p It’s a true
all-rounder
The suspension’s WHAT WORKS
the best in class…
2 for normal riding, that is. WHAT DOESN’T
…
As well as more suspension
travel and the obvious low-
friction coating, the WR has a
larger, more sophisticated
cartridge in the forks and the
rear shock has improved
internals and a new linkage. The
difference is impressive. As well It’s not as
as that ride quality improvement underpowered as
on the road, it’s superb off-road, 4 you’d think
soaking up bumps with A quoted 72bhp and 220kg wet
plushness that trumps KTM’s 890 isn’t the kind of power-to-weight- Preload adjuster
Adventure R and gives loads of ratio that sets pulses racing and, Every bike that has multiple usage or carries
feel. It’ll do everything you want on paper, it’s the slowest of all luggage or passengers on a regular basis
without having to fiddle much — I premium middleweight adventure should have one. This, like the rest of the
just bumped up the rear preload bikes. But the 689cc CP2 bike, works perfectly, allowing you to adjust
to cope with my 95kg carcass. parallel-twin makes a mockery of the suspension easily and quickly.
It’s the perfect set-up for a its modest figures with strong
proper dual-sport motorcycle. torque and true flexibility. There’s
more power than you’d need for
trail riding, plus unrivalled
low-rpm manners. On the road
You’ll be lucky to there is enough puff to overtake
get 300 miles out it in a high gear with swiftness and
3 `300 miles from a tank’, safety. It’s only above 80mph that
you miss the extra power.
claims Yamaha. But in normal
riding you’d need the patience of p WR adds to
a saint to make that happen, as the already TFT Dash
you’d have to average 60mpg. It great T7 It looks great, the thumb-wheel adjustment
would be possible on a long is easy to use and connectivity is handy.
70mph motorway run but factor However, there is no nav option, no range
in B-roads, off-road or spirited indicator and I’ll be happier when there are
riding and you’re looking more aftermarket screen protectors available.
like the 50mpg I’ve been
averaging. This pushes the
most likely range down to
230-250 miles with the light
coming on around 200 miles.
The twin tanks take a bit of
getting used to. You still need
to brim both fillers; a novelty or a It hasn’t got ALL the
faff, depending on your attitude. toys but it does have
5 real charm
There’s the ace suspension, a
TFT dash, mobile connectivity, Ergonomics
those twin tanks, a lovely Öhlins They’re pretty good — all I did to make the
steering damper and an bike fit me was remove the footrest rubbers
impressive level of paint and and roll the bars forward, raising them,
finish. But it is missing cruise increasing arm room and making the
control, riding modes, traction standing position better for off-road.
control, a quickshifter and Funnily enough, the position of the
heated grips, which many of its switchgear points to that being how it was
rivals have. Worst for me is no designed all along.
range indicator — a vital addition
for a long-distance bike. But it COSTS SO FAR
offers a unique proposition —
unless you spend more money, Fuel, 96 litres @ £1.91/litre . . . . . . . . . £183
you won’t find a middleweight 600-mile service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £170
adventurer with as much dirt
ability or tarmac charm. Cost per mile. . . . . . . . . . . £0.33
SEPTEMBER 2022 101
GARAGE LONG-TERM TEST BIKES
5
KTM 890 DUKE I0I1I8I1I I MILES UPDATE
Does bigger mean better? 03
Steve pitches RiDE’s 890 against its flagship sibling —
the 1290 Super Duke R — to see if size counts
WITH A CHASSIS barely bigger than shock and own-brand radial brakes on the 890.
a 125, the power of an original The 1290 looks like it fits its £16K price tag. I’m
FireBlade and weighing under 170kg, not sure the £10K 890 can say the same.
the 890 Duke boasts an impressive
spec. In what universe could you On the move
possibly need more? THE FACTS Having put nearly 2000 miles on our 890 in the
But a lot more is what the Austrian firm’s last couple of months, I know it well and it’s
flagship supernaked — the 1290 Super Duke R £10,727 sharp, light and roomy with plenty of power and
— has in bright-orange bucketloads. So what’s the (as tested) great low-down torque. The handling is sublime,
difference between The Beast and The Scalpel? 115bhp 169kg suspension works really well on our roads and
while the brakes may lack a bit of bite and feel,
At a standstill MILES THIS MONTH they’re progressive, predictable and never cause
In isolation my mind pegs these machines as 55 me any sqeaky-bum moments.
similar but parking them next to each other, the Straddling the broad tank of the 1290 with the
difference is astonishing. There’s a family MPG THIS MONTH huge twin burbling beneath me, I wonder if it
resemblance sure, but if it’s the 890’s first day at might just rip my arms off. But there’s civility at
the gym, the 1290 is it’s meathead older brother 63.8 lower speed and great fuelling. It’s harder to hold
using the Duke’s max weights for its warm up. 30mph as fractional throttle inputs produce
Where the 890 is lithe and minimal, the Super COSTS THIS MONTH massive surges in speed. The 15mm higher seat
Duke cuts an intimidating stance. The 1301cc is more comfortable than the Duke’s but the
engine seems enormous, exaggerated by the fact £7.44 riding position is more aggressive.
there’s very little bike it’s bolted into. On the open road, it’s not
Fit and finish is finer on the ...but the just the extra 62 horses that
bigger bike too. Every inch 890’s switchgear 1290’s is much take your breath away, but
looks premium, from the lush is simple but higher quality the way they are deployed.
paint to the TFT dash. useful... The relentless drive from the
Switchgear is more complex massive motor is addictive.
but better designed. Steering is a more physical
Components are better quality effort, especially at higher
too, with fully-adjustable front speeds and, after an hour of
and rear WP Apex suspension hard riding on a mixture of A
and Brembo Stylema calipers and B-roads, my arms
vs non-adjustable forks and started aching.
KTM DUKE 890 £10,049
115bhp 169kg 820mm seat
PCP: £116.51 x 36 months. £3000 deposit.
7.9% APR. Optional Final payment £4185.
Total payable £11,379.36
102 SEPTEMBER 2022
The Beast is more of
everything, including
commitment
1290 gets
890 uses KTM’s calipers
Brembo Stylema
own-branded
calipers
So, which one’s best?
In every measurable way, the 1290 is the better
bike. More powerful, better finished, more
sophisticated and represents its higher price tag
better than the 890. But it’s still £6300 more, and
almost double the monthly PCP cost, so it’s a
significant financial obligation. It also takes focus
and commitment to get the best out of it.
The 890 is fun and engaging all the time at any
speed. It has great character and, though it’s still
quite focussed and not as ‘all-round’ capable as
some of its rivals, it’s easy and joyous to ride,
whatever mood you’re in.
The 1290 is all you want from a premium
supernaked but demands so much more from its
rider to get the same level of joy as its smaller
sibling. The 890 is as much fun, just not so close
to the raggedy edge. STEVE HERBERT-MATTICK
KTM 1290 SUPER
DUKE GT £16,349
177bhp 205kg 835mm seat
PCP: £220.22 x 36 months. £3000 deposit.
7.9% APR. Optional final payment £7942.50.
Total payable £18,870.42
Is bigger better?
Kind of...
GARAGE LONG-TERM TEST BIKES
Rolling along the seafront on the
Interceptor... Salt and vinegar and
two sugars please...
UPDATE
Stuart Chapman 03
5
ROYAL ENFIELD INTERCEPTOR 650 I0I1I8I1I I MILES
Life’s a beach crowd, even at bike meets
Interceptor draws a
Jim discovers the Interceptor’s natural habitat
IT HAS BECOME apparent over the bikes and trikes and raising close to £2000 for
last couple of months that the local charities.
