Italy to Portugal in Feb
 

Hi Guys,
Not sure where to post this question... in RTW territory

I am planning to go on a mini tour starting from London in feb
- north of Italy, south of France, south of Spain to the southern tip of Portugal and then up north, take a ferry back from Spain to UK

I have never been touring on a bike and was just wondering if it could be done in 2 weeks with my v-strom 650, 2-up

thanks in advance,
:thumbup1:
JP

Hi,

I have just been to Portugal leaving from Northern Italy as I live in Milan, imho
two weeks are nearly sufficient for this itinerary you have to ride fro 600-800 Km per day, consider that Milan Algeciras 2400 Km about. But you miss many interesting things to see, Genoa, Nice, Marseille, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, Cadiz, Seville normally take several days for a visit. My suggestion is ride less
visit more

Cheers

I think you'd end up spending all your time on the motorways to make the schedule, missing some terrific back roads. I guess it depends on how important the actual riding is as opposed to making the destinations.

Maybe just north Italy
 

Thanks guys,
I would like to enjoy the places I am visiting and too much riding is no fun.
I may stick to touring the north of Italy in my 2 weeks... how long would it take to reach there from London?
JP

Hi,
London - Milan 1300 Km about if you want save time, arrive to Calais it should be a train where you can embark your bike and arrive to Nice (France) one day later, Nice Italin border 35 Lm about, hope it helps

Yes, let the train take the strain ( french trains do ) is not much fun riding down that route in feb... thing is that time of year southern france northern spain the temp and weather can vary enormously.. pack clothes according to last 10 day forecast + a margin of error..
Here is a site with train/travel info... http://www.sncf.com/ but specifically you need =
http://www.voyages-sncf.com/leisure/fr/launch/home/

I'd say the Portugal bit was the only bit taht was too far, my wife and I do a lot of long trips racking up the miles around Europe

Over 3000 this year
http://www.ytc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/.../tour2006.html

and over 4000 the year before
http://www.ytc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/...orway2005.html

What are trains like?
 

Thanks, might just do that.
Does it take a lot of prep to the bike and the paper work?
JP

Hi i am currently in Mojacar in southern spain having ridden 4000 miles from the UK do you intend to camp or hotel it? Re the bike, Fully service it prior to the trip, i replaced consumables such as chain, sprockets, brake pads and fluid, coolant, plugs and HT leads and caps, oil and filter, tyres with anti puncture sealant, fuel filter etc. Documentation wise i had insurance from the UK (ebike do a policy that covers europe 365 days a year fully comp with additional european breadown cover for an additional 50 quid, (unbelievable but true!!) check their site!!) take your driving licence (both parts) take V5 and MOT for the bike and the usual stuff you take on holiday also get the european health insurance card (old E111) forms at post office, and i would take out travel insurance (i went with "insure and go" on the internet, only another 30 quid to add motorcycling to their gold backpacker insurance and that was for 6 months!!) whatever trip you do have an ace time. Greg

Hi there,

I live in Portugal and I have a V-Strom DL1000. If you need some advices about Portugal drop by the V-Strom Portuguese forum: http:\\www.vstromportugal.com

Best Regards