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MotorcycleTourer

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Posts posted by MotorcycleTourer

  1. 19 minutes ago, husoi said:

    As @Ian Frog says you will get as many answers as members in the forum :)

    Here's my personal opinion

     

    My circumstances:

    Intercoms connected to either phone or sat-nav (on screen map becomes secondary)

    Plenty of sockets to charge any device known to mankind :cool: 

    2 bikes. A long range ST1300 and a cruiser Shadow 700 for the shorter one day trips.

     

    My choice:

     

    Both the phone and Sat-nav.

     

    Phone with short trips on the Shadow, will get instructions on the intercom via waze no need for on screen map at all times

     

    Touring, the Sat-nav rules. Had a poor experience with the phone on last long tour where temperatures above 30c almost melted the phone. It kept overheating if the screen was on all the time. The battery life was very low because of the need of increased brightness to compensate for sun glare. (here in Scotland is called the weird shiny thing in the sky).

     

    Which Sat-nav? the best you can afford. I followed our guru's @Stu (may he be blessed :) ) and got myself a Garmin zumo XT.

    Definitely, the sat nav wins hands down on the bike. I’ve had similar issues with overheating, and I struggle seeing my phone in harsh sunshine. I must admit, I do struggle with sat nav with only voice guidance though...

  2. 18 minutes ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

    I've tried a satnav and found it too distracting. I tried various phone apps and didn't get on with any of them. So I went for a Beeline. Very simple display that just has an arrow telling you which way to go, a dot that tells you which direction your next turn is and how far away it is, and a bar that tells you how far along your route you are.

     

    It runs via bluetooth from an app on your phone which allows you to plan routes in advance.

     

    I like the app which works well for me. I like the minimilist display which is easy to see at a glance. Battery life is excellent. The only quibble is that in built up areas where there are multiple turns very close together it can confuse you as you don't get the same road layout as a satnav. But then satnavs are 100% accurate and I've got lost using them as well.

     

    If you go wrong it recalculates very quickly.

     

     

    Ahhh that’s a good point actually, I forgot about the Beeline. I remember doing some research on them once, and the opinions were even more divisive than GPS vs phone! Maybe that’s another question for another day 😂

  3. 25 minutes ago, Ian Frog said:

    A query guaranteed to get multiple opinions.

    As a person who only seems to use a satnav to get me to a specific destination rather than plan a route I am happy using google maps both here and abroad.

    I will be interested in the input you get from others who use them more creatively than I.

    Cheers

    Ian

    Same. I knew there would be a healthy division in preference, but that’s why I asked... somebody always comes up with a helpful point of view that I never thought of!

  4. Morning TMFers!

     

    In light of an upcoming trip, I was thinking this morning about the pros & cons of using a dedicated motorcycle sat nav over a phone app (or vice-versa.)

     

    From a personal standpoint, I find a dedicated sat nav to be better whilst on the bike. But I find them fiddly to use, a nightmare to set up, with dated user interfaces, and about 16 million unnecessary menus that I have to Google when something isn’t working. And then there’s the ridiculous cost of them.

     

    Phone apps aren’t quite as good on the bike, but their functionality is intuitive (we’re used to smartphones these days), they’re quick, they’re cheap (many are free), they’re accessible, and they’re convenient. Plus there is an abundance of choice.

     

    Do you have a preference over one or the other? And is it worth sacrificing the quality of a dedicated unit for the sake of convenience, choice, ease of use, and cost?

  5. My consistency with earplugs has always been a bit hit and miss, so over the last 12 months or so I’ve been making a conscious effort to remember them.

     

    A bit of impromptu Googling this morning had me stumble across some custom ones that cost in excess of £300!

     

    And this got me thinking. Do you wear earplugs? And if so, are you content with the squidgy ones? Do you have mid-range branded ones? Or have you gone all out with custom plugs?

  6. 2 hours ago, Gerontious said:

    Well.. this begs a very obvious question. Why do YOU own one?

    Haha, I bought one because I thought it was a do-it-all machine (which it can be - in the right hands.)

     

    I’ve seen riders throw them around off-road like they’re a 125. Unfortunately, I’m not good enough to do that and feel more comfortable off-road with smaller capacity bikes.

     

    Therefore mine is just really a glorified touring bike.

     

    For me personally, it’s overkill for day-to-day use. And for touring, there are better options anyway.

     

    I don’t think there’s anything I could do my bike that I couldn’t do just as well on a lighter bike.

