Scott Redmond's review of 2016

By Scott Redmond

ScottRedmond4 Used bike expert, bike anorak, lifetime wheeler dealer and sometime bike breaker. Regularly rides off for a 'mooch'.

Posted 21/12/2016 09:01 UK

As 2016 comes to an end, we asked the BikeSocial team to share some of their personal highlights from the year gone by. So who better to kick things off than our second hand guru, bike breaking expert and all-round moocher Scott Redmond. Take it away, Scottie...

Best bike I rode

This should be a toughie but one bike stood out for me in 2016 and that was the Honda Crossrunner 800. I took it to Poole Quay for the bike night and clocked an effortless 550 miles in one day. The V4 VTEC engine offers the right amount of power to keep things interesting and the model I rode had several upgrades including an Akrapovic carbon silencer, Once the baffle was removed it allowed me and bystanders to enjoy that V4 music. It’s stupidly comfy and the adventure styling gives you a commanding view of the miles ahead. Loved it.

Best sporting moment

Listening to the coverage of the TT via an app on my iPhone and reading updates via tweets on Twitter, all from the comfort of being indoors. Michael Dunlop’s Senior TT was probably the most moment gripping now that I think about it.

Low spot

Getting caught in a downpour while real world testing the KTM 1190 Adventure. I went from doing 70mph (ahem) on the M25 near Brentwood to barely walking pace within a minute. Making it worse was not having waterproofs on.

Product of the year

I ride every day and my pet hate is getting cold and wet, to save my hands from suffering I invested £30 in a pair of Oxford handlebar muffs. Cool they aren’t but they are hot in my world. Roll on winter!

Scariest moment

Buzzing along the A427 from Corby towards Oundle on a Honda Vultus and then discovering the short comings of the foot forward automatic, the lengthy wheelbase mixed with zero engine braking nearly put me in the ditch.

The lengthy wheelbase mixed with zero engine braking nearly put me in the ditch

Scott Redmond

Best Bike Social moment

Spending a summer’s afternoon mooching about on the crazy Kawasaki Ninja H2. I even managed to stop for an ice cream.

Looking forward to…

Putting the Grand Designs Kawasaki ZZR600 back on the dyno to see if I’ve found any of those lost horses after my series of improvements.

Ambition for 2017

To get more involved with BikeSocial and meeting some of our thousands of social media followers in person.