It's still there outside my garage, a gritty sheen of mud acting as a constant reminder that I should have washed down the driveway after having brought the T7 back to an acceptable level of cleanliness. I took a massive jump forward this month in my all-round Ténéré experience, grabbing some byway action with my good friend, and fellow MSL contributor, Chris Moss.
Granted this was not the toughest of rides, but nor could it be there are 'golden rules' to off-road riding which I am learning as I go. Now, I have not personally seen it written but am pretty sure that taking yourself well out of your comfort zone on 204kg of motorcycle on the same day as an ambulance and nursing strike would be relatively high on the list of no-no's. Especially when mixed with a week of sub-zero temperatures that left much of the ground rock solid and having to hunt out unfrozen puddles to realise those dramatic 'splash' action images.
Be that as it may, these were the conditions that I met Chris and our Salisbury Plain guide Will, the sort of guy who takes a holiday from his day job just to help out on a day of mudslinging. Will's experience paid off immediately; our initial route across the plain was canned, too icy or soft which his skills and KTM EXC could have traversed easily enough I guess, but not a nervous newbie on a big T7.
Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
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Denne historien er fra April 2023-utgaven av Motorcycle Sport & Leisure.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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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.
