OCTOEBR 2012 |

I N T H I S I S S U E O N T H E C O V E R

W E L C O M E

COlin OvERlandEditor

As riders we’re as hacked off as everyone else about the weather. But as journalists, we’re finding that there’s a silver lining to these all-too-literal

clouds. Because we’re finding out so much about riding gear. Cold weather we know about. Hot weather we know about. wet weather we know about. But the alien combination of warm and wet is something we’re rapidly learning a lot about. ditto days that start off cold and wet, become hot and dry by lunchtime, and before dusk have become muggy and drizzly. we’ve found ourselves searching for kit that’s adaptable enough to cope with all of that, rather than

requiring us to carry a change of outfit. so let’s hope that next summer is a

wash-out too, so we can put some of this new-found learning into use…

A particular welcome to you if you’re one of the readers who’s come back to ride after a break, or you’re trying the mag for the first time. Hello! Hope you like it. Please let me know what you think.

News + Views 4

Your Bikes 14

Letters 18

The ride Clinic 20

subscribe to ride 22

Kit awards 2012 25

The ride product test - waterproof boots

26

Girls Bike2 37

How leathers are made 38

super suit v simple suit 40

How to stay dry 42

Gore-tex care guide 44

How to choose the right helmet 46

race doctor’s kit wisdom 50

The winners 52

special awards 60

Used buying guide - V-strom 650 64

Living with Honda Africa Twin 72

BMw wsB technology special 76

First ride: 2012 Honda VFr1200F 80

First ride: MV Agusta Brutale 675 82

First ride: Victory Judge 84

First ride: stomp T4 87

My best day on a bike, ever! 89

New rider 90

Three weeks with a Harley switchback 92

One month with a Yamaha super Tenere

94

GrEat triPs sPECiaL

The first ever Garmin ride Out 99

The relaxed trip: Low-cost, low-stress scottish tour

104

The intense trip: rBLr 1000 charity ride

109

The biggest tour: BMw Motorrad days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

114

The ride economy challenge 122

essential riding skills 124

essential diY 126

essential adventure ride 128

Essential contactswant to get in touch with us? ride, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough Pe2 6eAtel: 01733 468 000 Fax: 01733 468 290Email: ride@ride.co.ukwant to subscribe? Call 0845 601 2672 or go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/ridewant to advertise? Call 01733 468892Got an editorial enquiry? Call 01733 468081Can’t find ridE in the shops? Call 01733 555161Need a back issue? Call 0845 601 1356 (UK) or 0044 1858 438828 (overseas)

26

46

52

84 104

Cove

r pho

to r

ory

Gam

e

Tell us what you think of the issue at ride@ride.co.uk

64

25BUY tHis BiKE

This 59 plate V-strom 650 is for sale at Lings Honda in Harleston. see www.lings.com for more details.

3

OCTOEBR 2012 |

I N T H I S I S S U E O N T H E C O V E R

W E L C O M E

COlin OvERlandEditor

As riders we’re as hacked off as everyone else about the weather. But as journalists, we’re finding that there’s a silver lining to these all-too-literal

clouds. Because we’re finding out so much about riding gear. Cold weather we know about. Hot weather we know about. wet weather we know about. But the alien combination of warm and wet is something we’re rapidly learning a lot about. ditto days that start off cold and wet, become hot and dry by lunchtime, and before dusk have become muggy and drizzly. we’ve found ourselves searching for kit that’s adaptable enough to cope with all of that, rather than

requiring us to carry a change of outfit. so let’s hope that next summer is a

wash-out too, so we can put some of this new-found learning into use…

A particular welcome to you if you’re one of the readers who’s come back to ride after a break, or you’re trying the mag for the first time. Hello! Hope you like it. Please let me know what you think.

