August 2026 - another month of two wheeled fun in the sun! Scottish weekender, BikeSafe, FireBiking, training, Examining, and a cheeky little demo ride on a Honda CB1000GT.

August was another fun filled month of motorcycling, and another month of great weather to do it in! Here's what I got up to.

Training.

Malc kicked off the month of his BMW S1000XR. It was Malc's second session, which saw him travel 100 miles from his home in Derby for his training. Malc has previously completed a BikeSafe event, and is now working towards taking an advanced test. We met at Strawberry Fields and headed east and then over the Humber Bridge and into Lincs. 130 miles covered. Malc will be back again in the future. Cracking day.

Richard was up next on his Tracer 9. Richard came back to biking about 6 years ago after a long break, but since then has been cramming in the miles, so decided it was time for a little refresher.

Jim followed on from Richard on his Tiger 900. Jim has experience of advanced driving, and wanted a review of his riding to see how he measured up to his car skills. Fortunately he measured up very well, and after a few tweaks, Jim was soon delivering a well planned, safe and progressive ride.

Simon came along on his R1250GSA. Simon is back to biking after a long break, so decided to have a refresher. Fortunately, despite his lack of road riding, he has been a keen track day enthusiast and also has experience of advanced driving techniques, so his riding was pretty good from the off and after a few pointers here and there, he was soon flowing nicely. In fact, things went so well, he successfully completed the Enhanced Rider Scheme. Great result. 

Gavin was his BMW 900XR for his training session, (he also has a very nice Streetfighter V4S ). Gavin has been a biker on and off for many years, and decided it was time for a refresher, with the potential for an advanced qualification in the future.

Simon came along on his Triumph for his 3rd session, following a long break from biking, and he successfully completed the Enhanced Rider Scheme. Great result, and well deserved.

Jonathan and Zoe finished off the month, with Jonathan having a morning session on his lovely K1300S, as he prepares to take his RoSPA advanced test, and Zoe had an afternoon session on her Z400. Zoe only recently obtained her bike licence, and is my youngest ever customer at 21! Zoe wants further training and is looking to complete the Enhanced Rider Scheme. Two great sessions with two great people at completely different ends of their post test training journey. This is why I love my 'job' so much.

Jonathan and his lovely K1300S.

Zoe and her Z400.

RoSPA Examining and Tutoring.

Only 1 RoSPA test to conduct in August, which was an Advanced Tutor triennial retest. The candidate was Simon on his R1300GSA. Simon is an experienced rider, Tutor and Advanced Tutor, and is also the Training Officer for his local RoSPA group. All of which was very evident in both his riding and coaching skills, and resulted in him passing successfully. Congratulations.

In August I carried out several Tutoring session with my RoSPA group, Advanced Riders North Yorkshire (www.arny.org.uk). First up was Matt on his R1300RS. It was a PTA (pre test assessment) and all went well, and Matt passed his advanced test a few days later with a Gold grade, the highest possible. Great result.

Next up for a PTA was Ben on his S1000XR. Another good rider, who also successfully passed his test a few days later with a Gold.

Paul followed on from Ben, and also passed his test a few days later, with another great result! Congratulations to one and all.

On another session, I was paired up with Peter, on his NC750. Peter is an experienced Advanced driver and Observer, looking to add a bike qualification to his portfolio. Peter is yet to take his test, but we're hoping for a great result.

The final Saturday of the month was another great turn out with a full contingent of 12 associates and 12 Tutors. I was paired up with Steve on his 1250GSA. Steve is an experienced, confident and accomplished rider, but understands how vulnerable we are as bikers. So, even after a lifetime of riding, he still wants to learn. Another reason to ensure he's as good as he can be, is because Steve also tours regularly and his wife rides pillion. In fact, they've just come back from riding a Royal Enfield Hymalayan in the Hymalayas! You might not think that's overly impressive, but Steve and his good lady are both 78......78! What an inspiration to us all!

