Table of contents for August 2017 in RiDE

EVERY YEAR, BMW GS owners flock to Ystradgynlais in South Wales – fast becoming the UK’s off-road capital – to take part in BMW’s GS Trophy qualifier. This on-road/off-road event selects a team to go forwards to represent the UK in a competition with teams from other BM-buying nations. Riders in the two-day event faced challenges on the road and off-road at the Walters Arena, home of BMW Off Road Skills. On the second day, 12 finalists were chosen to battle it out to find the final three who will go on to Mongolia to represent the UK in the 2018 BMW GS Trophy. The winner was Pete Twigg from Sheffield who has competed for the past seven years. “I never thought I’d win it – I’m over the moon,”…

“These three machines have us asking what makes a sports tourer these days” WE ALL LOVE sports tourers, but these three machines have us asking what makes a sports tourer these days. In our group we have a V-twin, a V4 and an inline four. Testers Dave Smith, Jimmy Doherty and I stroke our chins with excitable early morning pre-ride fever, and try to work out how to strap a mixed bag of luggage to the Ducati SuperSport S, Honda VFR800F and Suzuki GSX-S1000F. In the end, our tailbags go on to the Honda and Suzuki pillion pads but the Ducati remains luggage-free as its solo seat cover is just too pretty to take off and leave behind. Style is the SuperSport’s calling-card; an invitation to coo at its perfect…

TomTom 450 Rider sat nav £349.99 Basic package £429.99 Premium  www.tomtom.com Did you know there are only three companies in the world that produce mapping for sat navs? TomTom is one of them, covering more than 1.8 million miles each year throughout 134 countries. Now that expertise has been included in a major update to the successful 400 Rider sat-nav, the 450 Rider. There is little visual difference to the previous model, but TomTom say the screen is now better in bright conditions and the 450 Rider is easier to use with gloves on, as it has summer and winter glove settings. Inside, the software has been changed to address and improve many of the issues found with the previous 400 Rider. A lot of work has gone into the…

One of the popular misconceptions about the riding skills needed for adventure touring is that you need to be some kind of off-road god to tackle the endless miles of trails you’ll encounter. By far the most common thing we’re asked by riders considering one of our expeditions is: “How much dirt road will there be?” Gladly, or sadly depending on your preference, even some of the most legendary adventure routes like the Pan-American Highway are virtually all ‘black top’ riding now, providing you stick to the road, that is. Even if it’s not in your plans, being able to deal with surfaces that are not tarmac keeps you ahead of the game. It may only be a gravel track to scenic viewpoints, heading over grass to the camp site…

1 AHEAD MONTH June 29-July 2, Goodwood, West Sussex The ultimate petrolhead weekend, bar none. The Festival of Speed features more bikes every year. You’ll will see some of the greatest machines ever raced, not just on paddock stands but also charged up the hillclimb circuit through Lord March’s estate - often ridden by the stars who originally raced them. You’ll also be mixing with some A-list racers and celebrities - Goodwood is so special that Valentino Rossi flew over the night after he’d beaten Marquez over the gravel trap at Assen in 2015 to be there. John Surtees was a regular, with Giacomo Agostini and Sir Stirling Moss often gracing the festival, riding and driving some of the rarest vehicles you can imagine. It’s not a cheap event but…

Where is Palermo, again? It’s in Sicily, which is the largest island in the Mediterranean and the one that looks like it’s being kicked by the toe of Italy. Not to be confused with the Isles of Scilly off Cornwall. Surely there’s not many roads to ride on an island? Don’t be fooled. Sicily is almost as big as Wales and we all know how many great roads there are there. As well as the busier coastal routes, there’s some fantastic roads in the interior that are well worth exploring. Some parts aren’t always in tip top condition but they’re perfect for adventure bikes. So what is there to see? Thousands of years of culture. Thanks to its key location at the heart of the Med, Sicily has been invaded…