Interceptor has a definite place in the Bike meets like this are awesome — every kind
world. Conceptually, it is a bike to be of bike, with passionate riders and chips and tea
embraced and cherished, a bike with while dipping your toes in Tor Bay or biking
which to indulge yourself yet a bike that requires THE FACTS culture. Once parked up, I was passed by a
as much attention between rides to look after its procession of a big ol’ fat Harley with open
finishes as time on the road. £6239 headers followed by a muddy CRF250L and a
It is a bike which will do long distances but just Panigale V4S bringing up the rear.
because you can do something doesn’t 47bhp 217kg And it’s this environment where the Enfield
necessarily mean you should. In standard trim, it MILES THIS MONTH shines — literally. The chrome exhausts and bare
doesn’t work for me over longer rides. That isn’t ally engine casings draw a crowd like few others.
to say it won’t ever — I’m going to be making some 673 So many people stop to look at it and if I’m
changes to it with some choice modifications in anywhere near it, the questions always start to
the coming months to see, as I know lots of MPG THIS MONTH come. “How old is it? Two months…” “How much
people do big tours on them. But for now, 59.42 is it worth? Just over six grand…” “Did you ride it
spiritually it remains a bike to enjoy and savour here? Absolutely, it’s brand new…” Even
on fast and flowing A-roads. And it also causes a COSTS THIS MONTH experienced bikers assume it’s a well-restored
bit of a stir at bike meets… classic, not a brand-new retro.
The English Riviera Bike Night recently re- £109.17 Firing it up and riding away again also turns a
started on the Eastern Esplanade in Paignton in few heads. It’s easy-going and immense fun and
the middle of Tor Bay and it draws bikers from £98.17, Fuel, 51.4 litres there isn’t a single time that I park it up and don’t
@ £1.91/l
miles around. I went to the first few, the second £11 Chips and tea look back at it over my shoulder. It’s no
in glorious weather attracting more than 750 workhorse but man, it’s so cool… JIM BLACKSTOCK
104 SEPTEMBER 2022
Great value for dependable battery performance
SEAT CLUTCH SLAVE
“Not the comfiest seat CYLINDER
long distance so I use a “The seals go after 16,000 miles
generic aftermarket gel and clutch fluid leaks away — then
pad. I got a new seat made one day you have no clutch. I’ve
when the old one was changed them three times and
ripped up from a crash.” the slave cylinder twice.”
TYRES
“I get 7000 miles from
a rear, 12,000 from a
front. Always gone for
Bridgestones because
I just like the way they
steer and I’ve got
used to them.”
VENTURA RACK EXHAUST CRASH BARS
“Had it about 20 years — at the “I don’t believe in changing stuff “The crash bars are a must on
start I fitted Givi hard luggage unless it needs changing. The any bike I have. The XJR bars
but took it off as it was wide, left-side can is newer from when were fitted as part of the
ugly and pillions didn’t like it. I crashed it, but they’ve lasted purchase deal, and they saved
This is the perfect solution.” well. I just keep them clean!” the bike when I crashed it.”
‘You settle on a bike and it’s the one’
Bruce Porter’s Yamaha XJR1300 SP was nearly written-off
when a few years old but, since then, it’s racked up the miles
Name Bruce Porter, 59 too late to go to that year’s Bol d’Or on States. “I decided to have a big ride
Bike 1999 Yamaha but after that, I couldn’t stop riding it.” across America. I got a leave of absence
XJR1300 SP But it wasn’t all plain sailing. “The first from work, got the bike flown out, then
Total miles 90,505 year I had it, I did 13,000 miles including rode from New York to Chicago, Route
a 6000-mile tour of the UK but, in 2001, I 66 to Los Angeles, and carried on riding
threw it down the road — you’ll notice it’s — I did 15,000 miles in three months.”
BRUCE PORTER ISN’T sure how many no longer a standard colour!” Since then the XJR has sporadically
miles a year he does on his 1999 Bruce fills us in on the details. “I was in piled on miles. “It does everything I ask it
XJR1300 SP. “Hard to say — been years Wales, chasing a Suzuki Bandit 1200 as to do, when I ask it,” says Bruce. “I went
when I haven’t used it.” Before you you do, hit a bump in the road and the on another big trip on my Aprilia Pegaso,
wonder how he’s managed to rack up shocks compressed, hit a second bump and the XJR went to bed for nearly two
90,000 plus miles, he explains: “At one before they recovered and the back end years. I contemplated selling it, then
time, it was my main bike, mostly for kicked up and threw me off at 70mph. dusted it off for a quick ride to France
commuting — best commuter I’ve had; Didn’t break any bones, and I’d fitted and thought, nah, I like it too much. And
better than my XJ900F and Aprilia engine bars which saved the engine, but that’s how it’s been since — I’ll do some
Pegaso — but also for touring and faffing the left side was smashed. The big rides every so often in the summer,
around. And a few months in the USA.” assessor kept it down so it wasn’t then put it away for the winter. But I’d
“I originally got it because my wife had
Words Simon Hargreaves a GSX750F and it left my XJ900F for repaired and back on the road. It’s what these old retros fetch now?”
never sell it. Mind you, have you seen
written-off, and I got it repainted and
Kawasaki purple (looks blue in the pics)
dead. So I thought ‘right, I need a new
with silver and black, and a yellow and
bike!’ It was a Swiss parallel import
Want you and your bike to
brought in black, red and white — and I
silver Yamaha logo.”
be featured in these pages?
loved it straight away. The weight
Bruce continued to rack up miles,
106 balance is so good. It turned up a week including a three-month stint in the Email [email protected]
SEPTEMBER 2022
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FROM THE MAKERS OF IN ASSOCIATION WITH
BRITAIN’S BEST
RIDE-OUTS
Amazing rides, routes and roadtrips
ADVENTURE FOR
FIVE GREAT NORMAL BIKERS
BRILLIANT RUNS TO THE SUN Great novice-friendly
off-road route
B-ROADS
Ace seaside rides and
The UK’s most exciting coastal roads
B-road loops
17
ROUTES TO
DOWNLOAD TO ULTIMATE
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RIDES
Inspiring roads to
five ace towns & cities
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
DOWNLOAD WELCOME
THE ROUTES
www.ride.co.uk
...to a celebration of the very best
in epic British riding.
It’s easy as UK bikers to forget
how lucky we are. As motorcyclists
it doesn’t take much of a leap to
think of the United Kingdom as
overcrowded, expensive and jammed-up, but as
the ride-outs and routes in this special
supplement show, get away into the countryside
and Britain in 2022 is a wonderful place to ride.
Together with contributor Simon, we had a
wonderful time pulling together the riding stories
featured in these pages — and they’ve lived with
me all summer. I’m still boring all and sundry
about my off-road adventure on a Tiger 1200
Rally Pro in the Peaks (see p10) and I’m pretty
sure Simon’s doing the same about the utterly
sublime B-road route, which kicks off the
supplement on p4.
But all the rides and routes in the mag (which
are downloadable at www.ride.co.uk) prove just
04 how fortunate we all are to have such wonderful
riding destinations but a few hours away. Make
sure you go out and enjoy best of this country
and take advantage of the rest of the summer.
16 You can bet that I’m going to…
MATT WILDEE
RiDE EDITOR
10 CONTENTS
04 B-road ride-out
Roads less travelled on a Tiger 900 Rally Pro
22 10 Adventure-touring ride-out
Tiger 1200 Rally Pro takes to the trails
16 Seaside ride-out
Liking it by the seaside on a Tiger Sport 660
22 Ride-out to a city
Edinburgh and back on a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer
28 28 Biking’s better shared
How to get the best from a group ride-out
30 Ride with Triumph
Celebrate 120 years of the great British brand
SUBSCRIBE TO
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BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 3
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS B-ROADS
Out of the trees
heading north
from Lampeter
THE BEST
B-ROAD
RIDE-OUT
Britain is blessed with magnificent B-roads and
the Welsh have more than their fair share. This
ride-out is the best of the lot; a 150-mile romp
south to north across the heart of Wales
Words Simon Hargreaves Pictures Chippy Wood
4 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
FACT FILE Map data ©2022, Google
Route From
Lampeter in south
Wales, head north
sticking almost exclusively to
B-roads for 150 miles, tracking
through the Elan Valley, Rhayader,
around Lake Vyrnwy, and on to Bala,
then Denbigh
Length 153 miles
Roads B4343, B4574, B4518, bit of
unclassified, A458, then B4395,
B4393, B4396, B4391 and B4501
Best corner Too many to choose
from, but if you can’t find something to
smile about on the B4574 there’s
something wrong
Best place for a selfie The arch on
the B4574 or the dam at Lake Vyrnwy
Best place for a cuppa Try Ty Coffi
in Bala – you can get a mean sandwich
there too
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 5
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS B-ROADS
Plenty of
elevation in the
hills to let you see
where you’ve been
BIKE
HE INSIGNIFICANT B-ROAD spearing
off from the town of Lampeter on the
south-eastern edge of Ceredigion is
unassuming – high hedges, single-
track road flinging itself side-to-side,
impossible to guess if the next thing
round the corner is an empty road or
T wall-to-wall tractor. But within a few
miles the B4343 opens up, sometimes widening to two TRIUMPH TIGER
lanes, sometimes shrinking back down again – but 900 RALLY PRO
always with the sense we’re at the start of something Price £13,595
bigger and better. Power 94bhp
As indeed we are. Central Wales – a broad swathe of Weight 220kg
forested hills, rivers and reservoirs reaching from the Triumph’s range-topping
Brecon Beacons, up through the Cambrian mountain off-road Tiger 900 with T-Plane
crank, 21in front wheel and fully
range and the Elan Valley, then into the lower reaches of
adjustable Showa suspension.
