Hi all
Hope you can help. In Aug 2003 me and the wife will be off to france,Spain,Portugal for two weeks and frankly I'm scared to death. Been riding bikes 25 years and just got rid of my thunderace to buy a transalp with all the bits to finally go and do it before I get to old to get my leg over (the bike that is) I'm 44.I have got a small two man tent two sleeping bags a small stove........what else would you recommend......what do i need to know docs,laws,ect ect. I plan to spend some nights in the tent and some in B&B are they easy to find!!! can anyone recommend a route I'd like to stay off the motorways. Thanks for any help you can give.

P.S Hope the transalp was the right bike to buy two up with all the luggage as i say i don't get my knee down, far from it, more of a plodder. lol

OK - the first thing to say is that the places you're going to aren't on the edges of civilisation, so there isn't much to worry about. if you've survived riding bikes for a while then you obviously have "what it takes".

The next thing to say is that the places you're going to are beautiful - I've spent a fortnight exploring the White Villages of Andalucia on a Transalp and it was magical, but you have to work the bike quite hard. as I'm sure you've noticed, the Trannie doesn't have the most grunty motor in the world...

...I doubt you'll have much trouble finding a B&B anywhere, TBH. This means that you won't have to use yr tent at all of you don;t want to. Same goes for the stove. The onlt things you should check if travelling in Europe are that you have the new EU style photocard license, you take all the bike docs with you (V5 and insurance), and that you give the thing a decent service before setting off.

Only other tips would be to use the best biking gear you can afford, and to dial the shock up to the hardest it will go (esp. for 2-up with luggage). HAVE FUN!!!

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Hi Bond,
SOunds like a nice trip you're planning.
You should find most of the information you're looking for within existing message strings.
Use the various sub-headings under the bulletin board to find them or use the very useful search function at the top of each page.
Enjoy organising your trip, it's more than half the fun.

Geoff

Hi Bond

You'll love it! I did the same trip a few years ago 2 up on an AT and I'd only been riding 6 weeks. Taking the tent etc. gives you loads of freedom to choose B&B or roughing it. I prefer the latter. As said above, take all your documents with you + photocopies and don't forget a second set of keys (just in case!) You'll find people really respect bikers over there. From time to time you may get stopped by the Police but don't panic - unless you've been daft they just want a chat and a look at the bike. They're only too happy to give directions/advice on where to stay etc. (and their English tends to be good so you don't even need to worry there!)

Once you've done it you'll keep going back for more whenever you can. That's why they say its as good as sex!!

Enjoy

Chris

We have been travelling around Spain for 8 years. We started off going for a fortnight and ended up touring for a month last year. If you are going in the high season you may have difficulty getting accomodation or camping on a Saturday night. Try to book in advance if poss. The rest of the time it isn't a problem to get anything. The Spanish are very friendly and helpful. We have travelled down through France but prefer Spain (it's a personal choice. We have done it on 1 Bike 2 up, 2 bikes and in a van taking a bike with us to use over there. We have only been pulled by the Guardia once and they were no problem.We don't bother with a camping stove now as we speak the lingo and find you can get anything you need just about anywhere.
Enjoy
Ally

Thanks for the help & Info all, it's a great help. A couple more questions if you can help.I think I read on one of the bulletin boards that to have your bike serviced in portugal is alot cheaper than it is at home is this true? £35 an hour V 11 euro an hour can anyone confirm!!!. Is it worth taking the chance...will my honda service history still be valied!!! Also can anyone help with a route.

Once again thanks all

Regards BOND

Hi you

France, Spain, Portugal is very easy, just start your bike and bring enough money. You get everything you want. I did the first time in 1972 on a Moto Guzzi Scrambler 125, to only problem was, that my helmet etc. was stolen and that I ran out of money. But I managed to return home, with the bike...

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Alois

Bond,

Good on ya, I'm sure you'll love it! Biking on the contintent is so much nicer than in the UK - smooth roads, far less traffic and people are very biker friendly. In France and Spain you'll find that all bikers will wave and offer help if you need any (can't comment on Portugal, but I expect they're just as friendly).

When we set of on our trip in 2001, my girlfriend, Lisa, had only clocked up 200 miles since passing her test and she found riding on the continent much easier than home. The only problem was remembering which side of the road to be on first thing in the morning! Take a look at our site to see how we got on in Europe www.chasingthesun.org.

Route-wise, my advice would be to head south through France to the Pyrenees and enjoy the mountain twisties. Remember that it's going to be quite warm in land, so it will be more comfortable on the coast or at altitude.

Personally, I'd camp as much as possible. Not only is it cheaper, but it's much more fun. You'll also find it easier to meet people when you're camping if you want to be sociable. You can treat yourself to a hotel a couple of times when you need a real bed.

Do you have kip mats? Sleeping on the ground can be quite uncomfortable, especially if the grounds very hard, so it might be worth taking a couple of self-inflating roll mats or just the bog standard foam ones. They can be quite bulky, but are very comfie and you should sleep better.

One thing you might want to think about is an intercom system so that you can talk to each other on the move. It makes it far more interesting because you can talk about things you see and your wife can navigate while you concentrate on riding the bike. Saves all that banging on the shoulder and waving hands in front of your face to get your attention! Decent systems aren't cheap, but if you're going to do a lot of two up riding, I think they're a worthwhile investment.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to email me.

Hope you enjoy yourselves and don't worry about it!

Ride safe,

Harvey

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no pipe, no slippers
www.chasingthesun.org

[This message has been edited by harvey (edited 23 February 2003).]

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no pipe, no slippers
www.chasingthesun.org

sounds like you're doing the same as me and for the same reasons - check out my string of messages there may eb info there that would be useful to you - perhaps we should meet up!

as you'll see, my trip has been long in the planning!!

zenbiker

Hi all

I can't wait so we are now going early July.
As you all know this will be my first time so I need advice with the bike please. I have a one year old Transalp with a higher screen, centre stand, top box and panniers (all Honda) so can anybody think of anything else I need to do to the bike before I go or anything that I MUST take. All suggestions will be appreciated. I will be two up!!!.The wife and she is only little (I was just told to say that)

Regards BOND

With regards to mods to the bike I don't think there is that much you really need to do for a trip like yours. Also depends how flush you are!! A Scottoiler would be a good investment (one less thing to worry about). You could fit an external socket and run a CHALA lamp (Touratech) off it for camping. Could also run rider to Pillion intercom off it.

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