It’s tour on the 500 fortnight

[AndyB_11]

11 and 13; fuckin Box head sizes; the tool kit is proberly for a small BMW;

I was guessing as sizes, it turns out I had 10 & 12 but needed an 11. I took one of the lock nuts into the shop and an 11 open end fits but a ring is tight so it’s a fuck up. The big one is 30mm so I bought a 30mm combination spanner. €41 for the two because the only tool shop was a Wurth one and they’re always expensive.

The oil filler is tiny so after making a mess I came to my senses and made a cardboard funnel then it went from bottom of the sight glass to the top with very little input of oil but it’ll bun that off in a couple of days

Add in the cost of oil and chain lube and I’ve dumped €60 on the bastard thing.

 

[AndyB_11]

Lack of preparation if you ask me, and a man of your experience should know better . I suppose you will just have to ask ze germans.........

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

Cheeky bastard. All my preparations went into trying to get the Teutonic shit pile running so this was a proper last minute job.

 

[johnnyboy]

Cheeky bastard. All my preparations went into trying to get the Teutonic shit pile running so this was a proper last minute job.

Excuses, excuses.........

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[Wapping]

A spanner to fit the larger nut on the rear wheel spindle and the correct size one for the adjusters. The bike has 2 nuts on the spindle, you get a spanner for the smaller size and the adjusters are 12mm so they give you what appear to be 11 and 13mm.

I was guess the largest nut of the spindle.

A regards the adjusters, do you not have every Bikermates’ Must Have, the tactical Leatherman, with closing jaws?

 

[AndyB_11]

I was guess the largest nut of the spindle.

A regards the adjusters, do you not have every Bikermates’ Must Have, the tactical Leatherman, with closing jaws?

A Leatherman Crunch? Yes and no. Yes I’ve got one, no it’s not here

The rear wheel spindle is a bit of an oddity because it has 2 nuts and I’m not sure you should have to undo the bigger one but the spindle wasn’t moving back until I did so.

 

[AndyB_11]

We took the semi scenic route to Mühlhausen and it wasn’t too bad, no rain and of the 100 or so miles about 45 were on what I’d describe as B roads in the UK then we were on busier single carriageway stuff.

The 500 is still behaving itself and I had a German guy quizzing me about it and saying he really wanted one but they’re quite rare over here. The main question was is 27bhp enough? Well mine is obviously loaded up and I told him it was ok at about 100kph but overtakes need careful planning.

More importantly we’re at the brewery and I’ve kicked off with a decent sized glass of Pilsner

 

[Wapping]

My Himalayan picked up a lot of interest in France, just as your RE seems to be in Germany. The brand doesn’t seem so well known there.

Given the Frogs’ apparent liking for Rover and MG branded cars (something I never understand) RE should do well there.

 

[AndyB_11]

Fuck me but that was a shit ride today. It rained constantly for over 200 miles, my waterproof gloves aren’t and I stood up at some traffic lights in Chemnitz and realised I was shivering from the cold.

Our hotel seems to be a hostel for the local homeless but happy days are here again because there’s a micro brewery a couple of minutes from the homeless hostel where a pint costs about £2 and a fat bastard dinner under £15.

We’re off to the circuit tomorrow so the bike gets a few days off and hopefully the much vaunted heat wave will reach us at some point.

 

[Orinoco]

So why don’t RE supply the correct tools in the extensive toolkit to adjust the chain?

I could ask why I didn’t check before leaving is another question I could ask but at home I’d use my own tools.

I gather that's also an issue with the Himalayan kit, though I've never checked, must get around to that, but it's been reliable so far...

Enjoying the posts

 

[AndyB_11]

Well we made it to the circuit

 

[Wapping]

I see they are packing them in

 

[snelly]

Well we made it to the circuit

Just watching the free practice now; the camera man has just panned onto a pint of beer sat on the hillside; so it's safe to asume your there;;

 

[AndyB_11]

I see they are packing them in

At €16 for 4 pints I don’t care. It’s cheaper if we get local currency but for circuit prices that’s not bad.

We’ve also migrated for a different view

 

[AndyB_11]

Just watching the free practice now; the camera man has just panned onto a pint of beer sat on the hillside; so it's safe to asume your there;;

It’s a strange circuit because it’s very stretched out rather than being more of a traditional circular one but it’s not bad. We’ve gone pikey and not paid for grandstand seats but the views from the banking are good.

I’d say it’s worth a visit but it’s been not far short of 1k miles on a shit box 500cc single to get here

 

[AndyB_11]

Someone got lost…

 

[Posh Pete]

There's a memorial to Jimmy Guthrie on the old GP road circuit at the Sachsenring. If you're still there, it might be worth a visit and a pic?

 

[AndyB_11]

There's a memorial to Jimmy Guthrie on the old GP road circuit at the Sachsenring. If you're still there, it might be worth a visit and a pic?

We’re not that far from the Sachsenring but we’ve got a fairly big day on Monday when we migrate NW into Germany for a night in Rathenow so the only real decision is whether to use motorways or not.

 

[Posh Pete]

On the Enfield? Not, I would think! However, when needs must, I'm sure it will survive.

 

[Eddie Deguello]

hopefully the much vaunted heat wave will reach us at some point.

I think you might have jinxed that

 

[AndyB_11]

It’s not been bad today, we did the first 80 miles through Erzbirge which is always good but after that we hit the motorway for the next 160 miles because the projected time was horrendous and the forecast wasn’t great.