Thinking about riding my bike to and around Scotland.

[badbreed]

Hi folks,

As the title says I'm thinking about riding to and around bonnie Scotland. I do the trip every few months in a car but I've never rode there.
I'm originally from Scotland and spent most of my teenage years on the banks of loch lomond, but now I wish to return with my bike for a spot of site seeing and wild camping.
My only worry is the minimum of 340 mile trip up there and then back again.

Has anyone done the journey on a bike?
I'm riding a SV 650s, I've done a few 120 mile rides but 340 seems a lot.
I'm confident that the bike is capable of doing the miles but just know if I am. lol.

I'm off to Brecon at the end of the month so that might give me more of an idea about how comfortable the bike is for long distance.

Any advice would be greatly received.

[matthews677]

depending on how long you have to do the trip, have you thought about breaking it down into 200 mile chunks? you could then stop at the lake district 1 night, push through the following day etc etc. A mate of mine used to do the ride on an old zx6r. he would push up in 1 hit but when he got back he was in pieces for a week.
And i don't think your bike will have any issues. You will be unlucky if it does.

[Dabz]

Redken did Scotland on the bike last year and it sounds like it was an awesome trip, possibly worth speaking to him

[pilninggas]

Hi folks,

As the title says I'm thinking about riding to and around bonnie Scotland. I do the trip every few months in a car but I've never rode there.
I'm originally from Scotland and spent most of my teenage years on the banks of loch lomond, but now I wish to return with my bike for a spot of site seeing and wild camping.
My only worry is the minimum of 340 mile trip up there and then back again.

Has anyone done the journey on a bike?
I'm riding a SV 650s, I've done a few 120 mile rides but 340 seems a lot.
I'm confident that the bike is capable of doing the miles but just know if I am. lol.

I'm off to Brecon at the end of the month so that might give me more of an idea about how comfortable the bike is for long distance.

Any advice would be greatly received.

I've done 850miles in a day. It isn't that hard, but if you dwell on it every mile can seem to drag. I always find once i'm away from my usual environs the ride is more interesting and i'm more occupied [when I ride to italy, the only bit that really drags is the bit to Kent, once past the M25 i'm pretty occupied with all the things going on and the miles blast by].

When you fuel up, have a proper break (10mins) and stretch your legs.

[wi77y]

I did it two years ago 1 up was a blast. Cant wait to go again posted a vid with pics and miles per day

http://youtu.be/j8gLaXcud_0

[badbreed]

Cheers for all your input folks.

I will be doing the trip in one blast, just taking proper breaks ever 100 miles while filling up the bike and me.

Great pics of your tour wi77y, looks like you found some great places up there. Cheers for sharing the
850miles in a day pilninggas bloody hell that's some miles.
.

I'm now planning on getting up to around Gretna, meeting up with some mates and leaving the motorway
And maybe heading up the West coast then across to Glasgow where ill stop for the night and rest.

How do tyres last on these long motorway miles? Is it easy to square them off?

[off_again]

Did a 5 day tour of Scotland a couple of weeks ago. Bloody loved it!

First things, its a bit of a trek to get there, but when you do, the roads are fantastic! A couple of roads we found were epic, and I dont use that word lightly. One section on the run towards Inverness had us on wide open non-straight fast A-roads for something like 35 minutes with NO other traffic! We were able to get up to some great speeds and really enjoy the ride. Oh, it was great and I would recommend it to anyone.

I was fortunate as I have an Explorer 1200, so its built for longer distances and the two chaps I went with had BMW RT's. So 350 miles to get there was fine. The bike magazines seem to like Moffat as a convenient stop-over point, which is actually very good. So aim to get there for the first day and then plot your trip from there. The Scottish highlands are still a good 200+ miles for the really fantastic roads, but the ride there is fun, so its not much of a problem. I like the western highlands, but the choice is yours. Holiday traffic can be a problem at / around Fort William, but keep going north and you should be fine. The further the better.

Would recommend Glen Coe, Caingorms (Eastern Highlands) and the Highlands themselves. The borders can be great too, and I found a fantastic road through Innerliethen. Either way, go where you want and have fun. There are some fantastic roads to enjoy and the Scots make it easy for bikers. Weather can be hit and miss though, last year was a wash-out for me, fun but wet. Dry is definitely more fun.

Happy to share my route if that helps - but for reference it was something like 350 to Scotland, 250 next day, 220 and then 230 and then final 300 home. A trek, but fun.

Cheers,

Paul

[badbreed]

Nice one Paul, sounds like you had some great fun up there.
I've not really planned much yet to do when I'm in Scotland I'm just trying to deal with the thought of 350 miles in one stint to get there.
Did you just sit on the motorway the whole way?

[off_again]

Nah, break it down into smaller bits and its fine.

Rode over to Bicester to meet up with the other two and then on towards Northampton and then onto the M1 north. Carried up for a while and got off towards Matlock and then over Snake pass (via Chatsworth Estate) and then back onto the motorway again (M60/M6 - or whatever its called these days). Heading North and then off at the Lakes and past Windermere and over the High Kingate pass towards Penrith and back onto the motorway again, falling off at Moffat (you can see why Bike / Ride magazines like Moffat so much, its so easy). All up, first day was around 350 miles odd. Took a day but we stopped maybe 4 times and it wasnt too much of a pain.

I guess if you break it down to say 85 mile blocks, thats 4 stops of which you can be reasonable and expect to have 3 anyway (fuel / comfort breaks), so its not too much of an issue. 85 miles, stop for a break for 20 minutes and head off, should be do-able?

But I do admit that two friends at RT's and I was on my Explorer which is a loverly soft comfy sofa of a bike with cruise control! I had a Speed Triple for a day as a loaner and I would probably have lasted maybe 60 miles on that in one go - and yes, I am a big wuss.... ;-)

[jazz]

I used to live in Balloch, at the mouth of Loch Lomond, before coming through to sunny Wilts (hah). Bought a fireblade from a London dealers and rode it the 440 miles home in one go. Alright until Manchester then pissed down for rest of journey. Extremely sore at end but was ok the next morning and if you are sensible, unlike me, it should be fine. If you are heading north from Dumbarton on the A82 towards Fort William it is worth turning onto the A83 towards Inverary at the top of Loch Lomond. Brilliant road through forests etc and lovely scenery; Inverary castle is a great place for a stop. Very popular road for breakfast rides on Sunday mornings but unfortunately popular for speed traps then too. There is also a brill linking road between Balloch and Helensburgh off the A82 which is usually deserted and has amazing views as you come over the hill in both directions. You really are spoiled for choice on the west coast and I'm sure that you will love it.

[badbreed]

Cheers Jazz, I've spent a lot of time in and round Balloch, but never on a motorcycle. I will be planning on heading back that way for some lovely views of Scotland again, also the A82 and 83 are on the list. cheers
Fair plays to you riding your bike back that distance. bet that was sore.

Paul, I have passed through Moffat a fair few times on four wheels but never on a bike. Its also gone on the list of roads to visit.
cheers for the idea of breaking it up to 85 mile chunks, i was thinking around a 100 or just when my arse goes numb.

i'll be covering around 300 miles this weekend on a trip to the Brecon beacons, so this is how i will gauge on how comfortable the SV is for a distance ride.

just got to find some cheap panniers now for the trip to scotland and i'll be away.

[Bulldog]

I did a Scotland trip at the end of May from Bath (round trip 1600 miles). 1st night in Peebles, 2nd night in Beuly near Inverness via Braemar and Tomintoul, 3rd night in Ullapool via Lairg, Tongue and Durness, 4th night in Fort William via Poolewe and Gairloch, 5th night in Helensburg via Oban and Lochgilphead (tried to go over the Pass of the Cattle but the sleet and rain convinced us to turn around just before the top which was really hard given the horizontal sleet and the gale force wind.

Best views definitely the Cairngorms up to Tomintoul. Most lonesome road the one lane A836 after the A838 turn off up to Tongue. Best two biking roads definitely the A816 between Oban and Lochgilphead, and the A814 from where it comes off the A83 towards Helensburgh. Both roads very bendy, and the A814 like a rollercoaster ride, and just a little bit scary at speed not really knowing where the road goes next over the hump and what might be coming the other way.

200 miles a day is about right as you get time to stop for tea and cake often. The 400 mile plod up and down the M5 is a pain but quite easy really.