European trip 2022 - Seeking brushstroke guidance
 

Hello HU community (newbie here)
I plan to fly to Europe and seek guidance on 3 main points
1- I plan to buy a new motorcycle or low KM equivalent - Husky 701 Enduro or Tenere 700. Any ideas as to where is best as I will probably have to resell in same country approx 5 - 6 months later . UK seems obvious place given no language issues . But l would welcome any other suggestions or observations. Not being a resident may cause issues with registration I assume.
2 - I also seek basic brushstroke suggestions as to when I could hope to start (month) with key objective being avoiding the cold. I was hoping maybe late March but maybe that's too early. As an Australian Schengen area visa limits apply. I hope to mainly see Sweden and Norway and Balkans and maybe Turkey. Spain and France also. Obviously I need to mix in non Schengen countries /regions to ensure 5-6 month trip doesn't end in deportation. Also possibly getting the ferry to Iceland from Jutland is on my wish list. (2 weeks tour circling Iceland)
I have significant savings and flexibility. I have been to Europe a few times and don't wish to belt around ticking boxes. I hope to camp and stay in hostels or cheap hotels. Main objective is to take scenic roads.
3- Any current Covid entry restrictions I should consider that may restrict my plans.
Sean

G'day mate and welcome to the HU,


apparently your mother tongue is English, so Ireland (Shengen) or the UK (non-EU) would be the easiest starting points.


For Germany check out these web sites:
C19 travellers information: https://www.rki.de/EN/Content/infect...9/COVID19.html


M/C purchase:https://www.mobile.de/?lang=en


Southern Europe should be OK end of March, but the more continental countries might still have snow here and there, esp. in the mountains and Scandinavia.


Hope this helps. And safe travels :scooter:

Hello and welcome,
Martin at https://motofeirme.com/ is possibly your best bet, he is in Ireland and is well spoken of on advrider where he has helped out quite a few mostly North Americans with buying and riding in Europe. The UK is also easy to buy in if you have an address but getting insurance for non-residents seems to be a problem here.

Thanks Mark

Motofeirme as suggested is one option. Another being to buy a bike in Germany and put it on export plates. These have a fixed term, but it can be up to 12 months, and they come with mandatory traffic insurance. You can ride throughout Germany and the EU on them, the idea in theory being that you will sell the bike and get it registered outside Germany.

A third option is to find a country where a non-resident can own a vehicle. Estonia, where I live, is one such country - you just need a local resident to be put on your registration as a "responsible user".

Early March in Southern Europe should be fine as long as you stay out of the mountains. The flatter bits of Spain/Portugal/Italy will be good. For Sweden and Norway, I'd wait until at least June.

There is no way to give meaningful advice about that 6 months out. :) Best we can do is say that over the previous two years, Europe has generally opened up in the summer; borders have not really closed since the very earliest day of the pandemic (you just need to pre-fill questionaires and get a QR code in most countries); and with proof of vaccination and a mask, you can get around most places just fine.

Timing
 

This is my view of adopting to weather and tourist seasons. To get the best/most.

March - April:
More or less only the southern most parts are nice.

May:
All of continental Europe. except the alps +

June:
The alps and other mountains.
Warm enough. Still not high season
Nordic countries

July-August:
High seasons for tourism in central/southern Europe.
Expensive and crowded
Use this time for the Nordic Countries

September
The alps and other mountains. After tourist season but before the passes close.
Central Europe.

October:
Southern parts Portugal, Spain Italy, Croatia....

=
I did small trips last year. More or less according to this.
-> May.
Cracked meniscus. No riding

June- Aug.
Sweden + Norway trips

Sept:
Dolomite

Oct:
Portugal South-North round trip EN2 + EN222

Plans for this year:
March/April:
Portugal EN222 Douro Valley again (when it is green)+
ACT - Portugal
https://www.adventurecountrytracks.c.../act-portugal/

April/May:
Portugal - Sweden via Italy ??

June- Aug
Sweden


Covid19:
There are nothing that forbids travelling as of now.
There are some requirements that you need to have proof of vaccination and/or test results. For boarder crossing and to get access to some places.

Use common sense as everywhere else.
Low risk to ride your bike, sleep in tent, be outdoors...
High risk: Crowded restaurants/bars... crowded places.....

Buying/selling
You have to check regulations per country. In most cases you need an address. But no requirement residence.

To follow the weather from south to north and back again points towards buying a bike in the south. (Spain,Portugal, Italy)
Or to buy in UK. And start with a (cold) trip to the south of Europe. France to Spain is not a long ride.

I wish you a nice vacation.

=
Sorry for duplication of information.
The post before my was posted while I was writing.
The view is mainly the same

1:
Dooby in Croatia is one possibility for moto purchase and help with registration/insurance:

https://www.lobagola-mototours.com/s...cles-for-sale/

As noted above, Martin in Ireland may also be useful:

https://motofeirme.com/about/

Stefan in Heidelberg usually also has moto's for sale:

https://knopftours.com/Web-Site/Buy%20%26%20Sell.html

2:

Late March is not necessarily too late depending on your gear and cold tolerance. Much of southern Europe should be in the grip of Spring by then with some pleasant temperatures during the day.

