Hi everyone,

I am looking for other riders in the off-road under 650.
I am 45 have an xr400 and live in Kent. I have ok/good riding skills, did 2000 miles on pistes in Morocco last year (and only fell off about 30 times! so getting better).

I know it is possible to get matched up as a solo rider..but i am more concerned with sorting out transport down to Spain.

PM or email me if interested.
Phin

Hi i am thinking about doing the (HUMM) my bike has a daytime mot (no lights) is this legal in spain. Do i need lights i will be takeing my bike to spain by van.

Hi there Steve,
Maybe I can shed some light.
The situation here in Spain is strict, when we take our bikes for ITV (the Spanish equivalent of an MOT) everything has to be in place.
The Spanish system is different (don't we know it!) and there are only a few government ITV stations, it's very strictly controlled, there's no village garage with the ability to test for ITV.
So everything has to be as it should, lights, horn, mirrors, tyres, emissions etc all have to be functioning correctly (basically how the bike was homologated into Spain).
So we re-set our Enduros, take them to the ITV centre, take the test and then re-set them when they come back.

So under this ruling you'd think the answer to your question would be NO!
However, as your bike is not Spanish registered it does not fall under the same ruling.
As the UK is in the EU, the legal requirements of your country prevail.
That is to say, provided the vehicle is not here in Spain for more than six months (three if you are resident) and it is legal in your country, it is legal here.

So the answer to your question, is in fact, YES, it is legal!

However, something for everyone to bear in mind is that you must have all of your documentation with you at all time when you are on your bike.
This means current V5 (in your name), MOT (if required), road tax and insurance. You also need to prove who you are on demand (passport).
Copies of these documents are not acceptable!
In Spain you can go to a Notary (Notario) and have your documents copied in the Notary's presence, he/ she will stamp and sign the documents to legalise them, otherwise you require the originals.

What happens if I don't have my document on me?

Your bike will be impounded (they normally take you to the nearest petrol station), you will be given a form and you have to wait there (don't move the bike!) until someone either comes to recover the bike or brings your papers.
Then you telephone the number you have been given on the form and the police come back and witness either the collection (trailer or van) of your bike or the provision of documents. You can then move the bike.
Don't be tempted to move it without sign off, the consequences are not amusing!
So it's pretty inconvenient not to have your papers with you, as you can see!

Hope this helps, please feel free to contact us if you need any further information, we'll be there supporting the HUMM and with our rental bikes of course.
All the best and safe riding,
Tim

HI Tim thanks clearing that up, i have mot tax and insurance .so i am good to go steve.

HI guys
I have been looking at this years HUMM and think it would be just wot i want to do,got the time off work and could go from the 23rd of july but all my mates are doing other things and i have got no one to go with would any one mind me tagging one with them or starting a new team ,id be going on my r1200gs from stoke on trent and i could meet up with others on the way or at Dover , ive been trail riding about 12 years, a trf member ,am 39years old and could be talked into havin the odd drink or 10,any ideas would be, great ; cheers Dave (billy no mates)

Tim was spot on there with his advice - can't think of anything useful to add, other than both parts of your driving licience of course. Tim - have you found this out from experience?

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Pat
www.patonabike.blogspot.com

Hi,

I'm another solo newbie - maybe this topic should become a dating agency

I'm well keen on registering for the Mountain Madness together with Klaus, my BMW G650 X-Country. I live part-time in Tarragona, along the coast near Barcelona, and part-time in the Catalan Pyrenees!

OK, my credentials, or lack of them:

Age: the wrong side of fifty - just.
Experience: 1975 - 82-ish (can't remember exactly, it's the tablets you know!) Triumph T140 Trident, Ducatis; 350 Mac III and 450 Desmo, Laverda 750 SF2* - what a silly, silly boy!

Off-road: just getting the hang of it in the Pyrenees but plenty of free time to pratise before July - including in those very same hills!

Motivation: riding-wise I'm just along for the craic really, not a competitive type . . . so no neck-breakers on the team please!

Map reading: actually quite good, used to do 'real' orienteering as a cadet in school.

Secret weapon: I speak Spanish and Catalan, so I can always ask for diretions, and perhaps better, remember unpronouncible place names like Castellar de n' Hug - which means (Baron) Hugo's domain -or Bosc de l'Orri d'Andreu - the woods of Andy's sheep fold!

Habits: clean in thought, word and deed - can be pursuaded to imbibe!

So maybe there is a potential team: 'Team Cat-attack'**, i.e. me, Barcelona Pat possibly, or anyone else from around here.

My bike is 652 cc's so I'm with the big boys I guess , but could you clarify this Grant, as there seems to be some leeway - I mean what's seven cc's between friends! I'm not sure if Pat is interested or just being helpful about the headlights issue above, as his profile bike is a Suzuki VL800.

So, I've gone ahead and registered self with the provisionally named 'Team Cat-attack' in the over 650 cc fun-loving, easy-going category - so let's wait and see.

