Índex per December 2016 a RiDE

Hampshire Alan Johnson and I thought we would have a day out, so we headed from Newbury to the New Forest. We had an awesome time at the Sammy Miller Motorcycle Museum. Well worth a visit – it’s massive, with lots of exhibits. My first ride on my Ducati Multistrada was excellent fun – David Blake Scottish Lowlands My two big Suzukis on decent ride-outs. The Hayabusa around Fife on the day I bought it, and the big GSX at a wee secret stop in Kilsyth after exercising its considerable muscles around the Campsies. People ask me, why the two? Just because, I reply… – Mark Hampson Switzerland I have just returned from a trip through France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy on my trusty Triumph Explorer, riding some of the…

NORTH WALES HAS some of Britain’s most spectacular scenery, providing an epic backdrop to any ride. Our one-day trip around the quiet town of Llangollen mixes popular biking roads – like the A4212 around Lake Celyn and the A542 over Horseshoe Pass – with quieter back roads through this beautiful landscape. Mileages are fairly modest between stops, so it’s ideal for a late-season bimble, making the most of the autumn sunshine. STAGE ONE Llangollen to Lake Vyrnwy 45 miles From Llangollen, take the A5 all the way to Oswestry. As the A5 crosses roundabouts to bypass the town, take the B5069 into Oswestry. Follow the one-way system round the town centre and turn left opposite the Morrisons petrol station, on the B4580 to Llansilin. Turn right at the end of…

THE WORD ‘UNIQUE’ gets tossed around rather lightly, but it’s absolutely the right word to describe Lydon Poskett’s Races To Places project. Nobody has ever done what he is currently doing. And it’s a fairly safe bet that nobody ever will again. The 38-year-old Yorkshireman is riding around the world and, when the opportunity arises, he’s interrupting his progress to compete in off-road races, usually on the bike that’s his daily ride. These are not small-beer local club events - they’re world-class competitions, including this coming January the toughest of the lot, the Dakar Rally. That will be two weeks of tough terrain in Paraguay, Bolivia and Argentina, involving more than 5000 miles of riding. And because he likes a challenge, Poskett will be competing in the “malle moto” class.…

FAIRING The bodywork may look similar to last year’s ZX-10R, but the front has been redesigned and made more aerodynamic. ELECTRONICS The Bosch IMU detects how the bike is being used – how fast it’s accelerating and how far it’s leaning – and this information is used by the traction control and ABS systems. It also has a launch control mode. SUSPENSION This is the first production bike to use Showa’s Balance Free Fork. The damping valves are outside the main fork body for more consistent damping. EXHAUST Titanium header pipes are standard, and help to offset the weight of the three catalytic converters needed to pass next year’s Euro 4 emissions limits. THE KAWASAKI ZX-10R has always enjoyed a formidable reputation. With a short wheelbase and gallons of power,…

The 2016 ZX-10R comes in four specs: the standard black bike (£13,786); the green KRT race-replica (£13,936); a limited-edition Winter Test (different black, plus Akrapovic silencer, £14,536); and this Performance model (KRT colours, seat cowl, Akra and tank pads, £14,536). The 2017 model will come in white or KRT green, with prices unconfirmed. Kawasaki’s official accessories include an Akrapovic Evo full exhaust system (£1897, not road-legal), a non-electronic Öhlins steering damper (£259), and crash protection for the engine (£132) and front axle (£61).…

BMWR1200GS ADVENTURE 2006-2012 £5750-£10,000 1170cc ohv/dohc boxer twin 100bhp 33-litre tank Still banging on about the GS, are we? Yes, for a good reason – they work. They’re comfortable, generally reliable and robust – and this Adventure version has a colossal range thanks to a huge tank and an easy 50mpg average. The bikes’ popularity all over the world means there’s also a vast choice of aftermarket parts, whether you want to turn it into a more practical two-up tourer or enhance its globe-trotting off-road abilities. You’ll need long, strong legs, as the seat is 90cm high. Check for crash damage, otherwise the main problems centre around the shaft-drive unit – check for rear-wheel play. The final drive main bearing is also the wheel bearing and is under huge strain.…

