Motorcycle Sport & Leisure Off-road skills

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No. 10 October 2015

Small, light & fUn!

e 30 See pag

IBered SCSR SUsB elive d L s, get M ier

MSL October EDIToR: John Milbank: jmilbank@mortons.co.uk DEPUTY EDIToR: Bruce Wilson bwilson@mortons.co.uk DESIGnERS: Justin Blackamore, Charlotte Turnbull, Fran Lovely PRoDUCTIon EDIToR: Dan Sharp REPRoGRAPHICS: Paul Fincham, Jonathan Schofield PUBLISHER: Steve Rose: srose@mortons.co.uk GRoUP KEY ACCoUnTS MAnAGER: Steff Woodhouse: swoodhouse@mortons.co.uk 01507 529452 / 07786 334330 ADVERTISInG MAnAGER: Martin Freeman: mfreeman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529538 ADVERTISInG SALES: Leon Rose: lrose@mortons.co.uk 01507 529410 SUBSCRIPTIon MAnAGER: Paul Deacon: pdeacon@mortons.co.uk CIRCULATIon MAnAGER: Steve O’Hara: sohara@mortons.co.uk MARKETInG MAnAGER: Charlotte Park: cpark@mortons.co.uk PUBLISHInG DIRECToR: Dan Savage: asavage@mortons.co.uk CoMMERCIAL DIRECToR: Nigel Hole ASSoCIATE DIRECToR: Malc Wheeler EDIToRIAL ADDRESS: MSL Magazine, Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR WEBSITE: www.mslmagazine.co.uk GEnERAL qUERIES AnD BACK ISSUES: 01507 529529 24 hr answerphone help@classicmagazines.co.uk www.classicmagazines.co.uk ARCHIVE EnqUIRIES: Jane Skayman jskayman@mortons.co.uk 01507 529423 SUBSCRIPTIon: Full subscription rates (but see page 30 for offer): (12 months 12 issues, inc post and packing) – UK £50.40. Export rates are also available – see page 30 for more details. UK subscriptions are zero-rated for the purposes of Value Added Tax. SUBSCRIPTIon AGEnTS: Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6JR DISTRIBUTIon: COMAG, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, Middlesex UB7 7QE. 01895 433600 PRInTED: William Gibbons & Sons, Wolverhampton The publisher accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. If you are sending material to us for publication, you are strongly advised to make copies and to include a stamped addressed envelope. Original material must be submitted and will be accepted solely on the basis that the author accepts the assessment of the publisher as to its commercial value. © Mortons Media Group Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage retrieval system without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

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ContentS

Pay le et it earl oor and g to your d e poor people s than th the shop rushing to e sell w re befo ). out (again

32 NEW 6 9 10 16 18 20 26 30 32 41 46 52 54

64 66 72 74

one to ride: Cambridgeshire Royal Enfield’s future news: The supercharged Triumph

78 82 83 84

Your letters: Win a Kriega pack More motorbikes to make the northern Powerhouse rock?

Leon Mannings Test ride: MV Agusta Brutale 675 Test ride: Ariel Ace 1200 V4 Sport Subscribe and save money!

Group test: Tall Rounders Interview: Honda UK’s head of motorcycling WoRLD EXCLUSIVE Test ride: Brough Superior SS100 Leaving iron behind: Kevin Cameron How a Dakar racer can change your road riding

TOURING Anna Grechishkina’s round-theworld adventure The people you meet: Sam Manicom A day ride in Arizona Touring Top Trumps in Germany

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86 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 101 102 103 104 114

Searching for elephants on a Serow Events and club focus Why aren’t driving standards… standard? Richard Millington Chinese whispers on the Silk Road

KNOWLEDGE Buying Guide: Honda CB1000R Long-term test: Kawasaki Versys 650 Long-term test: Suzuki GSX-S1000 Long-term test: Suzuki V-Strom 650 Long-term test: Honda VFR800 Long-term test: Yamaha XJR1300 & KTM RC390 Long-term test: BMW R1200R Long-term test: Indian Roadmaster, KTM 1290 Super Adventure & Ducati Scrambler Long-term test: Triumph Tiger 800 XRx Tested: Tucano Urbano Pol jacket and Alpinestars Drystar gloves Tested: Givi Maxia topbox and Redant cleaner Tested: Roadskin jeans & Weisse Strada gloves Reflections: Suzuki GS850 Won’t get fooled again: Steve Rose

