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Carrying a bicycle on a motorcycle legal? Carrying a bicycle on a motorcycle legal?
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Europe Topics specific to Western and Eastern Europe, from UK to the Russian border, and south-east to Turkey.
Photo by Alessio Corradini, on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia, of two locals

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Photo by Alessio Corradini,
on the Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia,
of two locals



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  #1  
Old 21 Feb 2017
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Carrying a bicycle on a motorcycle legal?
The wife and I will be touring Spain, France, Italy and England june1-September 15, 2017. We also want to bicycle while in Europe. We would like to be able to take our own bicycles on our motorcycles like we do in the U.S. We use 2x2 cycle racks for the motorcycles. The question, is carrying a bicycle on a motorcycle legal in these countries or Europe in general.
https://2x2cycles.com/main-portfolio/ Is an example of what we use
Last edited by DoFo; 21 Feb 2017 at 19:09. Reason: Add info
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Old 21 Feb 2017
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A friend of mine from NZ toured all over Turkey and Europe with his mountain bike fastened on his front crash bar and rear foot peg, with the wheels strapped onto the frame of the mtb. Another friend built a short rack behind his seat where he clamps down the fork and places the down-tube in a short support.
In both cases nobody had any problems with the police so far.
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Old 21 Feb 2017
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Afraid not in the UK, items affixed to vehicles that may or likely to cause danger to other road users etc etc . Recent article in bike mag that was answered by Andrew Dalton solicitors, very similar situation to yours, can't remember what was being carried on the bike in that case but short answer was No. Will dig thru my mags and post the article for you........
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Old 21 Feb 2017
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Thanks for the info Chris!
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Old 21 Feb 2017
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Vaufi thank you, for responding. I'm curious what countries in Europe your friend may have visited?
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Old 22 Feb 2017
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Hello DoFo,

I'm afraid you would not be able to use that in Spain either.

I've just checked and it seems that any objects fixed at the back of the bike cannot project more than 0,25 meters, but even if the bicicle rack projects less, i am pretty sure that the cops could say that is dangerous for other road users anyway




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Old 22 Feb 2017
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Thank you for checking, bummer!
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Old 22 Feb 2017
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I don't think you'd get very far in France either, they even have restrictions on the max width of panniers on a bike! If the bike carriers haven't been homologated for European use, they won't pass. France is passionate about cycling and cars are always passing with cycle racks on the back, but never seen one on a motorcycle. I have seen a motorcycle with a guitar case strapped to the side, but the rider was being talked to by the Gendarmes.

However, I did find this development for carrying cycles behind a motorcycle.
It's all in French, but you get the idea!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mE31faX7PM

and this:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87VnDWWYvZM Towbii is a Canadian company, but this looks really good, and would actually probably be fine as a trailer in Europe. May be worth checking to see if they have any European distributors.
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Old 22 Feb 2017
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I was carrying my bike in Europa many times never had any problem:

Foto honda_transalp_044 - Umzug per Motorrad

Foto honda_transalp_021 - Fahrradtransport
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Old 22 Feb 2017
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https://www.flickr.com/photos/145875...posted-public/

This is how the guy from NZ transported his bike. Some of the countries he travelled in Europe were Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, UK. From the UK he returned to NZ. He didn't have any problems anywhere....
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Old 25 Feb 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vaufi View Post
https://www.flickr.com/photos/145875...posted-public/

This is how the guy from NZ transported his bike. Some of the countries he travelled in Europe were Austria, Germany, Switzerland, France, UK. From the UK he returned to NZ. He didn't have any problems anywhere....
Hi Vauffi, I see you got to meet Ash on his Euro tour last year

He is tough tough guy, considering the route we created for him in Balkans, he's fast on motorcycle and on mtb as well.

To answer the question to DoFo, in EU it is illegal to carry bicycle on your motorcycle, but in all the cases I've been in touch, all the people got when they were pulled by cops were smiles and taking photos of their set up. Cops will pull you over just for small talk, for ex. Ash got that in Italy and he wasn't given any kind of ticket.

I see many benefits of taking your bikes with you, I am also an avid cyclist so totally understand how people roll and how useful bike is when you stop somewhere to ride a bit

cheers
Dooby
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Old 26 Feb 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frgich View Post
Hi Vauffi, I see you got to meet Ash on his Euro tour last year

He is tough tough guy, considering the route we created for him in Balkans, he's fast on motorcycle and on mtb as well.
-----

cheers
Dooby
Hi Dooby,
yep, a tough guy indeed ;o) I met him in the Albanian Alps dojng some off-roading on my little Honda. When he dropped by in Munich we did a hell of a mtb tour in the Austrian Alps before he carried on to the UK.
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Old 26 Feb 2017
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frgich View Post
To answer the question to DoFo, in EU it is illegal to carry bicycle on your motorcycle
No its not!!! There are rules for loading vehicles. Your not allowed to overload the weight and when it stands out at the back for more then 1 meter you need a red flag. If it stands out at the side more then 40 cm you might need a light. Load is allowed to stand out at the back of a vehicle even for 3 meters if you dont drive longer then 100 km. Vehicles are not allowed to be wider then 2,55 m, longer then 20,75 and max hight = 4 m §22 StVO http://www.verkehrsportal.de/stvo/stvo_22.php
Also the load has to be straped well so it does not fall down or move if you hit the breakes hard etc. If this all is ok your legal no matter if you transport a bike on a car or on a bike.
Last edited by ta-rider; 3 Mar 2017 at 09:33.
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Old 26 Feb 2017
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[QUOTE=ta-rider;558290]No its not!!! There are rules for loading vehicles. Your not allowed to overload the weight and when it stands out at the back for more then 1 meter you need a red flag. If it stands out at the side more then 40 cm you might need a light. Load is allowed to stand out at the back of a vehicle even for 3 meters if you dont drive longer then 100 km. Vehicles are not allowed to be wider then 2,55 m, longer then 20,75 and max hight = 4 m §22 StVO http://www.verkehrsportal.de/stvo/stvo_22.php
Also the load has to be straped well etc. If this all is ok your legal no matter if in a car or on a bike. [QUOTE]

With a red flag this would even be legal in Germany: http://adventure-travel-experience.d...a_transalp_065
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Old 30 Jul 2017
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Turns out we rode for two months in the USA and we have been in Europe 2 months. So far France, Spain, Portugal, ItAly and GermNy with no problems!
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