4200 km in 20 days

[Diablo Loco]

Love the look of those roads. Enjoy!

 

[ozijotati]

Loving this tale of adventure Jo, great photos and words
Tom

 

[Jo]

Thanks Dave and Tom!



Day 9

The last two days of driving back home to the Rhineland were pending.

We started from Kiefersfelden via Tatzelwurm / Sudelfeld. There, we found everything strictly regulated, sometimes with 30 km/h zones and double solid lines. So, there was really no driving enjoyment. This restrictions have to do with the fact that motorcyclists from the metropolitan areas literally hijack such places. The residents are practically expropriated and, not to forget, there are many accidents. No wonder the authorities intervened. We had another case, but more about that later...

We bypassed Munich on the motorway, then continued via Aichach, Donaumünster, Nördlingen, Ellwangen and Schwäbisch-Hall to the west of Künzelsau.


Day 10

This Laverda could use some cleaning:

The day started with a beautiful section between Sindringen and Unterkessach, it could have gone on all day like this.

From the Hohenlohe area we went in the direction of the Odenwald. Here we fell into a trap and drove into a route that was closed on Sundays and public holidays (from Kailbach to Hetzbach). The team from the race control then promptly punished this with 50 € each.

We swallowed our anger and concentrated on the route still ahead of us. The track can otherwise be described as epic. But again, as a bad example that there are bans there now because a certain group of bikers can't behave.

We bypassed Frankfurt again on the autobahn and then worked our way through Nassau area and Westerwald in the direction of Cologne Bay.


Finally close to home - another full tank and a final "hero" pic:

All in all, I'm very impressed with how well such a tour can be done with an old Laverda (she consumed just 0.4l of oil on the last 3.100km trip). Of course, it was a shame that mate Bernd couldn't come with us. I got on well with Michael: It was a special pleasure to temporarily use common sense vs the prevailing road traffic regulations with him as a judge – there was never any criticism or rebuke. At most the question: "Did you also ground in this or that corner ..?"

I really liked being able to start and end the tour practically from the front door. I like it when the architectural styles in the places and the landscapes change during the course of the day - a lot of beautiful images will stay in my head for a long time.


Cheers,
Jo

 

[Gerald]

Jo,
Very sorry to hear about the fine, my recommendated route would have been cheaper.
Not the only stretch of road off limits on weekends and legal holidays for bikes in this area. Next trip through the Odenwald give me a call.

All the best
Gerald

 

[andre g]

Day 8

On to day eight of riding we started with the Monte Zoncolan, the mountain on our doorstep. Here the west side is quite narrow, the view from the top is magnificent and the better developed route on the east side was quite fast.

Then we went over the Plöcken again, which we already knew from the way there (due to the closure of the Nassfeld Pass), in the direction of the Großglockner.


The Großglockner is very impressive, without a doubt. They charge 28€ for it, but more disruptive we found it completely overcrowded. Perhaps this was due to the rather quiet and low-traffic areas we'd visited in the previous days. In any case, we didn't stay long and made sure we got on.

A little side note:
When I got back to my Laverda after taking some pics, there was a group of other motorcyclists with a self-proclaimed expert leading the way.
Expert: Laverda triples were well known for the fact that the middle cylinder would always overheat, the colour of my headers would confirm that.
I replied that I'd bought these headers used and that they came already whith this color.
Expert: And after starting, one cylinder after the other would always start working deferred.
I'd to disagree again, mine runs immediately on all three cylinders. After don't being right two times in a row, he walked away grumpily...



These stunning curves are still waiting for us:

From the Grossglockner we wanted to go to Kufstein/Kiefersfelden via the Gerlos. If you take the route over the Krimml waterfalls at Gerlos, you will have to pay another toll of €7.50 again. The Austrians already know how to do it ...

Otherwise, this day also had bridging passages that dragged on, but there were always some that were very appealing to drive. When you finally got past the Postbus and the queue of cars behind it ...

Shortly before Kiefersfelden, my speedometer stopped counting, but the speed continued to be displayed.

At the next destination hotel we had two shandys on the table right after arrival - we just managed to get our helmets off!


To be cont'd

When I was at the Großglockner some years ago there were signs at the mountans withe the names on it. That was a good service and worth the fee

 

[pf1]

Great write up Jo, after all the covid restriction it's wonderful to see life again.

 

[Jo]

Jo,
Very sorry to hear about the fine, my recommendated route would have been cheaper.
Not the only stretch of road off limits on weekends and legal holidays for bikes in this area. Next trip through the Odenwald give me a call.

