Time ?

[Itchy]

How much time will it take to get from Manchester to the South of Italy say April/May 07? , and back with 2 days sight seeing somewhere in between

my absolute max riding time is 14 hours a day , but on tour I think I'd limit this to 7 hours max with an hour for lunch starting at 8AM leaving 4pm-12pm for activities wherever I end up
and the rest for sleeping.

two possible tank ranges 220miles
125 miles

depending on if I can rig up an endurance tank to the bike again.

riding style fast just above limits going for twisty mountain routes rather than motorways.

Weapons of choice

'97 ZX6R
89 NC30 (unlikely to get one)
RF900

absolute last resort NTV650

any thoughts?

Ta
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Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[R4nger]

2 weeks to cover around 3000 miles is enough.

[Nath]

I wouldn't head down to the south of Italy for a 'shorter distance' tour. You need a circular route, because heading down south just to come straight back up north will irritate you. Plus there isn't as much in the south of Italy as you might think. There is Naples (Napoli), and that's about it. I bet that sicily is nice, but I couldn't stomach riding all the extra distance south.

You've also got to bare in mind that riding times and distances are neither constant nor predictable. What looks like a short distance on the map can take absolutely ages if you're riding on the more minor mountain roads. One problem particularly evident in Italy is roads going through the center of towns, which even on a motorcycle can set you back half an hour per moderate sized town. My point is that setting stringent timeplans won't work, 8am-4pm days will quickly turn into 10am-10pm gruelers.

https://homepage.ntlworld.com/steven.coy/images/europe_2006/italy-2.jpg
Napoli, a real behemoth of a city. You wouldn't want to take an nc30 there, it'd last about 5minutes before someone either knocked you off or pinched it.
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Hard livin', hard luck.

[Itchy]

yeah I know , I once did Mancs to Cornwall once took me 6 hours , another time took me 4 and another (crazier time took me 3.5 hours).

Just after a ballpark figure to see how much holiday to book off to go for a jaunt the circular Germany , Austria , Northern Italy , France spain portugal looks good.

Ta
____________________
Spain 2008France 2007Big one 2009 We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will. In the end, your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it is worth watching.

[Nath]

As much time as you can afford. Of course the longer you spend touring the more money you will spend as well, though.

Two weeks is enough for a proper tour, three weeks will take the pressure off allowing more scope for detours and days spent off the bike. When I did my three week tour of Spain, I think I spent in total 4days not riding, plus a 5th day when I did a circular ride without all my gear on the back.


That route sounds too long, unless you are milemunching through all of Germany, France and some of Spain. You will want to spend at least 4 days riding in the alps, 4 days in the Spanish mountains, plus at least 5 days of mile munching. That's nearly two weeks already, and you haven't accounted for days off, the long ferry from Spain back home, plus you said Portugal as well.
____________________
Hard livin', hard luck.

[bin]

Why put yourself on a tight schedule over a long distance......you should enjoy the ride there and back....any part of France or Germany (the black forest).....
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...its what you make of it...
...Silver Suzuki gsx1400...

[Al]