During 2016 Louis Moto came out with an upgrade to their popular Vanucci HiRider II riding suit, aptly named it the HiRider III which they then kindly sent to me for test and review. I’ve always loved doing this type of stuff as deep down I’m a closet geek. Before I started this website I [...]
Tour Reports
Posts from the 'Reviews' Category
I’m sure many of you will have heard of AirHawk Seat Cushons as they’ve been around a while now. I got one about 6 years ago to relieve the pain caused to my gluteus maximus (arse) on long days on the F800GS traveling up and down to the Alps and Pyrenees from my old base [...]
Not so long ago Louis Moto popped into my world and asked if I’d like to try some of their own brand gear. I love when I get offers like that as I’m a complete gear geek. While others are entertaining themselves watching some snoozefest on TV I’m typically glued to the Revzilla YouTube Channel [...]
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If you or anyone you know intend to ride (or drive) in Spain one of the biggest danger hotspots are Spanish roundabouts. Even the Spanish seem confused on how to take them, add the massive herds of tourists and expats, each navigating them as they would at home and you have a recipe for potential [...]
Here is my slightly angry biker rant for this week! How many of you are likely to sign up for this highly questionable BMW safety option? I’m having a real hard time to see the value in it but first let me tell you what this is all about before I tell you why I’m [...]
Due to a recent “DOH!” moment whereupon my F800GSA fell over from it’s side stand where I’d stupidly left it during a storm I found myself in need of a new screen. Luckily the AdventureSpec F800GS Adventure Crash Bars did their job and absorbed most of the shock and protected the bike for the most [...]
Recently I had an extremely interesting and enjoyable day at the First Bike on Scene (FBoS) Emergency First Response training course. Like many folk, I’ve attended workplace First Aid training. And as a biker I’ve attended some form of advanced or extra motorcycle training skills, in my case one in France and another in Spain [...]
Adventure motorcyclist Spencer Conway took on the biggest challenge of his life – to be the first motorcyclist to circumnavigate Africa. Many of you may have heard of Spencer already as more than a few newspapers and bike mags have been covering him, and he has written articles in Adventure Bike Rider (ABR) and others.
What’s this all about you ask? UK based motorcycle gear mail order company Motolegends have built their own version of the Bonne T100 used by David Beckham on his manly, hair challanging adventure in Brazil last year. The really interesting part is that Motolegends have gone and lost their sanity and have decided to give [...]
Why the expense, and why Alpina? In 2014 just before I shot off on my September tour from the Isle of Man to Almeria via Irelands Wild Atlantic Way and the Pyrenees I decided replace the wheels on my F800GSA for the Alpina Tubeless Wheelset. This rather costly expense raised more than a few [...]
I’ve never been interested in Suzuki! I can’t remember the last time I rode a Suzuki with any enthusiasm. I think it was 2006 when I tried the old V-Strom which didn’t float my boat and it’s been at least 15 years since I’ve gone out of my way to visit a Suzuki show room. [...]
What is it? Simply put it’s like having Air Conditioning in your jacket which cools you down if the summer sun gets too much. It’s made of HyperKewl material which sounds very high tech, but I think it’s called that to help you get over the rather shocking price tag.
Over the last few years I’ve noticed more and more bikers inexplicably mounting their smart phones in the cockpit of their motorbikes and I’ve found it hard to understand why. For me one of the joys of motorcycling is the ability to plug in a set of earplugs, plant a helmet on my head and [...]
At the beginning of the year I bought a second-hand 2009 F800GS to replace my R1150RT as a touring bike. I had the RT for 10 years, it was a fantastic touring machine at the time, but somewhere along the line I got fed up with it’s size, weight and inability to take on the [...]
…I’ve ridden on baking hot Spanish motorway and beautiful curvy rural N roads in Murcia. I’ve ridden water logged French motorway at 120kmph+, and navigated flooded, debris strewn D roads south of Bordeaux. In the Basque Pyrenees I rode through sleet, hail and snow in freezing temperatures through high mountain passes on some of the [...]
It’s touring time again and this year I’ll be riding the Alps and Pyrenees on a F800GS instead of my now retired R1150RT. And with the F800GS as this years war-horse I was forced to choose a new set of tyres.
After 10 wonderful years and over 70,000km of touring heaven I’ve finally come to the difficult decision to retire my R1150RT work horse as I’m finding myself more often on more off the beaten track roads in the Alps, Pyrenees and Ireland. As much as I love the whole RT range I’m finding the RT [...]
Recently I teamed up with my like-minded friends at TwistyRide.com to test and review their motorcycle gear, much of which I already use or have used at some point. If you don’t know of TwistyRide.com it’s a new company that’s well worth checking out, it’s run by a couple of French lads, Cedric and Remi [...]
For those of you who have read my first review of the PR’3 I put on my R1150RT before last years Alps tour will know that I was more than a little impressed by them. After riding well over 7,000km they were still in near perfect condition. On returning to Ireland from a long ride [...]
Well it’s just shy of one year since I bought the F800R, the honeymoon is well and truelly over. More often than not a year on from buying a motorbike I’m either bored, frustrated with it or both, either way I’m usually gunning for a change, but what about the F800?
The 2011 motorcycle riding season is well and truly dead, so I’m back for another winter to keep your motorbike spirit alive with ideas, photos and videos to help plan your tours for next summer. The website will be continually improved and your feedback and ideas for it are welcome so don’t be shy… It’s [...]
I’ve had a number of motorcycles over the years with the bike I regret selling the most being a 1995 Kawasaki VN800A with a 21” front wheel, Cobra pipes and a load of chrome bolt-on’s it was my pride and joy. For the most part I’d do most of the servicing on those bikes. Nothing [...]
I’m more than happy to announce that RoadTrooper has it’s 1st official sponsor, Platinum Motorcycles in Bray, Co Wicklow (www. platinummotorcycles.ie)
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