The Boom is a clever audio and navigation system with a lot of features - the manual is 218 pages. You can work it with a combination of the buttons and the touch screen, or the two joysticks on the handlebars (one on each side). You can select radio stations or plug a media player or phone in and stream music from that - adjusting volume or skipping songs effortlessly. The audio is excellent up to 70mph, acceptable at 80mph and, frankly, quite rude at a standstill in front of a church. If you have a headset and the phone is connected, you can use the system to control and make calls (I didn’t the right headset to try it). The phone is charged while it’s in the cubbyhole, too.…

WITH A PILLION Umm, not at all ideal. Criticism is perhaps unfair on a sportsbike of this sort, but as there’s a seat and pair of pegs to ‘accommodate’ passengers, comment we will. Pillions only have a poorly positioned, weedy seat strap or the rider to hang onto. Given the bike’s performance, this cannot be described as secure and relies hugely on the rider being sensible. The seat itself only suits supermodel-sized bottoms and placing the pillion so far above the rider means they end up having to endure lots of wind. Despite the bike’s high price, the rear shock’s preload can only be adjusted with tools to cope with any extra weight, so bracing it for carrying a passenger is fiddly – and resetting it for solo use is…

Well, first you have to actually get to the road. That takes much manoeuvring. You’ll notice that the RT is big - especially with that bulky fairing - and heavy, at around 280kg with luggage fitted. But don’t let that put you off, because as soon as you persuade it (gently - it won’t be hurried) into first gear and pull away, all that weight seems to magically disappear. The RT is beautifully balanced, and you can dribble along in traffic with ease - plenty of owners do a regular city commute. But the open road is where it really shines. It’s not super-fast but it’ll whirr along at 100mph with a relaxed, unhurried air that lets you settle into the roomy (though not especially plush) seat and appreciate the…

“BMW said the final drive didn’t require oil changes. It does” 1 ENGINE/GEARBOX No big worries with the engine itself, bar a couple of tales of valve and valve-spring problems at high miles. They tend to use a fair bit of oil - especially if they’ve been run in too carefully, which spoils the oil-retaining surface on the bores - so keep an eye on levels. The sight glass is hard to read and gets filthy so the optional oil level warning feature is surprisingly useful. The RT is quite sensitive to accurate valve-clearance adjustment and very sensitive to correct throttle body synchronisation - it should be done at every service. The gearbox isn’t great - even on the improved later version (2008-on) it’s clunky and slow to change. Before…

“The bike of choice for cash-strapped couriers” #22 Honda CX500 Where did it come from? From that fertile period of Honda engineering where innovation trumped function every time (it was launched at the same time as the six-cylinder CBX1000 and the ill-fated NR500 oval-pistoned GP bike). But the CX did work - and kept on working (whoever said ‘camchain tensioners’ can go and stand at the back of the class). Hailed as a technological tour de force in 1978, and a big seller all over the world, it was also openly reviled by sections of the press and a sizeable proportion of the biking public, too, quickly gaining the nickname ‘the Plastic Maggot’. It’s true that it was never pretty, but its undoubted reliability and ease of use in traffic…

“Cleaning a bike involves getting into lots of nooks and crannies” CLEANING YOUR BIKE can be a pain in the bum. Cars are simple, with panels, glass and wheels – grab a bucket, sponge and away you go. But cleaning a bike involves getting into all manner of nooks and crannies – behind brake discs, exposed engines, rear suspension. And then there’s the amount of different materials – plastics, painted plastics, steel, aluminium, anodised aluminium, powder coating and Perspex all require a cleaner to do the best it can, but without damaging the surface. In fact, the vast majority of us probably just reach for whatever product we bought to clean the car. But bikes have all those different surfaces, together with brake dust, chain lube and general crud that…