Snowdonia – is a magnificent belt of B-road brilliance, Comes loaded with cruise
sometimes tight and twisty like a fiendish green go-kart control, heated grips and seats,
track, sometimes wide and flowing like a continental centrestand, u/d quick shifter,
mountain road. There’s a bit of everything; endless six riding modes — perfect for
on and off-road adventures.
variety to suit all kinds of riders on all types of bikes
– and all within easy reach of a day’s ride-out. Ty Morgans in
Today’s machine is a perfect all-rounder – Triumph’s Rhayader for a
Tiger 900 Rally Sport has the right kind of suspension spot of lunch
travel and steering to cope with sketchy surfaces and my favourite roads in the UK – it’s about 20 miles until
potholes, and the right kind of comforts to make a rider Rhayader, but that 20 miles pretty much has it all. It
feel at home: cruise control is overkill today, but the up/ climbs up, slender and unpromising at first, but soon
down quick shifter and heated grips come in handy. opens out with big views behind with farmland valleys
We dog-leg through the town of Tregaron and onward, and gentle slopes to the left. Then the road starts to rock
road climbing and falling steadily, twisting easily across from side to side like a swaying dancer, building up
green fields. Just after the tiny village of Ysbyty Ystwyth rhythm and tempo. A couple of sharper bends pile up,
(easy for you to say) the landscape shifts gear, with under pine trees, with black-and-white painted Armco,
deeper woods and higher hills – the B4343 widens before the Arch pops into view against the horizon – the
briefly then narrows again, funnelling between thickets stone structure was built over 200 years ago to
of rhododendrons. Over the River Ystwyth, past the old commemorate the golden jubilee of George III; today the
petrol pumps, then suddenly it’s as if we’re somewhere road no longer runs beneath it but carves alongside and
on the continent: Armco-lined, with broad grey tarmac over the hill to reveal big views ahead into the hills. The
cutting into the stone of a hillside lined with tall conifers. roadside is covered in a carpet of flowers, contrasted
Blink and we’re in the Ardennes in Belgium, weather against the deep green of the conifer plantations beyond.
and all. The Tiger stretches its legs – but B-roads are its A pollen perfume hangs heavy on the air.
natural territory, exploiting the triple’s bounteous We head down a tree-lined avenue, into Cwmystwyth
midrange and clinical steering. (still no vowels in sight), then back into more hills
Again the road compresses, dropping into – rushing alongside the river Ystwyth between slopes
Pontarfynach past the Hafod Hotel, taking the right fork slathered in spoil from the lead mining that took place Not just scenery
but ancient
just before Devil’s Bridge onto the B4574. This is one of here from the Bronze Age right up until the start of the
architecture too
6 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
‘I’d pay good
money for a
B-road only
map app’
Triumph’s Tiger
900 Rally Pro and
its rider are totally
in their element
Be prepared to
attract the attention
of curious natives
‘Dam’, that’s
some great
Victorian
engineering
20th century. Then there are more farms and green Severn (a tributary feeds into the Severn in Llanidloes)
fields, then the scenery switches character again, and supply drinking water to the Midlands. There was
becoming hilly moorland as the entrance to the Elan opposition to the damming of the valley – so much so
Valley and the tail end of Craig Goch reservoir appears to the Welsh paramilitary group, MAC (Movement for the
the right. It makes for a stunning diversion, but it’s not Defence of Wales) set off a bomb to disrupt dam
on our route today so we plug on over the top of the hills, construction. Standing at the viewpoint surveying the
dodging sheep, to drop down into Rhayader and lunch at current magnificent vista, seems hard to imagine getting
the café, Ty Morgans, in the town square. There’s lots of that upset about whatever was there before.
room to park by the monument, and usually a couple of Off and away, between yet more high hedgerows,
dirt bikes lowering the tone, the filthy animals. dodging briefly across the A489 at Talerddig, then
Sticking with the B-roads, we leave Rhayader on the scooting along an unclassified road, complete with
B4518, spiralling upcountry towards Llanidloes and over inquisitive cows, to hook up with the A458 – then onto
the river Severn – already fairly wide here, Britain’s the B4395 after a coffee stop at the Cwpan Pinc café on
longest river springs in the hills seven miles above the the A458. There are bikers all over, stopping for a chat
town, and runs for another 213 miles before it reaches and a brew. I idly wonder if anyone makes a mapping
the Bristol Channel. app that only has B-roads on it; I’d pay money to use
We haven’t got quite as far to go – out of the town we that, and stay off the As.
sprint north, the Tiger responding with a surge as we tap We’re approaching Lake Vyrnwy now – bit of a
it on into the hills climbing up to the dam at the head of diversion to stay on the B-roads (to the village of
Clywedog Reservoir, and the viewpoint above it. The Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwynfa, no, seriously), then ride up
reservoir was formed in the late 1960s to regulate the the tight path to the dam wall. We’re looping around
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 7
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS B-ROADS
Back into daylight, the clouds are moving in – it’s
never long without rain in the middle of Wales – and we
plunder our way along the B4396 to Penybontfawr to
pick up the B4391. This is a cracking B, climbing up the
side of a hill with spectacular views down into the valley
below – well, they would be if the cloud would lift. We
dive around a fold in the hillsides to a sharp 90-degree
bend – I remember this corner; I was here 30 years ago,
in 1992, getting my knee down on another Triumph 900;
a Trophy, one of Hinckley’s very first models. Must’ve
been braver back then.
We stop in Bala for a bite and a coffee, sitting on a table
outside the Ty Coffi café. Bikes are all over – it looks
more like Douglas prom during TT week than a town in
Wales. Good to see. Then we refuel the Tiger and the
20-litre tank, which has taken us over 200 miles,
swallows £35. Ouch.
Carving round Out of Bala we join the B4501 and
the hillsides close in on our destination just outside
between stone Denbigh, enjoying a final romp on
walls and trees
clean, twisty tarmac before arriving at
the Cae Dai 1950s Museum – a
the reservoir south side first, so cross the dam cornucopia of retro trivia at the bottom
to start. It’s the UK’s first stone dam, 144ft of a driveway, hidden around the
high, 1175ft long and 128ft thick at the base, corner, next to a boxing gym, and the
built over seven years from 1881 to 1888 from obsession of local philanthropist
massive blocks of Welsh stone. The flooding Sparrow Harrison MBE. It’s an Aladdin’s
of the valley, to around 80ft, drowned a Cave of vintage knick-knacks and
village and lost a church, inns, farms and general items: vehicles, toys, cigarette
houses – the residents were rehoused in a new village No better place cards and lighters, records, furniture,
downstream of the new reservoir. to refine your household stuff. There’s only one bike – an old Ural
cornering skills
The road around Lake Vyrnwy’s perimeter isn’t the outfit – but it’s fantastic to wander about, marvelling at
most thrilling – it’s a low-speed roll under a canopy of the variety of it all. Which is a bit like our back lane
A breather at
oak, birch and pine, looping for 20 miles alongside the scenic Clywedog odyssey through Wales – something for everyone on the
dark, still water – but it’s deeply atmospheric. Reservoir UK’s best B-road ride-out.
