Cars & Motorbikes Riding a motorcycle overseas

Here is an idea for you to ponder. Would anyone here (the extreme types among us) travel around Europe/UK for 7-8 weeks on their road bike. The current cost to have it shipped to Spain or UK is about $4000.In preliminary research, I think it would cost about the same to hire a car for the same period, or hire at individual locations while getting between cities on trains or buses x 2 adults?

We already know not to take a classic bike into some places as they would be stolen.

 

Is $4k the one way shipping cost? Or return?

Depend on the exchange rate vehicles in the UK are way cheaper than in oz. not sure about motor bikes, but not hard to find out.
Why not look to buy one, ride it, then import it?
For 8weeks probably not worth buying, then trying to re-sell.

Alternatively motor bikes rent for about $100-150/day in the Uk.

For 8weeks the bike rental is about $10k (so depending on your answer above it could be about the same cost - or at least only slightly more).

I know there are companies who do entire travel plans for renting a bike and organizing your whole itinerary including hotels along the way through EU (mostly Spain but others also).

Blacky

 

Cheaper to buy one when overseas.
I bought an Audi S6 Quattro drove it for 14,700kms in the USA in 6 weeks then put it on eBay and only lost $2k. Plus I had the time of my life in this supercar.

 

And why Europe?
Why not do the Silk Road by bike?

Silk Road - Wikipedia

Way more fun than Europe highways

 

A quick Google and 2 month unlimited rail pass is $1500 US

Time to start boxing up the bike for shipping imho

Work mates shipped bikes to US and had a great time.

 

$4000 return.

I have wanted to go to Italy and UK since I was a child. Silk Road would be nice but Italia is essential, Espana too. Some of our friends will be attending
L'Anniversaria Motoguzzi alla Mandello del Lario (Open House) in 2021.

To hire a Cali in Italy for 14 days is 1260 Euro plus .30 per km, or 510 euro for 5 days plus .30 /km.

16 day car hire in UK is say 640 gbp plus plus plus

 

I recently follow someone Instagram on around the world trip on a four wheel drive.

He started his trip in 2014, currently he has travelled 60 different countries.

It’s an amazing story. Here is the link.
@happygoluckyexpedition • Instagram photos and videos

@Car tart as a fellow car enthusiast, I wonder if you know him.

 

No but I have 8 mates in 4 cars racing in the Peking to Paris Rally this year. Two Volvos, an MGB and a P76.

 

For longer trips buying is the way to go. Flew into Frankfurt once, bought a combi van at a public car market, and sold it for a profit 2 months and 10,000 km later.

Depends where you go though, had 2 motorbikes in London, both got stolen (strangely on exactly the same date a year apart).

Car and bike rental cheap in Spain but often restrictions on cross border travel. Did 300km around Mallorca on a moped for 30 euro a day. A cheap Korean cruiser on the Costa Brava was 40 a day, 15 years ago though.

 

If you take your own bike, you will also have to arrange insurance to cover you while overseas, both for damage and third party liability.

Check out the cost for this, as well as any other legal issues.
Marg

 

Keep searching.
We rented ours in itali for about 100euros/day (6days) all fully insured with unlimited kms

We drove Italy, France Switzerland, Austria back to Italy.
The whole way commenting that to do it on a bike would be a lot of fun, Albiet cold at times (driving through the alps).

Blacky

 

You did all that in 6 days!

Looking again this morning I really dont want the hassle and the risk of taking our own bike. Maybe the speed limits on the back roads are so low that we will be fine on a scooter or something much smaller than a Cali!

15 days train /2 months eurail is 1058 euros for two seniors.
1700 E = aud 2570. Much better than shipping

 

Depending on the bikes you're into, you can pick up something cheaply over in the UK and even if you lose a few hundred quid on the selling price, it's still better off then paying $4k for shipping.

Option 2, buy something older and cheap, strip it and send it back as parts. Guessing you're into Guzzi's - you can pick up a mid 2000's Breva for around 1500 quid - spend a day ripping it to bits, 3-400 quid on shipping and you've enough spares to almost make your money back in Oz.

Only thing is that insurance in the UK is a killer, especially if you don't have a UK/EU licence. Hiring might be your best option.

What bike club(s) are you in? We have a reciprocal system where members can borrow another member's bike to ride in another country - mostly on a rally/run etc, but this could be an option too?