“Burgers can be a good excuse for adventure” ADVENTURE BIKES deserve adventures. But if you don’t have time for visas and vaccinations, you have to create a challenge closer to home. It doesn’t need to involve ferries, mountain ranges or the discovery of lost tribes, it just has to be a reason to ride. Something substantial, something you can sink your teeth into, something meaty… like seeking out Britain’s Best Biking Burger. My shortlist of contenders comes down to a pair cut from drastically different cloths: the traditional Squires Cafe near Leeds and the über trendy The Bike Shed in East London’s fashionable Shoreditch. Neither ride would pose a problem for the mighty BMW R1200GS Exclusive, but I’m as keen to crown a champion burger as I am to see…

“The B6255 and I had unfinished business” MY RIDING MATES often accuse me of being a rain-bringer. Go to Scotland and it tips it down, while back home there’s a heatwave. Do a fly-ride trip to Spain and they have floods. So naturally, when they set off to ride with me at the start of the month, the grey clouds gave way to a downpour within miles. This confirmed something I’d already learnt on the damp launch of this model: I don’t like the way the OE Bridgestones steer and I really don’t like them in the wet. By the time we’d crossed the Peak District (frustrating 50s followed by the sublime A6024 over Holme Moss) and stopped for an all-day breakfast in Holmfirth, the decision to get new rubber…

THE DUCATI MONSTER 797 was the last of the bikes to arrive on the RiDE fleet, so while the rest of the team were out having fun, I was running it in. Everything was going to plan… apart from how busy the workshop was. We’ve heard of some dealers (not Ducati ones) with five-week waiting lists for services and, while my situation wasn’t so bad, the Monster was off the road for a good chunk of the month. I did get it back just in time for the Bank Holiday weekend at the end of May. The Friday before was the hottest day of the year. But I didn’t get out on the bike until the Monday: it rained. A lot. That’s a shame, but with the whole summer ahead…

in association with RiDE Taking pride in your bike means keeping it clean and well maintained. Cleaning’s the first step in keeping a bike running well, as that’s when you really keep on top of all the little jobs that need doing. Taking the time to do it properly shows you really love your motorcycle - which should be rewarded. And it will be, if you enter our Love Your Motorcycle competition. All you have to do is go to www.ride.co.uk/love-your-motorcycle and upload a picture of your bike. Each month, two people chosen at random will win an SDoc100 Classic Cleaning Kit worth £49.99. After a few months, we’ll stop accepting entries and ask people to vote for their favourite bike from a shortlist of the best images, picked by…

Peak District This was my Ducati 851 winter project flying above the fog in the Peak District – before the tear-down began - Travis Birdsall Austria On our way up the Grossglockner Pass – even in June there were still three-metre snow drifts, but all the roads clear to the top. Now planning our summer trip to northern Italy via as many of the Swiss passes we can manage - Chris Halsall West Country Three-day mini tour of Cornwall with my brother-in-law Paul Hayman on his 2010 Super Ténéré and me on my 2014 GS, stopping for lunch in Padstow Harbour. Three days, both coasts, one great trip - David Cobb Northern Scotland Stop for a photo during a challenging but amazing ride doing The North Coast 500 around Scotland…

THERE’S MORE TO Stoke than Port Vale FC, Robbie Williams and Royal Doulton. There are some cracking roads – well, through the surrounding hills, anyway. Yet as it’s tucked away between the Peak District and Wales, this isn’t an area that necessarily grabs the riding-destination headlines. That’s good, as it means quieter roads. Our one-day ride heads out from Stoke towards Wales, looping back through Shropshire and across the atmospheric Cannock Chase and the quiet hills between Uttoxeter and Stoke. There are a few short stretches of busier A-road but mostly we’re on quiet, charming back roads STAGE ONE Stoke to Shrewsbury 40 miles From the Queensway roundabout (at J15 of the M6) in Stoke, take the A519 to Eccleshall. Stay on this road all the way to Newport. At…

Can police seize a head cam? Q CAN POLICE IN SCOTLAND seize the footage from my helmet camera (on which you can see the dials, including the speedo)? What conditions would need to be met for them to be able to do so? A WHILE I AM NO expert in Scottish law, the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (1984) applies in Scotland as in England and Wales. In the UK, the system of law gives a police officer powers contained by an Act of Parliament. Police officers are, to use a lawyer’s phrase “the creatures of statute” – they exist because Parliament enacted the laws that created the police and their powers are constrained by the powers Parliament has given them. I asked some experienced police road traffic officers about…

