First road trip on a 125cc (Buttertubs, Honister Pass)

[Bludoggo]

Hey all!

 

Well I've been commuting for a good few months now with no falls or serious issues (woohoo!) and as the weather is almost getting lovely I was thinking about my first little road trip. I'm based around Leeds so was thinking of going north through Buttertubs and then onto Honsiter Pass as I've heard nothing but good things about these places. I have a week off in a little while and I was thinking of breaking up the ride with a few stop overs so I don't rush through it all. 

 

As a COMPLETE beginner, is this a good idea on a 125cc? has anyone done this before? Any tips or things I should be thinking about?

 

Ta!

[Copycat73]

yeah.. take your water proofs.

[Six30]

travel lite and enjoy 

[Steve_M]

1 hour ago, Bludoggo said:

Hey all!

 

Well I've been commuting for a good few months now with no falls or serious issues (woohoo!) and as the weather is almost getting lovely I was thinking about my first little road trip. I'm based around Leeds so was thinking of going north through Buttertubs and then onto Honsiter Pass as I've heard nothing but good things about these places. I have a week off in a little while and I was thinking of breaking up the ride with a few stop overs so I don't rush through it all. 

 

As a COMPLETE beginner, is this a good idea on a 125cc? has anyone done this before? Any tips or things I should be thinking about?

 

Ta!

That’s eminently do-able on a 125. You may want to think about other places to visit / pass through while you’re riding that way. For example, you could ride more of the passes in the Lakes, and/or explore some of the N. Pennines while you’re in the area. Just don’t over-schedule your time and be prepared to stop when tired.

[NeilM]

The world's your oyster really.

If you're trying to gain experience etc, then maybe head to York on the A64. 

Off past the outlet and take the brid road.

From there either do the coast or the east york wolds?

Or go over the tops to whitby?

[KiwiBob]

A 125 can carry quite a bit ... but it will slow you down a touch.

 

 

[dynax]

Check the max weight capacity of the bike this is the the total weight that the bike can safely carry including rider and luggage,

once you take away the actual kerb weight ( this is the weight of the bike when filled with fuel,oil and water if water cooled ) of the bike, this will leave you with the weight you can carry including rider and luggage.

 

You may have to increase tyre pressures and adjust the rear suspension to compensate for the extra weight.

As an example my bike can carry 320kg the kerb weight is 172kg, so my bike can carry upto 148kg of rider and luggage

[Steve_M]

13 minutes ago, dynax said:

Check the max weight capacity of the bike this is the the total weight that the bike can safely carry including rider and luggage,

once you take away the actual kerb weight ( this is the weight of the bike when filled with fuel,oil and water if water cooled ) of the bike, this will leave you with the weight you can carry including rider and luggage.

 

You may have to increase tyre pressures and adjust the rear suspension to compensate for the extra weight.

As an example my bike can carry 320kg the kerb weight is 172kg, so my bike can carry upto 148kg of rider and luggage

But you may not want to ride up Honister fully laden... it’s a bit steep in places. 

[dynax]

2 minutes ago, Steve_M said:

But you may not want to ride up Honister fully laden... it’s a bit steep in places. 

 

True, but if you stay overnight you can leave your luggage at B&B or campsite or whatever and explore.

[Steve_M]

15 minutes ago, dynax said:

 

True, but if you stay overnight you can leave your luggage at B&B or campsite or whatever and explore.

What is this “campsite” of which you speak?

[Gerontious]

If a group of completely standard CG125s can do a charity ride from Gibraltar to Nordkapp. (I met them in France, several years ago) then you can do anything you want. Don’t overthink it and don’t underestimate your bike. (Or yourself)

[Bludoggo]

On 20/05/2021 at 12:51, Copycat73 said:

yeah.. take your water proofs.

Hahah not taken them off in the past few weeks 

[Bludoggo]

On 20/05/2021 at 15:29, NeilM said:

The world's your oyster really.

If you're trying to gain experience etc, then maybe head to York on the A64. 

Off past the outlet and take the brid road.

From there either do the coast or the east york wolds?

Or go over the tops to whitby?

I was thinking about doing this first but I was also thinking of making it a couple of days and the b&bs are a wee bit pricey! So I'm putting that on the list and doing it later

[Bludoggo]

On 20/05/2021 at 19:50, Steve_M said:

But you may not want to ride up Honister fully laden... it’s a bit steep in places. 

 

 

Yeah I was thinking of just being as light as possible and potentially leaving stuff at a B&B etc. I went through north Leeds to Skipton / Shipley and the little bike was quite the snail on those hills

[Bludoggo]

On 20/05/2021 at 19:36, dynax said:

Check the max weight capacity of the bike this is the the total weight that the bike can safely carry including rider and luggage,

once you take away the actual kerb weight ( this is the weight of the bike when filled with fuel,oil and water if water cooled ) of the bike, this will leave you with the weight you can carry including rider and luggage.

 

You may have to increase tyre pressures and adjust the rear suspension to compensate for the extra weight.

As an example my bike can carry 320kg the kerb weight is 172kg, so my bike can carry upto 148kg of rider and luggage

Thanks for this!

[Steve_M]

17 minutes ago, Bludoggo said:

 

 

Yeah I was thinking of just being as light as possible and potentially leaving stuff at a B&B etc. I went through north Leeds to Skipton / Shipley and the little bike was quite the snail on those hills

There was a woman on a 125 going over the top on the B797 near Wanlockhead when I was there yesterday (the guys I was chatting to knew her). It’s a fairly steep road and quite high but they seemed to be doing ok. No luggage, mind..,

[Throttled]

On one of my 125cc tours. Note how the bike is on its centre stand and the back wheel, due to the weight of all my kit. That trip included a run up the Dukes Pass, with its hairpin bends, at 25mph, with a queue of cars behind me. I had a brilliant time!

 

[Trooper74]

I travelled all over the UK on my MZ 125 and occasionally still do ... most fun run was Shotley Gate (East of Ipswich) to Aberystwyth and back of a spring weekend ... 

125’s are real motorcycles by any measure ...

[Bludoggo]

20 hours ago, Steve_M said:

There was a woman on a 125 going over the top on the B797 near Wanlockhead when I was there yesterday (the guys I was chatting to knew her). It’s a fairly steep road and quite high but they seemed to be doing ok. No luggage, mind..,

 

That sounds positive! Maybe I should leave everything at the B&B haha

[Bludoggo]

19 hours ago, Throttled said:

On one of my 125cc tours. Note how the bike is on its centre stand and the back wheel, due to the weight of all my kit. That trip included a run up the Dukes Pass, with its hairpin bends, at 25mph, with a queue of cars behind me. I had a brilliant time!

 

 

Glad you had a good time! Travelling around with no real destination was always the reason for me to get a bike, glad there are other 125 riders out there doing the same! Does look a wee bit bottom heavy  (also, love a good queue of cars behind)

[Throttled]

18 hours ago, Bludoggo said:

 

Glad you had a good time! Travelling around with no real destination was always the reason for me to get a bike, glad there are other 125 riders out there doing the same! Does look a wee bit bottom heavy  (also, love a good queue of cars behind)

 

Having also ridden up the Rosedale Chimney, I was glad that was on a 650cc. There are some very steep roads for you to have fun on.