Taking my monster to france

[bigredduke]

Just talking to a colleage at work about hols & he asked if I was taking my new baby whch got me thinking............

One the one hand , it's a family holiday in france near the spanish border. on the other hand, we've already booked a trailer on the ferry to bring lots of lovely vino back, so it could be swapped to a MOTORCYCLE TRAILER!!! :rolleyes: very easily. just the thought of riding around the country roads and into the Pyrenees........ Anyone out there done a similar thing? Is it a good idea to keep a cover on the bike whilst towing or would it flap around too much?

[AndyG]

Never been to france with a bike but have towed bikes for several 1000's of miles. Depends on the bike and trailer but I dont cover for as you suggest the flapping around would be a problem (and seen bikes marked by the rubbing). If you use tie downs with spring retaining clips, also add rope and tie down, do not count just on the spring. You probably know all this but I tie down the front and rear, again one can come loose, make sure the bike has no loose parts, mirrors can unwind. For long trips I block of the exhausts to prevent rain entering, compress the suspension as much as possible, front and rear, at high speed even slight bumps result in the bike moving about a lot.

Guess you know all this, take the bike and have a great time, its something I have always wanted to do but have not yet had the opportunity.

[slob]

I've always put a bungee round the front brake lever/twistgrip when transporting bikes, to stop the wheel from trying to roll.

[spacemonkey]

Or get a re-usable cable tie and strap that around the brake lever/throttle grip.

Anyway, unless you're tripping into Spain what's the point of buying a trailer full of vino? French stuff down there is vastly overrated (bit of a case of Emperor's new clothes syndrome, if you ask me...) and if it's cheap it wont last long. You wont get through a trailer load of if before it turns back to french ****, unless you have a ghastly wedding to do or are gonna flog it on the high street with the Lithuanian ciggy sellers. Nope, it's Spanish stuff you want! Catalan Cava is mucho better than champers; exactly the same taste but a tenth of the price. I pay about £2 a bottle and can drink it til the cows come home. The 50 cent vino is drinkable, but turns to battery acid after a couple of months. It's a drinking wine not a storing wine. The 3 euro stuff is mucho better.Oh yes... Oh, and you should ride the bike around the Pyrennees. Not to be missed, especially a trip into Andorra, where grog is even cheaper, but the customs check every vehicle out for exceeding the pitiful limits. Still, you can get 2 bottles of 80% absinthe no probs for a tenner...