Crossing Canada in the spring is not necessarily a wise move. You can go to sleep in your tent one warm evening, listening to the prairie dogs shuffling around you, and wake to snow blizzards and sub-zero temperatures attacking your fingertips as you frantically pack your gear away. For me the wind is the worst part, the arch enemy of the smaller bike rider. Crossing the Prairies reminded me of Patagonia - with its long straight stretches of road through the flat and treeless landscape. Windy gravel roads that leave you with the dilemma - sit down for the wind or stand up for the gravel? Gusts come uninvited and without warning, pushing you across the lines. It feels as though the wind is playing with you and sometimes it…

As well as the CVO bike, I rode the bike used by our photographer: an Ultra Limited - a snip at £24,595 in this two-tone blue. It has the same Boom audio/nav system and cruise control, but a bigger screen and a topbox (with a bigger, comfier pillion seat). It doesn’t have the pipes or CVO parts - or the 114 engine. The difference isn’t huge, but it is obvious: the 1745cc engine makes 90bhp - 11bhp less than the CVO bike. It’s more noticeable when setting off, as it takes a fistful to get the milder engine leaping off the line. But it does still leap. As with the CVO, the engine dominates the riding experience - it’s deceptively rapid - but I find the brakes equally underwhelming. Chassis-wise,…

SO HAS THE five-year wait for the new GSX-R been worth it? In a word, yes. This is a hugely impressive, massively stimulating superbike. It’s the sort of bike you really look forward to riding. It feels like heaven when you’re on it and you can reflect on with much satisfaction when you’re done. The engine is so impressive, but not just for its truly staggering performance. Efforts to broaden its power delivery and improve usability have been hugely effective. The in-line four will dish out as much or as little as you wish, and thanks to its remarkably progressive and stepless delivery, metering it is as easy as it can be. Just take care when you ask a lot of it. It accelerates so incredibly strongly, and sampling it…

“The ER-6f has made my weekend pleasure rides and daily commute more fun” I’D FELT READY to upgrade for a while, it was just a cost thing making me wait,” says Kawasaki ER-6f owner and RiDE reader Lauren Hardy. “I’d been doing my 26-mile daily London commute on an XT125 for 18 months, felt more and more confident, and wanted something bigger to ride with my friends. “I considered Suzuki Bandits and Yamaha Fazer 600s, but didn’t really like the look of them. I preferred the style of the ER-6f and had read favourable things in the press. It had to be in Kawasaki green though, so when I found a 2008, 8000-mile example for £2500 at a Doncaster dealership I put a deposit down before I passed my test.…

That all depends on the depth of the original owner’s pockets. You won’t find many base-spec RTs around. Few buyers could resist the lure of the Optional Extras (fitted on the production line) or Special Equipment (fitted by the dealer) catalogues. BMW have always offered various ready-made accessory packages, as well as higher spec models with more luxury and gadgets as standard - the SE came with a chrome exhaust, heated seats and grips, onboard computer with oil level warning, and white indicator lenses. The RT was available from launch with Electronic Suspension Adjustment (ESA) as an option (£500 in 2009) and it was a very popular choice, along with the Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPS: £155) and Active Stability Control traction control (ASC: £215) from 2007. Most owners also…

2005-2006 R1200RT All-new tourer with same engine and mechanics as R1200GS, air/oil cooled engine, shaft drive, servo-assisted brakes and adjustable seat. £4000-£5500 2007-2009 R1200RT Slight update, loses the servo brakes in favour of new I-ABS linked system. Improved gearbox from 2008 as well as a drain plug for the final drive. £4750-£7200 2010-2013 R1200RT Significant update, with new twin-cam engine based on the HP2 Sport, minor bodywork changes and new switchgear with conventional indicator switches. £5000-£10,000 The SE version The base model was always basic but (relatively) affordable, as a platform on which BMW’s extras could be attached. However, each version of the RT was also sold in SE trim with all the heated seats/grips, cruise control, bells and whistles fitted. The 2009 version also got a colour-matched topbox .…

