RiDEDecember 2018的目錄

DAINESE HAS REVEALED a brand-new range of adventure-touring kit designed to work in extreme weather. At the pinnacle is the Antarctica, an ultra-premium laminate Gore-Tex suit (£1300 jacket, £750 trousers). It uses a new abrasion-resistant material called Trixior and features a removable goose-down thermal jacket that can be worn on its own. The suit also comes with CE Level 2 back, shoulder and elbow armour, and has large vents sealed with waterproof zips, long neoprene cuffs, a storm collar, large external pockets and an internal belt to adjust the size. It claims to “set a new standard for motorcycle exploration in the coldest lands on the planet”. Sounds about right for a British winter, then.…

GET THE ROUTE  www.ride.co.uk/routes Our full 700-mile trip took three days: the first to get from our offices in Peterborough to Northumberland and the third to get back south again. The second day was this 145-mile loop starting from and returning to Alnwick Castle. Rather than take the popular coastal route we followed our noses on some inland B-roads north, happening across the carved statue of Saint Cuthbert on our way to Lindisfarne Causeway. We then tracked west, slipping across the Scottish border just before Kelso. The route further south was highlighted by the achingly beautiful B6357 from Bonchester Bridge to Saughtree. From Kielder Castle we took the Kielder Forest Drive (£3 per vehicle; take coins) — a 12-mile gentle gravel trail that cuts through the heart of the huge forest.…

In theory, the R1200GS Adventure starts at £13,400. In practice, nobody buys one in bare-bones spec. The most popular version is the heavily equipped TE (£17,120). Our test bike is the Rallye variant (£550 more, blue-and-white paint, shorter single-piece seat, smaller screen from the regular GS). But that spec still doesn’t include the TFT dash (£595) or the SOS button (£295), bringing the all-in total for our bike to £18,560. Luggage is extra: £834.45 for the panniers (44-litre left, 36-litre right) and £468.33 for the 32-litre topbox. BMW claims a 263kg kerb weight, a figure that must be for the least-equipped base bike because RiDE’s scales reveal a true fully fuelled weight of 276.6kg with no luggage fitted. Deducting that from the bike’s 480kg weight limit leaves a payload of…

IF YOU’VE EVER been to watch the superbikes at Snetterton, you’ve passed Thetford. It’s a quiet old market town that expanded rapidly in the late 20th Century, thanks to its designation as an ‘Overspill’ town from London. But the old centre makes a decent place to visit. It makes a great base for riding, too. True, you don’t have the challenging elevation changes of more mountainous regions but you do get miles of twisty, enjoyable riding and often better-than-average weather. This is Breckland, characterised by dry heathland and, more recently, Thetford Forest – England’s largest man-made forest. STAGE ONE Thetford to Attleborough 30 miles Leave Thetford on the B1107 to Brandon. In Brandon pick up the A1065 to Swaffham. Go straight across the Mundford roundabout and after three miles, turn…

Should he accept a reduction? Q MY SON WAS involved in a relatively low-speed accident on his scooter. I am a biker so I had bought him all the proper kit. However, when he was knocked off his bike by a car, he was wearing his joggers, trainers and his helmet strap was undone — but he did manage to wear his bike jacket. Well done him. His injuries were not terrible. He skinned his hips and thighs but these are largely recovered. However, he has had a pretty serious grind taken out of the outside edge of his foot. This has taken longer than expected to heal but it seems to be recovering. He cannot wear steel toe-capped boots though and has had to take time off work as…

Passport Must be valid for at least six months beyond your date of entry. No visas are needed. UK Driving Licence and International Driving Permit Take your UK driving licence and obtain an International Driving Permit from the RAC. V5C Vehicle Registration For your own motorcycle; you’ll need the original to temporarily import your bike. Other To temporarily import your own bike, you must have a permit issued by the Thai Department of Land Transportation and travel with a licensed guide. We suggest you look at the FaceBook Group “Thailand - New regulation affecting overland travellers on foreign vehicle” for guidance in meeting these requirements introduced in 2016. Carnet de Passage Is not required for your own bike. Bike Insurance Local Thai insurance is needed to use your own bike;…

The new 1250 has a bigger bore (up to 102.5mm from 101mm) and a longer stroke (76mm from 73mm) than the previous 1200. This increases the engine’s capacity from 1170cc to 1254cc. Increasing the stroke more than the bore makes the motor less oversquare - usually, something associated with a gruntier, less-revvy power delivery. Sure enough, the new engine’s peak torque arrives 250rpm lower, at 6250rpm Maximum power jumps from 123bhp to 134bhp, while torque is up from 92lb·ft to 106lb·ft. So that’s 9% more power and 14% more torque from just 7% more capacity — which means the new engine isn’t just bigger but more efficient too. On the face of it, plenty is unchanged. Valves remain the same diameter (40mm intake, 34mm exhaust) and sit at the same…

