Euro Trip & Brno Moto GP

dceire

I am heading off on my maiden Motorbike voyage next month and plan to take in the Brno Moto GP as a sort of halfway point. The plan thus far is to get the ferry from Rosslare to Cherbourg on 13 August and make the return ferry journey on 30 August.

I'm riding a Suzuki SV650 and have expandable panniers and tank bag for luggage. Having never undertaken a trip such as this, is there any advice you experienced motorcycling globe trekkers have for me. I'll be doing a lot of riding in France where I understand there are a few new rules for motorcyclists; no filtering & reflective helmet strips from what I know of.

PS: Is anyone else planning on heading to Brno for the Moto GP?

Oh, and here's my route...

KamiKazi

You lucky bastard.

That is all

Hornswoggle

That looks like a savage trip you have planned, best of luck! On a side note, has anyone on here done this type of a trip on a sports bike and if so what did you use for panniers?

The Don

Looks deadly! I'd love another trip this year

You should see think about driving through Andorra. There's a great road into it from the French side. There isn't any tax in Andorra so you could pick up some new cheap bike gear for yourself . Plus it'll save you riding the same road twice, in and out of Spain.

If you have the cash then book a cabin for the ferry. It's a long voyage and you'll be wrecked from trying to get sleep in a corner somewhere.

I had a topbox, rollbag and tankbag. You should have enough with the panniers and tank bag but you could pick up a rollbag somewhere for €30.

A good tip is to put your chargers, cables, etc into a lunch box. This will keep them dry and in one easy place.

Also if you have an alarm/immobiliser on the bike then replace the batteries in the fob before you go.

In France there is the Fast Hotel chain of hotels which are good. We stayed in a few during our tour last year. Each room has it's own shower and toilet and you get free internet too. There are 2 different types of hotels they offer. The Green (cheaper) and Red (more expensive). They are basically the same and we found the Green ones had better service. There's a map on the main page of that link which shows the Green and Red hotels.

I think this is most of what's required for France. I haven't updated it since last year:
High viz for evening/night driving
Warning Triangle
Spare set of bulbs
Self-testing Breathalyser (one always needed so get 2 minimum)
Clear visor (you have to be able to show you have it within reach, so in your tankbag or one of those carry straps)
Filtering is illegal
I think that satnavs which show the locations of speed camera's are illegal also

I have a full list of things to bring somewhere. I'll post if up when I dig it out.

dceire

The Don wrote: »

You should see think about driving through Andorra. There's a great road into it from the French side. There isn't any tax in Andorra so you could pick up some new cheap bike gear for yourself . Plus it'll save you riding the same road twice, in and out of Spain.

Yea, I'm definitely open to altering the route slightly. I've a friend in Lyon who's looking for me to visit but it's a bit out of my way and, if I'm going there, it'd be after reaching Massif Central and would take me the wrong side for visiting Barcelona and/or Andorra. Don't really want to cut Barcelona out of my trip either.

The Don wrote: »

If you have the cash then book a cabin for the ferry. It's a long voyage and you'll be wrecked from trying to get sleep in a corner somewhere.

I was thinking of booking one of the reserved reclining chairs. Sounds like a compromise between relative comfort and cheapness :P I've never done it before though.

The Don wrote: »

In France there is the Fast Hotel chain of hotels which are good. We stayed in a few during our tour last year. Each room has it's own shower and toilet and you get free internet too. There are 2 different types of hotels they offer. The Green (cheaper) and Red (more expensive). They are basically the same and we found the Green ones had better service. There's a map on the main page of that link which shows the Green and Red hotels.

I shall have a look for these hotels, I bought a one man tent too; real small one, weighing 1.5kg, hope to kip in that the odd night.

The Don wrote: »

I think this is most of what's required for France. I haven't updated it since last year:
High viz for evening/night driving
Warning Triangle
Spare set of bulbs
Self-testing Breathalyser (one always needed so get 2 minimum)
Clear visor (you have to be able to show you have it within reach, so in your tankbag or one of those carry straps)
Filtering is illegal
I think that satnavs which show the locations of speed camera's are illegal also

I have a full list of things to bring somewhere. I'll post if up when I dig it out.

If I'm not mistaken, the Hi-viz has been revoked has it not, as has the fine for not carrying a breathalyser. Don't think motorcyclists need a warning triangle either. Any idea what the story is with the reflective strips for the helmet?

Also, I have the bike since May and it had/has a very small and illegal number plate on it; no EU symbol and the like. I'm not getting any hassle here on it but is it worth changing before going abroad?

The Don

dceire wrote: »

I was thinking of booking one of the reserved reclining chairs. Sounds like a compromise between relative comfort and cheapness :P I've never done it before though.