Q We ride two-up on a BMW F800ST but would like something with a bit more go for touring in Europe… but it needs to be low and light and easy to manage. Would the BMW R1200RS with a low seat be our best bet? A The RS might be good (760mm seat height, 236kg fuelled but without luggage). Another option is the R1200RT: it’s heavier (276kg, though that includes panniers) but with a low seat option that’s also 760mm. The advantage of the RT is the more upright riding position, which makes low-speed control easier - a massive plus when riding two-up. The optional hill-start control can really help when the pillion gets on and off the bike. Q I’m really struggling with my bike’s rear suspension: every bump…

“They’d be good rapid trackday performers, too” IF YOU RIDE a classic bike or sidecar outfit you’ll know all about Avon tyres because, as the only manufacturer of motorcycle rubber in the UK, the Wiltshire-based factory dominates those particular scenes. Yet most of us think of Avon as the smallest of the big six tyre companies and probably come to them based on their competitive prices rather than their performance. But Avon hope that might change with the launch of their new high-performance sports touring tyre, the Spirit ST. This new tyre is an upgrade of Avon’s previous premium sports touring tyre, the Storm 3D X-M – but doesn’t replace it (though the old tyre will drop in price). Avon’s designer, Ashley Vowles, claims the Spirit ST offers significantly improved…

#4 Leathers Leathers go with motorbikes like bread goes with butter– but they can be one of the most expensive purchases any of us makes, after the bike. While textiles may be more practical for everyday, year-round riding there’s something special about a quality leather jacket, two-piece or one-piece suit. And leather still offers the best abrasion resistance. Being a natural material, leather must be looked after. If neglected it will go dry, becoming stiff and even cracking, drastically reducing its abrasion resistance. But if you look after your leathers, they can last for 15 years or more – if you can still fit in them… That long lifespan helps justify the initial cost. Before you get stuck into cleaning, take a little time to check out the seams. The…

NOW THAT I’VE run the V-Strom in and it has had its first service, I thought I’d get a touch more adventurous and seek out some local green lanes. After all, the Suzuki is billed as a ‘dual-sport’ machine, so it was time to test it off-road. As the bike is road registered, taxed and insured, it’s fine to use on public byways as marked on Ordnance Survey maps, along with some smaller unclassified roads. Definitely not footpaths and bridleways – that’s illegal – but I know to keep my wits about me on byways in case I meet any walkers, cyclists or horse riders. Travelling by green lane opens up many more options for me when commuting to the RiDE office. Beyond the fun factor, this means I can…

“It’s as brain-meltingly rapid as I expected” THE BRIEF SOUNDED simple: “Write about your first fun ride.” But it’s not so simple. The 2017 Fireblade’s visibly struggling in World Superbikes and road racing – but on the road a different kind of fun has just begun. Setting off for a blast on a favourite south Lincolnshire local loop I’ve ridden regularly on, among others, a 2008 Blade, a 2010 and 2015 BMW S1000RR, the Blade is as brain-meltingly rapid as expected: a flashing jewel of hypersport mayhem, stripping leaves from hedgerows in its wake. But… it’s impossible to ride properly, mostly because of a confidence-sapping flaw in the throttle-to-wheel connection. It’s not obvious, like a snatchy power delivery. The symptoms were present when I first rode the bike but I…

Hazard perception frustration I read the New Rider guide (July issue) hoping for pointers on the hazard perception test. I’ve subscribed to an online hazard-perception testing service, visited a few free test sites, even bought the official 2017 DVSA CD ROM. But I end up screaming at the screen. I view the videos and click my mouse where I perceive the start of a hazard. Generally I am getting them right but there have been times when it’s been a low score or a complete miss. I even had one site class my clicking - at what I see as hazards - as cheating. While these tests may be OK for new drivers, experienced drivers see the developing hazard - or potential other hazards - far earlier. Maybe there should…

Hard as (painted) nails Twin cam motor with a hard-tail frame: a big tank is not needed No words. No idea. No appreciation We couldn’t find anyone to explain what this was. Never mind why… Proof that customs can go too far Shovel mule Hopped-up Shovel powering a sidecar carrying the boardtracker Chain-driven sprinter Stripped down twin cam looks like it was built for speed, not for comfort Leg warmer We like this distressed Shovelhead – just not sure about the thigh-level pipes Chopped shovel How does this raked-out, hard-tail Shovelhead handle? We wouldn’t want to find out Honda NS400R two-stroke No fairing lowers shows that the engine’s as immaculate as the rest of it This. Is. Hardcore S&S Evo engine, SuperTrapp pipes, huge rear tyre, custom paint and seat.…

FESTIVAL SUCCESS MCN Festival of Motorcycling gets even bigger EVEN CHANGEABLE WEATHER couldn’t dampen the third Festival of Motorcycling, held at the East of England Showground, Peterborough. Nearly 20,000 visitors came, with more than 1000 test rides taken thanks to the largest multi-manufacturer test fleet in Europe. The flat track and speedway racing entertained the crowds throughout the day, while the Motorex classic bike fire-up paddock gave aural pleasure of yesteryear. And if people needed to relax there was plenty to see in the massive autojumble and at the club stands. Things didn’t quieten down in the evening, with campers enjoying the Yamaha Dark Side party with live bands. Andy Calton, editor of Motorcycle News told RiDE: “It was another fantastic event and to see an increase in attendance is…

NOW IN ITS ninth year, the Touratech Travel Event is so popular it’s likely to need to move to a bigger site in 2018. “We had 1800 people register, with another 200 or more turning up on spec. It was the best we’ve had, no question about it,” said Touratech’s boss Nick Plumb at the end of the event. The event, aimed at adventure riders, was held in Ystradgynlais, just north of Swansea. As well as the Touratech shop, the busy site had 15 trade stands from other brands. Triumph, BMW and Ducati were giving free ride-outs on some of their popular models – Ducati had brought 30 Multistrada 1200 Enduro adventure bikes all the way from Italy for the event. You could either ride them on the nearby road…

“Iran’s dangers pale when you meet the people” IT WAS A funny incident, really. I had parked up near the Iranian embassy in London on my trusty Yamaha TTR250 that I’d travelled from London to Cape Town on – it looked well-travelled. The embassy had just closed as British/ Iranian tensions were high, the diplomats had left and the British embassy had been firebombed in Tehran. But I came back from what I had been doing to find a note stuck on my TTR that said: ‘Dear Sir, I like your bike, have you been to Iran? It is beautiful and we’re not all terrorists.’ The more I looked into riding to Iran, the more intrigued I became. At the time (2011) I could still get a visa, but I…

“Locals don’t mind helping a pensioner with a bike” NORMALLY WHEN GOING to Europe I ride from home, near Maidstone, to Dover. But last year’s trip to Portugal started with a 250-mile journey to Plymouth for the ferry to Santander. A good maiden run for my new Honda CB125F. I went down the day before, staying in Plymouth to avoid any dramas such as being late for the ferry. On disembarking I had a one-night stay in Spain en route to Portugal. Being 70, my days of riding dawn till dusk are over. Now a maximum of 300 miles is a good day. That was enough to get me to Valladolid, ready for the ride to Portugal. The journey to Braga was through hilly countryside and the bike’s capacity showed…

“A bit of planning does go a long way” NOTHING BEATS A great road trip with a group of mates, every day’s fantastic riding replayed over a beer and good food each evening. That’s how it’s supposed to go, right? Everyone riding a good pace, nobody left behind because they were faffing with their new fancy camera and no arguments about which exit we were supposed to take off the ring road. We’re lucky that today there’s more information available than ever before, letting us pick the best places to go and the most incredible roads to ride, to create unforgettable riding holidays. Sure, there’s a romanticism to the old ‘just go’ style trip and it’s easy to do on your own, but it’s hard to pull off with a…

THERE’S A POINT when the sound of metal on tarmac stops making me flinch. It’s happened so many times already that it’s not a surprise. It isn’t a sign that I’m about to crash and doesn’t presage the end of the world. In fact, I’m secretly a bit disappointed if I throw the CVO Street Glide into tight turn and there isn’t a brief hiss of steel kissing asphalt at the apex: that shows I’m really pushing the bike. This tendency to touch down isn’t spoiling the ride – it’s actually enhancing it. I’m here in the South of France on a gigantic Harley-Davidson and, against all my expectations, I’m absolutely loving it. This is a bit of a surprise. I’m not a cruiser rider. Like most of you reading…

ADVENTURE BIKES, LIKE sumo wrestlers’ loincloths, only come in a limited range of colossal sizes. Thankfully, for 2017 there’s an influx of smaller options like BMW’s G310GS, Suzuki’s V-Strom 250, and Honda’s CRF250 Rally. But beating them all to showrooms is Kawasaki’s Versys-X 300. Why the extra “X”? Well, Kawasaki say that, like its 650 and 1000 brothers, the 300 is versatile enough for any road. But unlike them it’s ready for unsurfaced routes, too. Hence the spoked wheels rather than cast, the 19in front hoop, and tread pattern (and name) of the IRC Trail Winner tyres. The Versys-X’s 296cc parallel twin comes from Kawasaki’s Ninja 300, but it sits in a new steel backbone frame with longer-travel suspension and a lengthened swingarm. Fit and finish seems better that the…

“Trying its performance is like an illicit affair with a gangster’s moll” B-ROADS Any ideas of the new 200bhp GSXR1000R being an out-of-control monster well beyond the abilities of the average rider should be quickly dismissed. Though it should be added, using any significant amount of its huge potential needs to be considered carefully. Still, the Suzuki has plenty of electronic equipment to manage its astounding performance. Its vastly powerful and flexible inline four cylinder engine uses variable valve timing, stacked inlet tracts and torque-boosting exhaust valves all developed in Suzuki’s MotoGP programme. All this tech makes the power delivery outstandingly progressive and linear. When you want to zip ahead of traffic, as long as you’re north of 50mph there’s no need to trouble the slick gearbox, as there’s enough…

CUSTOMISATION IS PART of the Harley-Davidson ethos. The firm celebrates this with a competition called Battle of the Kings, in which dealers create specials based on standard models, to show what can be done with the parts catalogue and a little imagination. It’s a huge contest, with 220 dealers in 21 countries taking part – aiming to win their national round before moving forward to international competition. In the May issue, we looked at the British entrants on show at the Carole Nash MCN London Motorcycle Show, won by Shaw Harley-Davidson’s Beach Bobber. This month we’re in St Tropez at the Harley Euro Festival to size up the final five in the French leg and cheer on the winner. What’s allowed? All the bikes had to be built around one…

 AS YOU MIGHT expect, owners tend to be mature and experienced - our youngest owner was 47 but most are in their 50s and 60s. They’ve often had other big tourers (usually older BMWs) but many have come to the RT after getting sucked into BMW ownership via the GS craze. Some use their RTs just for holidays and the odd ride out, while others are hardcore commuters. “It covers ground effortlessly all day” Dave Lea BMW R1200RT owner Robin Begley’s one of those RT commuters - he put 67,000 miles on his 2011 bike in three years: “It was a bittersweet experience. The RT was a fantastic bike to ride, unbelievably agile for a bike of its size and bulk, and nicely balanced for in-town riding. It has a…

