Bits and bobs

Today I received a new tank cover that I ordered from 'Top Saddlery'. Looks to be top quality but it took a serious amount of stretching to get it over the tank! There are still a few wrinkles but I'm guessing that over time the cover will stretch and form to the shape of the tank better.

The bag is basically to protect the paintwork as gear in general is thrown over the tank. Take a look at the pic and see what you think. The mounting ball for my new RAM GPS mount can also be seen on the yoke.

In other news... It looks like I'm going to have to bring the tour forwards by ANOTHER week because I forgot all about a stage show I'm supposed to be going to see on the 14th June at the Echo Arena in Liverpool (Jeff Waynes musical of the War of the Worlds). D'oh, silly me...

When to go?

Well I've been toying with a few possible start dates for the trip, based around my shifts at work and the ferry timetables. After a quick chat with Matt this morning it looks like we're going to be good to go on Thursday 11th June! That's about 5 weeks before my original planned date so effectively I've got less time to cobble together the kit I need for the journey.

As far as I can see, the essentials I still need to get are a set of hard luggage to fit onto the bike and a small tent that packs down as small as possible. An MRA Vario touring screen would be nice too because the Powerbronze screen I have at the moment seems to direct most of the wind blast straight at my face, which can be a bit wearing on a long journey. It was already fitted to the bike when I bought it but I think it has to go! (See picture).

Well here we are...

Well I've finally taken the plunge and started a brand new blog to document my forthcoming trip to the Shetland islands by motorbike. In fact it's my first ever blog so if things go a bit awry then you'll have to forgive me. The whole 'social networking' thing has kind of passed me by, and it's only recently I've started to dabble.
It must be at least 10 years since I first thought about travelling to the far North. Not sure why, other than the fact that remote and sparsely populated places seem to hold some kind of attraction for me. More than once before I've made some half-hearted plans to head North, only for them to fall through, but somehow this time things seem to be coming together.
I was chatting to a mate at work, Matt, last week. Having a big touring bike himself, he's keen to come along on the trip. Well, at least as far as John 'O Groats before heading back South. So far, we're looking at going in early June. That should hopefully give me enough time to kit my bike out with some hard luggage and maybe a good touring screen to keep the worst of the windblast off me. I'll be making the journey on a Honda Blackbird CBR1100XX and Matt will be using a BMW 650GS.