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Riding skills

YOU With eight finishes from ten starts, Simon Pavey is one of the UK’s most successful Dakar Rally competitors. But this household name in endurance riding, and his team, can transform the way you ride on Tarmac…

WORDS: John Milbank PHOTOGRAPHY: Joe Dick

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RIDING SKILLS

T

he Dakar is one of the most extreme enduro events – quite literally blood, sweat and tears. Training is intense, fitness is vital. e discipline, the extreme skill required – it couldn’t be further from a Sunday hack to Squires. So discovering that riding with the front brake locked, or turning an R1200GS around on a steep, muddy slope can transform your road skills came as something of a shock. Two days with the Off Road Skills team, in 4000 acres of South Wales woodland changed the way I ride.

I was scared. It’s not like I hadn’t ridden off-road before – I used to own a Honda CRM250, then a Yamaha WR250. I’d done numerous off-road days and try-outs, and used to spend weekends on green lanes with a mate. e trouble is, I always rode dirt thinking it was a great way to mess about on bikes without getting hurt. Ironically, my motorcycle injuries have tended to be away from the Tarmac – cracked ribs were an inconvenience, but the last crash resulted in a torn rotator cuff that cost me a fortune in physio bills to get my shoulder working again, and took more than six months to heal. I didn’t want to do this, but I had to. I went for the smallest bike on the fleet – a BMW F700GS – and strapped on as much Knox armour as I could…

LESSON 1: PICKING UP A DROPPED BIKE Hopefully something none of us need to worry about too often on the road, but it would be inevitable here. With the right technique though, it’s surprisingly easy, and should mean that, if the worst does happen, you won’t be floundering about looking for help.

Turn the bars away from you, all the way to the steering lock.

Bend your knees, keep your back straight, and cup your hands around the end of the handlebar. Then lift. Take a breather with the bar resting against your hip, then it’s the easy bit to bring it upright.

LESSON 2: FINDING THE BALANCE Worrying at first, but again, put the bars to full lock to stabilise the bike, then walk all around it using just one finger to keep it upright. Once you find the balance point, you’ll realise bikes aren’t as eager to fall over as you once thought. It sounds frivolous, but understanding the balance of any bike has a huge impact on your riding.

LESSON 3: GETTING ON THE BIKE Don’t laugh – the collective under-the-breath mutterings of “oh yeah, why didn’t I think of that?” were clear for this one; I’ve only ever got on my bike from the left, with the side-stand down. But that’s not always possible, and it’s simply a matter of once again pushing the bars away from you, all the way to the stop, then getting your outside leg planted before swinging the inside leg over. Here’s the key thing though – don’t try to put that foot down. Always put it onto the peg. So many tumbles are caused by hunting for ground that’s just a little further away. If you’re parked on a hill in the street, this is a great tip to understand.

You’ve probably noticed that the first three lessons demanded the bars be turned away from you at full lock – don’t underestimate the difference this makes to controlling the bike at a standstill

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LESSON 4: WALKING THE BIKE ON THE POWER Besides being a lot easier way of moving your bike around, being able to walk next to a motorcycle while powering it along was our first taste of the clutch control that would be so important throughout the course. First gear, two fingers on the clutch, a bit of revs and off you go.

LESSON 5: BODY POSITION Sure, standing up is for the dirt, but there’s more to it than that. The idea here is to keep your legs straight but not locked (you’ll see mine are too bent in most of the pics here!), not gripping the tank, and just rest your hands on the bars.

Strike a line up from the forks, and it should brush past your shoulders. Being relaxed and finding the balance allows the machine to move around beneath you. When you’re going to accelerate, you know you’re going to do it, so lean forward first; if you’re approaching a drop, lean back – don’t wait to get pitched about by the bike. As Simon said, “It’s all about finding the lazy way to do it – the least amount of energy expended.”

