| Author | Message | ||
     Ulysapper |
Thought I'd bring this up in this forum, I know there are some European members on here and look forward to hearing people's thoughts. The Army has me moving to Germany this summer. The bike is coming with me, of course, and I'm thrilled that my wife is bringing her bike as well (VStar 950T). Anyway, anything I need to know about riding in Europe as compared to the US? We'll be near Stuttgart so I'm also open to any suggestions for great scenic routes! Thanks! | ||
| Tootal |
Well just head South! You can run the Swiss, Italian and Austrian Alps! I was there last year but rode trains. However I did see a lot of beautiful country and a lot of nice back roads so it's hard not to have a nice ride. I was on a beer tour of Europe and could actually give you a lot of info on that if you're an imbiber of quality suds! | ||
| Buewulf |
I lived in Austria for a time and really enjoyed riding in Europe. Nothing new you really need to know other than get used to lane splitting and filtering to the front at stoplights. Horns are generally used for communication, not expressing anger. If someone coming up behind you flashes you to let you know you are moving faster than you are, you had better move over quick because that is what they are expecting you to do; and it's best to do as expected as they might be going waaayyyy faster than you. Stuttgart has some excellent riding east and south of the city for sure. (Probably all around it, but I have only traveled south and east of Stuttgart.) About 50 miles east or so of Stuttgart is a pretty famous motorcycle road called the B500 than runs south to the Swiss border. Police presence can be pretty high in areas frequented by sportriders (car and bike), so get in with some local riders to find the real gems. | ||
| Buewulf |
Oh, and not motorcycle-related, but escalators are like roads: stay to the right except to pass. If the crossing sign says "don't walk", don't walk unless you want an earful from any number of passerby's telling you what a bad example you are setting for the children. | ||
| Buelltours |
Stuttgart is my hometown. Make sure to explore the Schwaebische Alb and go to the former Solitude Racetrack. Lots of bikes and great folks there around the Hotel Glemseck on the weekends. People generally respect Buells. They are considered cool bikes. You should be able to make friends fast :-) | ||
| Harleywern |
Don't miss European Bike Week at Faaker See in Austria. Starting September 7th. Quiet some Buell's there. Faaker See is roughly 340 miles from Stuttgart. And by the way, welcome to good ol Europe | ||
| Reepicheep |
I got to ride a little visiting a friend in Germany. You couldn't have picked a neater place to own and ride a motorcycle. Massive dealers with cheap gear and cafe's inside, great roads, motorcycle aware car drivers, beautiful roads, you name it. The T.U.V. can be a royal PITA, but US servicemen can (or at least could) get away with bike mods that a German citizen never could. But it probably isn't worth the trouble. So keep the bike (particularly the exhaust) as stock as possible. | ||
| Ulysapper |
So keep the bike (particularly the exhaust) as stock as possible. Is is going to be a big deal if I have an EBR ECM with stock exhaust? Everyone else, thanks for the great pointers! I'm stoked!}} | ||
| Reepicheep |
I don't know if they look that deep. I did see a roadside sound level checkpoint though. Of course I also saw GI's in straight pipe Harleys riding, so there was some loophole back around 2001 for a GI and a GI imported bike. | ||
| Woodnbow |
My info is all from '73-75 so I got nothin' except you're gonna have a great time! | ||
| Ulysapper |
How about parts availability? If I continue to rely on American Sport Bike, shipping is going to kill me. | ||
| Jdm1200 |
Most of my info is old but. Riding in Germany is great! Much better than here. The other drivers are much more aware and respectful of motorcycle riders. You will have to take the motorcycle portion of the drivers test which is quite extensive. At least you did when I was there in the 90's. The riding there is fantastic. As far as parts you will have an APO address so shipping, if they ship to APO, will not cost an arm and leg. | ||
| Mideon |
Here are some links from my friends over there http://www.facebook.com/BuellPartsforever http://www.facebook.com/buellownersgermany | ||
| Advoutlander |
What is your mos brother? How many cars are the army shipping for free? | ||
| Ulysapper |
Was a 12B for 7 years then went OCS. Stayed Engineer til after Iraq in '09 then became an ORSA (math geek) Army will ship one car but the bikes are fine and just count toward weight. You in?? | ||
| Arcticktm |
I never lived there, but I go there a lot for business now. I was able to borrow a bike and ride the Italian Alps with some German co-workers last July. It was awesome, and keep in mind that I live in Western NC with some awesome roads of our own. We did just 2 days (Stelvio and the Dolomites). I didn't need anything other than my US license, but I was riding a German licensed bike, and I honestly did not check. Seeing the warning signs of motorcycle crash pictures and a guy in a wheelchair in full riding gear took some getting used to (that was in Germany). We also did a test ride day a bit north and west of your new area, and ventured just into France to tour the old Maginot Line. I stayed off the autobahn and only took 2 lane roads. Passing is expected pretty much anywhere. Riding to the front at stoplights is nice, and also expected. Drivers are much more courteous and don't seem to resent motorcycles taking advantage of our size and power, which seems to piss off our crappy American drivers. With the Euro crashing against the dollar, it is not a bad time to get paid in dollars and spend it in Euros. That will make the normally higher prices seem not too bad at all. The Alps routes get very crowded on nice weather weekends. We rode Stelvio on a Thursday (great), and Dolomites on Friday (much more traffic, buses, and THOUSANDS of bicyclists). It would really suck to be in car, as we could pass the packs of bicycles and buses, but they generally could not. Motorcycles were everywhere, and totally excepted everywhere. Imagine that... |
