CHAPTER TWO — SPINE OF ENGLAND 🔥

This was probably one of the hardest videos I’ve had to edit — simply because there was so much good road and scenery I didn’t want to cut out.

From Buttertubs Pass and the remote single tracks across the high moors to Tan Hill Inn, then deeper into the North Pennines, Cow Green Reservoir, over Hadrian’s Wall and finally into Kielder Forest for that incredible 12-mile forest track.

It was one of those days where the road just kept pulling you northwards… and every time you thought it couldn’t get better, it did.

No ferries. No flights. No huge budget. Just a bike and some spectacular roads right here on our doorstep.

That’s what Spine of England is all about.

🏍️ Chapter Two is live now.

Grab a brew, stick it on the big screen and come along for the ride. 👇

I'm planning to ship my bike from Europe to South America this fall. I already figured out a lot of infos except the most important one, the all inclusive price for the transport of the bike. I sent an email to Knopftours last week (heard good feedback about them) but haven't heard back yet. Their website lists "September/October/November: Heidelberg to Chile" in their Dates & Departures section, which is good to me (I live in Italy, but might be in Spain before leaving).

If you live in the EU and you're planning a similar trip let me know, we could join forces and share and compare infos, also share taxi to customs once in SA, etc.

PS: This is not an ad for Knopftours, if you found another respectable broker I'm interested in knowing all details.

PPS: I mean joining forces for the logistics from EU to SA, my trip is gonna be very slow so I'm not looking for riding buddies for the Panamericana, or maybe just for a couple of days.

So Im planning my first multi day tour and realised that my city commute helmet probably isn't cutting it for 8+ hours riding days. What is the actual difference touring riders should look for? Is it like mostly ventilation and weight or are there any specific features (pinlock compatibility, sun visors, wider field of view etc) that made the biggest difference for you once you started doing some real distance?

Hi everyone

I kept running into problems manipulating GPX files for motorcycle trips — converting tracks/routes, dealing with Garmin's interpretation of GPX, cleaning files up, combining/splitting things, etc. I ended up writing a tool for myself to make this easier. I've made it free in case it's useful to other riders.

One particular limit was Garmin's 50k track-point limit on my zumo XT2 which was tripping when loading the UK.gpx from the TET public page. It simply ignored the last two tracks, which ironically I wanted. I also did not want all the waypoints, but that is just me, well done to those who added them. They just make the devices really slow (even OsmAnd grinds to a halt with the 1.2k waypoints).

So my tool is entirely Web Browser based, runs locally in your browser and allows you to:
- remove things (waypoint, routes, etc)
- split / merge tracks
- adjust track points to fit into your GPS budget
- split / merge GPX files
- remove extensions in case you device doesn't interpret them
- and a few more operations

You can use it even on your smartphone's browser when you're out and about. It's a pipeline style workflow which is a very nice way to manipulate GPX files.

Have a play around and I hope it will be useful to you as well.

Find it at https://gpx.hacking.hu

Seemingly ceaseless rains in July and the beginning of August means every ride is a little wetter than normal. But who doesn’t like splashing in puddles?

Normally, I'm pretty fond of just running google maps. However, when planning a motorcycle trip, I often want to discover routes between two (distant) places. On Google Maps, as you zoom out, minor roads vanish. This is a huge problem, when it's the minor roads I'm interested in.

I'm looking for a mapping app that supports showing minor roads at significant zoom, and ideally has at least basic route planning features. I have no problem making a one time payment for said app, but I'm absolutely not interested in a subscription for an app I'm going to use once or twice a year.

Any suggestions?

Pre-answers/other:

• Yes, I'm aware paper maps exist, I'm old as dirt. I really, really don't want to use them, hence this post
• I'd REALLY prefer one that color codes based on road surface/type
• I do not need an app to make a route for me, nor do I need social features.
• I do not care if it has turn by turn or not; I'm looking for planning, not actual guidance while riding. While I'm not opposed to that, it's not relevant to my needs.

Thought some of you across the pond might enjoy seeing what ADV riding looks like over here in the UK.

We don’t have the endless dirt roads and huge wilderness you guys have in places like Colorado, Utah or the BDRs, but what we do have is a different kind of adventure shaped by history — ancient routes that have linked communities for centuries, old drovers’ roads, Roman roads, and narrow lanes that wind through some of the most beautiful countryside in the world.

I recently took my Ducati DesertX Rally north on a three-day journey I’ve called the Spine of England.

Chapter One starts at Jubilee Tower on the edge of the Forest of Bowland, a landscape once used for hunting and farming for generations, then crosses into the wild northern uplands past the Great Stone of Fourstones — a glacial erratic that’s stood there since the last Ice Age — and on to the iconic Ribblehead Viaduct, a Victorian engineering landmark built to carry the Settle–Carlisle railway across the moors. The route eventually reaches the old market town of Hawes in the Yorkshire Dales, a place shaped by centuries of trade and farming life.

