PANning The Borders.

The following article is reproduced with the kind permission of Dave Muckle from the BMF. Dave Muckle takes a Pan European and discovers the delights of the underrated Border Region, courtesy of Motorcycle Scotland.

The invite came through from Bonnie Scotland to pay a visit to a Border region and take the hospitality, roads and scenery of an area that, to be honest, most people pass through on their way to the Highlands. I was no different; if you wanted the roads, this is where I thought you had to go. How wrong I was…
Having accepted the offer, what was I going to ride up there? It was going to be a mini tour as such so I plumed for the 2008 Honda Pan European. It is a bike I have admired and secretly wanted for a long time, so the test would either enforce my thoughts on it or blow them right out of the water.
To save myself some earache on my return I asked ‘er indoors’ if she fancied a trip up north, and once work was sorted she came along for the ride. First I had to get the bike, so a trip to the Honda Institute was made on the Friday and the trip home of some 80 miles gave me a quick insight into what the bike would be like. A quick blast on the motorway to ‘swerve’ speed produced no sudden weave or any other problems so I was happy.

The bike itself makes you realise why so many people have bought, and keep buying them. The 1300cc V-tec engine is a peach; there is power everywhere in the rev range irrespective of which gear you find yourself in, and when it is kicking out 117bhp at 8,000rpm and maximum torque of 117Nm at 6,500rpm you can see why.
Just like the FJR, the Pan only has five gears but the way they are set means the engine never struggles – even at high speeds – and the bodywork keeps you in a nice little cocoon out of the worst of the weather. The electric screen works very well from a switch on the left bar, and a three-position rider’s seat means you can set it up just right for you.
The dash has everything, with multi trip meters, speedo, temp, fuel gauge etc. The tank holds 29 litres of go go juice and once you start traveling that’s what you do….go, and for a long way. We hit 200 miles around 10 miles south of Lockerbie and you then get a trip meter counting down the miles left – a great tool.

One of my favorite pieces and not necessarily something that others consider is the view behind from the mirrors. The fact they are mounted in such a way means that you look under your arms, and this makes a tremendous difference. We had ABS but I never got to use it – that’s good isn’t it?
Saturday morning saw me at a meeting at the ACU for the National Rally, which I arrived at totally fresh. The wife was dropped off in town with no aches and pains, to have a nosey round before meeting me at the ACU offices to continue our trip up country.
Instead of jumping onto the M6 and joining the ranks of ‘fixation person’ who is either on his or her phone, eating a roll, reading a map, doing their hair etc., I chose the A5. From my years on the trucks I knew this road and if caught right, was a steady route to take. However, it was better than I thought it would be. There’s more dual carriageway than I remember and we sailed across to junction 12 and joined there.

The bike had been faultless, which was nothing more than I’d expected to be honest. After a dinner stop we got back onto the motorway and opened her up a bit. It was mid-afternoon and we didn’t fancy arriving in the dark at the hotel. It turned out we had been covering ground at a greater rate of knots than we thought. We had time to divert off the motorway and ride up through the lakes so out came the map (on slip road) and we chose a route. We decided to go to junction 26 and take the A590/A5074 to Windermere, which was a nice route with some twisties thrown in.
After a cuppa we headed up the A592 which eventually brings you out at Penrith and there are sections on this road that become very narrow and bendy so watch yourselves if you’re up there. Some of the tighter areas are around Ullswater where you have to breathe in. Back on the motorway and it was a straightforward ride to our destination at The Buccleuch Hotel in Moffat, a small town just off the M74 in Dumfries and Galloway. The owner, Dave Smith and his son Clint made us very welcome on arrival and after having locked the bike in the secure area at the back of the hotel, we were soon in our room having a nice hot shower.

The hotel is renowned in Scotland and elsewhere for its food, and with the majority of this supplied locally, I tasted some of the most succulent steak I’ve had in a long time. Having said this I think the hotel’s main area of expertise is wine.
The next morning saw us in the breakfast room being served by Mary, and with everything from cereal to a ‘full English’ available, you’re spoilt for choice. I love porridge and seeing that the hotel was renowned for this I just had to try some. They do all the variations you can think of whether sweet or plain, Golden Syrup or with honey. It was all fantastic and set me up for the day.
Food over with we hit the road to take in some of the scenery but which way to go? We were told any road would have us smiling so we went north to join the A702 to Thornhill and on to St Johns Town. What a road. It has all the corners you’re ever likely to come across and some with good surfaces.

Taking the A713 north is more of the same, only faster as the road is wider. Turn off when you reach the B741 across to New Cannock and the A76. This road is much more open and a consequence of that is speed cameras. We came past a mobile unit slightly faster than I should have but nobody followed me.
At Menrock take the B797 and you’ll find yourself back on the A702 and onto Moffat. That night more fantastic food was to be eaten, this time in the company of journalist Andy Downes and a photographer from MCN.

The following morning saw us being driven to a couple of B&Bs to have a look at the kind of accommodation that is available. The first, Lochhouse Farm is situated on the opposite side of the M74 at junction 15, and has rooms of all sizes and two self-catering cottages. The second is in the heart of Moffat and called, Limetree House and again has numerous rooms of all sizes.
Both these locations are listed on a new website, www.motorcyclescotland.com which has been designed and built to draw in bikers to the town and surrounding area. It is backed by the local population and deserves to work well. You will find everything you need for riding in Scotland here.

Departing on the third day I wanted to cut across country to Keilder Water in Northumberland so had to plan it first trying to use the quieter roads. In the end I went for the A708 to Selkirk, a nice road with a 50 mph limit on most of it and you don’t need to go any faster – trying to ride it fast in places could be your downfall.
Taking the A7 to Hawick and the A6608 as far as the B6357 you end up at the lake (stopping on route for a drink) in around three hours. By this time I was at one with the bike, the weight I was conscious of at the beginning had gone, the lean angles had been steadily increasing and the comfort was excellent. When the wife says she likes a bike it must be good as she can be quite fussy as a pillion, but again there was no problem with comfort and I would go as far as to say she could probably have a kip with a top box fitted…
Break over we headed for the A68 and ‘the big dipper’ – well that’s what I call it and anyone who has traveled this section will understand. It is around 10 miles long between Ridsdale and Corbridge and it’s full of blind crests. One of these hills has a 30 mph limit and at the top you see why. Go any faster and you’re airborne, and with a 30ft drop the other side, it will hurt.

Sadly from here it is basically dual-carriageway and motorway the rest of the way home but as expected the bike wasn’t bothered in the slightest. When I normally travel this route I am looking for a reason to stop as it gets so monotonous but I was quite happy to sit on the Pan for 200 miles between refills, as was my other half.
So all in all it was a very worthwhile trip. I found the roads around the Scottish borders were excellent (don’t forget to see Jedburgh, Kelso, Coldstream and Berwick). The food was fantastic, the people were very friendly and helpful, and – being a biker – knowing that you are welcome somewhere does make a huge difference.

The bike was top class. As a full-on tourer it works very well and gives you the opportunity to cover large distances at high speeds. As a ‘Sunday morning toy’, fair enough, it won’t keep up with a well ridden sports bike but will hold it’s own against most bikes and riders. Good protection means you don’t mind getting caught out in rain or anything else the gods throw at you.
I think I’ve found my next bike though. At £11,700 new, it isn’t cheap but you can pick up a good used version for around £7-8,000 with 10-15,000 miles on it which could have a lot of extras already fitted. All we need now are donations to the ‘Dave needs a new bike fund’.
Many thanks to Honda UK for the loan of the bike.