Yeah that's be better than the floor and cheaper than a room. Also you should pack some meals for the boat journeys. All meals were over €10 each so save yourself a bit of cash!

dceire wrote: »

I shall have a look for these hotels, I bought a one man tent too; real small one, weighing 1.5kg, hope to kip in that the odd night.

Sounds good. There were a few places we saw which would have been good to stop.
We heard of bikers in camp sites around Barcelona getting their side stands stolen. The feckers would come in at night, tip the bikes onto mattresses and steal the stands. Then they'd come back the next morning with a box of spare stands for sale for €30 :rolleyes:. You wouldn't want to have topped up the tank the night before! :mad:

dceire wrote: »

If I'm not mistaken, the Hi-viz has been revoked has it not, as has the fine for not carrying a breathalyser. Don't think motorcyclists need a warning triangle either. Any idea what the story is with the reflective strips for the helmet?

I'm not sure, haven't been following the rules this year, sorry.

dceire wrote: »

Also, I have the bike since May and it had/has a very small and illegal number plate on it; no EU symbol and the like. I'm not getting any hassle here on it but is it worth changing before going abroad?

I think it's a requirement. You should be able to get it done at any local motor factors for €25. I think you also need the IRL stickers, halfords have them. Bring 2 in case 1 blows off somewhere in the south of France like mine did

Are you going by yourself or with some other bikers?

racemok

Over the years have travelled France, Italy and Spain and its good advice to book a cabin on the ferry (its a 23 hour journey) and to change your number plate to a regular sized one, stick a high viz vest in your bag just in case if you see other riders wearing them stick it on. Take a few tools and a puncture repair kit. Are you getting get me home insurance worth it if anything goes wrong with the bike.

You have to be careful camping in France rolling up to a campsite late in the evening will leave you sleeping on the side of the road everything closes early in France happened to me.

Otherwise just take it easy you'll love it.

Del2005

dceire wrote: »

I am heading off on my maiden Motorbike voyage next month and plan to take in the Brno Moto GP as a sort of halfway point. The plan thus far is to get the ferry from Rosslare to Cherbourg on 13 August and make the return ferry journey on 30 August.

I'm riding a Suzuki SV650 and have expandable panniers and tank bag for luggage. Having never undertaken a trip such as this, is there any advice you experienced motorcycling globe trekkers have for me. I'll be doing a lot of riding in France where I understand there are a few new rules for motorcyclists; no filtering & reflective helmet strips from what I know of.

PS: Is anyone else planning on heading to Brno for the Moto GP?

Oh, and here's my route...

What ever you pack throw half of it away and you'll be fine. Don't think because you've loads of luggage space it needs to be filled. The less you carry the easier it is for you.

The Don wrote: »

I think this is most of what's required for France. I haven't updated it since last year:
High viz for evening/night driving

This isn't needed anymore, but you need to carry a high viz if you break down on a motorway

Warning Triangle

Can't be carried on a bike and AFAIK they're now not recommended to be used on motorways, it's too dangerous walking a couple of hundred meters on a motorway

Spare set of bulbs

Always handy to carry and some spare fuses. Also if there's a group travelling swap you spare keys with each other.

Self-testing Breathalyser (one always needed so get 2 minimum)

No longer a fine for it, but no harm in carrying them

Clear visor (you have to be able to show you have it within reach, so in your tankbag or one of those carry straps)
Filtering is illegal
I think that satnavs which show the locations of speed camera's are illegal also

Once the speed trap warning is disabled sat navs are OK

I have a full list of things to bring somewhere. I'll post if up when I dig it out.

dceire

The Don wrote: »

I think you also need the IRL stickers, halfords have them. Bring 2 in case 1 blows off somewhere in the south of France like mine did

Question on this, where exactly are you supposed to stick it on the bike?

The Don wrote: »

Are you going by yourself or with some other bikers?

I am going solo, none of my mates are into bikes really. I've wanted to do something like this since I was a kid, so I'm just going to go for it at this stage.

Also, I plan on avoiding Tolls as much as possible; as much because they tend to be boring roads as because of the money aspect. At the minute I've paper maps but would sat nav be a worthwhile investment? I'm thinking of getting a tablet pc, regardless of the trip, and was thinking of maybe getting a Garmin app for it and going with that; I'd be worried about battery life though.

Del2005

dceire wrote: »

Question on this, where exactly are you supposed to stick it on the bike?

Your numberplate has it, or at least get a number plate with one on it.

dceire wrote: »

I am going solo, none of my mates are into bikes really. I've wanted to do something like this since I was a kid, so I'm just going to go for it at this stage.

