Discussion
modellista said:
The whole thing was great as usual (will probably post a full review later). With a few caveats regarding test rides.
The tall guy running the Indian rides had a massive stick up his arse. Clearly ex-police (although a lot of the ride leaders are, and most are fine), he took all the fun out of the experience, going on and on about the "rules" in a really bossy manner, spending ages on the briefing and making a big fuss of breathalysing people. Was quite aggressive in telling me to take my GoPro off just as we were about to set off, on the bike with engine running. Him, sticking his finger right on the GoPro lens: "That needs to come off." Me: "Nobody told me that before?" Him: "Well I'm telling you now."
From what I can gather there's one insurance company that some of the bigger manufacturers use which have gone way overboard with the process. Indian and Kawasaki had a very similar hardcore approach with breathalysing and banning GoPros and minute details in the briefing like an insistence on adjusting the brake lever to match your current bike. WTF? I'd be interested if others had a similar experience elsewhere.
If anyone from Indian is reading this, your test ride guy's approach achieved the complete opposite to building brand loyalty. I've since received an email from them with moody shots of cool guys in denim and leather carrying guitars and riding Indians - whereas in reality your brand is being ruined by a lanky old authoritarian ex-copper, determined to screw any fun out of a test ride, and that rather bitter experience is all I will associate your brand with - forever, basically. At the end I half-complained that it was a bit of a short ride (about 15 minutes, whereas most big manufacturers do 30-40 mins), and he happily explained that because of the length of time it takes to do the briefing and breathalyser there isn't much time left for the ride. Facepalm moment.
Big thumbs up to Honda and Moto Guzzi for being big manufacturers and not going down the patronising route, and having skilled ride leaders who really do ride progressively and don't treat everyone like children. Honda have always been good like this (I think the ride leaders including Mick Kinghorn are still ex-coppers but they actually have a bit of their soul left), and Guzzi was superb in that regard. As a consequence I have a big hard-on for a Hornet and V100 Mandello, both excellent bikes, similar in many respects, and I know what they can do because I was allowed to test them with a bit of freedom. The V100's engine was particularly special. Want.
And on the subject of breath testing, of course I'm not condoning drink riding, but we're all grown ups and we should be trusted to make the right choices. I had a late night on Friday and had a lie in and a chilled morning on the Saturday instead of going out on a bike at the crack of dawn, and I'd like to think everyone else has the same sensible approach.
I think I would probably avoid any manufacturer doing the breathalyser/no GoPro combo next time - they're going down the wrong path, spoiling their brands with all the authoritarian faffery.
Kawasaki were funny about the fact that I'd taken the knee pads out of my riding jeans, nearly didn't let me out on the bike!The tall guy running the Indian rides had a massive stick up his arse. Clearly ex-police (although a lot of the ride leaders are, and most are fine), he took all the fun out of the experience, going on and on about the "rules" in a really bossy manner, spending ages on the briefing and making a big fuss of breathalysing people. Was quite aggressive in telling me to take my GoPro off just as we were about to set off, on the bike with engine running. Him, sticking his finger right on the GoPro lens: "That needs to come off." Me: "Nobody told me that before?" Him: "Well I'm telling you now."
From what I can gather there's one insurance company that some of the bigger manufacturers use which have gone way overboard with the process. Indian and Kawasaki had a very similar hardcore approach with breathalysing and banning GoPros and minute details in the briefing like an insistence on adjusting the brake lever to match your current bike. WTF? I'd be interested if others had a similar experience elsewhere.
If anyone from Indian is reading this, your test ride guy's approach achieved the complete opposite to building brand loyalty. I've since received an email from them with moody shots of cool guys in denim and leather carrying guitars and riding Indians - whereas in reality your brand is being ruined by a lanky old authoritarian ex-copper, determined to screw any fun out of a test ride, and that rather bitter experience is all I will associate your brand with - forever, basically. At the end I half-complained that it was a bit of a short ride (about 15 minutes, whereas most big manufacturers do 30-40 mins), and he happily explained that because of the length of time it takes to do the briefing and breathalyser there isn't much time left for the ride. Facepalm moment.
Big thumbs up to Honda and Moto Guzzi for being big manufacturers and not going down the patronising route, and having skilled ride leaders who really do ride progressively and don't treat everyone like children. Honda have always been good like this (I think the ride leaders including Mick Kinghorn are still ex-coppers but they actually have a bit of their soul left), and Guzzi was superb in that regard. As a consequence I have a big hard-on for a Hornet and V100 Mandello, both excellent bikes, similar in many respects, and I know what they can do because I was allowed to test them with a bit of freedom. The V100's engine was particularly special. Want.
