scotland on a 125cc
 

Hey there. Im new and thought Id share information on my first tour.

A couple of weeks ago I cashed in my Vespa PX125 for a Derbi Cross City 125, hoping to fulfill my Ted Simon induced dream of doing something meaningful with two wheels. The first day sees me set off from Leeds to hit Davington (where there is a Buddhist Monastery of all things) via the Lake District. The second is a ride up to Fort William. Day three is John O'Groats and back to Loch Ness, four and five are home again via Sterling and a Reindeer sanctuary if Ive read the map right.

Friends and family think Im barking mad and Im beginning to s**t myself at the idea!

Anyone got any advice? must dos? help at all?

Thanks for reading.

I don't think you're mad :) However, and there's always a 'however, you seem to be taking on a long run on a 125 in such a short space of time. If I've read you correctly, on day 3 you'll be doing 320 miles if you go from Fort William to Inverness and then up the A9 to John O Groats and back down to Loch Ness. The A9 from Inverness to John O Groats and back again isn't a bad road, it's quite good actually, but, to do it on a 125 in a day will be quite a trek I think
If you mean Stirling as in Central Scotland, no I'm not taking a dig at your spelling, then on days 4 & 5 you'll be doing 330 miles in two days. That should be do-able. I'd maybe reconsider getting from Fort William to John O Groats and back to Loch Ness in one day. On a big bike, Triumph Tiger, that would be not too bad but on a 125 I think you'll struggle. Your trip will be a great adventure for you and it is not too hard to tour Scotland on a 125, but don't confuse 330 miles through the Highlands with 330 miles down the M6 in England.
Once you get North of about Dingwall the A9 isn't a big fancy dual carriageway it's a normal road.
Good luck though and I'd encourage you to do it, but maybe travel less distance or take longer.

I don't know how keen you are in seeing JOG but you might look at a map and think about going from Fort William up passed Loch Ness to Inverness then down to Aviemore then across to the Lecht Ski slopes area, a nice road for a bike, then down to Braemar or somewhere. Leaving you about 60 miles or so to Stirling the following day.

Inspirational
 

cant belive you guys are planning this trip, very jealous, all the best of luck

Give J O G a miss
 

You would appear to be doing big distances, why not miss out J O G and spend some time taking in the wonderfull scenery around Fort William.
Just an idea, from FW head to Mallaig, take ferry to south of Skye( short crossing not expensive) and then head for Inverness over the Skye Bridge ( toll free). Regardless of what you decide to do, be sure and take in the surroundings, best of luck.

hey guys. thanks for the replies. yes my spelling is terrible, I was quite tired when I wrote the piece. Had a feeling I was doing to much mileage, its good to know for sure. Think Il work out a more 125 friendly route.

Thanks again.

Hi Tommy,
I would agree with the other posters that while the general idea of your trip is excellent, I'd take another look at the roads and the bike you are using and come to a compromise of distance versus comfort!
Personally I'd suggest that Scotland's best roads and countryside are in the far west, and I've done a lot of touring round my country! Fortunately many of Scotlands roads are ideal for nice light bike like a 125. A big bike is a liability on some of those windy roads. I ride an XT600 and an Enfield BUllet and the Bullet (with a performance not hugely different from a modern 125) is much more fun in the tiny twisties we have in some parts of Scotland.
I'd suggets that by riding hell for leather for John O'Groats you'll be missing out some of the countries best scenery, and my personal opinion of the A9 is that while it does have some nice scenery, it is not a nice road to drive. You get very heavy traffic on it and it is one of Scotlands most dangerous roads partly because it has relatively fast sections on it with multiple little entrances/exits where farmers pull out in their tractors and partly because people get frustrated driving behind lorries and make dumb overtaking manouvers!
My suggestion would be ride up as far as Tyndrum on the A82 (stopping for chips at the 'Real Food Cafe'!) then either take the Oban road or carry on through Glencoe to Fort William. From there on in I'd just follow the west coast up. Get your map out and find little places you want to visit, roads you want to ride etc. It would be pretty hard to go wrong, it's basically all stunningly beautiful. You could cross to the Ardnamurcan or Applecross peninsulas, explore Torridon, or ride up to Ullapool and Lochinver (great pie shop on the front!) and explore the west coast North of there. Of course a trip to Mull or Skye is also a great experience. There are lots of campsites and B&Bs up north. When you realise it's time to head home, then you cross East to the A9 and ride back south. (It's definately the quickest way up and down the country).
By having a schedule you risk pushing yourself too hard to enjoy the trip, and missing out on stuff (there's probably not a rider on this forum who hasn't done that at some stage, I know I have!). Scotland is most definately not a country to rush through! Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great time!

