ABR 2025
[Music] So, this is ABR 2025. This is the event that is always in my calendar. I absolutely love this event. It’s like the Glastonbury of motorcycles. It doesn’t matter if you’re entry level, off-road, or on-road. Everybody’s here together to enjoy two wheels. So, let’s go check out ABR 2025. [Music] The Trans Alp is unpacked. I’m all ready for AVR 2025. This is the main Honda stand where we’ve got everything from CRF300L which is new for this year. We got Fireblades, we got Honda Gold Wings. And what makes this unique is not all the bikes are stuck to the ground. So if you want to go ride a Honda Gold Wing, go ride a Honda Gold Wing. It’s that simple. But for me this year, what makes it unique is that you can ride both onroad and off-road. And for me, it’s time to go see Dave Thor and try some off-road. We arrived just 1 hour ago. I’ve signed all the indemnity forms. I got my Bridgestone sticker, which means I can do the Bridgestone Trail. I’ve got all the kit. But now it’s time to swap my road Honda Trans out for one from the Dave Thorp Off-Road School. The loop should take about 50 minutes. And this is what ABR is all about. [Music] Oh, a little bit. Spot on, mate. Spot on. We’ve done the off-road on the trans out with Dave Thor. Now it’s to try onroad on the NX 500. Let’s jump on the 500. Oh, can we stop for a cider? Would that be appropriate? Obviously non-alcoholic. So that’s it for the little road ride. Probably about 35 40 minutes. Mixture of different roads. Some real nice twisty switchback stuff. nice little country empty B- roads. But it’s a little bit unusual because normally you’re riding a group of friends and I don’t know anybody and everybody’s on a Honda bike and everybody’s on a different bike and everybody’s riding a different bike for the first time. So I looked in my mirrors and saw a CBR600 and then at the traffic lights I could hear the music from the Gold Wing. But that’s what I thought on the test ride. Let’s see what everybody else did. Cool. So David, you just come back from the road ride. Yeah. What bike were you on? I was on the Hornet 750. And why I choose that one? I’ve loved the classic style bikes. Also, kind of something a bit more more modern. Yeah. Something that’s not too powerful, too sporty. So, then I thought I’d go for that for the uh for the Honda. Abs. I tell you what, absolutely loved it. Way more fun than I thought it would be. Uh cuz I don’t want anything too sporty, too kind of scary as it were. But actually, you love that one. So, so Cheryl, you’ve just been out on which bike on the road? Africa Twin. DCT. Why did you choose the Africa Twin? Because I have an Africa Twin at the moment, but they all thousand. I was keen to try the DCT out on the road which was gorgeous. And you’ve got the standard manual one. Yes, I have. So, I was keen to see see how the DCT performed. See how that works. Slow speed is amazing. So, yes, thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to get out of it. Some nice roads. Um the junctions, they take you around as well. They’re really open. The guides as well, they don’t rush you. Uh they make it very clear before you go out. They, you know, ride your own rides. We’ll keep an eye on you. They stop and wait for you. Um they’re really good at sort of marshalling the ride as well, so letting people pass. Yeah, felt looked after. The festival is in full floor. We’ve even got people kaying and stand up paddle boarding. We’ve chatted to some road riders, but now let’s go back to Dave F and chat to some off-road riders. And over there, we’ve got a special guest who’s going to be performing some amazing tricks later on that you are going to be truly amazed by. [Music] And you’ve just done the the little loop round. Enjoyable ride. It is. Yeah. So, it it wasn’t long enough. I wanted to keep going, keep going, keep going. Um I was on a Trans App for that manual. I’m normally on an Africa Twin DCT. There’s loads of grip out there. The Trans App caught me by surprise because it was so nimble. It’s nimble. It’s got plenty of power for the uphill as well. um diving left and right. It’s really really good. You can tell they’ve changed the route. It’s much much better, much more interesting. Gives you much more of a a chance to try the bikes on different terrain. There was a number of of gradients, steep hills, climbs, bit of sandy sections. Um slight little wet section, but nothing major. Um uh yeah, it it was a really really good manufacturer route. So that was your first time ever performing at ABR. To me it looked amazing. But how was it for you man? Just arrive here and see that much people. People is saying me no come to ABR come to ABR like just another heaven. And uh arrive here and I was impressed. You can feel all these people have motorbike in the blood. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They really live it and uh it’s such inspirational for me to come here and see that much people motivates me to keep going and keep creating content. you see all all the work behind um pays off you know when you see all these people smiling trying to come on another jump another jump try again go again just make you feel happy and and really I love my my job and this makes me love even more my job hey it’s what we talked few minutes ago that’s why I traveled almost 20 hours yesterday to come here and make these people happy and just prove that this bike can do everything. [Music] So, this is something completely new for this year at ABR, a free bus service put on by Honda. Essentially, it goes around the festival dropping people off at different campsites and at different stands. Obviously, stop number one is outside the Honda stand, and it continues around the festival. It’s completely free, runs until 11 o’clock at night, which allows people to get easy access back to their tents if they’ve had a beer or two. Dave, how many times have you done ABR? It just seems to get bigger and bigger every year. It does, doesn’t it? I think I think this is my fourth time. Is it only your fault? I think so. Um, I remember first coming here and it was a relatively small festival at that point and now to what it is now is it’s unbelievable, isn’t it? And where else can you ride almost every manufacturer’s bike? Yeah. By just signing up in the morning and it’s included in your price ticket. And the trail is good. It’s not like a wobble around the car park. It’s a it’s a proper trail where you know you can have fun and actually test the bike. It it it actually I mean the length of the trails is the key because people get a proper experience. Yeah. You know, it’s not a two-minute thing. You’re not just around a car park and back in. You’re out there. It’s uh Yeah. It’s it’s everything that an adventure bike rider would want. Try a bike with your mates. Have a laugh in the evening. Bit of camping, bit of food. Happy days. Talking of evening, it’s time to have a beer. a cider. [Music] Just waiting for my non-alcoholic beer. [Music] So that’s it for ABR this year. It has been absolutely epic. This is the festival that is a must. I absolutely love it. Ridden onroad, ridden offroad, met with Dave Thorp. It’s been great to hook up with some really good mates. It’s been great to ride at this amazing festival. But now it’s time for me to catch the bus, get back to the campsite, pack everything down, load up the bike, and get ready for ne Oh, get ready for next year. Looks like I’ll be walking.
ABR Festival 2025 – Honda Highlights Recap!
Honda took centre stage at the UK’s ultimate adventure biking event, ABR Festival 2025, and it was a weekend to remember! From thrilling test rides to immersive experiences, the festival was packed with energy, excitement, and unforgettable moments.
#Honda #Hondamotorcycles #ARB
