Hypermotard, the perfect touring bike? ;)

[Squiffything]

Some time ago I was asked by Martin Smith (Sinex) if I would like to join him and a few others to tour on the Hypermotard around the Pyrenees. The trip was to join the European Multistrada Owners Club at their annual meeting. He had done this trip a number of times and had said the roads would be great for the Hypers style of riding. I cleared things with my good lady and signed up to the tour.
We arranged to meet at his on the Tuesday evening so having finished work I loaded up the Naughtybike with all its DP Hyper luggage strapped on the backpack and set off for the 80 mile run to Silverstone village and Martins house. I got lost around Northampton’s road system due to my Satnav system not having all the relevant details. (Ok it was a very brief scribbled route on the back of a torn up envelope that I did before setting off. I like to go old school when it comes to this new fangled technology.)
Met up with Martin(Hypermotard) and Miles(Multistroodle) who would be my roomy for the week and enjoyed a leisurely evening talking about the run down and past meets with the Multistroodle boys and girls.
Woke up the next morning at 4.30am, due to pure excitement at getting underway. Went down to the garden for a smoke and to wake the neighbouring cockerel up to do its job so that I didn’t have to get the other two out of their beds. Had a quick coffee a chat with the boys about the route for that morning and then it was on our way.
Portsmouth docks and we met up with the rest of the English boys and girls who were riding with us. Peter(Multistroodle) who would be sharing the ferry cabin with us, Paul(Hyabusa) and his son Mark (Suzuki GSX)and John(1089) and the wonderful Caroline(Fireblade) who at the time looked as though she had a lovely rear (ahem).

After the usual faff around getting on the ferry we settled in for the 24 hour crossing to Santander. M&M poker, a film (which I can’t remember seeing much of so it couldn’t have been that good but someone mentioned the soundtrack had a lot of growling/grumbling noises in it. Didn’t hear it myself....) a few drinks and a bit of a sleep and we arrived at Spain.

Ahead of us was 400 miles of mixed roads. Motorways duel carriageways and little roads through the Spanish countryside and mountains. My Satnav hadn’t been prepared for this (couldn’t find a big enough envelope) but I had managed to get a couple of maps of Spain on the boat so I stuck a few X’s on the maps so I would know where to head to if I got lost .
Nine hours later we arrived at the village where the first hotel was. It had been a slog but at 10.30pm and having been travelling all day it was a welcome site. Tiredness was setting in and as we rode down the main street we were stopped in our track by an almighty wolf whistle. Seriously, dogs across Northern Spain all stuck their heads up it was so loud. Michel(Multistroodle and Co-organiser) had seen/heard us coming and gently caught our attention as we rode by the bar they had commandeered. A bit of a u-turn and it happened. The engine stalled (a combination of knackered body and a ton of luggage) and the Naughtybike went down. The luggage, however, almost bounced it straight back up again and saved the bike from any real damage. From out of no-where an army of Spanish blokes rushed over picked me and the bike up and with cheers had me back up the road to find the bar. This was to be the only mishap I was to have on the tour. Martin unfortunately had picked up a nail on route which was found by the guys at the hotel so his first morning was going to be used in getting it sorted out.

[Squiffything]

Morning one had us all congregating outside of the hotel in wet gear. It has peed down all night and the roads were soaked. Not a good start to a run into the mountains. Having joined the group near the front it was not long before my confidence in riding these roads in the wet began to give way. We stopped off at a ski lift point at the top of the mountain and took in the views. Amazing! The roads were great the line up of all the bikes was fantastic and the sound when we all started up was something else to hear.

By the time we reached the next stop point at a cafe in a small village I was way at the back but the roads were drying out and my ride speed had picked up. Martin had repaired his tyre and had caught us up via a more direct route so as we set off I followed him and the pace quickened up for me. Only one or two had overtaken us so I felt a little better. We stopped off at a petrol station (a common occurrence throughout the trip) and the rest of the group went by including the 4x4 which had all the luggage. We knew the group were heading for a lunch stop and a motor museum so we decided to skip that and carry straight on through the mountains all afternoon to the hotel. Again some truly magical roads and scenery.

The last half an hour was spent riding into and through the mother of all thunderstorms. What were we doing riding into a storm up a mountain with lightning bolts ahead of us?!! We were wet by the time we reached our destination by the grin on my face couldn’t be removed.
Another night at another hotel and plenty of merriment was had by all. These were such a great bunch of people from all over Europe brought together by the love of their bikes and the roads we were riding.
I had decided that the next day’s ride would be with John and Caroline and Paul and Mark. The mountain roads were again soaked and whilst the route we were going to take was a mixture of faster roads more suited to the sports bikes there were to be a few twisties towards the end which would have dried out by the time we reached them. I was pleased to say that the Naughtybike and I didn’t completely disgrace ourselves in the fast company of the others and whilst the Busa saw speeds in excess of a highest dart checkout, we managed to keep up for the most of the run. At one point we had a newly built stretch of dual carriageway all to ourselves for around 8 – 10 miles and speeds along here were shall we say a little fun.

