SWB into Europe 2008

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would anyone like a SWB trip into Europe spring/summer 2008

no
6
29%
maybe depending on the costs
15
71%
 
Total votes: 21

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billinom8s
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Post by billinom8s »

doing all of those on one trip will be expensive and b loody knackering, plus all your food, accom and fuel - kerching !

i know there a few members on here who would like to ride the Nurburgring(i am one of them) but am the same as everyone else, its gonna have to come down to cost.

will be watching this thread with interest tho......
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TLS-Moose
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Post by TLS-Moose »

A friend, Layne (a member here if he cares to post up) did Spa & Nurburgring GP circuit trackdays and lapped the Nordschleife in a week last year, and I think the all-up cost was around £500 :?

Le Mans for the GP, WSB or better still 24hr can be done very cheap - £200 or so. There are several circuits an easy days drive from Le mans, and euro track days are significantly cheaper than Brit ones.

Circuit Carole on the South East outskirts of Paris is a municipal owned track, and you can just turn up and pay by the hour 8) ......
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Post by layne »

"TLS-Moose"]A friend, Layne (a member here if he cares to post up) did Spa & Nurburgring GP circuit trackdays and lapped the Nordschleife in a week last year, and I think the all-up cost was around £500 :?

Moose got better things to do than spend all my days on here and why aren’t you working.

And it didn't take me a week to lap the ring as you suggest above - (9mis 12). :evil:
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Post by julian »

I’d be flexible, a ride to a moto-gp would be good, combined with a few laps of the ring if in that direction thou weather can be dodgy round there. Nearly always dry for Spanish and Italian gps . Ride through the alps to get to Italy, Pyrenees to Spain. Unless we had a van back up :oops: I probably wouldn’t do a track day but would go if others wanted to

I also couldn’t do more than 7 days thou would be a shame to get lost and be away longer. :lol: :lol:

Isle of man 08?, always promised myself but never been, :roll:

Could do a long weekend moto gp trip as a taster san Marino 02/09/07 ? Valencia 04/11/07 ? You only live once :D :D
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Post by deej »

i beleive the ring is only open on the weekends and evenings, im sure craig can confrm this so that will mean at least 10days away if you want to do the ring and ride down to motogp

i was talking to a guy this week who took 3 weeks off work and did the ring, oschersleiben wsb and then down to mugello motogp with a gentle ride back home
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Post by layne »

Right then, Nurburgring info in brief.

The Ring is 502 miles from Exeter. 4 ½ hours to Dover, 1 hour check-in time, 2 hours for ferry (Norfolkline.com), 3 ½ hours ride through France, Belgium and Germany. 12 hours total – so can be done in one day. Beware petrol stations get few and fare between after Namur/Liege (don’t take a ZXR12).

As posted elsewhere Brens’s is the place to stay (also helped me with chain and pads, nother story). 29 euros a night. Sleeps 25, big garage for bikes. 9-15 min’s from ring depending how you ride and if you can keep up with him or Suzi (slidersguesthouse.com). Probably going again next year in May as he arranges a complete week then and in September. Costs about 500 euros for B&B and 2 track days – need to pay for fuel, food (except breakfast) ferry, Ring laps (as toll road), chain, pads, Darren speeding fine 60 euros, me breakdown truck 175 euros (snapped chain), Terry (RIP) 320 euros speeding fine, etc, etc, etc.

All web activity stems from Ben Lovejoys site, well know ringer, with biggest forum and most information and help (nurburgring.org.uk).

Dale Lomas’s (Performance bikes Journo – nice chap meet him at Suzuka) site is also good (bridgetoganrty.com). He and Bren are doing the PBTT from the Ring this year.

Calendar – Not released by circuit till February each year so difficult to organise exact week till then. However, Ben and Dales sites have calendar of times and days when it’s open although I use ringhaus.com/calendar (another well know guesthouse).

Ring cam – 8200rpm.com captures image every minute so you can see a whole day’s activity from the toll booths.

Videos – Darren has 2 vids here dar5ki.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk of use at Ring, spa and GP circuit.

Pictures – lots of photographers have on-line sites so when you get back you can buy pics of yourself. Also similar for ring but some are amateurs so are free.