ENGINE The 286cc single may not suggest outright performance on paper but on the road, it works remarkably well CHASSIS Decent equipment used well means the svelte CB300R punches above its weight in the fun stakes THERE ARE LIGHT bikes, and then there’s the Honda CB300R. Even with its tank filled to the brim, it weighs just 145.4kg on RiDE’s scales. That’s remarkable — around 15kg less than any of its (already featherweight) rivals, and even lighter than KTM’s 125 Duke. If modern bikes are too big for you, it could be just what you’re looking for. To look at, the CB’s spec doesn’t appear lightweight. It has chunky 37mm inverted forks, a four-piston front brake caliper, and tyres almost as wide as a 650. Styling is a shrunk-in-the-wash CB1000R…

B-ROADS The feet-forward pegs, combined with the low seat and pulled-back bars, dictate that the riding position is relaxed, so much so that it feels like you are actually reclined. The deeply scalloped seat cups your backside as the engine’s lazy power delivery smoothly drives the bike’s 245kg bulk with ease, meaning there’s little point in revving it out. The Speedmaster tips into bends calmly and easily, despite its unconventional tyre sizes, and remains stable and composed throughout the corner. But be warned — the hero blobs hit the road surface with alarmingly little lean angle. This ground clearance is probably the poorest of any bike we have ever tested. So the lack of ground clearance and speed-limiting riding position mean that there’s little point getting aggressive with the engine.…

Smooth and easy. The four-cylinder will pull top gear virtually from tickover, and smoothly too, all the way to the redline. There’s no noticeable power step, no kick in the pants, no real excitement, but then there’s no need to go hunting for different gears all the time either. It’s the same on the motorway — at 80mph and 6000rpm, you just twist the throttle and go, like a big scooter. The handling’s similarly smooth — it rolls into bends, cleanly and gently, with great feel from the front tyre at sensible speeds and lean angles. If you push on a bit harder though, you’ll find it’s a bit reluctant to turn in quickly, and you’re likely to miss the apex you were aiming at. That’s also a by-product of…

1 ENGINE/TRANSMISSION True, this engine’s only been out for four years, but even so we’d have expected to hear about a few niggles. But no. James Bennett had a water pump fail at 5000 miles, though that seems to be a one-off: “All fixed under warranty and Honda gave me £100 as a gesture of goodwill. It was a pain at the time (it happened while I was touring the Alps) but it hasn’t really knocked my confidence in the bike.” 2 KEYS When buying a used bike, make sure you get both original keys, along with the original tag which carries the key number and a bar code — you’ll need this to get any replacement keys coded by a dealer. Keep the spare key and tag safe —…

“There really are few bikes that feel so natural ” WHICHEVER VERSION YOU choose, there’s plenty to like. When they came out, we said, “It’s not trying to be all things to all riders. It’s designed for less-experienced riders who won’t miss the suspension adjustment and power they’ve never had, and will appreciate its unthreatening simplicity and its solid, encouraging, competent character”. Five years on, that’s still true. There really are very few bikes that feel so natural and intuitive to ride, from the moment you grip the bars. For 2014-16 bikes, there’s not a lot of difference in the riding experience betweeen CB and CBR variants. The fairing really is more or less the only difference. From 2017 the R gets taller gearing though, which makes it feel a…

Where did it come from? From the white-hot competition of Italy’s 125cc scene of the 1980s and 90s. The first Mito — the name means ‘myth’ in Italian, but ‘legend’ would do as well — was launched in 1989 with a level of build quality and attention to detail that shamed a lot of bigger bikes. The twin-spar aluminium chassis was so capable that it’s always been a popular choice for supermono racers and other specials, and clever people have fitted everything from big thumping singles to CR500 two-stroke motocross engines to Yamaha LCs between those chunky spars. At just 120kg dry, even with its standard two-stroke single-cylinder powerplant it went well, giving a genuine 100mph with a little patience. It handled superbly and better still, it looked like the…

THERE IS A huge variety of motorcycling jackets available, designed to suit a wide range of criteria: personal preference; fashion; bike style; weather; riding requirements — something for everyone. And if touring isn’t your thing, or you have less than £250 to spend, there are still plenty of options for you to choose from. For warmer climates or the occasional sunny day, then a lightweight summer jacket could be just the job. For a more relaxed, traditional country look, then a waxed-cotton style could be your speed. For a retro machine, café racer or a bobber, then it has to be a stylish retro leather while an all-rounder for around £150 still offers a huge amount of scope. All should offer at least some protection from the elements but definitely…