And on the subject of breath testing, of course I'm not condoning drink riding, but we're all grown ups and we should be trusted to make the right choices. I had a late night on Friday and had a lie in and a chilled morning on the Saturday instead of going out on a bike at the crack of dawn, and I'd like to think everyone else has the same sensible approach.
I think I would probably avoid any manufacturer doing the breathalyser/no GoPro combo next time - they're going down the wrong path, spoiling their brands with all the authoritarian faffery.
Similar thoughts on the Indian test ride, though I must have caught the guy in a good mood.
KTM was the complete opposite, very relaxed, and I won't mention the speeds I was doing trying to keep up with the lead guide...
Alex@POD said:
Kawasaki were funny about the fact that I'd taken the knee pads out of my riding jeans, nearly didn't let me out on the bike!
Similar thoughts on the Indian test ride, though I must have caught the guy in a good mood.
KTM was the complete opposite, very relaxed, and I won't mention the speeds I was doing trying to keep up with the lead guide...
ETA: and also KTM and Yamaha were giving out freebies at the end of the rides, didn't get anything for Indian and Kawasaki. The latter wanted a test report ...Similar thoughts on the Indian test ride, though I must have caught the guy in a good mood.
KTM was the complete opposite, very relaxed, and I won't mention the speeds I was doing trying to keep up with the lead guide...
Alex@POD said:
KTM was the complete opposite, very relaxed, and I won't mention the speeds I was doing trying to keep up with the lead guide...
Similar situation for Aprilia/Guzzi, the ride leader and the next guy were not hanging around on their Tuono V4s with me following on the V100. No sooner had we set off than the gaggle of Tuaregs behind dwindled to a speck, and then disappeared completely. We spent a lot of time waiting at junctions for them to catch up...What a fantastic weekend! 
The Bridgestone Trail was absolutely awesome - no real challenging bits but you could really wind it up a little. One or two t
ts on the course with some silly overtakes - and that's fine for some but there were some newbies out which must have felt very intimidated by.
The TRF trail was great - once again nothing too challenging except the chore of wading through mud but it was surprisingly entertaining.
Overall we did the Bridgestone Trail 6 times and the TRF 5 times.
I didn't bother with any rides and such - I don't like riding in random groups and I'll get my test rides from dealers. The food was excellent, and the beer selection good - although we had a stacked cooler so just enjoyed wait free ice cold beers.
The talks were awesome, but getting to chat to people like Lindon randomly was where its at. He has a big history in the 950/990 community and it was fun to talk details there. Sadly I missed Ryan F9.
Overall what I really liked was the lax nature of the camping. No marked areas, just dont park between the fire road markers. The showers were the best I've ever had at an event. The toilets were great - although it seems all Brits need a st at 7am and thats a queue I'll definitely avoid 
Does anyone know how we look up any photos from the trails? There were loads of camera.
Nice and clean in the beginning!
Not so much at the end
Beautiful grounds
What was extra special is this was the first shakedown for this bike since I basically did a nut and bolt restore on it. In actual fact, the new headers only went on on Monday. It was flawless. The new suspension was absolutely brilliant - I was worried it would not have been enough with my weight. I'll still keep an eye out for S/R suspension but its definitely gone to the bottom of the list.
The Bridgestone Trail was absolutely awesome - no real challenging bits but you could really wind it up a little. One or two t
ts on the course with some silly overtakes - and that's fine for some but there were some newbies out which must have felt very intimidated by. The TRF trail was great - once again nothing too challenging except the chore of wading through mud but it was surprisingly entertaining.
Overall we did the Bridgestone Trail 6 times and the TRF 5 times.
I didn't bother with any rides and such - I don't like riding in random groups and I'll get my test rides from dealers. The food was excellent, and the beer selection good - although we had a stacked cooler so just enjoyed wait free ice cold beers.
The talks were awesome, but getting to chat to people like Lindon randomly was where its at. He has a big history in the 950/990 community and it was fun to talk details there. Sadly I missed Ryan F9.
Overall what I really liked was the lax nature of the camping. No marked areas, just dont park between the fire road markers. The showers were the best I've ever had at an event. The toilets were great - although it seems all Brits need a s
t at 7am and thats a queue I'll definitely avoid Does anyone know how we look up any photos from the trails? There were loads of camera.
