I want to know everything about riding in Germany

[birkdale10]

And, with a title like that, I'm sure to get a lot of responses.

I have a yen to go for a long ride in Europe.  I have relatives (1st cousin) near Dresden, and could spend some time with them.  And ride all over the place.  Switzerland, Austria, Italy...

I did a few vague searches, and there are plenty of tour companies with bikes.  But...is it me?...they seem to be rather expensive.  Just the bike is $130 a day.  For 3 weeks or so, that's pushing 3 grand.

Does anyone have any experience in European tours?  Suggestions on where to do better searches?

A thought...buying a bike...riding it for a month...put 6 to 8 thousand miles on it...and sell it.  Anyone want to give me some pros and cons?

 

[FJRay]

PM SkooterG  He has a FJR stashed in Europe somewhere.  Maybe you can make a deal.

 

[Pterodactyl]

I lived in Germany for six years.  Great place to ride.  
 

Try Stefan Knopf in Heidelberg.  He rents bikes, stores bikes for many on this side of the world and organizes tours.  He sometimes attends the BMW national rally and puts on seminars.  I think you will get the best deal available from him.  

https://www.knopftours.com/Web-Site/Hello.html

 

[SacramentoMike]

I can't compare different ways to do this, but I'll tell you about my one European bike trip.  It was an Edelweiss tour from Munich through the Alps down into Italy in 2013 with a dozen or so riders from here and the Arizona BMW guys and it was great.  I know there are cheaper ways to tour Europe than this because you're paying for expertise and service, but I thought it was well worth it.  For me, it was most probably a once in a lifetime kind of trip, so why not make it super memorable?  We were lucky to have a very compatible and well-matched group of riders and almost perfect weather, but the rest of it was all planned out and set up perfectly by the tour company.  You get some control over costs by your choice of bikes and rooming options (I went for a solo room.  No sense ruining somebody else's trip with my snoring).  Every night, after a day full of incredible roads--most of which you couldn't possibly stumble across on your own--we came to our hotel (always very nice hotels too) where dinner and the next day's breakfast were included.  I'm glad I did it this way.  Looking back, I remember the trip and the experience a lot more clearly than I remember the bill.

 

[Mossyrocks13k]

And, with a title like that, I'm sure to get a lot of responses.

I have a yen to go for a long ride in Europe.  I have relatives (1st cousin) near Dresden, and could spend some time with them.  And ride all over the place.  Switzerland, Austria, Italy...

I did a few vague searches, and there are plenty of tour companies with bikes.  But...is it me?...they seem to be rather expensive.  Just the bike is $130 a day.  For 3 weeks or so, that's pushing 3 grand.

Does anyone have any experience in European tours?  Suggestions on where to do better searches?

A thought...buying a bike...riding it for a month...put 6 to 8 thousand miles on it...and sell it.  Anyone want to give me some pros and cons?

Go over to Sport-Touring.net and check out Mrs DantesDame posts.  She moved acoss the pond a few years back and post some beautiful ride reports.

Her profile: https://www.sport-touring.net/forums/index.php?action=profile;u=33

or check her Website www.dantesdame.com

 

[SkooterG]

I spent 2 months riding in Europe this past summer.  It didn't suck.  I had to make the same decision you had to make.  Since my trip was so much longer, it was easier decision to make.

I shipped my bike over.  It cost me $1,400 to ship it by container to Frankfurt where Stefan Knopf handled everything for me.  I can't recommend him highly enough.  I had to have my FJR to the shippers in April in Long Beach, CA, and then flew home to Phoenix.  He also does one container out of Florida in the spring.  Stefan would then fly the bike back to Phoenix for $2,500.  $3,900 ain't cheap.  But a hell of a lot cheaper than renting for two months.  I thought rentals were more like $160/day.  At least for the type of bike I wanted (R1200GS) with a GPS.  For me, break even point renting vs. shipping my own was about 3 1/2 to 4 weeks.  As I said, for a two month trip, an easy decision. 

BUT!!!!!  Stefan gives you another option!  To store it with him!  For only $400/yr.  So I left it there and will most likely keep it there for several years.  It does help that I have 5 bikes, and 3 FJRs......   Now one of the major expenses of my next trip is taken care of.  I'll most likely go back this summer for approximately 10 days to two weeks.

