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314D 17H 33M 57S
+1000cc CATEGORY
THE BIG TOURERS.
- They're heavy.
- They're imposing.
- They take up space.
- And when they decide to lie down in the wrong place…
you know about it straight away.
But if so many travellers choose these bikes to cross continents, it's not by chance.
BUILT TO GO FAR.
Bikes in the +1000cc category are first and foremost great travellers.
- Protection.
- Comfort.
- Stability.
- Range.
- Carrying capacity.
- Power available at any revs.
When you need to eat up hundreds of kilometres, ride fully loaded or cross an entire country in a day, they're in their element.
Where a small-engine bike sometimes starts reminding its rider that it would rather take a break… they keep going!
BUT THE TROPHY DOESN'T ONLY HAPPEN ON THE ROAD.
And that's where things get interesting.
Because a bike over 1000cc loaded for travel can quickly exceed a weight your back would rather never have to lift on a slope.
- In sand.
- In rocks.
- In a narrow section.
- In an improvised U-turn.
Weight becomes a real constraint.
And the more technical the terrain, the more precise the rider has to be.
WEIGHT IS THE ENEMY.
BUT ALSO PART OF THE GAME.
A big bike forgives a lot on the road.
It forgives much less when grip disappears.
At low speed, every mistake costs more.
Every badly placed stop takes more energy.
Every fall can turn into a small lifting operation.
But when it's ridden well…
a big machine can go much further than its size would suggest.
And that's precisely what makes this category so spectacular.
COMFORT COMES AT A PRICE.
On a long road section, you'll probably be happy with your choice.
A few hours later, in the middle of a broken-up trail…
you may wonder why you need such a big engine.
That's the paradox of this category.
What you gain in comfort, range and touring ability…
you pay for in weight and inertia when the difficulties begin.
IT'S UP TO YOU TO FIND THE BALANCE.
WHEN IT FLOWS, IT REALLY FLOWS.
Big bikes offer exceptional stability on fast trails and long flowing sections.
The torque makes it easy to pull away again.
And when the terrain opens up…
these bikes can become surprisingly effective.
But the faster the pace, the more you need to keep one thing in mind:
YOU ALSO HAVE TO BE ABLE TO STOP IT.
A TRAVEL BIKE.
NOT A RACE BIKE.
The Lone Rider Trophy by Tom Barrer isn't a rally-raid.
So the +1000 category isn't about who has the most horsepower.
Raw power adds almost nothing when you need to pick a good line, manage your energy or get a bike out of a bad spot.
Here, what matters more is:
- control,
- anticipation,
- managing the weight,
- and above all…
KNOWING WHEN IT'S BETTER NOT TO PUSH IT.
WHO IS IT FOR?
ON THE TROPHY…
This category is for those who love travelling far.
Eating up loooong road sections in comfort.
For those who want to cross a country comfortably before tackling a trail.
For those who love big bikes…
and accept everything that comes with them.
Because a +1000cc can take you extremely far.
But it will sometimes (often) ask a little (a lot) more work of you to get there.
There will be moments when you look at the small bikes with envy.
Especially when they turn round in three metres.
Or when a rider picks one up almost single-handed.
But when the day gets longer…
when the kilometres start piling up…
and the next bivouac still seems a long way off…
YOU'LL REMEMBER WHY YOU CHOSE A BIG ONE.
