Tabla de contenidos para February 2023 en RiDE

‘We should keep calm and carry on biking’ Welcome to a celebration of escapism. There is no getting away from the fact that there are plenty of things in the world right now trying to spoil our biking fun - there’s wars, there’s inflation, there’s rising interest rates, but more than ever, now is the time to continue biking - and continue to plan for a great biking year in 2023. This issue of RiDE is packed with great suggestions for this year’s best biking holidays. Hand-picked by Simon Hargreaves, our resident globetrotter, there are trips for every budget, from great UK weekend escapes to epic European tours. We know that money doesn’t go as far as it used to, so we’ve costed each one out to make sure they…

LETTER OF THE MONTH The amount your bike can carry is IS important !’m always interested to read Andrew Dalton’s ‘Ask The Lawyer’ column and his latest piece concerning bike payloads is something I’ve been thinking about for some time. Touring in the 1980s and '90s, I never gave much thought to how much weight I carried - two-up, luggage, tents, etc. However, about 10 years ago I read about a rider being prosecuted for having an overweight bike, and since then have always tried to take payload into account when buying a bike. I guess if you only ever ride alone, with very little additional luggage or added accessories, it's unlikely to be a problem. But if you do intend to tour, two-up and fully loaded, it is an…

FIRST RIDE KTM 890 ADVENTURE WITH IMPRESSIVE PERFORMANCE both on and off-road, improved mile munching ability and all the equipment you could want, KTM’s new 890 Adventure is set to be right at the front of the middleweight adventure-bike pack with excellent dual-sport ability. Introduced in 2019 as the 790 Adventure and gaining more capacity in 2021, IvTM’s mid-capacity adventure-bike family has been split when comes to success. While the rugged R model gained the plaudits for its performance and off road ability, the more road-based standard model failed to garner the same level of praise. This bike, despite a comparatively low level of tweaks, is very different. Cutting and twisting through the endless hairpins of serpentine Portuguese B-roads and bounding through the dirt and rocks, it’s immediately obvious that…

COM'S NEW HERITAGE 71 Ti has been built to celebrate the Bolton firm’s 50th anniversary. Only 71 will be produced and each one costs a whopping £29,995. Why so expensive? Well, like all of CCM’s similar Spitfire models it’s handmade, and it’s also the first production bike with a titanium chassis. The 50bhp, 600cc single also has an exquisite titanium exhaust and comes choc-full of carbon fibre and billet aluminium goodies. That makes the CCM extremely light. Tipping the scales at just 136kg it feels more like a fat-tyred pushbike than a snarling cafe racer. Acceleration is instant, handling and braking crisp, but you can get a similar riding experience from any of its rivals at a fraction of the cost. But that would be missing the point because the…

TOUR 2023 TOP-VALUE ROUTES TOUR 2023 YOUR GUIDE TO AN AMAZING YEAR OF BIKING DOWNLOAD THE ROUTES www.ride.co.uk IF YOU'RE THINKING of sacking-off your planned 2023 tour because money’s a bit tight, hold on! Fuel and hotel prices may have made the proposed two-week jaunt around southern Spain a bit salty for now but there are plenty of cheaper touring alternatives and budget-conscious ideas to cut the cost of putting in the miles next year. We’ve chosen nine of our favourite trip ideas, broken down in cost from £500 to £2000 all-in, including accommodation, food and fuel (we’ve only counted fuel from the start to the end of the ride - you’ll have to fact or-in the fuel to get there yourself). And yes, it’s possible to get into Europe and…

‘A stunning rift the countryside’ cutting through BEST OF SOUTHERN FRANCE 5 days 1700 miles Sea & mountain THE ATTRACTION OF a week’s fiddling about in the fabulous mountain scenery of the Alps, dropping down through fragrant Provence to the French Riviera for a mooch along the sparkling Med, then winding gradually back north again, is easily explained. The roads are amazing, the food sensational, the weather perfect and the hot air smells of pine needles and citrus fruit. It’s riding heaven. Brit bikers have migrated to the Cote d’Azur every autumn for a long time. Every October in the late 70s, 80s and early 90s, thousands of British, French, Dutch, German and Belgian riders would flock south to the Bol d’Or 24hr endurance race at Paul Ricard for a…

RiDE staffers on kit they’ve been using recently TCX ClimaTrek Surround £229.99 www.nevis.uk.com Styled like hiking boots and just as rugged, I've put 3000 miles on these vegan-friendly but unusual boots in the last half-year or so. Reassuringly solid, they work great on the bike while being extremely comfortable off it; a feat not easily achieved by most bike kit. The Gore-Tex membrane has never leaked and early concerns about the laces becoming a gunked-up nightmare to tie have proved unfounded - the threads seem repellent to road muck. They remain a pain to do up and undo compared to Velcro and zips though. They're my go-to, everyday boots. Too expensive, mind. STEVE HERBERT-MATTICK Oxford Helmet Halo £19.99 www.oxfordproducts.com While rolling up an old tea towel may do the same…

RATED THE RiDE PRODUCT TEST ‘You'd expect variety and so it proved’ Testing products across such a wide price range, you would expect some variance in quality and functionality, and so it proved. At the lower end of the pricing spectrum, R&G offers a level of feel and heat that is worth way more than the extra tenner they cost over the cheap and not very cheerful MotoPro offering. A little more controllability and the R&G grips would have scored higher but they’re great for the price. The BikeTek Premium offering performed well on the bench although they didn’t feel as hot in use. At a tenner more than the R&G grips, they offer a slightly better controller if you can live with the bright lights. The sophisticated Oxford Products…

Oxford Premium HotGrips £79.99 Honda's own heated grips are criticised for lacking warmth, leading many to aftermarket. Oxford's Premium Touring HotGrips with five settings and an intelligent controller are among the most popular. www.oxfordproducts.com Honda main stand '215 Inexplicably not fitted as standard, Honda's centrestand is recommended (aftermarket versions are also available) for chain maintenance with many owners fitting post purchase. www.honda.co.uk Puig Touring Screen £82.99 High-quality tall screen that's recommended by owners who find the standard item too low. Made from 3mm high-impact acrylic, it comes in two styles and five colours. pyramidplastics.co.uk Lighter, less powerful yet more dual-purpose than most adventure tourers, the AT matured into a truly classy Honda adventure-bike alternative to the usual BMW GS. You can take it off road, it's enjoyable and versatile, looks…

WITH POLITICAL MOVES afoot to kill the internal combustion engine and force manufacturers into adopting electric power for all new bikes in little more than a decade's time, we may be entering the last chapter of ICE development. Yet the basics of the engines in most of today's bikes would be familiar to riders from the dawn of the motorcycle era. So what's happened to all the new ideas that have emerged over the years, with bold promises to revolutionise motorcycle powertrains? Different stroke For a long time, the two-stroke was a dream ticket for motorcycles. Lighter, more compact, and offering more power-per-litre than a four-stroke design, what's not to like? Two-strokes made lots of sense for exactly those reasons. With each stroke of the piston doing double-duty (the exhaust…

‘Is a flashing light on my rucksack at night illegal?’ Q I AM HAVING a bit of a debate with a member of my advanced group of riders. I commute into the city most days and in the autumn and winter, during the misty mornings, I have a high-intensity flashing beacon on my Kriega rucksack. My mate has a similar flashing bicycle beacon on his pannier frame which does not have a pannier on it as he filters. I don't want to sound judgemental but one of the club's busybodies has said he doesn't want the lights on the bike or rucksack while we ride as a club as they are ‘illegal’ and ‘outside the code of conduct we apply'. I am not that bothered; I will take the light…

1 THE WINGS ARE IRRELEVANT ON THE ROAD BMW claims 11kg of downforce at 138mph from its new aerodynamic package namely those wings. While they do keep things down and dandy on the track, they make little difference on the road 2 SHIFTCAM MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE Not only does the M1000R make 44bhp more than the S1000R, it's revvier too with peak power delivered at a heady 13,750rpm instead of 11,000rpm. There’s slightly less torque (just llb-ft) but it’s delivered higher up the revs at 11,000rpm rather than 9250rpm. But ShiftCam is the M1000R’s saviour. It gives you the best of both worlds: crazy power up top, big grunt down low and all delivered in one wave 3 IT'S STACKED FULL OF EXTRAS The M1000R has a new electronic…

‘The best-kept secret in biking destinations’ SCOTTISH BORDERS ˃ 2.5 days ˃ 355 miles ˃ Fantastic roads and scenery THIS TRIP IS one of the best three days you can spend on two wheels in the UK. Long the best-kept secret in biking destinations, over the last 15 years the Borders has built a reputation as a formidable motorcycling magnet. It’s traditionally seen as somewhere you pass through on your way north or south, framed on either side by the A68 and A74(M) which guides the heaviest traffic away from the region of high hills, lush valleys, bloody history and slinky tarmac. Our recommended ride starts on Friday afternoon at Carter Bar on the English/Scottish border on the A68. From there you’ve got a 60-mile, two-hour belter to kick the…

