Adventure Bike Rider Forum

Hi All .. thanks for the help ref F800GS off roady tyres.. Fitted and look great so great advice.

I'm asking this as I'm a EU bike virgin and looking to do Plymouth to West coast of France. La Rochelle/ Bordeux/Pyrenees /etc etc and towards Mont Blanc in May 17.

What extra equipment would you carry on the bike (apart from camping gear) etc??

reflective vest for you and pillion if taking one, bulb kit and small first aid kit.Bikes tool kit needs checking, but no need to go over board, because if you need anything you can get it there.

Breakdown insurance
Health insurance
Credit card
Relaxed attitude
Enjoy (thumbs)

gspod wrote:Breakdown insurance
Health insurance
Credit card
Relaxed attitude
Enjoy (thumbs)

...That's about it I'd say, travel light, it's Western Europe ffs not Mongolia (thumbs)

Bike documents, phone charger, credit/debit card.

Some sort of MAP or Navigation back up and any spare chargers and batteries. Even if its a free offline Sat Nav app for the phone its worth having.
Archies camping on the Sat Nav for campsites etc.

A realistic route distance with plenty of spare time its not a race and its a holiday. (thumbs)

Oh and a tarp! ...excellent as a shelter if you need to fix the bike in the rain or hot sun plus great for a cover when camping if the tent leaks. Once of the best bits of kits I have bought for sure

EHIC card (while you still can )

Breakdown Cover.I was a bit grudging of paying out £79 for QDOS European cover before I went in the summer but after I came off my bike it was money well spent.Recovered,replacement clutch lever,over night stay in a hotel in Ijmuiden after I missed the ferry and a re-booked ferry the next day all paid for.Next time I'll be taking spare levers as well though!

best take a smile and find your happy place , its only france for god sake. you will notice they have shops and you can buy things. dont take anything you dont go out with everyday

A spare pair of glasses if you wear them.
Vehicle documents should be carried on the bike and not left in the hotel.
Ability to pay for fuel at unmanned petrol stations ie: at least 1 (fee free card) Halifax clarity, Santander Zero etc, and some cash in case your card doesn't work, just wave €10-€20 at anyone local who pulls up to fill in a car, fill up and pay them and they pay on their card.
Only carry tools if you know how to fix the bike, otherwise just carry a basic tool kit and puncture outfit (worms, plugs, patches and a pump).
Hiviz should be carried on the bike and used if you breakdown at the side of the road.
Learn what the dreaded "priorite a droite" means, before you go so you don't get taken out by some granny bimbling sound in her mini car.

If your going to use the French autoroutes learn how to use the peage on a motorcycle before you go, there's several videos on YouTube explaining how.
Your not allowed [strike]suposed[/strike] to fix your bike at the side of the road while your broken down on a French autoroute.
*Tin hat time....... consider getting yourself a toll tag for for the autoroutes, there are many companies who make these available inc:,
Sanef tolling (uk) https://www.saneftolling.co.uk (not the cheapest but uk customer services)
APRR (France) (http://m.aprr.fr)
bip & drive* (this one covers France Spain & Portugal and I think Italy) https://canalaltas.bipdrive.com/en/paso1a/
*This may not be available to some members due to the requirement to hold local tax / fiscal ID number (CIF, NIE, NIF)

TBH unless your planning several trips a year on the autoroutes of France you might not need a toll tag especially if you have a fee free card, if you don't have a fee free card the multiple transaction charges soon stack up for simple €5+ tolls every 10-20 kms, but IF you do get a toll tag link the account payment to a fee free credit card to settle the bill. Then you'll only pay for what you've used + €2.50 admin fee per month. You should only pay for the months you use it, but check the T's & C's as some toll companies charge an annual fee. Some toll companies will give you discounts if you use Tesco club card points, some give discounts on the channel tunnel etc etc so check the details before signing up. As previously stated there are many different companies, many prefer Saneftolling as they like the reassurance of having an English speaking Uk based customer service. Myself I use APRR but the website is in French and so is the customer services. I may in future consider a bip and drive tag for multi country use as I have a NIF number