YAMAHAFJR1300 2001-current £3000-£10,000 1298cc dohc inline four 145bhp 25-litre tank It’s easy to mistakenly pigeonhole the FJR1300 as a simple straight-line sledgehammer, a great big bike with a great big motor that’s only for conquering great big roads at great big speeds. And with its 145bhp engine – only a handful of horses shy of what Yamaha’s R1 made when the FJR was released back in 2001, let’s not forget – tied to a comfortable saddle, great wind protection, an electric screen, decent panniers and shaft drive, it’ll do all that. What’s less obvious is the FJR’s sporty side. An aluminium twin-spar frame, supersport-size tyres, strong brakes and composed suspension mean it’ll corner until the pegs drag. Which actually doesn’t take very long at all, as it turns out… SUZUKIGSX1250F…

The bike here is the 2016 Performance Sports version. The Performance Sports bit (which adds £2700) brings the Brembo brake calipers from the current ZX-10R, an Öhlins TTX rear shock, lightweight Akrapovic titanium silencers, a different seat cover and a bubble screen. There’s also the basic £11,936 ZZR1400, which like the Performance Sports version complies with the Euro 4 emissions regulations tha come into effect for new bikes in January. This cleaner running was achieved by clever little tweaks that didn’t reduce the bike’s power output. The ZZR1400 has been with us since 2006, with some tweaks in 2008 and a bigger engine from 2012, along with traction control, a slipper clutch, engine modes, longer swingarm, revised gearing, beefed-up brakes, and more comfort. It was preceded by the ZZR1100 (power…

“Krugger’s changes evoke the look of Yamaha’s TZ two stroke racers” Yamaha SR400 Yard Built by Krugger What’s the big idea? It’s a one-off commissioned by Yamaha as part of their Yard Built programme, in which they liaise with customisers on projects that show their regular production models in a new light. This one takes the audacious step of linking their modest air-cooled single-cylinder SR400 retro roadster with top-flight motorcycle racing. Custom builder Fred ‘Krugger’ Bertrand is a mate of Bernard Ansiau, who has been a mechanic for Yamaha factory riders including Valentino Rossi, Kenny Roberts, Randy Mamola, Wayne Rainey and the late Norifumi Abe. Krugger’s changes to the SR400 evoke the look of the hugely successful Yamaha TZ two-stroke production racers of the 1970s. What’s Yard Built all about?…

“Don’t turn down a test ride on the DCT bike if you get a chance” EXCESS WEIGHT APART, there was never anything fundamentally wrong with the Crosstourer – mostly it just had the misfortune to be continually compared with one of the most successful bikes ever. That wouldn’t have mattered, if it hadn’t been seriously overpriced, to the point where anything less than perfection was not acceptable. As a used bike, prices have stabilised and it can now look more attractively priced. So, what are you after from a bike? Comfort? Excellent load-lugging ability? Good build quality? Outstanding reliability? A willing, involving engine? The ability to change gear at the touch of a button – or not to have to bother at all? If you answered yes to all or…

Service schedule A refreshingly simple service schedule is based on 8000-mile intervals (oil and filter change and a general check over), with a full service at 16,000 miles including valve clearances and a new air filter (although some owners reckon it’s better to change the filter at 8000 miles if you’re riding in dusty conditions), as well as replacing the separate clutch oil filter on DCT versions. Spark plugs are changed at 32,000 miles, brake and clutch fluid at two years, and final-drive oil and coolant at three years. Working on the bike is a bit fiddly - that’s V4s for you - but OK if you’re methodical. Exhaust valves are screw-and-locknut adjusters and easy to set, while intake valves use shims, but they don’t usually need adjusting until the…

KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY It’s important the G310R looks premium despite its price, so styling is sharp, angular and in keeping with the S1000 family. Overall finish is very good. SINGLE FACING BACKWARDS Euro 4 compliant 313cc, 34bhp four-stroke single uses technology from BMW’s S1000 series, but faces backwards to improve packaging. BRAKES AND TYRES Michelin Pilot Streets are decent tyres. Bybre brakes, designed by Brembo, are built under licence in India. ABS is from BMW’s usual supplier, Continental. WHAT BREED OF new BMW superbike is this? It looks like it shares DNA with the howling, S1000R. The rich, pearly white Motorsport colours, bold R graphic on the side panels, nakedly aggressive stance and gold upside-down forks… If you saw it whizzing past, you’d not immediately assume it was…