8 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
FOUR MORE GREAT BRITISH B-ROAD RIDE-OUTS
Settle to Buttertubs Langholm to Heriot
Miles 30 Good for Whoops and swoops Best bit Ribblehead Viaduct Miles 60 Good for Dramatic views, heather Best bit Altrieve valley
Climbing out of Settle, the B6479 takes over, with a dramatic and The B709 starts in Langholm and From there the B709 hugs the
runs between the peaks of challenging rollercoaster of a ends up 60 miles later at the A7 hillsides north towards the town
Pen-y-ghent and Ingleborough ride into Hawes — the focal point a few miles outside Edinburgh. of Innerleithen and then a
on either side, winkling through for Dales riders and always busy Further on, beyond the tiny glorious last few miles between
small villages and farms until it with bikes. Leaving Hawes, take hamlet of Crosslee, is the steep slopes either side of the
opens up between drystone a left turn for Hardraw, over the Altrieve valley — a hidden gem of road carpeted in heather which,
walls for the approach to the river, then left again up the Borders scenery with a dramatic when in bloom, is like riding
junction at the Ribblehead famous Buttertubs Pass – and be view from one end of the across a great big Cadbury’s
Viaduct. From there, the B6255 glad you don’t have to pedal. U-shaped bowl to the other. Fruit & Nut purple quilt.
DOWNLOAD
THE ROUTES
www.ride.co.uk
Boscastle to Land’s End Revesby to Conningsby
Miles 100 Good for Pasties and tin mines Best bit St Ives! Miles 110 Good for Pure rhythmic riding Best bit Bardney Bends
Boscastle is a cute little fishing Bay, the beach at Porth, and the From breakfast in Horncastle, a bends – the ride is all about
village and site of the famous coastal nooks and crannies coffee in Caistor, then looping reading the road; a good chance
flood in 2004 – leave on the around Newquay are all picture round to lunch at Willingham to hone riding technique. Glide
B3263 through Tintagel with its postcard perfect destinations. Woods, the first half of the route through Woodhall Spa with its
medieval castle, a few miles The B-roads connecting them is a romp of pure B-road 1940s High Street, then a short
further on. Beaches, bays and (with a few necessary As and chicanery. Then the second half, loop around Methringham with
cliff tops are the name of the unclassified roads, sometimes south of Market Rasen, flows its complex series of bends,
game on a ride around the region with fab cliff-top views out to through Wragby and then on to before finishing with a blast back Map data ©2022, Google
— Polzeath beach, Porthcothan sea) are a bonus. Bardney and its eponymous to Boston.
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 9
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS ADVENTURE
FACT FILE
Route Starting off at Dove Holes byways that are passable for an
Quarry, then into Buxton, along Buxton average-skilled adventure rider on a
Buxton Old Coach Road, Cat & Fiddle, reasonable bike. Cumberland Clough is
(optional) Cumberland Clough, better suited to experienced riders on
Allgreave, Taddington, Peak Forest middleweight adventure bikes
Length 42 miles Best corner One of the berms at
Roads A mixture of the Peak District’s Doves Hole Quarry. They make an
favourite B-roads and some lovely adventure bike feel like a motocrosser
Best place for a selfie The top of
the Old Coach road
Best place for a cuppa The café
at High Peak Bookstore is rightly
Map data ©2022, Google muddy when you go in
renowned. Just don’t be too
Best place for a picnic
Stop by the river at Ashford
in the Water
THE BEST AD
TOURING R
Words Matt Wildee
10 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS The byways of the Peak District let you take
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Buxton Old Coach
Road has epic views
and can be done on
an adventure bike
ADVENTURE
G RIDE-OUT
your adventure bike for a ‘proper’ adventure
Pictures Steve Herbert-Mattick
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 11
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS ADVENTURE
HE TRIUMPH FEELS alive as it clatters
and dances over the cobbles and loose
rocks. It’s pointed at the sky, climbing
relentlessly toward an unnamed
summit, rear wheel occasionally
scrambling for grip, traction control
working hard to keep things in line. All
T around is wilderness. Moorland
stetches to a green horizon and hardy sheep brace
themselves against the cutting wind. It might be June,
but up here on the Peaks, even that’s still pretty bracing.
The Tiger drives towards the top and I hold on, looking
ahead, picking my path and revelling in the go-
anywhere ethos of a dirt-loving adventure bike. Despite
the blusters, beauty abounds.
The A537 Cat and Fiddle road wends its serpentine
way below me. From this viewpoint I spot a few
repressed bikes making their tentative way through its
50-mph limit, nervous about triggering the average
speed cameras. But up here there’s no speed cameras, or
any need to go fast for your thills either – on the right
green lane, there is enough challenge without ever Taking to the
tarmac between
shifting out of second. And every turn of your muddy
trail sections
wheels feels like freedom.
I’m adventure touring, dipping in and out, chopping Making the
and changing between tarmac and the loose stuff – transition from
How we found
something that before adventure bikes took over the our way before tarmac to trail
biking landscape was a million miles from sat-navs arrived
motorcycling’s mainstream. Back in the leather-clad
days of sportsbike Britain, this was reserved for a beardy
minority. But now, thanks to the leaps of bike tech, tyre
design and electronics, even big adventure bikes can
take voyages into the unknown.
Today I’m riding a Tiger 1200 Rally Pro, standard apart
from the optional semi-knobbly Michelin Anakee Wild
tyres. The off-road version of the Tiger, it boasts
long-travel semi-active suspension, a 21-in front wheel
and bags of off-road attitude. Today isn’t about gnarly
BIKE FEATURED
TRIUMPH TIGER
1200 RALLY PRO
Price £17,700
Power 148bhp
Weight 249kg
The ‘off-road’ version of the big
Tiger has wonderful semi-
active suspension, brilliant
build quality and a superb,
1200cc T-Plane crank triple
engine. A huge step up on
previous trail 1200s, it can eat
up fast, flowing gravel trails,
has great ergonomics and true
dual-sport ability.
12 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Small crests
turn into jumps
on the trail
bike, but many are passable on an
adventurer and today I’m taking
in a couple of my favourites.
The first is the Dove Holes
Quarry road. A public byway that
skirts a giant quarry, it is short, fast
and flowing and feels like it’s been
built with big adventure bikes in
mind. You can access it from the
side of the A6 as you leave Dove Holes, sneaking illicitly
up an almost-hidden entrance before immediately
climbing or from the back down a snake of country
lanes. Flowing and wide, it’s one of the nicest green
lanes for adventure bikes I have ever tried. Fun all year
round, it’s well-drained and perfect for dirt novices and
you don’t need full-on knobblies. Away from hikers and
dogwalkers, you have the place to yourself.
Time to stand up. Off-roading on the Tiger, on this type
of terrain, is pretty simple. Select the off-road riding
mode to soften the bike’s throttle response and get in
second gear. At a steady 25mph the Triumph surfs,
bouncing from hole to hole, the WP suspension soaking
up the worst without worry, revs occasionally rising and
falling as the wheels lose their traction.
Stand on the Ahead the path flows, rising and falling. To my left is
pegs and get more the industrial boom of a working quarry. Effectively a
feel for the front
huge hole a hundred feet deep, huge machinery carries
rocks into the middle distance. I stop and watch for a
riding though – it’s just about getting off the beaten while, then get moving.
track. So many adventure bikes don’t ever see dirt, Tight 90-degree corners take proper negotiation and
which is a crying shame – you only need basic off-road are done better standing up to get more feel for what the
skills to open up whole new horizons. front end is doing. This is a popular route with green-
The Peak District is one of the best places in the world laners and a couple of the corners have been worn into
to ride a motorcycle – any motorcycle. Set over 555 berms. It takes confidence, but hook into them and the
square miles, there are spa towns, chocolate-box villages Tiger carves through. It’s a great feeling. Each corner exit
and views that move your soul. There are amazing is an invitation for a bit of a tail slide and my inner child
tarmac roads to try, but there are plenty of legal byways, can’t resist, but the Triumph’s IMU-based traction
too. Some are rocky, steep and challenging on an enduro control reels everything in before I can scare myself.