Regs

Simon

* which of course ended up in Brighton bankruptsy court - only joking!
** or should that be Team Cardiac-arrest!

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Blogging around Iberia

Simon, you're over 645cc, so that's it!

IF you have a team member with an UNDER 645cc bike, then you can choose whether your team will be in the under or over class, as discussed above.

The reason for the break at 645 is that an F650, KLR650 etc are all effectively in the same class as a 1200GS - big and heavy offroad, with a good turn of speed on the road - COMPARED TO a DR350 or KTM 525EXC or TTR250 or similar serious small and light off-road bikes, that are slow on the road.

And just a little note - the over 645 class is HARDER than the under 645 class - the overs have won overall every year.

hope that makes sense!

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

If you're having trouble getting a team mate, no worries, go ahead and register and get yourself sorted, we can easily team you up with some compatible folks - in fact the dominant team over the years, "The Two Iains", we originally teamed up!

Keep looking and discussing it here, that's great, but if you don't find someone by closing date no problem, we'll find you a team mate so you'll be ready to

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hi Pat thanks for bringing that up ,i have old type GB licience (one part) is this a problem .. steve

Evenin' all,

Thanks for the quick adjudication Grant, no problems at all on that score.

One question/doubt though:, what do you mean by harder? More difficult than the under 650, longer, steeper, through tickets of rotating knives (only joking ). Seriously, the way I read it, the teams get to plan their own route around the checkpoints and use their own judgement about how tough the trail is likely to be - is this the case? Sorry to be so naive, it's tough being a virgin you know!

Slightly more seriously, are all the legalities checked out. The thorny issue of organised motorsports in controlled nature reserves has cropped up in the press again lately here in Catalona. I know that if one goes wrong the fine can be severe, especially for the organisers. But bearing in mind I have Spanish plates I'd get no quarter from the Constabulary if there was a bust. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to put a dampener, but it is a live issue!

I could try to look up the regs if that will help, but you know what you're organizing and where not me.

Regs

Simon

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Blogging around Iberia

I love the idea of rotating knives, may we should mount them on the wheels - sounds like Roman chariots!

By tough I meant harder to win - the fastest guys are in the over class - as in the overall winners have been on over 645s every year. But then some of us like a challenge

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Always interested in what's happening. We're not there, so hard to keep up with the latest. Please find out what you can and email me,
thanks, Grant

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
------------------------
Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Hi Grant et al,

This is the controversial law:

DECRETO 166/1998, de 8 de julio, de regulación del acceso motorizado al medio natural.


Which means '. . . of the regulation of motorised access to the natural environment' - well, that's lawyers for you!


I can't find a version in English, nor am I a lawyer, so I won't offer to translate. It's all common sense really, but all laws sound horrendous. I think the key is in how seriously it's been, or is about to be, implemented and enforced - a complicated issue in Spain! But the important areas are:

• what is a forest road? - answer just about everything, but the authorities can prohibit bikes on anything less that 2 metres wide and they can also limit or prohibit access in designated areas - but all of these must be signalled (section 5)
• blanket speed limit of 30 kph unless it is an organised sporting event (section 10)
• definition of informal groups and organized groups (section 19) - if you're all going the same way following a route, your an organised group
• size limit of informal groups is 7, i.e. six I guess (section 20), above that and you're a mob! - or perhaps by default an organized group
• organized groups must get permission (section 21 - which also lists the, not too difficult, conditions for compliance - famous last words!)
• indemnity - a sum of money has to be paid up front to cover material damage caused by an organized event (section 29)
• the fines I was talking about range from light (€60-300), through severe (€300 - 3,000), and then very severe (3,000 - 30,000) (section 37)

I guess the lesson is either get organized or pretend we're all there by coincidence. Oh and by the way, you also have to have your documentation on you, including details/personal registration of the event.

On a brighter note, if you haven't heard back from the Local Authority within 15 calendar days of your application to run the event, "En el caso de que éstos no se pronuncien en el plazo de 15 días naturales . . . ésta se entenderá otorgada por silencio positivo." you can take that as permission to ride! (section 21.1)

OK, well I wish I hadn't started this. I probably sound like some sort of crazy paranoid urban legal freak - which I'm not - but as I said before, the issue has been raised again lately. There's talk on Spanish and Catalan bike forums, which I can keep an eye on, but as a non-native speaker it's hard to sort out the wheat from the chaff amongst people who, for very good reason, have a high sensitivity to infringements of what they deem as their rights to free speech/association/roaming, etc., and sadly it's all too common for hyperbole to rule.

I'd better sign off now and dream sweet dreams of mountains, pastures, mud holes . . .

Simon

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Blogging around Iberia

Hi chip eater

Count me in - I don't think it's gonna be a problem to team up with someone this year - It seems there's a lot of lonely riders out there.

BR. from Copenhagen /Lars

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http://www.N69S54A.com