Hi,

La Bonnette is only 2715m high (paved road). Motor vehicles are not allowed to go higher ;-)

And yes I think it's a "pass" as you can come by one side and go by the other.

Ah, but then you are a Frenchman...

We were taking highest pass (and paved). If you remove the "loop" at la Bonette, it is not the highest pass. Thats all.

If you want to try a nice pass-run, I have a (very old), web page at http://www.bikerbytes.co.uk/ ... look under Touring. 24 Passes in 4 Days. Lovely stuff!

Yup, been on all of them...plus another 180+. I managed to take some on-bike videos of some of the passes to help me get through the winter months.

Nice site, except for that "Loud Pipes Save Lives" icon that moves across the text that I'm trying to read. Sorry bud, but little wonder a lot of pass roads and areas are closed to motorcycles with that "Loud Pipes Saves Lives" mentality. Its a poor excuse to justify their use.

I did get up the Pfitscherjoch (closed to motor traffic)...thanks to a stock pipe and friendly officials.

As some have already mentioned, I believe the highest pass is in Spain.

But higher (or bigger) isn't always better.

I've been on some of the highest passes and although they might offer distant views, they don't always offer the most interesting roads or scenery.

The road from Passo di Croce Domini to Anfo, crossing Passo Maniva was more rewarding to ride than most of the well-known passes. I've been on more out-of-the-way roads where I might come across one or two vehicles at most that I would rate higher than the typical road that an "organized tour company" would take you on.

Here are pics of the road over Passo Maniva...
http://www.ott.igs.net/~ace/0013.jpg
http://www.ott.igs.net/~ace/0014.jpg

Hi Alex,

thanks for the site comments and yours is not too shabby either!
The site will be closing at the end of the month and will re-apear in another format... probably minus the "loud pipes" logo;-)) though I still have a tee-shirt with it on.

Having said that, I still love 'em. I'm not talking race pipes but stuff with nice rounded, fruity sound.
Living in a area full of deer and boars, they are very good at stopping the wildlife jumping out on me!

They are also good at letting the deaf and blind buggers in their cars know that you are about.
I do not like the BMW/Honda approach of making a bike sound like a compressor. Come to think of it, all my German mates call BMW's Komressors as well.
I notice that your bike is an "older" model and so does not suffer from the whispering death exhaust of the newer models.
Here in France there is a more liberal view from the locals who like a good sounding bike - except for the 2 stroke stingers.

Beers,
John

Hi John,

You mean like an older Ducati or a Moto Guzzi? Unfortunately, it is loud throaty singles that probably put an end to Passo Tremalzo being open to us. Oh, I'll be riding that one legally, thanks to the help of a local.

Well you might think differently depending on how long you had to listen to it. Over here, my leisurely day rides are usually 650 to 850 kms; long ones are 1500+ kms. I don't think I would want to listen to the constant drone of a loud pipe. Been there...Honda CB400 F with a full race, hand bent, open Yoshima pipe...no thanks...drove me nuts. Loud pipes only sound good when going up and down through the gears hard, as on a race track.

My older bike that you see pictured was sold last year and I now have two R1150 GS Adventures as well as an R80 G/S PD, an R100 GS and a Krapmasaki KLR 650. The old airheads are the best of the GS series; no fancy smancy high tech stuff to go wrong.

Thats exactly why I hope to buy one this week, ('94 r100gsPD with 27000km), for my trip next year.
I do love my KTM 950 adv but cant afford the cost of carnets etc and no big tanks available as yet... and not at a price I can affors anyway!

I have had a few BMs and the best was the 1150GS. But that was only after having used it in the Alps for aseason. At first I thought it was as bad as my second r100rs. That must have been a Friday bike because the first RS was the dogs in its day and that was getting off an 850 Le Mans.

Why oh why did we sell all those bikes.

Cheers,
John

If it is in nice shape, grab it. I would and might still look for one to add to my collection. It would have to be the white/red one of course.


I didn't. I still have my 1986 R80 G/S Paris Dakar (bought used) and my 1990 R100 GS (bought new), so along with my 2003 and 2004 GS Adventures, I'd say I'm a GS rider. The first thing that came off the R80 G/S PD was that noisy Supertrapp exhaust. LOL.

I'm kind of sorry I sold my mint Suzuki RG 500 Gamma though. It paid for the R100 GS.

[QUOTE=Global Rider]If it is in nice shape, grab it.... It would have to be the white/red one of course.IQUOTE]

It IS!! (both)

John

Like Chris from Graz, I went up the Sierra Nevada (Pico Veleta) pass in Spain back in 1993; even then there was a barrier across the road at about the 2500m point (just by the observatory car park), but lots of bikes and even some cars had found a way around it and got to the top, with that commendable Spanish disregard for regulations and barriers. I went up there a year ago and it was a bit more difficult, with more official-looking signs and a guard hut next to the barrier. I daresay you could still get to the top on an off-road bike, but you might get into trouble... I went skiing up there in January (the top Sierrra Nevada pistes are quite close to Veleta), and from what I could see of the road to the top, it looked pretty much intact.

The Col d'Iseran (near Val d'Isere) is snowbound for at least half the year, as I found out when I tried - and failed - to get through in an Audi Quattro a few years back. No doubt many of the other high passes are only open part of the year.

and the unpaved...
 

this is a great thread, but pray tell what is the top 10 (rideable) including unpaved, gravel roads...:thumbup1:

The trouble is too many people want to go to these passes and their state of repair is not good. Some have fallen into disuse because they are too expensive to maintain, there is little "need" for them or they are in designated parks that or now reserved for walkers. Some are closed because they are liable to collaps.

The Italian police/rangers are known to use helicopters to patrol some of these passes an catch illegal riders/drivers.

I think some of the problem is too many full-blown crossers have been up them over the years. Instead of going for "the ride" and to see the sights, they treat it almost as competitive driving and carve up the surface. They also love them loud cans and that really pisses people off.

So we all loose out.

thanks,

the world is getting quite small...

I'm wanting to a weeks trip to southern France/Northern Italy. have you got any experience of good rides/places to camp?

Last year I went to Piemont and make a basecamp in campsite "Boki" in
Bardoneccia, then do one-day trips around. There is a lot of fantastic
rideable trails in sourounding - Sommeiller, Assieta, Jafferau, Lago Nero,
Mullatiera, Col Rho and Freus, a lot of trails around Briancon, etc.
Leaving most of equipment in tent make life easier.

AnteK, XTZ 660

For the French part, you could do worse than a round trip of the moto camps on this site.
Nice roads in between them, especially the Augverne and Ardech.

http://www.campingmoto.com/

You do get all sorts staying at them!

John