Dove Holes
Quarry has some
great corners...
and views
‘Every turn of your
muddy wheels feels
like freedom’
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 13
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS ADVENTURE
‘It’s worth all the
effort for the
views alone’
Take a break,
enjoy the view.
You’ll need to
Challenging
Ahead is a crest, which on my enduro surfaces build Back in the 1990s, I visited it as a starry-
bike is definitely a jump but even off-road skills eyed sportsbike owner, but now after years of
keeping to my 25mph limit, the 1200 closure, it has reinvented itself as a distillery
goes light and lands with composure. and coffee shop. It’s a great place to stop and I
We continue to roll, climbing and supp on a latte, eat a sausage roll and calm
descending. There so much going on in down after the concentration of it all and plan
such a small area that it’s a great place what’s next: a gentle bimble through some
to refine your skills through repetition. lanes and then an attempt at the rocks and
Next, we roll through to Buxton, this technical riding of the Cumberland Clough.
time avoiding the green lane that You’ll need to be skilled for this one if
heads through the golf course and runs you’re on a big bike and I’m not ashamed
into town. Buxton’s been one of the most Exiting the to say I turned back before it got too much.
important towns in the Peaks for centuries. newly revamped The route is topped off by a great road
Cat & Fiddle
In 1759 there was a proper effort to make a loop back to Dove Holes Quarry, passing
toll route and it’s remains, the Old Coach over the moors and though some lovely,
Road, are rocky, steep and enjoyable. lovely towns. There are some amazing
Heading from Buxton the Old Coach Road roads in the Peaks – and owning an
is not the easiest to scale at its start. The adventure bike lets you see them in a
steep climb was part of its fall from whole new dimension.
popularity (they built the road that became
the A537 because of it). But it is more than
doable – you have to trust the suspension and
go for it without slipping the clutch too much.
Heading the other way is much easier – gravity is your
friend: you drop over the rock steps rather than forcing
your way over them – well worth remembering if you
fancy trying this road and you’re a bit nervous: just
attack it from the other end.
It’s hot, sweaty work, but once you’re through,
everything is straight forward and it’s worth all the effort
for the views alone.
Riding aged roads like this is all about loving being
loose. Laid more than 250 years ago, those cobbles
wobble under your wheels and you need faith to know
it’s all going to be OK. It’s not very far, but I’m actually
quite tired by the time it’s all over. As the Old Coach
Road finishes, I roll down quaint single-track roads and
end up at the A537, just in front of the newly-revamped
Cat and Fiddle Inn.
Cumberland Clough
is hard work: don’t be
14 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS afraid to miss it out
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
ANOTHER GREAT ADVENTURE RIDE-OUT DOWNLOAD
Thetford Forest THE ROUTE
www.ride.co.uk
Miles 50 Good for A proper workout for your adventure bike
Best bit The whoops and jumps on the section out of Brandon
It might not have the topography For a large adventure bike, this
or scenic majesty of the Peaks, destination it is perfect — nothing
but for owners of large adventure (aside from some winter flooding)
bikes, there are few places is impassable, and the size of the
where you can ride for as long or forest means you’re unlikely to
with the same level of care-free see many others on the trails. It’s
enjoyment as Thetford Forest. still a workout for you and the
A huge network of byways and bike, though — the bumps test
lanes crisscross this working suspension as well as your back
forest, and despite the lack of and thighs. On a summer evening
mountains or much elevation, the it is truly beautiful.
variety is impressive. Best of all, as well as being a
One minute you’re riding test for experienced riders, it is
through wide-open heathland both novice and weather-friendly. you to take a tumble it’s likely to Just take it easy in the occasional
watching Muntjac prance in the The sandy nature of most of the be a slightly softer landing than patch of deep sand in high
distance, the next minute you’re trails means they drain well and falling on a rock the Peaks. summer and it’s a great ride for
deep in the forest, bounding over the road network means it’s easy This 50-mile loop (which is also any burgeoning adventurer, as
bumps and whoops, dodging the to take a detour or head for home a TRF beginner route) is a good well as being just 90 minutes up
trees down narrow single-tracks. at any time. It also means that if day’s ride on an adventure bike. the A11 from London.
‘Thetford is
novice and
expert friendly’
Thetford Forest is
one of the UK’s best
playgrounds for
adventure bike riders
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 15
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS SEASIDE
THE BEST
SEASIDE
RIDE-OUT
The UK is surrounded by nearly 8000 miles of
coastline, and a trip to the seaside is about as
British as it gets. Simon Hargreaves takes
Triumph’s new Tiger Sport 660 for a lap of his
favourite seaside ride-out around the north Norfolk
coast, from Great Y armouth to Sunny Hunny
Words Simon Hargreaves Pictures Chippy Wood
Great Yarmouth sea
front: five minutes later
Simon was wearing a
‘Kiss Me Quick’ hat
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 17
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS SEASIDE
VERYONE LIKES BEING by the seaside,
Riding the
but the British have a unique way of middleweight
doing it – beaches bustling with kids wave on Triumph’s
pulling at parents’ hands, knotted Tiger Sport 660
spotty handkerchiefs, ice-creams
plopping into hot sand, the faraway
electronic babble of amusement
E arcades and a heady tang of hot chip-oil
and vinegar... and to that mix we can add burgeoning
ranks of motorbikes parked along the prom, lined up like
dominoes, textiled and leathered riders lolling on the
grass drinking cans of pop.
The seaside is a motorbike magnet where the ride is
only part of the story and the destination matters more
– we’ll endure the most beaten-up roads and choking
lines of tormented traffic to get to the sea-front and find
a space to prop up the bike, buy a bag of chips and natter
about the lengthy service intervals on the new Tiger
1200. It’s all very civilised and a long way from mods
and rockers tearing the place up in the 1960s.
And with 8000 miles of coastline, there are plenty of
seaside rides from which to choose. Today, I’ve picked
my favourite run from Great Yarmouth, glittering like
Norfolk’s answer to Skegvegas on the extreme East
Anglian coast, north through Cromer to finish the
evening at Hunstanton – Sunny Hunny – on the lower
edge of the Wash. It’s not the greatest ride in the world
– it’s not even the greatest ride in north Norfolk, to Fuelling up Somewhere
paraphrase John Lennon – but seaside ride-outs aren’t on sugar and over there is
necessarily about tasty tarmac and carving corners; this carbohydrates Holland, maybe...
ride is an easy roll along a familiar, if bumpy, gravelly
path; roads we’ve ridden and scenery we’ve seen
countless times before. It’s a kind of ‘comfort’ riding
– you do it because it’s like keeping in touch with an old
friend; keeps you grounded. Sometimes, on a bike, we
all need a sobering dose of consistency.
We kick off slap bang in the centre of Great Yarmouth’s
long beach, at Sandy and Bert’s Beach Hut café having a
morning brew and a breakfast bite to eat as the sun
climbs into a warming blue sky. We park the pretty red
‘The ride to the
seaside is just part
of the story’
18 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Erosion means
Happisburgh gets
Triumph Tiger Sport 660 on the prom in front of the café,
smaller every year
to the excitement of local ladies out early for a chit-chat.
Down the road, though a heat haze, Great Yarmouth Pier
juts into to the sea; Jim Davidson’s mug sneers out from
the posters – I was in this self-same spot in 1995 and he
was in town then too; probably still playing to the same
crowd. Hey, it’s a career.
The Tiger 660 spins us off along the road out of town,
away from arcades and shops selling deckchairs and
paddle boards, past the Venetian Waterways on the right
and endless rows of domestic B&Bs on the left, then
around the Caistor bypass and through Hemsby. Can’t
see the sea from the road, so at Winterton-on-sea, just
up the coast, we dive off towards the beach, pull up at
the broad car park for a wander into the dunes. It’s been
resurfaced with chippings. At the hut at the entrance, a
young lad breaks the bad news: “Sorry, no bikes in the
car park.” Eh? Why not? “They’ve fallen over before and
we’ve had insurance claims, so they’re banned.” There’s
nowhere else to park. “I have a puck for wedging under
the stand – the bike won’t fall over,” I say, but a shrug
says it’s either above his pay grade or capacity for logic.
