What Have You Being Doing With Your Non-triumph Today?

Took a ride on my Husqvarna

A quick rip up and down left some marks in the lawn but was a blast.

Here's a quick F1 pitstop for an inspection.

 

I'm aware of the JIS spec but thankfully my ZZR is held together with socket head screws which are way better IMO.

 

MOT day for the Fireblade and it passed with no advisories. Best was it was nice and sunny, roads had dried up after the torrential rain yesterday/over night and neither I or the bike got wet - Bonus

 

Yesterday I rode my non-Triumph Street Glide on our weekly Sunday breakfast ride. I was going to ride my Speed Triple RS because it's definitely his turn. But with all the hullabaloo around the Street Glide and based on the fact that we're heading north to ride through New Mexico and Colorado, I decided I'd like one more day in that particular saddle to make sure all is as it should be. It was.

I had that bike in the shop last Friday because when my new wheel and tire were installed, the tech discovered that three pins/prongs of six were bad on the wiring that plugs into the H-D computer for Operating System updates. He was trying to get the Tire Pressure Monitoring System set up for the new wheel a couple of weeks and no bueno. So (of course) those parts had to be ordered and then were delayed due to bad weather in the Midwest where they were being shipped from . Anyway, now all is good. I told them that to not have the TPMS for our trip was no biggie but they said that if I had another issue on the road and went to a dealer for a problem, chances are they wouldn't be able to help me. We're staying two nights in Santa Fe, New Mexico and two nights in Durango, Colorado, and both of those towns have Harley dealerships.

Anyway, our group left earlier than usual because the HEAT has arrived. And we tried a new place--well, another location for an old place, Bisbee Breakfast Club. It's up and over Gates Pass on the far southwest side of the Tucson metro area. Afterwards some of us extended the ride by going back through Saguaro National Park. Personally, I'm trying to acclimate to the heat because I don't like to let high(er) temps stop me from riding.

So here are some pics from our first venture to the newest Bisbee Breakfast Club. The original Bisbee Breakfast Club is in, you guessed it, Bisbee.



Steve's and my bikes looking back to the northeast--that white bike pulled up as I was taking off my jacket. It was a couple who were friendly but no one we knew.


That's our gang to the far left in the photo.



Lots of cool artwork in the building which is new construction. This area was completely devoid of any business for nearly all of the 30+ years I've lived in Tucson. The perimeter of the metro area continues to expand.

A painting of the original restaurant that's in Bisbee.





Just shy of 58 miles on the morning.



And the temperature when I got home was a balmy 96ºF.



Compare that balmy 96ºF with the temperature displayed on my bike when I got home from the dealership on Friday! OK, that's officially HOT! Fortunately the dealership is only 12 miles from home.

 

Well pleased all went well for your breakfast run. And wow those temperatures are very hot to be riding in compared to our 13 to 16c that we are experiencing in the north west of England.

 

Riding around for nearly 1800 miles on our recent trip sealed the deal that new handlebars were in order for my Street Glide. The stock bars were just too low and a bit too far forward for a touring bike like this. So this past week I had KST "Patriot Bagger Bars" (12") installed. I took it out for a test spin two days ago and I'm about 95% sure I made the right choice. I think after another few rides I'll be 100% certain. I hope so since it was an expensive proposition between the bars and the install labor.





It was a bit toasty during my test ride to try out the new bars. Yowza!



Everyone is back home and happy in the garage. My Triumph was recently at the shop, too. But for a problem, not a shiny new part.

 

@Sandi T: Your new handlebars look really cool!

 

Thanks, @Markus! I appreciate the feedback. I’m pleased with how they look and how they frame the big TFT screen in the fairing. I’m going to take it on our Sunday ride in the morning which will be about 100 miles so I should have an even better sense of how much I like them in terms of feel. I’ll keep you posted!

 

@Sandi T: All the best for your upcoming "testride".

 

Cut down one tree in my garden and topped another, trimmed all the hedges, then serviced the Stihl chainsaw and hedge cutter, I love working on these 2 stroke machines, cheap genuine parts compared to Triumph, I only run all my 2 stroke machinery with E5 and fully synthetic 2 stroke oil, and they keep on running like a swiss watch. All the gardens done now and can get back to sorting the rest of my things for next weeks S100 road races, here's praying that everyone keeps safe and arrive home ok.

 

Thanks, @Markus! The test ride is in the books. Our Sunday ride yesterday was just shy of 100 miles and I rode my Street Glide with my new handlebars. I’m very happy with my choice which is good because I was a little concerned they might feel too high. But I think initially that was just the difference with my stock bars being quite low and the new ones being higher. The bike handles great. My position is very comfortable and I think will be particularly comfortable for our higher mileage tours. They do feel somewhat wide when I am backing up with the bars fully locked to the left or right, but not so much that it’s a problem. Overall, I’m very happy with my choice! To top off the bars I’m waiting for Kuryakyn to make their Iso -Grips for the new bars that fit the 2024 Harley touring bikes. Evidently the throttle fitting is different so grips from 2023 prior won’t work.

 

@Sandi T: That sounds really good! I hope with the upcoming new grips your "project" ends in a very good way.

 

I have a 1/5th scale RC off road car with a 23cc 2 stroke (hedge trimmer) engine which has always run on premium fuel and FS bike oil and it's had zero problems despite the stick it gets.

 

Decided to get the mother ship ZZR back on the road, not run since last October. Laid up with a full tank of E5, some fuel stabiliser, fresh oil and the battery kept tip top with the Cetek. Started first stab of the button. Sailed through the MOT after the tester changed a dead number plate light which I'd missed. A whopping 664m since last year. Felt really strange after 8 months on a Triumph twin, semi racing crouch riding position and a performance recalibration required I think! A twist of the wrist reminds me why I could never sell it. The Scrambler feels like a Chaise Longue in comparison.

 

Definitely needs "a twist of the wrist recalibration" from a street twin

 

Got back Sunday evening from the FIM Meritum in San Marino and the 2024 FIM Rally in Chianciano Terme Italy on my Suzuki Burgman 400, 59 plate.
2,900 miles round trip after 100 miles of rain from Calais towards Dijon it was hot and sunny until coming north towards Dijon on the way home I was caught in the thunderstorm that flooded parts of Switzerland and eastern France on Saturday evening, otherwise a good trip 4 nights B&B 8 nights camping.
Looking forward to the Motocamp in Slovakia in early August.

 

@Pegscraper, Looks a lovely bike that does. I've fancied one of those for a while now. I have no actual need for that much power or speed, but just feel I need to have the ZZR1400 experience just because it's there!

 

Phenomenal engine and no good for me, as it's just an easy licence loser.
Nice bike for longer distances though, effortless.

 

TBH, I ordered it before the official launch in 2012 to replace the huge disappointment I had with the Ducati. After years of radical top end sports bikes I decided I wanted (NEEDED) more comfort and the Z has that but still has the performance. At 250+kg it's no lightweight so not as nimble as a Fireblade/R1/Gixer etc but as Eldon says, a phenomenal engine which can be a liability! Mile crunching capability but admittedly, not the versatility of a full on tourer. They're not available new anymore so if I sold it and regretted it (been there before), it'd mean looking for a good used one, so it's staying, albeit in semi retirement you might say!

 

A friend turned up at my house one day and we started talking about it his (ZZR1400).
Take it for a go if you want?
No need to ask twice
He has dodgy knees so he'd lowered the footpegs about 40mm or something and it felt awful, but obviously suits him.
A few corners later, and I consciously decided to ride tip toed after scraping the floor too easily.
Overtaking is such a breeze, you really do need to be looking at the speedo, otherwise points make prizes