Got back yesterday early evening and wish I was back there :yes: had a brillant time 3,259 miles in 8 days :smiley: the "Old boy" Geoff would be :sweatdrop: at the thought of that :grin: took over 300 pics but not the time and don't want to bore you all to death :wacko: so here is just a view to go on with :clap:
got to the Asford to meet the 11.30 train which was a 35 min journey to Cali :clap: it rained most to journey down there so our bikes got dirty before we even entered France :hammer:
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All loaded safely the train is excellent it travels at over 100 mph and the bikes don't even move :no: even when stopping :clap:
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won't bore you all with the first 2 days which is mostly motorway which will "the old boy" :whistling: will have a good moan about but you need to cover alot of miles to reep the benifits of the french/swiz and atalian alps :yes: so bugger off Geoff :wink:
Stelvio pass it was 28 degrees in bormio italy then at the top of the Stelvio pass it drop down to minus :wacko: even the lake was frozen over :smiley: excellent bends but to tight to get your knee down :sweatdrop:
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two top bikes that didn't miss a single beat :clap: theses bikes are made to tour long distance at high speeds :smiley: pity that me and my mates aren't made as well :sweatdrop: love the trip but over 3,000 miles in 8 days is hard going even on my much younger bones than the "old boys" :whistling: sorry Geoff.. but I decided to get in first with the slagging off :smiley:
stayed at bormio for 2 nights so we could visit lake Como pic of the mighty ZZR with lake garda in the back ground :smiley:
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on the way to bormio we went via lake como nice pics and the view of lake como isn't bad either :grin:
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we took the coast road from the south of france to genoa italy and stop off at various resorts along the coast seen this cruise ship and thought maybe next year :smiley:
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6342_zpsa59ebcdc.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6342_zpsa59ebcdc.jpg.html)
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6343_zpsb374b0f2.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6343_zpsb374b0f2.jpg.html)
pic of the mighty ZZR :grin: with lake Garda in the background
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also seen this load of junk this guy needed a check up form the neck up :yes: he just welded al sorts of rubbish on his bike and the pic shows a 4 inch long spike which was metal just by his "PLUMS" when sitting on the bike :wacko: handy if he had a head on!! this would defo see him off :sweatdrop:
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and a third pic so you can make your own mind up :wacko:
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pic of the busa destroyer on the Stelvio pass :grin:
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Stelvio pass
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Stelvio pass it was off putting seeing all that snow at the side of thoses bends but Jesus was looking over us :clap:
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6406_zpsdc70af8a.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6406_zpsdc70af8a.jpg.html)
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6400_zpsede44bec.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6400_zpsede44bec.jpg.html)
mine's the best!!! :clap: :grin:
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6380_zps3f9fdabe.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6380_zps3f9fdabe.jpg.html)
looking down over the Stelvio pass
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half way down the Pass we stop for a break and to take a few pics :smiley:
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6387_zpsa5bd6253.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6387_zpsa5bd6253.jpg.html)
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6379_zps17c27f83.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6379_zps17c27f83.jpg.html)
the views over the Stelvio pass are breath taking :yes: which is more I can say for the local talent :laugh:
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6371_zps2938af7d.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6371_zps2938af7d.jpg.html)
top of the Stelvio pass just leaving for Germany via Austria :smiley:
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bottom of the Stelvio pass with a pic of the busa destroyer
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one one of our many stop off's for fuel :sad: we needed fill up twice a day to keep the beasts running :smiley:
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stop off in Austria :smiley:
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And guess what! stop off at a small village and seen this :sad: :grin: :wink: and a German was riding it :sad:
(http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m474/02zx7r/DSCF6327_zps8bd47e68.jpg) (http://s335.photobucket.com/user/02zx7r/media/DSCF6327_zps8bd47e68.jpg.html)
I intend to do the Stelvio pass one day, it has to be on any bikers list of things to do.
Alan
Great pictures :biker3: apart from that piece of shit :gun_bandana: what was that underneath all that crap ? an old vfr ?
Are you still on the zzr14 forum ? if so you should post those pictures.
Quote from: davetherave on July 06, 2014, 08:05:49 PM
Great pictures :biker3: apart from that piece of shit :gun_bandana: what was that underneath all that crap ? an old vfr ?
Are you still on the zzr14 forum ? if so you should post those pictures.
