The Klausenpass at 1948m is one of the most beautiful Swiss passes and one of my all time favourites. I’ve written about it as being a great ride destination in the “Favourite Swiss and French Alpine passes” section.

Today I’ve finally got round to posting a film so you can see what all the fuss is about.  Riding the pass from top to bottom takes around 40 minutes dependent on how often you stop for photos.

Click link below to view the film of the ascent.

AlpineBiker-Klausenpass

Hope you enjoy!

Nowadays we all use PC’s, but wouldn’t accept the slow processing speed and small memories of the original machines we started with. Today we want huge processor power and terabytes of memory. Cars that once were top of the range have long been superseded by lighter, faster, and safer vehicles, with aids to cosset and support the driver, traction control, air con, GPS, Bluetooth, parking beepers, cruise control, the list is endless. The world of the motorcycle has moved on tremendously too. Bikes are now technological masterpieces, smaller, lighter, faster, and if you buy the latest sports bikes, you’ll probably get traction control, different engine maps, anti wheelie, etc. etc.

Despite brief ownership of a GSXR1000K2 and a Kawasaki ZX-10R, I had singularly managed to resist full acceptance of the onset of technology (as far as my sports bike ownership is concerned) for almost 10 years , taking great pleasure in ownership of an HRC race/road homologated RC45.

As the years wore on though, I noticed I had started to become envious of those on track days with faster bikes (in fact virtually everyone else’s bike was faster than the RC), and although I hardly ever saw another one, and it garnered a lot of admiring glances whenever or wherever I rode it, and the unique engine note turned heads ( especially through it’s open Micron pipe), it just didn’t cut it on the track.

As time passed I enjoyed my track forays less and less, after all, what’s the fun of riding when everyone passes you on the straight and you don’t have the power to overtake anyone else? My 122bhp 750 was outclassed by pretty much every modern 600 too. At Magny Cours Club circuit, even as far back as 2004, I was at 200kph on the RC at the end of a straight, but easily managed 190kph with the wife as pillion, on a CBR600RR!

My friends frequently badgered me to sell it, but I didn’t want to, clinging to the fact that there were only 1000 of these bikes worldwide and I had one. My wife was convinced I’d be buried with it, such was my desire to hold onto it!

Fast forward to early 2012, and I was in a bike shop with Andy and came across a 2006 R1 in Yamaha’s yellow speed block colours.

I thought back to a test ride I’d taken on one in 2006 when I was in Germany, but back then I decided to buy a ZX-10R instead as I enjoyed the engine character more, but this R1 in yellow started the questioning as to whether it might not be different, fast, and “interesting” enough to persuade me to sell the RC?

Andy continued to pressure me and asked why I kept the RC, and when the only answer I could come up with was nostalgia, I knew the game was up and I had to move on, so two days later the RC was up for sale, and was snapped up by a Brit almost immediately, thereby giving me the funds to actively look for it’s replacement.

I identified my purchase criteria knowing that as its primary use would be on track, it had to be fast, a relatively new model, have a slipper clutch, be low mileage, AND, had to be reliable and comfortable enough (within reason), to be used as a backup for my tours (if necessary) The biggest thing though, was that it had to be a bike I looked at and WANTED to ride, and above all, put a smile on my face every time I rode it.

I guess I knew it was an R1 I wanted, and I quickly narrowed the search down to a 2007/8 model, the last of the truly sorted original R1’s before they switched to the new and much more expensive cross plane version. This model year had the slipper clutch I wanted, and with nothing but favourable write ups, I set off in search for a blue one, which handily would match my Arlen Ness leathers! I found the bike I was to buy almost immediately, but bad weather meant it couldn’t be test ridden, and after looking at a couple more, one which looked mint but turned out to have a dented frame, I went back to the first bike and bought it.

A 2008 bike with only 11,000kms on the clock, it had the low mileage  I wanted, and it was clear the previous owner had maintained it fastidiously. Immaculate in blue with a double bubble screen, and with a reduction in price for new front brake pads and tyres negotiated off the price, the only remaining point was the purchase of some crash protectors to prepare it for the track. So, at the end of February I became the proud owner of an R1.

Last month I posted on here the tale of its first track day at Dijon. Finally I had a bike that had a blistering top speed, handled well, and one on which I could now not only pass people, but which allowed me to run at the same pace as the others in my group. Running side by side with other bikes up the main straight at Dijon at 260kph knowing its still accelerating was fantastic, and overtaking became a new found pleasure.

