Doing a bit of a recce next month for a few nights to a little village in France. Can't go too far as the bike is not comfortable for the wife after more than a few hours but, if all goes well I'll earn a green light for a tourer addition to the family next season

Any tips or pointers will be much appreciated.

Girl at work gave me the tip for swapping a £10 Tesco voucher for a £30 voucher on the Eurotunnel, scored a return bike space for £45. I knew all that Tesco money would come in handy one day. You can swap a £2.50 voucher for £7.50 Uber money too BTW... but I'm straying...

Any advice on breakdown cover? should I bother, we're only going about an hour or so from Calais.

Do I have to label the bike as UK (like they make us do with the car) or can I just leave it as is?

Cheers

(Wish me luck with the weather)!

You are supposed to have a GB plate on but a few of us have often not bothered , you are also supposed to carry a hiviz to put on if you breakdown.
Personally i always have european breakdown cover just in case. You can get it for just a single trip but a lot of insurance companies also will add it to your policy.

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2001 X1 2009 1125CR 2006 Uly X3 2010 Uly a fully Maz'd S1 and a 1991 RS1200 Westwind.

First time in France tip 1 Try not to stop on the left side of the road(bar etc)Its so easy to leave on wrong side of road,note on dashboard saying Keep Right helps.tip 2,French motorists love bikers and make room to let you pass,acknowledge them with a kick of the foot.I do this in the UK too,starting a new trend perhaps.tip 3 priorite a droite is not dead yet with some older drivers so beware in villages off the main routes.Breakdown cover is your choice,but I always take it.but in40 years never used it.Enjoy yourself its a great country for bikers.

Thanks Kev, I'll give them a bell see what they offer for 3 days cover.




Cheers Grumpy good tips, I think I'm going put some kind of reminder on the dash now for 'keep to the right' I'm sure it will come in handy.

Looking forward to this...and next year!

We tried getting AA cover for the X1 but they wouldn't touch it for Europe. When we did break down I tried the one I had with my bank account which surprisingly covered it.

Le AA were great - he only had a little English and us a little French but google translate was hilarious 😂 He had us on our way pretty quickly.

Worth a check.

We also bought a European travel pack that had all the necessary legal 'stuff' in it which was quite small. I'm pretty sure you could find it online somewhere.

Masking tape and tie wraps are essential 😃 And maybe a tie plugging kit with gas inflator 👍🏻

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Better to Burn Out Than Fade Away

In the garage -

2001 X1
KTM390 Duke
Ducati 950 Monster +
CCM Spitfire Scrambler

We've just used that in a bar in outback spain, was a great laugh with the staff...without it we were stuffed!

Thanks for the tips!

Me and a mate went to the south of France in April. My first time on the continent too.

I can't state enough how much better the roads, motorways, car drivers and truck drivers are in France compared to the UK.

French drivers are considerate, use their mirrors and don't tail gate. I felt much safer driving over there to the UK, even on the wrong side of the road and in the centre of Paris!

Be careful of speeding, as you can now be fined in the UK since a change in the law this summer.

I had european breakdown cover. I broke down in heavy rain, but I dried out the HT lead and done some makeshift waterproofing with tape myself.

Nothing much else to say apart from I hope you enjoy it!

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Be excellent to each other!

You must take all docs ...log book ,mot,license and insurance

Thanks!

I have bought cover now...RAC single trip £20. Bought it through Quidco and earned a fiver back so £15 is well worth the peace of mind.

Just getting all the papers and stuff ready this week and realised I never got the keeper papers back from DVLA

So have sent that little slip away to them for second attempt. Took a photocopy in case it doesn't arrive in time.

I have done a lot of touring on bikes in cars and trucks.
In France you need to understand that in some places the right has the priority, sometimes it is signposted, other times it may not be.
https://www.france-pub.com/forum/2012/04/14/la-priorite-a-droite%E2%80%8E-priority-to-the-right/
However, the rule of thumb is that the larger vehicle is usually liable, if an accident does occur, not always good if you are on the floor with broken bones....I have had a couple of accidents in France and Belgium, one which required hospital and emergency services, they knocked spots of the UK.

Spain, if you do not have the correct documentation they will fine you on the spot, they are usually total twats as well and take no nonsense....This is the National and Civil Police, the locals, like the French Gendarmes are good usually.

I have not used a GB sticker on a bike for years and never bother with any of the other faff, however, if you are driving at night, you will need to use a bit of tape to divert your hi beam, this year I came through spain and france in the dark and they were not happy bunnies, I had to buy some tape and it stopped the flashes.

I have been stopped by the Police in all countries for all kinds of traffic offences, each time I have used distraction to get off the ticket, each time it has worked Just being nice and flustered and usually lost does it for them and they want to help you then

I have never had any problems with security of the bike, usually you are looked after by the hotel owner etc. I have left bikes in market squares over night, never a problem.

All in all I prefer and do more miles a year in France, Spain and now Portugal and it is such a breath of fresh air to be amongst people who actually know you are there and do not suffer from this small penis syndrome that affects many Brits.

Enjoy, the beer is better and cheaper, the food is better and cheaper and so are the hotels
Wine.....Well, what can you say.

theyve got wifi in this reclusive retreat have they,no you dont need this forum anymore do you,so stop bullshiting on it then.and by the way their hospitals probably cope better cause all the diegos and frogs are clogging up ours.

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Time flies like an arrow,fruit flies like a banana.

Have you always been a cock, or is it a more recent condition that has developed?

Name calling a predictable response,why don't you take another long look in the mirror narcissus.tell me does your sanctimonious attitude come from the times when your Oedipus complex was fulfilled?for all your ramblings about the evils of tech and you're contempt for your fellow man you have realised the only platform you have for your rantings is places like this.good men fought and died for freedom in this country and still do,but how I pity them when I think they're sacrifice was for people like you.

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Time flies like an arrow,fruit flies like a banana.

Indeed you are correct, a predictable response, I was merely mirroring your response to me on other threads(which I had chose to ignore) Because I thought you were, sorry are, infantile......I have already devoted more than 10 seconds to a response to you and you simply are not worth it, I was doing this shit when you were still floating around in your old mans ball bag, so kindly fuck off and don`t waste your time in becoming an organ donor, I am sure there are far more worthy humans out there that would know exactly what to do with all of your harvested organs, so fuck off.
You are surplus, sorry to be the bearer of such news, but better that you know from someone, rather than no one, save you wasting your life and that of several others.

Your orartry knows no bounds,why don't you do what you said you were gonna do and do one,or was that another chapter from the att book of bullshit.

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Time flies like an arrow,fruit flies like a banana.