New member fron NE Scotland

Hi All,

Just thought i would introduce myself, i am a (soon to be) new VFR owner. Will pick it up after my next trip offshore.

I have been riding a R1200GS for the last 3 years and thought a change is as good as a rest - and its quite a big change!

Cheers
B

 

Hello from Vancouver Canada

I've been thinking about going to Scotland, since my wife is Scottish after all. I'd like to tie it in with a trip to Isle of Man, are there many motorcycle rental companies (would prefer if they rented out VFR's) in the bigger cities of Scotland? I just love the motorcycle scene in Europe. Having experienced it in Italy, Spain, France and some parts of the UK (around London proper mostly). I owned a few VFR's in my time and have enjoyed them all, you either get it or don't about VFR's. Cheers...... T

 

Welcome Brooner. We are all residents of a great forum here. I am sure you will enjoy.

I am on my way over there in July-August this year. Taking my wife over to celebrate our 25th. Business class tickets have been sitting in my safety deposit box for near a month now. She doesn't know. I don't know just when I will tell her. Maybe I will let the Pilot give her a hint when he says. "This is your captain. The weather at Heathrow is...." I have never been over there and am quite excited about this. A three weeks tour of the UK but the focus of our trip was to be Scotland. My heritage. Going to make the wife eat haggis.

I have several bottles of single malt and personally I think that Highland Park 25 is swill so if you are ever over here, I will not make you have any of mine. I have some fine Johnny Walker Red that I serve to my esteemed guests.

 

Thanks for the welcome guys. TonyH, A mate of mine runs a bike hire company, the website if you are interested is Scotland By Bike Not sure if they have VFR's on their fleet though. We are really lucky up here with our roads and scenery, however the last couple of winters have been long and harsh (not a patch on Canadian winters Im sure!!) so the state of the road surfaces is generally pretty poor Randy, Britain is a great country the further north you go!! Seriously, there is alot of terrific scenery all over the country,but make sure you pack a lightweight waterproof jacket just in case.... On the subject of whisky........ Tastes can be pretty subjective, I personally prefer Speyside malts as they tend to be less peaty (Balvenie Double Wood is lush!!!) Alot of the distillaries have tours, and once you have seen one, you will have a general idea what the other tours will be like, but some tours are better than others and alot of it comes down to the guide as I'm sure you will appreciate. On the subject of haggis...... Get yourself on a haggis hunt......just kidding :wink: If you dont like it at first, dont give up on it. Quality and taste of haggis vary wildly from different butchers, so you may not like the first one, but you may find one that is more appealing to your tastes.....much like whisky! Cheers Brooner

 

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Hey Brooner,

Was thinking of Scotland this summer but ended up in Stockholm and Helsinki. Maybe next year. Absolutely if I can rent a bike!!

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Hi Marrib,

You wont be dissapointed with the roads here, possibly the weather "might" dissapoint if you are from Arizona.....Hint wear textiles with GoreTex.....

B

 

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The weather here is so nice... for 6 months. I rode today and it might be the last time I ride this summer (except for R3). But you have to ride 50-60 miles to find a freakin curve. So its not that cool. Scotland sounds a bit better. Sweden might be cool. However, the rental of bikes is not cost effective. The insurance is outrageous. If the roads are as good as you make them sound.... Next summer.

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One thing Scotland is not short of is hills and corners. There can be a terriffic mix of technical sections and sweeping sections, depending on your route.
The roads and scenery on the West Coast are stunning, as are many areas of the Highlands. The bad bit is fuel stops can be few and far between, and the fuel price gets worse the further north you go. Petrol is approching £6 a gallon.....

 

Brooner. I think the weather I get here on the Wet Coast of Canada is very similar to what your would get. Temps and rainfall are generally consistant of course depending on what part of Scotland you are in. our Winter lows are typically highs of +5c and lows of -5 in the winter months. Summer would be highs of 25c to 30c at times and lows around 17c. And in Chilliwack we average 1680mm rain and I am not quite sure how much snow as snow is very iffy. Some years we get none, Some we get a lot. But I am near the coast. Furhter inland and northern BC is damned cold. My home town of Winnipeg Manitoba is down right nasty seeing -30c and lower temps for a few months every year.

And I enjoy most single malts. The change of flavour is welcomed but the HP25 has to be my fav. But I must say, I am a snob. I don't have any blends. Haven't for years. Except Crown Royal Rye Whiskey. But there is no such thing as a single malt Rye. They are all blends.

 

Winter sounds similar, but the last two have been particularly harsh by our standards.

I think you get a better deal with summer, those temps might be what they expect in the south of England, we dont quite get those averages.
My folks farm had 4 months last year where our land was snow free.

That said, the last 3 weeks have been excellent, but normal service has been resumed i.e. Lashing rain.