Face
Well-known member
Spain
Sorry for the delay in posting this, but with other things, it’s taken a while to pull this together.
Back in May, my wife and I rented an R1200 RT for 8 days of 2-up touring through the Pyrenees. In short, it was probably some of the best riding (on paved public roads) you can imagine. I’ll give some quick highlights here, but if you’re interested in reading more, check out my wife’s blog. It’s now finished, including the video links for the last few days.
http://excellentadventures-karin.blogspot.ca/
In typical blog fashion, it’s posted with the most recent stuff at the top. If you want to read it chronologically, you have to scroll to the bottom & work up a section at a time.
Seeing is believing! If you prefer to watch, I’ve been working on editing the GoPro videos. All 8days are posted. Here are the links. I’ll update the thread as I get more uploaded to YouTube. I’ve thrown in some Google Earth views of the sections of road in the videos so you can see just how twisty the roads are over there:
Day 1, Part 1 - Leaving Barcelona, heading to Figueres. In the city, twisty back roads, and the first part of an amazing coastal road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMlOgc6x9JM
Day 1, Part 2 – Probably one of the best coastal riding roads anywhere, plus a pretty funny sighting at around 14:30. If you watch just one, watch this one!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ozl7dr7yi4
Day 2, Part 1 - 30 minutes of continuous flowing sweepers run at a nice pace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaAoxDwRrgo
Day 2, Part 2 - An amazing set of twisties with just the right rhythm, on a hidden back road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oRgd3F5iz8
Day 2, Part 3 - Scenic mix of sweepers & twisties ending our day in Seu d' Urgell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MRWwE10JY
Day 3, Part 1 - More hairpins, twisties & tunnels on the N-260 through the Pyrenees!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uofwwVage0
Day 3, Part 2 - Passing Popo in the hairpins, a fast run down a narrow valley, plus great rock formations and tunnels through a narrow crevasse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6RMi7Be_74
Day 3, Part 3 - More fast twisties & great scenery, finishing the day in Jaca.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UUsaXprVi8
Day 4 - A short run along the N-240 to Pamplona, with a stop at the Monastery of Leyre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z71gMHtyczE
Day 5, Part 1 - Leaving Pamplona through the old city walls, foggy switchbacks with lots of cyclists, and riding along the base of overhanging cliffs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygmRKNVJr68
Day 5, Part 2 - More hairpin turns on the back roads west of Pamplona.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcwNrrWiwQI
Day 6, Part 1 - Ujue Monestary to Lake La Perla. A nice mix of sweepers and twisties on hidden back roads southeast of Pamplona.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdX8XO913E8
Day 6, Part 2 - Lake la Perla to Barbastro. Riding the twisting road along the Rio Gellego with kayakers getting ready to run the rapids. Back roads into Barbastro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G67i9IygOtE
Day 7, Part 1 - A-2208, a quick run through the backroad twisties north of Barbastro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zk0Tx9GPBA
Day 7, Part 2 - Estada to Tremp. Rugged mountains, tunnels, plus a nice mix of twisties & sweepers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJPStqWpGpY
Day 7, Part 3 - L-511 from Isona to Col de Nargo. More twisties through the rugged Pyrennes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3pnKl1C5Rs
Day 7, Part 4 - L-401 from Coll de Nargo to St Llorenc de Morunys. Riding the narrow roads high in the Pyrennes with steep drops on one side and rugged cliff walls with cages protecting from rock falls on the other. Finishing off with great views and a nice set of hairpin turns heading down into town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xefP-HVJt2s
Day 7, Part 5 - BV-4241 from St Llorenc de Morunys to Berga. 20 minutes of continuous 2nd & 3rd gear twisties & sweepers with a few hairpins thrown in for fun. A great run through the Pyrennes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfQefVZJY_Q
Day 7, Part 6 - Catalonia Region south and west of Berga. A mix of sweepers through the lowlands along the C-26, north through the scenic Lake Cardener valley, back through St Llorenc de Morunys, then south along the LV-4241 for some nice mountain views.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqLm7IwM8N8
Day 8, Part 1 - Riding the back route along stunning Montserrat, up to the monestery, then back down to Monistrol de Montserrat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c82NeRyJ2yI
Day 8, Part 2 - Backroads into Barcelona. Riding the backroads from Monistrol de Montserrat through the hills above Barcelona and down into the City to end our 8-day riding holiday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnXnfs0FqWw
The Route
After leaving Barcelona, we headed north on the highway for a bit, then cut west to this tiny road near Sant Hilari Sacalm for our first bit of tight twisties. We then went back to the coast to catch the GI-682, which would have to rank as one of the world best riding roads. Continuous flowing tight twisties, smooth pavement, steep drops, amazing views & not too much traffic, this road has it all. After that, it was inland to a few more twisties on the GI-660 on route to Figueres.