     

     

  7. 2 hours ago, Steve_M said:

    No (thinking of resale value of mine. Must not let this idea go any further).

     

    On a serious note. Charlie Boorman was right. The KTM would have been a much better choice for their trip. KTM really f**ked up. 
     

    I like the concept of a bike where I sit tall. It allows me to get better visibility, looking over hedges, not having to crane my neck to see stuff. It all started with my ST1100, I felt much more in control sitting upright. My Tiger 1050 confirmed this (less an adventure bike, more a sports tourer on stilts). 
     

    I have yet to tour on the GS - house move and the pandemic has impacted my opportunities, I have, though done long days riding (eg. several Norfolk to Cumbria rides), and had a few days out two up. I rode it for my RoSPA test, had a day trying Motogymkhana and have used it for volunteer work carrying NHS scrubs where the luggage capacity was appreciated. 
     

    It is the best all-round bike I have owned. Yes, I’m sure other bikes can do other things better but, as a package, it suits me better than any other bike I tried in my quest to replace my FJR. 
     

     

    Agreed on the KTM thing... rather than helping them succeed, KTM pulled out because they thought they would fail! That’s pretty shameful.

     

    I also agree with your points regarding height, visibility and luggage capacity. (They’re some of the reasons I bought a big adventure bike, too.)

     

    However the mid weights are just as tall, provide just as much visibility and (almost) the same luggage capacity.

     

    I just wonder if we really need to carry all the extra heft around when smaller machines do the same job 🤷‍♂️

  8. 27 minutes ago, S-Westerly said:

    I like my 225 kg (wet) multistrada. Do I need it - probably no. Do I take it off road - other than the odd gravelled track - definitely  no. Do I really love riding it in just about any weather - very definitely  yes. So long as I can horse it around on the odd occasion I need to I won't be getting rid of it, it's just too much fun.

    Fair point! 😎

  9. 37 minutes ago, husoi said:

    I don't see it as a "need" for a big bike.

    I wouldn't change from my 300kg Pan unless is for a goldwing.

    Some of us like them big :P 

    Good point!

     

    But then again, I should imagine you don’t spend a lot of your time picking your 300kg Pan up out of the mud!

     

    On the other hand, having something for no other reason than you love it is as good a reason as any in my book.

    • Like 2
  10. I’ve struggled with the concept of big adventure bikes for years. They’re too big, too heavy, and generally not used to their full capacity.

     

    But in an era where middleweight adventure bikes are just as good (and a whole lot lighter), isn’t it about time we retired the big adventure bikes?

     

    * KTM 890 - 196kg (dry)

    * Yamaha Tenere 700 - 187kg (dry)

    * Husqvarna Norden 901 - 166kg (dry)

    * Triumph 900 GT - 194kg (dry)


    I can’t think of a single trip where I would absolutely need a 270kg+ adventure bike over a sub-200kg middleweight one.

  11. 5 hours ago, onesea said:

    When alone in hotel the first thing I did was leave it if could,  ask reception or just walk round the corner find another place.  Its a part of travel I loved, I have met some interesting people heard crazy things, eaten some interesting food.  Hotel bars are the worst, particularly chain hotels and the like.

    In a normal bar a solo stranger particularly a foreigner is often spoken to where as a group or couple you are not.   A solo local takeout on the beach or in the park alone, is far nicer than food in what normally is a mediocre hotel restaurant.

    Agreed 👍

    • Like 1
  12. 2 hours ago, fastbob said:

    I do know what you mean . Speaking as someone with mild ASD I tend to peer intently at my phone and blot out the rest of the room if I have no choice other than to eat in a restaurant . 

    As a photographer, I almost always take either my phone, tablet or laptop and do a bit of editing whilst I wait for my food to arrive. People seem less interested in people who are busy, plus I’m not just sat there looking around at nothing 😂

    • Like 1
  13. 9 minutes ago, Steve_M said:

    Booking.com is your friend... 

     

    We book ferries for the start and end of our tour, decide roughly where we’d like to go and that’s overall planning done. We stop for coffee around 4pm each day and estimate where we’ll be after another hour’s riding. My good lady uses booking.com to find suitable accommodation in the vicinity of our expected location. 
     

    We then check weather forecasts etc. on the evening and then plot a route covering around 7hrs riding for the next day. Not that we expect to ride for that long, but we’ve found it better to not run out of route before you need accommodation. 
     