Ho! :yes: will post when have more time.. wife is moaning that I've just got home and I'm on this forum at least some things don't change :mfr_lol:
Nice one Dave, and I'm pleased that you had such a good trip, and that you are back safe and sound ~ the good old ZZR 1441 is obviously definitely well suited for all those Autobahn miles. Blimey you must be close to 7000 miles now :wink:
We are still chugging around back here and having fun in the good 'ol Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, Northumbria, Lancashire Scotland etc., etc., etc., so can't offer any thing to match the Stelvio, (which, incidentally, was closed due to being blocked with massive snow drifts when I was there on June 21st 2009) :wacko:
You must be racking up the miles now on the 'old' ZZR, (time for a change mate) so I'm sure you'll both need a long rest for the next couple of months. make sure the bike gets a thorough clean, and maybe we'll invite you out with us 'old boys' again before too long, it would be good to see you when we can compare notes. :yes:
Quote from: O.C. on July 06, 2014, 09:46:58 PM
Nice one Dave, and I'm pleased that you had such a good trip, and that you are back safe and sound ~ the good old ZZR 1441 is obviously definitely well suited for all those Autobahn miles. Blimey you must be close to 7000 miles now :wink:
We are still chugging around back here and having fun in the good 'ol Yorkshire Dales, Lake District, Northumbria, Lancashire Scotland etc., etc., etc., so can't offer any thing to match the Stelvio, (which, incidentally, was closed due to being blocked with massive snow drifts when I was there on June 21st 2009) :wacko:
You must be racking up the miles now on the 'old' ZZR, (time for a change mate) so I'm sure you'll both need a long rest for the next couple of months. make sure the bike gets a thorough clean, and maybe we'll invite you out with us 'old boys' again before too long, it would be good to see you when we can compare notes. :yes:
Hi Rog.. yes my ZZR was so dirty it made me :cry: but we did hit a lot of rain heading to Asford and then the trip to reims and grenoble the second day :sad: but when we got further into france and the alps the weather was blistering hot which was ok till we stop, like the GTR the new model ZZR as twin fans which were mostly on when not at warp speed :smiley: and the ZZR isn't stipid "ya know" it starts the fans when it get hot then throws all the heat over me :hammer: and the ZZR doesn't care that it is 28 degrees already :laugh: will get together soon at the bridge :yes: andy from the gtr forum who now as also as the 2013 ZZR re-sides in the northeast is going to call me when he gets a sunday off and we are meeting at the bridge :smiley:
Quote from: BigAlan on July 06, 2014, 07:03:03 PM
I intend to do the Stelvio pass one day, it has to be on any bikers list of things to do.
Alan
:yes: defo worth a pass..lol.... but be carefull the hairpins are tight and you get the odd dickhead who thinks he's "valentino" but rides like a "Novice" gets is line and speed wrong and comes around on your side.. me and my mate needed to swerve to miss this knobber :hammer: at to stop my mate from wanting to turn around and catch him up to pull his arms off and beat him to death with both of the soggy ends :mfr_lol: but if you respect the Pass it will in return give you much pleasure :smiley:
Andy GTR ???? Da ya mean Keith?. Has all that sun gone ta yer ed :wacko:. Now then whilst having a gander at your lovely pickies I couldn't help but notice that there was still an awful lot of rubber that had NOT been used on the edge of both of the bikes rear tyres. I think that I shall have to book on for next years trip, and run rings around the pair of ya. :mfr_lol:. Glad you enjoyed your trip, it is a great place to ride bikes. Oh and get that bike washed and back to mint condition :whistling: It's bloody filthy :embarrassed: . Not that it will be coming out of the garage again any time soon. :popcorn: :wink:
Dave, stunning photos, you obviously had a great trip. :clap:
Quote from: 100milesaway on July 06, 2014, 10:35:30 PM
Andy GTR ???? Da ya mean Keith?. Has all that sun gone ta yer ed :wacko:. Now then whilst having a gander at your lovely pickies I couldn't help but notice that there was still an awful lot of rubber that had NOT been used on the edge of both of the bikes rear tyres. I think that I shall have to book on for next years trip, and run rings around the pair of ya. :mfr_lol:. Glad you enjoyed your trip, it is a great place to ride bikes. Oh and get that bike washed and back to mint condition :whistling: It's bloody filthy :embarrassed: . Not that it will be coming out of the garage again any time soon. :popcorn: :wink:
Ha! My old mucker Geoff :smiley: bike now back to like new :yes: did get rid off some more chicken strip after the stelvio pass :smiley: can't get enough speed up to lean bike around those tight bends :no:! besides, NOT like you.. I've now got nothing to prove :no: did all that racing around in my younger knobber days :whistling: yes your right :yes: his name is keith and not andy :surrender:
Nice one Dave. What an experience .
Dave, did you do the Stelvio from Italy or the other way ?. I ask because last time me and my good lady did the Stelvio which we did towards Italy, we ended up on the deck, because as you know you must use ALL the road, and some Dutch pillock in a car blocked our exit to a corner :single fuck: JUST as I had commited to it, which meant we had to stop. Adverse camber, apex of corner, extreemly steep, = C R A S H over we went, no injuries, broken mirror and scrawped fairing on the ZZR 1200. Lesson learned big touring bikes are not at their best on the Stelvio pass. :no:
Quote from: Rossendale Rider on July 07, 2014, 07:33:30 PM
Nice one Dave. What an experience .
