Road trip through europe - car or bike?

Poll Poll Car or Bike?

  • Car

    Votes: 10 83.3%

  • Bike

    Votes: 2 16.7%
  • Total voters
    12
T

T2FFN

Senior member
 East Yorkshire
Well,

I'm supposed to go to a wedding in Bilbao in August with the girlfriend. Flights are £170 each, and to be honest, thats a lot of money for a weekend wedding of someone I dont know. To make it work for me, I propose taking the car (Z4) or bike (GSXR 600 K7) and making a real trip out of it, seeing the sights, Alps roads etc. For the wedding, our things could be taken for us by other people flying there, so thats sorted.

I think I would prefer to go on bike, minimal extras, maybe a just what fits in a back pack (Shorts, flip flops, wash stuff, couple tops etc) however its going to be 2000+ miles on a sports bike.

Other option, which would be far more expensive would be to take the car, but this would be more "relaxed" with top down rather than helmet on.

Bke Pro's:
Fun
Cheaper
Higher MPG
More about the route, roads and view

Bike Con's:
Comfort
Amount of stuff we can carry
Less relaxing, especially for pillion
Haven't spoken with insurance yet
I haven't ridden long, & haven't done that many miles on bike, unsure if its reliable for 2000+ miles in a week

Car Pro's:
Comfort
Luggage space
Flexible with weather
Reliable so far

Car Con's:
Higher cost to get on ferry
Higher fuel costs
Haven't spoken with insurance yet
Girlfriend is 21 so cannot (I wont let :poke: ) drive the car
More hassle to convert to car for foreign roads, french rules etc
No Spare wheel in car

Without being biased as its a Z4 forum, which would you do? (If you've never ridden a sports bike you may not understand how much fun it is :evil: :evil: )
 
I've had a long line of sports bikes including the GSXR600 so know where you're coming from but there would be only 3 scenarios that would allow me to go on the bike.

1. I was going to the wedding on my own.
2. I wanted to lose the girlfriend - probably litteraly!
3. I was a selfish b45t4rd.

It's no fun sitting on the back of a sports bike for 2000 miles. If I asked my wife to even sit on the back of one now she would tell me where to go, and it wouldn't be to Spain on the bike. :rofl:
 
i would go in the car, you will be more relaxed when you get to the wedding, also what ever you are wearing will not be all screwed up
 
Option 3 - campervan :P

Although in the absence of that, I reckon the Z4 is perfectly matched for long journeys. Take it.
 
Hmm, we need more pro-bike votes! :fuelfire:

I'm more keen on taking the bike, and did say I could meet her at the wedding, then she only has to come back on the back, via a few nice places to see. She wants to do the whole thing, although, in her defence, she has never been on the back of my bike, so I guess time will tell. Maybe a few hours on the back in this country, see how much she enjoys it first :evil:

Part of me thinks taking the car would be great, but I know if its glorious weather with amazing scenery, I'd hanker for the bike. Its something to do with less comforts, less extras, less b*llSh%t on a bike, you're there to enjoy it and you are so much more involved.

I try to make non-biking friends understand with this analogy:
Every journey in a car is a journey, you can have a coffee and chat and before you know it you're there. Every journey on a bike is an experience. No extras, no coffees, just you and the bike. (often with music as the two-brothers race can makes me deaf! Going back to OEM for MOT! The MOT tester laughed at it, said find a deaf tester or change the can!!)

Part of me also thinks it would cost a lot more in car, chunnel, ferry, fuel etc will all be higher. (Yes, driving the Z4 quickly will use more fuel than riding the bike quickly)
 
i have a touring bike and even i would have to think about putting someone through the pain of sitting on the back for 2000 miles..... I would take her for a long rides and see how she gets on...... having had loads of sports bikes i know how uncomfortable they can be, i gave up my fireblade as the pressure on the arms made it too uncomfortable to ride for anything over 20 minutes,, hence the change to the r1200gs just my thoughts....

