April 2011 euro moto adventure!

[Jblk9695]

Man, this sounds like the trip of a lifetime, take lots of photo's and are you going to start a blog so we can follow along?
Try this site for some good info on shipping or renting bikes--

w w w . r i d e d o t . c o m : Frequently Asked Questions

Jerry

 

[Jblk9695]

Here's another one to check out for shipping--

Motorcycle Shipping, Transport and Freight

 

[Kazza]

Jealous.

Very jealous.

I can't wait to see the pictures of this trip :cheer:

 

[Yamma~Tiger]

Sounds like a lot of fun!!! You guys be safe and take lots of pics. :thumbup:

 

[seb101]

I've only ridden in italy from austria to pisa (tuscany) so i can't really recommend anything spectacular for where you're going but as for drivers and riding in paris, don't be shocked in paris when you'll be on Périphérique and motorbikes are spliting lanes between 2nd/3rd lane going over 60mph

I think the drivers in Italy have their weird maneuvers on the road aswell, driving on the left line is their ritual, they tend to stay pretty close on your back, and they cut out corners (even on highways) 2 wheels on the right/left line is normal, regular car drivers do it and what's more worring even lorries drivers do it lol

As to the weathe in Alps... it changes really quick so it's hard to give a forecast. I've driven through alps when going to Croatia (around end of august. with 24C and sun) and to Italy (end of june with costant rain and temp around 5C, later on i've watched the news report and they we're saying the snow was falling not that much above where i was...)

 

[Anesi]

Sounds like an awesome trip :thumbup: I'm contemplating a 3 weeks round trip in Norway this fall with my girlfriend - if we can find the cash to do it. Would be great.

Anyway, renting in Europe tends to be quite expensive :ban: looked a little into it before buying my FZ. Of course prices vary a great deal, but for a weeks worth of riding it looks like you'll be in the area of $1000 pr. week - depending on bike and circumstances. Check out AdMo-Tours Motorcycle Rental in France. They don't have a lot of different bikes in Paris, but if you wanted to ride the southern half of France into Italy I guess you could start off in Nice and go from there. The scenery is quite nice down there.

If I can get a couple of extra days off work I might even ride down and join you for a couple of days, if you don't mind (only 1200 km ).

Have a great trip. Southern Europe really is an amazing place to drive (have yet to go there by bike though). If you get the chance, and have the time, you should ride from Italy into Austria. Fantastic mountain roads in the Innsbruck area :thumbup:. Southern Germany also have some amazing scenery IMO

+1 on the blog idea, and post lots of pics :cheer:

/Anesi

 

[Wavex]

Man, this sounds like the trip of a lifetime, take lots of photo's and are you going to start a blog so we can follow along?
Try this site for some good info on shipping or renting bikes--

w w w . r i d e d o t . c o m : Frequently Asked Questions

Jerry

Here's another one to check out for shipping--

Motorcycle Shipping, Transport and Freight

Thanks Jerry I'll email these shipping companies tomorrow :thumbup:

About the blog, it's a great idea, but I am not sure I'll have the internet with me this time (data roaming is crazy expensive), but we'll see... my plan is to crash at friends/relatives as much as possible, so I'll certainly have wifi from time to time... but then we'll be at friends/relatives, which means we'll be drinking local beverages a lot :rockon:

Anyway, you know there will be lots of pics/stories when we return through, no doubt about that...

I've only ridden in italy from austria to pisa (tuscany) so i can't really recommend anything spectacular for where you're going but as for drivers and riding in paris, don't be shocked in paris when you'll be on Périphérique and motorbikes are spliting lanes between 2nd/3rd lane going over 60mph

I think the drivers in Italy have their weird maneuvers on the road aswell, driving on the left line is their ritual, they tend to stay pretty close on your back, and they cut out corners (even on highways) 2 wheels on the right/left line is normal, regular car drivers do it and what's more worring even lorries drivers do it lol

As to the weathe in Alps... it changes really quick so it's hard to give a forecast. I've driven through alps when going to Croatia (around end of august. with 24C and sun) and to Italy (end of june with costant rain and temp around 5C, later on i've watched the news report and they we're saying the snow was falling not that much above where i was...)

Thanks for the feedback! I have driven and ridden in Paris and I hear you... I split lanes in LA at 80mph though :cheer::spank:

I've also ridden a moped in Rome and it was total insanity... even Paris felt easy compared to that experience... no helmet, no gear, just pure adrenaline and fear lol

Sounds like an awesome trip :thumbup: I'm contemplating a 3 weeks round trip in Norway this fall with my girlfriend - if we can find the cash to do it. Would be great.

Anyway, renting in Europe tends to be quite expensive :ban: looked a little into it before buying my FZ. Of course prices vary a great deal, but for a weeks worth of riding it looks like you'll be in the area of $1000 pr. week - depending on bike and circumstances. Check out AdMo-Tours Motorcycle Rental in France. They don't have a lot of different bikes in Paris, but if you wanted to ride the southern half of France into Italy I guess you could start off in Nice and go from there. The scenery is quite nice down there.

If I can get a couple of extra days off work I might even ride down and join you for a couple of days, if you don't mind (only 1200 km).

