Ultimate road test - New Kawasaki Ninja 500 vs the NC500 - Inverness to John O'Groats - Part 2

Day two and already 403 miles into our five day tour of Scotland's North Coast 500. This leg of the journey took us up from Dingwall to John O'Groats and we finished the day at Caithness View Lodges with a total mileage of 542 for the trip so far. We decided to do the NC500, anticlockwise because so many people had told us how boring the East Coast is and that if you do the West first, that it's hardly worth doing. Because of that, we set off with very low expectations and found it to be a really enjoyable days ride on some fantastic coast roads. The East coast of the NC500 has some long sweeping bends, with plenty of visibility of what lies ahead and a nice sea view to top it off.

We visited a few spots along the way, like Lybster Village and Whaligoe steps. Before then heading up through Wick, onto to John O'Groats, Dunnet Head and back down to our accommodation at Caithness View Lodges. Our accommodation for that night was in the perfect spot for cutting across that evening, back to Tesco's in Wick for some cheap fuel and some supplies.

After Riding the Ninja through some terrible conditions on day one, as we went up the twisty roads, skirting the side of Lock Ness, I had started to get a real feel for the bike and began to trust it's handling and grip. The Ninja 500 was really benefiting from the improved torque that the bigger engine gave it, over the old 400 ninja. The low seat made it really easy to maneuver at low speeds and it also meant that even with the added weight of the panier bags, if the surface that I stopped on was rough or slopped, that I was still sure footed. Now the roads were dry though and the bends were long fast sweepers, the Kawasaki took on a whole new lease of life, and its sports pedigree started to shine through. The anticipation of getting this bike onto the West Coast roads, was bubbling away in my mind and although I didn't want to wish the trip away, I couldn't wait for what was to come over the next few days.

#mymoto #kawasakininja500 #northcoast500

To find out more information about the New Kawasaki Ninja 500, click on the link below -
https://www.kawasaki.co.uk/en/products

Website -
https://www.dstoremanchester.co.uk/

MyMoto Stores -
MyMoto Leeds, 3, Overland Park, Gelderd Road, Leeds. LS27 7FE
MyMoto Manchester, 22 Ardwick Grn South, Manchester. M13 9XE
MyMoto Derbyshire, Unit 1, Derby Road, Clay Cross S45 9AG

We stock-
Arai, AGV, Bell, Airoh, RST, Dainese, Richa, TCX, Cardo, Moni Moto, Novic, Motul, Moto Verde, Tru-tension.

00:00 Intro
00:37 Leaving Dingwall
01:42 Twisty Roads
03:15 North Coast 500 East (the boring bit???)
04:27 Lybster beach
05:50 Whaligoe steps
07:24 John O'Groats
09:17 Caithness View Lodges