    The only constraint, then, is making sure that you get to your return ferry in time. 
     

    It works for us.

     

     

    I’m a big fan of booking.com and use it pretty much exclusively.

     

    If the restrictions ease off in the summer and we’re allowed to play out, I might just give this style a try 

    • Like 1
  14. 2 hours ago, jedibiker said:

    Although when I did think sod it and went for dinner, I ended up sat on a table next to a couple and got chatting. He was a biker and used to teach bike safe with the Police., so it wasnt too bad. But that was a good day..

    Like most things, it’s never as bad in real life as the nightmare you conjure up in your head!

     

    Apart from in Venice.

     

    I popped into a local restaurant for a pizza before it got busy. I noticed the smarmy waiters talking about me and then all of sudden ‘All By Myself’ by Celine Dion came over the speakers followed by a roar of laughing from behind the bar.

     

    I don’t think I even finished the pizza!!

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  15. 6 hours ago, Gerontious said:

    My own strategy for the trips I organise is really quite simple.

     

    I basically say... Im going to 'such and such' does anyone want to tag along. we will be doing XYZ.

    Dates are such and such.

    Times for the crossing are these..

    And, to break up the journey we will stay overnight at (usually) Ashford the night before, so we can have a nice early and yet relaxed start.

     

    Thats generally written in stone fairly quickly.

     

    After that I ask for suggestions, sometimes I get some, but mostly I get none at all. Aside from requests of things or places to avoid.. this generally due to bad previous experiences.

     

    Or, I might ask if anyone wants to go to the Nurburgring and if they do.. then we will fit that in. Going there is always very easy as its open at a very convenient time for us, towards the end of the day. and then its a great ride back to our base.. which is easy to follow. no sat nav required. and the guys can ride it at their own pace.

     

    And thats really all there is to it.

     

    I do the daily ride routes months in advance. this, mainly because I don't like to think about them, in fact I want to forget all about them so when it actually comes to the day.. I only have a vague idea of where we are going and its as much of a surprise to me as it is for everyone else. as far as routes go, nothing is written in stone they are adjusted on the fly. If I see an interesting sign I might follow it, just to see what's there. and so on. This happens a lot.

     

    The only parts of the trip thats quite rigid is the ride across... when we go to the Eifel, we know the route well and our stops. we have plenty of time to do it.. we don't 'go for it'. as there is no point. the longest leg of the entire 255 miles is 65 miles. other than that its usual about 40 and then a pause for 15 minutes. I like to do it that way so anyone with a smaller tank range doesn't need to fret about running out.  we always stop for at least an hour for lunch.

     

    when we have our off year, then we go camping as its something I enjoy and its super convenient for my purposes. as for where we are going, I will always have a plan A, B and C. because with camping we want great weather.. and so, if at the last minute the forecast is bad, then we simply go with another plan. This happened a few years ago. All set to go down to Black Forest/Austria and possibly the Dolomites but the forecast was rain, rain, rain for the first 3/4 days once we crossed the Rhine and into the Black Forest. And I can't tolerate that, so we went with plan B instead and went to the Vercors in the south of France.. we followed the sun and warmth. And just had a bit of rain on our return home, which didn't matter.

    fwiw. Ive always said to people that if they don't want to camp then thats fine.. they can go find a room and we will adjust things to make that work. its no big deal. but.. thats never happened so far. 

     

    and thats about it. Its my holiday and I ask or invite people to come along. it seems to work well 99% of the time. I make a point of getting no cash benefit. for me, thats just wrong. I'm not going to profiteer from this. We all pay exactly the same more or less. depending on beer consumption and individual bar bills.

    I love the idea of chasing the sun! I’ve done a fair bit of touring in my time, but I’ve always followed my own schedule and had all my accommodation pre-booked. But I totally see the merit in ditching the rainy Dolomites plan for some time in Sunny France 👍

  16. 17 hours ago, Steve_M said:

    The nearest I’ve got to organised tours is a couple of long weekends in Wales with the IAM group I was a member of at the time, and one organised by a work colleague for him and his mates to go to Andorra. Each were pretty relaxed. Based at one hotel, you could join in the day’s ride or go your own way, meeting up at the hotel in the evening. That worked pretty well. From an individual’s point of view you had freedom, but not those  evenings on your own. 
     

    One point of note was that there was some friction on occasion with personality clashes, and differences of opinion on routes, refuelling needs, rest points and pace. 
     

