Is anybody going touring this year

[fazernigel]

Hi Everybody
Just wondered if anybody is doing any seroius distance on their bikes this year and where are you going.
Starting August i am going through France over into Italy to do the Mont Blanc tunnel and Stevio pass back into France to the Milau Bridge and a couple of days in the south then over into Spain to catch the ferry home from Santander.
Two weeks of  fun, memories,wonderful sights, food and mickey taking as the rest of the lads are on Harleys!
 
 

[spoonman]

Leaving 14th June by ferry Rosslare to Cherbourg then big ride to Alps, probably aim for Geneva. Ferry home is on 25th June. Going to bag as many alpine passes as possible! I've got John Hermanns 'Motorcycle Journeys through the Alps' all marked on my 1:500,000 map. Going to let weather decide which part of the Alps to hit but ideally will follow the 'route des grande alps' south to Monaco then meander back north criss-crossing the Franco-Italien border. Switzerland, Austria and Italy all offer awesome alternatives though!
Just looking at holiday insurance and EU breakdown cover this evening.. Buying separately is coming up cheapest, around £65 for both.

[fazernigel]

Spoonman i have got european breakdown insurance with my insurance which is through Carole Nash. Everybody who insures through Carole Nash gets this if you insure with them. You just have to tell them where and when you are going.
When i was in France last year I had a nasty incident with my beloved CB1300s which meant staying in a French Hospital and having a operation. Of course i took an E111 which covered me but i was also using the travel insurance which i pay for with my Nat West bank account and they were brillant arranging a flight home and then a Taxi home from the airport which was sixty miles. They also took care of various bills that the French hospital sent me afterwards.
One note of caution if you or anybody have this travel insurance with the bank they only cover you if you have a clean licence which i found out in the Hospital bed. Luckily i did.
This information may be of some help or totally useless to you but i would love to see some photos when you get back if you would be kind enough to post.
 
 
 
 

[paul1606]

Just been france,italy (mont blanc tunnel) to lake como 6 days 2,500 miles awsome did a day trip to the stelvio but it was closed did 2 similar passes that day though, switzerland is very scenic. The french tolls will do your head in friggin loads of the buggers

[red98]

have two weeks on my own this year as wife and kids going on holiday with outlaws....so was thinking of "ROUND BRITAIN TOUR" no motorways just a+b roads...Brightons due south from me approx 80 miles so was thinking of starting there...........anyone one else done this       

[ade the blade]

have two weeks on my own this year as wife and kids going on holiday with outlaws....so was thinking of "ROUND BRITAIN TOUR" no motorways just a+b roads...Brightons due south from me approx 80 miles so was thinking of starting there...........anyone one else done this       

no, but i know a guy who did it on a c90 cub for charity. when he left he had a full head of hair etc and on his return picked up his free bus pass . been thinking of doing something along those lines. might try a test run to my tesco express and back. gotta be all off 500 yds all in   sowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwy. good luck everyone on your trips.ride safe.  me and the boss planned a nice trip through northern spain / france via santander / st malo a few years back. but what with one thing and another it got pushed onto the back burner.......... now its fallen right off the bloody hob!!   never mind.  one day, hopefully.

[ade the blade]

just sprung to mind..........you must be a right boring old fart if they areleaving ya home bro....

[spoonman]

Cheers fazernigel, I'm with MCE so I've got UK RAC but nothing in EU. I know not to cut corners with health insurance after my soon to be wife came off her mountain bike in French alps last summer. She ended up with a broken jaw and concussion. I was very impressed with the level of care she got. Within an hour of arriving at the hospital she had a full brain scan and been to X-ray twice, in Belfast you'd still be waiting at reception! Luckily I had read the fine print and bought a policy that covered category 2 sports up to 3000m above sea level. We are getting married in July and much to my non biking mates disgust I'm calling this trip my stag party!
This will my my 5th year in a row visiting the alps, although my first taking the yam rather than my van. Will be more than happy to share a few pics, assuming I can get back home without any major 'incidents'..

[gassitt]

Done the Alps to death over the last few years, Austrian section probably the best. 3rd trip to Pyrenees and Picos last year so taking it easy this year.

Leaving Friday for a quick jaunt to Marseilles for a ferry to Corsica, to give the Col De Bavella and the northern gorges another try. Then home via the Verdun and the Vosges ( mini Alps and an easy destination for a long weekend)

Come September having a gentle week checking out the Somme Battlefields then up to Ypres for another sobbing session at the Menin Gate, if youve never done it you should, one of those thing you must do in life
Summer starts Friday  Yee Har

[Buzz]

How much on petrol for these trips? 


2,600 miles is about £270 at 60mpg and £1.4/L I reckon.  A lot more fun than 2 flights at £135 though I guess!

[bigralphie]

sore point

[red98]

just sprung to mind..........you must be a right boring old fart if they areleaving ya home bro....

 
you aint met the outlaws 

[ade the blade]

just sprung to mind..........you must be a right boring old fart if they areleaving ya home bro....

 
you aint met the outlaws 

hey, i managed to chin the mother in law one christmas morning a few years back !

[red98]

just sprung to mind..........you must be a right boring old fart if they areleaving ya home bro....

 
you aint met the outlaws 

hey, i managed to chin the mother in law one christmas morning a few years back !

 
nice one ade...........your in a different league to me 

[Skinbeatersam]

Should be going to Poland and back.




Got meself some luggage for me 30th!!


http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170751941620?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649#ht_2269wt_1025


I will let you know if these are any good, cos this seems like a pretty good deal.

[spoonman]

I'm back! 3500 miles in 12 days and more alpine passes than I could ever list. Epic. Highly recommended.

[spoonlamp]

That is both stunning and inspirational.    I'm looking forward to doing a big tour on my Fazer in the future but need to save and buy the luggage kits a bit at a time 

Did you get yours all at once? Where from? How much?? What did you have to do to fit the top box ??? (I have nothing but a grab rail on mine at the mo! and want to get the top box first...) Please, please, please share the info!

[dickturpin]

Did you only take three photographs?

[spoonman]

I'm always on the lookout for a bargain. I bought the rack (wingrack 2) and 3 panniers (2x E36 and Kappa top box) about 2 years ago for around £80. Panniers were all scuffed but was still a great price. I sanded and sprayed them white when I did the bike. You can pick up soft luggage easy enough on gumtree, that Oxford tank bag I used was a £10 gumtree purchase. Along with the givi sat nav holder (£10) on the handlebars. Any other wingrack users on here may be interested in the mod I made. I flipped the fins that support the top box plate around so that the top box sits over the pillion seat. The idea being that it keeps the weight further forward and improves the air turbulence / down force it causes at speed. It also looks a bit tidier. Took about 2 mins with angle grinder. Dickturpin, I took 279 photos and my comrade took lots too. I assumed they wouldn't be as interesting to you as they are to me!