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As the festival entered its 4th successful year, Charley was invited by Honda Motorcycles to join the organised Ladies Ride-Out with Ruby Rides as well as other influential female riders in the UK today. Far from an adventure enthusiast, Charley was very surprised to see how much more was on offer across the three-day-weekend at Ragley Hall, Warwickshire. Find out why she has already booked to go back again next year, and what she will be riding.
The adventure market is changing; with many manufacturers raising the ‘on-road’ profile whilst highlighting the off-road capabilities of their machines has ultimately made adventure bikes more accessible and more enjoyable. That said, it’s no secret that I am very much a cruiser/bobber style motorcyclist and although some more recently released adventure bikes have caught my eye, I certainly didn’t have any impulse or desire to try.
When the opportunity came up to attend the Adventure Bike Rider (ABR) Festival, I was hesitant to say the least. I spent a one short evening after work on board the new Honda XL750 Transalp demonstrator from North West Honda Super Centre – learning to adjust to a significantly reduced foot-plant compared to my experience on the Hornet 750 sibling, but also the workings of a machine with quick-shifter and auto-blip.
Pleasantly surprised with how easy the bike was to ride and with a new degree of confidence, I arrived at the ABR absolutely blown away. I had never seen so many bikes in one place before! The sounds, the sights, the space, everything was in full-swing when I arrived and I received the warmest welcome. From the Marshals at the gate coordinating parking to the events, booking experiences and trail rides were simply brilliant. All the facilities were easily accessible, a map to help you get around and a schedule to highlight the key events and talks of weekend – I was surprised I had never been before.
The iconic Honda red flags waved me towards the impressive looking pitch that occupied a large area off the main route through the festival. With a large selection of bikes to ride, from the 30th Anniversary Fireblade and Africa Twin Adventure Sports to the MSX Grom and Rebel cruisers. This was my first real appreciation for the scale of what a show like this is capable of and the wide mix of audience it caters to. There was truly something for everyone.
The ladies ride-out was an organised event through Honda motorcycles who have been actively working to encourage more women to ride and break down any remaining walls the industry has faced to kick-start more women with their motorcycle careers, and to stay riding! Naturally I am very passionate about this; but the focus here wasn’t just for women. It was to showcase all new riders of all abilities, including fair-weather bikers like myself to spend more time throughout the year on two wheels as opposed to almost having to re-learn how to ride every Spring.
Of course, when all the ladies were given the go-ahead and choose a bike they wanted to ride, I was immediately drawn to the CMX500 Rebel. However, Honda had other ideas! The lead Honda was a new white and blue Transalp ridden by Ruby Rides, I was now side-by-side with her on the grey-black version (no pressure, right?).
The route itself was perfectly planned out, and I was delighted to be taking part on board the new Transalp.
It’s the whole development process behind the new Transalp is what makes this bike so impressive. Honda are now working side-by-side with Montessa in the manufacture and production of accessories, so, from concept to manufacture, the option to personalise your motorcycle is there – with affordable extras accessible right away. The Transalp may not be A2 compliant straight from the crate, however with a simple adaptation, this bike is ready to ride as soon as you have your A2 licence, further encouraging newer and younger riders to this ever-popular adventure market. That said, this bike has ample to offer to the more experienced rider as I soon learnt.
I may as well hand myself my P45 now, but for the purposes of demonstration: I am typically a naked-style bike rider and the luxury of the screen on the Transalp was one I was not used to. However, a luxury as I say; as I joined the motorway shortly after exiting our showroom here in Blackpool with zero effort. There is fantastic visibility on the bike, with the well positioned mirrors and seat height, a wind deflecting screen and a very comfortable riding position. As I popped through the gears without pulling the clutch, I glanced down to clock 96mph on the multi-function Bluetooth colour dash! How on earth had that even happened, I thought to myself. I could have sat at that speed on the motorway happily for hours! So if you’re looking for a super economical tourer that will tackle the green lanes and immodest British potholes too, offer plenty of torque and speed whilst looking every ounce the adventure biker at the ABR festival, then you’ve got yourself a bike.
