Adventure Bike Rider Forum

So we have a large adventure bike, nearly allways ride 2up. We got it so that we could head of to foreign regions and get into more remotr places. We have no off road experiance. But want to progress from the tarmac to gravel and forest roads, unfortunately I'm not in a situation to go and buy a more suited bike to learn on or put lots of money into various courses.

How do we take this next step? Can any one reccomend places to go? We're based down in Cornwall.

Try the BMW off road school. That way you can learn using somebody else's bike!

I would think that if you are on such a tight budget that you can't fund a course, your next best bet may be to look at definitive ROW maps of your area, find the green lanes and UCRs, and ride to them, and walk them first before riding them and progress from there. IMHO you would be better spending some of your petrol money doing, say, the BMW off road course in Wales.

The expense of repairing your bike after an off during your 'learning curve' rides could prove to be more than the cost of a bit of training. Not to say you won't drop your bike later, but with a bit of knowledge you mitigate the circumstances somewhat. Also, learn on their bikes not yours - it's not so bad damaging theirs to your pocket.

...just my tuppenth worth :whistle:

Fried Egg Sandwich wrote:I would think that if you are on such a tight budget that you can't fund a course, your next best bet may be to look at definitive ROW maps of your area, find the green lanes and UCRs, and ride to them, and walk them first before riding them and progress from there. IMHO you would be better spending some of your petrol money doing, say, the BMW off road course in Wales.

The expense of repairing your bike after an off during your 'learning curve' rides could prove to be more than the cost of a bit of training. Not to say you won't drop your bike later, but with a bit of knowledge you mitigate the circumstances somewhat. Also, learn on their bikes not yours - it's not so bad damaging theirs to your pocket.

...just my tuppenth worth :whistle:

And a very well earned tuppenth worth

Seriously you need to allocate the funds to do some training on someone elses bikes and territory

I've seen so much damaged caused on what could have been avoided with some training

As has been said - training doesn't mean you wont drop it but if you understand the vary basics it can save you from a schoolboy error such as grabbing a handful of brake and dropping it that way

The training will help re engineer your brain and initial reactions

James?..I take it that you have the big yam xtz as in your avatar?

my opinion..riding two up with luggage is hard enough on the road let alone loose gravel and Mudd which is mainly what Forest roads in far off places are made of..Most of Europe is Tarmac... :laugh: where exactly are you thinking of traveling too..

Or as I suspect you just want the confidence and ability to if you see a nice little track going up into them hills for a better view to be able to ride up in confidence..If it gets hard the passenger can always walk ..its easier to handle any bike standing up in tricky situations and having a passenger looking at your Ass it my idea of fun ..

So learn to ride in uk at a "offroad" training school then practice on your own bike two up..Salisbury plain is very good as it has gravel tracks and slippy stuff..the shaftesbury drove is near by with learner friendly trails..

I learnt to ride the trails on my old Ta650 and it was hard riding solo..I wont do it two up..but the bike with luggage weighted 250kg and I rode it on gravel confidently..

I wont even go into tyres etc as you`ll never get knobblys to last two up on a heavy bike..Heindeau K60 is about as good as you`d get ..ideal for Morroc and the gravel roads..
Confidence is everything..knowing when to turn round or stop..

Have fun wherever you go...it can be done two up....

Thanks all, I'll defiantly look into the BMW course. Was chatting to a rospa instructor they did it and highly reccomend it.

Tramp- hopefully one day the world will be my oyster!! But for now sights set on going to Todra gorge, Norway.

I'm not planning to do exteram off road just gravel packed roads, compacted soil.

I ride my 1200GS 2 up on gravel tracks like The Stella Rally but I have 8 years experience of trail riding, UK rallies and trials riding on much smaller bikes. Without this experience and training I think it would be dangerous to attempt to ride a big bike on gravel and suicidal on mud.
When a big bike starts to go down you naturally put your leg out to save it but yours or your pillions leg trapped under the bike will snap like a twig, my Wife keeps her feet on the footrests which are protected by the panniers.
My daughters boyfriend is looking to get an XT660Z Tenere to replace his XT660X and we bought him an offroad day for his birthday which he did last Friday at http://www.yamaha-tenere-experience.co.uk/. He loved it and learn't lots of basic techniques.
During the day he rode both the 660 Tenere and the 1200 Superten on some Welsh gravel tracks and having done rallies in the area myself I would recommend a day on their bikes as a good starting point. His only previous offroad experience is his pit bike and half an hour on my enduro bike around a field.

jameskaya wrote:Thanks all, I'll defiantly look into the BMW course. Was chatting to a rospa instructor they did it and highly reccomend it.

Tramp- hopefully one day the world will be my oyster!! But for now sights set on going to Todra gorge, Norway.

I'm not planning to do exteram off road just gravel packed roads, compacted soil.

Last year the Todra Gorge was tarmac as was The Gorge de Dades but the connecting road between the two at the Northern end (MH3 in Chris Scotts book) was very rough gravel/piste often with some big boulders and tough on a big bike.

jameskaya wrote:....hopefully one day the world will be my oyster!! But for now sights set on going to Todra gorge, Norway.
I'm not planning to do exteram off road just gravel packed roads, compacted soil.

Be forewarned - it's addictive
I had a similar dream so decided to learn the techniques of riding off road. I purchased a little XT225 to learn on & 2 years later, the green-laning has almost taken-over the tarmac. Now I continuously look for tiny roads, gravel and grass to ride on.
Persuade your pillion to ride her own bike then share the luggage

Riding a big bike off-road in Cornwall is possible, I took my Triumph 1200 along some lovely little trails at the beginning of the year at a HUBB meet, guided by some local TRF riders. With the right training and tyres it becomes less daunting. :unsure:

Met a guy off here called Chris at the Adventure Overland show who teaches how to ride your own bike off road, http://www.rideanyroad.co.uk/, he'd just come 5th in a round of the Big Bike challenge on a Transalp so knows a thing or two about getting muddy.