Matt :)

I've got no advice
 

But I just wanted to say go for it, I'm looking at 125's too, although I'm erring towards the Derbi Terrar/Terra Adventure. The Derbi's seem great machines.

Can't wait to read your ride report.

Hey Alexlebrit, was reading your thread last night. Yeah I really wanted to get the Terra, a spitting image of the F800GS. Found it a little large though for everyday use. The Cross City is excellent, but a bit tired when it changes up through the gears. One big advantage of the Terra is the pannier racks, I have had to use soft luggage. Hope you get sorted with a bike.

Thanks to all the other reply-ers. I have worked out a what I believe to be a better route through western Scotland, taking in Skye, over the course of 7 days.

as others have said, sod JOG go west. sounds like from your last post you are doing it. tbh apart from saying you've been to JOG there is no point going, its dull & the roads are nothing special there.
from fort william i'd go to millaig then either up the coast or over to skye (£15 i think last summer, oneway) and stick to the coast all the way up. once past ullapool it just gets amazing & so empty. across the top is great too most of the way. just the last bit for JOG is dull.
i dont know where your staying etc, but the campsite in ullapool is right down by the beach & a great place to chill. i was sat in my tent 6ft from the beach watching seals play while cooking last time i was there.

Thanks to everyone for their helpful comments and advice. After a bit of map studying I have made the following changes for anyone interested:

Leeds, via the Lakes, past Carlisle to Davington on day one, towards Fort William (anywhere north of Lomond) for day two, up and around Skye for day three, up to Ullapool on day four, and then touring around anywhere towards home over the next couple of days, maybe hit Durness, or have a look around the Peninsulas and isles to the south.

will let u know how it goes, set off in a week-ish.

Go Tommy
 

If you take in every coastal road that you can find on the West coast, rather than taking the "short-cuts" across various penisulas, 250 miles per day will be more than enough for you: stopping to look at the excellent scenery and views is what will slow you down - all this assumes that you get good weather. Try to time the ride to suit the 5 day weather forecast for the West coast of Scotland (but it sounds like you are committed now!).

I suggest you take in the Pass of the Cattle and Applecross - on the mainland, facing the Isle of Skye.

Take a camera with you and make pictures ! Then write a weblog with your pictures.

Good Luck anything is achievable, take your time enjoy yourself and when you want a rest take one, dont get bogged down with milages, do whatever you are comfortable with. Make good use of a light bike as you will be able to go down many trails that bigger bikes would struggle on.:thumbup1:

"stuxttr-Make good use of a light bike as you will be able to go down many trails that bigger bikes would struggle on"

yeah about that, anyone know any good trails on the west coast? im a member of the TRF but the wayfinder system is a bit un-specific.

alright.. I'm not going to give you too much advice coz wherever you go, you'll love it, and you've had some sound advice here already. Personally I'd stay off the A9, all its good for is getting you home quickly..
In the last 3 years I've pretty much covered the whole of the west and north coasts on a DT125X, a 33bhp ER6N and XChallenge.
Weather depending, Pass of the Cattle is a must.
I'll look out for your bike...
enjoy
JT

as far as i know there arent any anywhere in scotland. that was the option of the 4x4 forums when i used to be into that.

to the OP applecross is ment to be amazing, i cant believe i missed it last time up there.

I think it sounds like a great we tour. But as there always is a but i think you either need to spend more time or less milage on the trip. Im sure it would be possible but a 125 with have a low average speed and scotlands roads are very twisty and drops your average speed even more. You will enjoy the trip better if you have a good equal time on and off the bike.

My mum, dad and me toured scotland about 3 years ago and i was on a 250cc racey rep bike and i found it good enough but wouldnt have liked to go much lower in cc.

So i would do less milage or do the same milage but over a longer time period but dont forget to always have fun.:scooter:

thanks again for the tips guys. the main gist I'm getting is mileage versus cc. did holme moss for the first time on my bike and it took an hour and ten, as opposed to my vespa which took over two hour on my first run! hopefully these things will work themselves out over the first couple of days, plus it is my first trip and am ready and willing to make those mistakes which I'm sure all you guys have on your first outing! I have also decided to let the journey take me as long as it wants. Got enough gear to last me weeks, so no need to rush.

anyways if anyone sees a white Derbi cross city heading around west scotland over the next couple of weeks, come up and say high. would love to put faces to forum names haha

Have a great time
 

Just wanted to say that and also how uplifting I've found this thread, you came on asked some questions took some advice which was freely given and now you're off.