1 Helmet: HJC RPHA 11 Deroka Orange £359.99 www.oxfordproducts.com I resisted conversion to the church of HJC for years, mostly out of snobbery and prejudice. More fool me. I’ve worn the RHPA 11 (sexier name, please Mr HJC) almost exclusively since May 2018, accumulating more than 8000 miles in it. It’s all-week-comfortable, light, well ventilated, sturdy and the visor swaps are quick and easy. I wish the visor would stay one-click open at speed for demisting (it snaps shut) and it can’t quite capture the glossy, cosseting opulence of an Arai (maybe that’s just snobbery again) but for the price, it’s a very worthy piece of kit. 2 Jacket: Klim Gore-Tex Latitude £714.99 www.klim.com You’ll get a lifetime’s waterproof adventuring from the fully featured Klim jacket, as you’d expect for…

EVEN WITH CORRECT maintenance, every chain and sprocket has a limited life. Signs of a worn chain and sprocket are: the chain needs more frequent adjustment and lubrication; you notice the chain has a tight spot after adjustment; the rear sprocket teeth have become sharp and distorted or curved at the ends; you notice a lack of ‘smoothness’ from the drive/transmission when riding. Before you start replacing the chain and sprocket, make sure you’re familiar with how to split or join a rivet link and don’t be tempted to fit a new chain to worn sprockets, to save a few pounds — it’s a false economy. Worn sprockets will wear a new chain quickly. One of the common pitfalls is not having the correct socket to undo the front sprocket.…

SPEC KTM 790 DUKE £8499 • 799cc parallel twin • 103bhp • 187kg • 14-litre tank • 825mm seat • 51mpg • Mileage: 4668 ZERO BIKE PREP, jeans and jacket and I was good to compete. But it was when I was dodging the huge diesel spills through Melton Mowbray on my ride over to Donington Park to take part in my first Moto Gymkhana event I begun to doubt my lack of preparation — was I forgetting something? On arrival, I was greeted by the director, Andrew Freeman, who reassured me I had everything I needed for the day. Strolling through the paddock and it was more welcoming smiles and handshakes — these are friendly guys. Looking over the car park I saw a bunch of multi-coloured cones that…

SPEC DUCATI SCRAMBLER 1100 £10,838 • 1079cc 90° V-twin • 84bhp • 206kg • 15-litre tank • 810mm seat • 50mpg • Mileage: 1661 “NOT SURE I’D want do a big trip on it…” said the Scrambler’s previous caretaker Steve, as he handed me the keys. But you can’t tell me nothing, can you? I’ve attached a tailpack to Big Yella, and gave her a rudimentary clean. I’m heading to Wales for Mach 3.5 — the Motorcycle mini-festival held at the home of global touring supremo Nick Sanders. It promises camping, huge rideouts, live music, great food, good people and, best of all, endless local ciders and ale. Thing is, it’s more than four hours away and with the festival’s big rideout, I’m looking at a 500-mile round trip. So…

SPEC HONDA CB1000R+ £12,299 • 998cc inline four • 143bhp • 212kg • 16-litre tank • 830mm seat • 41mpg • Mileage 1295 I’VE SPENT MOST of my time this month getting used to one of the CB’s features that is new to me, namely the quickshifter that this ‘+’ model comes with. It’s not just one-way though – clutchless upshifting while using positive throttle is increasingly common on bikes now. The Honda has an ‘auto-blip’ function allowing clutchless downshifts on a closed throttle as well. This has been the preserve of big-budget sportbikes until relatively recently. My other half gets to test many sportsbikes and I often hear him talking about auto-blip on this, auto-blip on that, and knew what it was about but had not had the chance…

BRIDGESTONE HAS ANNOUNCED a new off-road tyre for big adventure bikes, called the Adventurecross AX41. It’s a road-legal tyre but the emphasis is being put firmly on its off-road performance. The ultra-knobbly tread pattern has been developed with know-how gleaned from the firm’s Battlecross range of motocross tyres, though a stiffer design and a new block profile gives proper stability and durability on the road. It’ll be available from January in four front and five rear sizes to fit the most popular large-capacity dual-purpose machines, with more sizes for smaller bikes due in 2020. Watch out, Continental TKC80……

BMW R1250RT HAND IN HAND with the new R1250GS (see p50 for our first-ride review) is a similar update to BMW’s best-selling tourer. The R1250RT uses the larger 1254cc boxer twin, with the same variable valve timing and identical 134bhp and 106lb·ft. Its chassis is mostly R1200RT, though its optional Dynamic ESA semi-active suspension now includes automatic preload adjustment. Kerb weight is up to 279kg but payload has increased by 7kg to 226kg. There are new front brake calipers (as the R1250GS), and a new front spoiler behind the front wheel (due to the new exhaust header-pipe routing). There’s also an R1250RT Sport, which comes in red with a cut-down windscreen. The R1250RT will start at £14,415 when it arrives around November, with the fully loaded LE £16,710. Indian FTR1200…

