As above. I went out on sunday on the RSV4. One of the lads on the af1 forum suggested in a thread that we all get together (South of the country) and meet at Loomies (ive never heard of it before) - as time went on it seemed to gather a bit of traction and in the end about 15 of us made it. I happened to be geographically near a lad called Sean so we met in Saltford on sunday morning at a petrol station. We found out on the forum by idle chat that we had a mutual friend and how our paths never crossed 20 years ago I don't know as we had the same circle of friends. Whenever we go somewhere (which is quite rare) as my other mate and I have kids, jobs, wives etc etc so don't really get to go out that much and when we do we tend to go directly... Sean knew where he was going so therefore we covered 90 miles of A and B roads pretty quick. He was definitely the faster rider than me but, I think he was probably the most considerate rider ive ever ridden with. If he went round a corner on the opposite side of the road he would hang his leg out if the coast was clear, slow down if I got stuck behind traffic. For that and other reasons I had probably one of the best rides I think ive ever had, so much so that when I got off the RSV I wasn't aching atall as the speed we were riding at meant I had to haul the thing around quite a lot so I was always moving around on it. Also as we were taking some reasonably tight left and right handers I could sit behind him and see where his tyre was so I knew when I was at the edge of mine. Comically in stark contrast years ago when id ride with mates, they'd fuck off at top speed if you got stuck in traffic, laugh if you had a near miss/came off and if you were unlucky enough to be on the back, no consideration of the pillion....ie me on the back of my mates GSXR750 with no grab rail he lifted the front on a small raised roundabout with no notice, my hand holding the side panel ripped it off so at 90 odd mph I was trying to hold onto the scruff of his neck with one hand and a sidepanel flapping around with the other... So, although youll probably never read this - cheers Sean - that was a great ride! apparently we're going to do the same thing next year but in the middle of the summer...
Yeah - but he knew where they were.... so he'd slow up first and make a gesture....the kind of riding we were doing I had my super small plate on (and the stock one and db killer in my bag!)
I have ridden with a couple of considerate Ducati riders Apart from my zx10r matey any other make of rider has been undesirable and left me thankful to be home
Loomies can be quite clicky & snobby (local riders). But its always had the old little chef car-park packed with bikers. I haven't been down for a year & thought the contract was not going to be renewed as the owner was asking for too much mullah off of the lads that ran/run it.
Ah right - as I say ive never been there before - I thought it was really nice. Never been to a biker type café before - it was the perfect day TBH - good fast ride there, hang around, chat with like minded people - some one did say "hands up if your wife let you out today which 80% of us did!", good food and an equally great ride home....I was almost going to do it on the zed but the rsv4 was perfect, for me it was faultless. Id even go so far as to say that's the first time it got used absolutely for what it was for....the only long journey it ever does is to the TT. The thing is while youre there youre either crawling in traffic, doing the absolute speed limit as the cops are watching like hawks or flat out on the mountain - but that's over really quickly!!
So much easier with two of you than a group. Always find it really important to keep an eye on who's behind tho regardless of size, especially if its obvious riding ability is different or one knows the road really well, the other doesnt. And to up/slow the pace dependent on hiw they are getting on. Obviously to the point where comfort finished, then they can lead if they want! Glad you had a good ride
Thanks bradders. yep - he knew the road really well plus I think he goes out a lot over into wales with other mates regularly so he's used to fast riding....his is differently geared to mine, has a full system and is newer with the aprc pack so he had quite an advantage (he was popping wheelies at 90+). I was just revelling in mine as id just fitted the QS and Race ECU. For me it was more than enough...!
One of the best parts of moving area is every road is a new one to me. Its much harder, you learn more and (for me) more fun reading the road and maintaining a decent pace That run to Wales the first weekend I had my bike was fantastic! Got lost but hey, thats part of the fun!
yip - If I can get out again ill definitely go out with him and follow him into wales (or wherever he goes) although id love to do the run to Loomies again....having said that we're going to Ace Café on the 25th of this month as Fast Bikes will be there - so ill be on the zed for that one as we'll be sitting on the m4 - (no fun on the RSV4)!
I'd rather baste my balls in horseradish than go to the Ace. Take the car Btw you're bristol way arnet you? Go via bath and a4 way or north thru cotswolds?
Well, ive not been to the Ace before so I thought I would - I say that as ive heard theyre on their last noise warning....one of the rsv lads said its because of "dem r1 boyz" - essentially assholes holding the throttle to the stop and making tits of themselves by stunting up and down out the front.... So, itd be nice to get there while its open....!
Yep - in Bristol - we did go down to poole last year on the bike night and went over the "spread eagle" - that was pretty good although when I got there I got nicked for the strip plate and the baffle out of the Austin.....boo
Ace can be great spot to see nice bikes and have a craic but it has to be the worst possible ride. Anywhere. Ever.
yeah - I know - ive got visions of going to Chelsea bridge and Heston services like we did years ago...plus this will be the last time it/or either of them go any distance this year...since going out on sunday im kinda in love with the rsv again as it was so good....looking to get a full system for the rsv - ive only got an Austin on there....and maybe some m50's for the front....this is seans bike....fucking lovely...
I like that. That's what the Tuono 1100 Factory should look like. Brooding black and red and carbon with minimal graphics. Classy.
Always good to hear of a good ride for the right reasons. The only group riding I've enjoyed start to finish to date has been with a bunch who mostly sit within the grey demographic (and swop war stories over dinner) with over a millennium of riding (a fair bit of it together) experience between them. All I can say is, looks can be deceiving. Fast. Safe. Really fast yet riding to help each other make safe (erm, fast) progress. Did I mention they're fast? Half of them are eligible for a bus pass FFS!
