London to Scotland on 125cc for Touring Virgin
 

Hi everyone,

I'm new to HU, and would just like to say what a wonderful site, i hope this post is in the correct place.

Me and a friend have been discussing taking a trip up to Scotland, we will be restricted to A and B roads (due to both of us still being on 'L' Plates), even talking about the trip gets us excited. We are planning to ride this year (2015) during the great British summer. Leaving from Essex, London riding along the east coast up to Scotland. We are currently looking at Castletown (As we wish to take the trip to the north coast) and then returning down the west coast stopping off at Loch ness, the lake district and passing though wales, north to south before heading back into England and down to somerset and then heading home (Essex).

I own a 2014 YBR 125 - the standard edition (not the custom)
While my friend is deciding whether to take the
HONDA MSX 125
HONDA CBF 125

We have planned a rough route on Google which states the total trip is around 1715 Miles :O. We are planning to do the trip within 8 to 10 days, averaging around the 200 miles per day mark, is this ok for a 125cc?

As this would be my first long distance trip any advice would be much appreciated, including how to prepare and plan etc. anything a novice might need to know, could have missed out on.

It obviously not as easy as plan your route and go.... or isit? -
We are still debating whether to stay in BB's or Camp or a mixture of both?
What equipment would we need to take?
Can anyone recommend any good stops along the way?

please people don't hesitate to give your input, any advice is good advice... most of the time, any recommendations for motorcycle gear, locations, roads etc. we are in the planning stages so making worthwhile amendments is no big deal.

Also if your from around the London area and fancy joining us on the trip give me a shout.

Thank You for taking the time to read

Jah Ray

Hi - and firstly, welcome. :thumbup1:

That sounds like a great trip and I don't think there's much more to it than plan the route and go. There's no big secret to any of this other than learning from your mistakes - or better (and that where sites like the HUBB work well) learning from other people's mistakes. It's generally cheaper for a start. :rofl:

So, what advice can I offer? Firstly I don't think that 1700 miles in 10 days is ott on 125s. I did that over 10 winter days on a 125 a couple of years ago (Elephant rally) and that included a number of days off the bike. And with your route you have the ability to cut lumps off if you want a few more non riding days. Depending on what roads you take you'll probably average about 40 open road miles in an hour + time for fuel stops / lunch etc, so plan your daily rides around that sort of rate of covering ground. It'll be a lot slower going through towns though.

You'll be "stuck" with the YBR (a great bike btw) but I'd suggest your friend's choice should come down to (1) which of the two is closest to the YBR in performance - nothing worse than one bike clearing off into the distance (or falling behind) every day and (2) whichever has the most comfortable seat. Believe me - a seat that seems ok for an hour can have you looking for A&E after a week. That's assuming both bikes are in good nick - otherwise take the best of them. Having said that I think it's going to be the CBF.

With two bikes you should be able to split any camping gear between you - you'll only need one tent, one stove etc so it should cut the load down. If I was doing it I'd camp in the interesting bits / sunny weather and BnB the wet times and whenever you need a clean up. Being the UK you're pretty certain of wet times.

I don't know what stuff you have or don't have but you might consider keeping an eye out for what Lidl and Aldi do during their bike weeks. A lot of it is very good value and there should be a featured week coming up in a month or so.

If you look back over the archives here there's a lot of stuff about 125 touring that might be worth reading.

I haven't mentioned much about bike prep / spares etc because if you make sure most of the bits that wear (tyres, brakes, chain etc) are in good condition before you start you're unlikely to wear any of them out. And even if you do they're both modern bikes so obtaining parts should be easy. The only issues I had was with bulbs but all bikes are different so you might not have any problems.

Good luck with it - it should be great fun.

Welcome to the hubb.

Tips and advice ?

First and most importantly don't worry! It is a fab thing to do and it's not hard or scary. Brilliant idea to start on the sort of trip you are planning. Scotland is great riding country.

What could go wrong? Well anything, or most likely, nothing at all.

What should you take with you? TAKE WHAT YOU NEED. NEED. Not what you "want".

If you are camping most important thing is your bed, A good mat to get off the ground and a warm sleeping bag for the conditions. A good night sleep is so important. You can get food anywhere or cook yourself. Camp-sites are generally quite easy to find and you can wild camp in many areas.

Info here> Wild camping - Scotland | VisitScotland

Know your bikes tank range. Fill up with fuel when ever you can. Nothing will ruin a nice day quicker than running low on fuel or worse.

Don't be afraid to change your mind and deviate from your plan, it's just a plan.........

For clothing make sure you have stuff for all weather, hot and dry / cold and wet. It can be very cold and wet in Scotland in the hight of summer.

I did a trip around Scotland a few years back, someone on here said I must ride the A87 road which goes to Skye. I did and it was fantastic. You should try it and Skye too. There is nothing on the road apart from one pub 3/4 of the way if my memory serves me correct. But the scenery is stunning. Well worth going over the Bridge and exploring Skye. You can get a ferry back from Skye to Mallaig ( about £15 in July?? ) and ride the A830 back to Fort William which is another good scenic route and contains several famous "Harry Potter" locations such as the viaduct and Hogwarts steam train. ( apparently? ) Just one word of warning it can be Very Very windy on the road.

