From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On Fri, 9 Jan 2026 21:22:43 -0000 (UTC), Ben Blaney
<benblaney@gmail.invalid> wrote:

On Jan 6, 2026 at 9:09:57 AM EST, "Champ" <neal@champ.org.uk> wrote:

<snip>

Sounds like a great trip. Well done for volunteering as DFV.

Hah! And....fuck off :-)
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On Fri, 9 Jan 2026 23:13:29 +0000, Neil Ronketti
<neil@ronketti.invalid> wrote:

On 06/01/2026 14:09, Champ wrote:

OK, who's doing what in 2026?

<snipola>

What's everyone else thinking of doing on a motorbike in 2026

Something very dull - but I'm hoping to use my bike a lot more for just >everyday stuff, rather than jumping in the car. Popping to town to pick
up grocery, trips to the local sorting office to pick up small packages, >basically everything where I don't *need* the luggage capacity of a car.

Also, you now have a motorcycle which pretty much HAS the luggage
capacity of a car :-)
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 11/01/2026 18:23, Alan Lee wrote:

On 06/01/2026 16:28, AndrewR wrote:
, so we're going to

do a very gentle two-up tour of Scotland instead. Aiming for about 3
hours/day actually on the bike, punctuated by stopping for breakfast,
stopping for lunch, stopping to photograph things, and stopping to try
to work out where the fuck we are. Means I get to ride up through
Glencoe, which I've never done before.

<SNIP>

The Rest and Be Thankful (A83) route is better than Loch Lomond/A82, especially on a bike, and you also have the delights of Inveraray on
route, but it is not a direct route for Glencoe, but Oban. Oban is a
great place for a stop over.

Mrs R wanted to book the accomodation so asked for a Google map of our
route. I sent it to her with the caveat, "The locations on the route are
just places I put in to get it to take the roads I wanted to, not where
I planned on stopping."

So, predictably, she's booked stops in the locations on the route, which
means that day 2 is Dumfries to Glencoe, which is already 4+ hours on
the bike, assuming I don't just want to blast up the M74.

That said, it seems there are alternative routes that offer the
opportunity to cut it short and jump back on the main roads, if it
starts pissing down, or we're sick of being on the bike, and we don't
have anything particular to do between checking out in Dumfries and
checking in at Glencoe, so we might try the A83. Did a bit of it a
couple of years ago, when we stayed in Lochgoilhead and it did seem like
a nice road.

Try not to miss Dumfries and Galloway, there are some lovely places
here, mostly bypassed by people heading North to get to the Highlands. Galloway Forest area is great, and some really good biking roads with
little traffic. I think Wessie/Scraggy/Stew did a tour around the area a
few years ago.

We did two stays on the peninsular West of Stranraer last year (one in
the Febraury half term, then one in July, because the house we rented in February was so nice that we wanted the chance to go back and enjoy it
when the weather was warmer). Took the bike on the 2nd visit and did
really enjoy it. Not as dramatic as the highlands but very lovely and peaceful, even in peak tourist season (and the A75 is significantly less
of a ball-ache on the bike).
--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Honda VFR800-A9
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, TEAR#3, DS#5
The speccy Geordie twat.
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 14/01/2026 08:38, AndrewR wrote:

which is already 4+ hours on the bike

You may be surprised. If you are enjoying it the time can go quite quickly.

I've never been one for long distances on a bike, but on my recent-ish
(it already feels like a long time ago) foreign trip, some of the days
were 9+ hours between hotels. Yeah we were tired at the end of the day
but not completely wiped out.
--
/Simon
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 14/01/2026 11:21, Simon Wilson wrote:

On 14/01/2026 08:38, AndrewR wrote:

which is already 4+ hours on the bike

You may be surprised. If you are enjoying it the time can go quite quickly.

I've never been one for long distances on a bike, but on my recent-ish
(it already feels like a long time ago) foreign trip, some of the days
were 9+ hours between hotels. Yeah we were tired at the end of the day
but not completely wiped out.

At the moment Mrs R has never done more than an hour on the bike, then a
stop for lunch, then an hour home, but we will just see how it goes.

