2014 Euro Tour

[Hedgetrimmer]

You're going to have some great experiences/memories to look back on Matt! Good luck with it all - jealous (again!).
I think it would be good to start a(nother) new touring thread for everyone to post their 2014 touring experiences/photos etc on soon.

[Mattsplat]

I think it would be good to start a(nother) new touring thread for everyone to post their 2014 touring experiences/photos etc on soon.

I'd be up for a bit of that 

[midden]

http://youtu.be/kGiRWIFX39I


though seeing the price, bike can sleep under the stars 

[Phil]

My 2 cents...

Your heading to the European tourist traps, try to go in September when the passes are all open and the kids have gone back to school. Youll find avaliablity goes up and the prices go down, alot!

Bang for buck though I'd head to Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and then into Austria doing the loop back.

Ive done Europe and tbh, it costs too much, You could go to India, Cambodia or Vietnam for a month for less money........and yes, that includes a bike!

September could be a better bet weather wise too, although I've had some almighty down pours at various times of the year in Europe. In the hills in June-August there are often thunderstorms/downpours triggered by the heat. The climate tab on here is useful as a guide only. Last year in Romania it hardly rained all summer then kicked off in mid September.
The scale keeps changing, sometimes its 0 - 100mm, other times 0-300mm.

Bournemouth is relatively dry although it does rain a lot of days in the month.
http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/weather/maps/city?LANG=en&WMO=03862&PAG=1&CONT=ukuk&UP=0&R=160&LEVEL=160&REGION=0003&LAND=UK&INFO=0&NOREGION=0


My current plan for a Euro trip is going to Assen WSB at the end of April then heading to Croatia before it gets too hot there. I'm being made redundant next April so I'm taking tent this time to save costs. I will decide the route there depending on the forecasts, but will have a lot of time to do it.

[Hedgetrimmer]

So just been browsing this site, recommended by Adeejaysdelight - thanks Adee! 

http://www.bestbikingroads.com/


Makes it far easier to plan where to ride, and after a 15 min browse, already have several routes that I think I'd like to try. Will have to start to look at timings and joining a few together to make a good tour. I love this planning bit! 

[midden]

My 2 cents...

Your heading to the European tourist traps, try to go in September when the passes are all open and the kids have gone back to school. Youll find avaliablity goes up and the prices go down, alot!

Bang for buck though I'd head to Czech, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and then into Austria doing the loop back.

Ive done Europe and tbh, it costs too much, You could go to India, Cambodia or Vietnam for a month for less money........and yes, that includes a bike!

I'd like to nominate mattsplat as holder of foccer tourguide brolly..............


foccers to india, cambodia and vietnam:)

[Hedgetrimmer]

I'd like to nominate mattsplat as holder of foccer tourguide brolly..............


foccers to india, cambodia and vietnam:)

Midden, you have PM.

[midden]

I'd like to nominate mattsplat as holder of foccer tourguide brolly..............


foccers to india, cambodia and vietnam:)

Midden, you have PM.

Phew! seen it already.........for a moment there I was hanging on baited breath waiting for the fekking T ........


I blame Father Red for that though

[midden]

in some ways it's a shame we're a motorcycle group
http://www.crumballrally.com/thundercrawl2014.php

[Hedgetrimmer]

in some ways it's a shame we're a motorcycle group
http://www.crumballrally.com/thundercrawl2014.php

That's right, encourage people to drive unsafe wrecks on some of the most challenging roads in Europe, where failed brakes can mean plunging several hundred, if not thousand feet over a rocky precipice. Way to go!   

[midden]

in some ways it's a shame we're a motorcycle group
http://www.crumballrally.com/thundercrawl2014.php

That's right, encourage people to drive unsafe wrecks on some of the most challenging roads in Europe, where failed brakes can mean plunging several hundred, if not thousand feet over a rocky precipice. Way to go! 

Hadn't thought of it that way.  So hey who's up for it.....[size=78%] [/size]

[Dead Eye]

That's so awesome :P

Totally the sort of thing I would do! Not sure if I will manage it this coming year as I think I'm out of the country during the event

Definitely a good alternative to the Gumball Rally which is just ridiculous as far as cost goes

[midden]

That's so awesome :P

Totally the sort of thing I would do! Not sure if I will manage it this coming year as I think I'm out of the country during the event

Definitely a good alternative to the Gumball Rally which is just ridiculous as far as cost goes

yeah and a bit safer than the Mongal rally.  so we'll plan to plan this one for future then

[Mattsplat]

I did the Mongolia Charity Rally, same as the Mongol rally but 100% charitable.

Mongolia is a long way away, you need an excuse to travel that far, for charity is a good excuse 

My five minutes of fame 


BTW...Thats a 20 year old, €800 bike with 200,000kms on the clock when I bought it for the rally 

[chris.biker]

The rules of Crumball rally allow the added cost of getting the vehicle safe and more reliable.


It does strike me we could do the same amongst  ourselves, either on our normal ''Fazers'' or on a smaller bike up to say 250cc.

[midden]

Liking that idea very much

[cbx63]

Has anyone heard of , or been done by the French for not having reflective stickers on there helmet? keep reading all kinds of stuff about motorcycle laws in France I.E no filtering no sat navs with speed camera database on,  high vis vests though I think the high vis vest has been scrapped.
 

[chris.biker]

Has anyone heard of , or been done by the French for not having reflective stickers on there helmet? keep reading all kinds of stuff about motorcycle laws in France I.E no filtering no sat navs with speed camera database on,  high vis vests though I think the high vis vest has been scrapped.

I saw the requirement for reflective stickers on helmets before I went in the summer, most helmets have the reflective stickers in their design. On my helmet it was the Lazer logo and on my wife's it was the silvery trim in the graphics.
So it might be worth taking a close look at your helmet.

[Phil]

Has anyone heard of , or been done by the French for not having reflective stickers on there helmet? keep reading all kinds of stuff about motorcycle laws in France I.E no filtering no sat navs with speed camera database on,  high vis vests though I think the high vis vest has been scrapped.

I've heard of it, but didnt see anyone in Magny Cours WSB last October with stickers on their helmets.

[Phil]

in some ways it's a shame we're a motorcycle group
http://www.crumballrally.com/thundercrawl2014.php

A women at work did a 21 country tour in 21 days for a charity gig. Rule 1 was no cars that cost more than £500.

[Hedgetrimmer]

I heard about that reflective sticker thing too. Must resolve these issues before going. Is there a decent site where all the necessary requirements for the various Euro countries can be checked?

Also, wondering about a good breakdown/recovery policy - what's out there/what's best? I don't know if it'll be an option on my insurance, as I'll be renewing before going and don't know who I'll be re insuring with yet.

[Phil]

Breakdown/recovery is included with my Carole Nash broker. I had to use them once in 2010 when I dropped the bike, they were very good at getting things sorted.

[dickturpin]

Nick, I recall the RAC ....or was it the AA... had good advice on European requirements.

[Hedgetrimmer]

Nick, I recall the RAC ....or was it the AA... had good advice on European requirements.

Cheers, so had a look and found this:

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/compulsory_equipment.pdf

Also:

"Motorcycle riders were to be required to wear reflective clothing in France from Jan 1st 2013, but the French law making reflective equipment compulsory for motorcycle riders and passengers has been abolished."

I presume this would include reflective helmet stickers?

[richfzs]

Nah, I believe that's a different rule.. The helmet stickers bit has been in place for a good while :-/