Non bikers go biking in France

We take a Suzuki Van Van 125cc to a Harley Davidson show. Luckily they are a friendly bunch and make us feel welcome.

Welcome back to Alabout Cars. Now, if you’re more of a car person than a bike person like me, but did you ever wonder what it would be like to go to a bike show on a 125? Do you think people would laugh at you? Well, that’s what we’re going to find out today. This is my 2006 Suzuki Vanvan 125. I’ve had it for a few years, but I’ve never actually had it on the road until very recently. Up until a few months ago in France, bikes didn’t have to have anot. So, it recently got its which it passed with flying colors. The only thing I’ve done to it is the fuel tank uh had a lot of corrosion in it. This had been sat for a long time. So, I’ve cleaned that as best I can. I’ve cleaned out the car, put a fuel filter on. It seems to run okay. I’ve lubed up the chain and given it an oil change. It could do with a brake fluid change, but there isn’t too much to do with bikes other than that, is there? It’s got 2,981 miles. It doesn’t have a whole lot of power, and we’re going to be loading it up 150 kilos with me and Abby. Uh, luckily this uh, show is only about half an hour away, so it’s going to be slow but steady progress. Abby has never been on a bike before at all, so she’s a little bit nervous. I think she’ll be okay. So, the next you see will be loaded up and ready to go. I’ve got my I’ve got my cheapo AliExpress camera mount on there, so hopefully that holds up. How you feeling? Bad. I think we’re going to be fine. We sort of We almost left the park, haven’t we? Yes. I love the park. You do. You really look the part. It’s very hot now. I put my children’s my children’s gloves. No hat first. Yeah. All right, let’s get moving. Uh we get too hot. Yes. Like 30° today. First uh sort of two miles down. It didn’t go too bad. Abby seems quite happy with it. We’re at my friend Olri and Julie’s house and it was their idea to do this bike rally. And this is their custom Harley. Very nice. And he’s also got some American cars. Say hello. Hello. They don’t speak English too much, but they they like to try. They’re learning. I’m teaching them a bit. [Music] See if we can keep up with 1600cc Harley beast. [Music] At the moment, we’re going downhill, so we got no issues. The other side of the hill, we might have a problem. It’s about 45 mph. Fairly comfortable there. Nice. Uh nice have some wind to cool us down. Okay, this is the bottom of the hill. This is going to be the real test. Still in sixth gear. That’s full throttle now. That’s a bit just about maintain 40 mph. I’m a full throttle or it’s sort of barely off idle probably, but hopefully a fair contest. His engine is 10 times bigger. We’re maintaining a decent speed on a bit of a hill. It’s not too bad. The gear lever on this bike is so sensitive. Sometimes you just start bringing your foot near to the gear shifter ready to pull the clutch in, but you’ve already touched it and it’s changed gear. The little van van’s running great today. It’s a bit cranky when it’s cold. Once you get going, it’s pretty good. [Applause] [Music] All right, let’s see if we can get past this track power. Oh That was bloody scary cuz that car just pulled right out in front of that tractor. [Music] That’s a lesson I suppose is uh you ought not to overtake a tractor when it’s coming up to a junction. Right. Where we going now? We’re going to turn left. Ah, now this is a steep hill. Oh, here we go. [Music] Remember to turn my indicator off. That’s always a thing on a bike, isn’t it? I’m surprised just how well this van van’s coping with the weight. Actually, these are only tiny country roads. I honestly wouldn’t go much faster if I could. His Harley’s got lots of uh custom parts on it. Uh custom air suspension and the paint is his own design. It’s sort of a 50 Shades of Black theme. Certainly looks the part. As I said before, I’m not really a biker, so I can’t uh get all geeky on the details, I’m afraid. [Music] I would say the roads are quiet because it’s Sunday, but actually this is kind of how the roads are all the time out here in the center of Britany. Beautiful roads. Lovely