It’s the final countdown!
Saffron is determined to get 10,000 miles on the clock before her time with the Low Rider ST runs out
Since collecting the Low Rider ST back in April we’ve racked up thousands of miles together. But, with only a few weeks of the test period left, I was beginning to be irked by the fact the odometer started with a nine rather than a 10. Thinking hard about how I could remedy the situation, the answer popped straight into my head – a trip to Land’s End, of course.
The final tour
Now don’t get me wrong, this final tour would be a working one taking in various cafés in the south west for MCN’s Out & About section, but it would also be giving the bike plenty of miles to eat up. As I got in the saddle and prepared for the first four-hour stint, I reflected on how far I’d ridden this year. The Harley had taken me to Budapest as well as
Scotland and Wales, with plenty of short trips in-between. While all of them were ‘work’, they were also a real pleasure.
My first stop was at a café in Crediton – Union Road Moto Velo. As the venue is normally shut on Mondays, the Low Rider ST looked lonely in the car park, but walking through the door it was clear it fitted right in with the mass of Harley-Davidsons inside. We had tackled a cracking route from the M5 through Tiverton and Bickley along the A3072, and it was a welcome change from the motorway slog.
The Low Rider ST can handle long miles like a champ and the cruise control is a welcome addition, but riding off onto some twisties after a long, monotonous ride was bliss. The bike weaved along the curves as if it knew this was the last proper ride we’d have together, and it drank in the miles with effortless capability as we moved closer to the first stop, with the engine churning out heaps of torque at low rpm, yet urgent acceleration out of corners. Although heavy at 327kg, the centre of gravity is so low that swinging it from side-to-side is an easy task. It was almost a shame it had to end as I came into Crediton, but as this was my first destination on a threeday, 10-stop ride, I could only hope there’d be more magic roads as I cruised further west.
Getting that snap
I made it all the way down to Penzance on day one but woke up before the crack of dawn to make my way to Land’s End to begin day two. I’d hoped the sunrise would begin to appear before I got to the landmark, but I had no such luck. The wind and rain battered me as I took on the dark hazardous roads, and the Harley was pushed off course multiple times. But as I approached Land’s End there wasn’t a soul to be seen… or the famous view for that matter.
Nevertheless, I’d made it, and with the odometer nearing the 10,000-mile mark I knew I would be well into five digits by the end of the trip. So, as I was early for my next stop, I decided to take the scenic route along the coast rather than the drudgery of the A30.
As I rode through Penzance, the sky’s black blanket began to withdraw, but the storminess of the weather did not. Waves crashed over the promenade and bathed my already soaked suit and the Low Rider ST in salty water. Cringing, I pressed on, hoping the rain would
lick most of the salt from the engine, but the voice in my head kept telling me that no matter how exhausted I was when I got home, the jet wash would have to come out ASAP to prevent that saline nastiness biting into the finish.
Clocking out
As I left my last call – Haynes Museum in Yeovil and their new motorcycle mezzanine – the rain was still stubbornly drizzly as it had been for the past three days. But knowing that the next stop would be a place where I could get warm and dry (and the bike get a decent wash), I was excited to be on the road, and with 159 miles to go, I watched the odometer click over to that magic 10,000 miles. Job done. Good work Low Rider ST.
LIKES
We made it!
DISLIKES
Our time is nearly over