YOUR NEXT GREAT RIDE THE PEAK DISTRICT 53.203750, -1.868393 THERE’S STILL TIME to get out there and enjoy some of England’s green and pleasant landscapes. Alright, it’s October, which means we might be closer to the Winter Solstice than the Summer Solstice but it’s not that cold yet. Put on a thick pair of socks, grab your neck tube and get riding. Admittedly, chances are you’re probably not planning a fortnight-long escapade to the Outer Hebrides, but instead looking for somewhere with head-spinning scenery that’s a little closer to home. Our choice would be the gorgeous Peak District — fairly close to the centre of Britain and only a morning’s ride from deepest, darkest London. Once there, the UK’s original National Park offers a plethora of panoramas, with a feast…

A 160bhp dirt bike: an idea that could only ever be the product of one company. The R is the muckier of KTM’s two 1290 Super Adventures, ditching the S’s touring screen, cast wheels and semi-active suspension for longer manually adjusted springs and spoked 21in/18in wheels. The 1290 SA-R starts at £14,899, though our test bike had a few parts from KTM’s Power Parts catalogue including an Akrapovic slip-on silencer (£818.58), the Travel Pack trio of gadgets (hill-hold control, two-way quickshifter and motor slip regulation, £584.41), and heated grips (£166.44). Plastic panniers (36-litre left, 30-litre right) are an additional £831.96. With a full tank but no luggage fitted, the KTM weighs 250.4kg on RiDE’s scales. Deducting that from its maximum weight limit of 450kg leaves a usable payload of 199.6kg…

To create a fair and consistent playing field, we fitted all four bikes with Bridgestone’s new-for-2018 adventure-sport-touring tyre, the A41. It’s available in all the required sizes: not only the 19in fronts and 17in rears of the BMW and Triumph, but also the less-common 21in fronts and 18in rears of the KTM and Honda. The A41 is even made in a special ‘G’ variant specifically designed for the R1200GS and the Africa Twin. Bridgestone designed the A41 to exceed the wet-weather performance of the previous A40, as well as give more dry grip without sacrificing life. It uses softer compounds on the edges, giving more grip when you’re leant over, with a harder, more durable compound in the centre of the tyre. It’s a road tyre, though all riders and…

1 Baker’s Brecon blast Start/finish Llandovery Distance 155 miles Riding time 4.5 hours Waypoints 3 (West End Café, Garth viewpoint, Penderyn Distillery) Paul Baker sent in this excellent blast around the Brecon Beacons. It doesn’t hit that many waypoints — just the West End Café in Llandovery (perfect for a pre-ride breakfast), the Garth viewpoint and the Penderyn Distillery. That doesn’t matter so much as the quality of the roads and the inventive way Paul’s put them together. Looks like a cracking day out — and Paul recommends lunch at the Angel Inn in Glynneath. And that wins Paul an Oxford Oslo jacket worth £199.99. 2 Not the North Coast 500 Start/finish Inverness Distance 120 miles Riding time 2.5 hours Waypoints 2 (Dunrobin Castle, The Pier) You don’t have to…

Top of the World THE HIMALAYAS BLEW my mind — it’s as simple as that. They blew my mind and pushed my bike and body further than either has been pushed so far on this trip. We climbed to over 5180m above sea level and, though I had originally shrugged off the effects of altitude, this had a huge impact on so many things. Altitude sickness SUCKS. Your head pounds and spins and you constantly feel queezy. Five minutes after waking up I was vomiting into a pit next to our campsite. I say ‘waking up’ but I hadn’t really slept all night. In fact, every time I dozed off, my body reacted by flooding my dreams with orders to breathe as I struggled to get enough oxygen. When I…

1 MONTH AHEAD INTERNATIONAL DIRT BIKE SHOW November 1-4, Stoneleigh Park, Kenilworth, Warks The International Dirt Bike Show is the off-road equivalent of Motorcycle Live, with added knobblies and mud — and as we all end up riding off-road in the end, the Dirt Bike Show is the ideal place to begin your journey to the brown side. Spend the day trawling the latest in new bikes and kit, feast your beadies on freestyle motocross stunt shows and mini-bike supercross and, for the first time, the show features a specially built flat-track oval and racing. Plus there’s a trials-riding stunt display - and you can also go give trials a go. Fans of British Superbike and the TT will also note many of Britain’s road-race stars can be found wandering…

DUCATI’S SCRAMBLER ARRIVED with much hype and fanfare in 2015 and became an overnight success for the Italian factory. Designed to appeal to new or returning riders, its carefree and affable personality has delivered 55,000 sales worldwide to date. For 2019, Ducati has refreshed the bike that launched the family: the Icon. The headline change is the addition of Bosch cornering ABS, a significant first in this category. There’s also reworked suspension, a hydraulic clutch and a redesigned seat, plus self-cancelling LED indicators. Switchgear and multimedia connectivity comes directly from the bigger Scrambler 1100, as does inspiration for a new, machine-finished wheel design. There are a number of subtle styling tweaks: beefier tank panels, blacked-out engine cases, a darker and more protective exhaust-header coating, plus a fresh design for the…