Defeated, we retreat back down towards the main road
Windmill still and scatter on towards Waxham, under a broad blue
standing against ceiling with the waterways of Hickling Broad to the left,
time and tide
past the windmill at Horsey tea rooms – the old water
pump has a chequered past; built in 1912, it was flooded
for six months in 1938, struck by lightning in 1943,
Cromer Pier: star
of Alan Partridge: damaged in the gales of 1987, and has been through a
Alpha Papa number of restorations in between making it possibly
the most rebuilt windmill in England.
We flick along the narrow back lanes, loaded with
sand and gravel, crowded with trees and deceptive
bends challenging road reading skills towards Sea
Palling, where we stop for a bag of hot doughnuts and a
coffee. Sea Palling is small village on the coast, and the
scene of more flooding in 1953, when an 18ft North Sea
storm surge breached sea defences for 100 yards,
wrecked the village and killed seven people. Today the
beach is protected by sand dunes, a concrete sea wall
FACT FILE
Route From the Beach Hut in Great Length 75 miles
Yarmouth, head north through Sea Roads Mostly unclassified until
Palling, Happisburgh, Mundesley and picking up the B1159 near Walcott,
Cromer, then on through Blakeney, unclassified roads out of Cromer, then
Wells-next-the-Sea to Hunstanton the A149 for the rest of the ride
Best corner The section from Cley to
Salthouse on the A149 is lots of fun
Best place for a selfie Sunny Hunny
seafront, Cromer Pier, or the beach at
Mundesley
Best place for a cuppa Friendly folk
at the Beach Hut in Great Yarmouth to
start your ride, or a doughnut at Kay’s
at Sunny Hunny
BRITAIN’S BEST-RIDE OUTS | 19
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS SEASIDE
and thousands of tonnes of Norwegian rock groynes
piled in sections along the beach, creating havens for sea
life and turning the beach into a series of scalloped bays.
From Sea Palling we nip to Happisburgh, past the
barber’s shop lighthouse, for a quick peek at the
disappearing shoreline as the cliff crumbles back, year
after year, into the waves. It’s one of the least permanent
coastlines in the world and a few years ago a whole
street of houses was being eaten, one by one. They’re
gone now, washed into the sea, and the rest of the village
will go the same way unless the coastline is protected.
Onwards, past one of the UK’s major gas terminals at
Bacton with its forest of policed pipes and high security
fencing – you can bet that’s protected from the waves –
then we roll into Mundesley with its chunky concrete
WWII gun emplacements perched on the clifftop
proving the perfect spot for an impromptu sit-down in
the sun looking out across the wide sands and flat sea
down below. I could stay here all day, but we have to
move on – away again, flashing past typical flint-clad
cottages and into the bustle of Cromer. The town is
always rammed with tourists and traffic, popular beyond The twists on harbour more famous for its broad sweep of sands
its means to cope, but we take a quick walk down by the the A149 are a stretching into the fading blue distance.
definite highlight
pier to watch kids hauling nets stuffed with crabs from With the Tiger Sport 660 parked up and looking
of the trip
the water. Maybe they’re the same crabs every time. immaculate among stacked fishing nets, we take out a
As the coast bevels round the northern edge of East mortgage and grab a box of fish and chips. Of a weekend,
There’s variety
Anglia, past Sheringham and Weybourne, on through in the landscape plenty of other bikers stop here for fish and chips, too. It
Salthouse and Cley-next-the-Sea, the landscape along the coast isn’t cheap, but it is good. Soon it’s time to get underway
changes character – marshier, fewer trees, salt flats again and we’re drawn to the quiet beauty and twists of
behind the sand dunes. the salt flats. It’s a world away glitzy Great Yarmouth.
Get a clear run on an We bop away into the low sun dropping across the
evening and the road is Wash, the light golden upping the contrast like an old
a joy. The Tiger Sport Hollywood movie. The final few miles into Hunstanton
feels alive as it darts reel by and we get to the prom, scattered with bikes, in
between the hedges. We time to grab a last coffee of the ride from Kay’s Donuts
roll into Wells-next- and have a quick go in the amusement arcade. Oh, we
the-Sea, a small fishing do like to be beside the seaside.
BIKE FEATURED
Wells-next-the-
Sea has great
harbour-side fish TRIUMPH TIGER
and chip shops SPORT 660
Price £8845
Power 80bhp
Weight 206kg
Triumph’s Tiger 660 Sport is
that rarest of beasts: a
nicely-priced middleweight
sports tourer, equally happy on
short Sunday blasts or
week-long tours — and wrapped
in Triumph’s excellent build
quality and finish.
20 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
FOUR MORE GREAT BRITISH SEASIDE RIDE-OUTS
Dungeness to Brighton Jurassic Coast
Miles 85 Good for Classic British seaside run Best bit Beachy Head Miles 85 Good for Fossil hunting Best bit B3157
It starts with the sci-fi isolation 1970s postcard, then into Riding over the swooping hills of high street and along the Cob.
of Dungeness, with its long historic Rye, around Beachy Dorset’s Jurassic coast is like Then to fossil-centric
pebble beach dotted with huts, Head’s giddy heights (avoid the riding over the back of a big Charmouth. Head for fish and
the imposing nuclear power Quadrophenia finale if you can) sauropod — which, given the chips at biker-friendly West Bay,
station and astonishing natural and finally along to Brighton’s fossils down on its beaches, you then a run along the B3157,
diversity, through to the bustling, noisy sea front. There’s probably are. Start off in the Chesil Beach to your right. Head
teeth-rattling twists and turns of something for all sorts of riders village of Beer then a gentle ride to Poole Quay to enjoy bike
Jury’s Gap. Camber Sands’ and all styles of bike in the south along the A3052 to Lyme Regis nights on every summer
beaches stretch for miles like a east corner of Sussex. to lose hours strolling down the Wednesday evening.
DOWNLOAD
THE ROUTES
www.ride.co.uk
West Coast of Scotland Antrim Coast
Miles 280 Good for Scenery Best bit All of it Miles 150 Good for Home of road racing Best bit Murlough Bay
One of the most stunningly and the Bealach na Bà pass, You need a ferry to get to it, so cliffs-tops to colourful tiny
scenic rides in the whole of the with mile after mile of dramatic it’s one of the more committed fishing harbours, the Antrim
UK, it’s almost impossible to go cliffs, views across the sea to definitions of a ride-out... but Coast is loaded with great riding.
wrong whichever section of it the islands, epic roads and with 150 miles of rugged riding And great culture: Titanic, The
you choose to tackle. From the mountains. And there are always through classic Irish villages and Troubles, Game of Thrones
port of Oban you can hug much plenty bikers who are just as sweeping coastal views between locations, and pay a visit to
of the west coast all the way to happy as you with their choice of Belfast and Derry, it’s worth the Joey’s Bar and memorial in
Ullapool, even diverting to the coastal ride-out to chat to along effort. From silvery beaches to Ballymoney. Local bikers are Map data ©2022, Google
Isle of Skye, taking in Applecross the way. stark rocky outcrops, dramatic super-friendly, too.
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 21
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS CITY RIDES
FACT FILE Map data ©2022, Google
Route Darlington,
Corbridge, Carter
Bar, Jedburgh, Edinburgh
Length 132 miles
Roads A68, A720, A1
Best corner It’s got to be one of the
grippy, downhill twists at Carter Bar.
Newly surfaced, it the kind of section
of road you do again and again
Best place for a selfie On the A68
we’d say England/Scotland border at
Carter Bar. In Edinburgh we’d say the
base of Edinburgh Castle
Best place for a cuppa The 68 Café,
near Bishop Auckland is the nicest
roadside transport café we’ve been
to. Food, cakes and fry-ups are
excellent, too
Few other roads
rise and fall as
much as the A68
north of Corbridge
22 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
THE BEST
RIDE-OUT
TO A CITY
Fast, flowing and with amazing gradients and
corners, the A68 is the gateway to Scotland –
and it leads to the UK’s coolest city
Words Matt Wildee Pictures Jason Critchell
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 23
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS CITY RIDES
BIKE FEATURED
TRIUMPH TIGER
GT EXPLORER
Price £18,100
Power 148bhp
Weight 255kg
The big-mile, long-range
version of the new Tiger will hit
over 300 miles a tank on an
economical run, has enough
comfort to smash 1000-mile
days and is festooned with
standard equipment. A peerless
motorway cruiser, it’s also
lighter and more involving than
its predecessor.