Have a great trip. Southern Europe really is an amazing place to drive (have yet to go there by bike though). If you get the chance, and have the time, you should ride from Italy into Austria. Fantastic mountain roads in the Innsbruck area :thumbup:. Southern Germany also have some amazing scenery IMO

+1 on the blog idea, and post lots of pics :cheer:

/Anesi

Thanks Anesi! Great advice... I'll make sure to pm you the details as we get closer to see if you can join us for a section of the trip...

It's funny you mention Admo... I rented 5 bikes from them for a 6000 miles West USA trip relatives/friends did in Sept. 2010 and they only delivered 2 bikes out of the 5... they still owe me $10k+ right as we speak....... long story short it was one of Admo's sub-contractor who messed up, but Admo doesn't want to take responsibility even though we signed a contract with them.... anyway, I think I'll avoid Admo this time
The idea to rent in the South of France makes a lot of sense though.... one more thing to think about........... thanks again!

 

[Motogiro]

So jealous of you guys! I totally miss riding with you guys and the roads out here suck big time. Ugh... I need to make a riding trip back to Cali sometime this Spring.

C'mon now! Now yer talkin!

 

[Davey]

Ah man! You arrive the day after I go to England for 10 days! Would have been cool to meet up for a ride, even if only for part of the way!

The right choice to avoid the west of France. Although it's very pretty, the roads are pretty boring. Massif Central is ok (I crossed it once but can't remember the route!) but heading south for the Alps is where it's at! You just can't fail to find good roads - even without a map/gps!

Have a great time!

 

[Anesi]

Thanks Anesi! Great advice... I'll make sure to pm you the details as we get closer to see if you can join us for a section of the trip...

It's funny you mention Admo... I rented 5 bikes from them for a 6000 miles West USA trip relatives/friends did in Sept. 2010 and they only delivered 2 bikes out of the 5... they still owe me $10k+ right as we speak....... long story short it was one of Admo's sub-contractor who messed up, but Admo doesn't want to take responsibility even though we signed a contract with them.... anyway, I think I'll avoid Admo this time
The idea to rent in the South of France makes a lot of sense though.... one more thing to think about........... thanks again!

Would be great riding with you guys for a day or two :thumbup:

$10k?! Why those :spank: Sorry, I don't have any personal experience with them. Just posted the link as a price indicator. Hate to give bad advice In that case you should definitely find someone else.

Don't know how many miles you guys are planning on doing a day, but seems like you are both experienced? A cool route might be to start out in Lyon, go south through Grenoble to Marseilles. Then east along the coast through Cannes and Nice to Genova. After that north towards Milan, along the alps thumbup and in to Innsbruck, Ostria. After Innsbruck (be sure to leave time for weissbier ) head west through St. Anton (ski resort) and in to Switzerland. Once there you can ride the Alps all the way back to Lyon.

Basically a ~1400 mile trip with all-you-can-eat Alp roads - and you'll get to ride 4 different countries. If 1400 isn't enough and you have time you could head north after Inssbruck and round Bodensee, Germany. Should be an awesome motorcycle area as well. Maybe a long trip but you guys seem tough

Just for inspiration

/Anesi

PS: Just a quick question: Why only a single week?

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Well see how Wavex's (David, aka Mr. Lucky!) holds up across the pond.

POLICIE

 

[Wavex]

Ah man! You arrive the day after I go to England for 10 days! Would have been cool to meet up for a ride, even if only for part of the way!

The right choice to avoid the west of France. Although it's very pretty, the roads are pretty boring. Massif Central is ok (I crossed it once but can't remember the route!) but heading south for the Alps is where it's at! You just can't fail to find good roads - even without a map/gps!

Have a great time!

Bad timing... we'll meet when you plan your trip through California :BLAA:

Thanks for the advice... the trip itinerary is evolving every day...

Would be great riding with you guys for a day or two :thumbup:

$10k?! Why those Sorry, I don't have any personal experience with them. Just posted the link as a price indicator. Hate to give bad advice In that case you should definitely find someone else.

Admo wasn't really at fault... I can't say on the internet that they scammed us, it was just a "bad luck" time of situation..... plus it looks like the sub-contractor is about to get his sh*t together soon, so we should get our $$ back.
Yeah $10k for 3 bikes for 1 full month (6000miles) of riding. I would have loved to join them

Don't know how many miles you guys are planning on doing a day, but seems like you are both experienced? A cool route might be to start out in Lyon, go south through Grenoble to Marseilles. Then east along the coast through Cannes and Nice to Genova. After that north towards Milan, along the alps thumbup and in to Innsbruck, Ostria. After Innsbruck (be sure to leave time for weissbier ) head west through St. Anton (ski resort) and in to Switzerland. Once there you can ride the Alps all the way back to Lyon.

Basically a ~1400 mile trip with all-you-can-eat Alp roads - and you'll get to ride 4 different countries. If 1400 isn't enough and you have time you could head north after Inssbruck and round Bodensee, Germany. Should be an awesome motorcycle area as well. Maybe a long trip but you guys seem tough

Just for inspiration
/Anesi

PS: Just a quick question: Why only a single week?

That's a great itinerary thanks! We will certainly use a lot of that advice :thumbup: It will have to be a bit longer though. Cali Rider is more experienced than me, but I've got a few miles under my belt :thumbup:

Our last trip was 1500 miles in 4 days :rockon: check it out: http://www.600riders.com/forum/im-g...1946-epic-california-ride-now-pics-video.html

So I think 300miles should be our daily average... but there may be days where we chill out... my dad lives in Salon de Provence, one of my best college buddy in Marseille, my uncle in Switzerland, my Grandma in Germany, my oldest friend in Lyon, another close friend in Strasbourg, along with my mom in Saverne.... etc... so we have choices to make

Oh and why a single week? well, we'll actually leave LA on April 9th because I have a meeting in Toulouse on Monday the 11th through Wednesday the 13th... John will be visiting relatives in the UK while I work :ban:

But Thursday morning should be pretty sweet.......................

 

[Wavex]

Well see how Wavex's (David, aka Mr. Lucky!) holds up across the pond.

POLICIE

LOL Kenny... it's "Police" or "Les keuf" :rockon: and I learned to ride in France... I think I'll be fine reading the weird traffic signs and talking to those rude french ppl :Flip:

You know what, France has actually cracked down on Speeding BIG time in the past few years... radars everywhere (fixed and mobile...). But Cali Rider and I ride the speed limit, you know that... we just pick our spots carefully that's all :cheer:

 

[Motogiro]

LOL Kenny... it's "Police" or "Les keuf" :rockon: and I learned to ride in France... I think I'll be fine reading the weird traffic signs and talking to those rude french ppl :Flip:

You know what, France has actually cracked down on Speeding BIG time in the past few years... radars everywhere (fixed and mobile...). But Cali Rider and I ride the speed limit, you know that... we just pick our spots carefully that's all :cheer:

That's true, they do ride the speed limit and then the spots they pick they turn into bullet bikes!!! :Flip::rof::rof:

 

[Wavex]

:innocent:


I know another dude who does the same thing... he likes to randomly robot dance in the middle of the f_ing desert :Flip:

 

[VEGASRIDER]

Going thru Germany?

 

[Drinky]

Not to spoil your trip, but the most important question, which beers to drink,
YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!.
Going south from france you only get to wine country.
Belgium/Netherlands/Germany are beer drinkers/makers.
So go north. lack of twisties though, but beer!!

eh ok well if you insist on seeing countries with nice twisties and such...

Note that in April swiss passes might still be blocked because of snow.
Usually starts melting in april/may.
Same probably goes for italy.

Click on Pässe if it doesnt go there by itself
http://www.swissinfo.ch/ger/infos_zur_schweiz/verkehrsinfo/index.html?cid=7766200#pässe
From what I heard, some are closed until june 1st.

 

[Wavex]

Going thru Germany?

Hey Kenny, yes, see below

Not to spoil your trip, but the most important question, which beers to drink,
YOU'RE GOING THE WRONG WAY!.
Going south from france you only get to wine country.
Belgium/Netherlands/Germany are beer drinkers/makers.
So go north. lack of twisties though, but beer!!

eh ok well if you insist on seeing countries with nice twisties and such...

Note that in April swiss passes might still be blocked because of snow.
Usually starts melting in april/may.
Same probably goes for italy.

Click on Pässe if it doesnt go there by itself
swissinfo - Verkehrsinformation, Strassenzustand, Pass, Wintersperre, Stau, Baustelle, Verkehrsstau
From what I heard, some are closed until june 1st.

Thanks for the link man much appreciated! About the beer, don't worry about us, we will spend a few days at the end of the trip up North... See next post :BLAA:

 

[Wavex]

Alright so here is an update...

- Plane tickets for Cali Rider, my daughter (she is staying with my mom for 2 weeks ), and me are booked. Ended up being less than $1000 per round trip :rockon:

- Our rides are booked! This is what we'll be rocking:

My step dad offered to lend us his Piaggo 400cc MP3 with insurance for FREE!!

LOL.....................................

He has a top case too and you can fit 2 helmets under the seat...


My best friend growing up willl lend us his 06 1200 Suzuki Bandit for free (we'll cover a set of tires and insurance):

:rockon:


- As far as the itinerary, We're going to ride from Strasbourg to Lyon the first day (through the road of wines, and a bunch of other stuff) to stay at a friend's house the first night.
Then the next day we'll ride to the French riviera, where we'll start the Coast ride from around Montpellier I think, heading East, all to Arles, Salon de Provence (I have family down there), and then through Nice and Italy... then back up through Italy, Switzerland (I have family there too), Germany (family), maybe Amsterdam , and then finish in Strasbourg... the details are being worked on... total of 9days...

I CAN'T WAIT!!! :rockon:

 

[Lefty]

That's awesome David that you'll have bikes lined up to ride without the hassle of having to rent them. $1000 for plane tix, that's great too!
I'm totally jealous of you guys, but I don't know of two guys who won't take advantage of such a great opportunity to ride Europe than you and John.

Oh BTW, your dad's a regular hooligan if you haven't noticed.. :rockon: