RiDE Sep 09

1 R Sept Front Cover pdp.indd 1 7/7/09 16:20:30

6-10 R Sept Your Bikes cdp.indd 6 8/7/09 12:40:44

6-10 R Sept Your Bikes cdp.indd 7 8/7/09 12:42:59

16-23 R Sept HEAD TO HEAD cdp.indd 16 9/7/09 14:48:22

16-23 R Sept HEAD TO HEAD cdp.indd 17 9/7/09 14:48:48

26-27 R Sept Suzuki SV650 Sport Cdp.indd 26 8/7/09 12:55:49

26-27 R Sept Suzuki SV650 Sport Cdp.indd 27 9/7/09 13:56:36

32-33 R Sept Chooser Sports Tourers.indd 32 9/7/09 11:02:28

32-33 R Sept Chooser Sports Tourers.indd 33 9/7/09 11:03:01

48-49 R Sept NEW KIT cdp.indd 48 8/7/09 15:57:39

Zumo’s new 660 is entirely touchscreen operated, and the screen is bigger than the 550’s

Routes are easily adapted mid-journey,

even in gloves

www.ride.co.uk

PRODUCTS

SpecificationDimensions: 5.3 x 3.3 x 0.9in (13.5 x 8.4 x 2.3cm) Display size: 3.75 x 2.15in (9.7 x 5.7 cm); 4.3in diagonal (11cm) Display resolution: 480 x 272 pixels Weight: 270g Battery: Removable, rechargeable lithium-ion Battery life: Up to five hours Waterproof: Yes Basemap: Europe Built-in memory: Internal solid state Data cards: SD card (not included) Waypoints/favorites/locations: 1000 Routes: 20 (additional storage on SD card Connectivity: BluetoothCompatibility: Windows 2000 or later; Mac OS X 10.4 or later

featureSVoice prompts: Yes Speaks street names: Yes Lane assist/junction view: Yes 3D building view: Yes Auto re-route: Yes Choice of route set-up (faster time, shorter distance, off road): Yes Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc): Yes Speed limit indicator: Yes Find closest hospitals, petrol stations, etc: Yes World travel clock, currency and unit converter, calculator: Yes Picture viewer: Yes MP3 player: Yes Audio book player: Yes Headphone jack/audio line-out: Yes Touchscreen: Yes

48-49 R Sept NEW KIT cdp.indd 49 9/7/09 14:01:46

56-57 R Sept Bike Cleaners cdp.indd 56 8/7/09 13:55:46

56-57 R Sept Bike Cleaners cdp.indd 57 8/7/09 13:56:38

64-66 Sept R ESSENTIAL KIT cdp.indd 64 8/7/09 14:02:46

64-66 Sept R ESSENTIAL KIT cdp.indd 65 8/7/09 14:04:21

72-73 R Sept CAMPING GUIDE cdp.indd 72 9/7/09 14:57:24

72-73 R Sept CAMPING GUIDE cdp.indd 73 9/7/09 14:59:21

80-81 R Sept CAMPING GUIDE cdp.indd 80 9/7/09 11:23:17

80-81 R Sept CAMPING GUIDE cdp.indd 81 9/7/09 11:23:50

86 Ride SEPTEMBER 2009 www.ride.co.uk

will travelHave tent,

Not sure about camping? We sent RiDE’s resident canvas-phobe to try it

With all the camping advice in this issue, one of us needs to go and do it to check that it all works. As I haven’t been

camping since I was a kid, who better to get an unbiased view on what it’s really like? I load up the Fazer and go.

Now I’m here, sitting beside a tent in perfect early evening sunshine on a sweet-smelling, tree-fringed meadow. The only sounds come from the nearby river rushing quietly by and my dinner bubbling on my stove. I’m in the tiny Welsh village of Rhandirmwyn. The ride here from Lincolnshire covered 230 miles – OK, there was a bit of mile-munching on the A46 and M50, but for most of the day I’ve ridden brilliant roads.

If you like your Tarmac smooth and open, the unclassified road from Llandovery to Rhandirmwyn might not be for you. On the other hand, if you like tight, technical roads and don’t mind the odd bump, this stretch of road is a tree-lined epic. The corners come thick and fast, but it also has the full complement of lumps, jumps, gravel, blind corners and crests, plus the occasional caravan and sheep – the traditional cocktail of hazards the roads of rural Wales serve up.

Getting down this road at anything like the speed limit is a real challenge – I get to the end of it exhausted and grinning broadly. It’s the highlight of a great day, but also the last bit of riding.

Llandovery and Rhandirmwyn are only seven miles apart, but it feels further. This isn’t off the beaten track – this is where you come when off-the-beaten-track gets too busy. When the back of beyond is still too close to home. There’s no mobile phone signal. There’s very little traffic. Just a post office, an award-winning pub, a clutch of houses and more landscape than the entire South of England.

On a baking summer afternoon, it’s as close to heaven as you can get with your leathers on.

Down by the river is the Camping and Caravan Club’s site – non-members welcome. For £12 (£5 for members) I can pitch my tent anywhere on the big field. I pick a spot that’s about 200 metres from

The Cambrian mountains are wilder and less famous than the nearby Brecon Beacons and Black Mountains. There are fewer towns and fewer roads – and many of those are single-track lanes. However, all three hilly regions are close together and loaded with genius riding roads and amazing scenery.

Where We Went

Words Simon Weir Pictures Mark Manning

This is Llyn Brianne. More scenic than the Ace Cafe

86-87 R Sept CAMPING GUIDE cdp.indd 86 9/7/09 11:07:14

86-87 R Sept CAMPING GUIDE cdp.indd 87 9/7/09 11:07:59

90-97 R Sept RiDE 360 Test cdp.indd 90 9/7/09 15:04:27

90-97 R Sept RiDE 360 Test cdp.indd 91 9/7/09 15:05:13

90-97 R Sept RiDE 360 Test cdp.indd 96 9/7/09 15:09:34

90-97 R Sept RiDE 360 Test cdp.indd 97 9/7/09 15:09:59

100-101 R Sep Fixes cdp v2 REV2.indd 100 9/7/09 17:44:19

100-101 R Sep Fixes cdp v2.indd 101 9/7/09 12:24:03

108-109 R Sept InControl Police cdp.indd 108 9/7/09 15:14:33

108-109 R Sept InControl Police cdp.indd 109 9/7/09 15:14:59

118-121 R Sept Our Trips cdp.indd 118 8/7/09 14:43:10

118-121 R Sept Our Trips cdp.indd 119 8/7/09 14:43:39

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INTERACTIVEOUR tRips

september 2009 Ride 127www.ride.co.uk

1: Crowds kept Doohan busy signing autographs 2: Get on, pull a wheelie, no problem… 3: … and a rolling burn-out too 4: Coolest autograph of the weekend: Doohan’s signature on our Blade 5: Turns out that squiggle on his leathers is nothing like his real signature 6: Just another day in the life of a legend – but a quite extraordinary day for RiDE

Mick Doohan, five-times 500cc world champion, is one of my motorcycling heroes. He needed a bike to ride up the

hill at this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, and I have a Honda Fireblade in HRC colours, so of course I was delighted to lend my bike to Doohan for the weekend.

I made sure I was there to meet him and see him in action. He was never the most talkative of blokes, and that’s not changed. He lets his riding do the talking for him, and he’s clearly not lost his touch, pulling wheelies and performing burn-outs in a way I’ll never be able to match.

He’s not lost his appeal, either. He drew huge crowds of autograph hunters and bikers who wanted to meet him. But first they had to get past the excited bloke in the RiDE T-shirt telling anyone and everyone: “That’s my bike that is…”

FACTSStart mileage: 348Current mileage: 3445Average mpg: 41

Words Austin Smith Pictures Ian Jubb

HOnda FiREBLadE tO GOOdWOOd FEstiVaL OF spEEd

“G’day mate, this your Fireblade?”

“Doohan lets his riding do his talking for him, and he’s clearly not lost his touch”

127 R Sept Our Trips cdp.indd 127 9/7/09 17:36:00

137 R Sept Buell 1125CR cdp.indd 137 8/7/09 14:49:34