The authentic one Harley-Davidson Road King 1340 > £6000-£7000 > 1994-1999 > 1338cc V-twin > 65bhp > 314kg WHEN IT COMES to living the American dream, there is really only one brand to go for – Harley-Davidson. However there is one major issue when buying a used Hog and that is depreciation. Or more precisely, the lack of it. Used Harleys, especially the big-engine models, hold their value incredibly well and that means finding one on a tight budget is tricky. But it can be done and, as long as you are prepared to buy an older machine, you can get this authentic slice of mom’s apple pie for half the cost of a new Speedmaster. And no model epitomises Harley like the classic Road King. While you can get…

A good, honest, basic motorcycle. Rather than dumbing down a sportsbike, Honda started with a blank sheet of paper. That allowed a relatively long-stroke engine layout, designed from the start to be easy to use and mildly tuned - it has soft cams and a compression ratio of just 11.4:1. Unlike re-purposed sportsbike engines, this is designed to be on show, so has fewer external hose and cable routes, to keep things looking tidy. Peak power is down on the older CBR600F and Hornet but that was deliberate too, keeping it under the limit for possible restriction for A2 licences. The new engine sits in a simple steel frame (painted black) with aluminium swingarm and directly-actuated monoshock. At the front are simple 41mm conventional forks and basic two-piston sliding-caliper brakes…

Kawasaki ER-6N 2006-current £2000–£5000 • 649cc parallel twin• 71bhp • 130mph • 50+mpg • 174Kg Strange looks but you can’t argue with the performance. The ER-6 is the mainstay of twins racing as it’s so reliable and offers such great balance from the steel-tube chassis. Like the MT, it’s built down to a price so the finish isn’t great, and early bikes are now suffering from worn-out wiring looms and failing ignition and charging systems. A neglected one is likely to be a can of worms but find a nice clean one and it’ll do you proud. Early versions vibrate quite a lot — post-2009 are better. Yamaha MT-07 2014-current £3500–£5500 • 698cc parallel twin• 74bhp • 135mph • 50+mpg • 179kg Launched at the same time as the CBR and CB, and notionally aimed at the same…

2014-2016 CB650F All-new naked middleweight based on 649cc liquid-cooled engine, steel frame, basic suspension, ABS optional. £4000-£5000 2014-2016 CBR650F Same base as the CB but with full fairing, lower bars and different riding position. ABS optional. £4300-£5750 2017-current CB650F Restyle, with flatter handlebars, sharper bodywork, LED lights, uprated forks (still non-adjustable) and 4bhp extra from Euro4-compatible motor. ABS standard. £5000-£6000 2017-current CBR650F Same updates as the CB but with a revised gearbox too — taller gearing in second, third, fourth and fifth. ABS standard. £5800-£6800…

Engine 649cc dohc inline four, 4v per cyl, l/c Power 86bhp @ 11,000rpm Torque 47lb·ft @ 8000rpm Transmission 6-speed, chain Chassis steel-tube diamond Front suspension 41mm forks, 120mm travel, no adjustment Rear suspension monoshock, 127mm travel, adjustable preload Front brake 320mm discs, 2-piston calipers Rear brake 240mm disc, 1-piston caliper Front tyre 120/70 ZR19 Rear tyre 180/55 ZR17 Wheelbase 1450mm Rake/trail 25.5°/101mm Seat height 810mm Fuel tank 17.3 litres…

TCX Drifter WP Brown Boots £259.99 www.nevis.uk.com I’VE HAD THESE beauties since June 2017 and I’ve used them in all sorts of riding scenarios, including off-road adventures larking around on trendy scramblers at the beach to tackling green lanes around Alton Priors on middleweight adventure bikes, to exploring Scotland on premium tourers. In my exploits, I’ve seen virtually all weather conditions, from extreme heat-wave to sub-zero temperatures and these Drifters have looked after my feet superbly. I can safely say that in my 16 months of ownership, they have excelled in every department. At first sight, you could be fooled into thinking they’re only for the pro dirt rider but in reality, they are extremely capable as a road riding/touring boot or to compliment the aesthetics of an aggressive street…

WATCH ANY RACING coverage on TV and you’ll see race photographers in fluoro bibs wandering about in the paddock, pitlane or trackside, with lenses like telescopes. We can all think of the iconic images they’ve captured over the years, of racing superstars forever frozen in moments of triumph, drama or tragedy. For years, theirs was a mysterious world of transparencies and processing, but the digital revolution has opened the aperture and now anyone can afford a camera and lens capable of quality race-action photographs. But gaining the technical know-how and the skills to do it is a different matter. Which is where James Wright, owner of and lead photographer with Double Red, official photographers of the British Superbike series, comes in. Double Red’s Photographic Trackside Training Days were set up…