IAM Masters Mentoring.

I had 2 Mentoring sessions with Masters candidate John on his Guzzi Mandello. Both sessions went really well, and John is well on his way to meeting the standard required. John will be back again in September.

FireBike.

I managed to get out on the FireBike twice in August. The first was with fellow volunteer Stuart. Unfortunately the damp weather obviously put a lot of riders off, so although we visited Seaways Cafe Fridaythorpe, The Motorist and Strawberry Fields cafe, there weren't many bikers out! We did chat to a couple of bikers at Seaways who were on their way to The Dales for a camping trip.....very brave! lol.

Ready for the off.

A bit damp up at Seaways Cafe, Fridaythorpe.

Last stop, The Motorists.

BikeSafe.

On the 22nd, I had a fab day assisting Humberside Police to deliver their latest BikeSafe event. 10 candidates, alongside 5 volunteer Observers representing RoSPA (John and Rosie) IAM RoadSmart (Darrell and Steve) and me, plus 5 Police riders. I was paired up with Andy on his Triumph 660. Andy is a returning rider after 6 year break, but does have previous experience of post test riding and driving, so he was pretty much on point from the off, only needing a few tweaks here and there. Brilliant day.

Scotland.

A the beginning of the month I met long time biking buddy Daren, and we headed off to the Scottish borders for 3 days and 2 nights, and it was fantastic! The weather was amazing, there was hardly any traffic, and the roads and views were awesome!

Day 1 saw us head from York to Ripon, Leyburn, Richmond, Barnard Castle, Stanhope, Hexham, Slaley, Kielder Water, Jedburgh, Kelso and onto our hotel for the night in Coldstream. The weather was fine and dry, with temperatures between 15 and 21c. The Hotel was in the centre of 'the town' and we decided to dine Coldstream style.

T and P stop in Stanhope.

One of the many great roads.

Second stop - Kielder water.

The River Tweed.

Dining out Coldstream style. Who doesn't love a Kebab!

Day 2 started with a hearty 'full Scottish', before leaving Coldstream at 830am. We headed across to Selkirk, passing the Abbey ruins in Kelso before reaching Selkirk and on to the excellent A708 to Moffat, where we had a brief tea stop. We then headed back north on the fantastic A701 passing the stunning views offered at the 'The Devils Beeftub' and onto Biggar, where we turned south again down the A702, eventually reaching the M74. One junction later, we left the M74 and headed down the stunning Dalveen Pass, and then turned back towards the M74 along the Mennock Pass, stopping at The Wanlockhead Inn for our 2nd T&P stop. It was my first visit to this pub, and it's very quirky, with a definite motorcycle theme. From there we continued to Abington and then turned onto the B740 and headed back towards the A76. We had out next tea stop at the Buck tea room in Straiton and then headed south through the gorgeous Galloway Forest.

After reaching Newton Stewart, we dropped onto the A75 to Glenluce and then took the coast road through Port William and onto the Isle of Whithorn before heading back towards Newton Stewart, through New Galloway, finally arriving at our hotel in Dumfries, 9.5 hours/315 miles after leaving Coldstream. Definitely one of my best days riding in Scotland.

Kelso Abbey.....or what's left of it.

Another stunning borders road.

Wanlockhead.

The quirky biker themed Wanlockhead Inn. Definitely worth a visit.

You can't park there!!

Day 3 was our final day which saw us leave Dumfries under a cloudy and damp sky line, but we still made the most of it. From Dumfries, we headed to Lockerby, and onto Langholme. The weather picking up and the roads drying out. We then took the A7 to Brampton and onto The Nook for a tea stop. It was then Alston, Middleton in Teesdale, Brough, and down to Tan Hill Inn, where we had intended to stop, but it was really busy so we continued on over Buttertubs Pass to Hawes. Unfortunately, Hawes was also really busy, so we decided to keep going, and instead, stopped at The Taste of Wensleydale in Bainbridge, where we had tea and scones, with jam and cream. Very civilised. On leaving Bainbridge, the sun came out and temperatures quickly rose from late teens to mid 20's and beyond! We headed on through Leyburn, Masham, Ripon and then dropped onto the A1. Which is where we parted company at its junction with the A64, me heading towards York, Daren continuing south for another 90 miles towards his home.