On days 2, 3 & 4 we headed west, mostly on the N-260, with a few more amazing sections along the C-26,B-402 & N-152. Overnight stops were in Seu d’ Urgell & Jaca, leaving us a short run into Pamplona, and time to see the city. After Pamplona, we continued west to meet a friend in Vitoria, then back southeast to Olite. From there, it was mostly back roads to our next stop in Barbastro, then our longest riding day along a round about route to Cardona. On the last day, we took some time to ride right up to the Monastery at Montserrat, then a back route through the hills above the city into Barcelona.
We averaged about 250– 300 km’s per day, but the roads were just so twisty, we would get to our daily destination mid to late afternoon, leaving reasonably early with only stops for gas & lunch. The whole trip worked out to about 2,000 km.
I put the route together from reviewing segments posted on http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcycle-roads/motorbike-rides-in-spain-/spain-__1474.html. If you’re planning a trip to the Pyrenees, PM me and I’ll send you our detailed route.
The Bike
We rented a 2012 BMW R1200 RT with only 7,000 kms on the clock, from IMT Bikes http://www.imtbike.com/ . The RT certainly lives up to its reputation as one of the best touring bikes around. It was perfect for touring with comfy but supportive seats, and great wind protection from the fairing and power wind screen. Luggage capacity was enough for the 2 of us for 8 days, and the top-box gave Karin the security to allow me to push it through the corners. For a big bike, I was quite impressed by how well it initiated the corners, and flicked from side to side in the tight twisties. I set the electronic suspension pre-load for 2-up for the whole trip. In the first set of twisties, I noticed it was a bit soft, then realized we were still in the normal suspension setting. A couple quick adjustments on the fly got us into sport mode, and the suspension felt much better. I left it there the whole trip. I know that some people complain about lack of feedback from the front paralever set-up, but it felt quite responsive and natural to me.
Cornering clearance was not an issue as I managed to get the chicken strips down to the elephant’s knees on the new Metzler rear that was just installed. After 2,000 km, they had to replace both the OEM front and the new rear. IMT was totally cool with that, happy that we were able to give it a good workout.
There are a couple negatives that I should point out. Fully loaded & 2-up, the bike didn’t quite have the power pulling out of the corners I would like. But the bigger issue was that the shift down into first coming into a tight corner was not smooth, and tended to disrupt the flow. First is really tall, so in the super tight stuff, I tended to just leave it there and run it right through the rev range. But coming from a faster section into a tight corner required that rough shift into first, as second would lug too much. As the RT shares the same engine as the GS, I’m hoping the RT will also get the new engine just introduced in the 2013 R1200GS. Hopefully the extra 15 hp and the switch to a wet clutch will solve both problems.
Karin was quite comfortable as a passenger. She’s entitled certain blog posts as, “view from the pillion”, so please see the blog for more details about the view of the back of my helmet.
IMT was great to rent from. Totally organized, they walked us through everything we needed to know. Roadside assistance was included in the rental, but fortunately we didn’t need to test that service. They allowed us to pick up the bike the night before (no charge), so we were able to get an early start on the first formal day of the rental. Unfortunately I put a small scratch on the 1 pannier, and the 1 cylinder head cover. I was expecting to see my damage deposit disappear, but they were totally fair with the little extra I had to pay. Even though we pushed the bike hard and wore through a set of tires,they were happy to have us rent from them again. I would do it without hesitation.
The Roads
I think I know why Spain’s economy is in the toilet (although you didn’t really see it in the streets). They put all their money into infrastructure. Most of the roads were in fabulous shape. A couple were starting to deteriorate, but repairs were underway, or in one case, a new road with twisties that crisscrossed the old road, was being built. And the twisties & sweepers were smooth, nice camber and great flow between the corners. Not much straight, hairpin, straight, just flowing corners at different radii. I couldn’t ask for better.
Traffic was almost non-existent. Don’t believe me, just check out how many cars you see in the videos. I think we timed things well too. We rented from May 8[SUP]th[/SUP] to 15[SUP]th[/SUP]. The tourist season formally starts on the 15[SUP]th[/SUP], but I still think the traffic was far less than when we were travelling in Italy a few years ago.
We also lucked out with the weather. 8 days and not a drop of rain. Sunny with highs between 27 & 32, the only thing we came across was thick fog heading up and down one mountain side.
Scenery
Spectacular – see the videos & blog
Accommodation
No roughing here, a nice mix of B&Bs, small hotels and Paradores – see the blog
Food
Pretty good, see the blog. Excellent coffee everywhere. We got hooked on Cortados. If you don’t like Spanish ham, you’re s.o.l!
Sorry for the delay in posting this, but with other things, it’s taken a while to pull this together.
Back in May, my wife and I rented an R1200 RT for 8 days of 2-up touring through the Pyrenees. In short, it was probably some of the best riding (on paved public roads) you can imagine. I’ll give some quick highlights here, but if you’re interested in reading more, check out my wife’s blog. It’s now finished, including the video links for the last few days.
http://excellentadventures-karin.blogspot.ca/
In typical blog fashion, it’s posted with the most recent stuff at the top. If you want to read it chronologically, you have to scroll to the bottom & work up a section at a time.
Seeing is believing! If you prefer to watch, I’ve been working on editing the GoPro videos. All 8days are posted. Here are the links. I’ll update the thread as I get more uploaded to YouTube. I’ve thrown in some Google Earth views of the sections of road in the videos so you can see just how twisty the roads are over there:
Day 1, Part 1 - Leaving Barcelona, heading to Figueres. In the city, twisty back roads, and the first part of an amazing coastal road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMlOgc6x9JM
Day 1, Part 2 – Probably one of the best coastal riding roads anywhere, plus a pretty funny sighting at around 14:30. If you watch just one, watch this one!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ozl7dr7yi4
Day 2, Part 1 - 30 minutes of continuous flowing sweepers run at a nice pace.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaAoxDwRrgo
Day 2, Part 2 - An amazing set of twisties with just the right rhythm, on a hidden back road.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oRgd3F5iz8
Day 2, Part 3 - Scenic mix of sweepers & twisties ending our day in Seu d' Urgell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4MRWwE10JY
Day 3, Part 1 - More hairpins, twisties & tunnels on the N-260 through the Pyrenees!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uofwwVage0
Day 3, Part 2 - Passing Popo in the hairpins, a fast run down a narrow valley, plus great rock formations and tunnels through a narrow crevasse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6RMi7Be_74
Day 3, Part 3 - More fast twisties & great scenery, finishing the day in Jaca.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UUsaXprVi8
Day 4 - A short run along the N-240 to Pamplona, with a stop at the Monastery of Leyre
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z71gMHtyczE
Day 5, Part 1 - Leaving Pamplona through the old city walls, foggy switchbacks with lots of cyclists, and riding along the base of overhanging cliffs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygmRKNVJr68
Day 5, Part 2 - More hairpin turns on the back roads west of Pamplona.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcwNrrWiwQI
Day 6, Part 1 - Ujue Monestary to Lake La Perla. A nice mix of sweepers and twisties on hidden back roads southeast of Pamplona.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdX8XO913E8
Day 6, Part 2 - Lake la Perla to Barbastro. Riding the twisting road along the Rio Gellego with kayakers getting ready to run the rapids. Back roads into Barbastro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G67i9IygOtE
Day 7, Part 1 - A-2208, a quick run through the backroad twisties north of Barbastro.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zk0Tx9GPBA
Day 7, Part 2 - Estada to Tremp. Rugged mountains, tunnels, plus a nice mix of twisties & sweepers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJPStqWpGpY
Day 7, Part 3 - L-511 from Isona to Col de Nargo. More twisties through the rugged Pyrennes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3pnKl1C5Rs
Day 7, Part 4 - L-401 from Coll de Nargo to St Llorenc de Morunys. Riding the narrow roads high in the Pyrennes with steep drops on one side and rugged cliff walls with cages protecting from rock falls on the other. Finishing off with great views and a nice set of hairpin turns heading down into town.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xefP-HVJt2s
Day 7, Part 5 - BV-4241 from St Llorenc de Morunys to Berga. 20 minutes of continuous 2nd & 3rd gear twisties & sweepers with a few hairpins thrown in for fun. A great run through the Pyrennes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfQefVZJY_Q
Day 7, Part 6 - Catalonia Region south and west of Berga. A mix of sweepers through the lowlands along the C-26, north through the scenic Lake Cardener valley, back through St Llorenc de Morunys, then south along the LV-4241 for some nice mountain views.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eqLm7IwM8N8
Day 8, Part 1 - Riding the back route along stunning Montserrat, up to the monestery, then back down to Monistrol de Montserrat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c82NeRyJ2yI
Day 8, Part 2 - Backroads into Barcelona. Riding the backroads from Monistrol de Montserrat through the hills above Barcelona and down into the City to end our 8-day riding holiday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnXnfs0FqWw
The Route
After leaving Barcelona, we headed north on the highway for a bit, then cut west to this tiny road near Sant Hilari Sacalm for our first bit of tight twisties. We then went back to the coast to catch the GI-682, which would have to rank as one of the world best riding roads. Continuous flowing tight twisties, smooth pavement, steep drops, amazing views & not too much traffic, this road has it all. After that, it was inland to a few more twisties on the GI-660 on route to Figueres.
On days 2, 3 & 4 we headed west, mostly on the N-260, with a few more amazing sections along the C-26,B-402 & N-152. Overnight stops were in Seu d’ Urgell & Jaca, leaving us a short run into Pamplona, and time to see the city. After Pamplona, we continued west to meet a friend in Vitoria, then back southeast to Olite. From there, it was mostly back roads to our next stop in Barbastro, then our longest riding day along a round about route to Cardona. On the last day, we took some time to ride right up to the Monastery at Montserrat, then a back route through the hills above the city into Barcelona.
We averaged about 250– 300 km’s per day, but the roads were just so twisty, we would get to our daily destination mid to late afternoon, leaving reasonably early with only stops for gas & lunch. The whole trip worked out to about 2,000 km.
I put the route together from reviewing segments posted on http://www.bestbikingroads.com/motorcycle-roads/motorbike-rides-in-spain-/spain-__1474.html. If you’re planning a trip to the Pyrenees, PM me and I’ll send you our detailed route.
The Bike
We rented a 2012 BMW R1200 RT with only 7,000 kms on the clock, from IMT Bikes http://www.imtbike.com/ . The RT certainly lives up to its reputation as one of the best touring bikes around. It was perfect for touring with comfy but supportive seats, and great wind protection from the fairing and power wind screen. Luggage capacity was enough for the 2 of us for 8 days, and the top-box gave Karin the security to allow me to push it through the corners. For a big bike, I was quite impressed by how well it initiated the corners, and flicked from side to side in the tight twisties. I set the electronic suspension pre-load for 2-up for the whole trip. In the first set of twisties, I noticed it was a bit soft, then realized we were still in the normal suspension setting. A couple quick adjustments on the fly got us into sport mode, and the suspension felt much better. I left it there the whole trip. I know that some people complain about lack of feedback from the front paralever set-up, but it felt quite responsive and natural to me.
Cornering clearance was not an issue as I managed to get the chicken strips down to the elephant’s knees on the new Metzler rear that was just installed. After 2,000 km, they had to replace both the OEM front and the new rear. IMT was totally cool with that, happy that we were able to give it a good workout.
There are a couple negatives that I should point out. Fully loaded & 2-up, the bike didn’t quite have the power pulling out of the corners I would like. But the bigger issue was that the shift down into first coming into a tight corner was not smooth, and tended to disrupt the flow. First is really tall, so in the super tight stuff, I tended to just leave it there and run it right through the rev range. But coming from a faster section into a tight corner required that rough shift into first, as second would lug too much. As the RT shares the same engine as the GS, I’m hoping the RT will also get the new engine just introduced in the 2013 R1200GS. Hopefully the extra 15 hp and the switch to a wet clutch will solve both problems.
Karin was quite comfortable as a passenger. She’s entitled certain blog posts as, “view from the pillion”, so please see the blog for more details about the view of the back of my helmet.
IMT was great to rent from. Totally organized, they walked us through everything we needed to know. Roadside assistance was included in the rental, but fortunately we didn’t need to test that service. They allowed us to pick up the bike the night before (no charge), so we were able to get an early start on the first formal day of the rental. Unfortunately I put a small scratch on the 1 pannier, and the 1 cylinder head cover. I was expecting to see my damage deposit disappear, but they were totally fair with the little extra I had to pay. Even though we pushed the bike hard and wore through a set of tires,they were happy to have us rent from them again. I would do it without hesitation.
The Roads
I think I know why Spain’s economy is in the toilet (although you didn’t really see it in the streets). They put all their money into infrastructure. Most of the roads were in fabulous shape. A couple were starting to deteriorate, but repairs were underway, or in one case, a new road with twisties that crisscrossed the old road, was being built. And the twisties & sweepers were smooth, nice camber and great flow between the corners. Not much straight, hairpin, straight, just flowing corners at different radii. I couldn’t ask for better.
Traffic was almost non-existent. Don’t believe me, just check out how many cars you see in the videos. I think we timed things well too. We rented from May 8[SUP]th[/SUP] to 15[SUP]th[/SUP]. The tourist season formally starts on the 15[SUP]th[/SUP], but I still think the traffic was far less than when we were travelling in Italy a few years ago.
We also lucked out with the weather. 8 days and not a drop of rain. Sunny with highs between 27 & 32, the only thing we came across was thick fog heading up and down one mountain side.
Scenery
Spectacular – see the videos & blog
Accommodation
No roughing here, a nice mix of B&Bs, small hotels and Paradores – see the blog
Food
Pretty good, see the blog. Excellent coffee everywhere. We got hooked on Cortados. If you don’t like Spanish ham, you’re s.o.l!
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but still the ideas really help and maybe I can grab a machine for a couple of days on my own 
