View Full Version : bike holiday questions
george650
30-07-07, 01:27 PM
Does anyone know if I need to get travel insurance for a bike holiday in France or are we covered already?
Also anyone know of a good place I get get breakdown cover from for 2 weeks?
cheers in advance
Call your insurers and check you've got European cover on the insurance. Then ask if your breakdown cover includes recovery to the UK from abroad. if it doesn't there are a few companies that do EU breakdown cover but they escape me....
george650
30-07-07, 01:40 PM
ok I think I will have been covered for breakdown cover with them if not I will add it.
Just wondering really about if I fall off etc. not sure if these single trip jobbies cover motorbike acccidents
Luckypants
30-07-07, 01:44 PM
Right. I made sure my bike insurance covered France fully comp. All cover you TPO, but you need to check if you want more cover than that.
Breakdown insurance needs to cover re-patriation of the bike as mentioned above. Also make sure you get the number of a English speaking call center.
Travel insurance to cover medical bills, curtailment, lost baggage etc is up to you. Your E111 European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) covers you for medical cover at point of use, but you can still be charged for ambulances, wheelchairs and medical evacuation to UK if badly injured. I chose to take out travel insurance. If you take out travel insurance, be sure it covers you for riding a motorcycle over 125CC!! Most exclude it and others only cover if you pay a surcharge.
HTH
Just wondering really about if I fall off etc. not sure if these single trip jobbies cover motorbike acccidents
breakdown cover may not cover you if you fall off
http://www.ncionline.co.uk/motorcycle-breakdown-cover.asp
I used these guys when I went earlier in the Year. I didn't have cause to use them but they have different levels of cover so you can taylor it.
Jelster
30-07-07, 03:12 PM
Call your insurers and check you've got European cover on the insurance. Then ask if your breakdown cover includes recovery to the UK from abroad. if it doesn't there are a few companies that do EU breakdown cover but they escape me....
What he said....
Plus, make sure your own personal travel insurance covers you for riding bikes, some won't...
dizzyblonde
30-07-07, 03:17 PM
normal travel insurers don't usually cover motorcyclists, as it is described as an extreme sport. They will only cover up to 125cc. I have fully comp bike insurance with carol nash and got my cover for the travel insuranc bit with them as they obviously do this specifically with us sort in mind. Always cover your back and enquire, you don't want to asume and find out the hard way if your unfortunate abroad
Jelster
30-07-07, 03:24 PM
normal travel insurers don't usually cover motorcyclists, as it is described as an extreme sport. They will only cover up to 125cc. I have fully comp bike insurance with carol nash and got my cover for the travel insuranc bit with them as they obviously do this specifically with us sort in mind. Always cover your back and enquire, you don't want to asume and find out the hard way if your unfortunate abroad
My travel insurance does cover motorcycles. In fact, I called them to specifically ask and they have a list on sports that they won't insure against, and bikes is not on them, as long as you're on the road, not a track.
Interestingly enough, things like snorkelling, jet skis, go karts, parascending and scuba diving are all, and they are all things many would do while on holiday.
george650
16-08-07, 10:53 AM
I got it through Insure and Go in the end.
Was a brilliant Holiday - managed 147 on the bike which I was impressed with - slip stream of an R1 mind!
Unfortunately though I got stopped at 202Kph on the way back so am now with out the bike for a while and a 750 Euro fine, ouch.
the white rabbit
16-08-07, 11:06 AM
I got it through Insure and Go in the end.
Was a brilliant Holiday - managed 147 on the bike which I was impressed with - slip stream of an R1 mind!
Unfortunately though I got stopped at 202Kph on the way back so am now with out the bike for a while and a 750 Euro fine, ouch.
Why without bike?
Tim in Belgium
16-08-07, 11:07 AM
Where's the bike?
Did they ban you from driving in their country forcing you to leave it there? More juicy details required!
plowsie
16-08-07, 11:09 AM
Sorry to nick ya thread mate, does anyone know if i am allowed to do this sort of thing? Im 19, thing is my insurance covers me in europe
...does anyone know if i am allowed to do this sort of thing? Im 19, thing is my insurance covers me in europe
Can't see why not. If you're legal on the roads here then you're legal there. As mentioned earlier in the thread it's always a good idea to have decent insurance (and if riding breakdown) cover.
george650
16-08-07, 11:33 AM
You need to call your insurance to check matey. Think you'll be ok for 30days.
I don't have the bike as they took my license and are sending it back to me. I can ride in england no problem but am banded in France for a while (won't know how long until I get my license back)
Got a Mate from Paris to get the train down to the south and ride the bike to his garage for me so will go and collect it in September.
They fined me 750 and told me it had to be Cash - which was quite interesting - and difficult to get hold of. The trouble is that they all have subaru's over there now so there is no chance for us lot.
If I was French I would be in Jail so I am lucky really. the speed limit was 130kph and I was doing 130mph - oops
If you were French I'm not so sure they'd have stopped you.
Luckypants
16-08-07, 12:18 PM
IUnfortunately though I got stopped at 202Kph on the way back so am now with out the bike for a while and a 750 Euro fine, ouch.
I don't have the bike as they took my license and are sending it back to me. I can ride in england no problem but am banded in France for a while (won't know how long until I get my license back)
Bad luck fella! Those empty peage are tempting. Must admit I wound her up so I could see 200 on the clock (my speedo switches to kph), did not realise the risk I was running! Something overtook me at that speed too! :shock: (BMW M3 I think)
muffles
16-08-07, 12:22 PM
I may or may not have also seen 140mph on the GSX-R when over there a couple of months ago....
I had heard the stories about the gendarme though, so was a bit cautious, I have heard they hide themselves, etc, and really do try and catch you out.
Tim in Belgium
16-08-07, 02:21 PM
Got caught in the cage once by the Gendarmes on an empty peage, only doing 145 kph, but then it was snowing ;)
When they took me back to their gendarmerie I noticed that they had a tally up on a white board of all the foreign vehicles they'd caught that day, so I do think you're less likely to get pulled if you're french. They gave me directions to the nearest cash machine and kept all my papers whilst I went to get funds.
Have fun collecting it, but watch your speed now, :)
HUmm interesting that, I was away last year with a few of the peeps and we are all doing 120mph+ (the 2 guys in front were doing considerably more that that) past some the Gendarmes waved as us, I guess we were lucky!
I had heard the stories about the gendarme though
Do you mean the gendarmes or normal police? Gendarmes are closer to military police and definately aren't the same. Used to share a house with a french bloke whoose father was a gendarme.
muffles
16-08-07, 05:37 PM
Do you mean the gendarmes or normal police? Gendarmes are closer to military police and definately aren't the same. Used to share a house with a french bloke whoose father was a gendarme.
I use it as a blanket term to cover all the police in France I'm afraid :D as do probably most of the people that I have read the stories about! Needless to say, what I hear is that they do not like foreigners coming over and speeding on their shores, and they will be quite sneaky about catching you - i.e. you don't get any markings, you just have some guy hiding in a bush zapping you.
Luckypants
16-08-07, 06:36 PM
Do you mean the gendarmes or normal police? Gendarmes are closer to military police and definately aren't the same. Used to share a house with a french bloke whoose father was a gendarme.
It was the Gendarmes that caught me years ago. Never even saw the speed trap. The confiscated my mates while I got the cash (900FF) and breathalysed me when I got back. The French guy they pulled after me was apoplectic.:grin:
vBulletin® , Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.