.

[Kreeeee]

Yeah I know it'd be fine, but all being well I won't be on the CB It's fun keeping it above 7k rpm to keep it in the power but it does get a little tiresome sometimes, I noticed that with the many hairpins on the euro trip. With the luggage and coming out of slow corners up hill I'd have to wait for a few seconds before anything happened!

Remember on this tour, the five days of the "cloverleaf" tour will mostly start and end at the same point.

This means, unlike most Alpine tours, you get to spend a lot of it luggage free, or you just need a night's worth of pants/shirt/toiletries for the one night away.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Yeah that's good, just a tank bag and you're set I'll probably end doing a week before or after this, I reckon starting out east in the Dolomites and Italian lakes then heading back west will be a good plan.

 

[dsb]

**** post

 

[Kreeeee]

Eh? It's 5 days from August 28th to September 1st.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Me or dsb? What I meant was I'd probably book the week off before, head down to the black forest on Saturday the 19th, then east towards the Dolomites/lake Garda, probably with an overnight stop so get there on Monday night. Spend 3-4 days in that area relaxing on the beach/doing day rides out to the Dolomites, then head back west to meet up with you lot on the Saturday/Sunday (26th/27th) before the 5 days you've planned, then 2 days back to the UK on the 2nd/3rd

16 days away should be good I reckon

 

[dsb]

Eh? It's 5 days from August 28th to September 1st.

Yea i was looking at the wrong dates, **** post, but cant wait to dump all my luggage and hit the roads as a bike is meant to.

 

[Kreeeee]

Yea i was looking at the wrong dates, **** post, but cant wait to dump all my luggage and hit the roads as a bike is meant to.

That's the best thing about living here, I can access all of Switzerland and the best bits of France in a day trip easily. Italy and Austria are for the multi day tours with luggage though.

 

[Crowze]

At 2,500 metres my old Aprilia 1200 v twin was seriously down on power, but it only had 130 bhp to begin with and was a heavy old girl. At the same and higher altitudes the IL4 on the S1000XR only lost a little in the mid range (can't really use much of the top end on those roads) and just sounded even angrier!

Only 130bhp? And here's me considering doing the trip on a quarter-tonne lump with 70...

 

[Kreeeee]

Go for it, you do feel a drop in power but it's not a problem at all.

I have a friend who does some of the passes on a 50cc bike! We do have to wait for him at the end and it overheats a lot but he gets there

We won't be racing anyway, as that's not what group rides are about.

 

[Crowze]

It's more a question of which bike I choose, common sense says the Caponord but I'm still not certain I can put up with the riding position unless I get my back problem sorted. OTOH it's a good excuse for some suspension upgrades

 

[Kreeeee]

It's more a question of which bike I choose, common sense says the Caponord but I'm still not certain I can put up with the riding position unless I get my back problem sorted. OTOH it's a good excuse for some suspension upgrades

Is that a confirmed attendance?

 

[TallPaul_S]

It's more a question of which bike I choose, common sense says the Caponord but I'm still not certain I can put up with the riding position unless I get my back problem sorted. OTOH it's a good excuse for some suspension upgrades

I would have thought the Caponord has a nice upright riding position, are they that bad? Is it a new or old model one?

 

[Crowze]

Is that a confirmed attendance?

Oh if you insist I may end up doing it dosed up on painkillers (borders could be interesting) but I'm committed to getting things sorted.

I would have thought the Caponord has a nice upright riding position, are they that bad? Is it a new or old model one?

Old model but the riding position is similar. It's the upright position that's the problem for me, it puts more pressure on my spine over the bumps whereas the Guzzi is more of a sports-tourer so more weight on the arms which I can deal with. The rear shock doesn't help, it's the original and is probably well past its best.

 

[TallPaul_S]

Ahh I see, yeah if you have back issues I can imagine every bump going straight up your back would be bad, I'd deffo say a new/rebuilt shock and properly set up rear suspension should make a big difference.

 

[Kreeeee]

Once you're here the roads are smooth

 

[TallPaul_S]

That reminds me of something I noticed on my trip - French motorways are lovely and smooth, however in Belgium it's a pothole dodging exercise! Some of the motorways there were faar worse than the UK, huge holes in the motorway you don't want to be hitting at 80mph.

 

[The_Abyss]

The Caponord, much as it didn't suit me personally, is a very capable and comfortable bike. The active suspension is super smooth and soaks up everything, but just loses too much feel for me when you really want to press on. In the end I could forgive the faults of the bike for its other benefits, but it was the lack of dealer and factory support that just made me lose patience with it.

Very decent bike though, and a lot cheaper than the current range of 'adventure sports'. 20 kg lighter, 20 bhp more and a firmer front end and I think I would have kept it.

 

[Kreeeee]

I probably won't be riding the Street Triple for this trip

 

[TallPaul_S]

Binned it?

or sold it?

 

[Kreeeee]

Binned it?

or sold it?

I'll sell it in spring next year