Best-Laid Plans
Murder Hole Beach
S
ummer 2020 suited this Robert Burns saying to a tee: No matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it. And for me it did, on numerous occasions. Like many members, our plan to tour Europe during summer 2020 was cancelled due to the Coronavirus. Not to be beaten I rang my mate in Devon and suggested we do something closer to home. Mark had plans to visit his mum in Northern Ireland and we agreed that he would travel by ferry on his GS and we would plan to do the north coast of Ireland anti-clockwise, to include the Antrim Coast and the Donegal section of the Wild Atlantic Way. With the plan in place I took my R1100S out for a spin to make sure all was good ahead of the mini tour. Well, that’s when the plans started to go awry. The bike is a ‘04 RS which has never let me down in five years, but that evening I hit the start button after stopping at a mate’s house for a brew and... nothing, not even the click of the starter motor. The fuses were all good, but at 55 years young with a hip screw, I decided against a bump start. Thank goodness for recovery assistance and it turned out to be a dead starter motor. Great, the trip was still on! After collecting the bike complete with new starter, I felt something wasn’t right. Power seemed lacking and it stalled at a set of lights. Maybe a good run would sort it out before our tour the following week. But next day it was worse, farting and banging like the morning after a feed of beer and curry! Back to
DAVID BLEVINGS and friends headed off on the Wild Atlantic Way – what could go wrong? the bike hospital and the diagnosis was a dodgy hall sensor, it was not going to be my week – the mechanic promised to get one ASAP. I was doubtful if it would be in time for the tour. I looked in my garage at my second bike, a 1988 Ducati Paso, but with 16in wheels, drop bars and questionable electrics I was slightly ‘concerned’ at its potential for the Wild Atlantic Way. It’s a nice bike to run down to the coffee shop as long as it’s within pushing distance of home (apologies to Ducati owners).
Buy One...
Then I had a brain wave – why not buy a bike for the tour and sell it when I get back. Brilliant! A BMW was of course my first choice and I did see a K1200S at my local stealers, but reading about them online did not fill me with confidence as so many owners had major issues with the 1200. There were two other options close by – a Blackbird and an Aprilia Futura. Hondas have a bullet-proof reputation and this one looked nice, but the gaffer tape around the rear indicator stalks and general tardy look put me off. So the Futura was next. The style appealed, it was kept in a heated garage and after a quick test ride I was hooked. I fitted a new battery and a 12v connection to the bars for the satnav and we were ready for the trip. I managed a quick run the next day with my local BMW Club and it performed fantastically, comfort level on par and dare I say the saddle was more comfy than the R1100S. Motorcycle R I D E R
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