Hi All...First trip on the Speed Twin, heading off down through France towards the Dordogne. Taking limited luggage as other half is heading down with the kiddies on the car so a real free run. Excited and a tad apprehensive so any burning bits of advice for riding on the wrong side of the road other than the standard AA stuff would be most welcome... Thanks All.
hi make sure you have addiquate breakdown and health cover check holiday safe for health insurance ,give way to the left on roundabouts ,enjoy your trip
Welcome buddy Just stop and think for a second when you are making turns and coming out of petrol stations about which side of the road you should be Enjoy your trip and ride safe
Be careful with roundabouts and crossings as some in France are the opposite, you give way to the right! There’ll be a sign as you approach it, Priorite a droite Have a look at this article https://www.france-pub.com/forum/2012/04/14/priority-to-the-right-2/
Hi Mate & Welcome to the Forum Never really had an issue with riding a bike on the right, but have had issue when driving a car turning out of a side road I once went to the wrong side .
LOOK LEFT, even if you don't have to, make it a habit. I nearly came a cropper turning left at a T- junction. I looked right as I would in UK, all clear, so went, forgetting about the lane of traffic that I was crossing. First I knew about the error of not checking for traffic from the left was the sound of a locked up 2CV.
So the moral of the story is look everywhere, stay on the right and crap yourself every time you come to a junction/roundabout...I'll take a change of shorts.
It's surprising how quick you get used to riding on the right. when I go across, I normally have something like a tiewrap on the RH mirror or something on the brake reservoir that stands out so, when you have a brain meltdown or temporary amnesia, you can just look to see where the indicator is to see what side of the road to be on. It's not needed 99% of the time, but it has come in handy a couple of times.... First time I went many moons ago, I was really apprehensive about it, but it turned out to be a lot easier than I thought and been going back most years since.....
Be careful if it's wet as it can be very slippery. Bring us a bottle or two back will ya, I'll pay you next time I see you
Cheers all for the expert advice and added humour. I shall raise a glass in your honour when I get there..
There's a number of items that it is compulsory to carry - more information here https://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/travel-ideas/motorcycling/motorcycling-in-france Apparently on the spot fines for failing to comply are not at all uncommon. Take care and enjoy.
Wasn't it 90 to 80kmh? *just checked, yup. https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/travel/driving-abroad/speed-limits-in-france/
Some good advice already. I haven't had any real problems riding through France, but once looked the wrong way at a junction with a dual carriageway when driving. I looked right, it was clear, so set off for far carriageway before I thought to look left. We were very lucky with timing and fast traffic was far enough away for us to make it across. Just. Still makes me wince when I think about it. At junctions, think twice about which direction traffic is coming from.
Do you have a satnav that shows fuel stations as you ride along? That is probably the best feature on my TomTom - it really takes away the worry that starts, with me, at about 120 miles after last fill up (even though I don't need to worry until 160). Not journey-related, but if you haven't been to the area before, Rocamadour is an amazing place to visit. A village built into the face of a cliff (lots of steps, but worth the effort). It was a few years ago, but they had a bird of prey flying demonstration... ...with vultures. Though I'm not a fan of captive wildlife, these great birds were set free to soar, and returned one by one as the handler offered food.