Tea stop at The Nook, between Alston and Brampton.

The Taste of Wensleydale, Bainbridge.

Yummy!

The Scottish Borders delivered in abundance with fab roads and fab scenery, very little traffic and mostly great weather. It really was a fantastic few days, I covered nearly 750 miles over the 3 days, and as Daren lives near Coventry, he covered over 900.

Honda CB1000GT.

Last month I had a demo ride on the BMW R1300RT, and a great bike it was too. This month, I was invited by Miles Kingsport Honda in Hull, to ride the latest bike to join Hondas line up, the CB1000GT. This is a bike I've been looking forward to riding every since they were first launched. 150bhp tweaked FireBlade motor in a 'tall rounder' kinda style. Think BMW S1000XR(ish).

Very comfy, with a relaxed, slightly canted forward riding position. Not sure the official seat height but I'm 5ft 11 and was more or less flat footed.

Easily adjustable screen, heated grips, cruise control, quick shifter, slipper clutch, ABS TC etc etc. The bikes inline 4 is super smooth, and whilst there's not loads of lower down torque, once you hit 6000 revs and more, boy does it go....and sounds amazing with it!! The TFT dash displays speed, revs, gear, fuel to empty, trip, clock etc and the electric suspension and engine modes can be changed on the move.

My only 'complaint' was that the seat was on the hard side and it wasn't long before I was moving around due to 'numb bum' syndrome, and the cruise control only works in 4th, 5th and 6th gears and only at 30mph and above. Not the end of the world of course.

Overall a great bike, and one that seems to be selling fast. I think I read it was Julys biggest selling bike.

So, would I buy one? Well no, but not because it's a bad bike, but because the new Honda CB1000F has finally landed in the UK, and as a previous owner of CB900Fs back in the 80s, I think I NEED one in my life!

Silver or Black sir?

All awaiting their new customers....

Miles Kingsport Sales Exec Lee with a black Cb1000F.....doesn't it look fantastic?!

And this is why I want a CB1000F - October 1981. 18 years old, super slim, full leathers, and I even had a full head of hair, sat astride my 1st CB900.

That wasn't my only CB900. This white one, followed the silver on.

With a few subtle mods, 2/4 seat, Marzocchi shocks, and a 4 into 1, it turned into this....

And then with a full CB1100R replica kit, it finished life like this!

I even had a third CB900 a few years later.

My GSA.

August was another mileage packed month on the GSA. It was also 54,000 mile service time. Unfortunately, as expensive as maintenance can be, it's a necessary evil both for the mechanical smooth running of the bike, my business and my safety, all rolled into one. This service was the 'big' service which consists of plugs, valve clearances, oil and filter, and a general check over. Fortunately, all my maintenance is carried out by the excellent team at Barrie Robson BMW, York. I've had 10 BMWs (4 x GSA's, 3 x K1600's and 3 x S1000R's) and they have looked after 9 out of the 10 and I have only ever had excellent customer service.

Miles in August.

So here's my mileage figures for August.

01/08/26 - 52,513

31/8/26 - 54,854

GSA mileage in August - 2,341

FireBike mileage for August - 235

Total mileages for the year to date;

GSA - 14,491.

FireBike - 907.

Total - 15,398.

Training for everyone - will you be next?

As you have read, another great mix of people and bikes. Whoever you are and whatever you ride, please come along and have some training. You'll ride great roads while learning new skills and re-enforcing the old ones.

And that my friends rounds off August 26. Thanks for reading, and until next month, ride safe.

Ian S.