Basically "Col" means pass... a route over a high point.... Narrow roads..... shear drops..... wandering animals.... my kind of motorcycling heaven.... and not something like the Stelvio with its straight, hairpin, straight, hairpin format but the out of the way ones where the map looks like someones dropped spaghetti on it..... Anybody can hang to the throttle in a straight line but, personally, I find that boring....
Straight roads and motorways are just a means to get to where the real riding starts.
So.... Useful bits of kit....
The usual items.... spare bulbs, fuses, relays, leatherman, roll of electrical tape and tools relevant to the bike ie screw, torx, allen, other drivers/ sockets to remove fairing panels etc.
Laser 4929 1/4" Drive Swivel Head Ratchet (they do make a 3/8" version to)
http://lasertools.co.uk/item.aspx?cat=1287&item=5393
Love this little ratchet.... use it as a ratchet... use it as a "T" bar.... use it as a screwdriver... and its a lot stronger than it looks... couple of sockets, an extension to take driver "bits" and your sorted.
Electric air pump and a tyre plugger kit.....
Punctures are not optional for any wheeled vehicle and there is so much less stress if you know you have a good chance of getting moving again rather than siting by the roadside waiting for recovery.... or a friend to run the wheel to the nearest garage (a certain CBR600 owner might remember this).....
You did bring the tools to remove the wheel...... NO!..... Me neither as, these days, I get breakdown cover for anything that's not a quick fix...
Used the cylinders before but after buying a pump similar to this....
There's just no contest in usability.....
http://www.stopngo.com/pocket-tire-plugger-for-all-tubeless-tires/
Love my "plugger" no glue... no mess... and got a puncture in a 500 mile old tire that I used for another 10,000 miles before changing...
Still with the plug in.... and the only pressure loss was the usual odd pound over time/ standing and that always happens....
Check out this link for info on the gas cartridges and pressure loss.....
http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/154847-co2-cartridge-info.html
One of these might me a more compact option for a "plugger" tool....
http://www.dynaplug.com/products.html
And the best pump choice seems to be this...
http://www.bestrestproducts.com/c-10-cyclepump-ez-gauge.aspx
But make your own mind up on this and choose you own method.... cylinders or pump... but do carry a kit
Micro Start Jump start.....
http://www.zenoverland.com/electrical/antigravity-micro-start-pps-xp-1.html
We are all used to the huge jump start boxes you see at the auto parts shop.....
So when this tiny 6x3x1 inch "thing" arrives my first thoughts were "Yea Right..... No Way in Hell" Well I re-watched the video and still thought the same.... but as I had been mug enough to buy it.... its time for a my "real world" test...
As I have an old Honda HRV.... (just for winter you understand...) I pulled of the battery earth lead and connected up the microstart...
10 TIMES it started the car and still had all FIVE lights showing.....
As this was all in the works car park one lunchtime, with several people watching, a workmate says give it a go on my diesel Nissan pick up.....
Removed the earth lead again.. connected the microstart and started the pick up TWICE.... before the little unit dropped ONE light...
So that's 12 starts on the trot and it still had enough charge left to run my Asus N550 laptop for a couple of hours..... impressed.... Mega impressed and lets just say that one or three people watching went bought one....
There are now lots of cheaper versions/ copies of this unit about ,and at half the price, but my XP-1 has started a few cars and vans over the winter.... been used for a few camping holidays.... My neighbour borrowed it when he had a charging problem on his Yam trike.... its been dropped a few times... and kicked across the floor once.... so bashed and trashed but still works like new....
And something you might not think off...
Pouches... The little rectangular rubberised case that comes with some Logitech mice etc or the zipper pouch from a cordless beard trimmer are well useful for carrying your tools about rather than "solid" plastic cases..
I keep all my driver bits, inc security type, in one pouch with the 1/4 drive ratchet n extension and the tire plugger stuff in another..... makes it much easier to fit a little nook on the bike to store it. Several little bags are far more flexible to pack than one large one.
Another little trick....
Memory Foam.....
On the Ulysses there is a small space either side of my seat catch mechanism, by the rear light.....
So I got a, thick, scrap piece of memory foam from a local bed warehouse and cut it to a snug fit for each space...... in one I cut out the centre, from one end, to make a space for a headlight bulb, cutting off a little square of the removed piece to make a "plug"... so the bulb is totally protected by the foam.... in the other, from the top, I cut out cubes (like in a camera case) and stored spare fuses, other bulbs and a relay (the Buell has 4 but there all the same type).
This does work very well as they have been on the Buell for over three years now and are still protecting there contents....(Memory foam seems to work better than ordinary foam as just seems to last longer and does not break up/ go crumbly etc...)
RECOVERY INSURANCE
I have travelled without it.. but then again I was on a Honda VFR750FJ... arguably the best all round bike ever built... it was certainly the most over engineered (the right hand centre stand bolt is a left hand thread) and Honda lost money on every one of these they sold.... sort of like the Bugatti Veyron of its day... shame it only had 100hp not 1000.... might have been more tricky to ride though on its skinny little tires...
But the Buell Ulysses is a different story..... not so much a case of if.... just when its going to break down.... still love it though... character by the bucket load...
So.... Travel/ Recovery insurance... used a few... been stung by some.... but since I was recommended these people.... https://www.eurorescue.co.uk/ I have always used them.
When my friends Aprilia broke down in the Dordonge they were brilliant and when it turned out that the locals did not have the right box of tricks to fix it... cars were arranged..both to carry on the holiday and get back to Calais and the car to get home from Dover, with the bike being shipped back a couple of weeks later. All simply done by phone and they called back at the times they said they would....
They even rung the ferry and altered the ticket details for him as he decided not to hotel it for the last night but just carry on homeward...
You never know whats going to happen and as YOU can always get home by one form of transport or the other... the BIKE is a different story.... So unless your on an old hack you don't mind walking away from.... get insurance...
And one VERY IMPORTANT last thing.....
Which is to do with walking away from a dead bike..... ALWAYS carry water and food (carry"sports" power bars myself) so you can walk away to find help/ phone signal.. might be less important these days with all the new towns springing up everywhere.... but like meeting, head on, the only car you've seen on the tightest/ worse possible bend on that road the chances are you will have your problem at the remotest of places...
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