Dump her
sod the wedding
but still go for the trip :evil:
 
If your partner hasn't been on the back of the bike yet, that's first thing you need to test out, if she hates it then there's no dilemma! And if she does like it, gonna be expensive to kit her out in proper gear, boots, leathers, helmet, etc etc. So might not be that cheap!

Having been pillion on numerous European bike trips (including going to Greece and back twice, once on RST1000 and once on ZX9R) and convertible cars (MR2, SK2) I've got to say I loved being a pillion most of the time, but it is bloody miserable when the weather is cold / rainy etc. Plus the bike is more restricting for going places once you're there. Where-ever you go, you've got to have your leathers/protective gear on and helmet on, which means you've got to cart the helmet round with you every where, carry your jacket etc etc.

P1010006.jpg Photo taken on the ferry from Venice to Greece.

For me, it would be the Z4 (just as well really as we're doing Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland in it in a couple of months :driving: )

RACH
 
On a nice day a Z with roof down is a 100 times better than a bike with a helmet on, and if it's not so nice weather wise there is no competition 8)
Z wins hands down :driving:
 
richie.b said:
On a nice day a Z with roof down is a 100 times better than a bike with a helmet on, and if it's not so nice weather wise there is no competition 8)
Z wins hands down :driving:
Click to expand...

Spoken like a true non-biker :poke:
 
rhodesey35iM said:
If your partner hasn't been on the back of the bike yet, that's first thing you need to test out, if she hates it then there's no dilemma! And if she does like it, gonna be expensive to kit her out in proper gear, boots, leathers, helmet, etc etc. So might not be that cheap!

Having been pillion on numerous European bike trips (including going to Greece and back twice, once on RST1000 and once on ZX9R) and convertible cars (MR2, SK2) I've got to say I loved being a pillion most of the time, but it is bloody miserable when the weather is cold / rainy etc. Plus the bike is more restricting for going places once you're there. Where-ever you go, you've got to have your leathers/protective gear on and helmet on, which means you've got to cart the helmet round with you every where, carry your jacket etc etc.

P1010006.jpg Photo taken on the ferry from Venice to Greece.

For me, it would be the Z4 (just as well really as we're doing Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland in it in a couple of months :driving: )

RACH
Click to expand...

Some very good comments there, someting for me to think about. I wasn't thinking about doing much apart from crusing and seeing the sights 8)

Thanks for your input Rach. :thumbsup:

Option 3: Put a trailer on the Z4 and take both! :evil: :evil:
 
Done a couple of European camping trips on very practical bikes (ZXR750L1, 916 and a ZX7R) as far as Barcelona and Rimini. The last one was only to Le Mans for the MotoGP several years ago and the good lady was in tears literally on the back of the ZX7R.

If I was on my own take the bike and like you say travel as light as you can the, however going by your geographical knowledge I'd fly :poke: .
Pretty sure if you cross the Alps you are taking a very long route Bilbao. Personally I'd try a blast over the Pryenees through Andorra.

I would offer IMO if you want to have a relationship with your girlfriend afterwards take the Zed.

You could probably get away with a larger sportsbike but my guess is the back of a GSXR600 is just going to be to cramped for any length of time.

But as others have said, get the GF out the bike now! Not just for 1/2 hour, I would say you need to do at least one tank of fuel without stopping just to let you both get a feel of it.

Whichever way you choose it'll be a great trip and most of all have FUN.
 
RichardG said:
If I was on my own take the bike and like you say travel as light as you can the, however going by your geographical knowledge I'd fly :poke: .
Pretty sure if you cross the Alps you are taking a very long route Bilbao. Personally I'd try a blast over the Pryenees through Andorra.
Click to expand...

Bilbao is just one stopping point, if I'm going all that way I will ensure to go through Monaco, Venice and through some of the alps. Think of it as a Top Gear challenge to find some amazing sights and roads :evil:
 
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