In this environment, you should cover the front brake with two fingers at all times. On the road, I’ve been told to do this only in town, where quick reactions could be needed – otherwise you can have a tendency to over-use it. Here though, it allows you to gently squeeze, rather than reacting to a hazard by grabbing for the lever. On slippery surfaces, this can too easily end in locking the front. As we developed our smooth brake control, I felt more justified in leaving my fingers over the front brake at all times on the road. You also need two fingers over the clutch – it’s not a switch, and proper control will transform your riding.

LESSON 6: STRINGING TOGETHER THE CONES Lesson one came in handy here. A series of small marker cones were laid out for us to weave our way around. It’s vital to look where you want to go… before you even reach one cone, you should be looking at the next one. Keep your head up and look through the corner, exactly as you should on the road.

Lean the bike in by pushing down on the inside peg, then counter-balance with your own bodyweight. Clutch control is vital here to regulate your speed, allowing you to take the drive away a little when you need to slow down.

Keep your body relaxed, not rigid and stiff.

Everything’s exponentially harder otherwise – when rigid you tend to do very harsh movements, but when you’re relaxed it’s all a lot smoother.

The ORS Team Along with Simon Pavey, the team at ORS are some of the most enthusiastic, patient and helpful teachers you’ll meet. Here’s who took care of us during our course…

LLEWELYN PAVEY Riding all his life, Llewelyn joined Simon to become the first father and son team to finish the Dakar Rally in 2015. ‘Llel’ has also competed in Enduro to British Championship level and is an adventure bike nut.

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JON PEARSON A former British Championship trials rider as well as a multiple Scottish Six Days Trial competitor. A bike journalist by trade, JP’s also raced in BSB support championships, tackled the Red Bull Romaniacs and many insane hillclimbs.

RIDING SKILLS LESSON 7: LOCKING THE BACK WHEEL As Simon put it: “There are two things that are the best in motorcycling – skids and puddles – they just can’t be beat.” Up to speed, clutch in, then lock the back until you come to a complete standstill, still completely balanced… it’s an easy lesson, but preparation for the next one…

LESSON 8: LOCKING THE FRONT WHEEL

I did it:

RAFAL WIELINSKI OWNS AN R1200GS I’ve been riding since 2006, and wanted to improve my skills before I upgrade to an Adventure GS. I want to do some off-roading – somewhere abroad like Morocco, and I’m looking to go on some of the BMW Motorrad tours.

I’ve never ridden off-road before, and came here with my 23-year-old son. Before I let him ride on the road, I want him to be trained by the best. If he can handle a 1200 off-road, he can handle it on the road.

It’s brilliant – I’m pretty confident on the road, having done some road training, and ridden places like the Stelvio pass, but it’s the off-road skills I feel I’m missing.

I got the GS when my wife started coming out with me more – we’ve done 19 days, 10 countries, 4500 miles – she loves it now, and I hope she’ll be coming with me on my next adventure.

We’re taught on road to never lock the front, so it’s important to find out what it feels like, and realise that you do have time to do something about it (but don’t practice this at home). It’s a common track-day mistake to not realise how much grip there is; there’s less on mud of course, but this is a great place to get a feeling for what it’s like.

Squeeze and squeeze with the bike upright until you feel it lock, then as confidence builds, push it along a bit too. We all have our own inbuilt ABS –when you get the heart flutter let go, compose yourself then do it again.

From here we went on to practice braking as hard as we could – something every road rider should attempt somewhere safe.

GWYN BARRACLOUGH An ex-military man of 26 years with tremendous enduro experience, including the International Six Days Enduro many times. Gwyn is a legend, and at 98 years old [so JP assures us] never looks like tiring.

SIMON HEWITT Si or ‘Tidy’ has been hanging around Off Road Skills since he and Llel were mates at school. It’s rubbing off, as Si has competed in the Serres Rally, Greece, plus the Taffy Dakar. He’s also a superb instructor.

LINLEY PAVEY Simon’s wife and Llewelyn’s mum, the rest call her the boss.

Linley kept us all in snacks, and along with another female instructor at ORS she works hard keeping the training environment welcoming for all-comers.