Also, I plan on avoiding Tolls as much as possible; as much because they tend to be boring roads as because of the money aspect. At the minute I've paper maps but would sat nav be a worthwhile investment? I'm thinking of getting a tablet pc, regardless of the trip, and was thinking of maybe getting a Garmin app for it and going with that; I'd be worried about battery life though.

Your going to need to wire a power supply for the Satnav regardless, they won't last more than a few hours without power. Going for a proper Satnav v's a tablet PC depends on how opaque your tank bag is with it's rain cover on, no point in having a Satnav if you can't see it when it rains.

dceire

Del2005 wrote: »

Your numberplate has it, or at least get a number plate with one on it.

I think what The Don means, and what I have read elsewhere, is that you need to display one of those big cumbersome country of origin stickers on the bike. Like this one.

Bikerguy

dceire wrote: »

I think what The Don means, and what I have read elsewhere, is that you need to display one of those big cumbersome country of origin stickers on the bike. Like this one.

that sign is long time gone as far as i am aware (only within europe tho) no need for that.

Del2005

dceire wrote: »

I think what The Don means, and what I have read elsewhere, is that you need to display one of those big cumbersome country of origin stickers on the bike. Like this one.

Only if it's not on your number plate.

Display the IRL national identification letters on your vehicle (and any caravan or trailer you are towing) when travelling outside the EU. Irish registration plates incorporating the IRL/European Union symbol make display of a conventional sticker unnecessary when circulating within Europe. However, such identification is still required outside the EU even when displayed alongside the European Union symbol

I just realised I could have been done when I went over to Switzerland:D

prunudo

The Don wrote: »

A good tip is to put your chargers, cables, etc into a lunch box. This will keep them dry and in one easy place.

I like that idea, will have to do that next time I head off.

Another tip which I picked up after I learnt the hard way is to put your phone wallet and important documents in zip-loc freezer bags.
After riding through 6hrs of heavy rain my supposedly waterproof pockets were soaked through. iPhone was wrecked and any notes I had in wallet were saturated :-(

Enjoy the trip dceire and throw up some pictures when you get back

Kat1170

One of these or/and one of these will take care of your charging needs. These are just the first ones I found, they can be got cheaper.

The Don

Ok I found the list. It's pretty big. There were 4 of us so we could split items up between us. So just pick what you think you'll need and can fit.

You should use it as a reference really and pick out what you really need.

A couple of travel requirements:
Original Registration Document
License
Passport
Original Insurance cert
European Medical card (See here http://www.ehic.ie/)

You should get travel insurance as well, food poisoning can happen anywhere.


Some things you should bring:
Buy an Airhawk Seat Cushion (The best purchase you’ll make for your trip!)

Lots of ear plugs! You can get ~50 pairs for ~€10 on ebay.
Cameras (For that nice bike picture in the alps )
Electrical Chargers and Euro adapters (Phones/Cameras/Video/GPS. Test them and make sure they work)
Chain lube (every morning)
Tool Kit (There will be plenty of bike garages but a few tools won't hurt)
Small Head mounted Torch
A few pairs of gloves (1 Gore-tex, 1 ventilated)
Sun Glasses
Chain(s)/Lock(s)
Spare Fuses
Bring some rags for the ferries. Some of them don’t have any to put between the ratchet tie downs and your seat and paintwork! Ireland-France crossing had them.

Optional:
GPS with updated maps + Mounting Kit
Top Up Oils/Fluids. 1l bottles (you could end up paying €30 for 1l of oil in a petrol station when you really need it)
Puncture Repair Kit and/or a can of tyre weld
Spare Bungees/Cargo Net (Handy for drying your clothes on top of your topbox)
Tablet/Laptop if you can fit it. Lots of places have free wi-fi (McDonalds). So you can upload photos of your trip to make us all jealous
Ultra absorbent thin towel
Visor cleaner + cloth to wipe it off properly
Sun Cream
Cable Ties
Gaffer Tape
Side stand plates for earthen ground
Fire extinguisher
Ratchet Tie Downs
Pens and paper to keep track of spending
Vitamin tablets. It's a long trip so it’s important to keep your strength up

Before the trip.
Try to check everything on the bike. Tyres, chain, bearings, throttle and brake cables (one of the lads throttle went in Gibraltar so we ended up wasting half a day there).

Pack and unpack preparation. Plan and re-plan what to take with you a week before the trip. Organise what you're bringing into the luggage. Think about weight distribution on each side of the bike when you’re doing this, you don’t want to be veering to one side

Try and plan where you’ll be each night and look up possible accommodation in each place before you leave.

