Motorcycle season in scotland

[nicolaus]

Well, I am an Italian biker. I have a Sv1000s. I am going to move to work in scotland, probably to aberdeen or edinburgh. I would like to know how long is the "good season" in Scotland. i know this beautiful country only during summertime. What about the Winter??? :D

[kitkat]

only difference between summer and winter is 10 degrees. both summer and winter are cold and wet. you get some cracking biking days during the winter. Jan and Feb and usually the coldest. November and December usually the wetest. Never guaranteed good weather so invest in a good pair of thermals and waterproofs you will be able to wear them all year round.

[drkdemon]

March and April was a great month this year for biking. Very mild temperatures. I bought my new SV then and put the first 600 miles on it in about a week or so. If you dont like what the weather is like just wait a day.... its probably changed!! I do agree some good waterproof gear is helpful too!!

[on yer bike]

summer is a week in April, you just have to guess which week its going to be

[-Ralph-]

I'm afraid coming from Italy your not going to be happy with the weather or the riding conditions in winter. What is just normal biking to us will seem like hell to you.

You can ride all year with good clothing, but you just don't know what the weather is going to do, summer or winter. You can get a wet day just as easily in summer as in winter and some lovely dry days in winter. The difference in winter is that the roads rarely dry out, they get wet every night with dew or frost. So you need to get used to riding slippy surfaces and having a filthy bike all the time. That filth by the way is salt used to keep the roads free of ice, so it rots your bike.

Sorry....

[-Ralph-]

Thought a wee anecdote from today might help you get the idea.
Been dry all day, weather forecast was good.
My cousin came round to visit and she's been after a pillion ride for ages. Didn't have any protective trousers for her, she only had jeans, so I decided that if she didn't have protective trousers I wasn't going to wear any either. So off we went in jeans. We were out for all of 25 minutes and covered maybe 15-20 miles out and back.

Got absolutely soaked! The cloud came out of nowhere, low and dark, and the rain absolutely threw it down. My wife was watching the rain out the window and the towels were ready for us getting back.

This was the sky when we got back, it was the same when we left, then a picture of me when we got back. It had stopped raining when we got back and has been dry since.

Completely unpredictable weather.

I await the "ha ha colin p1ssed himself" jokes!

[suicidesam]

I await the "ha ha colin p1ssed himself" jokes!

Well you could have waited ;)

Someone had to!! It looks more like a shadow from the person taking the picture :)

Agree with all that's been said above, the weather is just rubbish here for most of the time.. but when it's good we make the most of it!
My view is that riding in all weather improves your riding skill. I know a few guys that will not take the bike out if the roads are damp :confused:... and its not the cleaning it after that's the reason, just lack confidence to turn the throttle in the wet.

(on the other hand, I got pulled by the cops in the pi$$ing rain this week for "inapropriate speed" through a series of roundabouts) :mrgreen:

[nicolaus]

I know that the scottish weather is crazy and unpredictable. I have been to scotland something like 5 times in 6 years. Just to explain how I like this country I am going to show my highlander-style SV1000S (click the link belove).
Ralph...I see that we have the same rugby shirt. I hope that I will show you mine Italian shirt the next week.


http://img461.imageshack.us/img461/6858/0166gf6.jpg

[kitkat]

cool bike

[Duck-man]

I suppose as long as ur wapped up unlike what happened to colin!! hee hee!! hee!

[-Ralph-]

It looks more like a shadow from the person taking the picture :)

Damn it, I've given away the location of Area51! Didn't expect it to be in Harthill though did you? They are very good with cameras by the way.

[jimmy4237]

It's a hit or a miss in Scotland weather wise. You can get some cracking winter weather but the roads will be covered in bike rotting salt so be prepared to wash it down afterwards with cold water, not hot stuff. Use hot water and the heat accelerates the salt erosion process..... :shaking::shaking:Nasty stuff

Get some goretex gear if you want to ride in the winter time, and pack a waterproof suit when wearing leathers during the summertime.. that's what the majority of bikers do in scotland.

[northwind]

I ride all year, but to be honest from about november to february is rubbish, occasional good days but I had a spell last year where I never rode on a dry road for about 6 weeks, and the road salt is slippy once there's a coating down... It's perfectly doable if you have good gear but for me, it pretty much stops being fun. Then again, if I wasn't commuting I'd be riding just on the occasional clear dry days, which can be fantastic, so I'm probably a bit prejudiced ;)

Put it differently, I want a car in winter :roll:

[Tiger 55]

Nice bike mate! There is no good season, only good days and you never know when the next one is going to be. Come to every rideout and you're bound to get a nice day sooner or later...

Also, if they give the choice, pick Edinburgh over Aberdeen every time, that's the Arctic Ocean up there!

Oh and ha ha ha, Ralph ****ed himself. :smt045

[SVTONYB]

Cool bike Nicolaus, what is your link with Scotland then