Just do it – did it for 40th B-day. Best week I’ve every had. :lol: :lol:

N.B. This is just scratching the surface. Need to be bored some more just ask….
8)
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Post by layne »

And the cost of repairing Dave’s ZX12R to get home after a drop at Spa.
Amazing what you can do with duct tape, cable ties, swarfega wipes and a crashed Fireblade firing I found in Bren’s bin!
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Post by jason »

we are staying at the ringhause this year

http://www.ringhaus.com


18th/19th of August if anyone wants to collide with us on that weekend, have previously stayed in sliders but decided on a change. (not that there is anything wrong with Sliders I would 100% recommend it,its a fanastic place to stay)

from there we are heading down to lake garda via the stelvio pass then across to the balkans for croatia and Bosnia then following the danube up from Sarajevo to Budapest in Hungary and across to Vienna, Then a mad autobahn blast across germany probably to Amsterdam before going home.

BTW I have met that dale guy layne, in fact we had the pleasure of his company for a chinese and a few beers one night. Nice guy if you can wade through his me me me bullshit. We had an amusing evening taking the piss out of him.
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Post by ZX6R »

If you have a week to travel I woull suggest the following

Fri - Ferry to France

Sat/Sun watch Le Mans GP race

Mon - Go to Macny Coers (can't spell it)

Tues track day on above circuit

Weds rest day

Thurs ride roads around Clemont Ferrand

Fri start heading back

Sat night crossing from Le Hauvre back in UK about 2300 hours for ride home.

Costs would be
Ferry £79 each way
Hotels/B&B budget £30 per person based on 2 sharing, thats 210.
Fuel about 2,500 miles worth or £200
Then food and beer say £20 per day = £140
Race tickets say 60 euro per day or £100 ( was 50 euro's 2 when i went 2 years ago)
Track day cost say 150 euros or £110

So total budget would be about £900, plus new set of tyres when you get home and any costs in pre holiday bike set up.

Or do what a few of us did this year which was head for the Dolomites at the end of May - however we got snowed in at Switzerland and abandoned the bikes in a tunnel for the night.

Having orgainsed several large groups over to Europe and covering Spain to Itlay, and most bits in the middle there are some tips and hints which I ccan post up later.

Cheers

Chris
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SlowR1der
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Post by SlowR1der »

cheers guys for those suggestions, to be honest £900 is beyond my budget and would be quite hard to justify spending that on myself as things stand at the moment. Has anyone been over there on a budget of £400 ish?
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TLS-Moose
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Post by TLS-Moose »

GSXRsi wrote: Has anyone been over there on a budget of £400 ish?

Many times ........ but not in the last 15 years :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Post by ZX6R »

£400 thats is probable a weekend trip if it includes fuel, ferry and accomadation.

Dover Calsis ferry return is about £40 then it's a much riding as you like.

You can get as far down as Montilmar in one day (about 550 miles). Then there is a excellent peice of road out of Die to the Col Du Rossuet. It is well worth the effort to ride this road.
Then haed back to Calsis on slower more scenic route via the Black Forest.
Leave Thursday back late Sunday nightor earlier Monday morning, some 1,500 miles in 3/4 days.
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jason
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Post by jason »

even if you scrimp and save and <takes a deep breath> do the dreaded camping thing its getting harder to travel cheaply in Central Europe because the fuel prices are rising to UK levels, not only that the general cost of living is going up, France isnt as cheap as it used to be, the cost of beer and eating out edges ever closer to UK type pricing in alot of areas (and exceeds it substantially if you happen to stop in paris!)

As a starting point Id budget at £60/£70 odd fuel costs for every 500 mile.

we just paid £46 return for the ferry.

I would go for zx6rs take on £400 being a long weekend stint if your not camping.

presuming you want to go out and do things in the evening an average £100 a day I think is a reasonable budget for moving around europe - that includes everything, petrol, food, beer, accomodation, and any extra costs (like say the road charge at the Swiss border)

also bring a credit card with a good amount of room on it Just in case you get nabbed for speeding and clobbered with a dirty great fine. You do not want to be stuck without a means to pay.
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Post by Jonny »

ZX6R wrote:£400 thats is probable a weekend trip if it includes fuel, ferry and accomadation.
Friend of mine has just made it from totnes to spain starting with £350 in the bank.. anythings possible...

although he will have to get a job to get back home. :lol:
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Post by ZX6R »

Friend of mine has just made it from totnes to spain starting with £350 in the bank.. anythings possible...
Exactly, he got ONE way only not yet back.
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