News + Views 4

Your Bikes 14

Letters 18

The ride Clinic 20

subscribe to ride 22

Kit awards 2012 25

The ride product test - waterproof boots

26

Girls Bike2 37

How leathers are made 38

super suit v simple suit 40

How to stay dry 42

Gore-tex care guide 44

How to choose the right helmet 46

race doctor’s kit wisdom 50

The winners 52

special awards 60

Used buying guide - V-strom 650 64

Living with Honda Africa Twin 72

BMw wsB technology special 76

First ride: 2012 Honda VFr1200F 80

First ride: MV Agusta Brutale 675 82

First ride: Victory Judge 84

First ride: stomp T4 87

My best day on a bike, ever! 89

New rider 90

Three weeks with a Harley switchback 92

One month with a Yamaha super Tenere

94

GrEat triPs sPECiaL

The first ever Garmin ride Out 99

The relaxed trip: Low-cost, low-stress scottish tour

104

The intense trip: rBLr 1000 charity ride

109

The biggest tour: BMw Motorrad days in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

114

The ride economy challenge 122

essential riding skills 124

essential diY 126

essential adventure ride 128

Essential contactswant to get in touch with us? ride, Media House, Lynchwood, Peterborough Pe2 6eAtel: 01733 468 000 Fax: 01733 468 290Email: ride@ride.co.ukwant to subscribe? Call 0845 601 2672 or go to www.greatmagazines.co.uk/ridewant to advertise? Call 01733 468892Got an editorial enquiry? Call 01733 468081Can’t find ridE in the shops? Call 01733 555161Need a back issue? Call 0845 601 1356 (UK) or 0044 1858 438828 (overseas)

26

46

52

84 104

Cove

r pho

to r

ory

Gam

e

Tell us what you think of the issue at ride@ride.co.uk

64

25BUY tHis BiKE

This 59 plate V-strom 650 is for sale at Lings Honda in Harleston. see www.lings.com for more details.

3

14 october 2012 |

Me and my Kawasaki ER-6n on my first biking holiday around Scotland. This photo was taken on the Isle of Mull, which is one

of the most beautiful places I’ve been to with fantastic roads to explore – Yvonne X

Me attacking the Rockingham circuit.

How to get your engine down – Lee Allan

My Bandit with assorted other bikes

on my first charity ride-out to Finchingfield, Essex – Nathan Basford

Me at the Paignton BMAD bike meet,

basking in the south Devon sun – Julian Berry

Portsmouth made perfect by my brand new, and sublime, Street

Triple R – Alex Macdonald

With my brother James as we head from Paisley on a tour of Scotland

– the first of many we plan to do. His bike is a BMW R1150GS and I was on my trusty Honda Transalp 600 – Wally Moore

My wonderful wife Joy and our GS on the Grossglockner, on a fantastic ride to Lake Garda

and back in June – Martin Dunne

My BMW R1200ST just outside Sancerre in the Loire Valley, France, in June. I had been to my

cousin’s who lives locally and was heading down the Loire Valley before going to Vendome to meet some friends – Geoff Lilley

15

14 october 2012 |

Me and my Kawasaki ER-6n on my first biking holiday around Scotland. This photo was taken on the Isle of Mull, which is one

of the most beautiful places I’ve been to with fantastic roads to explore – Yvonne X

Me attacking the Rockingham circuit.

How to get your engine down – Lee Allan

My Bandit with assorted other bikes

on my first charity ride-out to Finchingfield, Essex – Nathan Basford

Me at the Paignton BMAD bike meet,

basking in the south Devon sun – Julian Berry

Portsmouth made perfect by my brand new, and sublime, Street

Triple R – Alex Macdonald

With my brother James as we head from Paisley on a tour of Scotland

– the first of many we plan to do. His bike is a BMW R1150GS and I was on my trusty Honda Transalp 600 – Wally Moore

My wonderful wife Joy and our GS on the Grossglockner, on a fantastic ride to Lake Garda

and back in June – Martin Dunne

My BMW R1200ST just outside Sancerre in the Loire Valley, France, in June. I had been to my

cousin’s who lives locally and was heading down the Loire Valley before going to Vendome to meet some friends – Geoff Lilley

15

| OCTOBER 2012

2 0 1 2 R i D E K I T A W A R D S

Wet feet are miserable. It’s bad enough getting caught out in a damp summer but once the temperatures start to fall, having

sodden toes isn’t merely unpleasant – it’s painful, as body heat is leached from feet stuck in soaking socks.

