Glen Massan Run 2 Mileage now 1182 miles 3 weeks old

Another great run that again bad weather could not spoil. 53/54mpg without holding back or trying.

I could give this bike 10/10 for comfort, power, weather protection, electric screen, creamy smooth effortless power, amazing handling for what it is, fantastic storage but I can't because when I look at the fuel range and the current MPG its has got to be an 11/10.

I can now understand why there are not many 2nd hand ones for sale in dealers and also why they hold their price.

924 miles Dunoon - Glen Massan

Mixing work with pleasure, a job at Glen Massan near Dunoon, yet again torrential rain. I am surprised the bike has not shrunk, nearly all the miles has been in very heavy rain.

Mostly the roads were fantastic, i even got a nod of approval from the local plods in Arrochar, they also looked like they were on Pans. Where they train I am told, no surprise that, if i was a bike copper I too would be picking spots like that for work.

The bike has been brilliant, cannot praise it enough, faultless, truly brilliant. Made very bad weather very tolerable. Great panniers, 50 mpg, comfort, easy overtaking, screen, class act.

After 5 years of blowing money on many bikes like a demented child in a sweet shop could it be that the bike that I would not even have considered several months ago, just might be the one i have been looking for.

This sounds bad but after 600 miles of very wet bonding with the Pan, i have found myself very drawn to it. An every day tool that could travel the world in its stride, keeping you pretty dry and keeping a lot more of your petrol money in your pocket. It is a global motorbike not to be underrated until tried and every planet should have one.



All pictures taken on the main Dunoon road, stunning, my poor photography fails to capture a stunning place with great biking roads.

673 Miles

Not done much this weekend as we had guests, however we managed a run upto Powmill for cake and coffee. The bike was brilliant, really effortless through the bends, opened it up a bit more just to see how Eileen would cope, no problem.

Took it to Kirkcaldy in the afternoon and tried my cheap video camera out, not bad. The VTX would vibrate so much it would wobble but the pan is so smooth it turned out well. Also the Ram mount for my sat nav was the perfect place for it.

I will post it up to Youtube when I get a chance to edit it.

The bike is really growing on me, The Auchtertool road is a road that I am usually not comfortable with but it was a breeze on the Pan.

594 miles

The weather forecast was the worst you could ask for, we had both taken the day off to get in the miles. I had the bike booked in for the service for the next day and had to do at least 300 miles.

I hung back until 4PM but in the end I decided it was to risky to take Eileen as well as the fact it would have been miserable for her. So I set off on my own.

The first stop, LochearnHead the weather had been heavy at stages but was light at this stop. Next stop Tyndrum and the famous Green Welly.

I arrived at the Green Welly and decided I would top the Fuel up, later calculations showed 49mpg, amazing. I now knew I had enough fuel for the rest of the run.

There was quite a lot of bikers that had obviously traveled from abroad. They were on a mixture of KTM style bikes. Poor sods were getting a very wet picture of Scotland.

I had a Hot Chocolate and an Empire Biscuit, I put another pair of shocks on, but i was pretty dry.

The next stop was Glencoe, time was also pressing on and i still had a couple of hundred miles to do. I had a decision to make after Glencoe, would I continue onto Inverness and then swing back down the A9. I decided I would see how things were once I stopped.


Lochearnhead
forgot to set date on camera this was the 14/07/2010












Glencoe
The weather had completely turned around at this stage, I had a fantastic ride up to Glencoe.

I passed this chap on the way up on his BMW, we had a quick chat, a pleasant lad on his way to Sky.

The car park is a bit dodgy for such a heavy bike but the stop was worth it for the photos.

An amazing place, steeped in history, wild and yet so still. I never tire of Scotland, I feel very lucky to live so close to such wonderment.

















Fort Augustus
Up to now the weather had been great since Tyndrum, meet a couple of young lads from Yorkshire. They were having a great time and loving the Scottish roads.

They looked like they were well weather beaten, but they were young and just starting out on there biking adventures. I could not but envy their future Journies.

I can't think of a time when I won't be able to ride but getting older you start to think about making the most of it.

I had made a decision and turned around and headed back down to Glencoe, you can never ride through it to often.

I only got a few miles down the road when the rain was to start. From this point on it got steadily worse to the point of being torrential.

I was tempted to stop at Tyndrum and have another drink but time was running short and so I carried on

Then next decision was to be made at the Killin junction, if I headed back via the way i came then I would struggle to get the mileage in. However the Killin route is a great road, but it was getting dark and the rain was drilling into the ground.

This makes what is normally a great biking road into a real mixture of hazards, on the positive side I knew the road well but I also what lay ahead and pretty difficult conditions.

Fort Augustus Fishing



Killin
I stopped as I wanted to capture the moment, was this madness. Anyone who knows this route will appreciate that in this weather and light that this was not going to be easy.

