Camptouring on a Fazer

somclan

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So...

Its day five on the road with the FZ. Its certainly a different motorcycle than my last one.Still here we are with full camping gear in a nice little site on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees .So far it looks like you can camp tour on a fazer...

Its got to be said woth some of the roads around here you would have fun on a ride on lawn mower .Its late Sept and the whole region is taking a break after the Summer season before the Winter sport season starts.Still there is always a campsite ,supermarket and petrol station open and that is pretty much all I need ...

The FZ is gaining my respect and after each days ride I look at it from the doorway of the tent with more and more affection.




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The bike is in fact a 06 or 07 model but Yamaha Ireland still had a few unsold models so I find myself in the interesting position of test riding a brand new 4 year old bike !


My eyes got pretty fried a few days back while riding in some really hot weather along the Loire .Its the last time I dont cream up while riding visor up.Each trip you learn a little more:(

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Hence I have decided on a two night hole up in Llavorsi to rest up before checking out the famous N260 .



After my little rest and to let the swelling go down a bit I use the N260 east wards as far as Puigcerda ... Its a Saturday a lots of riders are out for a blast. I nip back over to France to link up with a Chris and his Bird to near Font Romeu .


Chris is sure getting his saddle time in and is off westward the next morning to ride the 260 as far as Pamploma .

I like the guest house so much that I decide to spend another night here.. What a cool fire place :

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I spend a day walking the excellent forest trails and off season pistes in the area . Much to my surprise and delight even the smallest paths are marked on my GPS and I use the Zumo as a hand held to help my navigate around. This is no place for dayglo toe slider boots and I am happy with my choice foot wear for this trip. The air is crisp up here at 1700 metres and the blue skies make a great back drop for the mountains.

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Back down to Spain I hook up with the N152 . This is a audacious road with some cool graffiti .

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I hook up with the 260 and follow it down to the Med..So two days later after much camping and little kilometres I find myself still on the 260 after having a look at some groovy street seating in Roses and a interesting replica of Roman anchor .


Cadaques is such a pretty town I just had to stay the night despite arriving there at 10 in the morning after just covering 20k..The road into the town is great fun.


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I now find myself with a ferry departure in Brittany 3 days away . It looks like I am going to find out if the FZ and I can do some distance work ! Ah well at 23.50 euro a night camping in Cadaques I am kinda looking forward to getting back into France.

At El Port de la Selva I tank up with Spanish fuel in a petrol station with a pretty view and count down the klicks left on the 260 before crossing over into France

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The FZ turns and looks back at the 260

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Today I find out that the FZ and I are never going to munch the miles together.After using some super slab on the French side up as far as Narbonne . I thought I would see more than the 330k distance covered ...Ah well the sun is thinking about setting and I have a tin of two of Spanish beer stuffed somewhere and I head down into the Vallee de Tarne.This is a first visit for me but I hope not my last.


Camping is back to 8 euro a night but is off set by juice hopping from 1.16 to 1.47 a litre ..Stopped for lunch today and had a excellent steak /frites f,fizzy water and a coffee for sub 10e ... This is one part of riding slowley through France that I like..


The all seeing one tells me its 1000k to the ferry. Its time to put away the map and follow the pink line .The Fz and myself better get to grips with getting some K ' s done or we are gong to miss that ferry ! So just 3k short of 500 the Fz and I have come to the agreement that together if called upon we will cover 500k in a hit but we would prefare to roll along slowley on small roads and cover as little as 20k but mostly between 150 abd 250 k. Get into a site early and spend the 15 to 20 e toll fees on on food ,beer etc. Reflected this night that I took no photo this day. Slab is not that interesting!

Its a good job we have made this agreement as there is 500k to be covered to make the ferry..

