Nurburgring, yes, no, maybe, love it, hate it ?

[Tomcat]

Never been, not sure I want to. I'm not averse to the odd fast lap of a road circuit but the thought of going out with a bunch of tourists in cars doesn't really appeal.

[ninja]

I've done it a few times. Ive probably got about 20 laps.

Always stayed at Sliders with Bren. He was a great guy. Very interesting and friendly. He had a shit few years before he was killed at the ring. It's almost like it didn't want to let him go. He was due to go to Spain to start his new life the day after he was killed.
The last time I saw him was when I stayed there for a night, on my way back from the south of France. I'd been banned in France for speeding so had to do a bit of a detour. Bren was lamenting his decision to go to Spain because he would have to have his beloved Greyhound Daisy put to sleep because she was struggling to walk with her old bones. She wouldn't be able to go up the stairs to his new apartment. It was all so sad.

As for the ring. I wouldn't say I really enjoyed it, I feel safer and more comfortable on the road. It's scary and exciting. There are some very quick cars around there. You can pass them on the straights but they just stuff you into the corners, which is unnerving and unusual if youre used to road riding.

Everyone should try the Nurburgring once.....if you can afford the laps!

[fil2]

Love it and hate it in equal measure !

Been prolly 5 times and the trick is to go on a Monday evening session and not the weekends when it is crazy ! busy !..Monday night literally no-one on the circuit !!! awesome !>...

[hilldweller]

Here is where I stayed, a very biker friendly hotel, a good location for the Ring and many glorious roads:

https://www.hotel-forsthaus.com/

[Deadpool2]

Did a couple of laps almost 20 years ago. It was my first ever European tour (and so far only unless I go in the next few years!) and I was petrified all the way through. I had no idea if someone would take me out or I would end up sliding on oil etc, as a few did the weekend I was there.

The roads around it are great and the hosts were we stayed were fantastic.

I would go again to ride the roads around there and watch the really wonderful cars but not ride it again.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I did the Nurburgring with the Uni bike club (including ol' black iridium two planks himself) in 2005. I wouldn't be in a rush to ride it again on a busy open day!

I also did the most heroic thing I've ever done on a bike. I was borrowing a mate's bike to the do the lap so I was unfamiliar, plus it was a bit damp. I got a bit eager on the downshifts and locked the rear coming into a corner. I ended up backing it in (while chewing through the seat with my arsehole) and then fucking off around the corner in front of a huge crowd. Couldn't do it again in a million years if I tried.

On the same trip I went passenger with my mate in his Mk2 Escort. He was a bit handy behind the wheel and we managed to catch and overtake a Ferrari 430 in the rain.

[gremlin]

I'd probably go, take a look, turn around and come back again, via some interesting things to see. Going round a track just never had an appeal for me. Done a few track days and found them a little tedious.

[Le_Fromage_Grande]

I love track days, I would like to go round the Nürburgring, but I can't say that I fancy it with cars and buses going round at the same time, strikes me as more than a little dangerous.

[Mr Moofo]

Use duo live just up the road from the 'Ring, used to go a view some evenings.
Also had a email chat with Bren about riding there - and he advised "don't, it too dangerous"
Kind of ironic ...
But the roads in the Eifel are brilliant

[Screwdriver]

Probably only been half a dozen times but on various bikes. The worst time ever was on a Gixxer thou which was basically too much of everything everywhere. You can't really go "flat out" because there's rarely enough consistent traction and unless you've done enough laps, you're never really sure where the track goes next, what your entry speed ought to be, where your braking points are or even what's around the next bend.

The Nordschleife is not a "proper" racetrack, the speed differentials are huge (because: traffic) and it's not a proper road either because "fast road" mode is too dog slow when there are so many opportunities to be flat out. You don't know if the guy you're just about to pass is a slowcoach or a pro who knows where they're going or if they've seen a spin/crash/oil slick/spare wheel (!) up ahead.

Having been frustrated at my inability to justify blasting around on a Gixxer thou with my limited circuit knowledge, I nailed it in the last mile or so which inexplicably I knew quite well, probably because the Karussell was one of the few corners I could spot a mile off. Absolutely flat out on familiar territory, wide open throttle, redline, looking forwards to the hero banter back at the pits.

Back straight (Döttinger Höhe) I am blasting up through the gears, wide open throttle, max revs with the unmistakable, musical hint of wheelspin. I flick into top, get back on the throttle the bike snaps up onto it's back wheel almost throwing me backwards off the bike! Thankfully I don't snap the throttle shut but gently allow it to settle back to earth which seems to take forever. As the reassuring chip of the landing gear tells me we're back on earth, I glance at the speedo which is still telling me 145. I take it back up to 175 and thankfully hand it back to its owner.

Too much bike but too tempting to resist on such a demanding circuit. A GSXR750 would be perfect (for me). Unless you are a riding god, you don't really test the limits of a machine on the Nordschleife, the bike will test you. The Nurburgring is not a dangerous circuit in itself but it allows you, almost encourages you to become a danger to yourself.

I love it and hate it in equal measure.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I love it and hate it in equal measure.

Jackie Stewart famously called it "the green hell" and was a key campaigner for getting rid of it in F1. That didn't stop him winning races there though!

It's a unique place for sure.

[dayglo jim]

Been quite a few times, but way back.

Best was going with the (now defunct) Nurburgring Riders Club, one of the club members had written a poem, of sorts, to help remember the bends and their sequence. Similar to Motorrad, as the circuit was closed and you had tuition on specific parts of the ring as well as flying laps. I think all the Ringmeisters had 200+ laps experience.

I was warned when I first went that on the open sessions you should expect to be passed as you had German club racers (car and bike) getting a bit of extra track time in as well as local hooligans (car and bikes) throwing themselves around the track but you could expect to pass supercars as they were rich guys too scared of putting a dent in their Porsche/Lambo/Ferrari etc.

It was disconcerting coming off the Karussel; feeling almost horizontal with the effect of the banked section and trying not to look at the tourist bus parked up (where you look is where you go!)

Everyone should do it once for bragging rights.

[KungFooBob]

I've been few times.

It's ok for a bit of fun, but you need at least 50 laps under your belt to learn which way the track goes next and a lot more to properly learn it.



Two up on my old Varadero with 30kg of luggage!

Shortly before I became the meat in a Cupra/Evo sandwich mid corner... which was actually pretty scary.

[Screwdriver]

Best was going with the (now defunct) Nurburgring Riders Club

I went for a training session with them in 2000, my first time at the 'Ring.

I am pretty sure on one of the days they/we had booked the circuit for our exclusive use, just for bikes. They made us do skids (like kids) locking the rear wheel and even front lockups by stabbing the front brake lever at speed. Incredibly only a couple of guys fell off though I was annoyed to discover that had warped my disks.