3:

oof. Covid has made the world crazy. definitely plan on being "fully vaccnated" and keep any eye on the date of most recent jab as some europe countries are decreasing the validity to only 6 months. things change month to month.

good luck!

Buying in UK is certainly possible, but not the easiest for non-residents.

1. Best sources for locating bikes are probably eBay, Bike Trader UK or Facebook classifieds. Anyone can buy a bike but you must have a UK address as this is where they will send the title documents (form V5)... also any fines if you get caught doing something wrong! https://www.gov.uk/sold-bought-vehicle

2. If you're not going to use the bike straight away you should SORN it (statutory off road notification) https://www.gov.uk/make-a-sorn

3. If you are going to use the bike straight away you need to insure it (you'll be fined if you don't, and if you use it uninsured it can be seized by the police). For non UK licence holders this is often the hardest part, as most insurers will only insure UK license holders. Bikesure have been willing in the past, but they're expensive.

4. All bikes over 3 years old need an annual roadworthiness inspection known as an MoT. Most bike shops can do this, the pass cert is valid 12 months and anyone can present the machine for test as it related to the bike not the rider. If it passes, great, if it fails it needs to be fixed and "major" faults mean it can't legally be ridden until it is fixed. Check the history online: https://www.gov.uk/check-mot-history

5. With current title, valid MoT and insurance in hand you can now buy road tax. Like the rest, this can be done online. Again, don't be tempted to ride without it unless you want an uncomfortable discussion with the traffic cops. https://www.gov.uk/vehicle-tax

If you return to the UK to sell your bike there are no tax implications. If you sell it abroad the local customs authorities may want a cut and the buyer will have to go through the process of making a private import declaration - not many will be keen to do this. Countries will have their own limits on how long you can use a foreign registered bike but if you're moving around you shouldn't fall foul of this. Your UK insurance should cover you for use in EU countries but there may be specialists such as Lobagola who can help otherwise.

Finally as for covid restrictions, I could tell you the situation now and it could all have changed in a week. It's a near certainty that you will need to be fully vaccinated and boosted if you want to avoid repeated tests and quarantine hotel stays at every border, so get it done if you haven't already. A good resource if the UK Foreign Office, although it's aimed at UK passport holders it is quite informative and is kept up to date. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice

Bon voyage, as they say over the water ;)

many thanks, i appreciate the response. Im getting a bit depressed as dealers im emailing are refusing to sell to me. The lack of an address in UK is big issue. I might have to buy in spain or Germany. But god forbid might have the same issues.

Many thanks. All this information is a bit overwhelming, but its very valuable and i appreciate it

Those suggestions are very well thought out. I am very grateful for your response.

You need to be a resident to buy in Spain, sorry (don't know about elsewhere).

Not sure about the rest of the country, but late March is when we expect snow or at least a lot of rain where I am in the East.

When do you plan on starting your trip?

Here in Estonia, you can buy a vehicle in your name as a non-resident as long as you put a local on your registration as an "authorized user". (There's even a way, through e-residency, of selling your bike remotely after you've left, or to another Estonian e-resident in any location in the world.) I've done this before for a couple of guys on non-EU passports, and it took like two hours on a Saturday to get both of their bikes registered in their names and insured.

The local market is not as big as Germany's, but you can usually find middleweight enduros - https://eng.mototehnika.ee/soidukid/3655441 or https://ktm.ee/kasutatud/list/ratas/...ure-r-rally-20. General selection: https://eng.mototehnika.ee/kasutatud...f=50&otsi=otsi

Feel free to DM me if you're interested.

As I mentioned above, you don't need to be a UK resident to buy, you just need a UK address for documentation to be sent to. This can simply be someone who agrees to receive mail for you. Realistically you need to be in country to make the purchase (if only because the seller will expect you to take the bike straight away).

As for when to ride, it's all in the northern hemisphere seasons.

Jan-Mar winter
Apr-Jun spring
Jul-Sep summer
Oct-Dec autumn

Those seasons are about a month later than the official definitions but IMO reflect the weather conditions better. Further north extend the cold season a month either side of winter and further south extend the warm season a month either side of summer. Be aware of school holidays Jul-Aug where prices go sky high and everything gets crowded.

Places to visit TBH you're probably best dividing Europe into regions that can be done in less than 90 days and spending a bit of time in each. It may not be the biggest geographic region in the world but it's incredibly rich in detail and culture. Stash the bike somewhere until you can come back and do another tour, that's what a friend of mine does.

As an example this year I'm planning to start from the UK, head north through the Baltic and Nordic countries to the Nordkapp most northerly part of Europe, in Norway) then return via ferry to Iceland. I reckon that's about 2 months and 10,000 miles. It's quite a well trodden path but plenty to do and see. Will probably start May for the weather but don't want to hit tourist season or peak mossie wave.

Hey,

with regards to your 2nd question: Many things have been said about travelling months in Europe but you also explicitly mentioned the Balkans and Turkey. While Turkey will be warm until late October most of the interesting riding is at higher altitude and will get fresh, cold, rainy or even snowy around late September. You get the idea when you look at Turkey on a topographical map. Keep that in mind if you want to visit those areas. The Balkans and Greece get cold in the mountains even a bit early.

Cheers,
Benjamin