Q Brought up on ’70s bikes that chomped through chains with gay abandon, I’ve stuck with shaft-drive bikes since my BMW R65. But friends insist modern chains are much longer lasting, and that I’m missing out by sticking to shaft-only bikes. Am I? A They’re right. Chain-drive bikes are generally lighter, cheaper and feel more alive than their shaft-driven kin, and today they need less adjustment than ever. If you’ve ignored chains for decades, they deserve another chance. That said, shaft drive has evolved too, and bikes as different as the Moto Guzzi V7 and BMW R1200RS don’t let the hardware stand in the way of an engaging riding experience. Consider too that shaft drive is hardly maintenance-free - though for many owners that’s work done by a dealer rather…

THE THING WITH a big adventure bike is that you should use it for a big adventure. More than just a tour – an adventure. Something that involves getting off the beaten, safely tarmac-topped track. Which I’ve been planning. Hesitantly. Because I reckon I’m Europe’s worst off-road rider. When I mentioned this to KTM’s PR man, he made a suggestion: get some off-road training. Nothing as intimidating as a motocross school. Just a ride with a bloke who uses his KTM 1290 Super Adventure off-road and can give a few pointers. It’ll be a laugh. Especially as the man in question is comedian Ross Noble. I admit, I’m a bit nervous when I meet Ross at an off-road area near his house. I’m not star-struck, because we’ve met before and…

Talk us through your route I rode from Halifax, Nova Scotia, westbound across Canada to Tofino on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, and then back to Halifax to ride around Cape Breton. I rode 9702 miles in 38 days, crossed through five times zones and eight of the 10 Canadian provinces. What was the appeal of riding across Canada? I’ve always wanted to ride a motorbike across Canada. In my youth I travelled some of Canada in the winter, on a Greyhound coach, staring out the window, wishing I was here on a motorbike in the summer rather than the slow winter snow-coffin I was stuck on. I wished I could just get off the coach and ride up the myriad dirt tracks I saw and explore the unknown. It’s such…

Have jeans left me out of pocket? Q I FELL off my bike at about 50mph when a car in the opposite lane turned right in front of my bike. We did not make contact, but I grabbed a handful of non-ABS brake, my front end washed out and I slid down the road. I suffered the loss of a lot of skin on my legs and I have had to have skin grafts. I was wearing regular jeans and a leather jacket. The defendant’s insurers have decided I am largely to blame, and here is their logic: 1. The fall was not caused by the driver’s negligence, but my overreaction to it. There was no contact between my bike or me and his car. The police plan (the police…

Setting out to ride long distances safely and comfortably is not to be taken lightly. It’s a true test of mental and physical endurance. It’s one of the biggest challenges an adventure-touring rider can face - and one that many overlook. No matter how well a route or itinerary is planned, you can never rule out having to knock out a big-mileage day: maybe a border or road is closed, or there’s a ferry to catch and you’ve been held up en route. Perhaps there’s been an incident and you have to go the extra miles to get help, or maybe you’ve just underestimated how long it takes to get to your destination given the country and conditions you’re riding in - you can usually go a lot further and…

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for numbers, you’ve come to the right place. The Ducati XDiavel has lots of good numbers: 1262cc, 154bhp, 95lb.ft, 150mph. (There are some figures that aren’t so good too, of course: 247kg and £15,932 on the road, for instance.) But it’s not just about numbers, is it? Capacity and power are very important to a lot of us, but as a means to an end, rather than a simple pursuit of more more more. You can’t fail to have noticed that this issue of RiDE is absolutely brimming with big-engined bikes. We have a buying guide for the mile-eating Honda Crosstourer (1237cc, 127bhp, 93lb.ft). We road test the race-bred Kawasaki ZX-10R (998cc, 197bhp, 84lb.ft). We compare the three hottest, sharpest supernakeds currently available: the new Yamaha MT-10…

“Keep it in third and enjoy that extra low-down power” B-roads The ZX-10R initially feels like a caged cheetah on B-roads. The bulk of its power is tucked away above 8000rpm, so it’s rarely used at normal speeds – after all, the ZX-10R can do 100mph in first gear. But strangely this makes it a better bike for rolling on and off the throttle down your favourite back road. The throttle response from any revs is phenomenal, with precise fuelling from the ride-by-wire system. Even in sixth gear you can open the throttle from as low as 25mph and the green meanie just pulls and pulls. Keep it in third or fourth and enjoy that extra low-down power. Another revelation is how such a big, powerful bike feels so light…

