[BeRightBack]

Recently had the chance to take her up to one of Austria's most spectacular High Alpine Roads, the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße.

My favorite ride so far, the huge amounts of snow this past winter made it even more memorable:

Not a single complaint about the bike, still believe she handles the twisties better than many bigger rides!

Cheers and have a good weekend everyone

 

[hombacher]

Thank you for sharing.

Your observations regarding handling are right. Do not know if you already swapped the OEM Pirellis. If not you can prepare for an other increase in easy and lightweight handling. Keep on rinding and showing your nice little vids.

 

[BeRightBack]

Thanks @hombacher, I switched to a set of Michelin Road 5 early this spring and as you said, it made a big difference. Handling improved and they are much more confidence inspiring, especially when the roads are still a bit cold!

To be fair, I bought the bike (with stock Pirellis) with 6k km on it, so I didn't know if the Phantoms were performing much better when they were new but I've had quite a few slips until I finally change them around 10k, should've done it earlier.

 

[Rawberry]

What an enchanting ride. Was this your first time on the route, or have you ridden in before?

 

[BeRightBack]

@Rawberry, thanks, much appreciated! This also was a first for me but will definitely get back there next year. Think I picked a good day, should get pretty crowded up there in summer.

Note: The (motorcycle) toll for this road is a hefty 27,50€

 

[gaborXSRfromHUNGARY]

Recently had the chance to take her up to one of Austria's most spectacular High Alpine Roads, the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße.

My favorite ride so far, the huge amounts of snow this past winter made it even more memorable:

Not a single complaint about the bike, still believe she handles the twisties better than many bigger rides!

Cheers and have a good weekend everyone

Nice videos! i can’t wait to go the alps with my xsr!

 

[BeRightBack]

More content from the Alps, Silvretta High Alpine Road & Timmelsjoch:

 

[[email protected]]

Recently had the chance to take her up to one of Austria's most spectacular High Alpine Roads, the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße.

My favorite ride so far, the huge amounts of snow this past winter made it even more memorable:

Not a single complaint about the bike, still believe she handles the twisties better than many bigger rides!

Cheers and have a good weekend everyone

Lovely, absolutely lovely! Any plans for Stelvio? If you have never done it, you have to. Going up is fun going down was terrifying but the whole thing is unforgettable. I've never done it on a small bike like the XSR, I did it on my old GS1200, and the whole time I was wishing for a small nimble bike, and spare underwear.

 

[BeRightBack]

Lovely, absolutely lovely! Any plans for Stelvio?

Funny that you mention it, originally planned to visit Stelvio as part of my recent trip (during which the last two videos were recorded) but then we went for a different route. It's definitely high up on my list but will probably have to wait for next year and another multi-day adventure! Should also give me some more time to work on my hairpin bend technique

Must've been thrilling with the heavy GS but I also believe it'd be quite fun on the XSR

 

[Lawis]

Looks amazing!

& Thank you for giving the cyclists plenty of space.. ..I can't tell you how unpleasant it is when cycling up mountains (or anywhere for that matter) and a motorcyclist passes closely!

 

[[email protected]]

Funny that you mention it, originally planned to visit Stelvio as part of my recent trip (during which the last two videos were recorded) but then we went for a different route. It's definitely high up on my list but will probably have to wait for next year and another multi-day adventure! Should also give me some more time to work on my hairpin bend technique

Must've been thrilling with the heavy GS but I also believe it'd be quite fun on the XSR

The GS I was riding was the first year of the 1200. It was good in the straights, but the extra seat hight was not helpful here. I also rode the pass on a road bicycle on a different occasion and fell really hard, broke my shoulder.

I would say, don’t do Stelvio on the stock tires

 

[[email protected]]

Looks amazing!
& Thank you for giving the cyclists plenty of space.. ..I can't tell you how unpleasant it is when cycling up mountains (or anywhere for that matter) and a motorcyclist passes closely!

I second that!

 

[BeRightBack]

& Thank you for giving the cyclists plenty of space..

