It was the black duffels strapped on to the back of bikes that did it. Ride to any biking event and you tend to spot other participants as you get closer. Heading for an adventure bike weekend and it'll be GSs with aluminium panniers; going to a track day it's the sports bikes with riders in matching leathers; but this time it was the individually numbered black canvas Malle duffel bags we'd all been sent that became the defining feature on the M5 as we all headed for Lands End.
As we got closer to the meet up near Lizard Point, we'd grown into a group of about a dozen riders who'd never met, other than a helmet nod, but had simply morphed together with a common purpose as the roads got smaller and other traffic thinned out. We rolled into the farmyard meet point, parked up and as bikers worldwide do, started chatting about bikes.
We were soon registered, given the Covid restrictions in place and assigned into pairs for our tent accommodation for the week. Essentially the Malle Rally is a large self-contained bubble which moves up the country with its own accommodation, catering and mechanical support, while the riders meet the challenge of the daily stages. Accommodation was in bell tents which came well-equipped with air beds, cushions, lights and other homely comforts. Better still, they were erected for us so when we arrived it was simply a case of unrolling our sleeping bags.
More bikes arrived in the farmyard over the next couple of hours, and as per the Malle Rally principle of 'inappropriate bikes' were an eclectic mix ranging from pre-war vintage machines, through classics to modern customs, but generally naked bikes of some sort.
What is the Great Malle?
この記事は Motorcycle Sport & Leisure の October 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Motorcycle Sport & Leisure の October 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Honda CRF1100L ES Africa Twin
Without panniers he was adventuring nowhere - so at least Bertie's got something sorted now
BMW R 12 nineT
Chad gets a track day surprise when BMW's R 12 nineT turns out to be surprisingly fun on track
Test fleet: VOGE 525 DSX
After testing the Voge's abilities on a long ride, it was time to take it to the Cotswolds and see how it would manage on the rougher stuff
Portuguese Perambulations
Nearly over before it had begun, a brief workshop stint allows Spain and Portugal to be explored
Highway to Heaven
Three friends take on the challenge of riding the length of Canada, from Vancouver in the southwest to Inuvik in the north. The road is long, the conditions merciless, and wildfires are tearing through the country. To top it all off, the final leg of the journey is the ultimate test of gravel riding skills, nerves, and courage - it's the legendary Dempster Highway...
Battlaxes at the ready!
We tend to take tyres for granted, never really looking at them in any detail, or at how they work, just hoping that they keep us shiny side up at all times. Even in the wet
Ducati Riding Experience
When I rode the Ducati DesertX to France last year, I did have a bit of an explore on some easy fire roads and gentle green lanes in the wilds of the Médoc area, but was left with the feeling that, had I the experience, the DesertX would have been capable of taking me along some more extreme trails to some even more exciting places. If only there was a way of finding out just how well the Italian adventure bike could cope with some more extreme terrain...
Four pot flyer
Many said that sports bikes, and particularly bikes in the traditional Supersports class that was populated by 600cc inline fours, were dead. Maybe they spoke too soon?...
Eastern adventurer
With an increasing interest in smaller capacity adventure bikes, the market expands with a new entry
First Time Lucky?
It's ironic that the first all-new MV Agusta model to hit the marketplace right after Italy's No.1 trophy brand was acquired by Austrian giant Pierer Mobility, owner of off-road titans KTM, should be the company's first dual-purpose model of the modern era, powered by MV's all-new 931cc three-cylinder engine that's destined to form the basis of a whole series of new models in coming months and years.