2012 Scotland Grand Tour review and PICS

So,

We did it! The Scotland Grand Tour has delivered all that it promised. Stunning scenery, roads that vary from TT track or track designed dream roads over the swift two lane B roads to gravel torn single lane country back roads that are amongst the most deceiving and treacherous I’ve come across. In conditions that ranged from the sublime 20 °C sunny to torrential rains and severe gales to make it extra spicy. It was our first ever 11 day – Two up – fully laden journey so the 2780 km was enough distance to make it a bit of an adventure.

As this is a bike forum, first things first :
The bike! It behaved brilliantly. I’m happy to have installed the heavier springs front and rear at 75 and 100 nm! We totalled 116 kg( me geared up) + 66 kg( pillion geared up) and 35 kg of luggage in the 3x46Ltr trekkers and especially on the shorter rise bits the bike was still pumping in the touring/2+luggage mode. The stiffer front spring did come in very handy on the one lane / passing place where cars had a tendency of popping up out of blind corners or tops and some drastic full stop braking was necessary..

The touring mode ( 150 BHP/Low) was excellent with a throttle control that was flexible enough to handle the very to extremely gravelly and flooded twisty stuff without upsetting the ride… smooth was the way to go… the 150 bhp was a blast to overtake in the places were you had to move rapidely…

As far as gears : 2/3 or 4/5 seemed to be the norm with speeds very rarely exceeding the 120 kph and comfortably cruising at 100-110… not knowing the roads, there were vast numbers of them that had all the potential to throw you in the bog or ditch… and the wind was a bitch and not to be neglected…
Even fully laden the bike was very easy to throw from side to side and the grunt pulls you out of any condition… i even found myself driving off from standstill in 4th ( albeit slightly downhill)

The tires : I’m happy I got the Metz Z8’s as they lived up to their reputation in the wet. They were very reassuring even when the water was streaming in rivers over the roads and 100mph winds were trying to throw us off. Adding a 1200 km trip to France of which 800 were 2up, they now stand at 4000 km and are half way at the rear and hardly hit on the front. Taking into account the sometimes extreme roughness of the road surface and the fact that the bike had to pull hard coming out of tight corners and climbing, this is good. As to their behaviour in the dry, im not so sure… the wear has created three flat areas. Not a flat top spot and two curved sides but 1 flat top and two flat sides, with a definite edge going from flat to sides. It is def not an gradual wear and it ‘m sure i felt it… changing sides was quick but not progressive and dosing was not always easy… especially under braking, when falling in while slowing down, the bike would fall pritty suddenly after remaining upright for a long time. It must be said that 80% of the roads had suffered heavily from the severe winter and many top decks were worn badly, leaving the surface very rough indeed.. this sometimes upset the front going wider than anticipated. But never alarmingly.. I do will consider other options for the next set though..

The Vscream Tourer screen did a good job but the system for the anti-buffeting ( 1 central screw and 2 non fixed supports) that i love did show its downside in the high winds… some gusts were so heavy that even at 80kph the screen blew from its supports… and when stopping, you had to hold it… one night, i had to tie it down so it would not blow off..

The GPS : Zumo 660 : worked as a doddle everywhere with fast recalculations, quick response and ease of use even with gloves… having prepared the route in Base Camp brought some routine in handling it, which always helps ! And it is waterproof! Happy with the Trippy but even happier with the Zumo 660! And is waterproof

The Givi 46 ltr Trekkers : Dry ? no, not really… but with this kind of downpours, what is? The liners are magnificent though, being ultra-handy and able to carry much more then you think.. still leaving some space in the cases (corners to stow away some gloves or small stuff).. Locks do get cracky when hit by wet dust/sand but do function… it is just that the locks holding the lid are sunken and tend to fill with water.. opening the case then causes the water to fall in! But all-in all : pritty happy once we got the habit of pulling out the liners swiftly… for what i haven’t found any use and found annoying when filling them: the stretch and buckles to put across…

The GIVI 491 tank case : briljant system to take off! Really one-second-click and even faster to put on… i changed the inner to a photo bag using the insides from an old Lowe Pro and the 491 was able to hold a Nikon D800 with quit a long 24/70_2.8 + Hood and a bulky 14/24_ 2.8 ultra-wide… I even could slip in the Ipod, mobile and Batterycharger… the belt going around was ultra handy to keep passports and the key to bike/cases and chains. The bag does need it’s rain cover though!

We could do 280 km on a tank easily and never came in a situation being left wanting for fuel. The range is sufficient… but indeed, fuel has to be monitored as gasstations are not around every corner or in every village.
Having had the impression that the DP tour seat does put the rider lower, i switched to the standard seat. I’m happy i did as the DP pillion seat i kept on did take on a lot of water and was still foaming bubbles and juice after 3 days in the dry!
The Touratech Stadler 2 layer suits, while heavy, are what they claim to be : 100 % absolutely water proof and comfortable. The thigh high zip in the outer pant make them easy to get in and out of. With temp between 12 and 25°C even without air vents, the suit offers more than enough ways to buckle up or down to get enough cooling when needed. At that price, they should…
Also for the Daytona’s GTX’s Boots nothing but praise… soaked completely they were dry, warm and cool enough when called for… it made it possible to carry a pair of ski socks for a week without all the discomforts or smells…

As to the Shubert intercom, i was glad i had packed the wrong charging gear as the BTconnection was to flimsical to be reliable, having to shout a zillion times into the mike to activate it …. Bit like calling Bangladesh in the sixties… Pritty annoying… having an intercom also instils the desire to chat and leads to loss of concentration… The helm itself has now gotten very comfy and being able to lift the chin part was very pleasurable. I am under the impression though that the tank case and placing of the GPS has had a negative effect on noise levels, pulling in quit some noise from the front tire… so there is still something left to look at and optimise this winter J

As to reliability : 100 % if it hadn’t been for the EXVL error code that had no impact on anything though… sometimes I could have sworn the engine ran smoother… Cut the engine a 1000 times and the key / start never skipped a beat… engine never ran higher than 96°C even on a hotter day in Dundee…

So all in all : 100 % happy with the bike and 90% happy with the gear and how they behaved!

And To Scotland : even with the weather it has: it is a truly endearing place… with a scenery to die for in variation and type.. never a dull moment with dramatic days ranging from outright threatening to glorious skies and changes in light and patterns…

And to the Scots: Authentically friendly everywhere we went and very civil in traffic. Slower traffic letting faster go by was a truly inspiring experience ! Where we live, you can get stuck behind a tractor for 15 km! Very much at ease with themselves as it seems. And always in for a laugh.
We were lucky to find the right hotels even finding ones with dryrooms exactly when we needed them the most. We haven’t had anything unpleasant to eat or one lousy meal. And being spoiled rotten in Michelin star studded Belgium that was very pleasant. The level of quality was even better then found in many places in France. Excellent produce handled well by skilled and motivated cooks! J

And Scotland must have the best educated sheep on the planet! Not one of the hundreds we crossed even looked up or jump across the road when we passed!

So to Scotland : A 100% definitely must go / see / ride / do!

I hope the pics will tell the story!

I want to thank you all for all the very valuable input as to the routing and tips. They contributed to a week that I can only compare in quality to a US west coast trip I did back in ’94! Tx again!
PS: Haven’t seen more than 4 Ducati’s all week and no Mut, waiting in line for the ferry, up show 5 red Multis, a Diavel and Monster from Newcastle leaving on their German Tour! An initiative from MS bikes who seem to educate their owners/clients very well as all bikes were splendid little projects! Way to go! J

 

savour the anticipation, you're sure to climax!