Make a list of things you want to see in each country. Have 2 things in each country that you’d really like to see. Other attractions can be left on the list or taken out depend on time.

Take a look at road watch websites of the countries your visiting. It’ll let you know of any road works on your route and delays that may be encountered due to them.

On the trip.
Arrive at your destination each evening no later than 8. If you arrive after this it's too late to look around and find the best priced place, have a shower and then find a place to eat. Recently a friend did a trip where he was leaving at 6am and riding until 4pm. He had a few hours of the roads to himself then beat the evening work traffic chaos.

Have plenty of bottled water bought for the nights and mornings.

The tolls in France and Spain are expensive so stay off them if you can. The other roads are better biking roads anyway

French bikers are great and every one of them will salute you!

If you’re not making as much progress as you thought then don’t go too far into Europe. You don’t want to have to rush the last half of your trip in order to make a ferry!

Check out a Louis shop when you're in Germany.

The cathedral in Cologne is amazing. You're passing pretty close to it so you should think about going there.

dceire

Cheers Don

I had a good few things on there prepared but there are one or two that I have overlooked; so, thanks for that.

I've also got an issue with my rear indicators; when I have the panniers on, they are almost completely covered. I was contemplating making some sort of bracket to spread the panniers at the back but wasn't exactly sure how.

I then came across these number plate indicators. Any suggestions?

PS: I've no idea how that red thumbs down symbol got there.

colm_c

That's a fair journey in just over two weeks!

We did something similar distance wise, but in three weeks, and to be honest another week would have been even better.

You need to have chill out time, and days off the bike, otherwise it becomes un-enjoyable. Some days we did 600km's others we struggled to do 50km.

The best type of roads we found were in the alps, lovely twisty's going on for miles, you won't do huge miles but they are very enjoyable for riding!

Things that were invaluable to have:
- rain suit - by god when it rains in Europe it's something else!
- insurance docs
- bike ownership papers
- old school maps
- puncture repair kit
- duct tape
- cable ties
- spare gloves
- bungee cord
- helmet and luggage locks - you need to be able to secure your bike and all the luggage and helmet/jacket if you want to explore. I think a guy on here had his jacket nicked while travelling around Europe
- change in your tank bag for tolls
- give yourself enough buffer time to make the ferry back
- zip lock bags for your phone etc in your tank bag

Other things
- the tolls sometimes give you a ticket, and check it when you're leaving the tolled road, if you lose it, you'll have to pay the maximum toll
- some tolls are free for bikes, look out for the half barriers
- European city drivers have usually very little patience for drivers who don't know where they are going, especially the French!
- don't book too much ahead accommodation wise as it means you need to make your destination even if it's late
- loads of bikers on the roads on the continent, usually get chatting to them at petrol stations or in towns

Main thing is have fun, don't worry about covering distance.

dceire

So, the day is finially here. After years of wishing, months of planning, and days of last minute panic; I'm off to France on the ferry tonight.

I'd just like to say a MASSIVE thanks to Wonda-Boy, lookbehindyou, and leppla for helping me to sort the bike and get it ready for the trip. I'll try to post the odd picture as I go. My route has changed slightly from the original and I've given myself an extra few days; just to loosen the time constraints a little bit.

This is my new route.

If anyone's heading to Brno for the GP, let me know.

serious3

best of luck! i'm just back from a 1000km weekend on the bike so i'm kinda itching to get away again. looking forward to updates and piccy's:cool:

prunudo

Best of luck with the trip, have a good one.

Wonda-Boy

dceire wrote: »

So, the day is finially here. After years of wishing, months of planning, and days of last minute panic; I'm off to France on the ferry tonight.

I'd just like to say a MASSIVE thanks to Wonda-Boy, lookbehindyou, and leppla for helping me to sort the bike and get it ready for the trip. I'll try to post the odd picture as I go. My route has changed slightly from the original and I've given myself an extra few days; just to loosen the time constraints a little bit.

This is my new route.

If anyone's heading to Brno for the GP, let me know.

Very best of luck Dave, hope the service holds up :D

dorannoel

Best of luck Dave! Drive safe!!!!

Notch000

best of luck , just seen this post now, dont not hesitate to shorten you route, it looks a little unrealistic milage wise, unles you just want ot sleep and drive nothg else.

Consecutive 650km days are just going to be **** & WILL break you, dontthingk yo uhave any rest days there either + you will have to take motorway to achieve this target and you'l see nothing & get raped on tolls and sevive stations.

