MMM yep,
Planing a trip with a mate at the end of may (well ferry booked already) for the F1 Monaco, but i have no idea about riding in France, read some guides online and i got confused. please heeeeeelp.
planing to go the long way pass Nice and Cote D’azur. any ideas, roads, taxes, what we should and should not do. anything.
thanks in advance
route napoleon from grenoble to cannes, N85.
i haven’t worked out the best way to grenoble but that route is meant to be ‘the one’, youtube videos of it look amazing.
There’s a lot of help for UK travellers. Generally on a motorcycle, you need to bring a GB sticker on your rear plate. A hi-viz vest to be worn at low light. Spare fuses. Your vehicle documents. It helps if you have Europe wide recovery and insurance. Also bring spare cash in case you get an on-spot fine. Routes Nationales are tolls - you need Euros to pay. The B roads are more fun than the Route Napoleon I think.
Have a great time!
Its pretty easy going but don’t get caught hammering it or you could loose you right to drive in france and get a driving ban. It happened to one Lber last year and he had to arrange recovery from France.
the route nationals are the free roads, toll roads are the autoroutes
I still haven’t worked out which toll booth you’re supposed to go through on a bike. You get charged for a car when you go through the wrong one…
I’d hop on the autoroutes for the first day and hammer out some mileage, then spend the rest of the time tearing up the more fun roads. Route Napoleon is very nice but try and hit it early morning so you’re not forever getting stuck behind slower traffic.
Don’t speed in the towns. The gendarmerie are often there with laser guns so stick to the 50km/ph limit, it only takes 2mins to get through the towns anyway. All towns are 50 limit unless otherwise stated - remember this limit comes into effect when you see the sign denoting the name of the town. As you leave the town you’ll see a sign with the name of the town with a line across it, where the speed limit ends.
I carried a copy of all my documents, spare bulbs, spare fuses, a tyre plug kit and a few tools, nearly all of which came in handy…
Enjoy
they’ve just ‘outlawed’ speed camera warnings on your satnav (if your’e using one). I think tom-tom are updating their software to the allowed ‘danger zones’. in france they’re quite good at hiding the cameras on the motorways, especially where the speed limit changes.
they’re starting to get more and more strict in france so be careful on pushing the digits…
I’m actually driving to the south of france then onto northern italy so I’m going to keep an eye on this thread for route tips (its a decent car but a car nonetheless…sorry all!)
There have been recent changes in French motoringlaw
End of May you should be legally ok inrespect to the new breathalyzer requirement, however there have been some reports ofmotorists (foreign) be hassled by cops. Youmay want to consider carrying one anyway . Remember when it comes in it willapply to bikes as well.
Some info taken from the sites listedbelow
Breathalysers
On 1 March 2012the French government confirmed that from 1 July 2012 drivers of all motorvehicles and motorcycles (excluding mopeds) must carry a breathalyzer.The regulationwill be enforced from 1 November 2012 and anyone stopped after that date whofails to produce a breathalyzer when requested will receive an on the spot fineof €11.
Satnavand speed camera alerts
Since 3 January2012 French laws have prohibited drivers from carrying any device capable ofdetecting speed cameras. This includes products or devices able to warn orinform of the location of speed cameras e.g. satnav or gps systems capable ofshowing speed camera sites as Points of Interest. As well as theban on warning devices, the French government is installing around 400 new,unsigned, fixed speed cameras as well as taking down signs indicating thelocation of existing camera sites. If you have asatnav capable of displaying French camera locations in France then you must atleast disable camera alerts.
Reflectiveclothing for motorcyclists
From 1 January 2013 all drivers and passengers of a motorcycleover 125cc or a motor tricycle over 15 KW/h must wear reflective clothing whenriding their vehicles and in the event of an emergency stop/breakdown. Clothing musthave a minimum reflective surface of 150cm2 (approx 23in2) in total, either inone piece or in several pieces, and must be worn between the neck and waist.
You will find loads of useful info at these sites
http://about-france.com/travel.htm
http://www.rac.co.uk/driving-abroad/france/
Monaco is a frigging nightmare even on a bike tourist everywhere and coppers on every corner…damn pretty place though, Nice is a lovely place to stay with some great restaruants just back front the seafront whichever route you take enjoy it
Also they even have now onboard cameras / speed detectors in undercover cars… Bastards!
Not surprisingly, France is a big place, so don’t be surprised if it takes longer than you thought. Once you’re off the main routes and onto the non-motorway roads though it’s beautiful riding. I found more cops in the North than the South - in the North they have a habit of hiding behind large hedges on the outskirts of town and waiting until you’re winding the power up before they zap you with a speed gun. You might get lucky and get flashed by a friendly french motorist though - I found them to be very courteous drivers.
