Any advice on touring Europe?

Advice about a motorcycle touring holiday in Europe please.?

• Myself and my husband are thinking of taking the bike from the UK on a tour through France and down to Switzerland next year. It will be our first 'bike trip' abroad and ill be riding pillion. We should also have a couple of friends in a van to carry luggage etc. Is there any advice you could give us? ie is there an age limit to ride abroad (my husband will be 22/23 when we go). Are there any special permits/documents we will need? Will it pay us to pre book accommodation or should we use Youth Hostels or just try and get a place to stay as we go? Also, what happens if we break down whilst we are away? Obviously we will get the bike fully serviced before we leave but it is a fairly old bike (1989 Honda CBR600F) Hopefully we should have a new bike before then though. Or would it just be better to book the whole holiday through a Bike tour company and essentially book the whole 'package' including guide, accommodation etc? Any advice is gratefully appreciated.

• Answer:

  If I can answer your last question first. Don't book through a tour company, they are good to be sure but expensive. Part of the fun doing these things is putting it together yourself and changing your mind if you want, as you go along. If you book with a company then you are stuck with what they set as the agenda. At 22/23 you are fine with riding within the countries that you will be hitting. As for documents make sure you have copies of papers that prove the bike is yours, registration document etc. Make sure you have insurance of course for the bike and yourselves. Remember that Switzerland is not in the EU so double check that your policy does indeed cover you. I don't live in the UK anymore but when I did my bike insurance did cover me for EU countries and indeed those outside also but I had to contact them to get a cover note stating the ones where I was going. Let the insurance company know that you are going and they may send you a document in various languages that you can wave under the nose of the local gendarmerie, should it be required that shows you have the legal insurance minimum cover. Get yourselves some good health insuarnce - of course. Take a spare set of bulbs with you for the bike. It is a legal requirement in some countries anyway but you really don't want to be left wanting. Also take one of those emergency tyre repair kits, in case of an emergency. A couple of spare spark plugs and fuses and of course a small but basic toolkit. There is no harm at all in getting some kind of break down/recovery policy that will cover you abroad - speak to the AA/RAC and the likes, they will have various things that can help you out. Do some research also and have a note of Honda main dealers close to where you are planning to go - just in case you need to get something for the bike. It does not sound like much fun for your chums in the van - a pretty slow holiday for them. For sure you could carry most of what you will actually truly need in a pair of throwover panniers and a tank bag. People ALWAYS take more than they really need. If you are going to take a back pack on the bike do yourself a favour and don't use one that is not specifically for a bike - and the best of those by far is from Kriega (check the web at www.kriega.com). They are expensive but come with a 10 year warranty and honestly you will hardly know that you have it on, even when fully loaded. Take good waterproofs, it will rain and pack them close to the top of the bags, so you can get them easily. I would reccomend that you also take a GPS system with you. The adventure purists don't like them but what the hell, you can't read a map on a bike and it is a pain being lost. The Garmin ZUMO is a good on bike offering but again pricey. Don't worry about your bike being old. Never forget it is a Honda and they go for ever. I tour on a Ducati sportbike in spite of all the doom mongerers and I have never had an issue. I would reccomend that you at least have some nights accomodation booked in advance, especially the first few. You don't want to have the first night of your trip stresed out looking for somewhere. In general you can usually find somewhere even at short notice but maybe it is a hassle you could do without each day. Remember that you want to find a place that has some kind of secure bike parking. You have time to figure it out and the internet is a huge help. Hostels also fill up by being booked, so you are not guaranteed a room in them. The GPS systems often have hotels with their contact details pre-programmed in to them. Don't plan to do too much riding every day, or it will just turn into an endurance event, which will not pleasant for any of you. Spend some time in the places. Lastly, after much waffling, just enjoy it - bike touring is great because of the freedom it offers and the people you will meet.