Kawasaki 1400 GTR

Tonight I am a very happy chap. My wife has agreed to allow me to go on a bike tour during 2011. Now to some that might not sound like a great achievement, but trust me it is.  :)

As a compromise I have agreed to keep it UK based, so I'm thinking Scotland, Cornwall or Southern Ireland. I did initially mention Spain to her but alas that was not to be.... :D

Still beggars can't be choosers and I am more than happy to plan a trip to one of the above areas.  I'm very flexible as far as dates are concerned, I'll just slot it in, in and amongst my work commitments. Duration of the trip, probably no more than seven days, best not push my luck, eh!

I know everyone seems to head North up to the Scottish Highlands, probably because it is such a beautiful location, so although it is a bit clichéd I'm certainly not going to dismiss it.

If anyone has any great ideas, recommendations, advice etc that would be gratefully appreciated. I will be travelling with tent but primarily staying in B&B's unless the weather is so great that the tent appeals to me more than a comfortable room with running water and electricity....so it'll probably be B&B's then!

I'll need secure parking and ideally a place where I can leave the bike locked up in a garage so I'm not messing about stripping down sat nav and other bits off the bike every night. 

I need peace and quiet when I am not working, so countryside, relative silence and good hospitality/company are a must more so than night clubs, kebab shops etc, if that makes sense.

Dont forget to cast your vote, at the very top left of this page any ideas greatly considered....

I'd say Scotland. Lots of biking roads there, beautiful lochs etc. Unfortunately I can't remember what routes I did but I had great fun. I would you suggest you take a heavy duty bike chain and lock. Personally, I would just book some Premier Inns now as you'll get a low rate. I can unclip my Sat Nav within a couple of seconds - is yours bolted down? If you really want a garage, most BB's will allow you to use theirs as long as you ask in advance.

Quote from: Norman Bates on December 17, 2010, 11:25:11 PM
I'd say Scotland. Lots of biking roads there, beautiful lochs etc. Unfortunately I can't remember what routes I did but I had great fun. I would you suggest you take a heavy duty bike chain and lock. Personally, I would just book some Premier Inns now as you'll get a low rate. I can unclip my Sat Nav within a couple of seconds - is yours bolted down? If you really want a garage, most BB's will allow you to use theirs as long as you ask in advance.

NB, did you go on your own or as part of a group? Which part did you go to? My sat nav is secured in place by some sort of security, anti theft screw, it only takes about a minute to undo it but it is a bit faffy.

I've had a look at my shifts and the dates are now set Thursday 16th June to Tuesday 21st June inclusive.  ;D

The highlands for sure.
I'll get around to them myself sometime, maybe even next year!

The Highlands definately seem to be the most popular choice. If I were to go in that direction I would plan to stay in Glencoe and use that as my base and travel out daily from there. Glencoe is a stunning location.  8)

Quote from: Lonewolf on December 18, 2010, 12:15:39 AM

Quote from: Norman Bates on December 17, 2010, 11:25:11 PM
I'd say Scotland. Lots of biking roads there, beautiful lochs etc. Unfortunately I can't remember what routes I did but I had great fun. I would you suggest you take a heavy duty bike chain and lock. Personally, I would just book some Premier Inns now as you'll get a low rate. I can unclip my Sat Nav within a couple of seconds - is yours bolted down? If you really want a garage, most BB's will allow you to use theirs as long as you ask in advance.

NB, did you go on your own or as part of a group? Which part did you go to? My sat nav is secured in place by some sort of security, anti theft screw, it only takes about a minute to undo it but it is a bit faffy.

Yes, went on my own. I worked in Scotland for a while so took a trip up to Aberdeen, then across to the west coast and back to Edinburgh.

The decision is made. The Scottish Highlands it is.  ;D
I have the dates booked at work so I'm going to work on finding some suitable accomodation now with drying facilities, (just in case) and ideally secure parking.

Looking forward to planning the trip now.

Would have suggested southern ireland but after another hard winter back roads are in shite again,me im hoping to return to france this year again,one of the reasons for getting a gtr and hoping to bring younger son with me.

I'm glad you said that about Ireland, it is a place I have never yet been but would love to visit one day on the bike.

I dont feel as guilty now about not going this year.

I've sorted out some accomodation for the first night. Two hundred & fifty miles approximately from home which is enough because I'm supposed to be relaxing and chilling out not doing an endurance trip.

This is where I will be staying on day one, http://www.innischonainhouse.co.uk/.

