nevermind the speed, the bike needs to be able to get from A to B period!
haha only kidding mate.
Im sure you'll be more than fine with us, it's certainly not a speed challenge. More of a tour, see the sights, experience the cultures, etc etc. Maybe the fast folks will jet ahead on the twisties sometimes which is fine.
The problem will be with those who have 125s or 250s and want to come along. It's not the speed, but more the engine's capability to cruise at 80mph for a long period of time, or pulling the weight of bike n rider up the mountain passes.
So stick ur name down!
Woo hoo. Got my European health card thingy the other day, nothing gonna stop us now Cassie
Big thumbs up on the lid Skins, always wanted a St. Georges cross helmet, but very happy with the one I got now though
Whats a health card... I dont even have a doctor.... Damn will i be able to go..... lol
New lid come and its super - you will all see me in it and sleeping in it and so on and so on it cost soo bloody much...
Hi there guys, I'm fairly new on BM, but I have done a lot of european touring, France, Belgium, Germany, Spain etc. and thought I'd offer a little bit of advice.
Firstly, your insurance covers you in the EU and covers you the same as it does in the UK. It isn't just TPO or similar. However, you need to advise your insurance that you are going.
You also need full european breakdown cover as well as holiday insurance. It doesn't cost a lot, you can get both for about £70 (presuming you have uk breakdown cover) for a two week period and you'll be sooooooo thankful if anything happens.
In Spain last year a BMW with us had a problem with his hydraulic mainstand and it spat hydraulic fluid all over the back wheel - not good. His breakdown cover gave him a car for the remainder of the holiday and arranged for the bike to be taken to BMW for fixing and then to be transported to the UK. Out of interest he worked out how much that lot would have cost if he had paid for it himself and it would have been around £600!
Forget about travellers cheques. Get a few quid exchanged into Euros and then take your switch card - you can use them all over Europe for both fuel and getting money out of walls. Again, however, tell your bank you are going and ask about continental cover for things like loosing your card.
Get Michelin maps for all the areas you'll be travelling in, plan your routes together so everyone knows where you are going and seriously, seriously, consider a GPS system. At least one for every three people. Believe me, there is nothing worst than being lost, a thousand miles from home and not being able to ask for directions because you don't understand the locals!
Myself and another couple got split up in Germany once and we weren't sure about the route. However, I had the hotel location programmed into my Garmin and it took us straight there.
Finally the distances.
I have read a couple of posts suggesting this is a 2000 mile trip and I am in return suggesting that you think about planning a route and working out what the mileages actually are.
I have just programmed a quick route into my GPS based on what would be a very nice tour, to have a look at possible mileages as I thought your estimations were a little low.
Rotterdam (or Calais as they're not that far apart), Ypres (Belgium), Zurich, Verona (Italy), then back north and east to Saltzburg, Gyor (Hungary), Trnova (Slovakia), Brno then finally over to Boppard in Germany before back to Rotterdam or Calais.
I have to admit, this would be a superb trip, but taking into account that I have only programmed in destinations, not roads and as such this is based on quickest/shortest routes and not nicest, the mileage is still around 2700.
This doesn't take into account travelling within the UK to get to Hull or Dover and back again either. So if you take these distances into account and then also pick some nice routes between hotels, I reckon you're going to be looking at around 3500 miles for the trip above!
3500 miles over two weeks would for me, be too far. It would probably mean travelling most days, whereas you'd probably enjoy it more if you spend a few nights in each hotel and try the roads around it whilst you are there.
I love biking, but have done a few 300+ miles before in a day and even travelled back to Pontefract from central Germany (about 800 miles!) in a day and it ain't pleasant.
I personally think that everyone should try biking in mainland Europe because it is truly ace so please don't think I am trying to put you all off, because I'm not.
But I do hope you take my advice and sit down together, plan some routes and then work out how far you'll really be going before deciding on a final plan.
Geoff
Hey Geoff, welcome to the site. That was a great bit of input you gave, many thanks for taking the time to write it all.
How do you fancy coming along on the ride by the way?
