Long distance rideing...

[mr.z]

After a fairly pants year i was talking with a mate and were considering a long distance pootle across europe, amsterdam norway sweden and any other interesting places we come across..
Something like 300 miles a day maybe? then a day in between to explore wherever we are at the time..
What do you think? good idea? its going to be in the summer, not planning on takeing a fantastic amount of luggage but will both be takeing a passenger each. the longest distance i have done up to now is 200 miles (with a couple of hours rest) that was on a cg125, and wasn't that bad (though not something i'd try again tbh).
The bike i have now is not far off the old silverwing (cx500) shaft driven, ultra comfy seat, never vibrates like its about to fire its engine across the road. i could ride all day on that with not allot of problems..

So any tips? anything we should/shouldn't do? european breakdown cover will be arranged, but what sort of costs would we be talking? maybe doing around 2000 miles.. just really thinking about it at the moment but i've always wanted to do some real ridding around, i thinking this would be a tremendous laugh..

oh, one other thing, is it worth thinking about renting a touring (goldwing ooh) bike? how much would cost for 2weeks? just a thought...

[Kickstart]

Hi

300 miles in a day is not bad. Consider the making sure you have a pair of tyres that will last the entire trip. European breakdown cover might cost a fair amount for an older bike.

Hiring a LeadWing will cost a fair amount, and you might have major problems hiring one to take out of the country.

All the best

Keith
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[mr.z]

ah yes, tyres.. never had to replace a set actually, but yes definitely needs to be done.. also a puncture repair kit?
breakdown cover has to be done really, i'm not even a bit worried about it going wrong, but lawofsod decrees if i'm not prepared for it, then it will...

I did in fact recently read an article about a couple who brought a cx in 1981 (new) and rode it the whole way around the world over several years (not in any rush it seems, they stoped in allot of places for months at a time) so, as far as distance bikes i'm not too worried

anyone else been up norf, very far? on a bike? we just thought it would be cool to go somewhere relatively unusual, france or spain wouldn't do it for me really...

[Bird]

Last year I completed a 25,000 km lap of Australia. The bike I used was a KLR 650 which I bought out there. All the riding was done solo and I camped most nights.
I my humble opinion, the key to touring is keep it simple and carry the absoloute bear minimum. I found that I was forever posting kit back home. You soon work out what you do and don't need. Travelling light also makes packing the bike a whole lot easier and has obvious advantages over the bikes performance.

Distance wise I averaged 300-400 km per day some times more if the roads were sealed.
The trick is simply to ride whatever distances you and your pillion find comfortable. Don't set impossible goals that make you rush and miss the scenery. After all thats why your there.
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[Chuck100]

Sounds like fun and it's something I'd love to do at some point.

A mate of mine went round Europe on a Ducati Monster 600 and I think the only problem he had was he knocked a peg off in a scuff with a car. He managed to replace it with one of the pillion pegs. He actually managed to get some cash off his boss who had thought the trip (which was for 2 months) would be good experience for him. Try your luck, it might just work.

I think Bird's advice to go as far as you can comfortably in a day is wise. Probably a good idea to decide where you really, really want to go first, then choose some other 'secondary' stops that you can miss if you start to run out of time.

There is a good book about a couple who bought two BMWs (can't remember the model - sorry) and went around the world. The guy was a fairly well known investment banker and the book includes some insights into the economies of the countries they visit. It's called 'Investment Biker' and I can thoroughly recommend it. I think they did their trip in 1990 or 1991, so I'm not sure if it's the same book as mentioned above.

One thing that did seem like a good idea though was that the girlfriend took a bike mechanics course before they left so she could do some minor repairs on the way if they had problems. I think that most people on here know how to fix small problems with their bikes though.

One other thing is that I think they took some spare parts and a spare tyre with them, but that's probably not necessary in Europe as most common things should be available - they were in places like Africa, Khazakstan, Siberia etc.

Whatever you do, enjoy it.

Chuck.
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[Mr C]

My mate from work went on a Nick Sanders tour round the world two years ago, 30,000 miles I think in 3 months


on his busa


sometimes riding 1,000 miles a day
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[WheelieKing]

buy "performance bikes" it often has features on touring. The last one was performance touring (e.g R1's) which wont be much use to but it will help you as to what to pack if you're travelling light. See if you can borrow the issue off of a mate.

GaZ