I changed the gearing quite quickly though as the 15 tooth front sprocket (original is 17 tooth) meant the engine was always screaming and noisy around the 4000rpm mark, and I prefer the acceleration and less noise that the 16 tooth sprocket now gives. I’m learning to get used to the steering going light under hard acceleration, something it does in each gear blasting up the Dijon main straight!. The handling from the front end is dialled in almost to perfection, but the rear still has a tweak here or there needed to be 100% right, but it’s not far off. On the road it’s actually too fast, as is virtually every litre bike these days, self-restraint is a valued commodity if I want to keep my licence!

There is a blotch on this happy tale though. After a few rides and after changing the front sprocket, I started to notice that the ride had developed what I can only call a pogoing effect. Initially I thought this must be down to the chain having a tight spot, but it was particularly noticeable at 3000rpm and after the bike had been ridden for half an hour. I started to worry that it was a coil, spark plug lead or plug breaking down. Rides over any distance or time over 30 minutes became problematic and uncomfortable as I pogoed up the road unable to hold a constant throttle. Eventually after a ride out on my own one day, I turned back early because it had got so bad. 20kms from home the engine management warning light came on and the bike ground to a halt. Great!  The dashboard was now displaying a fault code, 15. From reading numerous forum reports, I knew this to be the throttle position sensor, so I switched the bike off, turned the throttle several times from fully closed to open and back, and was able to limp home afterwards.

The previous owner had already had the TPS part replaced six months and 2000kms earlier, so very kindly he is contacting the fitting garage to get them to replace it again for me under warranty. Other than this small glitch I’d have to say the bike has met all the criteria I looked for. It’s good looking, is VERY fast, handles well, is surprisingly comfortable, and it makes me smile each time I ride it. I never thought that I’d sell the RC45, but having embraced new technology I’m glad I did, I’m having a blast, and hopefully will continue to have one for a long while to come!

Heading out and upwards in the direction of the Col de Marchairuz, we were immediately on an unfamiliar (to me) small and very tight winding back road climbing through woods. There were the odd remnants of snow banks at the side of the road but rounding a corner we and out of nowhere we found this (see pic below). It was if someone had just dumped a load of snow across the road!

Andy crossed this on his GSA easily, but I was very wary with my GT being somewhat heavier and the fairing bottoms a bit too close to the packed snow for my liking. After a very tentative ride through we continued and with roads clear we were enjoying the ride until this!

I checked the GPS and we were at 1285m. I suggested Andy go ahead and see how bad it was, but it was so deep there was no chance of getting through, so we had to turn round and retrace  our route back down through the picturesque and sunlit woods, and through the first snow drift again!

Ascending the Marchairuz the temperature had dropped to 0 degrees C, and the dashboard was flashing it’s temperature warning at me. With melted snow across the bends we had to be careful that we weren’t riding on ice. I decided to turn back and take a few pictures as despite the cold it was very quiet and very picturesque with all the snow lying on the ground, and we noted that there were even some cross country skiers out and about.

Onwards towards the Lac de Joux and a stop for a cup of hot chocolate and a chocolate cake (only because there weren’t any croissants left as Andy had the last one, honest!).   Great fast roads out towards Pontarlier and past the fort at La Cluse et Mijoux

Next towards Fleurier and a McDonalds stop for lunch before heading back up the other side of the valley towards Ste Croix. Then on towards Orbe  before a scenic cross country ride back towards Nyon.

It has been a LONG time since I had followed someone else for a full days ride, and I quite enjoyed it. No worrying about setting the pace, I could relax and let someone else find the dodgy road surfaces and speed cameras first, and no need to spend hours defining a route beforehand. 347kms was the end mileage, and a rare treat which maybe will be repeated again sometime?  So thanks again to Andy for a great day out.

Buying any new bike is special, but Brian has just bought a very special bike, a Ducati Panigale S, one of the first to be delivered here in Geneva. With a group of friends having eagerly been awaiting it’s arrival,  we descended on his house for early morning coffee and croissants to see the new acquisition.

First impressions are that it is even more beautiful in the metal than the magazine pictures. Although we had seen it first at the Milan show, here today it was gorgeous.

Next impression when you sit on it is how narrow it is, the bike seems tiny beneath you.

The screen is a taller racing option to accommodate Brian’s 6ft 3 height

The bars are actually in quite a raised position so you’re not sitting crouched too far forward. Sitting on my R1 straight afterwards showed how comfortable the Ducati seating position actually is in comparison!

The lights look as if they can’t possibly show any of the road ahead as they appear to be shrouded by the fairing, but according to Brian dip is average and full beam very good.

The exhaust routing is an absolute work of art, bending in all sorts of intricate ways and covered here by a plastic heat shield which I’m sure is a future candidate to be changed for a carbon one!

The Ohlins suspension is electronically adjustable front and rear.  To me, the shock absorber mounting on the left hand side is still a little “odd” in appearance, but when it’s Ohlins quality, I guess you’d soon learn to live with it!

To stop 195bhp you need some top quality brakes, and these will certainly do the job. Just look at the gorgeous Ohlins forks too!

So with major drooling over we were treated to the sound of the engine being started up. Brian had been warned that it may smoke during the start up in the running in period due to the type of oil being used, but we weren’t quite expecting the clouds of smoke which emanated from the side mounted exhausts, neither for the level of noise emitted! How Ducati ever get their exhausts through noise tests I’ll never know, but it was probably a good job that one of Brian’s neighbours was away, and the other loves the sound! Can’t vouch for the rest of the street though?

One thing Brian had noted was the poor visibility of the viewing window for the oil level, and when several of us tried looking ourselves, we were shocked to see that there appeared to be very little oil in the window. Views ranged from “it will rise when warm”, to “I wouldn’t run it with so little in there”.

How many people does it take to check the oil level? Well, not wanting to damage or scratch the pristine new paintwork, a couple of us chipped in to remove the lower fairing panel. Here Brian and Mark

Now aided by David too (lying under the bike) At least there were some decent tools under the seat!

Next a phone call to Ducati Geneve, and the decision to take it there to have the oil checked and filled as necessary. We had hoped to have a ride out in the country rather than into town, but with the bike reassembled, and choking again on the clouds of smoke on start up, we formed a line and followed the Duke and Brian into Geneva.

When we arrived there 20 minutes or so later, the oil had reappeared in the window at half level and was ok, but the dealer gave Brian a litre of oil and warned him to check it VERY regularly, and advised that once it had reached the 1000kms run in mileage, the type of oil would be changed, and that usage would be much less.

Now we were ready to ride, but just as we were about to leave it started to rain! Undaunted, and  not to be deprived of hearing the beast in full flow (even if it would only be at 4500rpm), we headed out of Geneva and towards Bellegarde, in what had now turned into pretty heavy rain. The Panigale is fitted with Pirelli Supercorsas which have very few tyre grooves stretching to the edges to evacuate water beneath them,  but this didn’t seem to worry Brian, and unphased by the extremely wet conditions, we had an uneventful run to Bellegarde, before stopping for a coffee to see if the weather would improve.

Unfortunately it didn’t, but chatting about the bike, it’s clear Brian is a very lucky and happy man!  We are all looking forward to better weather and a chance for a “proper” run out, when I’ll take the opportunity to take my camera along to film the ride, and will post it on here for your enjoyment.

Here’s a short film from Sundays ride.

CLICK ON LINK TO VIEW

AlpineBiker – Col de Clergeon

It’s been a strange start to the years riding. In the past couple of years by the end of March I’ve ridden between 2500-3500kms, this year I’ve managed a meagre 1500. Not helped by a bitterly cold start to the year with snow on the ground and freezing temperatures which never seemed to  lift, it’s been a slow start, but this weekend with temperatures up around 18 degrees C it was time to get out and ride again.

Saturday was a play day on the R1, and joining me today was David and his Triumph 675.

Sunday had been planned as a ride to Mt Revard but ended up somewhat differently, but a nice ride out nevertheless.

Here looking back towards Geneva from a viewing point overlooking Fort Ecluse

Snow still on the mountain tops

This bridge is only visible during the colder months when all the leaves are fallen, today it looked spectacular bathed in early morning sunshine

Old church at Arcine

Deviating from the planned route saw us ascending the tiny Col de Clergeon which we had entirely to ourselves for both the ascent and descent down the other side!

This is always a favourite stop off point with the views back to Aix les Bains (below)

Sue enjoying the view, no prizes for guessing her affiliation in MotoGP!

Below the chateau at Lucey

Great to have had sunshine again and just under 500kms this weekend, feels like the season is starting!

There is always someone who has to be the catalyst for a ride out, someone who makes a suggestion of where to go or something to do, a place to ride or an event to attend, this time it was a certain Mr Course. Time spent off the bike during the cold winter months had given him too much time on his hands which he filled by fettling his CBR1000RR, making changes to the suspension and steering. The problem comes when you need to know whether these major suspension changes have improved the handling or not, and as he couldn’t test it on the road as it’s not road registered, a track day would seem to be the ideal place to check it out. A logical thought of course, but with a 3 day track event in Spain coming up in April, and not wanting to find his bike had turned into an ill handling pig, pressure was on for an early shakedown test, and so it came to be that we registered for a day at Dijon in March.

I would venture to suggest that many people would not out of choice “normally” venture out on track so early in the year, certainly not in this part of Europe, where we’d be more likely to encounter rain or snow than sun, but the powers of persuasion and a bunch of guys itching to get on their bikes and ride them, meant that little encouragement was needed.

The date was booked, and then began the endless weather forecast checks. A week of glorious sun prior to the day bode well initially, but then changed for the worse for our date. Emails flew round the group with the latest forecasts and predictions, but come the day we just had to go and take what the weather dished up, so here is the tale of our day in pics.

Today’s venue, the circuit of Dijon Prenois

A great track with a VERY long main straight, where if you were brave enough you could max it out!

In the pit box trying to stay warm!

Getting ready for the first sessions

After a long track briefing Anthony (BMW S1000RR) was first out in the racing group with instructions to come back and tell us all how slippery it was and where the dodgy parts of the track were!

Next up was Marc F (BMW S1000RR) and his super tricked out Ohlins equipped missile

Tyre warmers off

And Andy (CBR1000RR)

Another set of tyre warmers comes off

Preparation is everything, last minute checks

A thumbs up all is ok

And onto the pitlane for the off

Finally Mark C and I and our R1’s

The track was damp and the first session for everyone was taken carefully as we learnt the track and were wary of the damp patches on the corners, but here we all are in action, except Anthony who unfortunately doesn’t have any pics.

Marc F

Mark C

Me

And our style coach Andy

Some of us had problems with visor misting and Mark and I were out in the last session of the morning when the rain started. I’d had a couple of laps where I couldn’t see so pulled in, but Mark had kept circulating, but when he returned to the box his bike turned out not to be in such pristine condition as it had left in!

Checking some paint and bodywork mods

Lunch saw a continuation of the rain with little sign it would clear. Below an empty pit lane

A soaking wet and empty track

A few brave riders with wet tyres ventured out

Wishing it wasn’t raining!

With no real sign of the rain clearing we took the decision to call it a day and return home in the daylight.

In the end we had had only half a days riding, but at least we’d been out. The circuit was great, very fast, and geographically pretty close, so is likely to get a few more visits, and Andy’s shakedown of his add-ons and changes was successful. Despite the lack of sunshine and some modified bodywork,  I think we had a pretty good time, we just need to book some better weather for next time!

Arc de Triomphe. 284 steps and 50m climb to the top!

View from the top of the Arc

Eiffel tower

Eternal flame below the Arc

Famous street

Restaurant / tea house renowned for it’s macaroon cakes

Goldwing taxi

Scary statues

Louvre museum

Joan of Arc

Views down the Seine with lovers padlocks on bridge

Notre Dame

Sacre Coeur

View down from Montmatre

__________________

Now this strikes me as a very enterprising organisation, especially since it was formed in 1905, so clearly even back then the motorist was being singled out as a “victimised ” element of the population.

Apparently the service began with its “scouts”  using cycles, then started using solo motorbikes in 1912, and eventually sidecars as pictured in 1919. These sidecar outfits were known as RSO’s (Road service outfit) and allowed their riders to carry tool kits, petrol and water, thereby being the perfect vehicles to assist in roadside breakdowns.

Of course, over time,  progress and technology, bikes were overtaken by the practicality of using cars and vans with their increased tool carrying capability. The AA stopped using bikes in the late 1990′s , but in more recent times has started to use Vectrix electric scooters on the city of London streets.

As with anything in life, there is competition, and the competition for the AA was the RAC, the Royal Automobile club, which in fact was formed in 1897, preceding the AA by some 7 years.

Initially named the Automobile Club of Great Britain, this was another organisation campaigning for the motorists rights, and most specifically against the 14mph speed limit which had been imposed in 1896.

It also organised the first Tourist Trophy (TT) race in 1905 and governed motor sport in the UK, gaining the name Royal in the title in 1907 under the patronage of King Edward VII.  It also organised the first ever British Grand Prix at Brooklands in 1926

Roadside patrols began in 1901 and like the AA used motorbikes until the 1960′s before changing to 4 wheels.

I was only going to put up a couple of pictures for this post, but as with anything, research uncovers some interesting facts! Hope you enjoyed this very short history lesson?