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The only impossible journey
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Photo by Daniel Rintz,
Himba children, Namibia



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  #1  
Old 2 May 2013
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Motorail from Paris to Marsielle

Hi Guys

I'm part of a small group that is doing a mini tour of the south of France at the end of June and I hope to be able to tap into the collective knowledge regarding motorbikes and the motorail service.


We're trying to time the run from the centre of London to Paris (via the chunnel) and the biggest question is around the loading procedure and how long it takes in Paris?
None of our group has done it before and if any one has any experience of the service I'd be very keen to hear from you.

many thanks

Chris the new.
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Old 3 May 2013
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And the reason why? You are taking the train. B&B in a F1 on the out side of Paris would be about 30 Euro's for two people three if you snuggle up. Under 500 mile's to Marseille. You can do that in a day. And June is going to be good weather.

F1 - Google Maps
John933
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To buy petrol in Europe. Pull up at station. Wait. Get out a 20 Euro note, then ask someone to fill up the bike. Give person money. Ride away. Simple.
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  #3  
Old 3 May 2013
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Last edited by Stray Dog; 17 Jan 2015 at 11:57.
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  #4  
Old 3 May 2013
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I did the old motorail service from Calais to Narbonne many years ago and it was very easy. It had to be booked in advance but once I arrived in Calais the process was very easy - a bit like the tunnel except you leave the bike and go into a normal bit of train. Next morning we got off at Narbonne and (eventually) got the bike back.

The current system, from what I understand, is a bit different - vehicles and passengers travel separately, so you could spend a day in Paris before catching a train or fly down to Nice or whatever. At its cheapest it could just about be worth while allowing for the cost of a (decent) hotel, fuel, tolls etc but tbh unless you really need to get your bike to Nice in a hurry it's not really far enough from Paris to justify the complexity. The terminal is right in the middle of the city and if you have to ride from Calais anyway you could be halfway to Nice before the bike's even loaded. It could save a bit of wear and tear I suppose and you could have a night in Paris before catching up on the TGV the next morning.

From the centre of London to the centre of Paris is going to take you about seven hours in the real world. It should be quicker but you'll always hit roadworks, just miss the tunnel booking in timeslot and get stuck behind someone who's broken down / lost their ticket etc
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Old 13 May 2013
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Hi Guys,

Thanks for the responses. To be fair I'm askingon behalf of my boss (eek) who is on a bit of a time budget and is trying to get to barcelona for the Moto GP.
My personal suggestion was to stop off overnight somewhere but to be honest these guys are weekend head down arse up types. I can't say with my hand on heart that they have earned the "Iron Butt" award just yet.

I would have the preference of an extra day and more road but there you go. Alson I'm the one not riding a fireblade so you can see why I would suggest this.

Thanks for the feed back and the welcome to the site.
Cheers

Chris
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