HE A68 STRETCHES out in front of
me, rising and falling, twisting and
turning like a giant line of liquorice
laid over the topography. Deep black
against the green of the countryside, it
heads for the hills, charging
relentlessly north, its destination the
T Georgian beauty and sophistication of
central Edinburgh. As a city to head to, Edinburgh has
got to be the best in the country, not just for its laid-back
café culture and unique history, but because one of the
best roads in the country heads straight to it.
Today I’m gobbling up the 125-mile length of the A68,
turning off from the A1 at Darlington after a 200-mile
schlep from Cambridgeshire. It hasn’t been an enjoyable
journey: tailbacks meant miles of filtering and the
weather’s been changeable. One minute it feels like high
summer and you’re sweating, the next you’re cowering
under the looming darkness of a thunderstorm. But
that’s riding a long way in the UK for you.
It’s been worth it, though – the A68 is the first ‘proper’
road for any Scotland-bound traveller. Fast, flowing and
full of interest, it’s the shape of things to come – marking
the onset of an almost-unbroken web of perfect roads
from here to John O’Groats.
The Tiger 1200 GT Explorer has been an agreeable
companion on the dual carriageways, but we’re both
relishing the prospect of some corners, gradient and the
opportunity to work the tyres, brakes and gearbox. It’s
time for us both to wake up, and as soon as you’re in
Northumberland, bikers – and bikes – come alive. The
A68 skirts the edge of the Pennines and works with the
geography. It’s open, wide and visibility is good.
24 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
‘Bikers – and Carter Bar — it
isn’t a pub
bikes – come
alive on
these roads’
It’s damp but the
1200GT Explorer
shrugs it off
Borders roads are
among the UK’s best
The GT, with its tall gearing, good midrange response a summit, the world drops away. The bike goes light,
and accurate steering is in its element, carving tight lines your stomach tries to exit through your throat and you
and driving past rows of dawdling traffic, while booming bump back down to earth. This happens four, five,
with impressive roll-on power. The momentum, the maybe six times.
The A68 at rhythm of bike and road working together is spectacular. Excess speed isn’t advised. Twenty years ago, I was
Carter Bar is a There’s great places to stop, too. The 68 Café near Bishop passenger in a van full of bikes that took off over one
wonderful snake
of tarmac Auckland, for example, does the best-ever fry-up. summit at 80mph and I still get twinges in my neck now.
Before we know it, we’re in Corbridge. Steeped in The WP semi-active suspension on the Tiger is
Roman history, the ancient town is a warren of stone wonderfully composed as wheels regain full contact
buildings and historic streets. Close to Hadrian’s Wall, with terra firma, though.
the area is peppered with old forts and archaeological The next few miles are the best of the A68. I’ve always
sites, but for most bikers, one of the most enjoyable loved the wonderful, twisting section near Swinburne
aspects of the Roman world starts as you leave the town. Quarry. Here the road rises and falls as it follows a glen
Much of the A68 follows the line of Dere Street, an and crosses the Dry Burn river. Framed by dry-stone
ancient Roman road that linked Northern England with walls, their proximity make it all feel quick, intense and
what is now Scotland. It means that for over 2000 years, a little hemmed in. It’s a contrast to the rest of the route’s
travellers heading north have trod the same path as we widescreen feel. And even now, with the start of a steady
do now. But never is the link clearer than the few miles drizzle, the Triumph carves through the twists and keys
out of Corbridge. into the coarse blacktop.
Around here the landscape rises and falls like a giant It all opens up again as we near the Scottish border and
green rucked up carpet and the A68 follows it with head for Carter Bar. We pass the sign and marker stone
typical Roman bloody-mindedness. The hills are that denotes we’re in Scotland and start the descent to
Blind summits
seriously limit the something to be respected and remembered. You climb Jedburgh. Located high in the Cheviot Hills, Carter Bar is
view ahead inexorably, heading for the sky, flying blind. As you reach 418 metres above sea level and while it’s damp, as I
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 25
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS CITY RIDES
Getting dual
carriageway
done quickly
start the famous selection of downhill sweeps and
hairpins that head towards Jedburgh it’s fairly obvious
grip levels are high.
New tarmac has replaced the old anti-skid surface and
the Tiger’s Metzeler Tourances stick with tenacity. A
rainstorm kicks in, hammering down with seemingly
fist-sized globules, but there is still enough feedback for
fun. I’ve ridden this road enough in the dry to know that
tackled at the right time, it is still a magical ribbon.
We stop at Jedburgh for a coffee. The first major town
as you cross the border, it bears the scars of England and
Scotland’s historically troubled relationship. The sacked
but still beautiful abbey is testament to that. Jedburgh is
a quiet but charming place, and ist makes a great
destination for a stop-over with enough hotels and
restaurants to feel lively of an evening. But on this
occasion, we carry on.
The A68 gets busier the closer you get to Edinburgh
but there is still interest – and signs of man’s engineering
genius when it comes to transport. The 19-arch
Leaderfoot Viaduct near Melrose runs parallel to the A68
and you cross the River Tweed alongside it. You can’t
help but be impressed.
But even as the road gets more trunk-road-like, there
is still real joy and flow to it. This is big country and the
A68 has got bigger too – widening for overtaking lanes,
and now smashing through the landscape rather than
going over or skirting around it. By the time we’ve
reached its union with the A720 and then the A1, you
The Earl of RiDE
THE KIT contemplates the
Duke of Buccleuch
Triumph Adler Gore-Tex
Adventure Tourer £650 can’t help but feel like you’ve been on a journey, but for
(Jacket), £400 (trousers)
me it hasn’t reached its conclusion yet.
www.triumph.co.uk
The next 30 minutes of filtering and cut-and-thrust of
As you’d expect from a £1000 suit, the city traffic is less enjoyable – Edinburgh’s confusing if
Adler is wonderfully made and full of you don’t know where you’re going. During the tourist
high-end materials. Performance is season there are jams everywhere but I make it through
class-leading. Tested in everything from the traffic and pull up in the city centre. It’s beautiful
5-degree rain to 25-degree trail riding, it’s – an amalgam of old and new, overlooked by the craggy
warm when you need it and cool when you delights of Edinburgh Castle.
don’t. Resistance to heavy rain is the best It’s summer in the city and the whole place is buzzing.
I’ve used, the zip and storm cuffs kill I’ve got a day and a night to fill before the Tiger Explorer
draughts and long-range comfort is great. and I head for home and I can’t think of a better place to
Not cheap, but easily as good as do it. There’s enough culture to please any vulture but
ultra-high-end suits at twice the price. the whole place is packed with the most enticing bars,
pubs, cafes and restaurants, too. Where do I start..?
26 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
FOUR MORE GREAT RIDES TO TOWNS AND CITIES
Glossop to Sheffield Llandovery to Swansea
Miles 38 Good for Great views Best bit The moment it twists Miles 36 Good for Black Mountain Road Best bit The hairpins
between the valley
The Brecon Beacons are littered across the bleak, windswept
The Snake Pass is one of UK evening, the twists and turns with good roads — you can get a majesty of the Beacons.
motorcycling’s iconic roads. inspire. The road climbs hard out day’s ride zig-zagging from Sweeping corners with views
Carved into rock and heath, even of Glossop and after an early Aberystwyth to Llandovery. Best across the hilly landscape, a
though much of the A57 is under peak, the downhill run east is a one is the Black Mountain Road. couple of tight, fiddly hairpins
50mph limits, the flow and the joy. There are many highlights, Made famous by countless car and outstanding blacktop with
wonderful views make that but it is definitely worth stopping TV programmes, not to mention tons of wet grip, followed by a
almost irrelevant. Best tackled for a stroll around Ladybower a few bike magazines, the A4069 tipsy jaunt down the Gwrhyd
during the quiet of a summer Reservoir on the way. is a short but memorable ride Road into Swansea.
