I can recommend booking yourselves and Thruxtons on the ferry and going over to Spain, you'll find deserted, twisty roads that suit our bike perfectly. Riders on the ferry thought me mad but I had no issues at all during my 10 day trip, one day being 425 kms when "Adventure bike riders" were complaining.
Great to see, Giles.I chickened out and shall be docking in Santander on the 17th with a GTR14. Ive got a matte black too but the first ride is straight down to Calpe-about8 or 900 k. Assuming they've sorted the clutch ,which lost hydraulics after 40 miles ill be on the kwak, if not ,it could still be the Thrux'. Last time, I found The Burgos area fantastic ona vfr750 about 12 years ago. Is that the Picos ?
The bottom pic is at 1600m in the Sierra da Estrella national park in Portugal, absolutely stunning. we went west from Santander around then across the Picos down to Portugal via the Douro valley and back up to Bilbao via the Panes Gorge and Picos. one of the best trips ever
Giles. You are braver than me too. Interested in your panniers. What make are they?... how did you get on with them? Would you recommend them? ps: I generally use my Tiger xRX for touring, but I am tempted one day to try my Thruxton R.
hi, they are SW motech Blaze panniers, the bags are generic and very well made the brackets are bike specific and easily removable. I did mange to break one of the plastic clips whilst I was away and put a screw through it which is much more secure but the plastic clips are readily available. The bags are shower proof and come with waterproof liners too, they work out around 50% larger than the Triumph ones. They cost £242.00 for the whole setup, you're welcome to have a look at mine if you like as you are quite local, I'm probably going to sell mine as I know I won't be able to away for more than a weekend for the next two years at least hence this longer trip. if I'm going to be hyper critical one point I noticed is that hanging the weight off the back of the bike did make it handle quite differently and was even a little un-nerving at first but sitting right at the front of the seat helped with this.
Thanks Giles. That's good advice. Soz to hear there are no further plans for some longer tours for the next couple of years. Think I'll continue using my Tiger for touring and keep my Thruxton for day blasts. We should meet up sometime as you say, we are fairly local.
Hi Giles - we communicated briefly before the trip about possibility of punctures (looks like we both escaped!). You're right - the roads in Northern Spain were made for the Thruxton. My friend on his GXR 1000 really struggled to keep up in the tight twisties - the Thruxton is just so nimble isn't it. Perfect roads, great food and wine, like you, couldn't recommend it highly enough. (900 miles in four days and never felt uncomfortable). I'll also be selling my panniers - putting them on ebay. (an expensive 'hire' no doubt) They were fine but prefer the bike without them and am not planning another tour in near future.
Excellent! Glad you enjoyed your trip too Thruxty, it seems to be a part of the world made for biking. Did you find the handling affected with all that weight on the back end?
Hi Giles - no to be honest it was fine. It looks bulky but apart from the chain lock none of it was heavy - mostly clothes. Fraction of the weight of a pillion. That said, being a touring novice I probably took more stuff than I needed.
