North Coast 500

[skinny]

Versyrider, 2 of us definitely doing it in June, not fixed dates yet but will keep you posted, be a good mix of bikes, I'm taking 1150gs adventure, my mate a 990 Adv s, traveling from Hertford, don't forget your Avon!!!!

[Monster]

WARNING - WARNING

I NEVER READ PAST PAGE ONE OF THIS THREAD !!!!!

I SAW A DIRTY PHRASE THAT I HAVE NEVER COME ACROSS BEFORE .....

WHAT IS ... """unused beer"""

[Flintlock]

The bay just north of Applecross is a nice spot

is that the bay near the mod type building, if it is we wild camp there a lot

steve

Cant remember any mod type building - but it is a large bay with a grassy area & a few trees with a river running into it at the north end - it is just up the wee road from the pub - a great spot.

[Flintlock]

A ride report from a few years ago - might be of some use
http://www.adventurebikerider.com/forum ... eport.html

[V-Rider]

Versyrider, 2 of us definitely doing it in June, not fixed dates yet but will keep you posted, be a good mix of bikes, I'm taking 1150gs adventure, my mate a 990 Adv s, traveling from Hertford, don't forget your Avon!!!!

I'll shout the Mrs for the Avon catalogue, I bet I get an odd look when I begin perusing it's pages! :laugh:

Definitely keep me posted, I'm not sure which bike I'll be doing it on yet but I'm looking to come back to the adventure side of things as the zzr1400 is fun but quite excessive, that and the social side of biking just isn't the same on sports machines!

[rrpmm02]

Clockwise, it has to be Clockwise, we ride on the left in the UK so you are always closest to the sea, you can look over the dry stone walls straight down to the golden beaches and crystal clear water without having a strip of oncoming tarmac carriageway to look past first !! this was some advice I took before setting off on my journey last June. Stayed at Loch Lomond on the way North, headed to Inverness to start the NC500, passing through Fort William following the A82, great road, then west to Applecross from Inverness to ensure I was following a Clockwise route !!
Hope you have a great trip.

[steve_h80]

Clockwise for me too these days, but I usually turn round at Durness and head south again
Good bits; pies at Lochinver, campsite at Fort Augustus, everything else

[SilverSurferToo]

I did it anti-clockwise in 2011 before it became the NC500, and then clockwise last year with my son as a pillion. There are pros and cons to each direction - it's different views but if you have never been this far North in Scotland before, my advice is look out for a weather window and use those days in the west. (I'll prepare for the onslaught of differing opinions - I do love Braemar and the surrounding area too ... but the Applecross peninsula is still one of my most favourite parts of Scotland)

There are now more fuel stops around so anything with a range of 100-120 miles will be fine. However, in the west, Sunday is still respected as "The Sabbath".

In truth, be prepared to be flexible and watch the weather. Last year I met a German at Dunnet Head who had been rained on for four full days coming up the east coast ... we had left Achiltibuie on the west coast the day before having spent a few days in glorious sunshine (Hint: The Summer Isles are a worthy diversion if the weather is good and you've already been on the road for a few days ...)

Just remember to take the time to look around and get your feet wet in the sea. Oh, and any kids and significant others will love you for going here:
http://www.cocoamountain.co.uk/balnakeil/
;-)

Oh, and I hate to break the news ... but I'm pretty sure the Avon Skin-so-soft Woodland Fresh recipe isn't what it was ... either that or the west coast midge has evolved to treat it as a marinade. (Just try a night camping at the Red Squirrel camp site near Glencoe village for a real midge test ...). I found "Smidge" to be a pretty good alternative.

Have fun ....

[drumbrakes]

I a smidge user too, but I head nets and lit fires / bbqs work as well. However if the midges are out, nothing will keep them all away.
I don't know the official route of the nc500, but a lot of the best roads on the west coast are single track with passing places, so driving / riding on the left doesn't change the view that much.

We did find a lot of car drivers on the single track roads couldn't cope with motorbikes coming he otherway. We both had L plates on our 125s, but they still drove past the passing places expecting us to ride off the edge of the road to get out their way or somehow reverse.
Most of the roads are too narrow for a bike to pass a car while moving.
If you do try to pull over to the side, give yourself room to get a foot down on tarmac, as the verges are usually wet, slippy and often slope downwards.
Generally speaking, pulling to the side wasn't a good idea. several cars forced their way past when their wasn't room, and getting pushed to the side by a car mirror against your handle bar isn't fun. If you have side mounted luggage it'll be even trickier.
We found the best tactic to deal with cars that drive past passing places, when we didn't get a chance to pull into one, was just stick to the middle of the road till you meet and they can then choose to reverse. Hopefully they'll be more considerate the next time.

[Bernard Smith]

There's a gaggle of us doing it first days of June. We have a site on Facebook with GPS routes,waypoints etc. from when 18 of us last year.

It's nc500 2017 as a search term.

See thee on the road.......