I was almost tempted to turn back and take the easy way back but being the stubborn type I pressed on.

Speeds varied from 30 to 60 mph

So darkness, solid rain, mad rabbits and the dreaded flooding. I aqua plained through countless flooded sections that I could not see.

I just had to relax and let the bike do the work, its moments like this that something special occurs between man and his machine(Honest), under my breath I could feel myself complementing my new found friend and making a promise that if she could get me through this unscathed then I would promote her to head bike.

Falls Of Dochart
Loads of water and much much more to come.

The next stop is Kenmore, Darkness now in full swing as was the rain.

I passed through Kenmore, a beautiful village, the last time I saw it in heavy rain was in daylight and during a classic vintage bike run. Following a friend on a 1920's New Hudson with an average speed of 24mph. We were on a cruiser and got truly drenched.

Next stop Aberfeldy, it was a tiring and difficult run but the bike was making it bearable, solid, precise and quite endearing.

I say stop but I just continued straight through and headed for Gilmerton. This was a tough road but luckily a car passed me at a T junction and I could tell he knew the road well at the rate he went passed.

So I set about hanging onto his tail lights. What he gained in the corners I made up on the straights. I kept a distance but it was a great help in seeing the road lay out further ahead. He lost me eventually, the weather was worsening and I felt safer backing off. However I was only a few miles from Gilmerton.

At the Gilmerton Junction, I decided I needed a break from the B roads and decided to take the slightly longer route to Perth, from there I could pick up the motorway.

This was now a doddle after the last 40 miles. I stopped at Perth and pulled over to the side of the road, I called home to let Eileen know that I only had 30 miles of motorway before I was home. This was 11pm and I knew Eileen would be worried.

11.30 pulled into my local petrol station and filled the tank, later calculations showed 52mpg. Astounding, this included some very fast riding through Glencoe. A full tank range of over 330 miles and 270'ish to reserve.

I was soaked, I need better gear, winter purchases will be required. Good waterproofs, boots and gloves.

I came home and rinsed the bike down before putting it into the garage. That had Eileen laughing.

The next day I was up early to take the bike for its 1st service and to get my Sat Nav fitted along with a few other cosmetic parts.

Coming home I treated the bike to a Jet wash and then brought her home to wash down properly.

Rolled the bike into the garage, satisfied with the last few days and my choice of new bike.






The Bike: Here it is sitting proud, elements not phasing it.

Lets just get on with, it's saying,
come on I am waiting, climb onboard, you'll be safe with me.

Has my brain got soaked too, its talking to me now.

The bike was brilliant, I enjoyed every wet moment on it. At no point did I feel fed up or stressed.

I was never very keen on getting a Pan but I think I have stumbled upon something truly special.

There is nothing to dislike about the bike, I can only heap praise on how it took me through this rough Scottish short adventure.

It handled brilliant, I never felt the weather, only my gear let me down. The power is more than ample, overtakes easy. Almost 300 miles and the seat never let me down.

The electric screen was a god send and I soon learned that the best adjustment was just below eye level. That way I could crouch slightly to get a break from the elements. I also raised it up fully on long straight stretches. Lastly the creamy smooth power, the massive fuel range and the astounding MPG.

Bloody brilliant.

First Pan Clan Ride Out(Trip 171m) Odometer 245m

This was our first Pan Clan meeting, I have only rode in a group once before with the VFR gang and enjoyed the experience. This was also a good chance to get in some more running in miles. Alan the Scottish rep called me in the morning, amazingly we both live in Dalgety Bay.

We arrange to meet on the Link road in the bay; I followed Alan all the way to the Dreghorn services. I dropped Eileen off in the car park and she mingled with some of the other Pan Owners and pillions. I nipped next door to get the tank topped up. This was from the dealers fill in which I had covered 98 miles. My fuel consumption and this point was 43mpg.

I went back to the car park and met up with the other Pan Member’s; they were very welcoming and put us both at ease. They explained the Tail End Charlie (TEC) system, which initially seemed daunting but once on the move I began to ease into it.

The first part of our run took us to Lauder, we stopped of at the Lauder Hotel for Tea and scones and a chance to chat with the members. The ride up to that point had been a fine run.

Our next stop was at Scott’s view (Sir Walter Scott) and you can see this from the photographs. Next we set off for Duns to visit the Jim Clark room, unfortunately this was closed until 2PM, it would have meant sitting around for half an hour so we decided to move on for lunch.

The run to Gifford was amazing (B6355), this went through Blackadder and then up through the Whiteadder Reservoir, although a bit windy it was a beautiful scenic route.

After lunch, the confusion began, we were told that the run was over and that we just make our own way back, so we did however later we found out that we should have headed back to Dreghorn, apologies to Alan.

