Big Meet - Leyburn

Helen and I went out yesterday with NUKB on the end of year big meet, which was held at Leyburn this time.

Helen and I met with a couple of guys at Pilsworth McDonalds and then headed up to met with CJ and the rest guys at Clitheroe services at around 10:00am.

We left Clitheroe at around 10:30am and headed for Skipton on the A59, but soon turned off at Sawley and took our usual route to Settle via Wigglesworth and Rathmell.

We left Settle and took the B6479 through Horton-in-Ribblesdale towards Ribblehead Viaduct. We then turned right at the Viaduct onto the B6255 towards Hawes. I had gone off ahead to have a more progressive run by myself and then waited at Hawes for the rest of the group to catch back up. We left Hawes on the A684 and headed towards Leyburn. We soon arrived in Leyburn and met up with the other guys from the North-East and Yorkshire arms of NUKB.

I left Leyburn with Camsdad and Mick for a more progressive run to Devil’s Bridge. We headed back towards Hawes on the A684. We then headed through Hawes and continued on the A684 to Sedbergh. We had a good run to Sedbergh, although Mick and I got stuck behind a Blackbird who was accelerating hard on the straights. We arrived in Sedbergh were the Bird let us past and then we turned left onto the A683 towards Kirkby Lonsdale. We had a really good run on the A683 and soon arrived at Devil’s Bridge and stopped for a coffee and regrouped up with some of the other regions.

The Lancs run broke up here and I led a small group back to Clitheroe. We left Devils on the A65 towards Skipton and then stopped briefly in Ingleton for fuel. From Ingleton we continued on the A65 before turning off before Clapham and heading over Burn Moor and past Stocks Reservoir. We then turned right onto the B6478 and headed through Slaidburn and then over Waddington Fell and down into Clitheroe. From Clitheroe we followed the A59, A671 and then the A56/M66 back home.

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Short Run to Sedbergh

I went out yesterday with NUKB on a short run to Sedbergh.

I met up with CJ and the rest guys at Clitheroe services at around 10:30am. We headed for Skipton on the A59 and then turned left in Gisburn onto the A682 towards Long Preston. At Long Preston we joined the A65 and followed that into Settle where we stopped for a quick break.

We left Settle and took the B6479 through Horton-in-Ribblesdale towards Ribblehead Viaduct. We turned right at the Viaduct onto the B6255 towards Hawes. This road looks a little different now as the forest on the right of the road near to Dodd Fell has all been cut down. We soon arrived in Hawes but as it was quite busy we decided not to stop for too long.

We left Hawes on the A684 and headed towards Sedbergh. The last time we went on this road, earlier in the year it had suffered very badly from the severe cold and was potholed to death. Thankfully it has been recently resurfaced and now has a lovely smooth surface. We had a good run to Sedbergh and then turned left onto the A683 towards Kirkby Lonsdale. The A683 is a very fast road and allows you to stretch the legs of any bike if you so wish. We soon arrived at Devil’s Bridge and thankfully most of the bikers were starting to leave so we were easily able to get some food from the van.

We left Devils and headed on the A683 towards Caton. As we left Caton Debs and I parted ways with the rest of the group and turned right onto minor roads towards Quernmore. In Quernmore we turned left and headed into the Forest of Bowland. We took the most direct route to Dunsop Bridge via the Trough of Bowland, here we found some rain but it didn’t last too long. From Dunsop Bridge we continued onto Newton where we joined the B6478 and headed through Slaidburn and over Waddington Fell to Clitheroe. I then took my usual route home via the A56/M66.

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New Exhaust for ZX-9R

I have recently bought a second hand exhaust off Ebay for the Nine. I got it for a bargain price and except for a minor mark on the inside (which I have managed to cover with the exhaust hanger) it is in excellent condition. The exhaust came with the hanger and a link pipe and was very simple to fit. It is a round Scorpian exhaust in Blue, it doesn’t contain any baffles so is presumably a race pipe and not road legal. Although it doesn’t say so anywhere on it, the previous owners bike also passed the MOT with it on.

I took the nine out for a 98 mile spin on Saturday over to Holmfirth and onto Saddleworth Moor. The exhaust has a nice deep throaty sound to it and is not over noisy, but could certainly not be described as quiet. The bike seemed to be happy with the exhaust, so I don’t think any further setup of the bike will be required. Although I will be giving the carbs a re-sync at some point.

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