Above: least likely off road bikes, note the MAG stickers, left: no prizes for guessing where this is


encountered a female driver who didn’t stop or slow for a roundabout. Perhaps we should not have been surprised as she was simultaneously talking on her phone and doing her nails. I was suffering sense of humour failure when we found another hotel which was much better. After buying bus tickets from a tobacconist we caught the bus into Venice for tea. Venice is not cheap. Twenty Euro each bought us two starters and a dessert. We were permitted vegetables or potatoes or salad but not all three. It would have been enough for a child but not for me. At Mestre we met an Australian called Glen Forrest whose grandfather had a bend named after him at Bathurst Raceway. A top guy.


Back into Venice on the bus. If you haven’t been to Venice it’s well worth going, though they do know how to charge. Eleven Euro for 400ml of beer seemed just a little too steep. The waiter was rather peeved when we left without ordering though not as peeved as Jayne as she was in the loo at the time. Time for the very expensive autostrada to get away from Italian drivers only to discover that they are more mental on the motorway. The women drive while talking on their mobiles and doing their make up and what is worse, the men do the same but have huge egos to go with it and resent being overtaken by anything. We passed Milan safely and into the mountains through numerous tunnels to Mont Blanc at a cost of 23 Euro.


On the French side we watched people leaping from the mountain – with hang gliding kit


luckily for them. We stopped in a town just at the bottom of the pass for a drink where much interest was shown in the bikes. Here we made friends with a chap called George who arranged a very pleasant hotel for the night. This was run by a guy in his sixties who is a mountain and cave rescuer who only drew the line on adventure at base jumping.


I found my French getting more fluent the more I drank. With good food and good company it was a great evening. On greasy wet roads next day we gave up avoiding the autoroute and munched 450 miles through wonderful scenery. French drivers are really good when they are not talking on their phones, texting, reading a book or all three. I had one old git and several apprentice drivers pull out on me but the Vision has a very good horn which is as well as I find you can’t shout obscenities with a full face helmet as it just makes you a little deaf.


Eventually got to the grim town


of Tours just as the fascist riots kicked off, which was nice! Callac next after an easy 250 miles. Be wary of BMW drivers and cars with an A in the window. I was told it meant newly passed but I think it stands for ass hole. We took a day off from riding to pull down a tree with a mate’s Jeep. I used a chainsaw which was good fun then finished with a party with fellow 4KOF members, (four knackered old farts).


It was just three degrees above


freezing when we set off very early to Roscoff for the ferry to England; what a fantastic time.


The Victory Vision Tour The Victory Vision Tour which we used for this trip is an amazing bike. It boasts: electrically adjustable screen, cruise control, I pod/mp3 connectivity,12 station radio, 4x20 watt speakers which the sat nav talks through, heated seats and grips, multi function display showing range, average speed and mpg, instant mpg read out.


It has two trips showing the time you’ve been riding, air


temperature read-out and gear indicator, built in panniers and top box 18” footboards ABS, a 1731cc Freedom V-twin engine with six speed gearbox.


An anti roll-over device which stops the bike at about 50 degrees so you can still pick it up. It has a very low seat height, a low centre of gravity, and extremely comfy seats. On one day we covered 450 miles in 8 ½ hours and all I


suffered from was a slightly numb bum. It coped brilliantly with all I asked of it and averaged 50mpg over the 2,900 miles we covered. We went from three degrees Centigrade to 32 and from sea level to 1690 metres without a hiccough. We negotiated tight mountain roads and cracked along motorways at 100 mph.


This is a very capable mile muncher with unique looks that provoked huge interest from everyone, young and old alike. If you are thinking of a touring bike I can thoroughly recommend the Vision, a large bike with a large soul.


The ROAD 39


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84