Camping in Wales: London, Avebury, Brecon Beacons

New 50L Hein Gericke waterproof roll bag - £30

Avebury stone circle... free bike parking, free entry, lovely staff who I tipped anyway, and you can ride right the hell through the middle of it!

 

  

 

Camping in the Beacons

Camping Trip to Wales plan

The summer is over, the weather is miserable, so what better a time is there to head to Wales for the weekend for both biking and camping?!

Some friends have decided to go camping in the Brecon Beacons and I'm tagging along. For a change I'm being super over-prepared. I've planned the route on Google Maps, and chosen to stop off and see a few sights on the way. Basically, gmaps is rubbish for this! I plotted points of interest on a custom map. I had to then switch to old Google Maps because the new version doesn't do multiple destination trips (lame). And then I also had to copy locations of points of interest from the custom map to the route one. Gmaps wont let you plot a route on a map with any custom points on it, so I had to awkwardly manually copy between two maps, and use lat and long coords because you cant copy the actual named points (lame) Then, although it saves and remembers your routes automatically, on the phone it wont do multiple route trips again. So to allow turn by turn to be usable at any point on the trip, I had to do a separate search for each point so the phone would remember then.

Anyway, the plan's below. I also got super anal and started using www.trello.com (which I use a bit at work) to do trip planning. Actually a really cool little site/app. Plus I finally bought some breakdown cover (from www.startrescue.co.uk) and stumbled upon a random 15% online voucher link just before buying. Score.

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Living in London Makes You Suspicious

On the way out getting on the bike yesterday, a rather posh bloke comes over, says hi and asks about the bike (its sitting next to the road's other Triumph.) He's generally friendly, but I'm trying to end the conversation and get going as I'm late... I suddenly realise he's asking things like "do you live nearby" and "do you keep it on the street", "what locks does it have"... :s Am going away for 5 days today. Have moved it up the street and chained it to a lamppost!

Am I just a terrible paranoid Londoner? The more I think about it, the more he did ask every question a suspicious guy scoping out the bike might ask. The posh-ness made it more unnerving; now I'm picturing some sort of Ealing crime caper being planned. The bike gets a lot of passer-by compliments which still makes me smile every time, but now I'm going to be secretly thinking "Stay away from her, you bitch"!

Ortlieb Moto Panniers

I'd been hunting for decent pannier options for the Bonnie, and also racks/mounts for them. But all the options had drawbacks: expensive mounts, too-large boxes, not working with a passenger, crazy expensive boxes... Suddenly I had a wedding to go to and needed to get two guys, two suits and a kilt on the bike and get it all to Liverpool.

By a stroke of luck I stumbled on these the week before. 26 Litres each, waterproof, a clean black design that works with the bike (give or take the unnecessary but at least subtle treadmark prints on the sides). And reduced from £160 RRP (which they still sell at elsewhere) to £80, plus free delivery. Bargain!

http://www.hein-gericke.co.uk/ortlieb-ol-moto-panniers.html

I had no idea Ortlieb even did motorbike stuff, but knew they were quality from my cycling days. Even better, a search of their website turned up a chart with info on whether the bags would fit on each specific Triumph bike model. Very impressed.

Fitting the bags was something of a pain. The Givi rack turned out to be a problem with it's sticking out the side grab rail blocking where the velcro straps should go. A bit of stretching and I made it work, but it's gonna be a right pain to get the seat off and on now. A better long term solution may be needed.

After riding with them for a bit I can say that I'm still really pleased. Sensibly sized; they stick out no further than the handlebars, they stay on well, they will sit in place (against the rear shocks) without any support rails; they sit far enough back to allow a passenger to use the footpegs comfortably; they're super waterproof; they weight practically nothing. I also embarrassingly dropped the bike for the first time, with two people and a lot of baggage while stopped at a junction right by my house on the way home. The bag acted as a little airbag and the result was not a single scratch. I'm not sure how strong they'll be in the long run, and I do think I need to get rails in the long run to avoid wear and sag.

Givi E45 Top Box

The Bonneville has no official plate, and the Givi rack I bought doesn't include any fixings. After a whole lot of research, I set my heart on a Givi E45 top box (and E250 universal mounting plate). The plate was easy to buy all over the place and about £30 (overpriced for a hunk of plastic and some screws IMO). The box was about £120 new including postage and looked easy to get hold of. Well, in theory.

The reasons for wanting the E45 were basically:

• It's about the right size - Will hold two helmets and 50+ litres may be a bit large for the bike.
• It's cheap for what it is - The newer Givi models go for £50-100 more.
• It looks better than those anyway! The angular, simple, clean design vs the curved, over styled, scooter-friendly look of most Givis is way better suited to the Bonneville.

I tried an couple of ebay listings without success and eventually settled for a new one from motorcycleplanet.co.uk along with the fixing plate. Then a day later they phoned to explain that they had the box on order from Givi in Italy, but they'd had loads on order and none being sent. Props to Motorcycle Planet - the lady who phoned was very up front and said she though Givi were discontinuing them but not telling anybody, and I could cancel or join a waiting list. She sent the rest of my order onfree shipping which was only meant to apply if I spent >£150. Meanwhile I found a few more places selling E45s... and chasing up with each of them they eventually conceded that they also had no stock.

