Europe Breakdown cover

[pickettwayne]

As my bike is over 15 years old now. A asuzuki rf600 L reg. IM finding it hard to get european breakdown cover and if i do it like 70 quid and i dont really wann pay that just for a long weekend in france.

Anyone got any recommendations?

Cheers
wayne

[Phoenix]

Well European breakdown has always been about £60-70 so I don't see that the bikes age has much to do with it. An old car is a different story though, talking well over a hundred and on a special policy as most won't cover cars over 15 years old.

[c-m]

This is what you want:

https://www.adac.de/mitgliedschaft/tarife/default2.aspx?ComponentId=10017&SourcePageId=6049

Amazing cover and service for a price much better than any UK operation.

[Ingah]

AutoAid pay and claim. NB: Does pay up for UK breakdown at least (tested ), but haven't tested abroad.
____________________
-- Ingah

[c-m]

With ADAC you get unlimited European cover (includes the UK). This is for the person not the vehicle. In fact you don't even need to tell them what your vehicle is on the registration form.

The recovery covers repatriation, flying parts out, loans, bail, hotels etc..

Had to use them in Budapest when my battery died. They put me and the misses up in a nice hotel while they sorted everything out.

[G]

You could try these guys who do short-term cover: https://www.tia-insurance.co.uk/breakdown-cover.php .
Wasn't massively cheap for 16 days for my 08 reg KTM, but then they do offer better cover than many (ie the RAC cover sucks, which I also had.)

[Omega]

[Tonka]

[c-m]

I don't have the link to hand.. basically its a pdf, print it out and fax it back or email it, you have to put your card numbers on it somewhere.

As for being easy to deal with.. try searching around and reading some reports, many will say that they are easier to deal with than the AA or RAC and speak arguably better English.

[Marmalade]

In English

https://www.adac.de/mitgliedschaft/adac_membership/default.aspx?quer=mitgliedschaft_leistungen%2fmitgliedschaftstarife%2fmembership%2fdefault.asp&ComponentID=30621&SourcePageID=193391

Note it says you need a german address or you need to contact them to get membership
____________________
Nobby the Bastard: How yo tell the difference between the actual japanese and her just screaming because she's had live fish stuck up her arse? [url=https://www.nicks-shop.co.uk/bcf-goodies-15-c.aspGet BCF stickers and things here[/url] Reflective helmet stickers - Legal requirement in france - Clicky

[c-m]

the easiest way is just to email them. they will send you out an applicatin form.

it only has a few questions on. Post or fax that back and you'll have your membership card and documentation within a week.

Easy does it.

Here is a link to what I sent them when I renewed. Just copy and paste it into an email (note: all the details in here have been replaced with fake ones)

[kate t]

[G]

They're great fun, though glad I had a rather unbalanced bike so wasn’t trying to go all-out.
Good observations and a little safety margin and you’ll be fine – I took the backroads to the ‘real’ alps and you get a good ‘practice’ on less intense roads (this was Italy to Switzerland, but I presume France is similar.)

[kate t]

[G]

Haven't been there myself - while it's not as long etc, it's may actually be bit more challenging! The Alpine ones tend to have fairly reasonable visibility of the corners, ok often it's blocked due to being very steep, but you've got some idea of what's coming and it's generally only the hair pins that are that steep.

[kate t]

That's reassuring... I think

[theopj]

Porlock isn't really that typical of alpine passes, I thought it was a piece of piss. I remember some of them in Italy had 30 hairpins up and down, but they do get very samey after a bit of practise. They do tend to be a bit more open than porlock, so the visibilty is normally better - unless the clouds come down - which can make it interesting! Also your be on the other side of the road so not sure if practising in the UK will help much. I found going up them quite easy and fun - coming down could be a bit of a pain at times - and you use alot of brakes.
____________________
Suzuki Bandit SA 1250 & Honda CB750F2T

[Phoenix]

Porlock isn't really like Alpine roads, some of the hairpins on a lot of the passes are pretty crazy with the camber, if you stick in your lane and aren't careful you'll easily hit your peg down and that's a good way to come off, had a couple of instances where that happened. They also put a lot repair work on the hairpins as it cracks a lot. Best way it to use the entire road which you can do usually in Europe because visibility is so good as mentioned.

A noob mistake would be to bimble round a tight hairpin and have to actually stop halfway because of poor balance, camber is so steep you'd never get your foot down and end up on your ass. This happened to a woman who dithered around a hairpin in Devon somewhere on a rideout a few years ago. Yes some people really do crawl around hairpins, it's painful to watch.

[barnhatter]

The mountain passes are okay but can be hard work, I did 4 one year one after each other and was well tired after the first couple and was struggling at the end.
Take them at a safe pace and use the whole of the road. With panniers etc your bike wont be as agile as normal. You will see bikers used to them and with no gear going faster just let them and go at your comfortable speed stopping to enjoy the views.
I estimate the time at 30 moh plus 1 hour for each pass.
The surface is normally okay on the passes but can be bad I did one in Slovinia where they had cobbled the hairpins which was interesting.

[Phoenix]

[kate t]