We have more or less decided that we want one. A second motorbike. Used. (Even) more comfortable in the mountains, i.e. steering through the hairpins even easier than our RT. Did I mention ‘used’?

We’ve thought about this long and hard and come to the conclusion that I (specifically) would just LOVE to have a GS-ish sort of motorbike in the mountains, but that WE do NOT want to give up our trusty 1150RT. And we’re certainly not rich in any way, so getting a new bike – first or second – in this current economic climate will be totally out of the question. For the rest of our life, by the looks of it. So there.

So I like the better handling. We also like NOT having to bring the RT on a trailer, and back. And it would be nice to have a second bike for visitors, just in case. All of this before I’m too old to enjoy it ! Damn the torpedoes!

A friend of mine has a beautiful 1200GS, but he’s too expensive. And that got me looking around, in Netherlands and in France, at other BMW’s, but also at Suzuki, KTM and even Honda. There are the BMW F650 GS Dakar, the F800GS, but also V-Strom, KTM 950 and a bunch of less-frequently offered ‘off-roads’.

Oh, and no, we’re NOT going off-road. I just like the way these bikes handle in the twisties and with less distance and less bad weather to cover. For a quick trip to Frankfurt, Hannover, Normandy or Duesseldorf the 1150RT will remain the ideal weapon of choice!

So, no idea what will happen ultimately, but hopefully we will not be trailering the RT to France this Summer !

Next week Thursday, February 23rd, we’ll be at the national motorcycle show in Utrecht, The Netherlands. As visitors, mind you, because paying for a booth there is not feasible for our little outfit. But we like meeting our ‘Internet Acquaintances’ and of course we love to see all the latest chrome!

Maybe See You There !

I am happy to tell you that Nina and I have joined the group of ‘testers’ for Fred, the owner of Motorrad-tourer, and we’ll very likely be looking at some hotels this Summer that we KNOW are good to riders. If those hotels and other places want to join the ‘certification process’, we’ll be happy to recommend them to you.

Meanwhile, you’ll also want to browse Fred’s site regularly. He has a wealth of information in his database and it is growing daily!

This is so funny, I simply had to share it here. Nothing to do with our riding directly, but for sure one of the many things that is hampering our sheer pleasure of freedom on the roads are the darned Cash Cows that they so conceivingly call Security Cameras in England!

They are everywhere in France too (and in Holland), but there at least you’d get a warning sign before one. I hear that THAT is going to change as well. Maybe this guy was protesting against that? Have fun…..

Radar (Rémi Gaillard) door nqtv

Check the Normandy tour here.

One of the most famous passes for motorcyclists in Europe is the Stelvio. So I thought to have this nice video up here to celebrate the New Year and hoping for the passes to open up again in a few months from now!

We’re back from a very busy Summer and Fall. We spent time riding in France, the Alps and the Côte d’Azur this year. And we had our special adventure in the Italian Dolomites, trying to get a new rear tire and hurting the car in the process. Much stress ! But a few good rides on the awesome Dolomiti passes too….. and outside the main season again, so nice and quiet !

Upon return Nina and I acted as the Dedicated Reporters on the yearly Schipper Tour, shooting pictures of it, and enjoying a day’s ride with our old riding school and some of its ex-students!

We then ‘had’ to travel to Paris to attend the Mondial de Simulation (the big (flight) simulation event at Le Bourget) for my main line of work, which is publishing Flight Simulator add-ons.
Then I had another one of such shows, but now in The Netherlands. And right after that we left (on a plane) for Italy to assist in the olives harvest at our friends’ place in Umbria, witnessed the olive oil pressing process, visited Rome and had way too much to eat.

Through all of this I tested the Contour HD helmet camera, found it to be faulty, and only just now had it replaced with a good one. So I’ll HAVE to do all those passes again next year !!!

Winter still isn’t upon us, so I rode the bike to Lelystad yesterday on yet one of my other activities; being volunteer at the Aviodrome, our national aviation museum. Bit cold, but good riding.
Next step will be to get a Michelin Pilot Road 3 on the front tire too, to join the one on the rear.
After that we’ll see what riding will be done this winter !

Last but not least I am adding new links again to the site. I’d like top present Ride-on MotorTours here, the company of Dafne and Bob de Jong, specializing in some wild touring all over the world. You can find their website here, and I’ve also added it to the ‘Links’ page underneath our Partner page !

More news when we have it, and I am sure I’ll add some stuff about the winter road conditions when the time comes !

WHY we keep coming back to this part of Italy, just south of the Austrian border ? Check out this short video clip on YouTube and maybe you’ll understand…..