Last weekend Mostra Scambio Vespa, one of the biggest Vespa fairs of the Benelux, took place at the magnificent C-Mine Genk. A lot of Vespa’s on show of course, but this edition also welcomed café racers. Our photographer Foto PK ventured into the crowd to shoot some snaps.
Together with my biker buddy Shih I’m planning a trip to the Pyrenees. One week in June, riding mainly on asphalt with a sporadic stretch of gravel.
We’ve already been playing around with MyRoute-app. At the moment our plans look like this:
(click here to check it on Google Maps)
Saturday will be a highway day to Valence, from Sunday till Friday we’ll do our Tournée Pyrénée and then we’ll ride back to Belgium in a day and a half.
If you know roads, campings or other spots we should not miss out on, do share them in the comments below. Thanks!
41.958 km ridden (27.078 km with my BMW F 800 GS, 14.880 km with test motorcycles)
159 days of moto-commuting
12 motorcycles tested: BMW F 850 GS, BMW K 1600 B, Ducati Scrambler 1100 Special, Harley-Davidson Street Rod, KTM 1290 Super Adventure S, Moto Guzzi V7 III Special, Suzuki GSX-R1000R, Triumph Street Cup, Triumph Tiger 800 XCa, Yamaha FJR1300AS, Yamaha Niken and Yamaha XT1200ZE Super Ténéré
3 motorcycle trainings attended (Backtrail Offroad Training, Stefenduro Enduro Introduction and Motokhana Allroad Course)
3 falls without harm (1 time with a pitbike, 2 times during an Allroad Training)
2 trips done (Luxembourg and the Vosges)
2 ride-outs done (The Dutch 1000 and Endurofun Midzomerrit)
2 maintenances done (70.000 and 80.000 km, both at Peter Motor Works)
2 tire changes done (from a Pirelli Michelin combo to Michelin Anakee Wild, and from the Anakee Wild back to the PiMi combo which wasn’t at its end yet)
1 afternoon on a pitbike
1 new Jean Le Motard team member found (glad to have you on board, Jan F!)
0 track days done (boo!)
0 accidents
A few days ago I rode a pitbike for the first time. A pitbike is a mini-motorcycle which you ride on a kart circuit. It’s a bit related to racing on a track. Some knowledge of racing lines, cornering technique and other track skills certainly is useful. But even without it I’m sure you’ll have fun. With a group of eight we headed to Racelandkart.
First we did a 12-minute practice heat to discover the track, then we had a 15-minute break, followed by a 5-minute qualifying heat (to determine the starting grid) and a 12-minute competition heat which – to everyone’s surprise – Jan F won.
The first heat really was all about getting used to the pitbike (a 125 cc YCF SM: small, agile, not really furiously fast) and to the unknown track (short and sweeping). But in two heats you make a lot of progress and you take corners faster and faster round after round.
The competitive element makes it even more fun. It’s less dangerous than racing on the circuit too. You are close to the ground and the speed rates aren’t incredibly high. I once fell quite spectacularly but I just ended up with a bruised hip. And I wasn’t the only one who fell. Seems to be part of the game. Continue reading
2018 is almost behind us. Time to look back at the bikes we tested this year and pick our favorites. Jan F rode five bikes in 2018 and chooses his number one. I tested twelve motorcycles. This is my top three:
3. Ducati Scrambler 1100 Special
Kicks, power, adrenaline! Sure it’s fun but it isn’t always crucial to me. Sometimes an impeccable mix of elements does the trick. That’s why the Ducati Scrambler easily makes it to this list. Great aesthetics, a wonderful sound and an engine that nicely blends accessibility and Italian fury.
Read the review of Ducati Scrambler 1100 Special.
2. Yamaha Niken
The Niken is one of the most polarizing motorcycles of recent years. Even though it’s not always greeted with enthusiasm, after a test ride you’ll find it hard to say goodbye. In my case, less than two hours in the saddle was enough to convert me. What a unique, amazing experience.
About a year and a half ago I wrote a review of my Gerbing heated jacket. In a nutshell: I’m a big fan. I wear it during almost every ride (except on summer days of course), which proves that for a frequent rider like myself a heated jacket is more of a must-have than a luxury accessory.
At the start of the previous winter I switched my heated Mobile Warming gloves for the Gerbing G-12 heated gloves. They differ in power supply. The Mobile Warming gloves have rechargeable batteries while the Gerbing pair has to be connected to the bike’s battery via a cable.
The reason for the switch is that the heated jacket warmed my body decently but the gloves didn’t always warm my hands enough. For various reasons:
With the Gerbing heated gloves all that is a thing of the past. Just connect them to the bike’s battery and set them as warm as you want. After a long summer this is my second winter with Continue reading
Team Throttle 