It was a great day out with a great bunch of people and most importantly the bike was faultless.

The run from Dreghorn back to my house was 147 miles, the Fuel consumption was an amazing 47.5 mpg, and this would give me a range of 250 miles to reserve and just over 300 miles per tank, absolutely staggering.

The Bike: You could look at the bike from the showroom prospective and think it is a big bus, like a Goldwing without the bling and like the wing, best suited for the highways of America.

It is nothing of the sort, the best I can describe it is it retains all the agility you would require to make quick process, obviously not in a sub 0 to 60 in under 3 seconds kind of way. But if you journey is going to take in 100 miles upwards, this is a limousine class act of a bike.

I have ridden on the Motorway and on single track B roads and I have not felt at any point restricted by the bike. Tireless perfection oozes out of this well refined and crafted Honda product.

My initial thought is this can easily commute, touring is a given and for those single day rides with or without your pillion, I reckon you could still ride your most loved twisties and not lose much against a sports bike.

Of course this is assuming that you are going to ride briskly but not suicidal. At this point I would imagine the Pan would feel the heat and forgive the pun ‘toss you out the Pan and into the heather’.

But it is not that kind of bike and to be honest how much suicide runs can you really do now without endangering life’s and licenses.

72 Miles

Tonight we decided to nip out leaving our visitors to watch the TV, we only went out for an hour and we managed just over 30 miles.

Eileen's first time on the new bike. She loved it and felt right at home, just as in the original test drive.

We had a chance to try out the screen. I was curious if it made any difference for the passenger. The answer is yes, Eileen could tell as soon as I moved it. She said it made a huge difference.

The bike was effortless and painless, very easy to just pull up and get off for a few snaps.

Photos are not great, taken on my IPhone.

A short trip but enough to look forward to a bigger trip, we will have to do our Tyndrum run next.

So far so good. I do feel I need to get comfortable with what power it has, still not taking the revs above 5 grand but once i get the first 100 miles in I will start to wind her up a bit.

A very well balanced bike and we both agreed that it is a Rolls Royce of a machine. Refined, smooth and efficient.

Pick Up Day 51 miles

Here it is then first day ownership, Unfortunately I am not going to get much time with the ST over this weekend.

It was my sisters graduation party in the afternoon and i have family staying with me. The weather has turned nasty this weekend so I don't feel to hard done by.

First thoughts; Nothing negative to report, Not because its a new bike and I am in new ownership la la land. No, just nothing negative, we have all climbed on a new bike and usually there is something.

Everything just clicks with this bike, I think Honda got it so right with the ST1100 and the 1300 is just a very good enhancement of what was a very good product.

Fit and Finish is fantastic, I love the way the panniers feel and when you open them it almost feels like Rolls Royce territory as they seem to glide open. I looked to see if there was some form of damping fitted but no, just perfectly made and so fine tuned.

I put the seat in the lowest position, I am just a fraction under 6 foot. The adjustable seat is a great idea, I have now put it in the middle position and this seems right.

The adjustable screen is fantastic, what a great feature on a bike, however slightly eerie when the screen goes right up and the silence hits you, I flipped my visor up and could not believe it. I think I will probably always use it within eye level but I can see that on longer journeys it will be a welcome break.

Also managed to get it on the center stand three times now, so not as daunting as I thought it would be.

I rode the bike solo, felt effortless, even pulling up to junctions, Obviously running in and scrubbing tyres in has limited me but what handling I experienced was spot on, seems very agile. Did a mixture of A and B roads, no issues to report, felt very at home and relaxed on it.

V4, its there in all its splendor, VFR750\800\1200, the pan has that same creamy smooth power and that deep satisfying growl, a perfect mechanical melody hard to explain has to be experienced.

So far so good. Booked it in for its 1st service for the 15th of July, I have ordered what I need to get my TomTom Rider fitted. So better get on with the miles then.

New Beginning July 1st 2010

Hi All

Within a few days life begins with our new 2010 Honda ST1300 Pan European. This is the bike in the showroom.




This is a bit of a strange situation; I can’t say I ever considered getting a Pan. The first time I looked at one In Two Wheels in Edinburgh, Eileen commented on how she liked them. Although I thought they looked ok, the bike just seemed to close to a Goldwing, Which was enough for me to turn the other way.

To explain; as a young boy I was smitten with motorcycles and the first time I saw a GL1000, it just seemed like the best and biggest bike in the world and from that day onwards I swore one day I would have a Goldwing.

That day came about 26 years later and I became the owner of a very low mileage GL1500SE, I kept it for two years and by the end of my ownership I hated it. Someone commented that it was a car on two wheels and as time went by I was convinced it was. Too big, too much effort, and too car like.

