Touring on a motorcycle is a great way to spend a holiday, whether it’s in the UK, Europe or more distant destinations. You get to see new places from a different perspective and at your own pace. But to make it into the adventure you’re hoping for takes a great deal of thought and planning. Heading off without preparation could be a recipe for disaster.

Get Yourself Bike Fit

You just get on the bike and go…right? If you’re a weekend biker or you mainly use the bike for the daily commute you’ll be comfortable and familiar with it. But you’re probably not used to spending hours in the saddle for several days in a row and the long periods of concentration that entails on unfamiliar roads. If possible, plan a few long weekend rides in the weeks before your holiday to help prepare your mind and body.

Work Out Your Budget

Depending on how much you want to spend there are a number of considerations to take into account when planning your touring holiday. Accommodation is a major factor and choosing to stay in hotels, hostels or on camp sites, or even a combination of these options depends on the flexibility of your budget. Wild camping is permitted in some Continental countries and under certain conditions in the UK. That can really help to keep the costs down.

Sometimes it’s good to be able to take advantage of some local knowledge and there are a variety of guided tours available. Some include accommodation and meals, luggage storage and carriage the use of a hire bike or take your own, off-road or highway.

Prepare Your Bike

Your bike’s going to be put through its paces on a one or two-week (or more) touring holiday so it needs to be fit for purpose. Servicing should be up to date and if there are any little jobs you’ve been meaning to do, they should be done before you go. Any little niggles which you’ve put up with might drive you nuts on a long trip.

Put together a small toolkit for running repairs, adjustments and basic maintenance. When touring, a multitool, cable ties, duct tape, superglue and bungee cords can all come in useful. You won’t have room for many spares, but in some countries it’s compulsory to carry a set of spare bulbs. If you’re using your R1200GS the linked braking can cause premature wear to the rear pads, so you might want to carry a set. A puncture can bring your tour to a quick stop and a repair kit and a gas inflator can be a godsend in isolated spots to enable you to get to the next town. Losing or damaging your key while you’re far from home can be a nightmare and keeping a spare somewhere safe is advisable.

In case of a breakdown in Europe, you can download translation sheets for the countries you will be travelling through which provide the most important words and phrases you might need to communicate with a mechanic.

Route Planning

You should have an itinerary and a rough idea of your daily goals, especially if you’re booking accommodation in advance. If you’re travelling in a group you need to discuss your objectives in advance to save arguments later. However, you’re on holiday and you want to enjoy it, so you don’t have to be too rigid and overstretch yourself. Aim to be at your next destination with enough time to explore. In case you find a place en route that you want to spend more time in, build a bit of flexibility into your schedule. If you intend to find accommodation as you go, you can often get a cheaper deal online than when you walk in. Download a couple of hotel booking apps on your phone and check the deals before you arrive.

Try not to be over reliant on GPS and take maps of the areas you’ll be passing through. Guides written by bikers who’ve done the trip can provide some great information and could mean not missing out on some secret locations.

Make sure you know the rules of the road in the countries you are visiting. A hefty on-the-spot fine for a traffic offence can throw your budget out of the window!

Travel Light

It’s always easy to pack too much which doesn’t really matter on a regular type of holiday, but when you’re touring you should aim to carry the bare minimum. Of course, it’s most important to have the right riding gear for the conditions. Bear in mind that even in a hot country, if you pass through a mountainous region it can be a lot colder than you might expect. Take a few changes of shorts, T-shirts, underwear and stuff for the evenings. When planning your route, look for places that have laundry facilities.

Travelling Solo

Hitting the road on your own can be very liberating with the freedom of the road and nobody to answer to, but you should take some precautions. Let a friend or family member know your rough itinerary and check in with them every day, either by phone, email or social media. If you don’t get in touch they’ll know roughly where you should be if they have to alert the authorities. Carry ICE (in case of emergency) information in case you are involved in an accident and unable to talk. ICEtags are a great idea and have information on who to contact, medical conditions, allergies, etc.

Safety

It’s easy to relax on holiday but you should take the same safety precautions as you would at home. In some ways you have to be extra vigilant when travelling on unfamiliar roads. In the unfortunate event that you have a motorcycle accident where another road user is at fault, you might be able to make a claim. In the UK you can consult an accident claims solicitor to find out how to make a motorbike accident claim. The procedure may be different in other countries.