All the best
Gerald

Hi Gerald,
no worries - I did know the restriction but had simply forgotten, that corpus christi was a public holiday and not a normal Thursday - so I can just blame it on me ...

When I was at the Großglockner some years ago there were signs at the mountans withe the names on it. That was a good service and worth the fee

Hi André,
this is correct and I'm surely everything but stingy. It's however just in Austria that you have to pay for three stages within our trip - whilst in Italy you can enjoy them all for free.

Great write up Jo, after all the covid restriction it's wonderful to see life again.

Thanks much Pat! I'm not sure if everyone will read this though. After all, we're becoming more and more conditioned to perceive anything that doesn't fit on the surface of a smartphone as too much ...

 

[Paul Marx]

Thanks Dave and Tom!



Day 9

The last two days of driving back home to the Rhineland were pending.

We started from Kiefersfelden via Tatzelwurm / Sudelfeld. There, we found everything strictly regulated, sometimes with 30 km/h zones and double solid lines. So, there was really no driving enjoyment. This restrictions have to do with the fact that motorcyclists from the metropolitan areas literally hijack such places. The residents are practically expropriated and, not to forget, there are many accidents. No wonder the authorities intervened. We had another case, but more about that later...

We bypassed Munich on the motorway, then continued via Aichach, Donaumünster, Nördlingen, Ellwangen and Schwäbisch-Hall to the west of Künzelsau.


Day 10

This Laverda could use some cleaning:

The day started with a beautiful section between Sindringen and Unterkessach, it could have gone on all day like this.

From the Hohenlohe area we went in the direction of the Odenwald. Here we fell into a trap and drove into a route that was closed on Sundays and public holidays (from Kailbach to Hetzbach). The team from the race control then promptly punished this with 50 € each.

We swallowed our anger and concentrated on the route still ahead of us. The track can otherwise be described as epic. But again, as a bad example that there are bans there now because a certain group of bikers can't behave.

We bypassed Frankfurt again on the autobahn and then worked our way through Nassau area and Westerwald in the direction of Cologne Bay.


Finally close to home - another full tank and a final "hero" pic:

All in all, I'm very impressed with how well such a tour can be done with an old Laverda (she consumed just 0.4l of oil on the last 3.100km trip). Of course, it was a shame that mate Bernd couldn't come with us. I got on well with Michael: It was a special pleasure to temporarily use common sense vs the prevailing road traffic regulations with him as a judge – there was never any criticism or rebuke. At most the question: "Did you bottom out there too ..?"

I really liked being able to start and end the tour practically from the front door. I like it when the architectural styles in the places and the landscapes change during the course of the day - a lot of beautiful images will stay in my head for a long time.


Cheers,
Jo

Yes Jo. There's absolutely no reason apart from being stuck for time or health, for not taking a Laverda out of the garage and riding long and far.
It angers me seeing photos of Laverda meetings with as many vans and trailers as bikes, and a lot of non Laverda or accounts of bike travels by Laverdisti on other motorcycles.
Not surprising that parts sources are drying up. Show bikes don't need parts.

I'll be setting off in two weeks for a 3 week tour of France on my trusty and definitely not show SF2.

Paul

 

[Laverda1000.de]

When I was at the Großglockner some years ago there were signs at the mountans withe the names on it. That was a good service and worth the fee

If you haven't guessed - there is an app for that (absolutely love it)

 

[Diablo Loco]

Day 10


From the Hohenlohe area we went in the direction of the Odenwald. Here we fell into a trap and drove into a route that was closed on Sundays and public holidays (from Kailbach to Hetzbach). The team from the race control then promptly punished this with 50 € each.

We swallowed our anger and concentrated on the route still ahead of us. The track can otherwise be described as epic. But again, as a bad example that there are bans there now because a certain group of bikers can't behave.

[...]

The amount of any fine is nothing compared to the priceless riding joy that sometimes earns us the penalty that is "fun tax".

I really liked being able to start and end the tour practically from the front door. I like it when the architectural styles in the places and the landscapes change during the course of the day - a lot of beautiful images will stay in my head for a long time.


Cheers,
Jo

 

[martymoose]

Great write up Jo. Dave and yourself have set the bar very high for my upcoming 6 week trip. I will try and post interesting and informative photos.

 

[Jo]

Thanks Marty!
Your ride is more than 4 times longer though and due to the very different conditions we shouldn't even start to try to compare.
However, I'm really looking forward what you'll report!


Cheers,
Jo

 

[henrywillms]

Appreciate getting the pics and the story. Brings back memories of my Laverda travels in Europe on the 1980s. Europe certainly has fantastic scenery and motorcycle roads.