Touring tips and advice?

The lush weather today prompted me to have a think about touring and going on a bit of a longer trip maybe to europe etc. I've never been further than the coast from Oxford on a bike so I'm rather unknowledgable about it all. What tips and advice do you guys have for myself or anyone else whos new to touring and longer trips

[DJ123]

Depends on where you want to go, budget and aim.
Do you want to take a tent, or hotel/F1 budget hotel it?
Aim: Do you want to go see certan things, or go to an area explore it then move on a couple of days later?
Budget. How long do you want to go away for?

There are so many variables, its good to think of a plan you want to follow. Best to start with where you want to go to & what you want to do on the trip. Decide on How many days away you want to spend and you can work the budget from there.

My parents go away for 2 weeks a year on the bike to Europe. If i remember right over the 2 weeks they only spend about £800 or so over this time-inclusive of fuel, they usually cover about 2000 miles. Mainly they camp, however on the journey there/back (if they are heading to the French/Spain border or Italy they may stay at a hotel. It helps that they go before the high season too (usually early June) meaning that camp site prices are lower.

[embee]

I've been touring Europe each year since 1978, I'm kind of getting the hang of it now

I generally base it on camping, a couple of nights at each stop so I'm not packing up every day (gets tedious), and not too long each trip these days, maybe 10-12days suits me fine, but that's an individual thing. A friend did a 5 week trip last year, all round as far as Hungary. I generally have an idea of where I'm going but don't plan much in detail, I like to be flexible and see which way the wind blows.

As said in posts above, it really does require you to sit down and decide what it is you want to do, the world (even Europe) is a big big place. Get some thoughts together and suggest a plan, then we can discuss it.

There are many very good websites discussing touring, often the BMW/Pan European/FJR13 type sites, but there is a chap on the Deauville forum who has put together a pretty good basic checklist for beginning touring, well worth a read.
http://www.elsham.pwp.blueyonder.co....ville/touring/
There are a few comments about which I differ but on the whole it's a fair read. For example the road surfaces in France are generally at least as good as the UK and often a lot better due to the lighter traffic. Of course there are pot holes on smaller rural roads, and "pavé" still exists in places, but most roads are excellent. I came across Belgium on the autoroute a couple of weeks ago and the surface was diabolical, huge pot holes on a motorway for goodnes sake!

[rictus01]

another basic requirement is the ability to actually do it, it may sound odd, but if you plan a trip of 250-300 miles aday for consecutive days, have you done that before ? I commute on my bike 5 days a week really isn't the same.

[Fallout]

I've been doing a lot of stuff around the UK recently. I've been staying in hotels and B&Bs and if that's what you intend it's not too stressful. Make sure you have secure parking where you're staying though. Last thing you want is your bike nicked or tampered with.

I've been on the Tiger, which can eat the miles in relative comfort. On an SV you need to consider it'll be physically more demanding as Rictus alluded to. You may get to the stage where its just no fun anymore because you're tired.

If I were you I'd plan some 3 or 4 day stints around the UK first. Try Scotland or Wales as they're cracking places to ride right on your doorstep. Then you'll have an idea of what it's like without going to far out of your comfort zone.

Originally Posted by TheRuffellator

The lush weather today prompted me to have a think about touring and going on a bit of a longer trip maybe to europe etc. I've never been further than the coast from Oxford on a bike so I'm rather unknowledgable about it all. What tips and advice do you guys have for myself or anyone else whos new to touring and longer trips

You can/should also have a look at the EuroTour section - http://forums.sv650.org/forumdisplay.php?f=120

Sticky threads contain good advice & info. The other links shows plans/trip reports about any and everything from a weekend trip to France to extensive road trips across Europe.

Also, I'd add that the SV is completely capable of touring. The enjoyment of using this bike really is in the planning. Unless you intend to do huge mileage in a day (which can get tiring on any bike) you can still be reasonably comfortable on an SV.

Here's a good tip. Food/Fuel/Accommodation will be your main expense. Touring France, I wanted to try all the food. But savings can be made by prepping something from home for the ferry ride over. If (like me) you'll get hungry on the trip, do yourself a favour and take some food with you.

Same applies for those bits of the journey where you need snacks along the way. If you have the facility to make a sandwich or something the night before, do it and use disposal containers so you won't be accumulating anything, rather than buying food at fuel stops - unless you make planned stops for food in some of the lovely villages along the way

Might sound obvious that one, but over the course of two weeks could have saved me maybe Eu100.

As I've done a few euro trips I'll give my views...

If camping, budget €100 a day, fuel, camping fees, food and drink inclusive, if staying in budget hotels or etaps, then add another €50 euros to that.

You'll probably spend a lot less than the above but budget for it just to be safe, it's also nice to have some left.

Most roads in France are generally very well surfaced and a lot quieter, especially the more south you go.

Eating out is generally more expensive than over here, so I use aldi and lidl in the day sometimes as they do really good salads and pre packed sandwiches.

Everybody has their own ideas of what makes a trip, you'll soon find your own preferences.

Excellent cheers for all the advice guys I think maybe a few longer trips in the UK are in order before going on a longer trip somewhere abroad as people suggested. Time to put some miles on the beast