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What bike for the Alps?
Hello. We are from Winnipeg, Canada. Yes, it is cold here right now. About -25C. We have dreamed about a motorcycle holiday in Europe for many years and now it is finally going to happen.
My partner and I are planning to rent a bike to ride in the UK for 10 days and then the Alps for another 10 days or so in July of 2010. I have had a lot of different bikes over my 40 years of riding and have spent a lot of time touring the US on Goldwings. I'm sure the Alps will be a lot different than anything else we've done. BMW 1200RT has been suggested by the rental companies. Is this a good choice?? Also, any advice on reputable rental companies (probably out of Munich Germany ???) Any advice would be greatly appreciated as we plan to do this without a tour group and I have never been over there before. (YIKES!) |
http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/lin...mpanies-europe
The link above has a list of touring companies, some have rentals. For mountain riding I would prefer a roadster of some kind. BMW R1200R or if two up a R1200GS (better passenger seat). |
I spend quite a bit of time in the French Alps in the summer months and probably the most common bike I see are GSs.
Have a look at this link: AlpineRoads.com :: View topic - What bike for the Alps???? |
I don't know what build you both have, but the thing with European mountain roads is that they are very twisty :D:D:D, so perhaps lighter and more nimble is better than a distance machine. If you don't plan ongoing off-road, them I say maximse the enjoyment of those kinds of bends (where else can you find such bends and scenery?) and get a road biased machine (unless you can both rent Vor supermotos and live out of a small-bumbag!!:eek3::funmeteryes:)
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In my experience you can take pretty much anything, as long as you're comfortable with it. Most common bikes are indeed GSs, and if you'll be riding two-up then I can highly recommend that bike. I'd advise you to avoid Harleys and other choppers and cruisers that have footpegs way too low for hairpin turns. But then again I've seen plenty of Harleys in the Alps, too.
There's a few rental places in and around Munich. Email me or send me a short message via the HUBB with your email address and I'll forward those addresses to you. When do you plan to arrive in Munich? We'll be in the UK for about a month in June/July 2010 but might already be back by the time you arrive in Munich. |
I would agree that unless you're planning on driving offroad you should consider a lighter, more road-oriented bike. Honda VFR750 was perfectly suited for the Alps, me, my wife, and a few weeks of clothes and camping gear.
Although we rode our own bike, Knopf Tours is a great business renting out of Heidelberg: http://knopftours.com/ |
Well i think the GS bikes are not the best and cheapest choice but why not exploring germany on german bikes? And if you are in the alpes dont miss a short trip to swizerland (i dont know about the visa). You should definitly ride the Grimselpass and Furkapass if you love winding roads :)
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The Alps are a great place to ride, you coild squeeze in the Dolomites also?
Both the RT & GS would be a good choice for the Alps. If you're looking at renting an R1200GS in the UK, then give Ride Out Rentals a call, they're competively priced and also offer a collection/delivery service of the bike if time's tight. The bike's have full BMW luggage plus standard & low seats are available. BMW Motorcycle Hire UK, BMW Bike Hire from RideOut Rentals - Ride Out Rentals info@rideoutrentals.co.uk Links to some of my pics from the Alps & Dolomites: Adv.Rider European Rally 2005 - Steve's Photos Annecy, France 2004 - Steve's Photos Italy 2004 - Steve's Photos 2009 European Advrider Rally - Dolomites, Italy - Steve's Photos 5th European Advrider Rally in the Dolomites - Ela's pics - Steve's Photos Have a good trip. :thumbup1: |
Reply to M. Jungowski
Hi from Mark & Carla in Winnipeg Canada
We can't reply via private message yet as we are still newbies on the HUBB - need 5 threads - won't be long...soon as the 5 threads are in, I will private message my email address to you. We are planning to arrive in Munich around July 23rd and ride the alps for 10 days. If you have any suggestions re bike rental companies or the best routes to maximize 10 days of fun in the Alps, that would be awesome! It's only December, but we are just vibrating with excitement about this summer adventure... Mark & Carla |
My wife & I've rented in Ireland x2 & Germany. Our last moto trip started in Munich. It's the only time we had a problem.