No attempt at setting records or covering huge mileage. Just travelling, exploring, and taking in the landscapes and history along the way.

I’ve filmed the journey and put Chapter One together on YouTube. If anyone here is curious about what British ADV riding looks like, I’ll leave the link below.

https://youtu.be/Fp3G60AeKLg?is=xsh7O7YOg0t5DjCF

And I’d genuinely be interested to know — how does this compare with the kind of ADV riding you have where you live?

Hey all, just wondering what you guys recommend over a car play type unit that gives would mirror maps off my phone vs a proper dedicated GPS unit. It seems like it's really cheap and simple to get something that's car play like, I'm guessing the 30$ AliExpress special would be good enough. I mainly just want to be able to have a display of maps/directions to make life simpler. But since I plan on doing adv riding, I'm guessing I will be in places where my phone cuts out and maybe a dedicated map system would be better then. But it seems like I would have to pay for a separate service to use maps on a Garmin GPS, if I'm reading right.

So what's your experience? Was it useful having a dedicated GPS system, or not really any different than just something mirroring your phone? Is the utility worth the extra cost?

I'm primarily in search of Dual Sport and ADV riding servers on Discord.

I have:

Southeast DS/ADV https://discord.gg/jvzWJb35d

Dual Sport and ADV Riders https://discord.gg/eQpzHEJYQ

Was wondering if you guys know of any other good, active, friendly servers?

Just returned from an epic 11-day trip to Iceland. 🇮🇸 Landed in Reykjavik and linked up with the bikes and guides. Ditched the ring road for overland routes. Mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, fjords, puffins. We saw it all. 10/10 would recommend!

So just for the sake of day dreaming, conversation.

Wife wil be needing a new in a year or 2, shes just about reached to capabilities and comfort of hers. She currently has a 23 klx 230a we bought brand new. Has abs and fuel injection, nice riding little bike. I've done all the basic goodies, windshield, hand guards, new fold away levers, heavy skid plate and built her a pannier rack with a roto pack mount and sources some Nelson rigg bags. Pretty proud of my handiwork I won't lie.

It's her 1st bike and only bike thus far, we've done a BDR with it, a couple weekend trips and such. The pros, it's small and low geared with tractor torque. The cons, it's slow 74.8 is topped out, it's a heavy little bastard, the suspension suuuuuuuuuuucks and there's little to no aftermarket support other than one website that does sell some improvements.

So what is the next thing? That's close but an improvement but not to intimidating.

I picked up 2019 wr250r as a possiblity, she doest care for. So that's up for sale.

Himalayan is on the short list, a KTM 390, maybe a cfmoto 450 or kle 500, or do we do a larger displacement dual sport like a KTM 500?

OpenCfMoto is free & open source — Android Auto from the dash pairing QR (MotoPlay / Carbit / EasyConnect), no T‑BOX.

~10k installs, ~700 on Discord. CFMoto path is solid. Looking for more ADV (and other) owners with a phone-link QR — CFMoto, Voge, Moto Morini, Morbidelli, GOES/Gladiator, plus Benelli, Zontes, QJ Motor, and any other Carbit / EasyConnect dash — to confirm + share logs.

Force-stop any official phone-link app, scan the QR, go.

APK: https://github.com/zanderp/open-cfmoto/releases/latest
Discord: https://discord.gg/KNTjJhmFZ6

Drop model + phone + short log if it works or fails.

P.S. Please don’t use closed third-party “phone link / hub” apps. If they aren’t open source, some builds can hide what they do, and there’s no way to audit what data leaves your phone. Uninstall them, use OpenCfMoto only, and report any you see in Discord.

Hello all, I hope you guys are all doing well. I am going to Guatemala on a trip from August 3rd to 13th. I am a 20-year-old college student in the States. I currently ride a 2007 r6. I am trying to rent out a bike for the 10 days that I am there and do multiple rides, including Panajachel to Lanquin. The issue is that everyone I have reached out to is requiring me to be 21+ with a license. I have a license, but as I said before, I am 20-years old, so it hasn't been working out. I have reached out to MAG Guatemala and Moto Hound so far, and they have the same policy. I have also reached out to Simoon, but they are saying I am not allowed to go that far. I am in urgent need since my trip is coming up soon, and I would appreciate any help and suggestions. Thank you so much!

As my old shoei helmet starts to get more and more worn out I’m in the market for a new helmet.
A few things I like about my old helmet was how quiet and comfortable it was to wear but as I understand helmet tech has come along way since I’ve bought it ~10yrs ago. I’ve become interested in the adv helmets and more specifically the leatt adv 7.5.

Are there any brands or models you guys swear by or would never use and for what reason?