I did a bit more ebay chasing but various listings slipped past me. Eventually I found a guy selling a pair (since they also work as panniers) for £130 and decided I'd take it and sell one on. The same day the MP lady phoned to confirm they'd been discontinued. A real shame as it's obviously popular and Givi aren't replacing it with anything similar.

I strapped one box in the other and couriered them from way out west London back to south east London. Not sure I would not recommend doing this again... the open double box setup resulted in some wobbly handlebars and general feeling of not being very stable.

The box is absolutely perfect though. Looks way better than expected, takes both my helmets and almost even looks appropriate on the Bonnie! I'd totally recommend them, if you can find one!

Givi Bonneville Rack Fitting

I went with the Givi SR226 luggage rack in th end for the T100. £165 new inc delivery from ‘nativeviking’ on ebay. Took a couple of days to arrive, well packed, looks great and well made.

Downside was having to loose the official grab rail, which is gorgeous.

This should be an easy task, but god was it a bitch… I doubt the rail had ever been removed so that’s basically 8 years of corrosion. Took a hell of lot of elbow grease to get the 4 back bolts below out.

At the front, the two side bars looked like they both behind the rear shocks. Assumed I could remove the shocks and they’d just come off.. No. Turns out they are bolted right into the frame on the inside by an allen key bolt, with about 1 cm gap between the bolt and the rear mudguard. WFT? After some attempts to get to the bolt - not possible - I realised the only way was to remove the mudguard. Which was almost impossible. It’s held on with 4 little torx/star bolts (you can see two in the middle about), but one was so worn it took about half an hour with a succession of pliers and screwdrivers and help from my neighbour to get it off. Seriously, this was over an hour to remove 6 bolts!

Below shows the left bolt hole from the inside once the mudguard and rack were both off. You can see a semicircle cut into the plastic bit the battery sits in, which the bolt was also jammed against.

The new rack went on super easy. This time it bolts on the outside of the shocks. Thanks god. Only downside was the existing shock bolts were too short so had to switch for some slightly ugly ones that came with the rack. Will hopefully replace at some point. Was worried the whole thing would be a bit modern and industrial looking, but IMO it looks great.

1st Group Bike Run

I joined the GBMCC a month back and headed out for my first big group run, to Poole Quay on the south England coast.

A great bunch of guys, on a wide range of bikes, over about 250 miles. London -> Marlborough -> Poole -> London.

The roadside shot is from the Marlborough to Poole section, where I wound up in a little Triumph rolling advert! I don't think I'd realised just how much I've been suck on 20-30 mph London roads, or 70+ mph motorways; was great to actually ride on fast rural back roads for a change.

Poole is an interesting spot. A huge inland bay with an island in the middle, where the water is both warm and only knee deep 100s of meters out. Like a huge natural bath basically.

Luggage Options for a Bonneville

Google for Bonneville panniers/top box/luggage and most of the results are forum posts where other people are trying to figure out what the heck is available! And with plenty of "why would you put luggage on a Bonneville" comments ;) It seems there’s now basically no official, or at least easy to get hold of, luggage mounting option for the Bonneville/T100 models. Sure the bike is pretty and retro and the advertising is aiming at going for a sunday afternoon drive... but this is an 800+ cc all purpose machine and you still want to take a damn bag with you sometimes...

Its worth adding that third party triumph accessories seem to be more easily available in the US. I’m just covering what you can get relatively easily in the UK, and based on a couple of weeks of forum and website trawling. I haven’t seen any racks for sale in an actuals hop in London, despite it’s fair share of stores including official Triumph dealers.


Hepco and Becker:  http://www.hepco-and-becker-luggage.co.uk/

These guys do separate pannier rails and top box racks, or a combined version. Not cheap but not horrifically pricey if you want the combined one, which is £215. Probably the best looking of the two main options, but a bit OTT in the chrome department. It’s designed to hold their own boxes, which are pretty expensive (you'll pay £500 for their cheaper 3 box sets). I'm not a fan of the looks of any of those boxes and I’m not sure how easy they can be adapted to hold anything else. Given how on the Norman Hyde ones you have to move the rear indicators to make room, but on these you don't, I suspect the boxes mount too far forward to be comfortable/practical when you've got a passenger.


Norman Hyde:  https://normanhyde.co.uk

These guys do a separate rear rack (part HBK174, £120) and pannier frames (part HBK175, £125). Designed to take Givi boxes, so it’s easy to fit the most popular/easy to find boxes. The rack is functional but dull and I’m slightly concerned by how short it is and the angular grab rail. The side rails are black, which I’m not a huge fan of, but more importantly you have to relocate the indicators onto the weird poles sticking out the back so that boxes will fit. Some people have hacksawed those off and bought narrower tail light sets to fit between the bags. Seems like a lot of hassle/cost and once again the smaller lights are easier to get in the States (e.g. from www.newbonneville.com). Total of £245 makes them pricier than the H&B set.