I briefly considered buying a bike there, but decided that wasn't for me.  It is probably the most cost effective way of doing it if done right.  I didn't want unknowns.  This was a once in a lifetime trip for me and my SO, and I didn't want to take a chance on an unknown bike.  Would it be comfortable?  Would it be reliable?  What about necessary farkles?  By using my own FJR, I knew the  bike well.  That it was reliable. That it was farkled just the way I want it.  The the hassle of buying/selling a bike in another country?  Maybe not a big deal.  I don't know, and I didn't want to find out.  One nice benefit of having my own FJR over there with Arizona plates on it was not having to worry about speed cameras!  They are everywhere.  And they hide them!  But they don't get USA plates.  Yay!  That saved me a lot of worrying.  Of course that didn't stop me from having some one on one time with some fine LEOs in Spain in their unmarked patrol car.  But that's another story.....  Other options to shipping your own bike are to fly it there.  Air Canada and I believe Lufthansa are the two options, but have their own hassles too.  I know others who have done that.

There are advantages and disadvantages to all three options.  Shipping a bike, while not necessarily cheap, was the best option for me.  Definitely check out Stefan Knopf's website.  Lots of good information there.  Not only does he rent some bikes - primarily older BMW K75s I believe, but he might have some bikes for sale on his website.  Sometimes folks would just rather sell them than ship them home.

The tours are really expensive.  I am sure you get some value out of it, but not how I wanted to spend my money.  Being there for two months, we traveled to 13 countries and I wanted flexibility and to save money where I could.  If like above you are only going for a once in a lifetime, or once in decade trip for a week or two, then I could see maybe booking a tour.  But then you are on their itinerary, and riding with other folks.  Which can be good.  Or bad.  I've read about both.

One way or another, just make sure you do it.  It really is a great place to ride.  I can't wait to go back.

 

[Mortenk]

I don't want to sound negative, but is there a special reason for Germany? Other than being able to ride a lot faster legally (this is getting harder and harder with increased traffic on the autobahn), I don't see any riding benefits compared to select places in US. Austria and Switzerland are really nice and offer spectacular rides - but so does the West Coast and PNW.

I was born in Northern Europe and rode my bikes all over Europe for almost ten years. Germany was a necessary evil in order to get to Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, France, etc. But I never really enjoyed Germany as I simply rode the autobahn to get to my destination as quickly as possible (we pushed 200 kph (120 mph) for hours at a time). I'm sure smaller roads are much nicer - but then we are back to the question: does it offer anything you can't find within the US?

I have lived in PNW for seven years, and I would argue that we have just as nice (if not nicer) roads for motorcycle riding in this region. BC, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado - they all offer superb roads for riding and scenery that in most cases beats Europe - all much closer and more convenient than riding across Europe.

Now, if you are into the cultural experience I totally get it - Europe is very different than US. I love visiting Europe, but I would never consider going through a lot of trouble and expense to ride a motorcycle there...been there, done that. When it comes to motorcycle riding, you can't beat the PNW IMO.

 

[Pterodactyl]

I don't want to sound negative, but is there a special reason for Germany? Other than being able to ride a lot faster legally (this is getting harder and harder with increased traffic on the autobahn), I don't see any riding benefits compared to select places in US. Austria and Switzerland are really nice and offer spectacular rides - but so does the West Coast and PNW.

I was born in Northern Europe and rode my bikes all over Europe for almost ten years. Germany was a necessary evil in order to get to Italy, Greece, Spain, Portugal, France, etc. But I never really enjoyed Germany as I simply rode the autobahn to get to my destination as quickly as possible (we pushed 200 kph (120 mph) for hours at a time). I'm sure smaller roads are much nicer - but then we are back to the question: does it offer anything you can't find within the US?

I have lived in PNW for seven years, and I would argue that we have just as nice (if not nicer) roads for motorcycle riding in this region. BC, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, and Colorado - they all offer superb roads for riding and scenery that in most cases beats Europe - all much closer and more convenient than riding across Europe.

Now, if you are into the cultural experience I totally get it - Europe is very different than US. I love visiting Europe, but I would never consider going through a lot of trouble and expense to ride a motorcycle there...been there, done that. When it comes to motorcycle riding, you can't beat the PNW IMO.

It is, of course, a case of perspective, experience and desire that forms one's opinion on a topic such as this.  I loved riding in Germany, particularly Bavaria. Were I to go back to Europe, then Germany would be a part of my trip, but I agree that limiting oneself to Germany would be a mistake.  

 

[bigjohnsd]

Looking back, I remember the trip and the experience a lot more clearly than I remember the bill.

A M E N !!!!!!