Nice and clean in the beginning!
Not so much at the end
Beautiful grounds
What was extra special is this was the first shakedown for this bike since I basically did a nut and bolt restore on it. In actual fact, the new headers only went on on Monday. It was flawless. The new suspension was absolutely brilliant - I was worried it would not have been enough with my weight. I'll still keep an eye out for S/R suspension but its definitely gone to the bottom of the list.
Nice photos! Next year I don't think I'll go for so many test rides, I took the opportunity as I'm not looking to replace my bike but after riding it for 6 years I wanted to have a taste of what else is out there. I feel like I'm wasting the dealer's time if I take a bike out on a test ride with no intention of buying anything. That being said, the big KTM is difficult to resist!
I did come out of that thinking that nothing I've tried is so markedly better that I should upgrade though, which was a very unusual feeling for me, I tend to feel that the grass is greener... At least I have some justification to spend money on upgrades!
I did come out of that thinking that nothing I've tried is so markedly better that I should upgrade though, which was a very unusual feeling for me, I tend to feel that the grass is greener... At least I have some justification to spend money on upgrades!
Alex@POD said:
Nice photos! Next year I don't think I'll go for so many test rides, I took the opportunity as I'm not looking to replace my bike but after riding it for 6 years I wanted to have a taste of what else is out there. I feel like I'm wasting the dealer's time if I take a bike out on a test ride with no intention of buying anything. That being said, the big KTM is difficult to resist!
At the ABR I think it's accepted for most people a test ride is a leisure pursuit mainly rather than a serious buying decision. Having said that how do you know you're interested in a bike until you ride it? It's a great marketing tool for brands. That's why it's so important to get the experience right.I don't need a Hornet, but I know the engine is strong so I might be interested in a Transalp. I'm totally impressed with the conduct of the Honda rides so it helps build brand loyalty. Similar situation with the Mandello - while I would love to have the bike, it doesn't fit my use case really, but put that engine in an adventure bike and I'll be queuing up to try one.
Killboy said:
What a fantastic weekend!
<snip>Really interesting to hear from someone who does the festival in a different way, with a trail-heavy bias. It does make me want to have a go on the full trail on a bike which I can drop and not be too bothered about! But judging by the pannier racks, your 990 was your transport to and from the site? Impressive.
Also I heard six chaps broke their legs, there were several arms in slings I saw, one GS 1250 got written off, and a CMX1100 ended up in a hedge on a test ride.
Not sure if that is a lot or not many accidents considering the attendance!!!!
Birky_41 said:
I think I've been living under a rock as I didn't know anything about this and it looks a really good event!
Any links for next year?
This link is freely available at the bottom of the main ABR Festival page - on the face of it it looks like anyone can buy a "loyalty" ticket. Good stuff.Any links for next year?
https://www.abrfestival.com/tickets/
modellista said:
At the ABR I think it's accepted for most people a test ride is a leisure pursuit mainly rather than a serious buying decision. Having said that how do you know you're interested in a bike until you ride it? It's a great marketing tool for brands. That's why it's so important to get the experience right.
I don't need a Hornet, but I know the engine is strong so I might be interested in a Transalp. I'm totally impressed with the conduct of the Honda rides so it helps build brand loyalty. Similar situation with the Mandello - while I would love to have the bike, it doesn't fit my use case really, but put that engine in an adventure bike and I'll be queuing up to try one.
Oh I totally agree, I made use of the test rides because that's what they were there for, but I wouldn't go to a dealer to try a (for example) Triumph Rocket 3, when I have no intention of changing my bike right now.I don't need a Hornet, but I know the engine is strong so I might be interested in a Transalp. I'm totally impressed with the conduct of the Honda rides so it helps build brand loyalty. Similar situation with the Mandello - while I would love to have the bike, it doesn't fit my use case really, but put that engine in an adventure bike and I'll be queuing up to try one.
I forgot to try and blag a ride on one actually!
modellista said:
<snip>
Really interesting to hear from someone who does the festival in a different way, with a trail-heavy bias. It does make me want to have a go on the full trail on a bike which I can drop and not be too bothered about! But judging by the pannier racks, your 990 was your transport to and from the site? Impressive.
Also I heard six chaps broke their legs, there were several arms in slings I saw, one GS 1250 got written off, and a CMX1100 ended up in a hedge on a test ride.
Not sure if that is a lot or not many accidents considering the attendance!!!!
