European Tour 2016 - help needed

rubyhorse2 · Traffic Copper Joined: 03 Mar 2015 Karma :

bloody hell guys, some brilliant advise there, got me totally changing my plans.

Loving the idea of train from paris to nice.

the reason for certain points in our route is that the wife isnt really a biker and its took me some persuading to get this going, so its not really a bike trip that we would all be planning, as in epic roads all day, but thats not to say i wont be insisting on some roads etc.

So got to look at this as a city tour rather than a road trip as such, just to keep her happy.

but anyway, lots of great ideas there, going to sit down this weekend and plan it all out.

She is wanting to go back to Bangkok so i need to make this look better and more interesting Smile

Enduro Numpty · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 31 Oct 2012 Karma :

We sussed out a long time ago that cities make the best destinations. A Sat Nav is a definite stress eliminator in busy unfamiliar cities and worth having in any case Wink

Matt B · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :

chickenstrip · Super Spammer Joined: 06 Dec 2013 Karma :

rubyhorse2 · Traffic Copper Joined: 03 Mar 2015 Karma :

well big thanks to Dave (or any one else) for suggesting the route through france by train, just priced that up and its half the cost of my previous idea.

Whats the deal with collecting the bike in Nice, do you have to be there for unloading or is it stored for a time?

also, do you think manchester to Brugge in one stint is asking too much?

rubyhorse2 · Traffic Copper Joined: 03 Mar 2015 Karma :

Dave V4 · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 08 Jan 2016 Karma :

Dave V4 · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 08 Jan 2016 Karma :

A100man · World Chat Champion Joined: 19 Aug 2013 Karma :

That motorail sounds pricey. Try contacting Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) direct, by phone even. They have a UK office and I have found them extremely helpful in the past for working out best rates.. Bollocks to Rail Europe et al..
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Casper · World Chat Champion Joined: 12 Jul 2010 Karma :

What is all this train shit. Why not book two weeks on some Spanish beach FFS. Planning a tour you said.

Dave V4 · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 08 Jan 2016 Karma :

nerald · Borekit Bruiser Joined: 25 Oct 2012 Karma :

Dusseldorf - Vienna 45 euros. Kip on train - price of a nights accommodation wake up 600 miles later saving 3 tanks of fuel at £20 a tank. Saves 2 days riding at 300 miles a day.
I am planning on doing this in reverse.

Current plan is - Portsmouth - Bilbao. West to Santiago de Compostela then spend the next 10 days crossing the Pyrenees/Alps to get to Vienna.
Vienna to Dusseldorf overnight, leisurely ride to Ijmuiden for the return ferry to Newcastle.
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rubyhorse2 · Traffic Copper Joined: 03 Mar 2015 Karma :

rubyhorse2 · Traffic Copper Joined: 03 Mar 2015 Karma :

well i've planned the initial part of our trip which includes tunnel, night in bruges and bike and us to nice (birthday in monaco, wife can pay for that).

Need some advise on satnav options though.

I've always managed without one but i think it will just make things a lot easier and more enjoyable if we have one for italy.

has anyone tried one of the budget ones that i've read about on bike forums, think they are binatone or peaklife?

other option is iphone and some maps but do these use data or not?

i also need some form of communication, best quality ones for rider to pillion use and keeping costs down. I've had one in the past and ended up chucking it as it was useless over 30mph, so i know you get what you pay for but if you lot have used any and can recommend that would be great.

thanks all

Matt B · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :

Some of the phone apps that download maps will not use your data, just make sure you have enough space on the phone/sd card. Navfree or Navmii is one of those. I found that phones are not the best option though - screens can be very hard to see in the sunlight and they are slow to react and update compared to a dedicated unit.

Easiest and cheapest option is to get a car satnav and use a waterproof case and ram mount combination. Ones with free European map updates are cheap now, about £70ish for a Garmin Nuvi. It's all I've ever used on the bike and I do Europe at least 3 times every year.
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Enduro Numpty · Could Be A Chat Bot Joined: 31 Oct 2012 Karma :

I recently bought a pair of these. Mainly for hearing what the sat nav has to say. Have tried it on the bike and they seem substantially better than the much more expensive Scala rider thing I used prior to it ceasing to function. Got a set for the wife but whether or not it'll be something that we use all depends on how much she's got to say? Don't particularly want to have conversations on the bike .

Don't know about budget sat navs - I use a Zumo 660 which was scarily expensive but seems to get me where I want.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/800M-Interphone-Bluetooth-BT-Motorbike-Motorcycle-Helmet-Intercom-Headset-Kit-UK-/281802500620?hash=item419cbcea0c:g:T1IAAOSwEetV-mAH

rubyhorse2 · Traffic Copper Joined: 03 Mar 2015 Karma :

i'm happy to spend £150-£200 on the rider to pillion chat stuff.

just really worried about quality, i'll read some more reviews on that one numpty, have you tested sound quality with the wife at speed?

As you said, not going to be chatting all the time but its handy just to be able to chat now and again.

thanks

Dave V4 · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 08 Jan 2016 Karma :

rubyhorse2 · Traffic Copper Joined: 03 Mar 2015 Karma :

thanks Dave, i'll have a look at the interphone F5, sounds like they will be good enough for us.

Going to use the car satnav and just buy a waterproof case. Going to get a usb cable to battery for this, can i simply wire to battery without any worries as i heard they can still cause a drain even when not in use?

Matt B · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :

Dave V4 · Nitrous Nuisance Joined: 08 Jan 2016 Karma :

D_redd · Renault 5 Driver Joined: 05 Apr 2016 Karma :

Any progress on this rubyhorse? Very interested to see your plans progress Smile

rubyhorse2 · Traffic Copper Joined: 03 Mar 2015 Karma :

funnily enough we sorted a lot of it last night.

I've purchased a satnav, Zumo 340 which is great as you can plan your route before hand. which we will do each night i guess.

Setting off on 18th june and returning 2nd July, we have about 8 or so days to mess about in Italy.

Booked the tunnel and 2 nights in Brugge (hotel Fevery £130, tunnel £40)
then its off to Paris, bike on motorail (£209 return) to Nice
We are flying from paris to nice (£130 return for us both)
hotel in nice (just looking to book this now)

rest of the trip is just winging it and going where we please till we need to be back in Nice on the 29th June to pop bike on motorail and we fly off to paris again.

Then we are going to chill out back over to blighty and stop off at her parents for a night on our way to Manchester.

Oh also got my rack built which will protect the panniers from the exhausts and also allow some more rear luggage. i'll get some pics of this as its a damn good job and no one really makes them for the Superdukes.