Hitchcocks Forum

Hi all, i am planning a little tour on my bog standard 350 later in the year. I have not ventured far on it yet so am not sure of a sensible daily mileage estimate. I was thinking about 250 miles a day would be reasonable. I will be keeping off the motorways and heading for scotland. Does that sound a wise amount? Thanks.

I'd say that would be your upper limit but achievable. Staying off motorways you'll average 40mph so that's over 6 hours in the saddle which is plenty. These 350s are comfortable cruising at 55 maximum so 6 hours shouldn't tire too much. I've done well over 100 miles in one go on my 350 Trials with high handlebars so a more roadster riding position should be ok. What's the plan?
REgards, Mark

Hello rusty

Yes 250 Max is a sensible figure ,Haveing Been to Scotland twice on Me Bog STD 350 it is Possible..

But as some one once told me RE: going to Scotland "The Bike Might make it but you Wont,"

From Nottingham (Where I Live) its a Long Boring Ride at 50mph, But go via the Lakedistrict & spend a Night there or at a Pub en route & its Bearable.
Once in Scotland on the Back roads 250 Miles (When Possible) Feels Like Fun & every thing is more Interesting... Due to time Constraints The Blast Back (60mph on the Motorway was ere Boring,cold & Wet (Well it was Summer) did visit lindersfarne and should off had a days rest but pushed on home..

2nd Trip to the Highlands, I had a Lift to Scotch Corner way..But Had a Mate on a Modern Bike for company (a Custom) Could tell he was Bored stiff by the Time we got any where...Though the 350 held its Own on the Hi lands & ile lands though..
"Watch Out For deer though" Bambis there Not 1/4 ton of Hoof Often ran up along side the enfield,A woken by the exhaust Steady Beat.

So in short : Dont thrash the Bike & it will be Ok, Your Bum will be as Numb as your Brain till you hit the Interesting bits... IF Time Allows Have a Full Nights Stay en route Up or Down......

Have Fun .... Cheers Craig

i think that your 250 mile plan is very achievable,just take some spare engine oil with you as my 350 uses a small amount of oil at around 250 mile intervals,i will be traveling down to west sussex in the next few weeks for the big knock rally on my diesel bike from south yorkshire i,m planning on doing it all via M1 /M25 ALTHOUGH THE DIESEL DOESNT USE A DROP OF engine OIL INBETWEEN SERVICES just hope the summer starts soon all the best paul,just thinking hope your going to scotland soon ,to avoid the midges!!

150 Miles would be enough for me.


I usually estimate my speed at 30mph, so for 150 mmiles, I would allow 5 hrs.

This allows time for coffee stops, Meals, sightseeing. general chatting & unexpected delays.

No point in being stuck to a tight schedule when I should be relaxing.

John D.

Well, we have been having fantastic weather just recently, dry and sunny, just getting a little wetter, (showers), past couple of days and the Midges aren't quite here yet, (though in a greener area you'll find them out as early as March) this may sound daft, but, find your nearest Avon stockist, and buy some Skin So Soft, it's in a pump squirt bottle, cover your exposed bits in this, face, neck, arms, hands etc.
It is THE best midge repellant bar none, forget the wild exaggerated claims of the herbal remedies and tiny extortionate bottles of repellant, waste of time.
I will mention also, If you're not worried about sleeping under canvas, Wild camping is legal and commonplace up here, there are stacks of places to stop and pitch up, just please be sensible and keep things tidy, fires controlled and litter removed, we've already lost a couple of beauty spots for wild campers because of littering and the like. (sadly, it's more due to the young locals having 'beer and disposable BBQ' weekends and leaving the place a pigsty than tourists).
Be wary of the cattle, The cows are bigger and just don't care what rights you think you may have and will stand in front of you oblivious, the sheep are typically sensible but can be spooked, the deer are easily spooked and WILL jump out in front of you for no apparent reason.
I know the fuel effinciency of the Bullet is good and the tank range likewise, however, do not pass up the chance of a fill up once past Inverness / Ft william as stations get scarcer, peopel with bikes of 100 mile or lower tank ranges can really struggle, be aware that some of the smaller filling stations will close early saturdays, completely on sunday and at 5-6 pm weekdays.
Otherwise, take your time, enjoy the scenery, (theres nowhere to equal it in the whole of the UK), see if you can catch a wild haggis to take home, (shortbread soaked in single malt is a good bait for them)

just a thought if you go to OBAN you could try the local delicacy of deep fried pizza i had 1 in the late 80,s its as big a must as scotch pie /haggis and 10 schilling i think it was called that good beer anyway all the best paul

Scottish ale tends to have versions with "shilling" after the name, this dates from the amount of tax paid on a barrel. The tax in turn depended on the alcohol content of the beer. The Belhaven brewery (of blessed memory) does/did this. Thus you can have a couple of pints of 70/- with lunch, 80/- not so wise and you don't want to go anywhere near a self propelled wheeled conveyance after the infamous 90/-.....cheers (hic) TimG

wow, thanks for the response guys - that's why i love this forum. I have an old yamaha fz for touring but with times being tough I will be selling her on my return from a blast to the black forest in a couple of weeks. I was working on the idea of a trip on my bullet in about september but obviously it makes the trip to scotland a rather different proposition on such a slow bike. I live in kent and the first thing is how to avoid the M25 to get around london. I love the iron barrel but the one factor that stops it being perfect is the lack of motorway ability and sometimes you just want to get somewhere a bit quicker. However seeing as I intend to ride it back to india one day a trip to scotland shouldn't be too much of challenge.

Thanks for all the tips, I had heard about Skin So Soft from Avon - i heard they issue it to soldiers as the best repellant which may or may not be true.

As for the danger of deer I am fully aware of their potential danger - they are rife here in the kent/sussex borders. About 10 years ago I was running a Vespa and a large stag jumped out on me late one night on my commute. I jammed on the brakes and fully expected to have a major impact - we missed each other by millimetres but my thought as I closed my eyes and jammed everything on was 'shit, I am going to die on a Vespa'. I went out and bought an XT600 Tenere pretty soon after that.

Hello Matey ----------- Just a thought}--If you were to plan your trip just before the Mid-Summer Solstice or (just after) at least that way you won't be riding into shortening days?? From Kent, will you be going via the East Coast ie the flat Fenlands etc.? If you do come over towards the West then Joyce and I ( Telford, Shropshire)could put you up for the night with secure garaging and workshop facilities. Last week I collected a Classic 500 from Farnborough, Hants and rode that home within a 5-hr time-frame including 3 x 20 min. stops. (Approx 150 miles). I tend to go along with JOHN D's approach. A few years ago Joyce & I toured the Irish Republic on a fully-kitted out Moto Guzzi California 1100i with pre-booked B&B for each night. Even allowing for the more rural style of roads a typical daily AVERAGE speed was around the 35-40 mark.( And yes-- it rained for 50% of the time ---that also slows you down. ).And-- it just wants some old chap with that knowing twinkle in his eye to approach your Enfield and you can kiss goodbye to another 30 mins of "interesting" chat !! And all done in the best possible way---of course. some "MUST-DO" items are the FALKIRK WHEEL, a ride over the FORTH BRIDGE. There's a good B&B on the Isle of Skye run by a biker and DO go to APPLECROSS----just give the old girl time up the hills. Fort George is a military time-capsule and a visit to the Commando Memorial at Spean Bridge is a visually stunning ride. In any event ---- Have A Good-'un.