    I’m more than happy in my own company, but with my good lady on pillion, self-organised tours suit us well. 

    Yea I’ve been on a few tours with mates and riding clubs and they’ve always worked out fine.

     

    I think the personality clashes is a great point. Imagine having to share a room with someone on an organised tour and you end up not getting on with them!!

     

    And everyone wants to do/see something different. But inevitably, you can’t do/see at all of them or else you’d never get anywhere.

     

    All that money for a restrictive tour that you end up hating 😬

  17. 19 hours ago, Slowlycatchymonkey said:

    I wouldnt say never again because something might crop up eg the Overlander mag organise tours to places like Vietnam which are cheaper than you could do it yourself- tempting. 

    Sorry this is a longun but its close to home!

    If you go on an organised tour then there are some important things to consider if you dont want to get caught out. From experience I can say they are not all decent scrupulous people. 
     

    1. Is the company based in your home country? Might not seem important but it really is. If something goes wrong you will have little or no recourse as the laws n rules on holidays n health and safety vary wildly from country to country, plus they know youre not going to be able to successfully tackle them from for example the UK if theyre based in India. The EU maybe but even that can be very difficult.
     

    2. Do they offer any guarantees or refunds if things go wrong?

     

    3. Can you meet the people involved in the organisation of the trip and how do they ensure riders reach a minimum standard required for that particular trip. You dont want to be on a difficult trip with people who cant do it.  
     

    4. What is the payment method?
    Do not enter into payment arrangements that involve having to use a specific currency conversion site or paying into an overseas account. 
     

    5. Research the company thoroughly. Google them- trip advisor reviews etc. Ask to speak to former clients.
    Research the weather conditions for the time of year youre going and the type of roads you’ll be riding on- see if that matches the trip description.

     

    6. Its a good idea to have the minimal skills necessary to survive on your own in the place youre going. In most of Europe the majority of people courtesy of sat nav and google translate would feel reasonably comfortable if unexpectedly on their own- but in farther flung destinations maybe not so much. So get comfortable with a map n compass and make sure you have the addresses of your destination.

     

    If you're not spending a lot and are going to be in Europe then you could skip most of the above.

     

    You raise some good points there! Thanks mate

  18. 20 hours ago, Gerontious said:

    They really suit some people.. but tend to be very expensive. Its the sort of thing one might do as an 'introduction' to touring, if you don't have the confidence to DIY. Everything is taken care of for you and you have knowledgeable guides who have done all the research in advance, so you can have a lot of confidence in getting your moneys worth. They are very popular with people who want a stress free bike trip. The only possible downside is that everything is 'written in stone" so there is little or no flexibility if the weather is a bit off. They can't simply change plans at the last minute and head in a different direction to 'follow the sun' as it were. But, generally they are a great idea for some people. Think of it in terms of a package deal, where everything is included in the price. you get a nice brochure that lays out exactly what you can expect and all you have to do is pay for petrol and any snacks, drinks at rest stops. Hotels and restaurants are all arranged and are worry free. You should have no nasty surprises. and you generally have a guide who speaks the language so there is no worry on that score either if its something that concerns you.

     

    I would guess there are people who do something like this year after year.. or as and when. And there are also people who might do it once and then think... well that didn't seem to complicated. maybe I'll DIY next time.

     

    Im only talking about relatively local.. Western Europe. starting and ending at a port or the tunnel. Though there are some that also include bike hire.. so you might fly first and get a lot further. for instance to Naples and then spend a week or so riding around the foot of italy and across to Sicily. on a hire bike with all the above benefits of convenience.

    Great advice 👍👍

  19. 20 hours ago, jedibiker said:

    I saw them after watching an amazon program. Looked well organised but very tough. Was to China. I think the knowledge they take and the back up van was essential. As said above the company is good when traveling. I went to Poland on my own, not by bike and found going for dinner a little awkward..

    So i think there good for the right trip

    Agreed. I prefer to tour alone (in the main) but dinner can be a little awkward!

  20. 9 minutes ago, Shepherd said:

    My Deauville munches through the miles, and after a 3 hour ride last week, I still felt comfortable. 

    Not the most exciting bike mind 😊

    My dad is on his second Deauville, he had the 650 and now the 700. Having ridden both, I have to agree with you. I’m surprised my dad hasn’t replied to this thread to say as much actually... I’m sure he’s on this forum 😂

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