So properly waterproof boots matter. Not just for riding comfort, but also for control as numb feet have no feel for the signals the bike transmits through the footpegs. Needless to say, the time you want good feel most is on wet, slippery roads…

T H E R i D E P R O D U C T T E S T

WATERpRoof booTSNever suffer wet feet again. We test 36 sets of waterproof boots to find the right ones for your riding and your budgetWords Simon Weir Pictures Jacques Portal

Last autumn the riDe test team began sampling waterproof boots. Since the test began we’ve ridden more than 60,000 miles in 36 sets of boots that claimed to be waterproof, through a winter and the wettest spring and summer on record. this is what we’ve learnt…

How we assessed tHe bootsOur starting point for this test was understanding what people want in a waterproof boot. after the ability to keep feet dry – which pretty much goes without

saying for a waterproof boot – the next most important considerations were durability and comfort, notably how boots were to walk in. We asked the question again as we’d completed the test and (thankfully) got the same response: people want dry, comfy boots you can walk in as well as ride in.

What about crash protection? Well, on both occasions only about a quarter of the responses we got even mentioned armour or protection. Last time riDe tested waterproof boots was October 2008. that was a lab-based test focusing on crash protection as much as how the boots performed on the road and in waterproofing tests. However, the cost of lab testing limits the size of a test and that test featured only a dozen pairs of boots.

So for this test we’re not lab testing, but using our knowledge of construction, everything we’ve learnt from previous lab tests, to assess how well a boot is made. However, that means we’re able to test far more boots.

26 27

| OCTOBER 2012

2 0 1 2 R i D E K I T A W A R D S

Wet feet are miserable. It’s bad enough getting caught out in a damp summer but once the temperatures start to fall, having

sodden toes isn’t merely unpleasant – it’s painful, as body heat is leached from feet stuck in soaking socks.

So properly waterproof boots matter. Not just for riding comfort, but also for control as numb feet have no feel for the signals the bike transmits through the footpegs. Needless to say, the time you want good feel most is on wet, slippery roads…

T H E R i D E P R O D U C T T E S T

WATERpRoof booTSNever suffer wet feet again. We test 36 sets of waterproof boots to find the right ones for your riding and your budgetWords Simon Weir Pictures Jacques Portal

Last autumn the riDe test team began sampling waterproof boots. Since the test began we’ve ridden more than 60,000 miles in 36 sets of boots that claimed to be waterproof, through a winter and the wettest spring and summer on record. this is what we’ve learnt…

How we assessed tHe bootsOur starting point for this test was understanding what people want in a waterproof boot. after the ability to keep feet dry – which pretty much goes without

saying for a waterproof boot – the next most important considerations were durability and comfort, notably how boots were to walk in. We asked the question again as we’d completed the test and (thankfully) got the same response: people want dry, comfy boots you can walk in as well as ride in.

What about crash protection? Well, on both occasions only about a quarter of the responses we got even mentioned armour or protection. Last time riDe tested waterproof boots was October 2008. that was a lab-based test focusing on crash protection as much as how the boots performed on the road and in waterproofing tests. However, the cost of lab testing limits the size of a test and that test featured only a dozen pairs of boots.

So for this test we’re not lab testing, but using our knowledge of construction, everything we’ve learnt from previous lab tests, to assess how well a boot is made. However, that means we’re able to test far more boots.

26 27

42 43

42 43

| OCTOBER 2012

H O W T O B U Y A 2 0 0 4 - 2 0 1 1

Two years after the 1000cc V-strom gave a new lease of life to suzuki’s superb tL/sV1000 V-twin, it was no surprise to see a smaller version using the engine from the budget sports sV650.

what was perhaps a bit of a surprise was just how good it was. suzuki had managed to provide plenty of room for two without adding loads of extra lard, and kept the peppy sV motor’s thumping power delivery while delivering fuel economy that allowed the capacious 22-litre tank to take even heavy-handed riders well over 200 miles between fill-ups.

the handling was nimble courtesy of well chosen geometry and a stiff aluminium twin-spar chassis, and if the brakes and suspension were a bit cheap and cheerful, who cared? after all, the all-new DL650 V-strom was marginally cheaper than the superannuated Honda transalp 650 and the BMw f650Gs which constituted its natural competitors, and it stuffed both of them on performance.

so to recap: nimble, affordable, economical, and practical - what’s not to like? well, apart from the aforementioned cheapo suspension, a few things spring to mind. It vibrated in a way that didn’t trouble some riders but sent others mad (and numb) within a couple of hours; the screen just didn’t work, causing strange turbulence which no amount of adjustment could get rid of; and taller riders found the peg to seat relationship a bit cramped.