So that was that, my conclusion was at the end of it I could have owned a Sports Bike with bags and had a much better biking experience for a lot less money.

Some say you should never meet you heroes and the Goldwing would have been better left parked in my boyhood dreams.

So hence my initial disinterest in the Honda ST1300, which begs the question why am I buying it, a fair and awkward question for me to answer, but I will be honest from day one.

I have subjected my partner to some pillion eating killers, Eileen loves bikes, and funnily enough she hated the wing, which always confused me to why she liked the Pan. Her answer was the Pan looked a very stately motorcycle and the Wing was a car.

Now I have to be honest and agree that the wing does hit the car category feel, maybe this is more so in the GL1500 case and a bit unfair for the GL1800.

Even if it is possible to use that expression about a bike, underneath I know that it is a motorcycle and a real feat of engineering, which has a huge following and is a much loved bike by many, just not loved by me. I did not get this feeling from the Pan, although the dash on any tourer infringes car console territory, the ST still felt very much a bike.

What about the Pan then, how has this materialised. Well after the disappointment of Eileen’s experience on the back of the VFR1200, her comfort was at the front of my mind. I had forgotten how hard it can be holding onto the back of modern fast motorcycle.

We had been invited to the Honda open day at Two Wheels, I had to choose bikes from the list to test drive and yes the Pan was available.

We went out on the bike for an hour's ride and I was quite surprised how light it felt on the move, certainly not cumbersome like the GL1500. The ride was very smooth, the whole hour's experience was enjoyable.

My pillion was very happy, the bike did not really blow me away, I liked it but I was not in love with it. Eileen commented on how she felt no vibration through the seat or the pegs. The penny dropped and my guilt hung heavy. No matter what seat gripper I fitted or top box I added to the VFR1200, she was never going to find this level of comfort.

I had only thought about my own enjoyment on the VFR, I did not even test drive it with Eileen.

I should have looked at the Pan was my thought. It was not setting my heart on fire but I could see that it was very functional, practical and still had that addictive V4 feeling and most of all would take both of us anywhere together.

The together bit had always been very important but yet I had not fully catered for it.

Whatever my thoughts were, it was not feasible to change at this point and I decided that it was something I might consider further down the line if the opportunity arose.

I looked over the Candy Glory Red ST1300 on the showroom floor but at £13,500 it was out of my reach, a pity it was the same colour as the VFR I traded in for the 1200, which I loved. I also thought that the pan fitted between the VFR800 and the Goldwing, which gave it the nod of maybe being just right.

I went home just thinking that maybe next time, further down the road I would keep my eyes open for a nearly new one and trade in one of the bikes.

Two weeks later I was doing my usual trolling through the Two Wheels used list when my eyes popped out my head, the new Pan they had on the showroom floor was now showing pre-registered and had £2500 of the list price.

I could smell the scent of purchase fever and to cut a long story short by the end of the week the bike was mine.

I have spilled out all this information and reading it must be confusing about the purchase of this bike. How will life be on the ST1300, to be honest I don’t know, I have made this decision with both of us in mind, I have promised Eileen that if she tells me that she has never been happier on a bike then I will never sell it.

There is a lot I like about this bike as follows;

1) It’s a Honda and looks beautifully put together.
2) It’s Candy Glory Red.
3) It’s a v4, now this is a big like; in fact it’s a love like.
4) 29 Litre tank – wow that’s a fantastic range, a feasible range to reserve of 200 to 250 miles.
5) Twin Exhausts, another love.
6) Centre Stand, a must
7) MPG Computer
8) Ergonomics
9) Wind and Rain Protection
10) Electrical Adjustable Windscreen, not even the G-Wing has that.
11) Shaft Drive
12) Reasonable Tyre life
13) Adjustable Seat
14) My Partner Loves it

Now that’s quite a lot of likes and even a few loves but it does not equate to a bike that I love and adore at this time. This makes the future ownership interesting and an unbiased opinion for any other soul who might be interested in this bike.

The test drive told me one thing, I did not dislike the bike, and we will both be very content and happy on it through our new adventures together. It is a bike built for the purpose and probably one of the best around.

Now the problem part, having both the Pan and the VFR1200 seems a bit extravagant. I originally bought the VFR because I love the V4, I loved the 800, I really thought with the extra Cubes and Luggage capability it would be the perfect mixture of sports and touring.

It is without doubt the greatest sports bike I have ever ridden and in no way do I expect the Pan to match the sports side of the VFR. But and this is a big but, I have a small hope that the ST will creep under my skin and that I will not only find it a great tourer but a great commuter and enough sports element to keep me happy and If so then I may say goodbye to the VFR. Of course if I win the lottery then the VFR would never leave my side.

So let the show begin, it all starts on the 3rd of July, hopefully it will be a long road and I will have just the right bike at the end of it.