What do you want out of biking and where are you going, in 2019?

The_Abyss

The_Abyss

The_Abyss

Soldato
Joined
15 May 2007
Posts
12,804
Location
Ipswich / Bodham
It is a bit dead in here at the moment, almost as though the weather has made the majority of people stay off their bikes...

So, two questions in one thread:

  • what are you hoping for from biking in 2019? Is it a new bike, going somewhere, refurbishing something - what's the big biking plan for 2019?; and

  • where are you biking in 2019? Any new tours or ride outs planned, at home or abroad? Where will you be posting your killer biking picture from back to this forum next year if all goes well?
 
Bike:
- I will be riding my MT-10 as much as I can during spring to see if I can gel with it, and if not I'll be swapping it for a Street Triple 765 RS.
- I no longer have to pay for fuel so I don't need to worry about how thirsty the MT-10 is now :p

Track:
- I will be booking a private track session with 9 friends where we all rent R6 bikes again and have tuition on the track.
- I will then decide if I want a track bike after doing that second session. One guy has already got a track bike after our test session this year and I'm green with envy.

Road:
- The usual day trip tours around the very best mountain passes that the world has to offer.
- I'll also ride a bit more in the Black Forest but absolutely 100% avoiding the B500.
- Then there are the usual 3-4 long weekends in the Italy/France/Austria.
- I would really like to ride the Pyrenees one day, but not next year.

OcUK Meetups:
- I'll probably meet up with Arfoll again even though one of us falls off every time we meet.
- In 2020 I want to restart the OcUK tours here as the kids will be a little older then.

What about you OP?
 
Sorry, I posted and ran without really finishing it as I was late out for dinner.

Bike: I learned a huge amount this year about what I really want from biking. I took part in our own budget bike challenge (under 400cc, under £500) at the beginning of the year and loved it. This persuaded me that I really wanted a retro naked bike, until I rode retro naked bikes and didn't like any of them. Or, rather, they weren't capable of what I want biking to be for me - the need to go longer distances and travel with fun along the way.

So I still need the same sort of bike as I have now, and moved from XR to XR this year. Next year I want to be absolutely wowed by the KTM 790 Adventure but I don't know if I quite want to lose the power yet. So, ideally, I'd like to see a new XR based on the new RR and go with that for a couple more years. Or, KTM to further refine their engine and learn how to make a chassis and suspension work together (I'm looking at you 1290 Adventure).

Track: nothing for me - I'm still not too bothered by it but some day want to do a proper course on it to make me a safer, better rider. Not for 2019 though.

Road: Austrian and Swiss Alps in July, Picos de Europa in September (with Teapot One), mandatory couple of weekends in Wales / Peak / Lake District. If I haven't gone through two sets of tyres by this time next year then something's gone wrong!

OcUK meetups: do we have any next year? See you in 2020 for one or two up the Furka!
 
Does everyone else start to feel the shine wear off just going out on the bike for no reason? Especially toward the end of summer. That’s how I felt this year and decided to try to give it a new purpose. I joined the IAM. For anyone who has thought about it but hasn’t bothered, give it serious consideration. It will make you a better and faster rider. It has also made riding much more enjoyable, especially when a police class 1 observer takes you on a “notch below a blue light run” ride! To that end, I’m planning to train to be an observer in 2019.

Additionally, I have the SERV (blood bikes) training day coming up. I thought there isn’t really a better way for a civilian to inject a bit of purpose into biking.

It’s a little different but it should keep things interesting and fun.
 
Planning to get back on a bike for the first time in 18 months. Previous 2 bikes were stolen from underground 'secured' parking.

I've since moved elsewhere and have my own garage now, looking at getting a Street Triple maybe. Last two bikes were sport bikes and want something a bit different, most fun I've had was test riding a Desert Sled Scrambler which was ace fun to chuck about :D
 
Scuzi said:
Additionally, I have the SERV (blood bikes) training day coming up. I thought there isn’t really a better way for a civilian to inject a bit of purpose into biking.
Click to expand...

I joined a few years ago and did the training. I was really keen to also help use my training and network of the day job (marketing and PR) to help grow awareness. I gave up pretty quickly when I realised that my local branch was very controlling, small minded and cliquey. They wanted all the recognition for doing what they did and how hard it was, but had no interest in growing awareness or membership. A real shame.
 
Scuzi said:
Does everyone else start to feel the shine wear off just going out on the bike for no reason?
Click to expand...

Yeah, at the end of every season. I'm actually grateful that we have proper seasons here as it makes me appreciate the biking season and gives me something to look forward to every spring.
 
I want to explore more of the UK next year, I haven't even seen Scotland on my bike as it's a good 7 hours of riding just to get to Scotland.

Haven't been to Europe either so that is high on my list.
 
Wife is doing her DAS in the new year so hoping to tour the UK a lot more than we have in the past.

June we are of to Normandy for a week touring over the 75th Anniversary of D-Day.

Jul we are off to North Wales for a 4 day weekend of touring with a bunch of friends from a local bike meet group, so far 11 bikes are signed up I think. I am also hoping that this will be the wife's first tour on her own bike as long as everything goes OK.

Hoping later in the year may look at another tour either UK, NC500 maybe or Europe, possibly Spain.

November when my bike is all paid for I will start looking for a replacement over the winter period either a GSA1200 Rallye or maybe even a newish GSA1250 all ready for the following year hopefully. :)
 
Still planning on keeping the SV sitting on 65k miles currently.

Want to give the Ron Haslam race school day a go.

Would like to get up to Scotland, only country of the UK I've never been too and I'd love to see some of the highlands.
 
2019 is looking a bit bleak on the biking front for me.

From January onwards I will be working from home, I basically only ever used my bike (SV650) for commuting to work and back during the dryer months. It's a good run cus I live in a rural area, some of the roads are not too bad, commuting into Peterborough was about a 35-40 miles round trip, so more than satisfied my biking needs.

Now... I dunno when I'll ever use it. I was giving some very serious thought to buying a Yamaha XSR900, particularly as my new job is more money, and I have been eying this bike up for (literally) years, but... honestly thinking, how much am I going to use it?

Hmmmmm.
 
Already sorted a new bike so I'm looking forward to getting to know its limits once things start warming up, although I suspect those limits are far beyond my own and what is road legal. I had to abort plans to do the NC500 this year so I'll likely be looking at it again.
 
Bike:
Swapped my Explorer for a GSA1200 a few weeks ago so no plans to change for at least 3 years. What I will do is add a few bits for weather protection, and maybe toy with the idea of Metzeler Karoo streets for a bit more aggressive looks but some green lane capability.

Trips:
Normandy in May, then planning for my Norway trip the following summer. That's going to cost a fair bit so that will limit my 2019 trips unfortunately. Will do a lot of UK rides obviously.

Training:
I'd like to do some off road themed training to see if I fancy green laning on such a heavy bike.
 
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