DOWNLOAD
THE ROUTES
www.ride.co.uk
Alston to Penrith John o’ Groats to Inverness
Miles 20 Good for Corners. Lots of corners Best bit Arriving at Miles 120 Good for Oil rigs and North Sea Best bit Berridale to
Hartside Pass Helmsdale
The A686 drops from Alston in and stunning views across the The 120 miles along the A99 and into conifer plantations. Crazy
the Pennines into Penrith with Vale of Eden. Then drop down A9 to Inverness have epic views hairpins at Berridale and a cool
one of the best short rides in the the ridge in a dizzying cascade of across the North Sea and run through Helmsdale follow,
UK. From Blueberry’s Tea Shop tumbling corners, at first across flowing sections with wide and before dropping to sea level at
on Alston’s cobbles, blast along open hillsides, then darting dramatic corners. The first few Portgower, then over Dornoch
the beguiling A696, using the between stone walls and miles from John o’ Groats is flat, Firth, Cromarty Firth and the
whole road, apex to apex, up to thickets of trees before settling but hills south of Wick are lined Kessock Bridge at the Moray Map data ©2022, Google
the site of the old Hartside Café into a steady run into Penrith. with gorse and occasionally rise Firth into the city.
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 27
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
BECAUSE BIKING’S
BETTER SHARED…
Riding with your mates is one of the best
parts of biking — and these expert tips
can make ride-outs even more enjoyable
Words Simon Hargreaves Pictures Chippy Wood
’VE CLOCKED UP more than 100,000 miles in the
company of other bikers, from super-skilled
road-tester-racers, to nervous new riders and one
I or two of those special riders we all have to be
VERY wary of... Over that period, I’ve learned much
about riding in big and small groups – and human
nature. You might have already figured some of this out,
but these are the group-riding rules I live by…
Find your order
Many want the steadiest rider to lead, even if it’s
1 just two of you out for a ride – so quicker riders
don’t ‘drag’ anyone along, drawing them outside their
comfort zone.
But having the steadiest rider at the front isn’t always
the best – slower riders might be the least confident or
intimidated by a faster rider behind. What they might
want is to ride behind someone, but for the person
they’re following to show consideration.
Responsibility falls on the lead rider to keep an eye on
the mirrors and set an appropriate pace. Some riders find
it a problem – riding outside a comfort zone isn’t always
about too fast – it can also be too slow, losing
concentration and stumbling over previously automatic,
subconscious routines.
Next time you’re in a group, try putting the steadiest Riding with
mates multiplies
rider at the front, then the second-steadiest next, etc. If
the fun to be had
faster riders aren’t comfortable riding at the back, let
them clear off and ride the way they want to ride away
from the rest of the group. The bottom line is that the quiet word next time you stop. Sometimes the third rider
riding order shouldn’t be dictated by speed alone, it can ride in the ‘gap’ between the lead and second riders
should be set by a combination of confidence, personal – still getting optimal vision – in a kind of diamond
preference and pace. formation. The important thing in terms of group road
position, is to always give yourself space, and the same
Vision is everything clear view ahead as the lead rider.
This is simple in theory: when riding in a straight
2 line, be offset from the rider in front so you have Don’t be one of the herd
the clearest line-of-sight view ahead, and if the lead It’s easy for riders in a big group to lose focus, a
rider suddenly brakes or swerves it has less impact on 3 herd mentality takes over and riders surrender
you. And don’t ride too close – maintain a decent some of their individual responsibility for staying safe.
stopping/swerving-distance gap. Riding behind someone for an extended length of time
In practice it’s less easy – the lead rider might be a can also be less stimulating than riding in front, and lead
‘fidgeter’ constantly moving from one side of the lane to to loss of concentration or even drowsiness.
the other — and then the second rider will also be Group riding can also introduce dynamics not always
swapping about, and the third rider etc. There’s not considered – the chain reaction of one rider slowing at
much you can do about a fidgeter; either drop back so the front can quickly concertina. I’ve seen a long train of
your position relative to them is irrelevant, or have a riders on a motorway crash like this – the rider at the
28 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Park politely
and be courteous
to everyone
Motorways
bring their own
unique hazards
front waved back at someone on a bridge, the second Parking in groups has its own protocols – and the most
Fuelling up.
Whose round is rider slowed and waved, the third rider saw the waving important is make sure your bike won’t topple off its
it anyway? but not the rider braking... and by the time it got back to sidestand by parking it against any slope, and in gear. A
the sixth or seventh rider, there was no reaction time memory of a priceless road-going MotoGP replica
left. It was a mess. Never assume the rider in front (or getting dominoed by another bike while parked up at
behind) is thinking the same things you are, or seeing the TT is still very fresh...
the same things you’re seeing.
Consider everyone else
Consider your mates Bikers get a bad rap from the public – fine,
There are some things we can do as a group that 5 motorcycling isn’t a popularity contest. But there’s
4 just make life easier and make riding together run no point being rude or thoughtless – and, in groups,
a bit smoother. When we’re at the fuel pumps, it’s there’s ample opportunity. The most common is parking
quicker and less inconvenient for other people if we inconsiderately. No-one likes a chat as much as us riders
share a pump – park next to each other and fill all the – but if we’re going to stand around shooting the breeze,
bikes from one nozzle. If we’re making only one fuel do it where someone isn’t trying to get past. Parking on
stop, we split the cost otherwise take in turns like rounds the kerbed area in front of service stations is a moot
of drinks. It’s quicker, slicker and means you spend point (some people hate it, some are fine) but avoid
more time riding; less time waiting for the cashier. riding on them or bothering the public unnecessarily.
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS | 29
BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS IN ASSOCIATION WITH
RIDE WITH TRIUMPH
How you can join Triumph to celebrate 120 years of the British firm
HIS YEAR MARKS the 120th RIDE’S RIDE-OUT PICKS
anniversary of Triumph
Motorcycles – 120 years of bike This is just a few that are going on. Check the website for ones near you
T production, from the first
St Leonards On Sea, 01424 423520
machines built at the original factory in J S Gedge August 14
East Sussex
Coventry right up the present-day range of
900 and 1200 Tigers, Trident 660, Speed Triumph Plymouth August 20 Plymouth, Devon 01752 330002
and Street Triples and Twins, the Rocket 3, Norfolk Triumph August 20 Watton, Norfolk 01953 881285
and of course the modern classics based
Triumph Aberdeen August 20 Altens, Aberdeen 01224 584855
around the Bonneville.
The factory has been marking the Triumph Birmingham West August 21 Halesowen, Birmingham 0121 506 6800
anniversary with ride-outs – 120 in all
A1 Moto York August 21 York 01904 625676
– from Triumph dealers all around the
country, following locally planned routes. 120 Years of Triumph August 27 Staffordshire Triumph, 01782 813866
Derbyshire Ride Out Stoke-on-Trent
From Triumph Aberdeen to Triumph
Plymouth on the south coast in Devon, Destination Triumph Dorset September 7 Christchurch, Dorset 01202 040999
Triumph North Wales in Abergele to Phillip
Dublin Triumph September 10 Dublin +353 1 464 2211
Triumph North London September 17 Watford, Hertfordshire 01923 273456
Triumph — they Triumph Newcastle September 24 Newcastle 0191 282 2864
have quite a Bevan Triumph September 24 Cardiff 029 2022 7477
lengthy history...
McCallen Motorcycles in Lisburn, Northern It’s a wonderful event to take part in and
Ireland, hundreds of Triumph owners have if you do it on a Triumph you get a special
been taking to the streets throughout the ‘120 Ride-Outs’ patch, too. Find out more
summer, with more ride-outs planned into details of the ride-out routes near you at
August and September. the Triumph website.
www.triumphmotorcycles.co.uk/for-the-ride/120-ride-outs
Join Triumph on
a celebratory
ride-out this
summer
30 | BRITAIN’S BEST RIDE-OUTS
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