James says: “A DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflex) is a must. I’ve had people bring Bridge cameras (halfway between a DSLR and a compact) but Bridge cameras have fixed zoom lenses and no optical viewer — they’re not giving themselves the best chance of success. In terms of lenses, you shoot with what you’ve got but a 70-200mm lens would be ideal; you can shoot every angle with that. Something longer is always useful but it’s just different lenses. Apart from that, charged batteries, memory cards and a laptop if you have one but we have a desktop we can use. You also use a range of pro Canon gear.”…

SPEC TRIUMPH TIGER 1200 XRT £16,150 • 1215cc inline triple • 139bhp • 266kg • 20-litre tank • 835/855mm seat • 43mpg • Mileage: 9875 I’D ALREADY PREPPED the Tiger with a bigger rack from Alt-Rider (£97.61, www.adventurebikeshop.co.uk). I’d even prepped my camping kit, packing it into the excellent Moto Fizz Camping Seat Bag (£159, www.nippynormans.com). All I needed was the chance to go camping. But when? Every weekend was busy. There was so much to do in the week. Then I remembered the magic word: delegation. “Martin, could you just…” I muttered, heading for the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow afternoon.” I had no idea where to go, so put a poll on Twitter: Should I camp in Norfolk, the Peaks, the North York Moors or the Lakes? In…

SPEC BMW F850GS SPORT £13,365 • 853cc parallel twin • 94bhp • 242kg • 15-litre tank • 860mm seat • 51mpg • Mileage: 2275 THE F850GS PERFORMS very well on road, handing and cornering with great poise, but I really wanted to know what it’s like away from the tarmac. After all, this bike is billed as a continent crosser, and looks the part with its gold spoked wheels, high pipe and bash plate. Hearing the sad news that Rockingham Motor Speedway is due to close at the end of the year prompted me to make one last pilgrimage, but only not for the racetrack. Many people don’t realise that hidden behind the sprawling grandstands they had a really good off-road course, originally designed for 4x4s but equally good for…

ALMOST FOUR DECADES after Suzuki’s GSX1100S Katana first blew riders’ minds, its famous lines and name have returned. But there’s nothing retro about the 2019 Katana’s spec — it has a 148bhp, 999cc inline four, a twin-spar aluminium frame, traction control, LED lights and a digital dash. And if some of that sounds familiar, that’s because the Katana’s underpinnings are taken from the GSX-S1000 — including the motor, exhaust, frame and swingarm, adjustable suspension, Brembo brakes, handlebar, switchgear and more. Funnily enough, the original Katana was built along similar lines, using the running gear from a GSX1100E jazzed-up with radical styling from German firm Target Design. Suzuki says it has smoothed out the GSX’s snatchy power delivery by repositioning its throttle cables and changing their ‘geometry’ — presumably that means…

STAR PICTURE Nevada, USA Here is a shot of our rented Street Glides and Sportster at the Alien Research Centre near Area 51 in Nevada, on the Extraterrestrial Highway. It’s from a road trip I took with Paul Harris and Loz Powers, covering 2000 miles in seven days, from Denver to Yellowstone and to Las Vegas. A fantastic adventure. Ian Hiscox Grimsel Pass, Switzerland Everyone does Grimsel Pass in Switzerland but Grimsel Pass Old Road is a little road off it, just before a tunnel entrance. Mark Donald Castelpetroso, Italy On my recent trip to Italy I found a Health Spa — Fonte del Benessere — in the middle of nowhere… a welcome respite. Daniele Iannarelli (Mr) Brecon, Wales Watching the sun come out with my SV650 in the Brecon…

LUSH, MULTICOLOURED landscapes decorated with delicate, desolate roads snaking through rolling, three-dimensional curves. Gorgeous historic castles everywhere you look. A 12-mile-long vehicle-friendly gravel trail that cuts straight through the heart of England’s largest forest. The Scottish Borders within spitting distance. And a secret road that emerges from the sea for a few hours a day, letting you ride on water. All in England’s most sparsely populated county. Northumberland is a belting place to ride, so long as you’re on the right bike. You want comfort, luggage and tank range to gobble up the ride there, agility and punch to enjoy its sinuous B-roads, and legitimate all-surface confidence to take advantage of its off-tarmac excursions. That sounds like the recipe for a large-capacity adventure tourer… but which one? To compare four…

New for 2018, the Adventure Sports adds even longer-travel suspension (an extra 20mm) and a larger fuel tank (an extra 5.4 litres) to the regular Africa Twin. It’s the least-expensive of the four bikes here, at £12,599 — good value given the standard trim includes heated grips and a 12-volt socket. Our test bike included a centrestand (£180), a two-way quickshifter (£600), foglights (£430), as well as wind deflectors (£70) and little screen visors (£55) bumping that total to £13,934. Panniers (40-litre left, 30-litre right) are an extra £585, and inner bags £95. RiDE’s scales show our test bike weighs 250.4kg with a full tank but no panniers. The ATAS has a surprisingly low maximum weight rating of just 438kg, which means the useable payload is a disappointing 187.6kg. SPEC…