At hotel number three we had the main evening and again the company could not be beaten. If you want to get away for a few days, join a mixed European group of people and watch the interaction between nations. The humour transcends all nationalities and windups of each other takes place almost on another level. Such great fun.

[Squiffything]

Sunday morning and for a few the last ride to the extra hotel by the coast, but for most the start of the ride home. I had offered Neil (Multistroodle, Faberman the mad Dutch-Aussie-English bloke and the coolest dad on the planet) a run out on the Naughtybike. This guy rides a Multi like a trial bike and had never had a run out on a Hyper. Who was I to refuse. I also wanted to see how the bike should be ridden and to get a reaction from someone who could ride it like it should be ridden. The smile when he returned was all I needed to see and the sound as it went off up the mountain was so good. When riding you never hear it just the constant drum of the engine so to hear it growl all the way up and then scream on the way back down was a treat for me. The response was that it felt like his 125 trial bike with around 10 times more power and compared to the Multi so light and flickable. I think he wants one . He did comment though on how twitchy it was at speed and I mentioned that some put on the damper to correct this. There was no way that I would ever get to that level of use for it to be a problem.
We packed the bikes up and, fully loaded once more, set off for our last hotel. Another run through a mixture of roads including one mountain road that after a number of miles simply came to the end of tarmac and turned into gravel. The sign said road works for 5K and they were not kidding. It was as if they had drawn a line in the road and said ok we will build this bit later. The sports bikers were not happy Miles was not looking forward to it but the Naughtybike was eager. Not a problem. Feet didn’t come off the pegs and it was taken with ease.

We then hit a few miles on a road that had seen better days but nothing like the track we had ridden earlier. For me it was the best ride of the weekend. Setting of five minutes behind the fast guys we flew over the surface Miles was behind and commented later on the springs grounding out a few times as I took the bumps and potholes in my stride. For the first time he was impressed with my riding and said he had to work hard to keep up. Yippee me and the Naughtybike finally connected.
The last nights hotel for us was a little special. A former palace and it showed. Simply stunning. A relaxed evening in splendour and a chilled evening of good food and lovely company. What more could you ask for before returning back to reality from what had been one of the best holidays I have had. Well just one more thing. The ride back to the ferry. It took in one of the best routes we had covered throughout the trip including a set of hairpin bends that seemed to go on forever. A climax to end the trip so good that the bike was once more offered to John to have a second run and for me to once again listen to it rip up a mountain.

To Michel (Multistroodle) and Anton (Multistroodle), a big heartfelt thank you for making the whole trip as special as it was, For Martin and Miles for looking after me throughout and making sure I made it back safely. For John, Caroline, Peter, Paul and Mark for being the perfect companions and to all the rest for just being there and making the trip one I will never forget.
As for the Naughtybike, is it suitable for touring? I carried in the dedicated luggage enough for a month. It kept up with a Busa a 1098 and a Fireblade and on one occasion they struggled to keep up with it. At the end of each days ride I was ok to head on out for a drink and food with not much pain in the rear. It needed to fill up every 100 miles but only once did the orange light come on and equalled the 1098 in mileage. I think most would admit they were ready to stop after riding the roads we were going through so it was doing them a service. At every stop we made the Hyper was the bike that the locals would gather round to look at. So in conclusion it has to be the perfect touring bike and when undressed of all its baggage turns into the ultimate play thing. What more could you ask for


PS this has been posted on a couple of other sites so sorry if you have already seen it

[Borracho]

Wow...absolutely beautiful!!! That looks like perfect country to take a nice road tour.

I love the photos! Thanks for posting dood!

[08hyper]

VERY nice pictures, It sure looked like you guys had a GREAT TIME!! Aloha Alex

[Crank1000]

Looks like a fun trip. Unfortunately your camera white balance was set to incandescent the whole time (that's why all the pics look blue). But still great pics of the trip. Good to know the Hyper can hang for such long distances.

[Raiden]

Awesome trip and great pictures. I've only had my Hyper a few months but I can totaly see myself touring with it. I find it very comfortable I just need some bags. I'm looking into the Cortech tank bag for now.

[heffergm]

Originally Posted by Raiden

Awesome trip and great pictures. I've only had my Hyper a few months but I can totaly see myself touring with it. I find it very comfortable I just need some bags. I'm looking into the Cortech tank bag for now.

There's certainly no question about it looking better than a Multi... good grief, forgive me, but I forgot how hideous they are

[GMP]

Nothing like that trip, but I just did a two day 700 mile trip from NJ to Lake Placid NY and back, with many nice detours in between. Bike worked great, I'll add some soft side bags for next trip to keep the bulk on the seat down. Comfort seat is a must though. Wind protection is a non-issue at backroad speeds in the mountains.

[ducatimike]

Very nice pics and write up. I enjoyed reading through the trip. Cant wait to do some long distance back roads on my Hyper.

Mike