But the screen was fairly easily sorted, seats can be re-upholstered and a change of gearing could shuffle the vibes off to where they wouldn’t trouble you at cruising speeds, and the V-strom found a willing audience among those who wanted an adventure style bike but didn’t want a 1000cc-plus behemoth with its attendant bulk and running costs. Before long the 650 had its own owners’ clubs and its own nickname – the wee-strom.

for 2006 the standard model was joined by the touring, with top box, centrestand, heated grips and handguards as standard. In 2007 an aBs option was added, and the touring became the Grand touring with the addition of panniers as standard.

finally in late 2010 the expedition was launched, with black aluminium panniers and bashplate along with aBs, handguards and centrestand (but no top box) as standard.

for 2012 there’s a completely revised V-strom 650, but the old version is still a great bike for the money. as we shall see...

From two-up touring to long-distance commuting, Suzuki’s middleweight V-twin trailie punches well above its weightWords Kev Raymond

SUZUKI V-STROM 650

Download the Digimarc Discover app for your iPhone or Android smartphone and scan

the main photo to see the used ST1100s for sale. No smartphone? See them online at http://ride.co.uk/11

3 REASONS YOU WANT ONE

Commute all week, tour at the weekend Reliable engine still offers solid performance Low running costs, easy maintenance

64 65

| OCTOBER 2012

H O W T O B U Y A 2 0 0 4 - 2 0 1 1

Two years after the 1000cc V-strom gave a new lease of life to suzuki’s superb tL/sV1000 V-twin, it was no surprise to see a smaller version using the engine from the budget sports sV650.

what was perhaps a bit of a surprise was just how good it was. suzuki had managed to provide plenty of room for two without adding loads of extra lard, and kept the peppy sV motor’s thumping power delivery while delivering fuel economy that allowed the capacious 22-litre tank to take even heavy-handed riders well over 200 miles between fill-ups.

the handling was nimble courtesy of well chosen geometry and a stiff aluminium twin-spar chassis, and if the brakes and suspension were a bit cheap and cheerful, who cared? after all, the all-new DL650 V-strom was marginally cheaper than the superannuated Honda transalp 650 and the BMw f650Gs which constituted its natural competitors, and it stuffed both of them on performance.

so to recap: nimble, affordable, economical, and practical - what’s not to like? well, apart from the aforementioned cheapo suspension, a few things spring to mind. It vibrated in a way that didn’t trouble some riders but sent others mad (and numb) within a couple of hours; the screen just didn’t work, causing strange turbulence which no amount of adjustment could get rid of; and taller riders found the peg to seat relationship a bit cramped.

But the screen was fairly easily sorted, seats can be re-upholstered and a change of gearing could shuffle the vibes off to where they wouldn’t trouble you at cruising speeds, and the V-strom found a willing audience among those who wanted an adventure style bike but didn’t want a 1000cc-plus behemoth with its attendant bulk and running costs. Before long the 650 had its own owners’ clubs and its own nickname – the wee-strom.

for 2006 the standard model was joined by the touring, with top box, centrestand, heated grips and handguards as standard. In 2007 an aBs option was added, and the touring became the Grand touring with the addition of panniers as standard.

finally in late 2010 the expedition was launched, with black aluminium panniers and bashplate along with aBs, handguards and centrestand (but no top box) as standard.

for 2012 there’s a completely revised V-strom 650, but the old version is still a great bike for the money. as we shall see...

