We had originally planned to meet up with Tackler at Bikerboy's place in France but circumstances conspired to make us have to put the trip back a week.

I was due to have the bike ready for the first date but was WAAAY behind schedule with the main seal replacement. So much so that I hadn't the heart to tell Olaf the trip was hanging in the balance at the 11th hour. 

I dropped the kids to my brother an hour from home the night before departure and returned to the workshop at 10p.m. I already had the seal in and had to complete the reassembly, spline lube, side stand repair and general a service together with making some brackets for the dash pad to accomodate the bar risers Comberjohn had sent me.

This was the scene at 4 am. With the k75 driveshaft and FD fitted (my original was shot completely).


at 7.30am and the seal appears to be holding oil. No time for anything more than a short test ride.

showered, fed and packed by 11.30am, the weather looked promising..


Borjn took a spin over to Roslare with Olaf to see us off and by 4.30 we were loaded on the Ferry and underway.



A quick note at this stage to say how well the Irish Ferries vessel is equipped for bikes with lanes clearly demarked for each stand. The deck is fitted with 2 lashing eyes and each station has a clean strap and square of carpet to protect the seat and wheel chocks. The crew guide you between the rings, help you get the bike on the centre stand if necessary and leave you to get on with sorting yourself out.....we were treated to a mill pond crossing to Roscoff of 18hrs.



There were quite a few bikes from Northern Ireland like this father, daughter and dog trio heading to spain on a k1200. We chatted on board and bumped into them again at our first fuel stop ....


Day one rained persistently until evening where a clearing sky saw us find a lovely camping ground on a farm down the west coast of France near LaRochelle..


More to follow.....

looks like the trip so far was well worth the effort you put in

Good start Will...I await the next chapters of your adventure with great interest.
So pleased that your bike came together just in time.

just wondering ...you must have slept all the way to france on the "barge"
mighty effort there will ....

We had an excellent 3 star cabin, en suite with television too and complete with motorbike soundtrack effects. Perfect for the crossing, it would have taken two more on the floor in sleeping bags.

The route from Angouleme down to Perigueux was one of the better ones and a great surface.

The Ks performed flawlessly as expected. The L T and RT fairings really do the business in the wet so the rain never spoils things.

The K will comfortably carry everything you need for a very extended trip and will cruise on motorway or winding roads. A sudden and unexpected handling issue was traced to a similar sudden reduction in rear tyre pressure underlining the sensitivity of the K to tyre pressures. Once restored everything went back to normal. I had changed the rear shock the night before leaving and I was concerned this might have been a cause.

Looking forward to more posts from 88KE!!

Hi Guy's

Enjoy the adventure looking forward to further updates on progress

Pat

Day 2 dawned dry with an ominous sky to the west and the forecasters had promised rain. They weren't wrong, worse luck! 

We managed to strike camp and get packed before the rain became heavy and headed into La Rochelle. As we circled the city, following signs for La Plage and the Casino we rolled slowly through the streets and traffic lights absorbing the atmosphere of the town and the architecture. By the time we found the sea front it was really chucking down so we retreated tot he comfort of a posh Restaurant overlooking the beach and the bay and enjoyed a superb lunch whilst discussing an alternative plan to our original route. It simply wasn't the day for a run down the Bay of Biscay! Not with a café gourmand to finish.



We headed inland for Cognac and Angouléme after lunch and the further inland we got, the better the weather, until the Sun eventually pushed through and we enjoyed Rolling hills, miles of nurtured vineyards and sweeping bends all the way to Cognac.Ah Cognac home of brandy the thouhts of which alone were  leaving me ....


Olaf found a silly party hat conveniently left beside the road.....


We moved on in lovely sunshine....these were the roads we had come for, well surfaced sweeping curves and sincerely bike conscious, courteous car drivers. Not to mention the constant waves from other bikers.

As night fell weather conditions closed in again and we were slowing down. Olaf was dropping back and eventually I stopped to urge him to eat something as I feared he was getting too tired. It was only then that I realised I had left the rear brake switch spring off my bike on reassembly and the bright additional LED's were blinding him through the rain drops on his screen. One of my headers had loosened too and I was calling my bike a HDmw!

Bikerboy was waiting for us in Roufignac to guide us the last few kilometers to His home where he and Jude would provide superb hospitality for the next few days. They kindly offered us a bed for the night which sounded far more attractive than pitching tents in the dark and rain at the end of about 480kms of riding. Oh course we reluctantly accepted the offer   

Day 3 we took a days rest off the bikes and did a little drying of gear, pitching of tents and some bike maintenance. Bob fabricated a spring for me with some stainless steel wire and devilishly clever aircraft maintenance tools. I directed from the safety of a coffee mug. The French do amazing coffee EVERYWHERE. We retreated in the afternoon for some lunch to the "La Roque St. Christophe". After a very tasty "Menu du Jour" we did a tour of the Troglodyte City remains,
Bob doubling as a tour guide for us talking through the 55,000 years that humans have lived here (his knowledge of history of the area is really impressive). I was in my element. 
 

ahhh  

magnificent !

ahhhh


magnificent!


oohh la laa

magnifique!

awaiting with baited ( bated) breathe for more, nice pics btw. Le Irish on tour.

It looks as though you had a great time.  Your post brought back memories of a holiday I spent in the area about 20 years ago.  I wasn't on a bike at the time; nevertheless it was such a fantastic area to tour.

Keep the reports coming and enjoy the trip.

La Roque St. Christophe

Hey, I've been there.  When did you ......? Oh, that's right a week after my visit.   

TacKler wrote:La Roque St. Christophe

Hey, I've been there.  When did you ......? Oh, that's right a week after my visit.   

 You mean here?

Nice footage bikerboy...