NorthernBoy
Registered user
Well, not a huge one, but I went London - Newcastle without using any main roads, and turned up fourteen hours and five hundred and fifty miles later.
The bike performed flawlessly, with the only downside being how utterly depressing so many towns are to the East of the A1 between London and York. Mile after mile of identikit grey places, with people sitting on walls smoking. After York, it was all as great as expected.
I got caught in a blizzard over Hartside, which chopped Penrith off the itinerary, which was a shame, but I went back over the next day with a friend on his ZX10. I was struggling a bit to keep with him on the more sweeping roads, but the roles were reversed when the roads dropped down to being mud-covered tracks. I'd thought that I was able to drop him on the military road back, but it turned out the he sensibly tends to stay below 100 on the B roads.
The route back was direct down the main roads. 300 miles in 210 minutes meant that I was pushing on a bit, and I have to admit that I found the original screen's noise to be very annoying. I'd happily accept a bit more wind pressure fr a drop in the buffeting and noise that I sat through for so long. Over 100mph, it was getting deeply unpleasant, so a new screen is going to be needed if I do any long, fast routes.
Secondly, I think that a tankbag is going to be necessary. What recommendations do people have for a good one? It got to be a bit of a pain messing around looking for wallets, phone, iPod, book etc at each stop.
Overall, it was a good trip. The bike is noticeably better for me than the last GS, so I am pleased to have made the change.
The bike performed flawlessly, with the only downside being how utterly depressing so many towns are to the East of the A1 between London and York. Mile after mile of identikit grey places, with people sitting on walls smoking. After York, it was all as great as expected.
I got caught in a blizzard over Hartside, which chopped Penrith off the itinerary, which was a shame, but I went back over the next day with a friend on his ZX10. I was struggling a bit to keep with him on the more sweeping roads, but the roles were reversed when the roads dropped down to being mud-covered tracks. I'd thought that I was able to drop him on the military road back, but it turned out the he sensibly tends to stay below 100 on the B roads.
The route back was direct down the main roads. 300 miles in 210 minutes meant that I was pushing on a bit, and I have to admit that I found the original screen's noise to be very annoying. I'd happily accept a bit more wind pressure fr a drop in the buffeting and noise that I sat through for so long. Over 100mph, it was getting deeply unpleasant, so a new screen is going to be needed if I do any long, fast routes.
Secondly, I think that a tankbag is going to be necessary. What recommendations do people have for a good one? It got to be a bit of a pain messing around looking for wallets, phone, iPod, book etc at each stop.
Overall, it was a good trip. The bike is noticeably better for me than the last GS, so I am pleased to have made the change.