Basically you will have a great adventure where ever you decide to go, so just do it. :thumbup1:

:welcome: and Go!

Tips?
Check your oil levels day to day .. or every second day. Smaller motors are more critical on oil levels. Chains.. with O ring chains less critical on oiling. Check for dryness when you check the engine oil.

Camping .. means you take more gear .. so packing becomes more of a problem. Gives you more freedom particularly in Scotland.

200 miles per day on a 125 .. do able. Not too much of a strain on either the bike or you.

Oh .. check the brake pad thickness before you leave .. don't want them wearing out during the trip. Maybe do an oil change before leaving .. fresh oil for the trip would be good. That way you should not be doing any scheduled maintenance while you are on the trip.

Two bits of advice,

1: Join the AA (with Relay)

2: Fill out your profile. :thumbup1:

Mezo.

deleted

Just do it
 

All of the previous posts - I like!
Just go; if you want ideas about Britain do a search through here for earlier information + your questions cover a wide range of sub-topics within the HUBB.

I would say ride the national parks of the UK and stay away from the cities which are much the same as any other in the UK, unless you have an interest in a specific case (industrial archeology or ?).
Similarly, consider riding as near to the coast as you can get or follow river courses.

For Scotland, take in the west coast which is generally considered to be more interesting than the east - it has more islands, ferries, twisty roads, higher ground, remoteness etc.
Ardnamurchan, for instance, is relatively remote if that is what you want; you would enjoy getting to the promontory and getting out again. ;-)
Visit Applecross and go on to Toscaig.
After those couple of cases, take any of the single track roads and see what is there to be seen.

There was one thing I should have added to my first post but if this is your first time in Scotland there are some ups and downs. Firstly the ups - fantastic scenery. The ride over to Skye is just wonderful and much of the west coast can feel as remote as anywhere on the planet.

There is one big down though - and it's not rain / wind etc. When you do get a quiet tranquil day and you think we'll find an edge of lake campsite, bbq, a few beers, watch the sun go down (about midnight in the north in June), you may find yourself driven to distraction by midges.

They're not unique to Scotland but the Loch Lomond variety (I lived near there years back) seems to have declared independance from the rest of midge world and gone their own bitey way. It's not a huge problem as any breath of wind and they vanish but they can spoil a quiet warm summer evening - and goodness knows we get few enough of those in the UK. Don't cancel your plans on the strength of it but it's worth thinking about when you're considering campsites.

Welcome.


You will have a great trip at 200 miles a day. Only advice would be to get a day or weekend out riding with your mate and maybe a good selection of your luggage before the summer. If you ride to Brighton or Southend or somewhere you will start to get an idea of:


1. If your mate is going to blow up both your engines or have to be punched for trying to do full throttle 5 hours a day.


2. If your tea breaks, bladder size, wish to be riding at sun-up rather than midnight or desire to take photographs makes him want to punch you.


3. Your fuel range.


4. That you will almost certainly have too much stuff.


5. What is likely to fall off.


Doing this in February sleet will make June in Scotland seem warm (ish) and start to get the right muscles tuned in.


The rest is just personal choice, you'll learn yourself if a camping chair, spare jumper or ability to swing your leg over the bike without kicking some pointless bit of kit is more important to you.


I'd stick to the coast in this part of world (Yorkshire). The Humber bridge is an experience, Beverley worth a look, Scarborough and Whitby good for lunch etc. Cutting from Leicester-Nottingham way across Lincolnshire is a nicer ride than Sheffield and Leeds that are just urban sprawl with too much motorway and traffic.


Don't overthink the detail. There is a difference between supermarket bags and motorcycle luggage, but worrying that you picked the beige wonderworld Mk.3 extreme adventure throwovers when everyone on ADVrider says the black ones are stronger is just going to send you loopy.

Come back and post pictures.


Andy

thank you everyone
 

Hi everyone,

Thank you, everyone is so encouraging, it makes me just want to ride there now, speaking of riding that and work is the reason it has taken me while to reply.

Your information is very helpful and informative I really like the look of the a87, one of the reasons I'm going on this trip is to test and improve my riding skills and knowledge.

As for kit, atm I just have a bike :) I will be getting a tent, sleeping bag, mattress?, light source and cooker/burner soon. As for my bike I have a backbox and a couple cargo nets, so I will be getting panniers too, I've been recommended to also get a fly/wind screen by a friend at work but is this needed? Meaning do they help? Or do they make this worse?

So as for kit bare at the moment, but If I went to my parents house I'll probably find an old sleeping bag and air mattress, my friend has a tent but that's too large for us to take being an 8man tent.

I tend to ride with my two of my friends all the time the only one I'm going to Scotland with the other isnt coming because he believes the r125 is too uncomfortable for long journeys.

Oh off topic but I saw a mt07 today and I think this might have be the next bike I love the super naked streetfighter look on a bike......lost in thought..... But has anyone riden/owend one... Ideally I would like 3 bikes adventure/commute/fun but now I'm just day dreaming

Again that thank you for you kindness, encouragement, information and support. I definitely joined the right site :-)

beerYou can never have enough bikes :scooter: it seems like you have the bug, have a great trip.

As far as gear goes hunt around you don't need to spend a fortune to get good gear. german discount supermarkets. go outdoors and sports direct and army surplus (avoid silvermans) stores all offer great gear at knock down prices.

I have an MSR petrol stove; plus points burns most fuels, you can fill it from the bike and if the bike runs out you can borrow some from the stove but its smelly messy and a bit of a faff to use. fine in some faraway place.

however I just got a kariimor ti stove from sports direct, its tiny weighs hardly anything burns clean and is a sinch to use. it cost about £15 and you can get some tiny gas canisters for it online for a couple of quid. Its my goto stove I even use it to make a brew at work now.

With 2 of you it may be worth carrying a 2/3 litre can of spare fuel and or a thin rope. if one bike does go kaput at least you can tow it (if your in the wilds of Scotland not so in the middle of Peterborough!)

don't take too much stuff you can always buy more on route. I like a lightweight pack away rucksack or bag, you can keep it in your pocket or on a keyring, but when you want to stock up on food/beers you can fill it and take it to camp, in the mornning when beer/food is gone it packs back in your pocket. also useful for carrying kit around cities.

have fun and make sure you post up some photos and a wee trip report when you return.beer

I have been racking my brains for a few days and now I found it !
A few years ago I came across a video of a young guy doing exactly what you plan to do.

You should watch this on youtube.
part1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6Vz6IgDFmc
part2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_G9cgClhDk

Hi Guys,

you've been given some great advise so far.

In addition to the previous comments I would suggest that you;

1, keep your cruising speeds down to 50mph or so, as the bikes will appreciate a bit of TLC, and won't burn as much oil. You'll also see more.

2, go away for a few weekends, with your fellow riders, using exactly the kit that you plan to take and you'll soon settle into a routine that you're all comfy with. Some riders are at their best in the mornings, but others not so and there's nothing worse than someone pushing themselves to keep up.

3, don't plan too much, just go with the flow. If you all fancy a laze in bed, then do it, if you all fancy riding a bit further one day, then do it, just go with the flow.

4, consider breaking the journey by staying in youth hostels etc, as a day not pitching tents etc is like having a day off!

So chill out, go with the flow and enjoy it.

I average 25,000 miles a year on a Yamaha XT250 Serow, so know loads about long distance, slower riding.

By the way, my personal thoughts re screes are don't bother. They usually create more noise and sometimes even slow the bikes down, so forget 'em.

Regards

Reggie

Jah Ray

Sounds great - I've done the trip twice in the last 5 years, albeit on a bigger bike.

My tips would be:

Consider using YHAs, rather than camping - not much in it on price and means you carry (and need to buy) less gear.

Forget John O'Groats. Almost all of the North of Scotland is amazing JOG is not. If going up the east, cut up through Lairgs from Dornoch/Bonar Bridge to Tongue (brilliant YHA) then across to Durness. The road from Durness to Ulapool is a cracker (as suggested previously divert via the Applecross peninsula.

Back in England/Wales you can pick a route through the national parks which gives some great riding.

If you want a link to my previous routes drop me a PM and I'll send it to you.

Cheers
Andy

I've not ridden an MT07 but this is what the Visordown "journos" thought of it - Long-term test: Yamaha MT-07 review - Road Tests - Visordown


Yeah, an 8 man tent might be a bit ott - especially if wanted to keep the front wheel on the ground. There are lots of good quality cheap tents around these days though - maybe very err... cheap if you have any festival plans before the trip :rofl:

For two of you, tip no 1 is - get a three man tent. That'll give you a bit of space to keep all your bike gear and luggage inside, rather than having to leave it outside in the rain and / or within easy midnight reach.

If you need to buy a sleeping bag you might consider a cheap duvet from Lidl's (or Aldi or Tesco or somewhere similar) + a foam mat. I know a number of people who have stopped using cheap sleeping bags in reasonable conditions and are doing this.

Screens on a 125 are a tricky decision. I built a screen for mine for subzero winter use based on some "life threatening" below zero winter trips I'd done in the past. Originally I reasoned that a screen no bigger than my upper body area should be ok - no increase in wind resistance, but the screen woould be taking the wind blast rather than me.

That was an A3 sheet of acrylic from ebay. But then I started adding bits to it - side "wings" to protect my hands, extend them down a bit to keep the blast off my knees, some extra reinforcing bits because the hand bits flapped, an air splitter at the top to stop the whistling noise etc. The end result was barn door of a screen that was great for protection but knocked 10mph off the top speed. On a 125 that's not good news.

When things warmed up I started taking bits off one at a time and found that the bike was fine with the original core A3 sized part. So, if you can find a small screen roughly that size that'll fit then go for it - it does make for a less tiring ride. Anything bigger and the bike will struggle to push it through the air. You'll be going slower - and using more fuel.

http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r...Packedtogo.jpg

That's my antique Suzuki just before heading off to Germany. In my defence, your honour, I'd say that someone gave me the bike and it was either my party frock or a skip. :rofl: