I'll start.
We went to Silverstone last year, learned a lot. One bike got a flat and the same guy then broke down randomly so had to take the train to the ferry to get home. He thought his insurance covered him but after a quick phone call he was informed that it did to an extent, getting his bike home was going to cost big time. Check your insurance covers you or that you have separate breakdown cover. We got talking to a couple of guys from the south of Ireland who had once got stuck in France. Nightmare.
My tip would be plan for redundancy. Bring a spare reg/rec under your seat along with the basic tools to get at your battery and get your fairings off. If you've got something which can burst, bring a repair kit. Have all your maintenance done before you leave. Check chain is oiled and tension is ok, check tyres, check oil level and you should be good for a long weekend. One good tool kit between us was plenty.
We camped and carried everything on the bikes, which was interesting.
I found that it was handy stacking the tent and everything up high, I was able to lean back on it and rest a bit from time to time when we were stopped in traffic, at lights or whatever.
Brother's bike
Three of us set up
Returning home.
What we learned between the three of us, in no particular order.
It would probably have been easier to stay in a B&B, and more comfortable. Maybe not as much of an adventure though.
Long distances can easily be done on sportbikes. Ours were very comfortable actually. Tank range was fine, we were never far from fuel and never close to running out. Good excuse to stop and stretch the legs.
600cc was plenty even with the weight on the back.
Don't overpack your rucksack, it will get heavy quickly. Carry your essentials in it, travel documents, money, snack and drink.
Share the load, you don't need 3 tool kits or three stoves. One person brings the tools, one brings the stove, one carries the map. Smartphones are brilliant as a GPS.
One large battery pack kept our three phones charged for 4 days. Just. Don't forget your charging cable.
Bring summer gloves and winter gloves. Spare pair never hurts and early mornings can be cold on a bike, even in summer time. Also something to cover your neck and bring a spare.
Clear visor with drop down sunshade or bring a dark and a clear visor.
Ear plugs. Lots of.
Tolls are a pain in the ass when you've to stop, take off a glove, find your money, pay, put glove on, forget to zip pocket, take glove off, zip up pocket, put glove on again......... you get the idea.
If you're carrying a load, no matter how well you have it strapped, it will move. Pack up, ride a bit, tighten up again. Don't forget to increase your tyre pressure, although it's not critical. None of us did and we all seemed fine.
Other road users got out of our way a lot on the mainland, which was nice. A whole queue of traffic in Wales moved to the left to let us up the middle for about a mile and a half. Then we got the f*cking puncture.
Brmingham rush hour traffic is a nightmare. Conversely, filtering is an awesome feeling.
We didn't need as much as we brought, would have been safer buying less food to bring with us and eating out more.
My inflatable mattress which was brand new out of the box was punctured, had no way to repair it and everywhere near Silverstone was completely sold out. Should have tested it before leaving instead of assuming it would be fine out of the box. If you're bringing it, check it before you leave.
I had a four man tent, which would only have been enough for 2. We got lucky with the weather but if it had been raining, we would have had a lot more time in the pub and probably a much more miserable experience.
Plan your routes, the way there you might want to go scenic, the way home you'll want to go fastest.
Get on the ferry early and get yourself a seat. Guys we met came across some poor chap who jumped off a bridge, brother and I missed it by 5 mins. If we'd been 5 minutes later we would have been held up for an hour.
Bring baby wipes if you're camping. Lots of baby wipes. Do not expect there to be any toilet roll provided.
Talk to other bikers, you can learn from them. We met a couple of older lads who travelled in RST jeans and with a tail pack for a weekend. They had done the camping thing and decided hotels were better, horses for courses. They had done a lot of MotoGP's and gave us some insights into a lot of other tracks too, which were worth doing and which weren't so great.
Feel free to add your own experiences
We went to Silverstone last year, learned a lot. One bike got a flat and the same guy then broke down randomly so had to take the train to the ferry to get home. He thought his insurance covered him but after a quick phone call he was informed that it did to an extent, getting his bike home was going to cost big time. Check your insurance covers you or that you have separate breakdown cover. We got talking to a couple of guys from the south of Ireland who had once got stuck in France. Nightmare.
My tip would be plan for redundancy. Bring a spare reg/rec under your seat along with the basic tools to get at your battery and get your fairings off. If you've got something which can burst, bring a repair kit. Have all your maintenance done before you leave. Check chain is oiled and tension is ok, check tyres, check oil level and you should be good for a long weekend. One good tool kit between us was plenty.
We camped and carried everything on the bikes, which was interesting.
I found that it was handy stacking the tent and everything up high, I was able to lean back on it and rest a bit from time to time when we were stopped in traffic, at lights or whatever.
Brother's bike
Three of us set up
Returning home.
What we learned between the three of us, in no particular order.
It would probably have been easier to stay in a B&B, and more comfortable. Maybe not as much of an adventure though.
Long distances can easily be done on sportbikes. Ours were very comfortable actually. Tank range was fine, we were never far from fuel and never close to running out. Good excuse to stop and stretch the legs.
600cc was plenty even with the weight on the back.
Don't overpack your rucksack, it will get heavy quickly. Carry your essentials in it, travel documents, money, snack and drink.
Share the load, you don't need 3 tool kits or three stoves. One person brings the tools, one brings the stove, one carries the map. Smartphones are brilliant as a GPS.
One large battery pack kept our three phones charged for 4 days. Just. Don't forget your charging cable.
Bring summer gloves and winter gloves. Spare pair never hurts and early mornings can be cold on a bike, even in summer time. Also something to cover your neck and bring a spare.
Clear visor with drop down sunshade or bring a dark and a clear visor.
Ear plugs. Lots of.
Tolls are a pain in the ass when you've to stop, take off a glove, find your money, pay, put glove on, forget to zip pocket, take glove off, zip up pocket, put glove on again......... you get the idea.
If you're carrying a load, no matter how well you have it strapped, it will move. Pack up, ride a bit, tighten up again. Don't forget to increase your tyre pressure, although it's not critical. None of us did and we all seemed fine.
Other road users got out of our way a lot on the mainland, which was nice. A whole queue of traffic in Wales moved to the left to let us up the middle for about a mile and a half. Then we got the f*cking puncture.
Brmingham rush hour traffic is a nightmare. Conversely, filtering is an awesome feeling.
We didn't need as much as we brought, would have been safer buying less food to bring with us and eating out more.
My inflatable mattress which was brand new out of the box was punctured, had no way to repair it and everywhere near Silverstone was completely sold out. Should have tested it before leaving instead of assuming it would be fine out of the box. If you're bringing it, check it before you leave.
I had a four man tent, which would only have been enough for 2. We got lucky with the weather but if it had been raining, we would have had a lot more time in the pub and probably a much more miserable experience.
Plan your routes, the way there you might want to go scenic, the way home you'll want to go fastest.
Get on the ferry early and get yourself a seat. Guys we met came across some poor chap who jumped off a bridge, brother and I missed it by 5 mins. If we'd been 5 minutes later we would have been held up for an hour.
Bring baby wipes if you're camping. Lots of baby wipes. Do not expect there to be any toilet roll provided.
Talk to other bikers, you can learn from them. We met a couple of older lads who travelled in RST jeans and with a tail pack for a weekend. They had done the camping thing and decided hotels were better, horses for courses. They had done a lot of MotoGP's and gave us some insights into a lot of other tracks too, which were worth doing and which weren't so great.
Feel free to add your own experiences
