So here is Nick’s R1, a little tatty I have to say. You’d find plenty of tidier bikes on eBay with less miles for the same year, but then again they won’t be world record holders! The machine has been ridden round the world in 19 days. To put that into perspective, I took 4 months to ride half way!

That’s properly riding around the world too, not missing huge chunks of it by flying. Averaging 1600km every day is bloody hard work, you’d need to be super fit and mentally prepared too. I’m not sure I could do that – but then I’d prefer to take my time and enjoy the experience.

So what do you need to set a record? A 40bhp KLR650 single? Hardly! The R1 is a 1000cc inline 4 that can do 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 3.04 seconds. Or 0 to 100 mph (0 to 161 km/h) in 5.42 seconds. A standing quarter-mile in 9.90 seconds and has a top speed of 179 mph (288 km/h).

Forget the figures for a moment, that’s bloody fast in anyone’s book!