TO MANY, RIDING a 1000cc superbike on the road seems irrelevant in today’s world. Certainly, the Kawasaki ZX-10R asks its rider to put up with a lot – the tucked-up riding position, a constant awareness of your speed, and to not be put off by the fact that almost every single part has been designed to work at a speed far higher than the Queen’s highway allows. But the ZX-10R can do sensible. It can be comfortable (for a sportsbike), it’s really smooth and it can even be relatively economical. It’s also beautifully built, beautiful to look at and has all the electronic safety aids you could ever need, including perfect ABS and seamless traction control. There is also plenty of scope to adjust the suspension, and when those bends…

HONDACBR1000RR FIREBLADE 2008-2016 £4500-£12,000 1000cc dohc inline four 175bhp 17.7-litre tank Most of the reasons to overlook the Fireblade when you start searching for a full-on sportsbike are the same reasons it’s such a great choice. For a start, there’s no fancy electronics, no traction control, no switchable modes, no quickshifter, no lap timer. Instead, all it has is more than enough power for the road, in a superbly developed handling package that just feels right from the moment you sling a leg over it. There are loads to choose from, including plenty of the posher Öhlinsequipped SP versions, but the smart money goes towards a 2012-on version with better Showa Big Piston Forks and improved ABS. Even a standard, earlier bike is a good buy though. KAWASAKI ZX-10R 2008-2010…

“Riding in Europe opened a new chapter in my love affair with bikes” THERE’S A BIT of maverick in every motorcyclist, but there’s a lot of maverick in Dave Elliott. He likes what he likes, he does what he does, and doesn’t worry what anybody else thinks about it. His taste in bikes is gloriously eccentric. Take the two you see here: a Victory Hammer he’s had for a couple of a years, and a newly acquired Ducati Multistrada. He certainly likes his big V-twins. But he also likes his singles – in the shed behind his home in Dagenham he also has a cherished 1958 Ariel Red Hunter. And his parallel twins: he’s just sold his 1965 BSA Lightning. He also recently sold his three-cylinder Triumph Tiger Sport, which…

2012-current VFR1200X Crosstourer Adventure bike based on detuned VFR1200F engine and running gear. Combined ABS, traction control, and optional Dual Clutch Transmission. Selectable torque control, self-cancelling indicators and lower seat from 2014. Adjustable screen and 12-volt socket from 2016, along with three-level Sport mode and hill sensing for DCT versions. £6000-£10,500 2012-2013 VFR1200X Crosstourer SE Same spec as the base bike, but with extras such as heated grips, crash bars and centrestand included in the deal, usually fitted by a dealer at the bike’s first service. The SE was superseded by the Highlander. £7000-£8000 2013-current VFR1200X Crosstourer Highlander One step on from the SE model, with panniers and top box, heated grips, crash bars and centrestand, plus a touring screen, driving lights, side deflectors and a tank protector pad. Same…

THIS IS A much bigger deal than a quick glance might suggest. Although the 2017 bikes you see here have a strong visual resemblance to the 2016 models they replace, and are in line with Harley-Davidsons dating back decades, they are in fact significantly different. A lot of bikes that we’ll be writing about over the next few months will be 2017 updates of familiar models, with changes forced by the new European emissions regulations. These Harley touring bikes are Euro 4 compliant, but the changes go much further than the law requires. The engines are not just cleaner, they’re also smoother, more responsive and physically narrower. And the bikes have new suspension and tweaked brakes. The typical Harley buyer is extremely conservative, so the styling has been left largely…

“Whether or not you care for the looks, it’s been executed well” THE MGX-21 IS the latest version of the Moto Guzzi California, the fifth variant to employ the 1400cc air-cooled V-twin introduced three years ago. It joins the regular Cali, the California Touring with bags and screen, the slightly retro Eldorado and the Audace muscle cruiser. Even though it shares a lot of the hardware, it stands out a mile. As you can see, it’s a bagger (a cruiser with panniers and a low-rise fairing) with an unusually large front wheel. It also makes extensive use of carbonfibre. A futuristic cruiser was, according to design chief Miguel Galluzzi, always a possibility from the start of the California project in 2008. They showed it as a prototype two years ago…