Excellent, makes me as an armchair travelling planner type feel glad to know that you've just gone and done it all in the space of a week as I face a year of planning and red-tape.

Excellent, makes me as an armchair travelling planner type feel glad to know that you've just gone and done it all in the space of a week as I face a year of planning and red-tape.

hey Alexlebrit, ive been planning for a while. almost a year now lol what inspired me:

"It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by the dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy course; who at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly; so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat." THEODORE ROOSEVELT (Paris Sorbonne,1910)

Tommy,

A couple of folk have mentioned the pass of the cattle over to Applecross. I would agree that this is an awesome road, one of, if not the most, spectacular roads in Scotland. A great thing to do is cross over the pass to Applecross, stay in the wee campsite there overnight (the pub does fantastic langoustines and fish and chips) then take the road round the north of the peninsula the following day. This gives amazing views of Torridon etc.

Matt :)

I,ll second that
 

Tommy, Take MatCartneys advice and take the pass over to Applecross and stay in the campsite and eat in the hotel ( best pint of guinness i have had in years) , try the squat lobster tails. Then follow the coast around and take a stop at Gairloch, The Mountain Coffee shop does the best scones this side of Ullapool !!
Go for it, but remember to take in the scenery.

ps
 

ps If the squat lobsters off the menu have the scallops as a main !!!

Ignore all this culinary excellence, if you eat as well as everyone's telling you to you'll be far for heavy for a 125 by the time you get to the end.

(Sorry couldn't resist it).

haha I wouldnt count on that! I am reli skinny tbh. If I had anything more powerful than a 125 I would blow off! Just working on my final route. Will let you all know soon.

Hi Tommy, as others have said, you really don't want to rush too much. The best scenery is in the West, and as soon as you as you get North of Kyle of Lochalsh there is pretty much a photo opportunity round every corner and if you're anything like me then every corner requires a stop to take some photos. Sometimes it takes me a couple of hours to get 20 miles just because of all the photo stops.

thanks frogwell, charging my camera batteries as I write this!

one final question before I go, food. Im sure there will be places to get some grub, dont reli fancy taking a camping stove and mess tins are there quite weighty. is this a bad mistake?

id take a small stove if you can find room. depends where your staying (camping right?) aslong as you camp near a town/village i'd expect the pub to do food. but some are a bit of a walk from memory.
oh & i always take a stove just for that first morning cuppa to get my brain working! for that one of those backpacker hexi stoves would do. they fold up into a box about 3x2x1/2" with the fuel inside so not a lot to pack - fits in a mess tin too. i got mine in 1980 something & it says £3.99 on the box, yes i keep the box for some reason, oh it came with fuel too.

nice one hooli, thanks for the tips.

Final thanks
 

Just a final thanks to everybody who gave me much needed advice. Setting of on monday. Will post picks at my blog.

heres to a safe trip :funmeteryes:

Are you back yet? Where's your blog? Did you die?

rather ashameably...
 

...no, lol. There were a few hick ups along the bike prep front as my panniers were letting me down during testing, one of the straps got caught just south of my chain guard and decided to wrap itself around my rear wheel bearing - you should have heard the almighty SNAP as bits of bungee and fastenings came spewing out the back. :funmeterno: Had to unwrap the strap from the wheel. After a trip home from my brothers i managed to melt my waterproof trousers onto my exhaust, there isn't enough WD40 in Europe to get the plastic off.:oops2:

So I have spent the past two weeks buying a pair of leathers, new boots (as the other were to big and fell off) and trying to find some metal panniers that fit my cross city. Hopefully the ones of the Terra Adventurer will match, going to find out tmrw. Heres to a new set off date, some time later this month.

Oh and I got tickets to Radiohead the sunday I was supposed to be there lol :clap:

better to have problems near home that miles away, hope it goes better on the next attempt.
have you considered a simple metal frame to hold your panniers in place rather than expensive metal ones? on my old bonnie i added a inverted U of 1/4" steel (any thinner snaps from the vibes on that bike) that hangs down off the rear seat mounts. it just holds the rear corner of the soft panniers away from the tyre, they used to rub on bends before that.

fantastic idea, i will try it when the monsoon season is over! thanks.

A7 Closed
 

...I believe this road is closed due to a land slide. check with the traffic scotland for diversion. In case anyone did'nt know.