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Meet Simon Pavey Born in Sydney, Australia, Simon is one of the nicest guys you’ll meet.

He’s also an accomplished endurance racer, father to Llewellyn, husband to Linley, and one of the instructors at Off Road Skills…

LESSON 9: HILL DESCENT It might not look steep to you, but trust me – this looks steep from the top. Controlling the bike down a muddy, rocky drop came in three stages. First we had to master engine braking – roll down, off the controls, and let the compression control you. I panicked half way as the bike seemed to be going too fast for the tight turn at the bottom, but I trusted Si. He was laughing when I came back round. “Those 700s are geared higher so they go down there a fair bit quicker than the others.”

The next step is controlling speed with both the compression and the front brake. This means making sure you don’t stall the engine, and also that you don’t lock the front. The grip offered by the Metzeler Karoos is incredible… and vital in stage three – front brake only. I was convinced the front would tuck, but just as on the road, loading the brakes gently before applying more pressure gets the tyres to bite in. Grab the lever and you’ll be off, but as instructor Jon Pearson told me: “There’s grip on ice if you ask nicely enough.”

From here we were told to deliberately stall the bike half way down the hill, then ride off again. This bought in all the stages – you need to get enough momentum up before letting the clutch out or you’ll stall again, so balance, brake, engine and clutch control are all vital.

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MSL: What kind of people do you get on this course?

SP: It’s a little microcosm of motorcycle riders – we’ve had all ages, all abilities. Everyone from 19 to 74, from a total cross section of life, which is a beautiful thing really – motorcycling brings people together, doesn’t it?

It’s a chance to learn the finesse with the throttle and brakes that you just don’t practice when you ride to work. I always tell people after they’ve done the school to play with the bike a bit more, and use the skills, keep practicing. You don’t need an off-road site to practice most of them, you just need to be confident that you can try them…

The more you fiddle with the bike and mess around with it, the more your skills continue to improve, rather than what we all tend to do and get to a comfort zone in our riding and stay in that place – that stops you getting better. It’s really easy for even the most experienced of riders to get into that rut. You don’t have to want to be a world-champion, but the better you ride, the more you enjoy it – you become more relaxed and comfortable.

It’s about making your life easier when you pull into a petrol station covered in diesel, or a tight car park under a hotel, full of tricky off-camber turns. The off-road skill set makes it easy to deal with a bike in absolutely any situation.

Once people have been here, it does diverge a bit – we see the person that comes here and says: “Wow, that’s great, I’ve got a new set of tools that I can use to help my general riding.”

Sometimes we see them a year or two later, and they want to do the next stage. Then we have the people who totally fall in love with a whole new side of motorcycling that they never thought would be for them – they’re back over and over again, then buying new bikes and kit. That’s the danger of coming!

The majority of our customers are the people coming here for their general biking experience, but there’s a growing number that have the idea of a big adventure, and want to equip themselves.

MSL: What’s the biggest challenge in teaching someone who wants to do some serious off-road work, like Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman, who you taught for the Long Way Round?

SP: From zero to hero? I think with something like that, it depends on their hunger and desire. When Charlie and Ewan did that first show, all they did was this two-day, Level One course.

Everyone thinks they spent months training, but they literally just did exactly the same as you. They were supposed to do more, but they didn’t have time – they were a bit disorganised, so they just did those two days then went off.

When Charlie decided to do the Dakar, obviously that’s a very different thing – the higher you can get your skill level, the easier all the other stuff becomes. We rode a lot, and of course I’m a great advocate for getting training, but you can’t beat hours on the clock, like with any skill. It’s important to get some training, so when you are putting the hours in, you’re investing them in the right direction, but you can’t shortcut just clocking up the hours.

Constructive hours are important – if you ride 10,000 hours a year, but your ride is the same commute to work every day, it’s still giving you experience and some growth in your riding, but not the same as if you’re targeting specific skills.

Some people come in from nothing and do all three levels in one go – by the end of five days they’re powersliding a motorbike around. That’s not normal, but we have seen that.

The best thing though is to do Level One, then go and ride – practice and consolidate those skills, then come back and put the next set of skills in place.