Slappers take Misano - 2014

[duke63]

I just made it back to Belgium in daylight. Bratty and Blade not quite so lucky. We booked the same hotel we stopped in the previous week but we somehow ended up being put up in a local's home. To be fair it was a lovely house, the bikes once again were garaged for the night. I waited beside the Menin Road to show Blade and Bratty the turning and realised i was sat beside a war cemetery. We ate in a local chippy where the guy kept promising space cakes but they never came.

[Deegee]

I could happily spend a whole day looking through the bikes in the Ducati museum. I am truly gobsmacked by the trip guys, it looks and sounds great (apart from the no petrol in the dark bit), a trip on a bike down into Italy was always on The List before, but I think it's been bumped up a few places looking at this thread. Funnily enough in all the times I've been to Germany for work, I've only ever met one arse - in Munich, maybe you caught the same guy.

Btw thanks for taking the time to post all the pics Duke, much appreciated.

P.S. I'm with Bratty - I've let my inner Fizzy rider out on occasion and caned a bike through the tunnels as well, Dartford Tunnel late at night is a treat for the ears.

[duke63]

Last morning dawned with a huge rain shower but by the time we were up and showered it was sunny again but very very humid. We took a walk down to the Birr Road cemetery. These places really are beautifully kept and very poignant to see so many graves where the soldier is unknown. The history of this area is quite unbelievable. Both sides fighting over the same few 100 metres of land for 4 years with no one making any decisive movement just the line moving back and forwards a few metres. Just a place of devastation and so many young lives wasted.

[duke63]

This is the house where we stopped that night.

[duke63]

Waiting for the chunnel back and on the train. Blade tried all his charm to try and get us on an earlier train for no charge but the girl wasn't having it. To be fair she tried for us but the trains were pretty full coming back.

[duke63]

And finally arriving home about 6pm in the evening. Some information from the bike's clocks of the trip. Over 50 hours in the saddle as i accidentally reset the trip at the first fuel stop in Warwick. and over 2,500 miles traveled in 8 days.
We learned loads on this trip and bearing in mind we were all complete Euro novices i think it went exceptionally well.

Things we learned:
A satnav is vital.
Some motorway miles are necessary to cover ground quickly.
Everyone around Europe is very friendly and interested in what we were doing. Always glad to help too.
The B500 is a fantastic road and i will revisit one day with less luggage and days just to ride around those roads.
The chunnel is marvel of engineering and super efficient. Why anyone i would choose to use a ferry instead i don't know.
If i rode to Italy again i would either give myself two weeks or take the train with the bike.
Lake Como is beautiful.

All the bikes performed faultlessly. I had to adjust my chain in Italy but it turned out to be a simple job, ten minutes at most from now on. But you can tour on any bike you want. We all three had very different bikes to ride.

Thanks to Bratty, Blade, Cookie and Jane for some great company, great craic and huge laughs all through the trip.

Oh and thanks to Rossi for just adding the icing on the cake by winning in Misano.

That's all folks!!!!!!

[Kwacky]

A really great thread. Thanks again.

That's excellent fuel consumption for a fully laden large engine bike.

[Si.]

Great stuff mate.

[Blade]

Found this site with some info on the Hooge crater and Birr cross roads cemetery we visited Duke. Thought it might be of interest.

http://www.ww1battlefields.co.uk/flanders/hooge.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[C00kiemonster]

Great write up, we did have a lot of fun.

I've definitely got the euro bug now, I love france, but Germany was great in a different way too. Italy is gorgeous, but the roads are scary with the riders and drivers on them. Dog eat dog and pretty stressful at times.

Some of the twisties demanded a light, flickable bike, not a sports bike or indeed a large tourer IMO.

We would need to concentrate on one area in the future. I think if your touring, you take something suitable for touring and look at the scenery. If your there to ride twisties, it's a very different holiday. Mixing the two too much doesn't work.

I'll never forget Misano, best motorcycle racing weekend I have ever been to. The Italians do it best!

When I get time I'll post some race pics and some of our other pics as our route back was different. Highlights for us was the Alps and Into lake Como and the south of France, Monaco was something else.

A pleasure to have your company Duke. Some good pics there

[duke63]

Riding in Europe beats most the UK by a long way. Less traffic and more open roads equals fun.

I agree with your point re: touring or just enjoying the roads local to you. Its one or the other realistically. The Multi was too big and heavy when fully laden to get much enjoyment on the twisty German roads. If i could have left all the luggage at the hotel then it might have been different. We discussed going back there sometime to stay for a few days and just enjoy the roads with no luggage. I also took too much stuff despite telling myself beforehand to be realistic about what to take!!!

That said taking all the kit made loadsing up easy each day and it was always secure and safe.

Panniers are a pain though when trying to filter especially with lots of trucks in the queue.

[Blade]

Duke your bike did look very heavy and cumbersome to handle at times. As a suggestion to assist maybe add more preload to the rear and at least the bike will have it's normal geometry, I know you said it was very light at the front at speed.

[Blade]

The splugen pass is apparently one of the most dangerous roads in the world.

http://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/it ... italy.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[duke63]

It would have been even more dangerous in the dark and wet

[duke63]

Duke your bike did look very heavy and cumbersome to handle at times. As a suggestion to assist maybe add more preload to the rear and at least the bike will have it's normal geometry, I know you said it was very light at the front at speed.

I have just got the handbook out to have a read and it does say to add more preload and possibly rebound too.

I didn't really give myself enough time to ensure everything was spot on before i left. I will know next time.

[Blade]

It was a big learning experience for us all mate and I learnt loads I would do differently next time.

Re: Splugen pass it actually says in the write up extremely dangerous in the dark or wet with unlit hairpins some of which are in unlit tunnels. We 100% made the right decision that night. I'm sure 1 if not all of us would have had a incident negotiating those roads in the dark, rain, low cloud especially when already extremely tied.

[duke63]

Here is a video of others riding it. I had forgotten about the hairpins in tunnels. I think that was when Bratty got hacked off by the car driver tailgating him.

Badly missing the craic of being out riding with great mates on roads and countries we had never ridden before.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcPPmZ09Em0[/video]

[Blade]

Must admit I'm missing being on the road everyday and the craic with good mates, not only an epic trip but a bloody good laugh, good times, happy days.

[Blade]

Duke not sure if you were aware of this as I certainly wasn't but the round about at the end of the menin road about 1/2 mile from our hotel was hellfire corner. Said to be the most dangerous place on earth in 1917.

Its really blown me away and humbled me what we saw in Ypres. Obviously everyone is aware of the huge sacrifice by our brave young men during the 4 years of ww1 but being their brings it home with a sledge hammer the horror and hell these brave chaps confronted every single day.

3rd Battle Ypres 1917 WW1 Footage Hell Fire Corne…: http://youtu.be/CKTRk7lrm7c" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Truly in awe and deeply grateful for what our grand parents did for our comfortable free life's.

[Ian03]

Not done the Splugen pass, I think that's a one to go on my to do list.
The tunnels look a right mare, as they narrow and make you go in the middle, heaven help you meeting a car going tother way