EventuallytheN85runsoutagainin
Grenoble,andwedecidetopushonas
farnorthaspossibletomake the final
dayaspainlessaswecan. But the bikes
arebothamazinglycomfy — we’re a right
pairoffat,oldgeezersbut neither of us
iscomplaining.Topicofconversation
thatnightatLeNaturalfarmhouse hotel
inSelongey,northofDijon: would we be
moreorlesscomfyonadventure bikes?DayFour
DijontoPeterborough
520 miles, 10 hours 45 minutes
Sun’sout,gunsout.If only it was like this
yesterday!ButatleastSimon won’t be
freezingontheVFR.Fogis a problem for
thefirst 100 miles— theAutoroute duSoleilismoreoftheformerthanthe
latter— butthentheroundyellowsky
thing breaks through and the Z1000SX
settles into its creamy, 90mph, 6000rpm
cruising pace.
The miles spin away, with the
Kawasaki averaging low-40s mpg
compared to the Honda’s high-40s. It
means, with several fewer litres in tank
size, the Kawasaki is always the first to
stop for fuel, last bar on the fuel gauge
flashing reserve at around 140 miles and
with fuel countdown showing 30 miles
left. The Honda, meanwhile, is still on
two bars and good for upwards of 170
miles before looking for fuel. Neither of
the bikes have modern TFT dashes;
they’re low-tech throwbacks to blockyLCDbars.Evenbudgetmiddleweights
havesmarterclocksthesedays.
Wind pressure off the SX’s short
screen (on mid-of-three settings) is
perfect, balancing my bodyweight. As
we carve out the distance, I notice
Simon on the VFR stretching
occasionally — the SX has better
legroom. “You’d think, with all that
history, Honda would’ve kept the VFR as
comfy as it used to be,” says Simon at
the last fuel stop before the tunnel. “It’s a
smooth engine and lovely to use — but I
wish Honda made a 1000 version.”
What, like the VFR1200? “No, that’s not
the same bike,” he says. “I just want a
bigger, faster, more contemporary
version of this.”Verdict
The big winner on this trip is the N85 and the
roads around Provence. It’s still the
destination du jour for the dedicated sports-
touring enthusiast, with an unbeatable
combination of roads, scenery and food that
can’t be matched anywhere else in Europe.
You want small and nadgery? You got it.
Hairpins? If you must. But if you want
mid-speed fresh blacktop twisties, you got
them too. And for wide-open sweepers, no
problem. From the coast to the foothills of
the Alps in half a day, under a (usually)
blistering blue sky, nowhere in Europe smells
quite as perfumed, looks quite as exotic or
feels so damn sexy as Provence.It really has got the sports-touring lot.
As we sit on the train heading back to
Folkestone, our thoughts turn to the bikes:
the Z1000SX and VFR800F are getting on a
bit, both in technology bling and concept:
flagship adventure bikes have long been
the new sports tourers, with all the flashy
new tech, performance and handling
chops. But we’re deeply impressed how,
despite their limitations and design age, the
SX and VFR have covered over 2000 miles
in four days without giving Simon or I so
much as a stiff neck or aching bum.
They’ve got plenty of miles, and plenty of
trips abroad, left in them both.48 | july 2019RiDE’s BEsTsPORTs-TOURiNGDEsTiNATiONs
Great alpine roads are
just a day's ride from the
UK – you should sort
your riding holiday, now!Ah, the RosBeefs have
well and truly arrived