Euro trip

[rossi46]

Hi guys I have not long returned from a trip to Europe, I encountered a few issues but made it back-just!-  and thought I'd post some pics!we took the quickest route to Switzerland via the chunnel and  France all motorway but great weather and empty roads.

Day 3 and the fun began, Swiss roads in the Jura mountains were incredible!

although I think that was a cycle track! we travelled south with a stop over at Lausanne,stunning!

an early the next day to see the mighty Eiger

 

the afternoon saw us tackling some big passes, the Grimsel,Furka and the st.Gottard, as soon as the the altitude rose above 6,000ft the bike was not happy! at low revs it would stutter so the Furka in particular was hard work, very tight turns, St.Gottard was the final ascent but luckily it was nice and wide with sweeping curves, with the throttle kept open we got over with no problems.

                                                                                                                                        We descend down to our hotel on the shore of lake Maggiore, the temperature rose to over 30 degrees and althought still in Switzerland the surroundings and language was distinctly Italian. The following day we crossed into Italy and made our way to Como, then after some scenic roads skirting the lake we arrived at Mandello.

mission accomplished!! the museum was full of amazing machines, it is a must do for every enthusiast

 

from there we travelled to Lake Garda were we meet the rest of the family for a 12 day vacation

after much beer,vino and pasta we rolled north to the Dolomites

with the stelvio rising to over 9,000ft I decide not to ride due to my fueling issue, Shane (my son in law) went ahead and rode it ,he said it was worse than the Furka, I will have to return and do it one day! the following day we crossed into Austria (the cleanest country in the world) and finally had a great night in southern Germany on the shores of lake Constance. We rode some epic roads in the last few days, heading west crossing the Rhine back into France the roads were amazing!

the last 2 days we spent on French 'D' roads, little traffic with views for miles in each direction. We stopped at Metz which is a lovely city. More great roads the next day as we rode north to Lille and our final stop of the trip- I had an intermittent battery light on the last day, we checked what we could  and stopped a few times but couldn't figure it out, We just pushed on and eventually arrived home, the whole trip was amazing, the weather was fantastic, up to 37 degrees and we covered 2596 miles in total-I will be going back!

more photos here

http://s1017.photobucket.com/user/v11sport/slideshow/factory%20trip%202015

[Scud]

Great trip and great photos, thanks for sharing those, especially of Eiger. I enjoyed my vicarious euro-trip with a little mid-day coffee... How nice for you to be able to combine a motorcycle tour and a family vacation.

 

Savings from not buying a plane ticket, minus money spent on gas and 50% cost of a set of tires = fun way to travel.

 

I'm sure the electrical experts can help you with the charging concern. As for your running problems at high-elevation, that's worth looking into. Mine runs without any hesitation from sea level to nearly 10,000 feet (3,000 meters).  Have you done anything to richen the fuel mixture to make it run better at lower elevations? If so, it might be too rich for higher elevations, and need to be leaned out a bit before the next high-altitude adventure.

[Paradiso]

Great photos.  Looks like you covered a lot of ground.  Roads look lovely and smooth (compared to those in the UK).

 

Simon

[docc]

Success! 

 

And at least one pass (The Stelvio) left for next time!