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Small Alp Tour

Posted: 24 May 2009 15:42
by Henrik
So, after the recent problems with my oil cooler pipes, my brother and I were able to set off for a small tour eventually.

I had been planning a nice tour trying to go over as many mountain passes as possible, but in spite of the weather being incredible (today we hit 35 degrees!), there were still manny passes that were closed until next month. So, we will have to do this again in a few weeks.

Anyway, we took off Saturday morning for Brig, and then went over the Simplon Pass in to Italy. Had a nice lunch near a place called Domodossola, and then continued through the Centovalli towards Locarno. From there it was up on the highway and through the Gothard tunnel towards Lucern and then Interlaken. Stopped for the night by the Lake Brienz.

This morning it was first the Jaun Pass which is nice and very twisty, down to Chateau d'Oex near Gruyere, then over the Col des Mosses. We then headed back toward Gstaad over the Col du Pillon and stopped for lunch. Finally it was back down towards Bulle and since it was really getting too hot we set off for home and a nice cold shower!!!

A great two days with unbelievable weather. The Corsaro was flawless and I really appreciated the new gel seat. My brother's Tuono was just as good too, and we look forward to making a slightly longer trip next time.

My brother and the bikes at Simplon:
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View from our hotel:
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Lunch near Gstaad:
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Stopping to cool down a bit by a bus stop in the shade...
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Posted: 25 May 2009 09:54
by vtxbrit
Sounds like you had a really good trip,
I did UK to Switzerland via France, lux, Germany, Italy last year did 2800 miles in 8 days on my Benelli TNT sport, bumped into 2 guys on Morini's (one veloce and one 9 1/2) in a town called Trier (near lux) spent a couple of hours ridding with them they showed us some superb local roads great guys. We also did the Stelvio pass and the Passo Sella Canazei
This trip was one of my favourite trips only beaten by the UK to Mogadouro (Portugal) via the Picos Mountains trip I did 3 years ago, the Portuguese roads are so much quieter and in much better condition than the Swiss roads (and the weather was kinder to us)

I also have a 07 Tuono R and will be taking it on my trip this year taking in the black forest region heading towards Nice and then across to mid France. ( Parc National Cevennes)

Terry

Posted: 25 May 2009 10:07
by Henrik
The area around Trier is nice, and it is not far from the Nurburgring.

As it turns out, I found the Corsaro perfect for touring. The only problem I have is getting some luggage on it but I am working on a solution to replace the passenger seat with a sort of rack. That way I can just click the rack in place when I go touring, and attach a rear bag to it. For now I had to go with a backpack, which I don't really like to do. For the tank I found a small pack that attaches with suction cups that was perfect for smaller things like wallet, phone and camera. Oh, and a transparent top where I could put my "roadbook" or a GPS.

Posted: 25 May 2009 23:17
by vtxbrit
Henrik, just after the Passo sella we had to ride this little section..............what a grin.

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Posted: 26 May 2009 06:55
by Henrik
Nice!

Oh, one thing I wanted to mention, the fuel economy on this ride was exceptional! Highway riding, keeping a steady 130kmh gave me a consumption of just over 5 liters to 100 km! And the mountain riding was not not a whole lot worse if I was not pushing hard. I was amazed when I stopped for gas the first time after 190km on the highway, thinking I would be close to empty, and only managed to put 10.5 litres in the bike!

Posted: 26 May 2009 11:57
by morini_tom
Henrik, sounds like an amazing trip. For your luggage problem, I have a rack that fits in place of the pillion seat as you describe. It's made by hattech in Germany. See my previous post about it. Really good bit of kit.

Posted: 28 May 2009 09:56
by Henrik
Thanks for the tip Tom! I will go ahead and order that.

They have some pretty nice pipes there too, although I am all set on that front.