Looks quite nice, right on the edge of Loch Lomond and with private parking where the bike should be safe.

I still need to decide where I go from here, but thats half the fun planning a trip.  ;D

My second nights accomodation will be as close to the banks of Loch Ness as I can get. Just trying to get some quotes as we speak. I'll put a link on to the accomodation when I get a satisfactory quote, some of them are rather expensive, apparantly Loch Ness is a popular tourist destination, especially if you want to stay close to the water as I do.  ::)

Sorted, a sensible price too.

http://www.glenrowan.co.uk/index.html

Thats day two sorted out.

Last but not least...just got this booked, http://www.blinkbonnieguesthouse.co.uk/

The final nights accomodation booked in Portpatrick near Stranraer, on the west coast of scotland. Went there last year, photos are in the adventure section, http://www.gtr1400.co.uk/forums/index.php/topic,69.0.html.

Beautiful place. From there I'll have a steady ride back home on the Monday stopping off at Kirkcudbright to see a friend on the way and then visit Threave Castle just outside Castle  Douglas, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Threave_Castle_2.jpg

Really looking forward to the mini adventure. I know its nothing really compared with some folks European adventures but it will be the first substantial trip I have done on the GTR since I bought it and in fact it will be the longest trip I have done on any bike for over twenty five years.  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

I'm a bit giddy... ::)

What you need is a GPS tracker and software. Easiest way to keep a record of your trip (and we can follow you as well Big Brother style!)

Dont know about a GPS tracker, but I can guarantee you there will be a few pics of the trip accompanied by a write up. I might even do it as I go along, I have been looking at these tiny little netbooks I think they are called. Something that small will just fit into a pannier nice and easily.

Dunno what phone you have, but I have an app for the iphone called bikehub and it tracks your ride and plots it on a map and it can be shared via ~Facefook. You would need roaming data package tho!

I have the new iPhone 4. I'm not a fan of Facebook though. What's this roaming data package thing?

If you've just got you iPhone on contract you'll have a data tariff, so nothing to worry about. That app sounds good though, so well worth downloading

Just at work at the moment cruising round in the pouring rain. I'll have a look at the app later and see what it does.

I didn't realise but this heart monitor watch I purchased will log your journey via GPS and you can replay back using Google maps.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Garmin-Forerunner-305-Wrist-Worn-Personal/dp/B000FMQ296

Just going through this "old" thread ... what time of year are you planning to go ? Sounds really good and the overnight stays look very welcoming ... scrambled eggs and Haggis for Brekky ? Yum Yum !

I'm off work from the 16th to 21st June but will be away from the 17th to 20th, i.e. Friday to Monday. It's only a shortish trip, four days and three nights but it's the first trip I've done like this for well over twenty years. My other half, Mrs Wolf ain't too keen on me not coming home at the end of the day.

I'm really looking forward to it, Scotland is a beautiful location especially the bit I'm concentrating on, the West Coast. If you ever get an opportunity to go, do it!!

Oh don't worry Mr Wolf ... the West coast of Scotland, and the rest of it is on my " to do list " and will get ticked off in good time !

Went up to Ullapool today, don't miss this road during your trip (Inverness - Ullapool).

Nice one! Now those are the roads I'm talking about up in Scotland. Just under three months till I go, seriously looking forward to the trip.

I like where you have your Tax disc, never seen a disc there before.

Now those 2 pics are the very reason for me wanting to go to Scotland ... just lovely scenery ! Tax Disc ? Mines in the drawer at home, couldn't find anywhere decent to put it ! I know I know,,,,£200 for failing to display ......

I'm sure you'll get better weather than we did over the last week. I was struggling to keep the GTR upright on the way up the A1 especially while riding slowly negotiating overturned vehicles on a couple of occasions; I was sure we were off once when a gust hit us when we were crawling along. There were two or three instances of dust blowing across the motorway and visibility was only a few feet. We then had a few days of torrential rain, hail and still high winds - we took refuge in the Invergarry Hotel (highly recommended both for the hotel itself and surrounding roads) once as the hail was almost horizontal.

It did improve a lot once we got out of Scotland. I think this is the first time ever we got to the Lake District and it stopped raining, that's usually where it starts! The last couple of days were really pleasant and sitting outside a pub on the Wrynose Pass having tea and cake in glorious sunshine after being over the Hardknott Pass twice that morning is a pleasant memory.