Thanks, I try my best! I cycle a lot myself (admittedly not up such mountains) and understand how frustrating it is if traffic acts like you don't exist.

I would say, don’t do Stelvio on the stock tires

🤣 Haha I remember some slippery situations with the Phantoms up on local mountains, especially when the roads were still a bit cold. Was very happy about the change to Road 5's once they wore down to the indicators.

 

[hombacher]

On Sunday we will make it to the Dolomites. Even that the weather forecast is not the best, we hope to do some nice kilometers on Alpine streets.

Otherwise we have to focus on the local kitchen, this is fun as well...

 

[BeRightBack]

On Sunday we will make it to the Dolomites.

Weather seemed good on Sunday, how was your trip? Hope you got to enjoy the mountain roads and scenery!

Cheers

 

[hombacher]

Weather seemed good on Sunday, how was your trip? Hope you got to enjoy the mountain roads and scenery!

Cheers

Arrived here on Sunday evening. All fine and good. The weather was good as well so far. Only today on Thursday is a complete day off, because of rain.
Still quite busy here, feels more like August than September.

BR
hombacher

 

[BeRightBack]

Still quite busy here, feels more like August than September.

Felt the same, heaps of bikes (+ the usual traffic) on the streets these past few weeks, early summer was much more quiet here!

Doesn't really fit the "High Alpine Cruising" scheme, but here's a little mishap of mine from a few weeks ago:

Obviously my fault (speed, road conditions, subideal braking.. got the bike unstable), was a bit surprised by the sudden shake and ended up going straight instead of turning..

Was a good reminder that things can happen all the time but it still baffles me a bit!

Hope you all stayed safe this season 🙂

 

[BeRightBack]

We have recovered and are back to the mountains:

Happy weekend everyone!

 

[hombacher]

Felt the same, heaps of bikes (+ the usual traffic) on the streets these past few weeks, early summer was much more quiet here!

Doesn't really fit the "High Alpine Cruising" scheme, but here's a little mishap of mine from a few weeks ago:

Obviously my fault (speed, road conditions, subideal braking.. got the bike unstable), was a bit surprised by the sudden shake and ended up going straight instead of turning..

Was a good reminder that things can happen all the time but it still baffles me a bit!

Hope you all stayed safe this season 🙂

Good to see that you came out without any damage. Just correct the position of your little crown and ride on. Some reasons you mentioned already. Looks like focus on the ditch, you end in the ditch.
I do not know if you made any upgrades to the suspension up to now. The OEM set up makes the bike a little slow on quick manoevres when it come to steering impulse and quick swapping the direction. Plus the rubber cushion of the handle bar.

In the Koppen video I was wondering about the revs you ride. In my cognition I ride with much lower revs. Maybe the mic is fooling me, I do not know...

Anyhow, thank you very much for sharing, did not know the Koppen so far.

 

[BeRightBack]

Many thanks for the feedback @hombacher, you're absolutely right, target fixation was a big part of the problem and I'm pretty sure I could've still avoided the ditch despite the handlebar shake.. It really caught me off guard in that situation and I lost my focus on the road!

My suspension is all stock and I often wish for something a bit stiffer, especially on bumpy twisties, I can feel it's weak spots! On the other hand it's super comfortable when not riding agressivley.. I won't complain considering the market price of the bike but understand why many opt for after market parts.

Did you just upgrade the rear shock or also the forks? I wonder if it's worth just getting the Ohlins rear suspension or if a full upgrade would be advisable...

I've only been to Koppenpass twice but really love the whole area around Hallstatt, many great roads and passes + the scenery is just stunning Pass Gschütt, Koppenpass & Pötschen Pass can be combined to a really nice afternoon trip in that area!

Reg. high revs: Well spotet, in the mountains I use the upper rev. range a lot, a (questionable?!) habit I probably aquired with my former bike (an old CB500S) where reving high was much more needed to keep a good pace.. + I like to make use of the heavy engine breaking the CP2 offers.

Thx a bunch for your input, great to get some feedback, especially since I mostly ride alone and don't get to discuss a lot about riding practices..

Cheers