Capel is also where the Battle of Britain Museum and Roll of Honour can be found. It amazes me when bikers travel all over the country there is no pilgrimage here.

I have been using the TomTom on Pepé since I have had the bike. Firstly with the old style Rider and more recently with the 410 model.  This one came with the locking anti-theft kit.   I now need to refit the RAM Mount etc.  I took it off to tidy it up (rust etc)  and then I discovered that when it was last serviced the very helpful mechanics at Laguna had routed the power lead along the frame rather than where I had it dangled over the top of the air filters.  Sadly it seems to have melted somewhere there was no power.  In the end I had to cut both ends off the cable to be able to tidy it up. I ordered a new power lead from TomTom and it arrived recently. I will be a bit more thorough with this one and rather than use a Hella DIN plug into the power output by my left ankle, I will connect to the battery. I can then let the excess wire coil under the seat rather than at the handlebar end.  I never like cutting wires. Too long better than too short. The kit I have looks a bit like this

Even though it happens every year there's always the sense of nervousness when MoT time comes along. Maybe the horn will have stopped working.  It barely makes a peep when working.   Maybe something else will have blown since you had a check around.... Except today it passed. It has an advisory on the rear tyre after it had the plug in it last August. The recorded mileage is 10137. Last year it was 9203. A total of 934 miles for the Covid affected 2020. Once home I taxed it. This year £96!!!!

Over a month since I cancelled the previously booked test.  With the dbPower Pepé fired up first time. I let it run as I refitted the panniers and unhooked the dbPower. Luckily it fired up without any help a bit later when I was fully bikered up. I needed petrol. It's so long since I last rode the bike I ended up stopping in Hythe and filled the tank. First tank since 17th August. Fuelly worked mpg at 40.99. Then off to Ashford arriving ten minutes late.  Now sitting in the socially distanced customer waiting area ... I squeezed myself into my new Hood K7 jeans. I either lose weight or the need to give a bit. Only one problem so far. Cramp in my right hand after I got off at Laguna.

As Pepé hasn't been out since January I thought it might be a good idea to get it out from the back of the garage and put Suzi to the back. Whilst I was at it, I decided to start Pepé and let it run for a few minutes.  I expected that after a lay-off it wouldn't start and so I had the dbPower 600A at the ready. I was right. Enough power to spin the dials and charge the starter but nothing else. I connected the dbPower and switched on.  Still NFG. Check the unit and the display showed 1%.  What? Even when used quite heavily to start Pepé in the past it has never got below 90%!  So I had to abandon tonight's test start and get it on charge.  Hopefully by the morning it will have enough balls in it to start Pepé and get me on my way.

This year's challenge from the TOMCC is to visit places and take a photo, selfie or just the bike, of places that have the first letter of each that spells out "Cup of Tea". I have a route planned on My RouteApp for when Pepe is back on the road.  That's not until Friday 7th May at the earliest. I am hoping that all the places I have found in Kent actually have a sign giving the place name otherwise this might take longer than expected. My route is simply a one off run in a loop around the county. It's currently around 42 miles and just over an hour to complete. Cup of Tea route

Hopefully, we'll be out of lockdown by August and we can get away on this tour. Bike of choice for me will be the Rocket rather than the Kettle. https://devallboys.blogspot.com/2021/04/the-dambusters-tour.html Overall Route

Finally.  I called and booked Pepé's MoT! It looks as though many bikes are being brought out of hibernation and the first date I could get is May 7th at 1100. So that's it. Once done I can get it taxed and that breaks up the usual everything happening in June scenario! As usual it will be done at the Laguna Performance Centre in Ashford.

It's two weeks just gone since I had my second eye operation and I am on leave from work until the 19th April.  I was told not to ride the bike for two weeks in case the air streaming through the virus blew some dust into it that may undermine the work they had done. Lockdown eases next week and so from the 12th I ought to be able to get the bike MoT'd and taxed for use on the road. I am hoping for some good weather to be able to give it a good clean. I need to give Laguna a ring later in the week and book it in.  

I slipped walking the dog. My foot slid forward in some mud and I over extended my left knee.  As a result I am in a lot of pain and walking is very painful.  Paracetamol hardly seem to touch it! So the visit to Laguna Performance Centre for tomorrow noon will have to be put off until later in the month. I have a date for the other eye to be operated on to remove the cataract and so I need to get Pepé  tested either before 20th March or after April 6th. The latter would suit me better as that's when I am on leave from work.

