RiDE December 2022

‘There are some truly epic bikes that go under the radar’ Welcome to a celebration of some heroic motorcycles. There is a whole world of brilliant bikes on the market, some of which don't get the credit they deserve despite being loved and cherished by hundreds of happy owners. Our Unsung Heroes feature celebrates those bikes and together with the discounts available, has filled my head with inspiration. I have happy memories of riding Yamaha's Tracer 700 so Si Hargreaves's roadrip (p50) really struck a chord - it's a shame that everyone just raves about the Tracer 9 GT. I now fancy a Tracer 7 as a middle-distance tourer and commuter. It totally suits the world which we're living in at the moment: the lower running costs and purchase price of a…

Minerstown, County Down, Northern Ireland My Yamaha Ténéré just loves every surface it's on - even a beach! The glorious Mourne Mountains are in the background. Dessie Moore Moffat, Scotland I took my Triumph Tiger Sport for its first proper mile-munching ride recently with a group of mates. We completed a four-day ‘End of Summer’ trip taking in the Yorkshire Dales, Northumbria and the Scottish Boarders. This is us outside the Buccleuch Arms Hotel in Moffat, an amazing biker-friendly hotel where Dave and his family team couldn't do enough for us. Left to right in the picture are me, Karl, Steven, John, Matt and Damian. Dave, the hotel's owner, took the picture but that's his GS! Simon Hardacre Ben Nevis, Scotland I took my Suzuki GSX-S1000 GT on a trip up to the Highlands recently.…

Stelvio Pass, Italy My dream has always been to ride to Corfu and I've just fulfilled that dream! I rode from the UK to France, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Italy and finally Corfu where my partner Sue and my sister Carol joined me for a week on the beach I then returned home via Italy's Amalfi Coast and Stelvio Pass (in the picture), Switzerland and France. That's eight countries in three weeks and a total of 3600 miles. I've only owned ‘The Sprout’ (my Kawasaki Versys 1000SE) since February and it has surprised me beyond belief. It's everything I could have needed for this trip - comfortable, light handling and frugal. Geraint Jones Get your bike in RiDE & win a Bike Trac system Each month the Star Picture will win a BikeTrac security…

IT WASN'T AN auspicious start. We'd met up at a services on the M4, then ridden together to the start point between Shrewsbury and Oswestry, where we'd stopped while I sorted my phone By the time I was done, the battery on Andrew's R1250GS Adventure was flat as a pancake. We tried bump starting but we were on the flat and high-compression twins are a sod to bump, so we gave up. Fortunately there was a service station a couple of miles back towards Shrewsbury, so I whizzed off and bought some jump leads, we jumped the BMW from RiDE's Suzuki GSX-S, and off we went (and it was good as gold the rest of the day). The ride It's always nice coming through the borders, seeing the Welsh hills laid out…

Best time to ride “Probably afternoon in the summer as the sun catches the hills to best effect, but there's no bad time. If you ride in winter, be careful. The road gets high and there can be streams running across the road that freeze.” Best bit “The climb out of Llangynog has bends and views aplenty which open up to a sweeping open road across the moors until you descend down towards Bala. In this 15-20-mile stretch, there is a bit of everything. On the right day, you will reach Bala with a big smile on your face, guaranteed.” Be careful at… “About five miles in you need to be careful at the crossroads in West Felton. It's 40mph and there's a safety camera. Llynclys crossroads is busy and needs care and the hairpins…

IF YOU'VE BOUGHT a BMW R1250GS or GS Adventure in recent months, you'll know the LED headlights promised in promotional material have been replaced with halogen lamps because the LED units couldn't be supplied. But that's just the tip of a supply iceberg that's affecting the entire motorcycle industry. BMW's website has carried the following note: “Due to the on-going semiconductor supply situation, we are currently unable to offer you this model with LED headlights.” A spokesperson told us: “The R1250GS/GSA models were the only BMW Motorrad bikes impacted by the LED supply shortages. It was decided to deliver bikes with halogen headlights to allow customer order dates to be fulfilled, and LED headlights will be available to riders as a retrofit option once relevant components are more readily available.” But the…