I rode the trail very late in the weekend, and there is a point with a long straight, then a 90 left on gravel, outside of which is very tall grass and a ditch.Really interesting to hear from someone who does the festival in a different way, with a trail-heavy bias. It does make me want to have a go on the full trail on a bike which I can drop and not be too bothered about! But judging by the pannier racks, your 990 was your transport to and from the site? Impressive.
Also I heard six chaps broke their legs, there were several arms in slings I saw, one GS 1250 got written off, and a CMX1100 ended up in a hedge on a test ride.
Not sure if that is a lot or not many accidents considering the attendance!!!!
The grass was very well flattened directly ahead of the long straight
I guess the injuries may not be representative of the riding, I would imagine it's easy to fall awkwardly at slow speed and break something...
Edited by Alex@POD on Monday 26th June 22:06
modellista said:
<snip>
Really interesting to hear from someone who does the festival in a different way, with a trail-heavy bias. It does make me want to have a go on the full trail on a bike which I can drop and not be too bothered about! But judging by the pannier racks, your 990 was your transport to and from the site? Impressive.
Also I heard six chaps broke their legs, there were several arms in slings I saw, one GS 1250 got written off, and a CMX1100 ended up in a hedge on a test ride.
Not sure if that is a lot or not many accidents considering the attendance!!!!
Considering they reckon around 12-13000 bikes were there, all skill levels were on the trail, and testing unfamiliar bikes, I'd say six broken legs, and a couple of very bent bikes is a pretty good result. Really interesting to hear from someone who does the festival in a different way, with a trail-heavy bias. It does make me want to have a go on the full trail on a bike which I can drop and not be too bothered about! But judging by the pannier racks, your 990 was your transport to and from the site? Impressive.
Also I heard six chaps broke their legs, there were several arms in slings I saw, one GS 1250 got written off, and a CMX1100 ended up in a hedge on a test ride.
Not sure if that is a lot or not many accidents considering the attendance!!!!
modellista said:
<snip>
Really interesting to hear from someone who does the festival in a different way, with a trail-heavy bias. It does make me want to have a go on the full trail on a bike which I can drop and not be too bothered about! But judging by the pannier racks, your 990 was your transport to and from the site? Impressive.
Also I heard six chaps broke their legs, there were several arms in slings I saw, one GS 1250 got written off, and a CMX1100 ended up in a hedge on a test ride.
Not sure if that is a lot or not many accidents considering the attendance!!!!
He he. Yeah, I think the numbers are actually fairly low for the numbers of riders and their skills.Really interesting to hear from someone who does the festival in a different way, with a trail-heavy bias. It does make me want to have a go on the full trail on a bike which I can drop and not be too bothered about! But judging by the pannier racks, your 990 was your transport to and from the site? Impressive.
Also I heard six chaps broke their legs, there were several arms in slings I saw, one GS 1250 got written off, and a CMX1100 ended up in a hedge on a test ride.
Not sure if that is a lot or not many accidents considering the attendance!!!!
I did ride the ADV there and back although I run soft luggage - but the hepco pannier frames offer a nice base and I think will help in a crash.
But that's what's brilliant about this bike, and why I love it so much. It can go toe to toe with much smaller machines, and still ride home. And that's it's purpose and it's going to have to put up with Spain & Portugal TET next year and possibly Morocco.
Best bike event of the year in the UK, bar none. Weather was cracking. Trails were great, although you really need 50/50 tyres as a minimum. Camping and general F&B superb and what it should be at all festivals - live music and bands brilliant. Top weekend and booked for next year!
McPint drew a crowd.
Took the new SMT out. Overly high strung motor with good handling. Good for a hoon, but not to own.
Part of the food village: good selection, something for everyone.
McPint drew a crowd.
Took the new SMT out. Overly high strung motor with good handling. Good for a hoon, but not to own.
Part of the food village: good selection, something for everyone.
I went for the second time. Had a fantastic weekend, food was a little pricey but beer was cheaper than my local pub. Highlights of the weekend was meeting McPint, Ted Simon, Itchy boots and Nick Sanders. It was cool
To have a good look at the new MotoMorini and Guzzi V100.
I’ve already booked for next year.
To have a good look at the new MotoMorini and Guzzi V100.
I’ve already booked for next year.
modellista said:
There's a few Bonnevilles, sports tourers, the occasional monkey bike, and a Hayabusa kept riding past my tent. On the grass :-0
Yeh I saw the Hayabusa, do hope he didn't try the trail on that. :-)Don't think anybody cares what you come on as long as it's got two wheels.
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