THERE ARE BOOTS that can keep you warm and dry as you commute in the snow. There are boots that will give you brilliant feel and comfort as you go for a blast on a sweltering summer afternoon. But can you buy one pair of boots that will make a decent job of both those extremes, and everything in between? Or, looked at another way, can you start a journey in the Scottish Highlands and make your way down to the Alps, via the South of France, without wishing you’d strapped a second pair to your luggage? And if you fall off, will your boots keep you protected? It’s asking a lot, but we reckon it should be possible. In search of this holy grail we gathered 19 pairs of…

“These gloves feel uniquely reassuring” Held Titan Evo £274.99 www.held.de THIS IS the evolution model that supersedes Held’s long-running Titan race glove, a multiple test winner and repeated recipient of the RiDE Recommended triangle. So for an extra £25 over the original £250 Titans, it stands to reason that these ought to be 10 per cent better. So what’s new with the Evos? Most obvious is a new (but not really new) titanium and plastic combo for the knuckle and wrist armour. A feature of the Phantom2 gloves for the past three years, this now replaces the carbonfibre knuckles of the original Titan. This is a very good thing. The carbon offering was awful really – flat, mis-shapen and uncomfortable. Nobody should be disappointed with this particular change. This plastic/titanium…

THREE CHEERS FOR white-van man, delivering Amazon packages to click-happy laptop shoppers. Another three for tractor drivers, off to till the land. Some more hurrahs for the noble haulier captaining an artic to the far side of the continent. And three for the Travis Perkins driver, taking bricks to a building site where homes will be shaped and dreams will come true. These motorised trojans are all to be welcomed and encouraged as signs of a strong and vibrant economy. I just wish they weren’t doing it in front of me. Thank you for your contribution to a somehow still-great Britain, now please get out of the way. I’m in the south of Essex, attempting a nostalgic blast around some of the lanes where I did my first road riding,…

“I wore a lovely leather jacket to Dakar once” THIS MONTH’S GUIDE… Former dispatch rider Chris Scott is an expert on desert riding, and author of RiDE’s Book of the Year 2014, Adventures in Motorcycling. #6 Get a good jacket LIKE YOUR FIRST bike, everyone remembers their first bike jacket. If you started riding as a teenager, it probably wasn’t anything flash – in my case it was a Belstaff Trailmaster with a luscious red quilted lining. It was that or a donkey jacket. There was almost certainly a hideous waxed-cotton Belstaff too, until my mum banned it from the house. We ask a lot of our jackets: comfort, utility, durability, protection from wind, sun, heat, cold and impacts. All without weighing a ton or costing a bomb, and while…

Today’s version The British biking public continues to have a complex relationship with off-roading. Some of us love it. Some of us really aren’t interested. And some of us would like to give it a bash, if only we could find somewhere to put in the hours without spending loads or hurting ourselves. The good news is that in recent years there’s been a surge in off-roading ‘experiences’ and learning opportunities, often featured in RiDE, and there’s no shortage of cheap dirt bikes. The bad news is that there’s ever-growing pressure from other interest groups who want motorcyclists to stay on the tarmac. Thankfully the Trail Riders Fellowship (www.trf.org.uk) continues to put up a spirited defence, while also offering guidance for newcomers. WE WOULDN’T DREAM of trying to kid you…

AS THIS ISSUE of RiDE went to press the wraps were starting to come off 2017’s new motorcycles in the cavernous halls of the Cologne show. These events are all hype-driven, but amid all the over-selling of familiar models that have had a mild facelift and some engine tweaks to get them through new emissions regulations, there were also some highly intriguing all-new models and significant upgrades. Some of those bikes are here and, over the coming months, we will continue to bring you more of 2017’s new bikes – adding prices, on-sale dates and detailed specifications when we have them. We’ll also be looking at some of the outgoing models that aren’t being updated to meet Euro 4 standards – so you’ll need to be quick if you want…

“The MT-10’s irregular firing intervals bless it with a delicious snarl” THE ROADS OF the Norfolk coast seem to have shrunk since I rode them on a 125 – though maybe that’s because today I’m charging between the hedges on a 158bhp supernaked roadster. But I have such fond memories of riding to the seaside as a teenager on a naked bike that I couldn’t resist bringing these latest, ultimate expressions of the unfaired motorcycle back here. I’m riding the new Yamaha MT-10, while Martin Fitz-Gibbons is on the updated Triumph Speed Triple R and Lee Skellett’s on the benchmark BMW S1000R Sport. All three machines snarl with attitude and shimmer with style – and while the Triumph gives away one cylinder to the brace of inline fours, it’s also…

“Join 100,000 other spectators enjoying the MotoGP finale” Valencia MotoGP November 11-13, Spain THE VALENCIA GP is a must-see for race fans. It’s a great excuse for some winter riding under the warm Spanish sun, and you’ll be joining well over 100,000 other spectators enjoying the finale of what’s been a fantastic season. The track, built in 1999, can almost all be seen from most of the grandstands. With the championships so close, the racing will be electric. Remember Marquez’s astonishing last-place-to-win race in Moto2, or Rossi coming through to sixth from the back last year? The bike to watch: KTM RC16 THE AUSTRIAN FIRM enjoy huge success in most sports they enter, and after a small foray into MotoGP in 2005 that didn’t go according to plan, KTM are…

Oxford M30R tankbag £109.99 www.oxfordproducts.com It’s easy to assume that a tankbag is just a tankbag, but the reality is that they’re all different - and they do evolve. The 2014 version of Oxford’s enduringly popular 30-litre tankbag won a Recommended triangle when we did our tankbag test, but it’s been developed further, gaining a sun hood to cut down glare on the broad map pocket, which includes a sat nav holder. The other well-thought-out features are all still present. There’s no rain cover: instead there’s a drybag to go inside the already very water-resistant heavy-duty nylon body, with waterproof zips. The bag expands from 20 to 30 litres, with two external pockets that are a useful size. The magnetic base zips off to reveal rucksack straps and can be…

Ludlow? Name rings a bell, but… It’s a Shropshire market town – roughly halfway between Hereford and Shrewsbury, close to the border between England and Wales. That’s the one. What’s the attraction? The town’s charmingly well-preserved medieval centre. Half-timbered buildings, the old town wall and impressive castle are just the start of it. There are fine Georgian and Victorian buildings, beautiful churches, and more than 500 listed buildings within the town. But can you actually visit any of them? Many of the buildings in the town centre are shops – others are pubs and hotels. It’s nice to stroll around – big enough to have a good range of shops but small enough to feel friendly. The castle (admission £5) is definitely worth a visit. What else is there to…

With a pillion Let’s put it bluntly: if you wish to stay friends with your pillion, don’t take them on the ZX-10R. The pegs are ridiculously high, the seat is tiny and tall, there’s nothing for them to grab hold of, and the forces you can potentially put them through mean they will quickly be grasping on to you for grim death. If you have to go two-up, the saving grace is that the smooth throttle, brakes and clutch help give a predictable ride, and the excellent suspension doesn’t give the seesawing feel some sportsbikes suffer from. Luggage and load The steel petrol tank is half shrouded by a plastic cover, so bespoke tankbags are the only answer for carrying gear in front of you. The fashion for underseat exhausts…

TRIUMPH SPEED TRIPLE 2005-2010 £3750-£5500 1050cc dohc inline triple 128bhp 18-litre tank Since its first incarnation in 1994, there’s been a strong argument that the Speed Triple is the best Triumph of the lot. And there’s an equally strong argument to say the 2005-on 1050cc version is the best of the best. The extra grunt from the long-stroke motor helps, of course, but then you also have the brutalist styling – no longer just a road bike without a fairing – and you’ve still got the original round twin lights. You’ve also got a fully adjustable shock, upside-down forks and radial brakes – no matter that most riders won’t feel the benefit, they look good and that matters. The 2007-on models are best, with improved engine management and a metal…

HARLEY-DAVIDSON STREET GLIDE 2006-2016 £7000-£20,000 1584cc ohv 45° V-twin 75bhp 22.7-litre tank Basically a no-frills Electra Glide with a slightly lower stance – which means even less ground clearance, but if that bothers you then you’re probably looking in the wrong showroom. Comfort is excellent, the engine is pure American V-twin heaven, and weather protection is surprisingly good too. You can even hear the stereo clearly even at motorway speeds. Stereo? Yep – comes as standard, as do usefully large panniers. This being a Harley there are spec changes every year and owners play around with the accessory catalogue, so prices depend on exact specification. Mileage is more or less irrelevant so long as it’s been looked after. CVO versions are more expensive, with bigger engines, uprated brakes, more chrome…

