To Greece and back

[mossywitt]

For the first week of September I'm joining a friend and his family on holiday in Preveza, Greece.

In a moment of boredom at work I put it into Google maps. And got interested because two routes came up: through France and Italy and a Ferry from Brindisi to Igoumenitsa; and through Belgium, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Serbia, Macedonia and across Greece. So it could be a really amazing round trip.

I've got a few specific questions but generally I'm wondering, is this a great or a terrible idea?

I passed my licence (A2) in April and have since bought a KLE500, which as far as I can tell is a good bike for this sort of thing. But I'm not a very experienced rider and funds are a bit tight too.

If I went south through France there and north across Germany back, it's about 1700 miles there and 2000 miles back. So I guess four days and six respectively, at a push? I estimate £350-400 in petrol at 50mpg although I'd probably get more than that because it's mostly fast roads. I'd camp where possible, but at least two nights each way in proper accommodation at say £40 a night.

The specific questions are:
- how does it work with insurance? Currently my policy is for 3000 miles a year, so is it just a matter of upping that distance or could I get a sort of short-term separate cover for the journey?
- what unseen costs are there, in terms of maintenance etc?
- what sort of mechanical issues do I need to be prepared for? Would I need a lot of tools and spares with me?

Comments and advice very much appreciated.

[CaNsA]

[Enduro Numpty]

I don't imagine the KLE will be too heavy on tyres but I'd make sure you have plenty of life in tyres before you go, PITA and can be very expensive getting tyres changed in parts of Europe. Check oil level a bit more often if you don't normally do big mileages. Keep an eye on chain adjustment. That should be about it.
I would be straight with your insurance company - if you don't they will try and wriggle out of responsibility if you are involved in something.

If you have tubeless tyres, you could get some mushroom plugs and a small compressor that'll run off bike battery to sort punctures. Other than that the basic tool kit for the bike unless you expect issues?

[devonboy]

Like your choice of bike. Did some touring on my Kle and loved it. For the amount of miles you are looking to do you might want to do something about the seat it can become a bit uncomfortable. Although with only about 125-130 mile tank range you'll have plenty of stops.
I hope you enjoy the trip but don't push your self to hard long days in the saddle are tireing.
Hope to see a good write up and photo's.

[Dave V4]

I take it google maps done tour route based on motorway/toll roads. While this is the fastest way, it is the most miserable and tiresome way to tour on a bike. Try using a route based app or Tyre to plot an actual route, using A type roads. Transfer this to your bike specific satnav before you set off. This will give you a route that you will both love and want to do, day after day. Take out a break down insurance before you go and as suggested previously get a puncture repair kit, along with either small gas cans or a compressor to inflate your tyres. Insurance wise, either keep quiet or tell them its up to you, there will be a small premium should you go over your claimed mileage. I think its a great idea but be realistic about time scales and how hard it will be solo for a 1st time euro jolly. Key factor is to enjoy it!

[c-m]

Sounds like a great trip for about a month or so away. Any quicker than that and it will be madly rushed. I did a similar trip (to the black sea) on a GPZ500. So same engine just a bit more power. I was relatively new to biking, so planned meticulously. It was awesome, but slow going through Germany (which is boring).

Only problem I had was a battery failure in Hungary. I used ADAC breakdown and they put me up for a night in a hotel whilst looking for a new one.

Don't get the ferry from Brindisi, get it from Bari instead. That saves you some more riding. Takes about 19 hours, as long as you get the one that avoids corfu.

Italy's a roads are terrible, and the autostrada is expensive as there is no discount for bikes. In fact I found most of Italy shit for riding. Dirty, smelly, congested, crap drivers. The girls weren't much to look at either.

France is much better, and Austria is fantastic.

[mossywitt]

Fantastic, thanks so much for all the advice.

CaNsA you might be onto something...speedo started fluttering on the M1 yesterday and now works on and off about half the time. Plus torrential rain and 1"+ of water on the road on my way home, with both the oil and engine temp lights coming on, I've had better rides.

devonboy I barely even thought about the KLE to be honest - it was the first bike I found within my budget and A2 compliant without being restricted. But I'm very happy with it so far. Agreed about the saddle - previous owner fitted a gel seat which definitely helps.

Point taken about not trying too hard with long days, and avoiding too much time on motorways. I'll definitely spend some time working out an interesting and manageable route. Factoring in longer ferry routes to save some miles is also a good idea.

[skatefreak]

I would mount my phone to the handle bars,
get a USB pluggey in bit,
put the destination in and go in roughly that direction.
Deviate where it looks good/when you get board or the main roads...

Google will make sure you end up going in roughly the right direction

This is assuming you don't have a schedule to keep to...

[-Monty-]

As has been mentioned above, the route that Google Maps picks out will be the fastest one, using motorways and toll roads. 1700 miles of motorway slogging for several days will be miserable and boring; you might as well just fly there.

It's also worth mentioning the amount of days you're expecting to take getting there. 1700 miles over 4 days is 425 miles a day. This is a huge amount of miles to be doing day after day, especially if you don't have experience of long distance riding. I would suggest giving yourself a few extra days to get there, and have a look into finding some more enjoyable routes. The Adriatic Coast road down through Croatia is supposed to be pretty spectacular, and this could easily be incorporated into your trip. Last year, a group of us on here rode down to Italy during the summer months. Not sure what Greek towns and driving standards are like, but in Italy riding through towns was horrific. Awful driving standards, horrendous congestion, and 42 degrees made for some very sweaty, very stressful riding. Might be worth trying to avoid riding through the towns too often if you're in Italy.

With regards to bike prep, with the amount of miles you plan on doing, I would say make sure you have some pretty much brand new tires on. If the chain and sprockets look like they may be on their way out, change them. Don't make the same mistake as me, and spend the trip with your chains adjustment maxed out and threatening to jump off the sprocket. As well as this, just all normal consumables really (oil, filter, brake pads, clutch cable etc.) I have heard the KLE seats are pretty uncomfortable on long trips too, although have never ridden one myself. Might be worth getting a gel pad or something...?

You should definitely do it though, it'll be an awesome trip Just get some decent miles under your belt beforehand to get used to it.
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[doggone]

This is too ambitious for your first time over there in my opinion, especially bearing in mind your relative inexperience since passing your test.
The distances planned per day are decidedly optimistic and long hours riding in heat with congested and/or speeding traffic is challenging even with a more suitable touring style bike.
This year I'd be trying a couple of UK trips and perhaps near continent to get a feel for it.

The only way I'd think it advisable is if you were with another bike and they had been couple of times before - this also makes things better at the inevitable breakdown or minor mishap like bike falling over and breaking something

[mossywitt]

Yeah I'm starting to wonder whether it's just too much. I did a ~450mi day when I picked up the bike from Glasgow which was fine, but I couldn't have done it over again the next day. It'll have to depend on how my summer holiday plays out. If I have time to leave a solid week each way then I'll go for it, but otherwise, another year.

Monty I've heard similar comments to yours about driving in Italy from a few people. Solution is probably to drive through the alps down to Venice and get the ferry from there, with as little driving through Italy as possible.

Thanks again everyone for all the advice