Other than having to check out of places by 10, and be in new places
before everyone has locked up and gone to bed, we have no timetable to
keep to, so we can do as many stops or detours as we please, as the mood
(and weather) finds us.
--
AndrewR, D.Bot (Celeritas)
Honda VFR800-A9
BOTAFOT#2,ITJWTFO#6,UKRMRM#1/13a,MCT#1,DFV#2,SKoGA#0
BotToS#5,SBS#25,IbW#34, TEAR#3, DS#5
The speccy Geordie twat.
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On Wed, 14 Jan 2026 08:38:47 +0000, AndrewR
<andrew.rockface.spam@gmail.com> wrote:

We did two stays on the peninsular West of Stranraer last year (one in
the Febraury half term, then one in July, because the house we rented in >February was so nice that we wanted the chance to go back and enjoy it
when the weather was warmer). Took the bike on the 2nd visit and did
really enjoy it. Not as dramatic as the highlands but very lovely and >peaceful, even in peak tourist season

And if you look south you can wave to me, can't you :-)
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 14/01/2026 11:21, Simon Wilson wrote:

On 14/01/2026 08:38, AndrewR wrote:

which is already 4+ hours on the bike

You may be surprised. If you are enjoying it the time can go quite quickly.

I've never been one for long distances on a bike, but on my recent-ish
(it already feels like a long time ago) foreign trip, some of the days
were 9+ hours between hotels. Yeah we were tired at the end of the day
but not completely wiped out.

I used to quite enjoy long days in the saddle. Scourie to Wolvo on the
R90/6. SWMBO#1 nearly fell asleep.
Milan and back in a week on the Nordwest featured long days.

Last big trip was a one up to and from the village "the chateau" is in in
the Limousin via the French Run in St Omer. TBF it took me another week to
recover.


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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 14/01/2026 08:38, AndrewR wrote:

So, predictably, she's booked stops in the locations on the route, which means that day 2 is Dumfries to Glencoe, which is already 4+ hours on
the bike, assuming I don't just want to blast up the M74.

We did that journey in October, no rush, in the van, it took 4 hours to
just North of Fort William, with stops at Tunnocks in Uddingston for
cake, and Tyndrum for a drink. So 3.5 hours leisurely on the bike.
A76 to Kilmarnock, then a choice of routes to go over the Erskine
Bridge, then your choice to get to Glencoe.
An even more lesiurely route would be to Gourock, ferry across to
Dunoon, then scenery all the way to Glencoe, but it is a lot slower.
Or, ferry to Arran, ferry from the other side of Arran to Kintyre, then
head North. But you'd need an overnight for that, or ride for 6 hours.
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 14 Jan 2026 13:49:27 GMT, Pete Fisher <degrees72@gmail.com> wrote:

On 14/01/2026 11:21, Simon Wilson wrote:

I've never been one for long distances on a bike

I used to quite enjoy long days in the saddle.

Me too. In fact, long distances was really my thing, for a while.
I've done a few that I think would have met the Iron Butt criteria:

- Venice to Huddersfield
- John O'Groats to Lands End, then back home to Gloucester
- Adelaide to Sydney

Interestingly, all three of the above clocked in at about 1130 miles,
near enough
--
Champ
neal at champ dot org dot uk

I don't know, but I been told
You never slow down, you never grow old
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 16/01/2026 12:41, Champ wrote:

On 14 Jan 2026 13:49:27 GMT, Pete Fisher <degrees72@gmail.com> wrote:

On 14/01/2026 11:21, Simon Wilson wrote:

I've never been one for long distances on a bike

I used to quite enjoy long days in the saddle.

Me too. In fact, long distances was really my thing, for a while.
I've done a few that I think would have met the Iron Butt criteria:

- Venice to Huddersfield
- John O'Groats to Lands End, then back home to Gloucester
- Adelaide to Sydney

Interestingly, all three of the above clocked in at about 1130 miles,
near enough

The Wikipedia entry for the John O'Groats to Lands End mentions you by
name [1], and a cursory scan of the page reveals that the only recorded
faster time is an F4 Phantom.


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land%27s_End_to_John_o%27_Groats - "In
1984, Neal Champion covered 884 miles (1,423 km) from John o' Groats to
Land's End in 11 hours, 14 minutes, on a Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo"
--
nr.
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 16/01/2026 16:34, Neil Ronketti wrote:

On 16/01/2026 12:41, Champ wrote:

On 14 Jan 2026 13:49:27 GMT, Pete Fisher <degrees72@gmail.com> wrote:

On 14/01/2026 11:21, Simon Wilson wrote:

I've never been one for long distances on a bike

I used to quite enjoy long days in the saddle.

