Almost here…

[Squonk]

One further thing came out of my visit to the Italian BMW Dealership -

They were unhappy with the SW Motech tankbag mount fitted to the filler surround, stating that BM believe that the additional loading from the weight/stress of the bag may possibly be causing some of the filler caps to stick.

First time I’ve heard that suggestion, perhaps the same applies to the similar Givi mount too?

I found with the Givi ring (very similar) that loosening the bolts ever so slightly was enough to restore the fuel cap to functionality, and once I found the sweet spot it never troubled me again. My feeling was that the bolts being over-tightened was the root of the problem, however it did seem odd that it would be so fickle.

[Steve398]

Having read through my posts re. the fuel cap I realise that I hadn’t explained the situation well at all. I was attempting to make two points -

I’ve had the Motech mount fitted for at least two years and had no problem with it at all, it wasn’t over-tightened and so wasn’t what was causing the problem in this case.
The problem that the Italian dealers found was grit/dust in the mechanism and a lack of lubrication.

They also, as a different issue, advised me that BMW did not like the Motech mount as it could possibly cause a problem with the filler cap by the weight of the bag causing undue stress to the filler cap surround, an advisory that I hadn’t heard before and thought it worthy to bring to the attention of others.

My apologies

[burridge01]

On the point of lubrication, did they recommend any specific lube.

[Steve398]

No, they just squirted some lube in and checked it worked a few times. Job jobbed!

[burridge01]

You off anywhere nice today,post a few photos up to brighten our gloomy summer days

[Steve398]

Coffee and cake near Nidri, the tinsel town of Lefkada Island. We stayed about 10 miles away when we came over to celebrate Debs 60th Birthday a few years back and this Patisserie made the cake… yummy enough that we popped down for more.

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But the point of today was to find these, our latest purchase, to enable me in changing across to the new adapter when I pick it up on 1st July. Finest Chinese quality @ €3.50 the pair!

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[Steve398]

Happy pics.. Palairos is a lovely place we discovered last year after having returned to the tiny village of Mikros Gialos for many years. Mikros is real hideaway local fishing port down the bottom of Lefkada Island with only one family who live there all year long, the rest were summer restauranteurs generally from Athens. Originally accessed by a fairly torturous and steep winding road it no doubt put many visitors off, but recent road upgrades have led to many more tourists being able to get to the beaches, good for the restaurants who have also raised their game, but in the process lost the personal touch… so off we set for new horizons.

Debs, my patient passenger and changer of pre-booked hotels at the last minute (another story) found both Mikros and Palairos after diligent searching on her tiny iPhone, she did a good job on the first one so I’m not arguing. We went twice last year and stayed at a local site, but this year she put a wanted ad on FB and came up with our current stay… clever lady, it’s great. Palairos is a working fishing port (again) but has more restaurants than Mikros, however these are tempered by a busy local community that stops it being over commercial.

Our accommodation is way up on the hill overlooking the harbour and seafront, absolutely lovely even though I hate walking up hills! The Granny flat is just incredible, and our host a great bloke
BUT there’s always a fly in the ointment isn’t there? And our fly is the ‘driveway’…. Over 200 metres of very roughly spread concrete with deep scored ruts to provide grip and run-off no doubt, but it’s hellish steep so don’t let the pics deceive you it’s STEEP, first gear slipping clutch steep with loose patches of concrete dust, gravel, dirt, plus dips, high patches and changes of gradient. The first few times I rode up it I was looking for a route that also incorporated soft bits where I could lay the bike down, add 2-up with a months worth of luggage and it wasn’t fun. There’s always a big sigh of relief when I get to the top unscathed, and going down, although not as bad is still a breath-holding trip. Enough of the fly!

Local restaurants are great, supermarkets deliver free of charge, including coffee! The beaches are generally shingle, but the sea’s clean and the views fab (that ages me doesn’t it?) the best bit is that we’re here for another 23 days

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[Steve398]

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[burridge01]

Crackin photo's, looks a quality destination. Maybe in a couple of years I'll get there,almost done Spain/Portugal/France/Germany etc and the rest of the local stuff to death.

[Steve398]

You’re one up on me, I’ve not done Spain or Portugal yet. Debs 2nd year on the bike in 2012 was on this trip, and our longest so far.

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[burridge01]

My longest was for my 50th on the VFR1200, 13 country's in 6 weeks,what a trip we had

[Steve398]

A bike I always fancied, had a test ride and loved it. Then rode the Crosstourer and hated it.
If Honda had completed their project for making the VFR1200 Pan I’d have bought one in a heartbeat.

[burridge01]

The VFR1200 is a brilliant bike,superb engine(was like a missile coming out of Poland ) let down by no cruise control and needed a bigger tank.Build quality on the tinware was shocking.I spent the best part of £500 with Pro-Bolt replacing fasteners. I put the crap I took of and stuck it on ebay,got a threatening message telling me to take it down
Should have updated the Bird, best bike I've ever ridden.

[Steve398]

It was a great bike, but only if you fitted it. I took it to France when I was living there and toured on it a lot, but I was never really comfortable? Too short on leg space, too long a stretch on the arms.

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[Steve398]

To coin a phrase - it ain’t half hot Mum!

35c here yesterday and today, and a breeze that feels like it’s coming straight off the Gobi Desert. In fact too hot to do anything after about 11am, so we snuck out early to grab a coffee and a diet-busting sticky Greek cake that resembles a Shredded Wheat stuffed with nuts and soaked in honey.

The local supermarkets here deliver free of charge bless ‘em, which is a real joy because Palairos is a very hilly town and we’re staying way up. So our dastardly plan was to pop into the shop and get enough for them to offer delivery, and then also get the offer of them dropping us off at the same time. Success!

Hopefully it’ll be bearable by about 6pm to chuck ourselves into the sea before dinner, then off for fried anchovies, a Greek salad, and very cold local Mythos beer.

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