The six-strong Tiger 1200 range starts at £12,200 — but this flagship XCA model (spoked wheels, tall screen, heated grips and seats, keyless ignition, Arrow silencer, backlit switchgear, semi-active suspension, cruise control, LED foglights and plenty more) jumps to an equally well-loaded £16,950. The XCA no longer comes with pannier mounts as standard, so if you want Triumph’s plastic ‘Adventure’ panniers (62 litres total storage) that’s an extra £725. If you prefer the metal ‘Expedition’ panniers (74 litres total storage) that’s an extra £840, or £880 in black. Our bike came with just the Expedition topbox, which is £436 including the fitting kit. Triumph doesn’t claim kerb-weight figures, but our scales show the XCA weighs 274kg with a full tank but no topbox. An enormous 496kg weight limit leaves an…

PRICE RANGE £4000-£8000 This is the sweet spot budget-wise when it comes to buying a used adventure bike, where you can expect to see a huge choice of machines — and a decent range of electronic rider aids. If you want a BMW R1200GS, you can get the final generation of the air-cooled motor with its double overhead cams (introduced in 2010) at the top end of this budget in either standard or Adventure guise. As long as you are tall in the leg, the Adventure is the better option as its 33-litre tank means you have a genuine 350-plus mile range for long-distance touring. Price varies depending on mileage and extras and it is always better to buy a fully loaded BMW with miles on it than a poorly…

Givi i303S Bluetooth Intercom £144 www.givi.co.uk This new intercom system stands out mostly due to its size — or rather the lack of it. There’s no bulky clip-on unit to get in the way on the side of your helmet, just a tiny switch-pad for volume and functions, though mostly it’s voice controlled. It uses the latest Bluetooth protocols for high-quality transmission and should link easily to all modern phones and sat navs. When paired with another i303S headset, it’s claimed to have a range of up to 200m in line of sight. Charging is via USB and a 2h30m full charge is claimed to last for eight hours’ talk time or seven days standby. Wunderlich F750/850GS screen £179 www.nippynormans.com Apparently, the wind protection on the BMW F750/850GS models leaves…

Thailand Culture shock Thailand isn’t known as ‘the land of smiles’ for nothing - its people are warm, welcoming, tolerant and friendly. About 95% of the population practises Buddhism — it’s a way of life rather than a religion and plays a key role in the general nature of the people — so you’ll need to observe rules like taking off shoes to enter homes and temples, and be respectful of images of the Buddha. Away from the main cities and tourist package holiday hotspots, English isn’t widely spoken, so you’ll need a few basic phrases to get by too. Road conditions We’d recommend you avoid Bangkok: at last count there were around seven million vehicles in Bangkok but it can only really cope with about two million. Unless you…

Really? Are you sure...? Err, no. But it’s got free wi-fi in the city centre, so that’s a start. Even without such municipal munificence though, it would be well worth a visit. Norwich may be seen as a bit of a backwater these days but it was once one of England’s richest and most-important cities. Admittedly that was five centuries ago but if it was good enough for Queen Elizabeth I (who spent a week there in 1578, even though they hadn’t finished installing the wi-fi then), it’s probably good enough for you. Any nice bits from Lizzie’s time still standing? Surprisingly, yes. Norwich Cathedral, for a start, which goes back even further, to the Norman conquest (there’s another cathedral on the other side of town if your ecclesiastical tastes…

ENGINE The main event: a larger 1254cc flat twin with 134bhp, more torque at all revs and the ability to switch between two intake cam profiles NEW BRAKES Front calipers are now made by American firm Hayes, not Brembo. Braking performance is unchanged — we guess BMW got a better deal HEADLIGHT All versions of the R1250GS have an LED headlight. It’s heavier than the base 1200’s halogen bulb unit, which accounts for 1.4kg of the 1250’s 5kg weight increase WELCOME TO THE launch of the R1200… sorry, R12 50 GS.” An unfortunate slip of the tongue from BMW’s guide rider, but understandable. In fairness, it’s pretty hard to break a 15-year-old habit. A decade and a half - that’s how long the word “R1200GS” has been with us on…

Currently there are 118 different official accessories available for the Speedmaster, to improve the looks and the practicality. For both rider and pillion, a comfort seat is available, priced at £128 for the pillion and £199 for the rider. The latter has better lumber support and is finished with an embroidered Triumph logo and white piping. There are options for different silencers and downpipes, such as the Vance and Hines Black stainless steel silencers costing £730. They are EU-approved and give the bike a different look with only a subtle change in exhaust note. Heated grips (£193) are available and have an integrated controller that displays the heat setting on the bike’s LCD dash.…