Me too.-a In fact, long distances was really my thing, for a while.
I've done a few that I think would have met the Iron Butt criteria:

- Venice to Huddersfield
- John O'Groats to Lands End, then back home to Gloucester
- Adelaide to Sydney

Interestingly, all three of the above clocked in at about 1130 miles,
near enough

The Wikipedia entry for the John O'Groats to Lands End mentions you by
name [1], and a cursory scan of the page reveals that the only recorded faster time is an F4 Phantom.

Excellent!
Just shows a motorcycle is as close as you can get to flying[1] :-)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land%27s_End_to_John_o%27_Groats - "In 1984, Neal Champion covered 884 miles (1,423 km) from John o' Groats to Land's End in 11 hours, 14 minutes, on a Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo"

Chris D
[1] Ballaugh Bridge excepted
--
The Deuchars BBB#40 COFF#14
Yamaha XV750SE & Suzuki GS550T
https://www.Deuchars.org.uk
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On Jan 16, 2026 at 11:34:42 AM EST, "Neil Ronketti" <neil@ronketti.invalid> wrote:

The Wikipedia entry for the John O'Groats to Lands End mentions you by
name [1], and a cursory scan of the page reveals that the only recorded faster time is an F4 Phantom.

Funnily enough, I saw an F4 for sale the other day. $950K.

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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On 14/01/2026 08:38, AndrewR wrote:

So, predictably, she's booked stops in the locations on the route, which means that day 2 is Dumfries to Glencoe, which is already 4+ hours on
the bike, assuming I don't just want to blast up the M74.

You could ride up the B7076 which is the road that the M74 superseded.
When I was commuting between Tamworth and Livingston [1], that was one
of my alternative routes that didn't add too much time (and occasionally
was quicker).

[1] Fridays and Mondays only
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

Neil Ronketti wrote:

The Wikipedia entry for the John O'Groats to Lands End mentions you by
name [1], and a cursory scan of the page reveals that the only recorded faster time is an F4 Phantom.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land%27s_End_to_John_o%27_Groats - "In 1984, Neal Champion covered 884 miles (1,423 km) from John o' Groats to Land's End in 11 hours, 14 minutes, on a Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo"

There was this guy in 2018, who I seem to remember that Champ felt was
genuine - https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1250205&i=216

...but then he claimed (in court) to have made it all up, so I guess he
has disqualified himself :-) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-55177486
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On Mon, 19 Jan 2026 08:47:32 +0000, Sqirrel99
<secret.sqirrel99@gmail.com> wrote:

Neil Ronketti wrote:

The Wikipedia entry for the John O'Groats to Lands End mentions you by
name [1], and a cursory scan of the page reveals that the only recorded
faster time is an F4 Phantom.


[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land%27s_End_to_John_o%27_Groats - "In
1984, Neal Champion covered 884 miles (1,423 km) from John o' Groats to
Land's End in 11 hours, 14 minutes, on a Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo"

There was this guy in 2018, who I seem to remember that Champ felt was >genuine - >https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1250205&i=216

...but then he claimed (in court) to have made it all up, so I guess he
has disqualified himself :-) >https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-55177486

One might think he was just denying it to get out of the Dangerous
Driving charge, which _might_ have lead to prison time, although I
would think it very unlikely, but would deffo have been a ban and a
hefty fine.

OTOH the way he strung it out in the multiple posts, trying to keep
the audience on tenterhooks, drip-feeding the details, just invited
scepticism in the first place. The whole thing seemed like an ego
trip, and as others pointed out he'd have been much better off doing
it in something more fuel-efficient, rather than doing all that
gubbins with the extra tank and the van-full of fuel...
--
Ace
http://www.chaletbeauroc.com/
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From Newsgroup: uk.rec.motorcycles

On Tue, 06 Jan 2026 14:09:57 +0000, Champ wrote:

What's everyone else thinking of doing on a motorbike in 2026

French Run, RBR off and on From April to September and probably a couple of weeks of European touring.
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