From two-up touring to long-distance commuting, Suzuki’s middleweight V-twin trailie punches well above its weightWords Kev Raymond

SUZUKI V-STROM 650

Download the Digimarc Discover app for your iPhone or Android smartphone and scan

the main photo to see the used ST1100s for sale. No smartphone? See them online at http://ride.co.uk/11

3 REASONS YOU WANT ONE

Commute all week, tour at the weekend Reliable engine still offers solid performance Low running costs, easy maintenance

64 65

T U N E D B M W S 1 0 0 0 R R

T E C H N O L O G Y S P E C I A L

Power is not the issue. Controlling that power is the keyRiding race versions of the BMW S1000RR casts fresh light on the strengths and weaknesses of the standard road bikeWords Matt Hull

www.facebook.com/RiDEMagazine

october 2012 |

The World Superbike championShip is a production class, where the bikes have to evolve from roadgoing production bikes, unlike motoGp where the bikes are

prototypes. The frame of a WSb bike may be as you would see in the showrooms and the engine cases may be identical. but everything else has been lightened, replaced or moved in the pursuit of getting to the finish line first.

now in their third season of racing the S1000rr, bmW are fighting for the title with leon haslam and marco melandri. They also assist the satellite bmW italia Goldbet team with riders michel Fabrizio and ayrton badovini.

We were lucky enough to be invited to misano on the adriatic coast of italy where the latest WSb round had just taken place to experience the standard S1000rr against both the italia and factory motorrad superbikes, and to ride the bmW italia Superstock 1000 – Superstock being a class that allows even fewer mods.

The aim was to understand the difference that specific modifications make to a bike’s handling and performance, and to see how – if at all – the road bike has been reined in.

The SuperSTock bikeValerio Vitiello, engineer for the italia Goldbet Superstock team, showed us what is involved in making a championship-leading bike. The rules for Superstock strictly limit what you can do, so any mods will be more relevant to a road bike. The engine is standard and sealed but the exhaust is a full akrapovic titanium system and the standard ecu benefits from a bmW hp calibration kit. This allows more adjustment of various features: the fuelling, the quickshifter, the ignition timing and the traction control. it gives no more power but allows a lot more control of the settings. clutch, calipers, clocks, wheels, discs, swingarm and most other parts are the same as the road bike’s, although the brake pads are different.

The suspension is where the big differences are. an Öhlins TTX36 shock gives more accurate adjustment and more consistent performance. it is built for racing so doesn’t have to deal with the bumps, pillions and other forces a road shock has to handle. The front forks are standard but have Öhlins internals, again for better adjustment and more consistency.

The frame of the 2012 S1000rr may give the standard bike a better turn-in than the first version, but this has caused problems for the Superstock bike. The sharper steering angle has improved the way the bike flicks but Vitiello has to run a higher than optimal front end and a lower rear to stop it pulling huge stoppies under braking and to generally give greater stability.

other changes include the race bodywork and an alloy rear subframe that hides the electronics riDe’s Matt hull samples Ayrton badovini’s

bMW italia WSb bike. it feels like an even sharper version of the road bike

The Superstock bike has only 5bhp more but feels worlds apart

77

T U N E D B M W S 1 0 0 0 R R

T E C H N O L O G Y S P E C I A L

Power is not the issue. Controlling that power is the keyRiding race versions of the BMW S1000RR casts fresh light on the strengths and weaknesses of the standard road bikeWords Matt Hull

www.facebook.com/RiDEMagazine

october 2012 |

The World Superbike championShip is a production class, where the bikes have to evolve from roadgoing production bikes, unlike motoGp where the bikes are

prototypes. The frame of a WSb bike may be as you would see in the showrooms and the engine cases may be identical. but everything else has been lightened, replaced or moved in the pursuit of getting to the finish line first.

now in their third season of racing the S1000rr, bmW are fighting for the title with leon haslam and marco melandri. They also assist the satellite bmW italia Goldbet team with riders michel Fabrizio and ayrton badovini.

We were lucky enough to be invited to misano on the adriatic coast of italy where the latest WSb round had just taken place to experience the standard S1000rr against both the italia and factory motorrad superbikes, and to ride the bmW italia Superstock 1000 – Superstock being a class that allows even fewer mods.

The aim was to understand the difference that specific modifications make to a bike’s handling and performance, and to see how – if at all – the road bike has been reined in.

The SuperSTock bikeValerio Vitiello, engineer for the italia Goldbet Superstock team, showed us what is involved in making a championship-leading bike. The rules for Superstock strictly limit what you can do, so any mods will be more relevant to a road bike. The engine is standard and sealed but the exhaust is a full akrapovic titanium system and the standard ecu benefits from a bmW hp calibration kit. This allows more adjustment of various features: the fuelling, the quickshifter, the ignition timing and the traction control. it gives no more power but allows a lot more control of the settings. clutch, calipers, clocks, wheels, discs, swingarm and most other parts are the same as the road bike’s, although the brake pads are different.

