Tango

I pay tax and social charges here in France at the moment. Interestingly, I have a medical travel card issued by the health service here which I need for medical assistance in the UK if I need any treatment there whilst on holiday or visiting there!

Not until I officially retire, Pete. At the moment I'm paying tax and social charges on my income in France. Once I start drawing my state pension from the UK I will need to get an S1 form from the DWP in Newcastle and then the UK will start paying my medical charges here.

I wince when I see an advert for a 20 year old bike that's "only done 10000 miles"! Instant red flag to me!

You should be thanking me for paying in for 46 years so that you could reap the benefits!

I like Allen Millyard's videos on his bike builds. He's a boring bugger, but a fucking brilliant engineer!

I watched his report on the new Honda Transalp 750 from the press launch in Portugal a few days back and agree that it was one of the better reviews.

Is that Neevesy from MCN?

Yeah, there was a guy (can't remember his name) in the other place that bought a pretty decent 1200GS, but the active suspension went down the shitter after a very short while and it cost him a fortune to get it sorted. My experience with BMWs, both bike and car, has been tainted, and they're generally out of my price range anyway.

Yeah, Missenden Flyer got a lot of flack over that Interceptor!

That's very true, but sometimes you need to narrow the search a bit, rather than test riding everything. Then there's the issue of, yeah, the bike is ok on a test ride, but is it likely to fall apart after a couple of months. So I quite like then looking at some of the longer term ownership videos, to see how the bike holds up to having a few miles racked up on it. RocketMan had a BMW FR900 from new for a short while, but he had several issues with it, which the dealer didn't seem too bothered to sort out, so he got shot of it. So, a test ride may tell you whether the bike suits you immediately, but longer reviews like his can raise possible red flags.

Itchy Boots seems quite popular for her travel videos.

That's certainly something we can consider.

It's a bit different in France, Pete. The state healthcare generally covers you up to 75% of the cost and you can pay the other 25% yourself or have a kind of top-up insurance to cover it. As it happens, full-time employees in France get the top-up insurance as part of their package, so Mandy gets that, which also covers me. I am booking a private room, because I'm an unsociable bastard, which will cost a little extra over what is covered by the insurance. I think it's about 65€ a night over what's covered. In effect, all hospitals in France are private, but the state healthcare system reimburses them directly and the insurance, if you have it, generally does the same, or you pay it and they reimburse you directly.

Thanks for your considered reply @Pedro. I've said that we could just do a few local bimbles to see how she feels. I'm also considering getting a bike with better 2-up capabilities, so she could ride pillion if we wanted to travel a little farther afield. At least until she gets her mojo back.

Yeah, I think that a bad bike really can do it! My Triumph Trophy 900 was generally a good bike, but it was a barge and really didn't suit the sort of riding that I was doing (except the trips to the NEC bike show in December, where the full fairing and heated grips really did come into their own). So I gradually rode it less and less! The only reason I bought it in the first place was because it was all I could afford at the time!

Bike Reviews: Missenden Flyer - I quite like some of his reviews, but do get annoyed when he lists subjective opinions in the Pros and Cons. His nighttime videos of the lighting of the bike being reviewed is always preceded by "the GoPro really doesn't show how good these lights are...." MotoBob - Not bad, but I've yet to hear him proclaim as bike as a bag of Shite! RocketMan - I find his reviews to be a bit more balanced and he will say if he thinks a bike is a bag of Shite! Darcy and the Old Man - most bikes are quite good, but not as good as Harleys! Should appeal to @Buckster!

I guess that there's different categories that are covered. Bike reviews - varying degrees of reviews of new or old bikes Bike ownership reviews - longer term reviews of Bike ownership Bike travels - more travelogue than Bike specific reviews Biker lifestyle - more about the general lifestyle around biking. Any others that you can think of?

I guess that there could be many and varied reasons for it, @Clive, but sometimes it's hard to really put your finger on one specific reason?

Had an interesting conversation with Mandy at the weekend about biking. Her bike has sat in the garage since we moved in and, in fact, has probably done no more than a couple of hundred km's in the 2.5 years since we moved here. She says that, since her cancer, she has become more fatalistic about things and completely lost her biking mojo. Has anyone else found that something has happened that has shaken their biking mojo?

Do you watch any of them regularly? If so, which ones do you like/dislike?

Thanks. Yeah, it's under a GA, so I'll not be aware of anything until later in the day! Mandy isn't planning on coming in until the afternoon, so the humiliating pictures of me off my trolley may have to wait!