Every year we have to pay a tax to the Government to be able to use our vehicles on the road. Over the years it has had a few different names and since the 1930's hasn't been spent on the roads! It simply goes in the Government's coffers to spend where they like. In a pandemic we are expecting the huge financial burden to be spread across taxation, both directly like income tax and of course, indirectly on things like purchases and that includes petrol and the vehicle tax.  The Government still calls it "Vehicle Tax" although loads of pedants will try and make out it is an emissions tax.  It is vehicle tax that used to be based on the engine capacity of the vehicle and vehicle type. Now it is based on bands depending on the noxious emissions your vehicle pumps out. As Pepé is currently untaxed and in the garage, I won't have the reminder form V11 sent to me from the licencing agency. I will have to login to the vehicle tax website and use the unique vehicle n

The MoT ran out on the 19th February and so I need to book it in to be legal to ride to the testing station. I have chosen the take it to Laguna as usual. Called and the earliest they can do it is Monday 8th March at noon. I am probably not going to get too much riding in before the end of March but this should prepare things for getting out and about.  The first date in the Government's roadmap to get us out of lockdown is not until the end of March! I can't tax it again until I have the MoT in place.

It's always difficult.   Claire pressuring me to sell the Rocket now that the Kettle is due home any day. To be brutally honest I don't want to sell the bike. I had a guy come around from a "we buy any car" kind of place to give me a rough idea of that it was worth and after nearly three hours they said that they didn't want it.   I was a bit miffed at that as I had taken off all the personal bits that I wanted to keep, and now I have to piss about putting it back on to use the bike as the lockdown is brought to a close. It runs perfectly and has been regularly serviced. It's five years old and so there will be a few marks but generally it is is in good condition.  Paint good and no body damage. Claire wants to replace the Corsa at some stage and as I get nearer retirement we won't need two cars. Mine is not worth much in any case. A ten year old diesel Insignia is worthless. Having a diesel engine makes it as evil akin to having pissed on one of  the Quee

I had the boy out today for a short ride off the drive to make sure it was all working. Once the Spring comes and lockdown is over I'll be able to get out and about again. It's a shame with half term not that far away that the lockdown will still be with us or it will still be crap weather. After a few months in the cold garage although all the lights work and the clocks do their check, there wasn't enough juice to get it going. A quick connection with the dbPower unit and it started first touch of the button. I let it run up to temperature to check that the fan and everything work.   Although I sorn'd it to save the tax money it is still Mot'd until February.  Nearer the time I'll book it in to get that done. Again, weather dependent. If we had a nice dry day I will get out and five it a deep clean.   The run off the drive was to make sure the ABS switched on and the light went out.  At least there was a strip of dry road that wasn't iced like a skating rin

Looking at the Fuelly app on the phone and on the website brings into perspective the extent of the lockdowns and curtailment of riding in the UK, at least for me. I always fill the tank when I am out an about. I always aim to avoid using expensive (rip-off) service stations on motorways and only if I have to will I put a few litres in to get me over any possible crisis. So to see that the last time I filled the tank was on the 17th August 2020 is astounding. With lockdown easing in gradual steps it looks as though it may be June or later before we get to ride more often.

With us still in lockdown in Kent and after what seems like forever banged up 23 hours a day in the house, I can't wait to get the bloody vaccine and be able to go out again on the bike. I doubt after so long in the garage that it will actually start!  I have the dbPower unit on charge to 100% to fire the big boy over.  And then we'll see.  The weather hasn't actuality enticed me out on the road either. At the moment it alternates between hissing rain and high winds or frost that brings out the gritters with their nasty sand and salt concoction that rots Triumph chrome away in minutes. The new Motobatt battery I bought and fitted a year ago, today as it would happen (!) will no doubt be as dead as the proverbial dodo.  All thanks to the bastard that created this virus in their little laboratory. When will it all end! In the end did what I should have done months ago but I suppose I thought it would all be over and normal life might start to come back. I should have done the

We have just emerged from a Tier 4 lockdown that seems to have had no effect on slowing down the transmission of the Covid-19 spread and so from tonight at 0001 we are back into a more severe lockdown. My shoulder is much better and I can ride the bike, but of course, a total lockdown means no ridey bikey! Bollocks. So now we must wait until and unspecified mid-February date when we might be allowed out of our houses for more than just limited socially distanced exercise (dog walks allowed)  and to hunt for food.