I took a look at the flooding in the Thames valley north of Faringdon. Here’s a short clip taken at Radcot.
The good news is that the KTM deals brilliantly with both wading and gravel on the road. Not such great news is that another peak is expected tonight.
With the A420 closed, people are trying to get through Shrivenham. There was quite a significant flood on this route too this morning.
Raving to follow later, but for now, let’s just say that this is an improvement over the 640.
Well, alright then.
It’s great in town, super in the cruise and fabulous in the twisties. It rides similarly, but it’s more powerful and it vibrates less. A superb decision, including the heated grips and top case.
(And you can learn more about the state of mind which is set against your freedom here. Wondering why the economy is in trouble? Try this.)
So that’s it: the final commute home on the 640. As ever, it was alright in the city, utterly rubbish on the motorway and a joy in the lanes.
I left late, so it was fairly quiet outside the M25 – is there a rush hour any more? – and deserted on the way up to Wantage. Another superb ride, with the bike running sweetly and pulling strongly. Looking forward to trying that route on its big brother.
I’ll miss the 640, particularly now the gearing is lower, but not its vibration.
Paid the deposit yesterday on my KTM upgrade: a 950 Supermoto, to be collected Friday 
As it’s a London commuter, second hand, two years old. Looks pristine though. I’m having heated grips, hand guards, sliders front and rear, a Scottoiler and a top case. Never thought I’d go for the latter two, but I’m bored of lubricating chains and carrying a rucksack. It comes with the default aftermarket Akrapovic silencers, which are legal.
I’ll miss the 640, which has bags of character, but it vibrates too much for the motorway. I’m leaving the shift lights on it, so we’ll see how long I last without on the 950.
The 950 is light and narrow, so it will be good around Town, but it’s a twin, so it should be much smoother and of course more powerful in the country.
We’ll see.
I intend to ride the Route Napoleon, then explore the south of France and into the Alps.
Coming with me?
With the wind rising and a number of tandem students waiting, I came off the manifest and took Beth out for lunch by K1200S.
We went to a charming pub near Woodborough. I forget the name, but the location and food were good. It’s here.
Returned via Pewsey, Hungerford, Wantage, with a diversion to Didcot, where we identified a suitable KTM 950 Supermoto.
Last Sunday and Monday, I was on BMW’s off-road skills course. It was wet.
Which was nice.
Wet meant slippery and there was a lot of crashing, from low-speed muppetry, to a proper 50mph off when practising acrobatics. I picked up my XChallenge often: only BMW would think that a 650 was a good starter bike.
Now, I had a great time overall, but I loathe that bike. When standing, the handlebars were too close for comfort, and as a novice, it has just the wrong power and weight. I tried an R1200GS around a circuit I had ridden on the XChallenge and it was much, much more pleasant. Comfortable and controllable while standing, planted and easy. I suppose it’s easier because it moves around less for those of us who are used to the road. Suddenly, I got the point. It wasn’t quite so much fun when it went wrong: that’s a big bike to pick up or drag out of the hedge uphill.
The course covered balance and turns, braking, descents with engine braking and brakes, hill recovery, momentum and plenty of trail riding. It was great fun riding with the front wheel locked to prove the point, but it didn’t stop me dumping it time and again with front wheel skids.
The most amusing bit was probably after following the instructor down a very steep, rutted and muddy track, engine off and using the clutch to control the bike against engine braking. I looked back from the bottom: the R1200GS was deep in the hedge and all the XChallenges were on their sides.
No video sadly: I would have wrecked the camera in those falls.
So I have ached all week, with sore hands. It was the best off-road course I can imagine, but I’d rather do it on a TT-R 250 or an R1200GS, preferably with a little more grip.
I love my KTM, and giving it a good pasting, but I’m fed up of seeing KTM riders monowheeling a couple of feet off the bumper of the car in front, or soaring through the traffic with a huge speed differential.
In the last ten months, I have seen the aftermath of at least six fatalities and several other bike crashes between Mayfair and Canary Wharf.
So what’s the difference between loving an adventure and recklessness?
Last summer, I took a track day at Cadwell. What a great circuit: highly 3D with some fast stretches and several bottle checks.
A smaller bike might have been a good idea, but where’s the adventure in that?
(That’s me, at the front again. I think the instructor was just following me to see what would happen.)