 THERE’S SO MUCH to like here. Outstanding comfort on long journeys, huge tank range, excellent two-up, surprisingly nimble at low speed and even more surprisingly agile tackling twisty mountain roads - despite its bulk it’s a genuine do-it-all bike. Then there’s the gadgets and rider aids - if you like having buttons to press and knobs to twiddle, a fully loaded RT is going to be right up your street. Naturally, all that ability and technology was never cheap new, but with early oil-cooled 1200s down to around four grand, suddenly luxury touring is affordable. Owners tend to look after their bikes so even high-mileage early models tend to be in very good condition. “Despite its bulk it’s a genuine do-it-all bike” The fly in the ointment is the doubt…

TALK ABOUT BEING dropped in at the deep end. I felt I’d been thrown out of a plane and dragged to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Pinned under my Yamaha WR250F enduro bike in a gully deep enough to trap a mountain goat, the chance of progressing any further was zero. I felt embarrassed and out of my league. But I had absolutely no excuses. I might have found myself hopelessly static just minutes into the first impossible-looking trail of a guided two-day Welsh off-road adventure from Monmouth to Rhayader and back, yet I’d been told it was going to be a tough start. This trip, one of several hosted by trail riding firm Adventure Trail Riding, is not aimed at novices. Fortunately, just as I felt I might…

Shoei RYD Helmet £349.99  www.shoeiassured.co.uk PRONOUNCED ‘RIDE’, THIS all-new lid sits towards the bottom of the Shoei full-face range, but calling it a ‘budget helmet’ would be selling it ludicrously short (especially at £350). It uses a proper double D-ring chin strap, the build quality is outstanding, the visor mechanism is simple, the matt finish is excellent and the liner is extra plush. Shoei say the very round, smooth, low-profile shell was designed for aerodynamics and any aggressive styling has been left at the wayside to reduce drag. It’s not only a visual success, but also delivers a very comfortable and quiet ride. I’m equally impressed with the ventilation, apart from the styling of the black plastic vents. They are easy to use with gloved hands and suck in an…

AS MY DAILY commute to the RiDE office is a mere 23-mile round trip, I’ve taken every chance to pile the miles on elsewhere. This weekend I took a trip to Norfolk to visit the Queen for tea. No, not that one - Grandma Norman. Despite clocking up a few thousand miles since passing my test, it’s mostly been on short, local rides and the occasional longer ride with other people. This was the longest ride I’d attempted on my own – so I didn’t tell my grandma I was coming, just in case I bottled it halfway there. I needn’t have worried, the 75 miles each way were more than comfortable and I’m really starting to feel more confident on this bike every time I get on it. By…

“This is not a pillion-friendly machine” THE PLAN IS simple. Finish work on Friday, chuck a tankbag and pillion on to the Triumph Street Cup and embark on a 200-mile ride to the Welsh countryside. I’m headed for Machynlleth - a small town in Snowdonia. The locals tell me it’s a biking town anyway, but for this one weekend of the year it hosts The Mach Motorbike festival (www.themotorbikefestival.com). Hosted by multiple record-breaking adventure pioneer Nick Sanders, this is its second year and with a turn-out of more than triple that of the previous year it’s going from strength to strength. My sat-nav gives an ETA of just after 8pm. Perfect timing to rock up and go straight to the bar... Kayleigh is a rider herself, but also a very…

IT’S EASY TO think that fashionistas with long beards and tattoo-adorned arms building custom retro bikes is a recent phenomenon – that they created the scene, followed by the manufacturers jumping on the bandwagon with bikes like the Ducati Scrambler family and BMW RnineT series. However, RiDE’s February 2006 issue suggests it might actually be the other way round… Back in 2006 the UK was riding a wave of good fortune before the credit crunch cocked it all up for everyone. The magazine featured the new 181bhp Kawasaki ZX-10R and the updated Honda CBR1000RR – sportsbikes still ruled British hearts and sales charts. But there were also supermoto-styled single-cylinder bikes like BMW’s F650CS and Aprilia’s Pegaso, as well as the new V-twin Yamaha MT-01 muscle bike. And in the magazine…