Nathan on tour - UK to Portugal

Nathan is off to Morocco via motorbike!
This is the first leg of the journey on his trusty Triumph Daytona 675. Off to a bumpy start: a last minute puncture makes the last ferry for 2 months a bit of a rush.

See http://nathan-lee.com/blog/2009/01/16/trip-report-uk-to-lisboa-portugal/ for the text/picture version and http://nathan-lee.com for other updates.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• motorcycle
• motorbike
• triumph
• daytona
• 675
• touring
• Portugal
• UK
• Spain
• nathan

[photonic101]

Nice vid Nathan. Looking forward to next part especially since I was planning to make a similar journey on my 675 this summer! :) Was wondering what you did to the bike to allow that much luggage on the back? Good luck with the rest of the trip!

[NathanAndBike]

Back in london now.. So will get the rest of the trip edited and up.. Bike luggage: side panniers are the triumph ones (they clip on to a cover that slips around the passenger seat) and I got a ventura rack with two bags (the big one and the 35Litre one zipped together).

A vast improvement over my earlier panniers + bag with bungy straps etc.. Plus for tip overs (which happen occasionally on "creative" camping spots) the ventura rack is great for leverage.

[photonic101]

Made it back in one pice then! :) Hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you find the Triumph panniers esp in terms of waterproofing? Do they move around at all once fitted or are they worth investing in? Thanks.

[NathanAndBike]

The panniers have a storm cover that is a very tight fit with them expanded. Then it works better if it has a hole in the bottom to let the rain out (strange though that sounds). Otherwise they tend to fill up from the stuff kicked up from wheel if expanded. So try to use them in the "shrunk" configuration if you want the storm cover to work better.

I put garbage bags inside and used them as an extra level of defence. :)

Real easy to put on and off though and nice big chunky zip/buckles.

[NathanAndBike]

Not sure which I prefer most out of ventura rack + bags and the panniers.

Panniers keep the weight down lower, ventura is more easily used space and options for sizes etc. And you can put a grab rail on for helping the poor high up passenger.

Both put up with whatever speed I went up to on freeways etc, so don't worry about that bit.

Both about as waterproof as each other (e.g. not very without their storm covers). Suggest garbage bags with both options.

[clopium]

Terrific stuff!! 5:55 to 7:40 - I couldn't agree with you more.

Where did you get the little compass?

[NathanAndBike]

It's a watch compass I picked up at a camping store. The trick is to find somewhere far enough away from metal and to roll off the throttle so it can point roughly to the right direction.

Essential for cloudy parts of the world! :)

I used to have a ball compass on my key, worked ok til it fell off and disappeared.

[NathanTouring]

haha.. No, still alive and well.. Got caught up with return to reality, though was looking through all the remaining footage the other day, should do part 2 huh..?

[javmktube]

Did Nathan have an accident and die? No part 2 for two years now. Hope he is ok.

[perfrahasle]

Hey when is part 2 comming?? been waiting for a long time now!? :)

[306Ian]

nice video, enjoyed it

[photonic101]

Thanks for the info! :)