InvictaMoto's Döra the Explörer

Döra has gone to a new home after two years.

Destination Boulogne. Döra and I set off in good time. After the strike and rioting by migrants in Calais, both ferry and shuttle services had been suspended. In the end it was plain sailing into the terminal and checking in was a couple of minutes. Then we found the service had a twenty minute delay! I took a few photos once underway! The train has lots of bikes all, except me, going to Assen for the TT. The plan was simply to head down the coast road, have coffee, have lunch and then return. The first stop was Escalles for coffee only to find the usual cafe by the campsite is closed on a Wednesday. Next Wissant. Market day and access to the square blocked! So I headed towards the Todt Battery and found a new(ish) hotel and brasserie. Perfect for that first coffee of the day. Todt Battery As it was lunchtime perhaps a little light lunch. Croque Monsieur. I hadn't expected chips and salad. In the end I ate the croque and h...

I've had a day trip ticket for me and the bike for a while and with it running out I decided, after a courtesy call from Eurotunnel, to book it sooner rather than later. So June 24th I have a half day across the Channel. I should have been more adventurous but in the end I decided to go out about 1030 and come back about 1600. The way the trains run at this time of the year meant I could only book 1020 and 1550. Other trains full or at least no motorcycle spaces left. I'm still getting back into biking again and starting to enjoy the freedom. Fingers crossed that the weather holds up. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Picked her up about 11am today and had a chat in the shop. Had a look at a couple of Rocket 3's outside. The latest X model, only 500 for sale worldwide and 50 in UK, looks very big and butch, but outside my wallet! There is another 2011 model. Loads of extras and more in my price range.... But depends on Döra's value. I set off and waved at Claire who was waiting but I had little or no petrol. All the trips had been reset so I have to set another in the mpgcalc app. Nerdy I know but I like to know the stats. The first ride for three months was okay. It was good to be back on the bike again. The slow relaxed gave 63.2 mpg on the display. It's Meldrew's monthly meeting this Sunday so hopefully I can get some more miles under my belt. Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone Location: Peregrine Close,Hythe,United Kingdom

Döra is fixed. Yay! A late call from Laguna came, when I was at cardiac rehab, that I missed as phones have to be off in the rehab area.  By the time I got a signal it was too late to pick her up tonight.  British Bike Night definitely missed. Jim at Laguna said that they had put in a warranty claim to Triumph for the alarm and the battery, and although they had turned down the battery claim, they had approved the alarm claim! The choice they had for me was to fit it, or not fit it and credit me with the cost of it to my account that effectively writes off the current bill as it stands.   As the alarm is a PITA I took the second option: no alarm and the credit to my account. So I will pick her up tomorrow morning and it will be my first ride since the end of March.

I was hoping that  Döra would be back so that my first ride since the heart-attack would be home obviously and then to the British Bike Night up the road at Charing in Kent.  This event is every June and mainly for classic bikes. The old bikes park in the car-park and modern bikes go in the adjoining fields. But it was not to be.  Laguna called to say that the alarm was dead/kaput and the wanted to confirm that I wanted it to be removed and leave it at that.  They had fitted a new battery.  The bill would be, with labour, about £200. Gulp. I said if it was definitely kaput then go ahead and remove it. Fingers crossed.

Döra continued to warble all Sunday and into Monday morning.  I stuffed a few towels around the unit to dull the noise.  We couldn't hear it in our house, but think maybe the neighbour nearer the garage might have. Come Monday I pulled her out onto the drive and before half eight  called the Carol Nash Breakdown  (CN) number and logged a call.   Breakdown cover is provided as part of the annual insurance with CN.  There are cheaper policies and there are other breakdown services available. But every year I look and add the two together and CN have always come out cheaper and the service has always worked.  Luckily (touching wood!) I have used the breakdown service but nothing else. Phew. Some 75 minutes later, a large van from SOS Recovery appeared on the drive. Together we pressed buttons on the key fob, all to no avail. I called Laguna and they said to bring it in. So we loaded Döra into the van and he set off as I finished booking ...

The solar panel wasn't much of a success. So, instead I pulled the bike over to right outside the house and outfit on the mains powered charger.  It was on the high setting and gradually some life came back as the alarm light started to flash in the rev counter. The problem seems to be with the alarm. The charger shows a yellow light for charging and a green light for charged. Both are on! The alarm doesn't chime or flash the indicators on disarm but occasionally flashed on arm. I gave it five hours on high charge and once I managed to disarm I tried to see if it would start. Putting the key in had the clocks lit up and it looked okay but the starter was dead. I decided to put it away and for hours the alarm has been warbling with a faint peeping... Tomorrow I'll call the breakdown and if they can't sort it Döra will have to go to Laguna. - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

In an attempt to make the most of the sunny weather I got out the solar charger I bought before the holiday and attached it to the bike.  It was on all day and er.... nothing. I should have used it whilst I was away but there is nowhere to put it securely where it won't get stolen! The idea I had was that we would use my car to go on holiday, and Claire's would stay at home.  The panel would go on the back shelf of her Corsa and the wires out the tailgate and into the garage to the bike's battery. Great idea except my car was at the repairers after is was smashed by a clown in a van , so we had to use the Corsa to go to the airport.   Big panel - no power to battery!!! It is supposed to output up to 15 watts and maintain a battery but I had expected seven hours in full sun that it might have out enough in to get the alarm to deactivate but it didn't.  Looks like I'll have to push it over to the house and hook up the mains electric powered charger. ...