Re the route: It's totally up for discussion. I just blurted out a load of countries to get the ball going. I definitely have to go see family in Hungary though. I do also agree that I'd rather spend a day or 2 at each location, then have a long ride in between to get to the next location. What's everyone else think?
Cheers for the invite Matt.
Unfortunately I am already committed to do a tour through Austria and Switzerland in June with a night in Germany on the way down and another on the way back. Plus I have promised some friends that I'll arrange a long weekend in Scotland some time this year as well - although if people are interested and I happy to open the invite for this to all in BM.
However, I am always happy to offer some advice and/or suggestions. I can't offer any info on Slovakia or the other eastern Europe countries on your list, but can possibly help with Belgium, France and Germany. I can offer a lot of advice on central Spain, but that is a long, long way from where you're wanting to go!
Oh and Lula, the Nurburgring is pretty cool although I've never had the bottle to go round it! Not whilst cars, vans and the occasional coach are going round as well lol!
Good luck though.
LOL geoff, I won't be going round it, merely watching through parted fingers as skins breaks the sound barrier again!
might get a map of europe up on the wall in the garage, and stick pins in where we wanna go. then stick a few in skins just for the fun of it... he he heeee
hey Lula, if you and skins wanna work out a route then feel free. Unfortunately as im so far away from you all now, i cant really take part in the planning. Just get me to north west Hungary at some point and fit as many sweet roads in on the way.
We can plot it on autoroute and save GPS coordinates for those who have tomtoms etc.
Hey Geoff, would you recommend having a precise road plan mapped out or just the town/city names we want to go via. I'm thinking it will get really stressful if we're trying to stick to exact routes, whereas it may be more relaxing to just get up in the morning and aim for a certain town. A good europe map should be all we need.
ok i will get a map then matt. anyone going on this trip that wants to go anywhere specific, let me know and i'll make a map then email it out to everyone going for approval. this may take some time and research so let me know soon folks
You could plan exact routes Matt, but unless you know the area you run the risk of missing things.
The best way is to, as you suggest, decide what towns you want to stay at and spend your planning time deciding on hotels and things you want to see on the way rather than actual exact routes.
If I know the area fairly well then I do plan "rough" routes, but then check out with the locals what else there is to see. Staff at hotels are often happy to advise what to see if you let them know where you are heading.
Also, you may want to change your planned route anyway depending on how everyone is feeling, weather etc. I have in the past scrapped all plans to take in scenic routes and used motorways for a large part of the day, simply because it was bucketing it down.
Speaking of hotels, they tend to be a lot cheaper in Europe and the staff are far more friendly towards bikers than in the UK. So I would always recommend them above camping. Camping in Europe is fine if you are staying somewhere for a week or so, but if you are travelling don't do it.
There is only one thing worse than getting delayed for whatever reason, then not getting to your site until several hours after dark (remember it gets dark sooner the further south you go), at which point it starts to rain. That one thing is all of the above, but then realising that you have to put your tent up, set all your gear up, make do with a shower block instead of a hot bath and then have to cook your own dinner on a stove!
Regarding your maps - I would certainly recommend Michelin maps. Go for the Regional maps for a bit more details (Orange ones, 500 series) and the National maps for planning some of the longer routes (Red ones, 700 series). They have always been brilliant for me. I have been using a Garmin Zumo for the last two or three years (which has proved very good if you remember who's boss!) but still carry my Michelin maps for both planning routes and in case my Garmin packs up (touch wood, so far it never has).
If you do decide on a GPS, I do think the Garmins are better than the equivalent TOM TOM's and the Zumo is the best of these apart from a serious flaw. The problem is the volume. I had to buy a StarCom audio system and run the Zumo through that. The end result is fantastic and I can make phone calls, plug an mp3 player in, chat to a pillion and even plug a bike to bike radio in - but it gets expensive.
Try www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk they do very good deals and you can even buy some of the older models for discount prices.
Hope this helps.
All i want to do is ride my bike... I will just follow.. just let me know what time to get up on the day.. Yes its a man thing...LOL.. but can we do the nurburg ring.. pretty please....lol
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