revtothelimit - motorbike forum

If I had little touring experience on a motorbike but was a very capable rider where would you suggest going and why?

Germany.

I did a trip to Lake Bled, came back via the Stelvio and the Nurburgring. 9 countries in 12 days.

Depends what sort of riding they want, and what sort of time/money they want to spend.

My most enjoyable trips (so far) have been Norway up to the Artic Circle, and Croatia down to Dubrovnik. Both about 3 weeks, both expensive, both involved some long days. Both were organised, but could be done as DIY but would need some planning.

OTOH I have also enjoyed a long weekend in the Ardennes. Short and do-able almost on a whim. And cheap as chips. Or France within a 100 mile radius of Calais, done that too.

Intermediate suggestions, Austria, the Black Forest, Switzerland. Or Scotland.

Cousin Jack wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 2:12 pm Depends what sort of riding they want, and what sort of time/money they want to spend.

This is purely hypothetical - more of a "What is your favourite tour and why".

Money no object, assuming you don't need to fly your bike out somewhere. Lets assume whoever has a job so a couple of weeks to a month annual leave.

Trinity765 wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 2:25 pm This is purely hypothetical - more of a "What is your favourite tour and why".

Money no object, assuming you don't need to fly your bike out somewhere. Lets assume whoever has a job so a couple of weeks to a month annual leave.

Right, in that case two different ones, both organized tours. Both on my current "Considering for 2024" list, although neither may happen for a whole variety of good reasons

One in the Pacific West of the US, covering some places that I have been before but never on a bike. This one
https://magellanmotorcycletours.co.uk/t ... road-trip/

The other is completely different, the Karakorum Highway in Pakistan. Also organized, but very very different.
https://www.karakorambikers.com/classic-karakoram

Or I might just stay in the UK, and do Wales and/or Scotland.

In May take the bike down to Portugal in a van, hire a villa, use that as a base and spend a couple of weeks riding round is what I'd do, the roads are good and the weather should be good, but I can't be arsed to ride a bike all the way to Portugal and I could carry all the stuff I wanted to

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 6:28 pm In May take the bike down to Portugal in a van, hire a villa, use that as a base and spend a couple of weeks riding round is what I'd do, the roads are good and the weather should be good, but I can't be arsed to ride a bike all the way to Portugal and I could carry all the stuff I wanted to

Me and a couple of mates did that, down to the SoF for a week, then up to the Black Forest, bikes in the back of a smiley Transit. Got to ride the good roads with super sticky, not squared off tyres.

weeksy wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 2:00 pmGermany.

^^ That ^^

Round Cochem area is amazing as is the whole mosel valley

Felix wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 7:30 pm

weeksy wrote: Wed Sep 13, 2023 2:00 pmGermany.

^^ That ^^

Round Cochem area is amazing as is the whole mosel valley

Just looked at the forecast for the area this coming week & I'd be over there if I could.

Really lovely place.

Depends on your preferred weather I reckon. Riding in hot weather ain't nice imo. Is rain an issue. ?

I think there's great roads almost everywhere. Scottish Highlands, Borders, Dumfries and Galloway/Ayrshire. Wales, Ireland .etc.

From the deep south , it's probably just as easy to catch the train to France, it's all good.

Dodgy69 wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 7:15 am Depends on your preferred weather I reckon. Riding in hot weather ain't nice imo. Is rain an issue. ?

I think there's great roads almost everywhere. Scottish Highlands, Borders, Dumfries and Galloway/Ayrshire. Wales, Ireland .etc.

From the deep south , it's probably just as easy to catch the train to France, it's all good.

One thing I like about France is it's pretty easy to 'go as you please' rather than book anything in advance. So if you decide to stick around in an area for a few days, no problem. We'd get a Logis book and decide where to head for next and phone or book online the night before. Depending on the time of year we'd often just pitch up in a place and find somewhere.

