First bike shoot of the year today. The NEC Custom Show winner. It goes to Spain on Friday, so thankfully it was a nice day today. I rode down on the little 650 - it was comfortable enough, it sang sweetly at around the 63mph - 65mph mark on the M1, all the way down to somewhere near Slough I think I was....or Ryslip or somewhere in that north London area. It was 265 miles round trip anyway.
I enjoyed it except for one thing, the fuel tank range and the.....two things, I enjoyed it except for two things:
the fuel tank range and the Mitas front tyre not being very grippy and the fact that it, three things, I enjoyed it except for three things: the fuel tank range, the Mitas front tyre not being very grippy, the vibrations and....four things, I enjoyed except for four things:
the fuel tank range, the Mitas front tyre not being very grippy, the vibrations and the fact that it is not as easy to ride over long distances as the 1150 Adventure.
(Apologies to the Python crew)
It was a bit tedious humming along for that kind of mileage on a motorway, so it will do motorway journeys, but you wouldn't say it is a mile muncher. I was finished when I got home. I didn't even eat my dinner, I was too tired to eat. I had a cup of tea with a couple of biscuits and promptly fell asleep. I have had a good snooze from about 17.30 until half hour ago, so that will be me up half the night now I suppose!
The other bugbear that I am going to have to do something about, is the fact I had fill up THREE times today. I need to get some more miles out of the fuel range - £1.37 fuel was on the motorway and the trouble is there is only about 10 miles on the fuel light, so when it comes on it is the next services or push.....for now I will just take a 5-litre can with me and top up. I think I shall have to get a plastic Rotopax type tank and make an auxiliary tank like the hotrod system, sucking through the air vent into the main tank. 120 miles tank range is not far enough for me - the Adventure returns around 280 miles per tankful. OK a bigger tank, but I would have got there and back without needing to stop today.
There you go, my thoughts on the long range capability of the Xcountry - ride comfort is fine, tank range is limiting and annoying.
I enjoyed it except for one thing, the fuel tank range and the.....two things, I enjoyed it except for two things:
the fuel tank range and the Mitas front tyre not being very grippy and the fact that it, three things, I enjoyed it except for three things: the fuel tank range, the Mitas front tyre not being very grippy, the vibrations and....four things, I enjoyed except for four things:
the fuel tank range, the Mitas front tyre not being very grippy, the vibrations and the fact that it is not as easy to ride over long distances as the 1150 Adventure.
(Apologies to the Python crew)
It was a bit tedious humming along for that kind of mileage on a motorway, so it will do motorway journeys, but you wouldn't say it is a mile muncher. I was finished when I got home. I didn't even eat my dinner, I was too tired to eat. I had a cup of tea with a couple of biscuits and promptly fell asleep. I have had a good snooze from about 17.30 until half hour ago, so that will be me up half the night now I suppose!
The other bugbear that I am going to have to do something about, is the fact I had fill up THREE times today. I need to get some more miles out of the fuel range - £1.37 fuel was on the motorway and the trouble is there is only about 10 miles on the fuel light, so when it comes on it is the next services or push.....for now I will just take a 5-litre can with me and top up. I think I shall have to get a plastic Rotopax type tank and make an auxiliary tank like the hotrod system, sucking through the air vent into the main tank. 120 miles tank range is not far enough for me - the Adventure returns around 280 miles per tankful. OK a bigger tank, but I would have got there and back without needing to stop today.
There you go, my thoughts on the long range capability of the Xcountry - ride comfort is fine, tank range is limiting and annoying.
