Planning a motorcycle trip

Most of us dream of a long trip on 2 wheels, somewhere far away, in a place with spectacular landscapes and twisted roads, except that most of the time we stop only in the dream or planning phase, fearing the potential problems we may have on the way. This is exactly how I was thinking until the day I took the decision and said I should try. I planned the trip as much as I could and found that things are not as complicated as they seem. So, over the next few years, I made several tours of more than 5000 km, I crossed Europe several times, getting to travel over 10,000Km in one trip on a Honda Hornet in a few weeks.

We will share with you what we have learned from these experiences:

Don’t take a very strict route.

It is best to set some points of interest that you need to reach and be flexible. Often you will discover on the spot that there are better or more picturesque routes that you can follow. Or on the contrary, you will see that some places are not as interesting as you would expect and you will find that you have extra time to go on other routes.

Just take the luggage you need.

If you have not gone on long trips with your motorcycle you will tend to get a lot of luggage for any eventuality. You will consider taking a tent in the eventuality that you will not find any accommodation or you get as many tools for the possibility that the motorcycle will break. In reality, you will find that if you do not go somewhere in the desert, you will actually need only a few things. If you are not the type to stay in the tent, you will see that you will probably stay at the tent for one or two nights, otherwise you will prefer the comfort of a bed, especially since after a tiring day on the motorbike you will not be happy to set up the tent or especially if it has rained and you are wet, the thought of staying in the tent, in the cold, will no longer be appealing. Then chances are your bike will be damaged and you can fix it with the tools that you have in the luggage, are quite small, so you better just get a kit for repairing a tyre and everything you need to grease the chain and that’s it. You will not be in the middle of the desert so you can call a local service.

Another mistake is to get lots of spare clothes and especially thick clothes. Think about the fact that the thick clothes you need are actually, the motorcycle equipment, and you will be wearing it all day long so you won’t need any more. Plus, it’s much more convenient to have a little luggage because you don’t waste time every day with packing and unpacking.

Take your time.

When planning a longer tour, it is good to leave more time for some unforeseen reasons. For example, on the way to Nordkapp, we had a ferry reservation between Tallinn and needed 3 days to get there. We decided to leave a day earlier. This was a good decision because at the border between Ukraine and Poland we ran into a strike and the border was closed for a day. So the extra day was very useful as it did not ruined our plans, we got in time to the ferry. It is good to have spare time and in many other situations, you may like a place and want to stay a bit more there or you may want to change the route a little, it is especially good for the psychic, you will be much more relaxed and if you will not use the spare time on the route, when you get home after a very long journey, it is so good to have another day or two to relax.

Choose your road partners carefully

It’s very nice to go in a group with other motorcycles, to have with whom to share your travel experiences, to spend the evening drinking a beer after a tiring day on the road. But in order to have a successful experience on your trip, it is important to get acquainted with the ones you are going with, to go with them on shorter trips, to see if you are compatible. There are some motorcyclists who can’t ride at the same pace as you, want to stop a lot more often or don’t stop at all. Some go very sporty others very slow. Or you may have problems if you do not have the same budget for accommodation and food because then you will not get along when you will have to decide where to stop to eat or where to stay. If you are not on the same frequency, you will find that there is no pleasure in going in the group and there are high chances of having unpleasant discussions that can ruin your entire trip.

Keep a reserve of money

No matter how well you plan your trip, there are always unexpected things on the road: a fine, a malfunction, a gift for someone at home, anything. And rather than being stressed and counting every penny to have enough you for the rest of the trip, it’s better to reserve an amount of money for such an unforeseen event. And if you are lucky enough not to spend them on the road, when you will get home, it will be just as good because everyone knows that after a longer vacation you usually run out of money.

Don’t book any accommodation

A reservation for accommodation often means a paid advance and a conditional payment during the trip. And this translates into additional stress, you have to get to that place because otherwise you will lose some money. What I recommend, or at least that’s what I did and I found it excellent, is to go at your own pace, to stop where you like and when you like, and somewhere in the middle of the day or a few hours before you stop, to you look at a booking site (Booking or Airbnb) and book something where you decided to stop that night. So that you don’t waste your time actually searching on the spot. If you go with the tent it is a bit more complicated because there aren’t so many campsites, so I marked on the map from the beginning all the campsites on the route and from the surroundings and I stopped at one of them depending on what distance I was traveling that day.

Don’t hesitate to leave alone

I have heard many people say that they would not go alone on a trip in any case, and especially on a motor trip. Because if something happens, if the motorcycle gets damaged, if I don’t know what, there will be someone there to help. All these things can happen anyway even if you have more friends. This is how I was thinking a few years ago until I decided to go from Bucharest to Paris and I couldn’t find anyone to go with me. In this trip, I discovered that it is the most relaxing thing you can do: to travel alone! You stop when you want, go as you want, visit what you want, stay where you want … it is the feeling of complete freedom. And if you really miss socializing, there are now so many ways to communicate that there really is no problem.

In conclusion, I think that if you want to have a successful trip you will need to prepare your motorcycle as best as possible, to plan everything that can be planned from the beginning, to take all precautions and then when you go on the road to relax, to leave everything to chance and to enjoy every moment without stressing that you have not arrived in a certain place in a certain time or that you have to hurry because you do not have time… It must be all organized but with maximum flexibility..