The side effect of having a minor heart attack is that I've not been able to ride Döra. I've been out and started her and let her run for a while. So when I got home from holiday I went to start her. Dead. The alarm wouldn't even light up. So looks like dragging her out and attaching some electrodes to her tender under seat parts and put a charge through her!!!! - Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Didn't go.  The heart attack on Easter Saturday put paid to that. I provided as much information as I could and the rest of the party went anyway and had a good day.

April 9th 2015.  The 98th anniversary of the Battle of Arras on the Western Front and the anniversary of the day that forces, mostly from Canada, climbed from their trenches and battled their way up the slope to capture and hold the enemy trenches on the high ground near Vimy to the north west of Arras. Dora and I went last year with the Laguna RAT Pack and I decided to have another visit with the Kent Centre and The Meldrews. I have the route lanned form the Shuttle calling in at the Loos battlefield and lunch in Lens before we arrive in time for a look around the visitor centre at Vimy and then walk across to the ceremony under the imposing twin towers of the Vimy Monument. Hopefully, the weather will be good and the twelve riders and passengers coming along will have a good day out. Report to follow.

After several months of planning the next "adventure" for Dora, Claire and me, to Norway, the project has gone on hold.  I am hoping to revive it in May and/or June 2016. I have the "Rough Guide", a road map plus a route or two safely stored in Tyre.

Dora's next adventure is to Norway.  See  Valhalla! I have a route and now need to see about ferries etc. Update 23rd February 2018 Valhalla blog was merged into DevallTravels some while back and the posts can be found here .

I had a few hours off after Reggie's visit to the vet (foot injury, no biggy) so I thought I'd fit the Givi tank ring to Döra. The OEM bolts were not too tight. Three long one short. I took them off in order, clockwise, long, short, long, long. I then present the "work" to where it should go. It's in three pieces. A lower metal half ring, sandwiching the plastic "cup" that the bag fits to and an upper ring. And here's the first drag, easily solved with a little sellotape. Just a small bit to hold the parts together. Smug. Then I slip in the new Givi bolts. Finger tight. Ah. The Allen key size is smaller than OEM. I don't have an allen bit for my driver that small! Job reset. Back to standard. Simple job bollocksed by not checking tools first!! Lunch. In the end I checked all the kits and tools in the garage and had nothing to match. So I had a jaunt in the jalopy to town and called in the Hobby-Shop.  We had a few m...

The new Givi tank bag arrived pretty quickly from Spain and Motocard. It is actually bigger than it looked on the website and even when you imagine the dimensions with the aid of a ruler. The quality can't be ignored. I like the idea of the "hard" material that gives it the shape.  It comes with a waterproof cover and a shoulder strap and is expandable for that extra pair of gloves or gift for the special person left at home. I will fit the tank-ring to Dora on Saturday and take some pictures for the blog and also for the Triumph Tiger Explorer group on Facebook. [Fitted to bike pics to follow - here]

Had a run out to the Blue & White to meet the other Meldrews and have a chat. I was a bit late as we were walking the dog on the beach at Dymchurch.    All in all, Döra managed another 20 miles!  Hardly enough time to warm the engine up. That's the problem when you have a life that seems to be getting busier and a £13k bike shut away in the garage. Another balancing act where something has to give and sadly it is Döra.

I currently use an Oxford magnetic tank bag. It's a small enough for those days when you just need somewhere for your spare specs and wallet but it also expands. But it is the magnets that are my concern. No matter how much you wipe the base of the bag, the magnets will start to scratch the paint.  So before the Spain trip last summer, I started to look at the Givi tank-lock system. In the end I shelved that as I had only recently bought the new top box and and inner bag! So with Spring approaching (sometime any way!) I decided to have another look. Prices don't seem to have changed much, and when Googling, the overseas shops seem to have prices about 20% cheaper than here. With postage taken into account they are still cheaper. So, I ordered the Givi 3D604 bag from Motocard . Delivery takes about a week and that's okay as I don't intend to use it for a while.

The weather has been pretty cold on occasions and so with other commitments poor Döra hasn't been out of the garage for over a month. So it was with some trepidation that I togged up and rolled her out onto the drive.  Alarm off, then press the button. Boom. First time start. Where to go?  I was going to give her a ride around the Marsh to give her a run. It was 4.5°C when I set off along Burmarsh Road towards the west right to the end then round to Newchurch then Ivychurch and then Old Romney.  The roads were generally traffic free which is a good thing as often they are less than two cars wide. The most fraught thing is meeting cyclists, either direction, who seem to have no sense of which side of the road to actually ride.  In the UK it's "keep left". From Old Romney I joined a few other bikes on the A259, most turned off towards Lydd and Camber. I carried onto New Romney and back home along the A259. Not far, but by the time I got home it was...