I'd suggest you avoid allround rent. We rented from them in June 2008, made it 1 week on an r1200rt before the abs modulator failed on Susten pass, nearly killing both of us. Allround suggested it was our fault, overcooking the brakes. After 3rd time it went into fault mode, they finally agreed to pay for a dealer visit. We put in at Bergamo & made for Tag Moto in Curno. In fairness, they delivered their other 1200rt, but it had just been returned from another rent. That rt made it 100km & stopped for no known reason. We pulled in to a gas station and that's where we were stranded. brand b service towed the bike & left us there. We tried gas, but it just turned over with no catching. No help from allround, so we had to continue the trip by car. First they claimed it was out of gas, but I have the name of the gas station owner & wife, they confirmed I gassed it up, and finally they suggested bmw ought to cough up for any problems. Nice little scam if you ask me. we wrote the trip up at BIGHAMMER.NET Munich is a great jumping off point to the Alps, and it is an incredible area. Definitely do it, just be careful where you spend your euros. |
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Available from Whitehorse Gear/Amazon and others. John |
Bike Touring in the Alps
Hi Mike,
Merry Xmas! Me and the Missus have done the Alps several times (always 2-up) and can tell you you'll have a great time. There are tons of campsites which will help given you'll find Europe and the Alps to be pricey, and we always find we can just rock up without a booking as bikes take up such a small space. As for the kind of bike (not sure whether you'll be 2-up or both riding solo) a twin or single cylinder is the way to go (lots of very very twisty roads!!). I know you'll be getting lots of suggestions for BMW's but thought I'd offer an alternative. Assuming your start point of Munich isn't fixed I'd really recommend hiring a KTM from a little place called Moto Varese based about 40km north of Milan in the Italian lakes at the very base of the Alps. The 2 guys who run it, Alessandro and Massimo, seem to run the place purely for the love of it and speak English perfectly and love the chance to chat. We popped in there with a leaking fuel problem last summer and ended up spending 6 hours chatting with them while they sourced a spare part (in Milan) rode over to get it, called their mechanics in (who were on holiday) and their families - who came with beer and pizzas and turned it into a party which continued into a night out on the town with more of their friends before charging us just for the part! (no labour, tax or transit charges) Anyway, they had a KTM 990 Adv and a 990 SMT available for rental at the kind of rates I'd normally expect for much more simple machines. They can also help you with some fantastic routes over the best passes and round the lakes, and as I recall will even come and get you from the airport. They were without question the best dealership I've ever come across and will never use anyone else. Give them a shout and tell them James, Emily and Jackson recommended them to you, I promise you won't regret it! Good luck! |
Hi Mark and Carla.
Going back to the Alps myself at the end of August on my ZRX 1100. Travelling there with a group of friends riding bikes like mine to sport bikes and even a BMW GS. Hope you have a head for heights though:eek3:. Check out some of the high passes..... BikeCam - Susten BikeCam - Grimsel BikeCam - Furka BikeCam - Gotthard BikeCam - Nufenen The ones above are all close together, and can be ridden in a day. But i would suggest you base yourself local, Interlaken maybe, and take your time.:thumbup1: Finally, as my brother lives in Winnipeg, i know it's not exactly biking weather there at the moment.:( Martin. |
I live in Stuttgart and took a GS 2-up through the Alps (recently Stelvio) and survived. I'm vertically challenged as well but you'll want something for tight 180 degree hairpins (especially going up east side of Stelvio).
Check with Klaus at Hotel-Enzian as that is who I stayed with and rented from. Motorrad Tirol Österreich Landeck Hotel - Motorradhotel Enzian |
bmw is a great bike but i would also consider a v-strom for two up touring, i have one and its great went over the Black Mountains in Wales a few months back although a slightly different venue to the Alps it performed fantastically.
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I have done several alpine roads/passes on a Honda VFR and would highly recommend it-I also have a 1200GS but would pick the Honda for reliability.
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any bike would do
Hi guys
I've been there a few times, mostly in France & Switzerland. Must have been different to where everyone else has been as I can't remember lots of GSs, mostly sports bikes. I've taken a Triumph Tiger and a VFR800 Honda which were both really good. Going through the passes means you zig zag up one side of the mountain then zig zag down the other. On the way down it can get tiring on your wrists on a sportsbike (if you an old fart like me) but still wonderful experience. I wouldn't take a gold wing or a cruiser unless I was keeping to straight roads. Enjoy your trip, I'm sure you'll love it! Steven |
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Purely for the experience I'd go with a german, austrian, or italian (or french? or swiss? or slovenian?! or liechtensteiner :confused1:) bike. Same as riding a harley or chopper across the states.
Doesn't matter which really, take what will look best in your photos. |
Im going to go against the grain here and suggest a Yamaha FJR1300 or similar, eg Kawa ZZR1400/1400GTR. Power, comfort, will be good in the twisties etc.
