Newbie with lots to know!!
 

Planing on riding from uk to bologna, Italy, very shortly. Never done anything like this in my life, just kinda gonna go June time. Bike is BMW S1000RR. I want to get there as quick as possible, I've heard there is a motor rail service for bikes? Anyone used it? I know it's a fair ride, and any advice or tips would be great. Thank you all in advance.

I'm not too sure how many replies you'll get on this subject. Many people here like a) travelling slowly and b) seeing as much as they can on the way! If you're in a rush, you've got the right bike!

edit: below is good - I removed the original to avoid confusion!

I just want to get there sharpish because I think it's gonna ache a bit on my bike for hours on end! My train of thought is just get it done! I'll spend a week or so there but on the way back will be about 200 miles a day.

Hi
I think this is what your looking for :
Welcome to Railsavers - Leading Motorail SpecialistsWelcome to Railsavers

Sod that. Just ride. I did UK to northern Italy and back again on a LeMans Mk II. And just to make it more fun, the throw-over panniers were resting on the exhausts on the way back. So, on a hard shoulder somewhere near Turin I was jumping up and down on a pair of my jeans that had done a good impression of the Red Arrows.
I still have family in Italy, and used to think that France was a pain in the arse to cross. But I have to say, the more I ride there the more I love it.
Just go, however uncomfortable your bike is, just have a nice ride and enjoy yourselves.

I've done that trip a few time.
I've rode down and stayed at Dijon or Lyon on the way down. Depends what ferry I catch and the ride down.
John933