“Everywhere you look, the finish on surfaces is lush” A LOT OF love and thought has gone into creating the Bonneville Speedmaster, with the Triumph designers cleverly incorporating details and features found on the brand’s bikes from years ago, as well as more recently on the Bobber. Added to this, the build quality is outstanding — everywhere you look, the finish on the surfaces is lush. Alloy parts have a superior quality as well as all of the immaculate chrome. The paint finish on the tank is first class, the shine is so deep and perfect it looks like a genuine custom-show bike. On the road, the Speedmaster reveals itself to be an effortlessly cool cruiser with a practical tank range, though it’s not capable of being hustled through your…

OWNERS ARE A mix of youth and experience, as you might expect, with the youngest in our survey in their early 20s and the oldest in their 70s. At 57 Tim Middleton’s somewhere in the middle: “Bikes were my only form of transport from 17 to 30 but then I took a 20-odd year break and only returned to biking six years ago. I went the adventure-style route first but then fancied something sportier and smaller. The CBR ticked all the boxes for me. It’s a brilliant all-rounder centred on the creamy smooth engine. This makes it the best commuter I have ever had but also a brilliant country-road scratcher and perfectly comfortable on a longer journey too. Its also cheap to buy and to run and looks great. For…

SOONER OR LATER, everyone owns a textile jacket. Some riders start in them, others spend years in leather jackets or race suits… but eventually, everyone gets a good textile in the wardrobe. There’s a reason for that: they’re brilliantly flexible — especially the longer-cut, touring-style jackets. Whatever the weather, whatever the bike, this is one bit of biking kit you can count on: vents for hot days, a thermal liner for cold days and waterproofing for the unlucky ones. Plus enough pockets for whatever you need to carry and a comfortable draught-beating fit. That’s the ideal, anyway. But is that the reality when working with a sensible budget? We’re not looking at the ultra-pricey top-end Gore-Tex type kit here, nor the bargain-bin jackets. We started with a £250 price point,…

COLLAR Should have a snug, comfortable fit that keeps draughts out POCKETS How many, how big, how waterproof and how accessible? LINER Is it truly toasty? Can you remove and refit it quickly? ADJUSTMENT Can you get a close fit when the liners have been removed? ARMOUR Level 1 or Level 2 – and does it have a back protector? IF YOU HAVE either side of £250 to spend on a textile jacket, we have good news: the standard is incredibly high. There wasn’t a bad jacket in this group — that’s reflected in the closeness of the scores, making this the most closely fought test we’ve seen for a while. But this isn’t primary education: they weren’t all winners. The top performer was the Wolf GT-S Titanium, closely followed…

X-lite X-803 Ultra Carbon £399.99 www.motogear.co.uk THE WINNER OF RiDE’s most recent sports helmet test, picking up a Best Buy triangle, was X-lite’s X-802RR. This is that lid’s successor. X-lite claims the X-803 is a “pure racing helmet, designed for maximum performance on the track” but that’s selling it short. I’ve mostly been commuting in it and it’s performed brilliantly. There’s no reason I couldn’t use it for far longer trips and touring too. There are two versions. The regular X-803, with a carbon-composite shell, costs £359.99 in white or £459.99 for Melandri/Davies/Camier/Petrucci race replicas. Then there’s the lid I’ve been using, the X-803 Ultra Carbon, with a full carbon shell saving 50g. It’s £399.99 in plain carbon, £469.99 for patterns, or a salty £519.99 with a MotoGP or WSB…

SPEC KAWASAKI H2 SX SE £18,242 • 998cc supercharged four • 197bhp • 256kg • 19-litre tank • 835mm seat • 45mpg • Mileage: 6198 THE H2 SX’S natural environment isn’t a track, and specifically not Cadwell Park, usually described as one of the UK’s most narrow, twisty circuits; a grey ribbon knotted around a fold in the Wolds. It hasn’t much straight to speak of and, though the H2 isn’t averse to corners (it reaches 51° of lean, pegs down), I leave the Kawasaki’s traction control on for fear of seeing the circuit from space. The H2 feels long and large for Cadwell, like trying to fit the wrong lid on a Tupperware container. And I can’t find the colossal warp speed required to jump out of a corner…

SPEC SUZUKI SV650X £6342 • 645cc 90° V-twin • 75bhp • 198kg • 14.5-litre tank • 790mm seat • 63.1mpg • Mileage: 2700 I FELL A little out of love with the SV650X recently. It wasn’t the bike’s fault; it was me asking the wrong thing of it. I had tried to cover my daily 95-mile motorway commute too often, convincing myself the constant buffeting, the two hours spent hunched over the tank in a sporty riding position and the deafening wind noise were all part of the attraction. Even an extended ride home on what promised to be a lovely route turned out to be a nightmare in reality — endless traffic, constant pointless 40mph limits and boring roads. Then, on the way back from last month’s Sports Day…