Long term update: Spruced up and ready to roll

Fritz has taken a tour group to see the best toilet in Germany,” says biker hotel manager Christian as we attempt to digest a Bratwurst long enough to show up on Google Earth.

If the thought of visiting the nation’s best bog proves strangely alluring, the pull of spending the day exploring the Harz mountains is stronger. It’s a Friday, and Christian says now is the time to enjoy the roads before the weekend rush.

Yesterday my mate Paul and I spent a 14-hour, 620-mile day getting here. We’re both pretty knackered after yesterday’s efforts, but Christian’s descriptions of spruce-scented forests and amazing roads revive us.

My aches from a long day in the KTM’s saddle are mostly in the arse and wrists, but the winding roads freshen me up. The 1050 was good yesterday on the speedy journey across the continent, hitting 132mph on the autobahn and getting me across Germany in relative ease.

But it’s even better at the other end of the trip. The 1050 becomes a big supermoto, wading into tight turns on the impressive Dunlop TrailSmart tyres I fitted a couple of thousand miles ago (£225 mail order) and barking out in a V-twin hurry. A combination of the steady 95bhp and the KTM’s safety net of traction control make it great fun. The best part of the whole trip is the Kyffhauser, a traditional mountain roads racing circuit running from Kelbra to Bad Frankenhausen. A series of 36 tight turns in two-and-a-half miles suit the 1050 perfectly.

The whole area is biker-friendly, with biker hotels like Christian’s, the Hotel Sauerbrey in Lerbach (www.hotel-sauerbrey.de/en/). The roads are great and the people are better. We have to leave tomorrow, but I know I’ll be back. There’s a highly-regarded toilet that needs a visit.