Sorry for being so negative i just want to put that out there, i just came back from a 12,000 km, 8week solo trip on a fazer which is a much more comfortaly place to be and i found the long days quiet long and they were not as condensed as yours. #although i strictly stayed off motorways. So put up with cross country travel which can be frustratingly slow progress wise.

But ignoring this
Have ball and stay safe, dont worry about filtering, sneaky u turns, speed cameras, cops, e tolls etc, its not a crime unless they catch you in person !! just follow the locals lead

Have fun

kaimera

Aw man, enjoy and keep her safe!

nerrad1983

Have a great time man, super jealous here

Stay safe!

two wheels good

I think that route and the distances involved is way too ambitious for the time you have allocated. I don't mean to dampen your sense of adventure, just to inject a bit of realism.

You will spend a lot of time on toll roads and national routes and every morning re-packing your luggage to achieve those distances. Plus you will be missing out on some of the most fabulous biking roads in christendom! I'd say it's inevitable you will abandon the "grand plan" at some point along the way.

The other thing that occurs to me is: Do you really want to be heading through the centre of all these cities? Heavy traffic, time consuming, hot, lugging your gear, looking for accommodation. Maybe it is just an outline route.

I'd suggest planning the route around a few mountainous areas for the best moto experience - e..g Pyrenees, Alps, Central Massif - and fitting in the city trips as a secondary choice if you must. Plan to stay in one spot for a few days and do a few day trips e.g Grande route Des Alps, Route Napoleon.

PS. I recently discovered Austria to be a fantastic moto destination - also that riding in northern Italy is *very* tedious a lot of the time.

Wonda-Boy

two wheels good wrote: »

I think that route and the distances involved is way too ambitious for the time you have allocated. I don't mean to dampen your sense of adventure, just to inject a bit of realism.

You will spend a lot of time on toll roads and national routes and every morning re-packing your luggage to achieve those distances. Plus you will be missing out on some of the most fabulous biking roads in christendom! I'd say it's inevitable you will abandon the "grand plan" at some point along the way.

The other thing that occurs to me is: Do you really want to be heading through the centre of all these cities? Heavy traffic, time consuming, hot, lugging your gear, looking for accommodation. Maybe it is just an outline route.

I'd suggest planning the route around a few mountainous areas for the best moto experience - e..g Pyrenees, Alps, Central Massif - and fitting in the city trips as a secondary choice if you must. Plan to stay in one spot for a few days and do a few day trips e.g Grande route Des Alps, Route Napoleon.

PS. I recently discovered Austria to be a fantastic moto destination - also that riding in northern Italy is *very* tedious a lot of the time.

Hope he reads this en route coz he is gone already....;) but very good adivce.

two wheels good

Wonda-Boy wrote: »

Hope he reads this en route coz he is gone already....;) but very good adivce.

If he's intent on the Brno GP it would make sense to cut out Barcelona and the Central Massif and head for the Vosges and Black Forest.
Anyway, I'm sure he'll have a fab time. Hopefully we'll get an update on his return.
I remember my first trip to the continent - a much less ambitious route in Brittany and Normandy.

dceire

Story lads arrived back today from what was, without doubt, the best trip I've ever been on. Sure it was probably a bit over ambitious and tiresome than it could have been but I loved, pretty much, every minute of it. Managed only two motorway heavy days out of twenty which isn't half bad by my reckoning.

My final route was only slightly changed from when I departed; mainly, I cut out Marseilles for an extra day in Lyon and Milan. I also went to Bolzano and onto the Dolomites from Lake Garda instead of Meyerhofen.

So basically Cherbourg - Le Mans - Massif Central - Lyon - Milan/Lake Garda - Bolzano/Dolomites - Klagenfurt - Vienna - Brno - Prague - Stuttgart - Metz - Paris - Cherbourg

The best day was definitly riding through the Dolomite mountain range. I met a local motorcyclist, and former Toyota F1 mechanic, who I stayed with in Bolzano and who gave me a guided tour of the Dolomites; epic roads combined with equally impressive scenery and weather. Other top days included riding along Lake Garda, the Massif Central, and a surprisingly great trip from Clermont to Lyon. Prague tops the list of cities too.

The bike, K4 SV650, was fantastic, didn't miss a beat. Thanks to WonderBoy again for a helping hand with the service. Just had to top up the coolant and lube the chain; other than that, I didn't even get a puncture. Ended up meeting a French motorcyclist on the ferry home and brought him through the Wicklow mountains on his way to Dublin. He was well chuffed on his first day in Ireland.

Lake Garda


Massif Central


Fantastic Dolomite roads


Dolomite Mountains

Wonda-Boy

Absolute cracking pictures....glad you had a great time. Really glad the bike held up for you and the brakes did not let you down....