Rentec:  http://www.renntec.co.uk/triumph_bonneville_sports_rack_carrier

This is the low end option. Top box only and looks very much like the Norman Hyde one. Reports of it’s strength seem to vary greatly. Rentec’s own disclaimer basic says it’s not meant to carry top boxes at all, just “luggage”, despite the website encouraging you to buy their huge 50L box on the same listing. Hmm. Sounds like spineless insurance back-covering to me, but didn’t fill me with confidence. At £100, it’s also not much cheaper than the NH one.

Givi:  http://www.givi.co.uk/My-motorcycle/?ma=TRIUMPH&mo=Bonneville-865

The biggest case manufacturer do their own rack. Part no SR226. This baby sells for £170-200(!) so def on the pricey side and also a slightly unusual design as it’s elevated with the grab rails to the sides. No official side rails/pannier racks for the Bonnie.

Official pannier rail kit:  

I’d seen these mentioned on forums but couldn’t find any official reference. Eventually got a quote from my local Triumph dealer’s part finder service: “A9738022 PANNIER RAIL KIT”, £106






Choices, Choices
After some box and pannier research, I decided I might as well go with something that will take Givi boxes. I quite like the H&B set, but the cost of their boxes and the fact you're locked into their parts meant it wasn't worth it. I didn't want the hassle of the Norman Hydes, and going on the lack of decent options plus cost I decided I'm probably better getting a decent large top box now and looking into soft panniers later (maybe via the nice minimal official rails)

Despite the cost, I went with the Givi rack. I quite like the design, it’s different and modern, but clever and doesn't look cheap like the Hyde and Rentec ones. It's also tough and guaranteed to fit their boxes. Plus the side grab rails will be better for pillions: nicer angle, more freedom of movement, no bar digging into your back, and when the box is on, it wont be right up against the grabs stopping them being used like the others will. I found them selling relatively cheap on ebay from these guys. Two days delivery, free postage, £165, sold! http://myworld.ebay.co.uk/nativeviking?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

Here’s a good couple of forum posts that helped me out. The second has some nice DIY side box mounting on the official rails which I might copy...

• http://www.triumphrat.net/twins-talk/117172-givi-luggage-help-needed.html
• http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=782036

Fitting a USB Power Cable

I wanted:

• USB socket (everything I would want to power for now is USB)
• Cable of sensible length to get from battery to handlebars
• Waterproof, including socket and preferably so I 
• High enough amperage to charge a phone/tablet/camera (at least 1.5 amps, pref 1.8 - 2.1)

After some hunting around, I found there are lots of options for power cables, but not many that were appropriate. Lots are designed to wire into fairing/dashboards. The standard power plug for bikes seems to be the Powerlet/ISO4165/BMW Accessory Plug (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_4165) - basically a slightly smaller cigarette lighter. There’s loads of cables with those, or regular cigarette lighter sockets, and then you have to shell out on adaptors and waterproofing for those.

So, I found 3BR’s “TAPP” ports, which are pretty ideal: http://www.3brpowersports.com/products.php See here for a write-up: http://www.webbikeworld.com/r4/waterproof-power-ports

But, they’re slow and/or expensive to get in the UK and I was in a hurry (wanted for the weekend) so instead went for these from Powerlink plus one of their “splashproof” short cables. Probably not amazing quality, but arrived 2 days later for a total of £25.

Fitting was theoretically very easy, but eventful due to my own stupidity…

How to fit:

• Remove seat (allen key bolts at the back)
• Disconnect battery: unscrew negative terminal first then positive second, push existing cables out of the way
• realise that, as usual we’ve fallen foul of the worlds most annoying immobiliser, and reconnect the battery
• turn alarm off and put bike in service mode (alarm on, ignition on, hold alarm key till it beeps, engine off) and disconnect battery
• put up with annoying service mode beeping every 15 seconds till finished
• I realised there’s no where to fit the cable along the frame and it wouldn’t be secure, so the only option was to remove the tank and run the cable underneath it along with the other cables
• I cheated and just unscrewed the two tank bolts, lifted the tank for leverage and fed the cable through underneath…
• Remove the inline fuse and tape the open fuse cap to the cable to protect it and get rid of sharp edges. do the same with the cable ends

• Run cable battery-terminals-end first, downwards through the left hand loop beside the clocks along with the existing cables (do that first as it wont fit through socket first if you do it last… as I discovered on attempt number 1!) 

• Feed cable through gap under other cables on left side of tank…

•  …and out under the full/reserve switch

• Then feed up through the gap under the tank bolts, pulling out with pliers

• Remove tape, put fuse back, screw wires into battery with other cables (negative then positive)
• Use a couple of cable ties to fix to other cables to keep it in place
• Apologise to neighbours everytime you see them for setting off the alarm at 7am