It rains hard for the whole day so its just a slog on slab.. Arrive in plenty of time and park the bike ..Notice a 125 cc also waiting to go on board..Turns out this guy has covered 19 thousand miles in a year ... RESPECT
 

LERecords

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MOTOCAMPING!!!! i love camping on my fz.. some of the most camping fun i have ever had.. thanks for the share... pics look awsome.. :thumbup:
 

DefyInertia

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Nice pics :rockon:

So I have opted to utilize a large tank bag to try and balance the weight when going on multi-day tours. It seems you have not. Any major reasons for this? I'm really not sure which would be better, if either, which is why I ask.

MOTOCAMPING!!!! i love camping on my fz.. some of the most camping fun i have ever had.. thanks for the share... pics look awsome.. :thumbup:

+1
 

Nelly

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Thanks for that, great pictures.
Give me a bell when your back in Cork and we could arrange a meet and a ride.

Nelly:thumbup:
 

Nelly

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Nice pics :rockon:

So I have opted to utilize a large tank bag to try and balance the weight when going on multi-day tours. It seems you have not. Any major reasons for this? I'm really not sure which would be better, if either, which is why I ask.



+1
I think tank bag is the way to go to. I have only done one trip like this on the bike.
It was good to be able to unhook the valuable gear stowed in the tank bag when I stopped. As you mention weight distribution would be a plus.

Nelly
 

somclan

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Hey all,

Main reason for no tank bag is that I dont have one..I was considering a magnet one but would not like to scratch my shiny new tank ... Also I find that its a bit of hassle at refuel time...

I kinda work on the simple idea that the bike left the factory designed to carry two people...One at the front and one on the back.. I have put my gear on the back and it weighs less than a person ,so every thing should be ok... The weight of the engine and the person on the front should be enough to deal with the weight on the back...

Any way its still a work in progress and will envolve trip by trip ...
 

DefyInertia

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Hey all,

Main reason for no tank bag is that I dont have one..I was considering a magnet one but would not like to scratch my shiny new tank ... Also I find that its a bit of hassle at refuel time...

I kinda work on the simple idea that the bike left the factory designed to carry two people...One at the front and one on the back.. I have put my gear on the back and it weighs less than a person ,so every thing should be ok... The weight of the engine and the person on the front should be enough to deal with the weight on the back...

Any way its still a work in progress and will envolve trip by trip ...

Cool. Make sense and I don't doubt for a minute that its not a completely fine way of loading up. However, I was just thinking about how to ensure optimal handling when riding quickly in the twisty stuff.

here is how I load mine for reference. Not sure if this is a good or bad way.
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a longer trip
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neos

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I have not done any camping yet, in part thanks to cheap F1 and Etap hotels in France, but this is how I pack when travelling through Euroland.
 

Nelly

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I also like the tank bag Because I am a short ar5e:D. I find it quite comfy to lay against when trying to change position on longer rides. It takes a good deal of weight off of my wrists,

Have to admit it is a bit of a pain when refueling with a tank bag in place.

Cheers

Nelly
 

Wh0M3

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I also like the tank bag Because I am a short ar5e:D. I find it quite comfy to lay against when trying to change position on longer rides. It takes a good deal of weight off of my wrists,

Have to admit it is a bit of a pain when refueling with a tank bag in place.

Cheers

Nelly

I agree, that it is nice to lay against while riding. I do admit that you have to take it off to fuel up, but it's not that big of a deal.

I've never had mine scratch my tank and it's magnetic.
 

cap'n

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MOTOCAMPING!!!! i love camping on my fz.. some of the most camping fun i have ever had.. thanks for the share... pics look awsome.. :thumbup:

Took the words out of my mouth. One of my favorite things to do, period. And yes, THANK YOU for the pics, can't tell you how nice it is to see other places from a familiar saddle!
 

af_tourer

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WOW i can't wait to start Camptouring. I just got my FZ and am super excited to get back to touring. However, I will be away from my bike for the next year as i'll be in South Korea for that time and am unable to take my bike with me. After that year though, I will be enjoying Europe when I get to North Italy for 3 years...it will all be worth it though. :thumbup:
 
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