Hi Andy.. How are your doings :whistling: yes the trip was a very enjoyable experience :smiley: and both the Hayabusa and my ZZR did the trip with ease :clap: I was :sad: that I could not make the GTR trip but it was the weekend before the alps trip and didn't have the bottle :sweatdrop: to tell the wife I was going away twice with-in a week :no: come to think of it, I never seen any pics of you at the GTR meet either did you not go :undecided: did enjoy our jock trip :yes: I'm up for another one if you are :smiley: your maybe join us on our next alps trip :banana: I assume you still have the GTR don't you fancy a change maybe the ZZR :smiley: then you can keep up :wink: take care and keep in touch :smiley:
Quote from: 100milesaway on July 07, 2014, 10:48:01 PM
Dave, did you do the Stelvio from Italy or the other way ?. I ask because last time me and my good lady did the Stelvio which we did towards Italy, we ended up on the deck, because as you know you must use ALL the road, and some Dutch pillock in a car blocked our exit to a corner :single fuck: JUST as I had commited to it, which meant we had to stop. Adverse camber, apex of corner, extreemly steep, = C R A S H over we went, no injuries, broken mirror and scrawped fairing on the ZZR 1200. Lesson learned big touring bikes are not at their best on the Stelvio pass. :no:
well Geoff we did it both ways :smiley: we stayed at Bormio for 2 nights, we got to the hotel in Bormio from genoa via lake Como at 16.00 hours so booked in then went on the Stelvio Pass to the Austria side then came back over the Pass to the hotel :smiley: the next day we went over the Pass again then onto lake Garda but it was getting late and it would have been getting to dark to risk the pass to return to the hotel so we went around lake Garda missing out the Stelvio pass but we under estimated the distance so that was a 10 hour trip and got back to the hotel at 8.00pm :smiley: we were both bike out by then :grin: know what you mean about the Stelvio Pass when knobbers come around on your side :yes: this happened to us and we need to swerve out of one biker way who under estimated how dangerous the pass can be if you don't respect it :yes:
Thats an amazing trip.. And I thought I was doing well by doing 3k in 3 weeks... :mfr_lol:
I will have to add the Stelvio Pass to my bucket list :yes:
Debs, If you must do the Stelvio be VERY VERY careful, there are LOTS of bikes hit the deck on this pass . I would advise doing it from the Italian side first, which is mostly downhill . But going UP the Stevio from the Swiss side is a Very different story. You need to be right up against the wall on the WRONG side off the road going into the hairpins, and then after you have tipped into the apex use all the road again coming out, again you are right up against the wall on the WRONG side of the road, whilst praying that there is no one coming down, because if you do meet someone coming down and they (like in our case ) dont understand that you absolutely NEED to be on their side of the road, you are done for. It is hard to describe just how STEEP the Stelvio is, also at the apex of the hairpins the camber of the road is so severe it actually scares you. And for those who have not been, an added hazard is the fact that as you approach a hairpin,(which are more severe than you will have ever seen before) the traffic coming down the pass could be completly out of your vision until you have COMMITTED to go. There is NO room for error, once you have decided to go you must go, stopping mid hairpin is impossible (well it is whilst still on the bike). So if you must do it go and sit and watch on one of the tighter hairpins, and work out what you need to do to stay safe. It is a fantastic thrill but at the same time it scares the :shit: out of you. :smiley:
Quote from: 100milesaway on July 08, 2014, 08:22:16 AM
Debs, If you must do the Stelvio be VERY VERY careful, there are LOTS of bikes hit the deck on this pass . I would advise doing it from the Italian side first, which is mostly downhill . But going UP the Stevio from the Swiss side is a Very different story. You need to be right up against the wall on the WRONG side off the road going into the hairpins, and then after you have tipped into the apex use all the road again coming out, again you are right up against the wall on the WRONG side of the road, whilst praying that there is no one coming down, because if you do meet someone coming down and they (like in our case ) dont understand that you absolutely NEED to be on their side of the road, you are done for. It is hard to describe just how STEEP the Stelvio is, also at the apex of the hairpins the camber of the road is so severe it actually scares you. And for those who have not been, an added hazard is the fact that as you approach a hairpin,(which are more severe than you will have ever seen before) the traffic coming down the pass could be completly out of your vision until you have COMMITTED to go. There is NO room for error, once you have decided to go you must go, stopping mid hairpin is impossible (well it is whilst still on the bike). So if you must do it go and sit and watch on one of the tighter hairpins, and work out what you need to do to stay safe. It is a fantastic thrill but at the same time it scares the :shit: out of you. :smiley:
good advice there Geoff :yes: but remember what goes up must come down :whistling: so extra care is advised either way :smiley: of course it's a must to try and see what's coming the other way and like you said approach the hairpin tight on the other side "your wrong side" and let the bike lean in tight on your side "your right side" as entering the hairpin at a speed that keeps the weight of the bike comfortable but the speed is just right for that hairpin and the bike will do the rest :yes: I find approaching tight hairpins this way, is the safest way.. then if the other side is clear you can get right over again for the next hairpin.. I think a lot of bikers start the turn as we said but use all the road this is fine and you get faster exit with more lean, but with the pass being so long and enjoying "one's self" it's very easy to get to caught up in the "Red mist" and at that time there maybe a car, lorry, biker or even pogo stick rider :smiley: on the right side "there right side" and you will end up as a ornament on a bonnet or kissing some hairy bikes visor :mfr_lol: I find it wise on tight hairpins to play it safe at all times :yes: after all.. the Passers which tend to have dam tight hairpins are not the best roads to have fun on :no: but the get it right and it's :grin: time get it wrong and it's :sad: time :yes: