Nurburgring...

[dombaird]

anyone been?
if so how long did it take?
fuel costs? average...

what luggage did you take

and more important what bike did you take? pics?

really considering going sometime next year!
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DGB

[waffles]

I went last year with a couple of mates, we did 10 days in total but only 4 in Germany. On the way home I filled up a fair few times and it took about 12 hours in total with a ferry back to Dover and a decent lunch stop. I took Kriega luggage with a few days worth of clean clothes and I washed stuff as and when. I ended up with a 20 litre bag and two 10's plus a small rucksack.

Take waterproofs as it pissed it down every morning we were there, afternoons and evenings cleared up but it is prone to fog. Check the calendar and see when bike only nights run otherwise you can go on the Touristfahrten evenings when anyone can turn up. Some evenings were mentally busy but the earlier you go the more atmosphere there is plus the track photographers are there if you are interested in that.

I can pop some pictures on later to show what I rode there and how I packed everything. It is good fun though!
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[dombaird]

10 days sounds like a decent trip, i was thinking of possibly 5...

Get there with no de touring or stop offs, AUTOBAHN of course! and plod along the way back and check out some other things

does 5 days seem fair enough or would 10 be better? yeah if you could load some pics that would be great

Its a GSXR K7 i have and wouldnt mind just rucksack with some clothes as i would want to travel fairly light
____________________
DGB

[Undinist]

I've been 3 times, for training courses where the organisers have booked the circuit for 4 days.

Fuel costs...er...dunno why you're asking, only you know the MPG of your bike. Just look up the distance on Google Maps.

Luggage...the less the better, but I'd take a crash repair kit, see below.

Be prepared for RAIN, and lots of it, even in the summer, cos the Ring is in the mountains. You'll need waterproof luggage and all weather tyres, NOT the sort of tyres you'd use for a dry track day.

If it rains while you're at the Ring lots of bikers will sit it out so you'll have less traffic to deal with. You can have a terrific time in the Rain if you're prepared:
- good mirrors so you can see Porsches coming up behind you at 150 without turning your head
- anti-fog visors, one clear, one yellow (for mist/fog/heavy rain)
- comfy waterproofs which don't flap
- the biggest, mostest crash bungs you can get
- cheapo plastic track day disposable fairing
- spare levers, pegs, zip ties, gaffer tape etc so you can ride home after a minor crash
- armour everywhere and an airbag vest

If you don't feel confident in the rain get some practice in, it will pay dividends. Maybe do a Cadwell track day in the wet? (They say a lap of the Ring is like Cadwell x 4.)

If you go on motorways at mega speeds on sticky tyres you might square them off before you even get to the circuit.

Think about getting off the motorway half way to the Ring and exploring twisty back roads in hilly bits of Belgium and Germany, they're just stunning, the beer is stunning, it's all pretty damn fantastic. Unless you break even minor German traffic laws...the locals can get so peeved that they actually try to run you off the road because they saw you cross a white line.
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Current bike: K1100RS. Previous: CD200, GSX250, GT550, VFR750, K100LT, K1100LT, R1100GS, R1150GS, ZZR1100, Hayabusa, RSV Mille, MV F4 750S, R1, ZX-10, KTM Adventure 950S

[smallfrowne]

Did it last week on a 650 single. I'd say do it, the adventure is decent enough, but also, that side of germany and luxembourg is full of epic roads - twisties and sweepers everywhere, so there's plenty of scope for getting lost.

Race fairings and stuff.. depends on how hard you want to ride it I suppose, I wasn't too worried about crashing, but then a 40hp single limits that somewhat I preferred doing a track day at cadwell in slightly above freezing temps earlier this year - got to learn the track as time went on and more bang for the pound (ring was about €28 a lap). But then, it's the ring so it had to be done and a sticker had to be bought.

Luggage on the 650 wasn't really a problem, a rucksack and a dry bags worth of stuff, much of which were tools. Got lucky with the rain, but waterproofs were always ready and waiting.

Motorways are boring but steady enough through france and belge (no sodding average speed stretches), once into lux it gets a bit more interesting, then peel off for the twisties, like has been said. Same for the beer, it is clean as. Not managed to get a serious hangover on Bitburg yet. Not much police, if any were about on what seemed to be popular biking roads (weekdays mind) either, and very rarely was a speed camera spotted (built up areas only). Heaven.

Oh and due to the £/€ rate petrol is about £1/litre, and even cheaper in lux. Also top tip: Prepay or pay at pump in most belgian garages (very annoying).
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'90 VFR750; '89 NC30; '95 DR650; '89 CD250U; ~'82 CG125; ~C90

[Matt B]

[ninjabob]

The roads around the Ring and especially in Luxembourg are just as good if not better without the danger of being taken out or water/oil downs.

[waffles]

[MCN]

The Ring is a Bucket List thing.

I have been on GP track and the Nordschleife (The Ring Ring).

It is beyond Excellent and you will want to go back. You will blow all your pocket money on Ring Tickets but it is worth it.

We stayed here.

Motorhotel Am Tunnel
Tunnelstrasse 19
D-53505 Altenahr
00.49.2643.902160
info@amtunnel.de
www.amtunnel.de

Husb-Wife team and they're bikers so run a Biker's Hotel. But they have some rules. Not too far from the ring. About 20mins.

The Ring is owned by a company now but was run by the German Gov. until last year.
So some things may have changed.
It was only open for a few days to the public and most of the track time was corporate days. we had to pick our window.
We managed five days at the track with one day closed. But last I looked at the track calendar it looks like there are more open days than before.

The ring cost us E25 per lap/ticket with discounts for more laps. Took me about 13 mins but I was on a Sport Tourer. I didn't fancy sitting on a litre bike for a million miles across Holland and Germany. We're going next year but with a van bikes inside.

You may not get on if it's raining. Safety is quite strict and more so for bikes.
If there's a crash then cars go first to soak up the oil/coolant then bikes later. Usual wait is about 1hr when we were there.

Almost everything you need to know is here.

Nurburg Ring

And some cool ring stuff here

Bridge to Gantry

Watch some of the laps on line to get some idea of the sort of corners there are. The biggest danger are the unsighted drop offs. A few hills go up up up then turn and go down down down. No way to see the offset cambers. In a car you drift, on a bike you shite yersel.

Cars are a cunt. The ring is open to 'anyone' some are polite and will back off for bikes. Usually the extremists with the track prepared cars are sound. It's the whankers in the Soobarooz and cleeohs I found bad.
Until you learn the track it is difficult to make decent progress to stay ahead of them, due to the track layout. So you need to ere on caution. Bin it and you either die or get hit with a massive bill. If they close the track because of it you'd better hope you are dieded.

The website .org explains load of it.

Pics

My tyre after my 1st warm-up lap I was taking it easy at first.

The fekin Rain stopped play for bikes. Poor marshals earn their pay.

I have more but I was naked in them helping with a German Pron film. (Well that's what the guy told me.)

No cameras ON the ring get caught get banned. Folk sneak them in and some ring folk get on. The deal is with ambulance chasers. (Lawyers will do the world up the arse.)

BTW Google Street won't work for the Bosch so you can't see places in 'real time'. Google Street View cars is verboten. Fuckers.
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Disclaimer: The comments above may be predicted text and not necessarily the opinion of MCN.

[dombaird]

Thanks all

reading your experiences of it makes me want to do it definetley!
Nurburgring 2016 here i come

Now i know many have said that waterproofs, rain...but when would be the best time to be leaving here? summer?
I was considering leaving beginning of summer next year, taking soft sport panniers and top box

Why no cameras? No Go Pro?

has anyone done the trip alone or always with others?

Again if anyone has further pics of there trips, MCN thats TRIPS NOT STRIPS
____________________
DGB

[ninjabob]

[waffles]

[Undinist]

[waffles]

If you have booked the track out for a private session (when I was there a Porsche owners club had booked it during the day) then you follow different rules. But the touristfahrten is autobahn rules so keep to the right, it was up on all of the official rules of the ring posters.
____________________
Theory test - 19/8/09, CBT - 11/10/09, MOD 1 - 16/8/10, MOD 2 - 27/10/10
Past rides Yamaha XT125X, Triumph TT600, Honda XR250
Current rides Suzuki GSXR 600, Honda MSX125

[MCN]

[Undinist]

Here's me at my first Ring training course. I seem to be a bit bored, stuck at the back of the group behind a fat Kawasaki on the Karussell.

https://i869.photobucket.com/albums/ab257/eurostar2/Karussell.jpg
____________________
Current bike: K1100RS. Previous: CD200, GSX250, GT550, VFR750, K100LT, K1100LT, R1100GS, R1150GS, ZZR1100, Hayabusa, RSV Mille, MV F4 750S, R1, ZX-10, KTM Adventure 950S

[MCN]

[Undinist]

I loved the Karussell, it's so rewarding when you get it right and it really punishes you if you get it wrong. You aim at a particular tree to get the entry right, and you can do a lot of it in the gutter where it's smooth tarmac...the compression squashes the suspension right down, so on the GS if you're not dead straight the centre stand touches down, then you wheelie on the way out...good times!
____________________
Current bike: K1100RS. Previous: CD200, GSX250, GT550, VFR750, K100LT, K1100LT, R1100GS, R1150GS, ZZR1100, Hayabusa, RSV Mille, MV F4 750S, R1, ZX-10, KTM Adventure 950S

[waffles]

[Casper]

Its not as far as you may think mate. I take it you will be crossing at Newcastle. I am down that way next week (Cochem) and that is slightly further south what works out at 230 miles give or take. If you have never been down that way before you may end up kicking yourself that you never booked more time as the roads in the whole area are fantastic as is the people.

[dombaird]

I am in Falkirk, Scotland.

As for route, crossings etc I've not really thought of as yet, ferry across?

Ideally I would like to do it over 4-5 days 6 at the most

As for bedding down at nights I take it there's plenty available as walk ins?

Also...my BIG question what did the whole trip cost you? I have a figure of £800 in mind for me but don't know if that's enough
____________________
DGB

[Casper]

I paid £330 on the ferry for two and the car but you can pay that for one and the bike in high season. You need to price fuel south and back/ crossing and possibly an overnight stay to see what is the best option. Newcastle crossing is DFDS Seaways or Hull is P&O what are around the same price. Budget depends on how much you drink/eat. I take €200 a day for two but that is to much. Yeah you can walk in and book hotels but again high seasons may bee booked up. I use booking.com and book in advance. Good thing about that is you pay when you get there so no need to pay up front and lose out if plans change. I also over budget and take £100 for fuel what i never use.

[MCN]

[Casper]

[MCN]