Rules on moving bikes through the EU in a van.
Since leaving the EU some of the European Agencies see moving motorbikes in the back of a van as moving goods, this requires a Carnet, which is a load of unnecessary paperwork and of course this extra paperwork has a cost... quotes I have seen are around £350 per bike.
It seems there is not a definitive rule about this and it can depend on luck once you get to the other side of the channel. Being caught without the Carnet could have your bike taken away and scrapped if you don't pay the fine which will be more than the Carnet. I have recently read about some cyclists who were hit with a £7k bill for transporting around £60k of bicycles in a van. For us at the moment its most off putting.
For now we are playing it safe and sticking to the UK. With the luggage we can carry on the sports bikes, realistically its only big enough for a few days away if you want some sort of normality and not live in your leathers. Travelling to Spain and Portugal which is where we would like to be, means journeys of 8 nights away and we just cant carry that amount of clothes in 1 oxford saddle bag.
To do that it would be better to use a bike dedicated to that kind of a journey such as a tourer/adventure bike with 3 fixed luggage containers and a more comfortable riding position.
When we go into Europe we like to base ourselves at a hotel, have 3 or 4 days for exploring that area, and find a road for our ultimate road list. Having the van there means comfort for the long journey there and back, security, more space to carry a suitcase and basic tools, and we have our own breakdown recovery vehicle if its needed.
Plus factoring in the fatigue on this style of bike, the cost of a set of tyres, the extra mileage and break down cover for 20 year old bikes, makes the riding the bikes from home to Spain and back more of a test of endurance than a trip to look forward to.
Another option is to fly to a destination and hire bikes to use when you are there. It would probably work out similar to hiring a van, paying to get the van over on the ferry and paying the tolls to get to where you are going.
With that in mind 2024's road trip is still in the planning stage.
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