TOUR 2023 TOP-VALUE ROUTES EXMOOR AND ATLANTIC HIGHWAY ˃ 3 days ˃ 210 miles ˃ Sea views & scones 210 miles of Somerset, Devon and Cornwall coastal chicanery, steeped in history and dramatic views. Not always the best riding though there’s great stuff across Exmoor and down into Cornwall. However, with so many places to visit, it pays to get off the main roads and take you time to explore the villages, cliff-tops and beaches scattered along the coast. The ride is a day if you just ride it, an easy three days if you take your time and explore. It's not far, so fuel won’t cost you but you'll spend on souvenirs. If you can, book early and stay at the Sloop Inn in St Ives; the best atmosphere…

TOUR 2023 TOP UK ROUTES ‘It's one astonishing sight after another’ LAKES LOOP Best for The Lake District's greatest hits, in two days of mountains, lakes and nadgery roads Length 141 miles Route Bowness Nab to Coniston, Wrynose and Hardknott Passes, Eskdale, Wast Water, Calder Bridge, Lamplugh, High Lorton, Braithwaite, Buttermere, Borrowdale, Keswick, Ambleside, Kirkstone Pass, Penrith Roads B5285, A593, Wrynose and Hardknott Passes, various single-track roads, A595, more single-track, B5289, B5292, B5289 again, A59, A592 Love it because It’s all about lakes (the clue's In the name) but also about the mountains. It had been a longtime since I was last in the Lakes and I'd forgotten just how silent, imposing and, in some cases, mournful the scenery is. And how much of it - it’s one astonishing sight after…

'IT STARTED AT the end of 2012 when me and three or four guys from the old Performance Bikes forum agreed to ride from John o’Groats to Land’s End. I’d always wanted to do it but never got round to it and once you agree to something with other people, you can’t really back out, can you? “Over the next few weeks, the idea got elevated to not using motorways, then to using shit bikes costing no more than £300, then to doing it in one go on the longest day of the year. That gave it a deadline - June 21. Then we decided to do it for charity, and chose Cancer Research because, like most people, we all knew someone who’d been affected - at the time a…

Alpinestars Tech-Air 3 airbag £499.99 www.alpinestars.com THE CLAIM "The latest addition to the Alpinestars1 Tech-Air® family, TechAir® 3 enables riders of all disciplines to benefit from a standalone, wearable garment featuring all the protection that Tech-Air® delivers, regardless of the bike they ride, or the style of riding they do. Engineered to be worn in all weather conditions." THE REALITY I’m a big advocate for airbags but they can be cumbersome if worn inside your favourite jacket, while outside can affect a jacket's venting. This one from Alpinestars seeks to do both, by being snug enough to wear inside an appropriately sized main jacket I or flexible enough to go outside of it. I tried a Large vest inside several Large jackets, including one I have been wearing for a…

FEBRUARY 2022 SUB-£100 WINTER GLOVES Richa Ice Polar GTX Gloves £99,99 www.nevis.uk.com Across the board, the Ice Polars performed very well and their waterproofing was excellent. A great option for winter riding that won’t disappoint in any area. RECOMMENDED Weise Montana 150 £99.99 MARCH 2022 ADVENTURETOURING SUITS Rev’lt! Sand 4 H20 £799.98 www.revitsport.com/en/ A well-considered suit with all the features you would expect for rugged trail riding yet is still comfortable for tarmac use. Worth paying the extra for. RECOMMENDED RST Pro Series Adventure-X S519.S8 APRIL 2022 BLUETOOTH HEADSETS Cardo Spirit HD £130 www.cardosystems.com Excellent sound quality and the ability to carry it to high-enough volume for the road make this a great unit. It is also excellent value and easy to use. RECOMMENDED Sena 5S £149 MAY 2022 PADDOCK…

SHOW US YOUR ROUTE GET A GREAT PRIZE! Email rida@rida.co.uk and tall us about your favourite rids and if published, you’ll get a great prize to say thanks. The Metzeler Roadtec 01 SE - winner of RiDE’s 2020 touringtyre test - is a great tyre that works in all conditions, www.m3tzeier.co.uk I MEET CHRIS AT the Food Stop Café, at Quatford on the A442 between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster. I’ve not been here before but I’ve heard it’s good, and I’m not disappointed. Chris has taken time out from his job to show me round his back yard. “There’s many a good route around these parts but recently, I came up with the Severn Valley Sixty, a 60mile trip around the area (mostly in Shropshire), following the river as much as possible.”…

‘Is it worth moving my weight around on the bike?’ Q THERE’S LOTS OF riding advice about what to do with your upper body but what about my legs and feet? Should I have the balls of my feet on the pegs? Am I really meant to cover the back brake at a standstill? Is it worth moving my weight around? Nigel Christian, Epsom A Starting with your feet, I'd recommend that when you're riding on motorways or dual carriageways, you sit as comfortably as possible, which probably means having your insteps on the footpegs. But on a twisty, technical road, putting weight through the balls of your feet makes more sense because it's easier to activate your legs and use them as shock absorbers for your body. Lifting a…

