Road trip to Croatia

[Giddsy]

Hello all,

Is a little way off but planning a trip down to croatia in august. I will be riding down solo and then picking the missus up at the airport for a two to three week cruise down the coast.. Needless to say I'm looking forward to this a LOT!

Having never done a long trip on any bike, let alone the Storm, I'm keen to get as much advice as poss beforehand. So have any of you guys got any tips, recommendations etc, in particular with regard to good and reasonably priced luggage systems big enough to take kit for two?

Many thanks in advance!

[Beamish]

Dont plan for more than 350-400 miles a day or else you will be too knackered to do anything once you stop. Oxford/sports lifetime luggage is good kit.

[tony.mon]

1. Buy and fit a rack before you go.

The tail plastic unit isn't bolted on by much, and you stand a fair chance of cracking it tightening straps on.

2. Go on old tyres, and change them when you get there.
Otherwise your brand new grippy ones for the twisty bits will be flatted on the motorways on the way there.

Once you've checked in and unloaded, get your new ones and you can play on local roads (don't forget to take it easy the first 100 miles!!!)

3. Don't fit an intercom, or if you do, fit the controls on the handlebars. That way you can have peace and quiet when YOU want it.

4. Stick in a rest day every third day, instead of planning a whole week's continuous itinerary. That way, you can hole up for a day of the weather's really shitty, and catch up tomorrow and not have to re-schedule the whole week's stops- hotels or campsites, whatever.
And you can stop for some really nice scenery or location when you feel like it, instead of having to press on as there's another 250 miles to do today.

5. Get a rubber stamp made up for your postcodes saying" Having fun- unlike you lot at home" or similar.
Trying to find something witty to say takes up valuable drinking time, and you're never happy with what you end up putting down, anyway.

6. Take gaffer tape and lots of thick cable ties.

7. Find out the words in each language for various bits of your bike- trying to explain in Portuguese that your clutch pushrod's tip is worn down is just going to get you laughed at, overcharged or punched.

[Giddsy]

Great, thanks guys, esp tony, sounds like good advice!

On with the planning!

[firestorm996]

Have you done much driving abroad? Navigating will be an issue so make sure you're prepared on that front.

Fuel: you'll probably be looking for fuel stations when you hit 75-80 miles. That means on a typical day you'll be filling up 4 or 5 times (but small fill-ups!)

Don't overpack....it's tempting to take the kitchen sink because you have extra space in your luggage, but don't. If you need something that you haven't brought along, you can always buy it somewhere. Leave a bit of space in your luggage anyway, and don't forget that you'll have to also lash stuff such as waterproofs somewhere easily accessible in case of a downpour.

Also on the luggage side I always tend to pack anything valuable or worth stealing, all in one piece of luggage. So if I have to leave a piece of luggage on the bike it's only got my dirty undies in it etc so not work nicking! That way you can lug the other piece of kit with your phone charger/documents/satnav etc inside with you if you stop somewhere for a break.

...enjoy - sounds like a great trip you've got planned there!

[cupasoop]

I know I shouldnt mention the name on a Honda forum but go and visit a few BMW forums, ukgser for one. These guys ride everywhere you can ride a bike and their forums are a great source of knowledge. In fact, any forum connected with a touring bike, i'e fjr, pan euro, should have loads of tips.

If you get really stuck I'll ride your bike down and back and you take the plane with your wife.

[doggit]

hey timbo, you forgot to tell everyone your off to MONZA ya lucky git enjoy your trip to MONZA, and good luck on the ride to MONZA,
carl

[MacKrell17]

Giddsy

I'd pretty much agree with all the tips here. I took the Storm (with girlfriend) to Italy for the Mugello GP. Best holiday ever.

Top tips would be;

1) you have to pack light. Most of the time you are in your bike gear anyway.
2) Carry photocopies of ALL your documents for when the local buzby wants to check out the mad english man.
3) Michelin Pilot Road 2 are great wearing tyres for a long trip. if you do need new boots before you go then I'd sling these on as they cope with long motorway stuff really well.
4)Cargo nets. Take a few spares, they're dead useful for securing all manner of stuff.
5) If you're taking seperate waterproofs, keep them handy. (tucked under a cargo net is ideal!)
6) Do NOT try and take a slightly raised level crossing at 90+mph. there may be a few tears!
7) Make sure you have cash for the filling stations. We hit a few in france and switzerland that didn't accept UK debit / credit cards.
Keep change handy for any toll roads.
9) Intercom / entertainment. I'd have to recommend a Starcom1 Advance. It's pretty good stuff. Sound quality excellent and you can have the ipod to keep you company on boring bits. You can install volume control on the bars as well.
10) Luggage wise we had some Oxford sports panniers and a tank bag. It all worked ok, but the lady can't take much in the way of extra pairs of shoes, hairdryers and all that caper, and you will have to call in at a laundrette somewhere along the way.
11) My better half went to boots, bought loads of little empty plastic bottles and filled them with shampoo, mosturiser etc... this saved an enormous amout of space.

Finally have a damn great time. Be realistic on the miles you can do in a day. Pillions can suffer on the long days with back ache etc ...

Neil

[Stratman]

2) Carry photocopies of ALL your documents for when the local buzby wants to check out the mad english man.

All good stuff, but I think you'll find they may need to see the ORIGINALS, not copies, so keep copies at home and take a spare set of copies in case!

Buy RAC European Breakdown cover. You get access to an English speaking helper and they cover bikes too.

[Giddsy]

Again nice one guys! Thanks a lot for all the advice!

Hey Timbo.. You going to monza?.!

[firestorm996]

2) Carry photocopies of ALL your documents for when the local buzby wants to check out the mad english man.

All good stuff, but I think you'll find they may need to see the ORIGINALS, not copies, so keep copies at home and take a spare set of copies in case!

Buy RAC European Breakdown cover. You get access to an English speaking helper and they cover bikes too.

Take photocopies AND originals. If stopped, try to fob them off with the photocopies first. Only show em the originals if they kick off.

[tony.mon]

And tell them that "endorsements" are when the local police pull you over and congratulate you on your skilled riding, the more you have the better a rider you are.

I've had my riding endorsed many times!