Saying that tho i just did a 3000miles 2up + camping gear with my girlfriend last year on an FZ6 Fazer and it was great, no back pain what-so-ever, tho sore bum cheeks occasionally. Lacking power fully loaded aswell The kind of mileage you sound like you will be doing would scare me away from the BMW's. Reliability isnt their strongest point. |
What about a 600 TransALP? It's what it was designed for afterall....:thumbup1:
Take a trail bike for the offroad experiences. Probably best to keep away from singles as you are on tarmac most the time. A twin will tick all the boxes. |
If budget is of no concern then as a Gold Wing guy the BMW RT or LT will suit nicely. But if you want to save some money look at renting a Suzuki DL1000 in Germany. I think there may still be a couple companies that handle the Vstroms in Germany. Should be quite a bit less than a BMW.
The big Vstrom is good two up, plenty of room for two plus luggage, plenty of power and torque, even at 10,000 ft. Good luck! |
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If you are still in the planning stages I would like to offer a couple of options for you and your wife. I am from Comox, B.C. and have been over to Europe the last two summers (and part of the fall) riding. Covering England, France, Suisse, N. Spain, Andorra (give it a miss!) and N. Spain (the Pyrennes mostly). I can attest from the above that Grimselpass and Furkapass are great roads, but from experience all I have done is buy a good road map, such ones from the michelin series. But also note, the Michelin series also offers more detailed maps that you might not get here in Canada, but can pick up while there that show more of the "B" and "C" type roads that are worth checking out. You choose from a wide assortment of other produces of maps while there. While is Switzerland for example, pop into any larger book store and they have some very good maps. What I have found as for route planning is just get a good map, and each day look for the roads with lots of bends etc. and ones that go over passes and you cannot go wrong! It leaves it open to find some amazing roads, and they are so numerous it is not necessary to follow a 'set' route you have planned from back here. Other than the overall route to and from your starting point. On that note, I would also like to recomend a bike rental shop in Bournemouth called Bournemouth Cycle. It is a small family run operation owned by Paul and Lindsay. They have quite a selection of bikes. I ride a Suzuki DL650 Vstrom over here, and hired the same bike from them. It is a very good bike for one-up riding, and was a great bike for riding the twisties and also comfortable for riding longer days when needed. At one point i the trip I rode 7000 km in the Pyrennes in 14 days and the bike was great for everything needed. They also have the DL1000 version which would be a great bike for two up riding. As one other comment suggested, they do have lots of pannier room, you can add a hard tail bag which provides a nice back rest for the pillion and with a tank bag your would be set. The contact for Bournemouth Cycle is: 9 Soberton Road Queens Park Bournemouth Dorset BH8 9BG Contact Numbers:- Tel: 01202 380388 Fax: 01202 565722 Mobile: 07971 803909 email: motorcycle.hire@ntlworld.com One more thought. You might wish to look at the option of hiring a bike in the UK and after doing the UK part of your trip taking the Chunnel across to Calais and riding down to the German/Suisse area through France. It can be done in one day, or two days as I did. And then returning to the UK to drop off the bike at the end of your trip. My thought is that although it may seem like you will be spending a day or two to get the Alps and then necitating a return trip to the UK, if you are going to be picking up a bike in the UK, then dropping it off and flying (or ?) to Germany to pick up another bike and then dropping it off, you will find it will be a day to do each of those pick-up / drop-offs (more or less) and perhaps if you would like to see a bit more of the country side, the option of one pick up and drop off might be a thought? Hope I have not gone on here to much. If you have any questions or would like any information please drop me a line. If you would like to email me directly you can do so at ianz@shaw.ca It will be a great trip! You will have an ubelievable time! Kind regards, Ian |
You can basically take whatever bike bike you want up the alps.
We was there last summer on our Moto Guzzi California. There was every time of bike you can imagine up there. Lots of scooters and mopeds. Mopeds with trailers, cyclists, lots of cyclists. They may be big mountains but the roads are not difficult to ride. I have a big bike but my Yamaha FZ6 would have easily done the alps with both of us and all our gear. This summer I am going back with my trike and I mean PEDAL trike not motorbike trike. Do not think the alps even the Furka and Stelvio passes are difficult because they are not. Good fun and a great experience but certainly not difficult. http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...d/IMG_1782.jpg http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w...d/IMG_6566.jpg Steve |
+1 on what steveindenmark said.
I did the Stelvio 2up + massively loaded on an 600 FZ6 fazer, no problems whatsoever. Just take whatever you fancy (tho i agree a goldwing will be more of a pain than it will be worth on the hairpins i think) |
Hello!
Well, I live 1 hr. 30 min. south of Italian side of the Alps and I can tell you I've never experienced any problems riding dozens of mountain passes astride my H-D Ultra Classic Electra Glide (very heavy and large). So, you'll never have any problem, pick the bike you prefer! :D |
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Any bike its great, cracking roads and scenery , but i would love a ktm superduke for the next visit :mchappy:
Around Bolzano and Cortina is exellent.Attachment 3074 Attachment 3075 |
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