I expect you can do the same in Spain and parts of Germany. The one area we had problems for some reason was Belgium, particularly around Chimay.

I've just booked, what I think is, a pretty good tour

Portsmouth ferry, an hour away for me and 24 hours chilling and shaking off normal life. Wake in the morning, fresh, in the Pico's. No long hikes or A roads, fun as soon as you get off the boat! Enjoyable on any bike. Wiggly woo out to the Galicia region and then wiggly woo back. Ferry, chill, home.

Trinity765 wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 8:42 pm I've just booked, what I think is, a pretty good tour

Portsmouth ferry, an hour away for me and 24 hours chilling and shaking off normal life. Wake in the morning, fresh, in the Pico's. No long hikes or A roads, fun as soon as you get off the boat! Enjoyable on any bike. Wiggly woo out to the Galicia region and then wiggly woo back. Ferry, chill, home.

I want to do that sort of tour. Meet new pals and visit that area.

Yorick wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 9:08 pm

Trinity765 wrote: Thu Sep 14, 2023 8:42 pm I've just booked, what I think is, a pretty good tour

Portsmouth ferry, an hour away for me and 24 hours chilling and shaking off normal life. Wake in the morning, fresh, in the Pico's. No long hikes or A roads, fun as soon as you get off the boat! Enjoyable on any bike. Wiggly woo out to the Galicia region and then wiggly woo back. Ferry, chill, home.

I want to do that sort of tour. Meet new pals and visit that area.

It's an easy one.

I would like to try the Potes Triangle both ways in a day so I could spend the rest of the evening talking about which way is best.

Been pondering on this and remembered that I always wanted to do a bike tour around Turkey but it's a bit of a trek to get there. Spent a lot of time there in the 80s and saw German bike groups - even out in, what were, the wilds of the east although most stuck to the 'beachy' bits. The roads were a bit in places and could be hairy around harvest time (burnt out trucks were pretty common - flicking your cig end out the window with a truck load of hay isn't v bright*) and an Adv style bike would have been the thing. Accomodation was easy to find.

* Actually saw a bunch trying to cut a burning load free to save the truck. Driver though it would help if he drove down the road weaving. Poor sod on the top fell off, the road was raised and he hit the ground at the side, some distance below - looked liked he busted his legs/hips. We left - we were on a bus - just as the tyres started to explode...I don't think the 'Mashallah' sticker or the dangling CDs in the cab were much help.

I think the 'wilds of the east' may be a bit of a problem these days, what with the border with Syria and the general nastiness going on there. Some bits of Syria are under Kurdish control, and the Turks are no more friends with them than they are with Bashar al-Assad. If it were me I would stay 100 miles from the border!

Cousin Jack wrote: Sun Sep 17, 2023 11:04 am I think the 'wilds of the east' may be a bit of a problem these days, what with the border with Syria and the general nastiness going on there. Some bits of Syria are under Kurdish control, and the Turks are no more friends with them than they are with Bashar al-Assad. If it were me I would stay 100 miles from the border!

We always steered clear of the SE corner. Diyarbakir wasn't for the faint hearted even in the 80s. But from Lake Van up to Trabzon was Kars was a bit grim mind, but necessary if you wanted to get to Ani (the ruined 'city of a thousand churches'), across a plain full of dug-in military hardware....ready to repel the Russians! You had to check in your camera and binoculars at a military office so you couldn't photograph it all and you were instructed not to stare at the Russian border posts etc.

A Kurdish separatist did buy me a beer and explained that they only killed soldiers! (Conscripts most of them - so basically still civilians in uniform). Felt sorry for a lot of the young soldiers. It was policy to post them a distance away from home so a lot of the ones in the east were from cushy places in the west - and you really don't want to be in Kars in winter or anywhere over there in earthquake season ).

Alps - Central Massiv on the way down, bag a million passes in France / CH/ Italy / Germany and Austria , Black Forest and the Eifel/ Ardennes region on the way back.