Long Trip!

Hi guys,

Possibly doing a France trip in Sept, my bike is coming up on 23.5k miles, just wondered is there anything I should do to service it other than the obvious oil change etc. anything more major that might break and decide to leave me stranded?

And any idea of how much it will cost? I'm not too bothered about it, if its got to be done its got to be done, plus I'll be keeping the bike a while anyway! I'm going to get my forks sorted and the calipers all nice and cleaned up too, basically a big service, she quite needs it anyway and beats spending £2k on a new bike!

Has anyone done this sort of mileage on their SV before who might want to give me some tips or insight, we will be going to the South and then back up again so its a fair while!

Any advice you can give is much appreciated!

Joe.

[yorkie_chris]

Firstly, I have never done such a long trip myself, this is just what I'd do.

I would check and clean everything, strip brakes and check theres some meat on the pads and discs.
Oil + filter change, top up oil under the seat just in case it uses any.
Grease up the chassis bearings and wheel bearings, check charging circuit is working.
Maybe a new chain and sprocket set, if not make sure the tension is set.
Make sure theres life left in the tyres.
Make up a kit of tools and spare bulbs, take some chainlube or extra scottoil.

Above all things, anything you do, do it a week before the trip and get a 100 mile or so ride done so any dilbert mistakes will show up in plenty time!

Might not be the useful insight you were looking for, but what else am I going to do at 1AM?

Chris

Get the bike serviced at least a week, if not two, before you go. This allows time for any problems found to be sorted.

Do all the normal service stuff, fluid levels etc, plus check your tyres, as you may put 1,000 - 1,500 miles on them while away, be sure they are "fit for use".

Check all your electrics & lights, get some spare bulbs (requirement in France anyway I think). Sort your suspension out, you tend to notice it when doing long days in the saddle. Also, if you can find one, a gel seat is really handy too.

Other than that, have fun...

I tool my curvy SV to France and had a great time; the bike is more than capable. I go back twice a year now, and am off to the Alps in a few weeks myself.

.

Cheers guys thats great advice, I have a brand new tyre that I bought a while ago that I am going to get fitted soon to wear it in for the trip. I'm thinking of strapping a pillow to my seat which will save space in packing but also save me buying a gel seat or piles cream. I will get my forks done and my shock is sprung on the highest setting anyway so no worries there, I don't weigh much so its fine for me!

Will do the fluids thing, and the bulbs too, cheers for that. Gonna be weird riding on the wrong side of the road! If the mech is changing my forks I guess he'll have to sort my front stoppers after so thats fine enough. Got my trusty SV toolkit and lots of bungees, getting a new front sprocket because its worn down anyway, and also fitting a Scottoiler which I've been meaning to fit for a year!

I just wanted to know if there was any major services coming up in the next few thou so I can sort them out, valves etc. but if not thats great.

Any more advice is greatly appreciated too, whats the etiquette on camping in France, I heard it was illegal, do you just find a quiet corner of a field and hide there the night? How much should I expect to pay in total for this trip?

Cheers very much so far guys.

Joe.

I'd add some Ultraseal to your tyres although some folk on here quite strongly disapprove of the stuff.....I've used it in a GSX750 for almost a year with no prob's! It could save you being stranded in the middle of nowhere waiting for the lé AA....

From what I've heard from people who have permanently moved to France they say the French are camping mad and love caravans and the great outdoors.

[embee]

Camping in France is easy, nearly every decent town will have a municipal site, which are pretty cheap, single figure Euros per night.

If in doubt spend about £12 on a Michelin Map book (1cm=2km) from W.H.Smith or similar, they have many of the places with campsites marked (small triangle type tent symbol next to the town name). I got a spiral bound version and take the relevant pages with me. Popular tourist areas will show a lot of campsites. If you get stuck, the cheap motel chains are decent, I used a Formule1 at Reims in June, Eu30 for a room for 1,2,or 3 people.

Make sure you have your European Health Insurance card (EHIC, available free on-line or via post office), also personal travel insurance is a good idea, I use the Post Office's policy which covers riding bikes (some don't, so check). Make sure your bike insurance cover is extended for the Continent, very often free but check.

Also carry all the other documents, driving licence (paper part too), original registration document V5C (keep copies of everything at home), insurance.

Scottoiler is a great benefit if you don't already have one. Carry some sort of puncture kit, even if only as a last resort.

Remember the laws do apply to you, even though you're a foreigner! They are getting sharper on speeding, if you see a big sign showing radar speed detector for bikes/cars etc, then there is a camera ahead in a grey box usually low down at vehicle height. The signs are pretty obvious so you deserve to be caught if you miss one. Know the speed limits!!! Town limits (50kph) start at the town sign at the side of the road, stick to them. They can and do issue on-the-spot fines, so have enough Euros with you if you're going to push your luck. I'm pretty sure they can impound the bike if you can't pay on the spot. Stop signs mean stop, not just slow down a bit if you feel like it.

Petrol stations on all but autoroutes will usually close after lunchtime on Sunday, so don't get caught out. Some of the 24hr stations that use credit cards don't work with UK ones, though that's getting better with chip/pin.
Everyone stops for lunch 12-2 usually, most shops shut. If you need to get across a big town, 1pm is a good time!

Motorway services are usually good, good food at reasonable prices, though many of the autoroute stops are "aires" and don't have services, just stopping places. Tolls for bikes aren't that bad, but mount up if you do a lot of autoroute riding. It varies, for example Calais to Reims is Eu11 (180mls ish). Main "N" roads (RN= route nationale) and even a lot of secondary (D) roads are excellent and good riding often, traffic is generally light except in large urban areas. Plan to use these roads if you can, autoroutes are fine if you have distance to travel (the area south of Calais down to Reims for example is best covered by Autoroute, not my favourite area. I prefer Normandy/Brittany/Loire). Massif Central is excellent riding area, gorges and high plateaux, but thunderstorms are common.

Big supermarkets often have excellent cafe/restaurants. Eating out in restaurants is excellent though not that cheap these days, you'll be very unlucky to find any problem being on a bike, they welcome everyone.

Take it easy, enjoy yourself, do a little forward planning so you know how to cope with situations. Say "Bonjour Monsieur/Madame" to everyone, they appreciate it.

Both those points sound great, cheers!

I'm fairly excited, its going to be a journey to remember thats for sure, I don't know many people who have toured France at 18 years old!

Need a passport first though, cheers for the advice, any more is much appreciated!

Just saw your post, thats amazing help, if there was a post rating system on this forum I'd give you five stars

Some useful tips there, I definitely want to see the Normandy beaches etc. but everything else is upto the guy I'm off with who will probably be watching this topic anyway. Good news about the campsites, I don't know where I heard it was illegal, glad its not!

And good tip about the speeding thing, I don't really want to be blasting everywhere, as how do you see the sights at 100mph? Very quickly I'd imagine! I'm glad my SV has a kph thing as standard, that will definitely come in handy, and cheers for all the other tips they are really really helpful!

Cheers!

The SV is more than up to it,

see my trip that I managed in a week below:

http://forums.sv650.org/showthread.php?t=82336

Don't think I can add that much more advice wise, apart from browsing the euro tour section of the forum for inspiration and more tips.