The suspension is where the big differences are. an Öhlins TTX36 shock gives more accurate adjustment and more consistent performance. it is built for racing so doesn’t have to deal with the bumps, pillions and other forces a road shock has to handle. The front forks are standard but have Öhlins internals, again for better adjustment and more consistency.

The frame of the 2012 S1000rr may give the standard bike a better turn-in than the first version, but this has caused problems for the Superstock bike. The sharper steering angle has improved the way the bike flicks but Vitiello has to run a higher than optimal front end and a lower rear to stop it pulling huge stoppies under braking and to generally give greater stability.

other changes include the race bodywork and an alloy rear subframe that hides the electronics riDe’s Matt hull samples Ayrton badovini’s

bMW italia WSb bike. it feels like an even sharper version of the road bike

The Superstock bike has only 5bhp more but feels worlds apart

77

84

84

| OCTOBER 2012

Garmisch

Dover

GR

E A T T R I PS

T H E B I G G E S T T O U R

I was sitting in the main tent, with all the ViP guests having to look past this group of people dancing on the benches – all wearing BMw Motorrad UK shirts,” explains BMw

Motorrad UK general manager adrian Roderick, “when Hendrik von Kuenheim – the former head of all BMw Motorrad – saw them he turned to the guy from BMw austria and said, ‘You’re only 60km from here – why have you only brought 50 customers? the UK have brought 250 people’.”

this was BMw Motorrad Days 2012 – the huge party thrown in garmisch Partenkirchen by the german bike giant every year since 2000. it’s open to riders of all bikes, though clearly it’s a celebration of all things BMw. the UK-based world of BMw, has run a trip there every year, but this year’s trip was a bit different. it was the biggest ever organised tour from the UK.

“we decided to try to do it last year, when we were riding back from garmisch,” explains BMw’s market area manager Lee nicholls. “alan Foster and i came up with the idea of trying to get a really big group out there. we had to get the dealer network behind

How do you get 250 riders from England to Germany? With British efficiency, as BMW Motorrad UK and Globebusters demonstrated

Words Simon Weir

GARMISCH 2012

it, to bring their customers along – so everyone who booked a customer on the trip got £75, whether it was a sales advisor or a receptionist. and the dealership’s bike targets were adjusted for every place they filled.

“the planning took over nine months of my life and cost us a quarter of a million pounds to organise – i had to go to the BMw board to approve the project. we’ll get some of it back from ticket sales – but not all of it, because every member of the Motorrad UK team was

there to make it work. it will have cost us something like £30,000 to do but it was worth it – in terms of brand loyalty and looking after our customers, it was definitely worth it.”

the package BMw put together with globebusters, world of BMw’s regular tour operators, consisted of a seven-day trip with a night in the ViP area of the main event tent – a 7000-capacity marquee normally used in the Munich Oktoberfest beer festival – plus a day of activities in garmisch. there was off-road riding with simon Pavey, and ride-outs to the Hotel Enzian biker hotel, around five passes or, for the high-milers, to the stelvio Pass.

T O T A L D I S T A N C E

1400 MILES

114 OCTOBER 2012 |

THE fIRST-TIME TOURISTJames CoCkrill, BmW s1000rr“i’d never been abroad before – i’d been wanting to do a trip and this just came up at the right time. it seemed perfect. it’s been a brilliant trip. we pretty much got away with the weather and the

company has been brilliant. whichever bike they’re on, there’s something similar about BMw riders so everyone seems to get on.

“i did one of simon Pavey’s off-road sessions at garmisch and half an hour of that was enough to convince me i want to do more. we’ll get the whole Hertford group going to the Off Road skills course in wales, that’s definite. i also did the ride-out to the Hotel Enzian, coming back the long way, and it was just superb.

“i have to say the s1000’s comfort wasn’t brilliant on the long days. i’ve had so many people point out that i’m on the wrong bike for the trip, but in a way that just made me more determined to enjoy it. and especially when we got into the mountain roads, on every corner and every straight, i knew i was on the best bike for the trip.”

