EXMOOR: Explored!

Fancy honing your adventure riding skills in the stunning surrounds of Exmoor National Park? The Honda Adventure Centre’s got you covered! Ross Mowbray reports. PHOTOS: Gary Chapman  

Founded by three-time World Motocross Champion Dave Thorpe, the Honda Adventure Centre’s earned an enviable reputation for its one- and two-day tours and courses that take in some of the best adventure-friendly trails and finest roads in the southwest. With an expansive fleet of Hondas on hand, including both manual and DCT Africa Twins and Transalps, an array of CRF300Ls, and a handful of CL500s, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. 

We headed down to spend the day throwing around a CRF1100L Africa Twin with the main man himself, who showed us how things are done and offered some words of wisdom and invaluable riding advice in his own chilled-out style. 

Adventure biking is big business. Ever since Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman crossed the globe on their pair of BMW GSs, long-legged, off-road capable monsters have sat right near the top of the sales charts. 

Spend time on one and it’s easy to see why: they’re comfortable, capable, and remarkably versatile. In the hands of the right rider, they’re capable of traversing some seriously tricky terrain – but the reality is that most adventure bikes don’t get so much as a sniff of the dirt in their day-to-day lives. That should come as no great surprise… the thought of taking your long-legged, 200kg, £15,000-plus adventure bike out on the trails and risking dropping it is a daunting prospect. 

Thankfully, up, down and across the UK (and beyond), there’s a raft of schools, centres and experiences that’ll help to equip you with all the necessary skills to negotiate trails on the biggest, baddest adventure bikes on the market. A host of firms have their own set up – but if you’ve got a penchant for Hondas, there’s only one place for you to go… The Honda Adventure Centre.

It’s been going since 2015, following the success of the Dave Thorpe Honda Off-Road Centre which was founded in 2013. Yep. Dave Thorpe. The three-time World MX Champion (who’s actually the last British bloke to have won the crown). He’s a properly cool guy; remarkably down to earth despite his legendary status in the off-road world. But Dave’s just one man – and there’s a big team behind the success of the centre. Chances are you won’t be riding with the man himself, but rest assured you’ll be getting some top tuition from one of the numerous experienced riders and coaches. There’s a bunch of different bikes to choose from, too. The Honda Africa Twin might be the most obvious choice, but there’re Transalps, CRF300Ls and CL500s to belt about on. 

I’m a big fan of the Africa Twin, so for my brief blast about with Mr. Thorpe, there was only one bike that was going to cut it. I’ve ridden it a lot; putting the first of the new generation machines through its paces alongside the ‘old’ CRF250L, taking one up to Scotland alongside a Ducati Multistrada 1260 Enduro; spending a seriously special couple of days riding both the Adventure Sport and standard model on the roads and trails of Sardinia; and most recently, putting the revised, smaller-wheel Adventure Sports variant to the test out on the launch in Portugal. Other bikes might get the headlines, but Honda’s flagship adventure bike works for me. I do much prefer a manual model, though.

While I’ve done a bit of trail riding on an Africa Twin, you’re not expected to be an experienced adventure rider. The centre caters for all. The One Day Tour is a fairly beginner-friendly experience, while the slightly more hardcore Two Day Tour will see you split off according to your ability to make sure everyone gets the most out of the day/s. Level One is for riders who’ve never done this kind of thing before; Level Two is for road riders with some prior ADV experience; and then there’s Level Three which is a more advanced course for punters who’ve already proved themselves and done the Level Two. Make sense? 

My day was more of a taster session; just myself and the esteemed Mr. Thorpe out for a blast on the local lanes to shoot some video and have a bit of fun. We ended up sticking fairly close to the centre rather than covering big miles across Exmoor, but I still had a brilliant time. And it proved how much great riding there is in this neck of the woods – because if we could manage to get stuck into such varied terrain just a stone’s throw from the fully-kitted Honda Adventure Centre HQ, then I can only begin to imagine all the great stuff you’d encounter if you were covering proper distances across the National Park. 

I had a brilliant day. Dave imparted some gentle words of wisdom, cementing the basics and helping to hone my adventure bike riding skills. It was the perfect taster session to whet my appetite and make me want to book in for the full Two Day Tour as quickly as possible. 

No matter whether you’re a complete novice and you’d like to learn how to ride a big bike properly in the dirt, or you’ve done your fair share and want to be shown around some spectacular roads and trails, the Honda Adventure Centre is well worth the trip. Have a gander and get booked in, I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

THE OPTIONS

ONE DAY EXMOOR TOUR

£299 with bike, kit and lunch 

A 130-mile blast across the Exmoor National Park to the coast. You’ll be spending most of the day on the road, from fast, sweeping twisties to tight, nadgery tree-lined lanes – but there will be a few mild green lanes thrown in for good measure.

TWO DAY EXMOOR TOUR

£499 with bike, kit and lunch

This one’s a bit more intensive. Aimed at both novice and experienced adventure riders, you’ll be split off into an appropriate group based on your skill level and then will be offered some top tuition to bring on your riding while exploring Exmoor’s finest trails and Tarmac.

DAVE THORPE HONDA OFF-ROAD CENTRE

If you fancy getting stuck into some even more aggressive off-road action on something a little lighter weight and more ‘aggressive’, you can either opt for an Enduro Day (on a Honda CRF250RX, CRF300L or CRF125F) or a Motocross Day (on a CRF250RX). 

For more information, visit: www.davethorpehonda.com

THE BIKES

There is plenty of choice regarding bikes to ride, depending on your skill level, size, or personal preference. The Honda CRF1100 Africa Twin’s the bike that most want to ride (available in both Manual and DCT trim), but there’s also a healthy mix of supremely capable XL750 Transalps, easy-going CRF300Ls, and retro-styled CL500s. And they’re all kitted out with Dunlop’s brilliant Trail Max Raid rubber. They’re the perfect tyre for this kind of job – surprisingly deft on the road but with enough meat on their bones to make light work of challenging off-road sections.

Plenty of punters actually already own one of them but want the chance to throw someone else’s bike around on the lanes instead of their own and, in turn, a good chunk of visitors are thinking about snapping up one of the above, and want the chance to take one for a proper test ride before splashing the cash. Whatever the score is, you’re spoilt for choice if off-road focused Hondas are your bag. And you’ll be given the choice when you go through the online booking form. Easy.