and smooth. Now we’ve just crossed into the finish there. cuz we live in the Morbon which is number 56. All the French departments have numbers. They’re numbered alphabetically not being near to each other. So we’re more beyond that’s 56. We’ve just gone into 29 air which means the the end of the world. It’s the bit that sticks right out on the the northwest of France there. bit like going from Devon into Cornwall. This is the place it seems like. [Music] Okay. Mercy. [Music] We got lots of bikes and a few cars. [Applause] [Music] How was that then? Your first motorbike. It was better than anticipated. Oh, good. It seemed quite exceeded exceeded expectations. That’s good. That’s good. Did you feel like you you leaned in the corners? I tried. Yeah. I just felt you were like a couple of times you were you were trying to be a little bit upright when I was leaning, but Not bad. I couldn’t really see. No. No. Oh, there’s loads of bikes here. Tons of Harleyies. [Music] Everyone unique. Very cool. This is very typical of French car shows. They tend to have a lot of American cars. They do like American cars in France. There’s only four here, but Mopar are very well represented. We’ve got a twodoor Cherokee with a lift on it and some nice rims. Very nice. A Dodge Ram van 250. I had one of these. A day van, a seven seat job. Very nice vans actually. and uh a more modern Cherokee. And it’s got like a I want to call it a Rhino lining paint job on it. And uh what’s this going to be? A ‘ 90s Chevy pickup. Oh, that might belong to the same people actually. It’s got the same uh like a bedliner paint on it. That looks all right, actually. That’s not bad at all. Cheap way to paint your car. Maybe cover up all the little scratches easily. Good and tough as well. There we are. And then over there we’ve got all the food stalls and hat sellers and all the bits and bobs like that. Um, some trikes. I don’t know what engine that’s got in it. It’s not a It’s not a Beetle engine. It’s transverse. Says boom on the fuel tank. This one’s a boom as well with its horse head. Can we see what engine it has? It’s a car engine. I can tell you that. Ford, maybe. Huh. Very cool. Space for the dog, Alex. Okay. Right. This is the dog area. Is it small dog? I’m not sure what the brand is, but it’s a modern interpretation. More Harley’s. Oh, no. Sorry. This one’s a Honda Honda Shadow. Harley, uh, handful of sports bikes. Yeah, all sorts. I might be the only one here on a 125, but never mind. Honda Transout. So, you’d come on the bike again, Abby? Well, I have to go on it cuz I have to get home. That is true. That is true. So, Ask me after that. But you weren’t scared. No. No. No. Not too much. No. Not no. What are they selling here? Sort of artisanal beers and stuff. They made beers for us. Not today. Ice creams. It’s a nice little event, actually. Chips and sausages. Standard sort of fair. There might be someone selling creps as well. Okay. Creps and chips and sausage. Standard standard Britany food on an event like this. And uh Okay. There’s a stage as well and the beer tent. [Applause] 5 series. Love the color. slightly newer 5 series, both diesel in case you’re wondering, and a Cayenne CS. This is perhaps the most standout Harley here with the green. It’s got a giant front wheel and it’s uh I don’t know what should we call it a pirates special edition. Gallions, aren’t they? Fighting gallions. Fighting gallions edition. Let’s call it crossbones here. Yeah. Okay. Very cool. Oh, it’s not even a Going back to this bike with the side car. That is the um that is the mark there. Mash and uh it’s made in China apparently with a with a copy of a Honda engine. It’s very cool. We’ve just been and got our meal tickets. That’s very typical of these events in France. People dishing out the food don’t handle the cash. You have to go to a caravan and buy a ticket. Tell us again in English. A good pig. A good pig. That’s what lunch looks like. Pork and potatoes. Perfect. Very nice. Bonapet. [Music] had one more car show up. This lovely Corvette. Very nice. Very nice looking car. That generation of Corvette, isn’t it? Hey, it’s about time to hit the road for home, I think. [Music] Heat. Heat.