I had to go up to Taunton today. Accountant time....! I rode up the boaring old link road & m way. But on way back as fine day , decided on A39 Taunton to Minehead & back to Barnstaple. Any of you who are familiar with this Road , Boomer is , it's a corker. Twisty & most amazing coastal & Moor land Scenery.
Nearing home I was reflecting on the ride . Sure some Mud & leaves & damp roads through woodland sections. But unlike in the Summer months no Tourist ,no 20mph day trippers who you always catch up on your favorite bends. No Wobble Boxes ( Caravans that is) No 70 year old motor home drivers pulling out in front of you. This road is more hassle than it's worth in the season , especially at weekends. But today , between Minehead & Barnstaple I only caught up with 6 cars & one Tesco delivery van. Think it was Nigel ,mate driving it to & he has Motor bike , so he would have been envious. Going to text him in min.They all let me sail on by without any hindrance. All aware I was there for a change. Sure like said some leaves & mud trails from fields..But mud nor leaves can pull out in front of you. They are a predictable hazard , unlike the summer road users. No sudden stopping or pulling out regardless. So winter has just got to be the time of year to be out. Even better at moment down here ,as temps topped 18 this week. So fantastic Autumn & early winter for motorcycling me thinks. All the R1s & Fire blades tucked up in Bed...poor things....! God there missing out. Plenty of room on the Roads for there egos too.....
Just go out & enjoy , wrap up warm ,if you have to , but if you dont ride this time of year, then you should. Makes you better Rider to , I reckon. :)
I know what you mean Zedman ... I have spoken here before of rides home from London when, not as scenic as yours but still, when you know the roads and its dark and there is not much traffic about you can give it some wellington, it's dry oh just lovely. In 6 months time it will be a completely different story ! Still with Christmas fast approaching the shortest day ( Dec 21st ) is with us in 5 weeks and then from then onwards the days will be getting longer and longer and longerrrrrrr ...... " Hoorah ! " for warm summer rides ;D ;D
The A39 is a cracking road but I now avoid like the plaque during the summer because of the traffic and the lack of overtaking opportunities
Steve
hi mate i know exactly what you mean!-went out sunday (form cwmbran,gwent) down to cardiff airport,on to llantwit major,southerndown,ogmore and porthcawl!, cuppa time i thought,sun was shining an thought,,,,,,,,, *uck it,so i went off towards portalbot,swansea,three crosses,over to gorseinon,burryport road over to carmarthen.
then bike heaven!!!!!!!!!!!! A40 CARMARTHEN TO LLANDOVERY!!!! caaaaaaaa ching!!!! stunning,gorra say- as you said hardly any traffic,long sweeping bends,lovely straights,you gorra have a blast on this one guys,
most of the time the road was all MINE!
came back through brecon onto abergavenny and home !!! fab day it was ,,,,,,an i went on my tod!!!!! lol
dont think we will be having to many days like that for the rest of the year but if the do,i`ll be out.
take care guys,n stay safe! :)
There's something crisp and fresh about the air at this time of the year, possibly cause there aint as much polution from the cars on some of the routes. Can be a tad chilly but very rewarding.
I popped over into Wales last Saturday and had a cracking good ride. I decided to take the long way back home via Gloucester rather than M4 and I reminded myself how much fun the roads were between Hay on Wye and Ross on Wye :D :D :D :D and how responsive and agile/sporty the GTR is when using 2nd gear -7/8,000 revs to throttle on and off to keep the bike at NSL ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: routemaster on November 18, 2011, 01:02:40 AM
I popped over into Wales last Saturday and had a cracking good ride. I decided to take the long way back home via Gloucester rather than M4 and I reminded myself how much fun the roads were between Hay on Wye and Ross on Wye :D :D :D :D and how responsive and agile/sporty the GTR is when using 2nd gear -7/8,000 revs to throttle on and off to keep the bike at NSL ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I guess you could hear the sucking noise from the tank and had to fill up a couple of times too. :( :(
I do have to say i am enjoying a rather extended riding season this year on the GTR, yes i know the weather's still reasonable, but before i added the GTR to the stable I wouldn't be hooning about at the moment... the Tuono avec sports tyres is oooh interesting on cold damp roads !!!
Ziderman, yes,... I am envious. ;D
With minimal traffic it is an awesome road.
I have a twisty route to/from work that i take if the M25 is fouled up (so most days then!)
Runs from Sevenoaks (Bessels Green) via Four Elms, Edenbridge, Lingfield, Domewood, and into Crawley.
On a good day it is a blast but recently with the early morning fog and mud all over some of it, it has been "entertaining".
Still better than the 15 miles of traffic jam on the M25 though.
Have had the rear tyre spin up on the mud on a couple of occasions and have felt the ABS kick in once or twice.
The PR3s make riding at this time of year so much more fun. ;D 8)
Quote from: mecki on November 18, 2011, 08:20:21 AM
I guess you could hear the sucking noise from the tank and had to fill up a couple of times too. :( :(
Funny enough not really even though I was running with ECO mode switched off for a change
Steve
Quote from: routemaster on November 18, 2011, 05:26:45 PM
Funny enough not really even though I was running with ECO mode switched off for a change
I think that switches itself off if you go over 6000rpm or open the throttle more than 30% anyway.
Quote from: mecki on November 18, 2011, 06:33:37 PM
I think that switches itself off if you go over 6000rpm or open the throttle more than 30% anyway.
True but in addition on the 2010 models you can switch on ECO mode which means the bike runs leaner and improves fuel consumption.
Steve
Quote from: routemaster on November 18, 2011, 07:45:02 PM
True but in addition on the 2010 models you can switch on ECO mode which means the bike runs leaner and improves fuel consumption.
I haven't actually noticed that ECO-mode makes a significant difference when I tried it on long motorway trips on the continent in summer.
The only time I have experienced a significant (at least according to the board computer) improvement on fuel consumption was when the
tyre pressure dropped to 260-270KPA instead of 290+ KPA and I suddenly managed to to get 240-260 miles out of a tank.
I gather this was because due to lower tyre pressure the diameter of the wheels is smaller
Once I pumped it up to the recommended pressure again the fuel consumption went up to normal (~10 miles per litre).
And AFAIK ECO-mode gets turned off automatically if you open the throttle more than 30% or go over 6000rpm.
Never mind the ECO mode .... just back from work .... another great dark winter ride home .. bit foggy I have to say but dry cold and fast.
The recently fitted wind deflectors are super ... thank you Martin. ! Screen up, grips on ... lovely.
How did I ever cope doing that same journey all that time on an unfaired bike ???? Big bikes are the way forward, of that there can be no doubt ! ;D ;D