Fancy that? Test rides were available on most

bikes in the BmW range

riders came from all over the globe – and all round it

How you can do itThe BMW Motorrad Days event is held every year in Garmisch. World of BMW run organised tours there – next year’s may not be so large, but will doubtless be equally well planned. Keep an eye on www.worldofbmw.com for information.

If you don’t want to join an organised tour but do want to make your own way there, just book a Channel crossing and go. We would advise planning ahead to secure a hotel room in Garmisch, rather than just turning up, as hotels fill up when the event is on. Or you can camp on site for free.

115

| OCTOBER 2012

Garmisch

Dover

GR

E A T T R I PS

T H E B I G G E S T T O U R

I was sitting in the main tent, with all the ViP guests having to look past this group of people dancing on the benches – all wearing BMw Motorrad UK shirts,” explains BMw

Motorrad UK general manager adrian Roderick, “when Hendrik von Kuenheim – the former head of all BMw Motorrad – saw them he turned to the guy from BMw austria and said, ‘You’re only 60km from here – why have you only brought 50 customers? the UK have brought 250 people’.”

this was BMw Motorrad Days 2012 – the huge party thrown in garmisch Partenkirchen by the german bike giant every year since 2000. it’s open to riders of all bikes, though clearly it’s a celebration of all things BMw. the UK-based world of BMw, has run a trip there every year, but this year’s trip was a bit different. it was the biggest ever organised tour from the UK.

“we decided to try to do it last year, when we were riding back from garmisch,” explains BMw’s market area manager Lee nicholls. “alan Foster and i came up with the idea of trying to get a really big group out there. we had to get the dealer network behind

How do you get 250 riders from England to Germany? With British efficiency, as BMW Motorrad UK and Globebusters demonstrated

Words Simon Weir

GARMISCH 2012

it, to bring their customers along – so everyone who booked a customer on the trip got £75, whether it was a sales advisor or a receptionist. and the dealership’s bike targets were adjusted for every place they filled.

“the planning took over nine months of my life and cost us a quarter of a million pounds to organise – i had to go to the BMw board to approve the project. we’ll get some of it back from ticket sales – but not all of it, because every member of the Motorrad UK team was

there to make it work. it will have cost us something like £30,000 to do but it was worth it – in terms of brand loyalty and looking after our customers, it was definitely worth it.”

the package BMw put together with globebusters, world of BMw’s regular tour operators, consisted of a seven-day trip with a night in the ViP area of the main event tent – a 7000-capacity marquee normally used in the Munich Oktoberfest beer festival – plus a day of activities in garmisch. there was off-road riding with simon Pavey, and ride-outs to the Hotel Enzian biker hotel, around five passes or, for the high-milers, to the stelvio Pass.

T O T A L D I S T A N C E

1400 MILES

114 OCTOBER 2012 |

THE fIRST-TIME TOURISTJames CoCkrill, BmW s1000rr“i’d never been abroad before – i’d been wanting to do a trip and this just came up at the right time. it seemed perfect. it’s been a brilliant trip. we pretty much got away with the weather and the

company has been brilliant. whichever bike they’re on, there’s something similar about BMw riders so everyone seems to get on.

“i did one of simon Pavey’s off-road sessions at garmisch and half an hour of that was enough to convince me i want to do more. we’ll get the whole Hertford group going to the Off Road skills course in wales, that’s definite. i also did the ride-out to the Hotel Enzian, coming back the long way, and it was just superb.

“i have to say the s1000’s comfort wasn’t brilliant on the long days. i’ve had so many people point out that i’m on the wrong bike for the trip, but in a way that just made me more determined to enjoy it. and especially when we got into the mountain roads, on every corner and every straight, i knew i was on the best bike for the trip.”

Fancy that? Test rides were available on most

bikes in the BmW range

riders came from all over the globe – and all round it

How you can do itThe BMW Motorrad Days event is held every year in Garmisch. World of BMW run organised tours there – next year’s may not be so large, but will doubtless be equally well planned. Keep an eye on www.worldofbmw.com for information.

If you don’t want to join an organised tour but do want to make your own way there, just book a Channel crossing and go. We would advise planning ahead to secure a hotel room in Garmisch, rather than just turning up, as hotels fill up when the event is on. Or you can camp on site for free.

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