MCN Fleet: Sunny Sunday Funday for the X-Adv

Mark, my other half, and I checked the weather report on Saturday night and realised Sunday was going to be ‘Scorchio’, so what better way to spend the day than out on the bikes.

We always fall into the same old routine, we head to the North Norfolk coast, have a bag of chips at Sunny Hunny (Hunstanston, for those not in the know) and then trundle home. While there’s nothing wrong with doing this I wanted to try something new. My Honda X-Adv is definitely making me more adventurous and poor old Mark is being made to come along for the ride!!

A quick search online and we found that Brooklands Museum were holding their Motorcycle Show, it’s somewhere we’ve never been, so decision made.

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With Mark on his Ducati Monster 695, me on the X-Adv and a gloriously blue sky, we headed off on our day trip. It was a great opportunity for me to put some new bits of kit to the test.

I’m a fan of Shark helmets, I got my first as a wedding present in 1996 and from then on have worn numerous. This latest addition to their range, the Spartan, like all the other Sharks I’ve worn, felt comfortable the moment I put it on. A good sign when you’ve got a full day of riding ahead. I was also trying a leather jacket from DXR, a new range to the UK being sold exclusively by SportsBikeShop. The Charlize is a tailored jacket, made from soft, supple leather, with CE approved back and elbow protection. There’s some great attention to detail with zips at the hip for extra comfort and zipped external pockets. In a future issue of MCN and online, there will be a full review of each of these products but first impressions are positive.

Our rather dull route, via the M1 and M25, was made more fun by being able to hone my filtering skills. With the Monster 695 in the lead, I soon realised my upright riding position on the X-Adv, coupled with the higher mirrors, meant Mark was able to get through tighter gaps. I was getting trapped when two transit vans were sat alongside one another. Luckily we still managed to make reasonable progress.

Brooklands is just inside the M25, near Weybridge and well signposted. The banked circuit, built in 1907, was the first purpose built race track in Britain, so is steeped in history. Not only was it the birthplace for British Motorsport, it also played a major part in British Aviation and is the home of Concorde. The rather grand Clubhouse now houses motoring displays, while hangars are full of aviation and engineering exhibits. There’s a separate London Bus Museum too.

The Motorcycle Show was a really great event, modern day Harley-Davidson and Triumphs were displayed alongside old machines. We had full access to all of the museum buildings and were also given the opportunity to ride up the test hill, at its steepest a 1:4 ascent. 

It was definitely worth taking the time to seek out somewhere different to visit, we had a great day. 

We have loads of events listed in the paper each week but here’s a couple of other suggestions, where you can step back in time, later in the summer. 

Spirit of Shuttleworth Race Day

Pistons & Props at Sywell

Roll on next Sunday! Where’s our next adventure going to take us??