Me and the wife are doing the NC 500 next week. My car is going to my mates (who is a very good mechanic) for a once over before I head off. My car has 104k on the clock and is a 2003 2.5. It was serviced 2000 miles ago. I trust him to do what’s needs done, but most of you guys have more experience with these cars and know what you are talking about. What specifically should I be asking him to check? And for those who have done it, what (tool wise)should I take with me? All input is appreciated.
NC 500
- Thread starter Sgr74
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We did it last year in a 2006 E85...only " extras" I took were a jack and emergency spare wheel...most of the roads up there have a better surface than the ones in England..lots of single track with passing places but they aren't a problem 'cos with most of them you can see far enough ahead to spot anyone coming towards you..biggest issue was with people who had obviously rented mobile homes and couldn't judge the size of them..
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We did a sort of NC400 plus Skye last September, fantastic trip with some of the best roads I've driven. Many were mile upon mile of open, sweeping, billiard-table smooth tarmac loveliness. I didn't see anybody with punctures, just make sure you have booked accommodation well in advance 
All booked up. Inverness, Gairloch, 2nights in Durness then a night in Brora. She likes a bit of walking, so should be a good one. Weather permitting. 8)Ewazix said:We did a sort of NC400 plus Skye last September, fantastic trip with some of the best roads I've driven. Many were mile upon mile of open, sweeping, billiard-table smooth tarmac loveliness. I didn't see anybody with punctures, just make sure you have booked accommodation well in advance
Sgr74 said:All booked up. Inverness, Gairloch, 2nights in Durness then a night in Brora. She likes a bit of walking, so should be a good one. Weather permitting. 8)Ewazix said:We did a sort of NC400 plus Skye last September, fantastic trip with some of the best roads I've driven. Many were mile upon mile of open, sweeping, billiard-table smooth tarmac loveliness. I didn't see anybody with punctures, just make sure you have booked accommodation well in advance
We stopped in Sterling on the way up then Inverness,Loch Maree,BettyHill and Dornoch..stopped off in the Lakes on the way back down..it was a good trip...we were lucky with the weather so that made it quite pleasant..
Of corse you need a suitable Jack and rench too. Plus a small compressor that runs off the lighter. Happily the ///M has one fitted in the boot. Saved me a couple of times. 
Sgr74 said:
We did it 2 weeks ago in a 2006 E85. As people have said the road surfaces are all pretty good. There were a lot of rented camper vans and there is a FB page and most people who post are in campers. The single tracks have signs encouraging slower traffic to pull in to a passing place and wave faster traffic on. Most adhered to this but you get the odd few who want to travel at 15mph and make everyone behind do the same.
Have a good trip. Hope the weather holds out for you, we had fantastic weather the week we were there. We stopped Loch Ness, Ullapool, Wick then Edinburgh for a few nights.
North West Surrey
As said above getting a puncture will be highly unlikely as alot of the roads are some of the smoothest you will go on in the UK. Just watch out for traffic police as on sunny days they are out in force trying to catch speeding motorbikes
All I would suggest is make sure your camera is fully charged
All I would suggest is make sure your camera is fully charged
It’s a trip to Scotland not the Arctic circle, get in the car & drive.
Midge spray is my only suggestion, having spent plenty of time in my childhood days there and in the Irish countryside! The little buggers are everywhere
I know what it is, it’s still only a trip of 500 miles nothing to panic over. As I said get in the car & enjoy it for what it is.
I was agreeing with you, its just for some it is a larger trip than others travelling from further south.Bombardino said:
Doing the NC500 when you stay in Scotland is almost like a day trip.
I done the majority of it on the bike a few years ago and if I was on my own would have done it in 2 days.
Glasgow to Ullapool, Ullapool to Inverness, Inverness to Glasgow. Almost 700 miles.
Nictrix said:
1385 miles for me door to door from Liverpool