Having said all that it is early and last year at this time we had to abandon a Scottish trip because of snow so at least we got there this year. The roads are still mostly fabulous but they have deteriorated a lot over the Winter. Here's where we went - http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=28ba4d94536599a23 (http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=28ba4d94536599a23).

Kevin

My tips on riding in high winds (regular occurance on my commute accross Penines)

1. Use the gyro effect and drop a few gears
2. Lean into the wind
3. Tuck elbows in and lossen grip on handlebars
4. Speed up. Again, the related to the gyro effect

I have to admit, riding slow on the GTR in high winds can be scary. I always keep in low gear and try to speed up which I find help immensely.

[Nods] Yep, good tips and I do all that. I had no problems with the wind at all at speed, the problems occurred when I had to slow. This was firstly when an army jeep and trailer had gone over and I was filtering through the jam; I quickly realised that was not a sensible thing to do as the gusts of wind coming under the trucks were very unsettling given the confined space I was in and the slow speed I was riding at. The 'nearly off' incident occurred when a flat-bed truck had gone over and I was behind a VOSA car which was going slower and slower in front of me and driving diagonally to block the two outside lanes as it approached the incident. I had nowhere to go and was slowed to a crawl manoeuvring round the VOSA vehicle, the accident and a queue of trucks to my left when a huge gust of wind nearly had us over.

I learned my high-wind riding technique by trial and error during years of coming back from the Le Mans 24-hour which always seemed to involve riding at 45 degrees leaning into the wind.

Edit: I skip read and missed 1. Do you really think the gyroscopic effect of the engine will make much difference? I'd have thought the gyroscopic effect of the wheels would be much greater. (That's a genuine question in case it comes over sarcastically!)

Kevin

Most of the tips i've given have been arrived by trial and error. I've realised that if I'm doing 70 (ahem) in 6th, on a windy day the bike gets knocked about a bit. However, if I drop down a couple of gears, the bike is rock solid. I'd assume the high torque affects the gyro of the wheels somehow. I could be wrong - physics was never my strong point - but it does make a difference.

In high winds try sticking you knee out on the side of the bike the wind I coming in(ie right knee for wind coming from the right)......it works or me...not sure why, but it does

Firstly, just to put the record straight.... ;D Norman Bates does not ride at 70mph!! Well perhaps only briefly as he's passing though the gears ;)

Some good tips there, I hope I dont need them in June on my bike trip. I want sunshine. As for Kevins trip, I like the way you have plotted your route, thats one hell of a lot of mileage and I certainly hope I dont experience high winds like we had a few weeks ago..

Well just over a day and a half and I'll be on my way, really loooking forward to it.  ;D ;D

What's the weather forecast?

I'm off on Friday too, weather does not look good down south on Friday hope it's better in Scotland. Have a great time Mr Wolf ;D

Yep,I hope to have a good time, a change is as good as a rest as they say.  ;D

If it rains, it rains, it'll still be a mini adventure!

Hope you have a decent time too.

Hope you enjoy your little break mr Wolf, West side of Scotland is fantastic, if you get a chance a must do is the A172 from just outside Newton stewart up to Dumfies, luvly jubly. Have a great time    Geoff  ;D

Thanks for that, do you mean the A712?

Doh,  :-[   Yes sorry A712 through the Galloway forest superb roads, and fantastic scenery   ENJOY ;D

I'm coming back that way, last nights accomodation is at Portpatrick. I hope to call in at Kirkcudbright to see a mate on the way home and then the rest of the day is my own.

Have a great time Mr Wolf ... we all know how much you have been looking forward to the Scottish trip .... even if the weather is " not so good " I know you will love it .... " ENJOY " from us all  ;D ;D

Quote from: Lord Rusty on June 15, 2011, 10:36:53 PM
Have a great time Mr Wolf ... we all know how much you have been looking forward to the Scottish trip .... even if the weather is " not so good " I know you will love it .... " ENJOY " from us all  ;D ;D

+1. Enjoy the ride LW.

Thanks folks, just going to change my brake pads today and then I'm sorted. I'll hopefully be able to get on the site while I'm away and keep up to date with what's going on.

Lonewolf, they've just closed the border, Scottish Passport Control officers on strike for 5 days, you may have to go through Holyhead/Dublin/Belfast/Stranraer. Hope this doesn't upset your plans. !

Quote from: lamin on June 16, 2011, 08:20:45 AM
Lonewolf, they've just closed the border, Scottish Passport Control officers on strike for 5 days, you may have to go through Holyhead/Dublin/Belfast/Stranraer. Hope this doesn't upset your plans. !

Bugger ;D