THE DAX IS back. Honda has reimagined its 1970s icon as a minibike for the 21st century, keeping the distinctive T-shaped silhouette, funky styling and cheeky character while updating the chassis and engine to improve performance, usability and safety. New for 2023, the biggest Dax yet uses an air-cooled, 124cc, sohc, two-valve single - now fuel injected and with the convenience of an electric starter - producing 9bhp. Fun is the very essence of the ST125 Dax. It's a hoot to ride, with light if slightly sensitive handling, superb agility and enough get and go to keep with A-road traffic. Top speed is between 55-60mph, depending on conditions, gradient and rider size, but it's around town that the Dax is at its best where it can squeeze through gaps a…

TOUR 2023 ADVENTURE TOURING THE KIM CLATTERS over the rocks and gravel. Dancing below me, we climb inexorably, driving forward, rear tyre digging in. I’m working hard, scanning the track for holes and levering the bars from side to side. All around me is a rocky, semi-arid beauty that only southern Europe can deliver. To my right are the crags and still-green vegetation of an unknown peak and to my left, the world drops away into a deep gorge. A warm sun radiates joy: back home, kids are opening advent calendars and battling sub-zero temperatures but today, Portugal feels like summer. I'm tracing a 120-mile road and trail route that offers the best that central Portugal has available. As well as 17°C heat, there’s the promise of empty, grippy roads…

TOUR 2023 WHEN TOURING GOES BAD 'NO PUNCTURE REPAIR KIT' "Riding with mates across France to the Alps. Before I left I reminded myself to put the tyre-plug puncture kit in a pannier, then forgot. Never had a puncture, probably won't need it. A few days later, in the middle of nowhere, every bike picked up the same sort of nail. Locals had enough of motorbikes. Cheapest solution was stay the night, get a taxi into town the next day, buy a repair kit, and plug the tyres." Pete Horner MORAL If you don’t pack it, you’ll need it. 'AVOID THE PORK!' "We did the Black Forest B500 and were buzzing. Grabbed some hotdogs and ' a beer. Riding back to the hotel for the night,! felt ill. Lots of…

'IN 1991, I was one of the first people trained by Riders for Health to use a motorbike as part of my job in Lesotho. Back then I was a medic specialising in improving awareness of health issues to do with water supply disease control and waste management. “There was not enough transport at that time so before I got the bike, I had to walk to the communities I needed to get to. I couldn’t cover a lot of ground. Lesotho is a country within South Africa with a population of about 2.1 million, so it’s quite small, but it’s very mountainous and there’s a lot of tricky terrain. It can be very difficult or impossible to get to many communities by car, so the motorcycle is the ideal…

THE RETURN OF the historic '80s name in 2016, with an all-new parallel - not Vee - twin, genuine off-road ability and Honda's clever, semi-automatic 'DCT' option was big news. And the bike itself, the all-new CRF1000L Africa Twin, was hugely-anticipated. For the most part it delivered too but some niggles, a lack of electronic rider aids (and power) and a steep initial price dented its success. Over time, however, partly thanks to a series of dealer discounts, or offers including extras such as luggage kits, the reborn AT became established as a truly dual-purpose adventure-bike alternative. Updates included the addition of the Adventure Sport version, widening its appeal even further. Although updated again in 2020 to 1100cc form (along with a host of other changes), the 1000 original, especially…

GARAGE THE DIRT FEW BIKES MAKE more sense than a Tracer 900. An inspired recipe of fun and affordable MT-09 mixed with the extra practicality of a half-fairing and roomier seat made the original a Europewide best seller. Successive updates (and renames) made it better still but dented its budget status. Here’s what you need to know… 1 The seat is pants The 2015 version’s seat was widely criticised as uncomfortable, prompting a significant update on the 2018 model - although it's still not great. Some replace with 'Comfort' options by the likes of Sargent, Bagster and Corbin. It’s also a little high, at 815mm, leading to the use of lowering linkages by companies such as Lust Racing. How common? Very, but later versions are better and fixes well known. 2 Mechanicals…

'We travelled and grew old together' RiDE reader Pete McCullough's BMW R1150RT has given more than 100,000 miles of faithful service - so far… PETE’S RT MAY live in County Down but its story starts on the other side of the world. "I hired an 1100RT in New Zealand and loved it," he says, “I bought the 1150 new when I got back and it became my go-to bike for pleasure riding. Since ther I've been on tour through most countries in the EU, with the last big one being Romania, just before Covid. That was a 4500-mile jaunt over 13 days. "It's a great all-rounder; good for long high-speed motorways, great rain cover and it's a scraper on the twisties as well. It does whatever I ask of it…