Pimping my ride

When I first got the bike the original mirrors gave me a good view of my arms, and very little of the road behind. At the first full service I got Jeff Hall's to fit some better mirrors, you can see them in the picture on the earlier post. These give a good view of everything behind, they vibrate a bit at higher speeds but are still usable - and the bike doesn't do much in the way of "higher speeds".

I've also noticed the difference not having a screen like on the X7, so I've bought the proper Suzuki thing to fit. It's quite small but should provide a bit of protection. The only problem has been that it is designed to mount on the original mirrors, and has the wrong threads for the new ones that I have just had fitted. I left the bike with Jeff Hall's for a couple of days and they have found some bits to make a good job of fitting it. See below.

Next issue - kit storage for two weeks on the road.

The Bike

I'm using the closest thing I can find to the ubiquitous small motorbikes that are used all over south-east asia. Small engine, usually about 100cc over there, 125cc here - semi-automatic gearbox (no clutch lever) - "step-through" frame - big spoked wheels with narrow tyres - fuel consumption over 100 mpg if you are careful. Basically a more modern version of the Honda C90 I passed my test on back in 1967. In Cambodia the desirable bikes are the Honda Wave, which is called the Innova over here, and the Suzuki Shogun, called the Address here, but no longer imported. Unfortunately Innovas are expensive to buy new (£2,300) and I couldn't find any second-hand ones nearby. However, I found a 2007 Address FL125 which had done 2300 miles for sale on eBay in Keighley. I got it for £785.65, and sold my Piaggio X7 scooter (fuel consumption 65 mpg) to Jeff Hall Motorcycles for £750.

For a review have a look at http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/features/why-suzuki-are-bringing-the-excitement-back-to-biking-455737.html

The Route

19/09 Sheffield to Jedburgh  189 miles
20/09 Jedburgh to Braemar via the Forth Bridge  151 miles
21/09 Braemar to Dunnet Head (Latitude  58° 40′ 21″ N)  196 miles
22/09 Dunnet Head to Fort Augustus  165 miles
23/09 Fort Augustus to Glencoe via Ardnamurcan Point (Longitude 6° 13′ 24″ W) and the Corran - Ardgour ferry  158 miles
24/09 Glencoe to Dumfries via the Hunter's Quay - McInroy's Point ferry  191 miles
25/09 Dumfries to Chester  171 miles
Rest day to allow for any breakdown in first week
27/09 Chester to Caerleon  142 miles
28/09 Caerleon to Wadebridge via the Severn Bridge  189 miles
29/09 Wadebridge to Exeter via Lizard Point (Latitude 49° 57' 30" N) and the Fowey - Bodinnick ferry  176 miles
30/09 Exeter to Dunstable  182 miles
01/10 Dunstable to Norwich via Lowestoft Ness (Longitude 1° 45' 50" E),  152 miles
02/10 Norwich to Sheffield via the Humber Bridge  212 miles

Introduction

Hi, thanks for visiting my blog. I'm Pete Bull, for my 60th birthday I want to raise some money for Golden Futures www.goldenfutures.org.uk, the charity which helps disadvantaged Cambodian children make a future for themselves when they leave care homes. Click here to visit my Virgin Money Giving webpage with more details

I am going to visit the furthest North, South, East and West points on the British mainland using a small 125cc motorcycle - the kind used as everything from the family car to a delivery truck in Cambodia. The journey of over 2,000 miles will avoid motorways, and I aim to complete it in less than two weeks. I will have to ride for about 6 hours a day, covering up to 190 miles a day.

Google Maps tells me that the total distance for my anti-clockwise route will be 2,274 miles. I will travel from Sheffield to Dunnet Head, Ardnamurchan Point, the Lizard and Lowestoft Ness before returning to Sheffield. The route crosses the Forth and Severn Bridges and, with a small diversion appropriate for a civil engineer, I will cross the Humber Bridge on the final day to complete the set of major UK suspension bridges.

Through Virgin Money Giving http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Peter_Bull, you can sponsor me and donations will be quickly processed and passed to Golden Futures. I will be funding all the costs of the trip, so everything I raise through sponsorship will go to help the children in Cambodia. If you can spare 1p a mile (£22.74) I will be really grateful, and an extra tenner for each of the suspension bridges will make me and the children even happier.

There will be an opportunity to display some advertising on the bike, and I will be issuing media releases before and during the challenge. So, if you are part of an organisation who would like to link yourselves with the aims of Golden Futures by making a more substantial donation, please contact me through the charity website www.goldenfutures.org.uk or by emailing info@goldenfutures.org.uk

Virgin Money Giving is a not for profit organisation and will claim gift aid on a charity's behalf where the donor is eligible for this. I really appreciate all your support and thank you for any donations.