THE OTHER DAY a bloke told me about a long and painful-sounding fundraiser he took part in that involved riding between Land’s End and John o’Groats, stopping off to climb the highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland. He rode a Vespa GTS300 and found that anti-scooter prejudice was disappointingly prevalent. He was several hundred miles into the journey before a motorcyclist returned his wave. But it wasn’t one motorcyclist, it was a group of four riders all on Kawasaki ZZR1400s. He saw them again later, after they’d met up with two more ZZR1400 riders, and he got six cheery waves. This says a lot about the typical ZZR owner. The ZZR1400 is – subject to quibbling from Suzuki Hayabusa and BMW K1300S owners – the most powerful, the fastest-accelerating,…

Fast and capable. Obviously on DCT versions the lack of clutch and gear levers takes a bit of getting used to, but once you do you forget all about it. Otherwise the Crosstourer is dominated by its engine, and what a great motor it is. It’s detuned from VFR1200-spec, but this is one of the rare cases where the castrated version is better than the original. It’ll pull cleanly from tickover, with a lovely V4 growl and enough top end to outshine the rather so-so suspension. The rear end is plush and manages to cope with everything from solo to fully loaded two-up touring without too much fiddling with the adjusters (you might want to add some preload and rebound if you like a tighter ride), but the forks are…

“A revalve and set-up can improve the forks’ damping” 1 ENGINE Big, heavy and understressed in this application, the VFR1200 motor has so far proved very reliable – we know of plenty knocking on the door of 100,000 miles, and at least one nudging up to 150,000 with just a water pump leak so far. You do need to keep an eye on valve clearances though, especially if the bike’s run hard on standard 95 RON unleaded - valve seat recession can be an issue. 2 FINAL DRIVE The original driveshaft universal joint was a flawed design which could overheat and eventually separate or break up. If it separates, no problem - you just coast to a stop. If it breaks up it can lock the rear wheel. All models…

The Road King Classic has old-world styling, complete with whitewall tyres and part-leather panniers. It feels ready to chug around all day. The 2017 update to the big air-cooled engine makes it more relaxed and relaxing than ever. It costs £19,195. There’s also a non-Classic version of the Road King. This has hard panniers, black tyres, cast wheels and a different seat cover. Yours for £18,695. The Road Glide Special, priced at £20,995, is the same as the Street Glide except that its half-fairing is frame-mounted rather than bar-mounted, and is styled like a bull shark. Handling is very similar, although you can feel the Road’s extra 12kg, and not everyone likes having such a huge fairing in front of them. If you want to keep that same sharky fairing…

“The CBX was a stunner – it was from outer space” #17 Honda CBX Where did it come from? By the late ’70s the lustre of Honda’s CB750 was fading. Their new R&D centre got the job of reclaiming superbike supremacy from challengers such as the Kawasaki Z1000 and Suzuki GS750. They came up with this: a dohc air-cooled transverse six. Launched in 1978, the CBX made more than 100bhp and had a top speed close to 140mph. Its packaging was ingenious: the generator and ignition were moved from the end of the crank to behind the cylinders, so it was hardly any wider than the four-cylinder CB750F2. What changed? The forks and swingarm were upgraded in response to early complaints, and in 1981 an overhaul made the CBX more…

Kawasaki Versys, Triumph Bonneville and Thruxton R, BMW F800GS, Honda CBR600, ZX-10R – I’ve ridden them all recently. They’ve all been enjoyable in one way or another, but I keep coming back to the Honda Africa Twin. It doesn’t have the power of some, the handling of others, and it certainly lacks eye-candy value. But as an overall, do-it-all, any-day, any-weather bike, the Africa Twin has them all beaten. Anyway, that’s what I told Honda when I apologised for missing its 8000-mile service. By 2000 miles. Idiot. If this was my own bike, would I now face my warranty being invalid? Andrew, from Honda dealer CJ Ball, was reassuring. “We’ve had several instances where a customer has missed a service. If, for example, the starter motor has broken it’s OK…

Legal advice Loved Andrew Dalton’s article in the October issue - I think you should reprint it every month. It seemed like excellent and simple advice: be responsible for your own actions (and grow up a bit). Superb! Marc Cheshire Downsized delight After 40 years of riding I came to a crossroads in my biking life recently. Should I sell the lumbering big tourer I was terrified of dropping and pack it all in, or trade down to something more manageable. I decided to do the latter, bought a Honda CB500X and have never looked back. I read with interest your article on the CB500X (October), and when I went for a test ride I knew I’d made the right decision. I realised how unhappy I’d become with my tourer…