Guest svrider Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I originally accidentally posted in the 5th gen forum, but since I made the choice to go with the 4th gen, I figured I should move over here. Original thread: http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.php/topic/75555-moved-to-germany-purchased-4th-gen-for-touring-europe/ I'm a 23 year old who moved to Germany (Munich) a few weeks ago to teach English. Last week I bought a 95 VFR 750 after finding it for a great deal. I'm hoping to do a lot of touring in Europe (until I run out of money for petrol). In America I had a 2001 SV650, it was my first and only bike and I've only been riding for a year. On Thursday I drove it home to Munich from Frankfurt (300 kms) and I am loving it so far. Bike seems to be running great, and of course the Autobahn is cool. Bike has 60,000kms on it and had the chain, sprockets, oil, filters, brake lines (SS) and steering head bearings replaced 5000kms or less ago. The regulator/rectifier has also been replaced. I just need to put new tires on it. I figured I would just go with my default Michelin PR2's, but the Mezler Z8 seem to be proving themselves, especially on the Autobahn/Alpine roads. Anyway, here it is: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Duc2V4 Posted August 16, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 16, 2013 Nice! Congrats on the new (to you) ride. Although I have PR2s on mine, I've heard some good reports on the Metzelers, maybe you can add your two cents on them once you've gotten some miles on them. Ride safe and have fun! Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted August 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 17, 2013 4th gens are the best................ One thing you will notice it that on secondary roads (Landesstrasse) the speed limit is 100kmh (60MPH), unless posted otherwise. Was riding around Bernkastel/Mosel region today, will post up pictures when I am at a proper PC again. Roads like the Dragon or like riding to Highlands from Franklin...... 100kmh posted... One thing to engrain on your brain........ Red While or Yellow Black painted lines, barriers or poles mean a really sharp turn. They donot bother warning for regular sharp turns.... ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted August 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 17, 2013 Beware on the German autobahn, because if you do like 240km/h and you think it's fast, look in your mirror and see a Porsche pushing you to move to the right. Some do 300+ over there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Polarbear Posted August 17, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 17, 2013 Congratulations in your new purchase!! You gonna try and learn German while you're there? Watch for German girls... So, do I hear trip reports with pics of scenery and eaten food?? Safe travels. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sereethai Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 nice find,driving mine down to the eifel next week,just got new rubber in the front batllax te30, but haven't ride the bike with this new one so no comment for the moment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFRBert Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 Beware on the German autobahn, because if you do like 240km/h and you think it's fast, look in your mirror and see a Porsche pushing you to move to the right. Some do 300+ over there Yups.... driving full speed 255+ on my speedometer (I have a fast rc24 ) suddenly whoeshhhhhhh passed by a very fast merc and 2 bmw's driving 300+ on the E30 But beware !!!! when you spot a car with a yellow numberplate. Dutch drivers have a tendency to overtake without looking in their mirrors. Had a braketest once from 220 to 120. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JZH Posted August 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 22, 2013 On Thursday I drove it home to Munich from Frankfurt (300 kms) and I am loving it so far. Bike seems to be running great, and of course the Autobahn is cool. Wilkommen, dude! Enjoy Bayern, the best part of Germany, IMHO. But if I lived in Munich I'd weigh 300lbs...I just cannot pass up an Augustiner! Hmm. Now I'm hungry. Steinheil 16 on Steinheil Strasse (U2: Theresienstrasse) was always a must-do whenever I passed through Munich at supper time. Augustiner on tap... Not sure if it's still as great as it was, but if you like a big, tasty schnitzel, check it out. The 4th-gen is a great bike, so long as you're not a two-up power junky, which will make it seem underpowered, but for everything else, no problem. Viel Spass! Ciao, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer 2thdr Posted August 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 22, 2013 Looks like a beautiful, well maintained specimen you found. Congrats... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted August 22, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 22, 2013 But beware !!!! when you spot a car with a yellow numberplate. Dutch drivers have a tendency to overtake without looking in their mirrors. Had a braketest once from 220 to 120. Yeah those Dutch "drivers" should be banned all over Europe on the road. You know, in Germany they call the NL = Nur Links (in English: Only left) as they never keep right and stay there. I had to break for one of those too from 230 to 90! One of them with a caravan decided to overtake a truck with 90! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmythecop Posted August 22, 2013 Share Posted August 22, 2013 Have fun on it. But watch out for Audi drivers, as I have decided that they all are nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JETS Posted August 23, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 23, 2013 Dutchy! Defend yourself!! In another century, one summer I rode a BMW R-25/3 6000 miles around Europe, and I was so under powered on the Autobahn that I could hardly pass a Fiat before being strafed by flashing headlights and a loud "whooosh". As you can see, I too favor the NACA duct. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted August 23, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 23, 2013 Defend? Against what or who? As for your Beemer story, my 2nd bike was an R45. More power than a R25 but still. Riding on the Autobahn was indeed "interesting". Embarrassing was me finally reaching the rear of a van that was hammering it . The wind shadow gave me a little help to initiate the overtake manouvre... Then wind resistance kicked in..... The van driver started chucking bits of bread to lure my animal forward.... (something they'd usually do with Citroen 2CV cars) As you can imagine, my next bike was a K100RS.... SVrider, you will see plenty of old, restored Beemers while in Europa. I saw these in Slovenia last month Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted August 26, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 26, 2013 Are your new tires installed yet? If yes, how do they work at high speeds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer JETS Posted August 27, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 27, 2013 Defend? Against what or who? As for your Beemer story, my 2nd bike was an R45. More power than a R25 but still. Riding on the Autobahn was indeed "interesting". Embarrassing was me finally reaching the rear of a van that was hammering it . The wind shadow gave me a little help to initiate the overtake manouvre... Then wind resistance kicked in..... The van driver started chucking bits of bread to lure my animal forward.... (something they'd usually do with Citroen 2CV cars) As you can imagine, my next bike was a K100RS.... SVrider, you will see plenty of old, restored Beemers while in Europa. I saw these in Slovenia last month 20130721_358.JPG 20130721_362.JPG 20130721_360.JPG Nice photos. Takes me back. But then there is the memory of the rubber joint chucking out of the drive shaft in Barcelona, and the nearest BMW shop was in Nice. It was "clank-bang-clank-bang over the Pyrenees, steel peg rubbing on steel peg. Good old bike, though. It made it. Defend? Against what or who? ........................this was posted above: Posted 22 August 2013 - 02:02 PM VFRBert, on 21 Aug 2013 - 4:22 PM, said: But beware !!!! when you spot a car with a yellow numberplate. Dutch drivers have a tendency to overtake without looking in their mirrors. Had a braketest once from 220 to 120. Yeah those Dutch "drivers" should be banned all over Europe on the road. You know, in Germany they call the NL = Nur Links (in English: Only left) as they never keep right and stay there. I had to break for one of those too from 230 to 90! One of them with a caravan decided to overtake a truck with 90! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted August 27, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 27, 2013 Hi Jets, Bert is Dutch as well and he is 100% right.... Dutch drivers on German Autobahn are the worst bar none. Our speeding laws are strict, when you learn how to drive you are not taught to drive at high speeds. Add this Dutch mentality of pulling out when they WANT rather than really considering if they COULD and you know where Bert comes from. Even on a 3 lane motorway they manage to overtake a truck; not by using the middle lane, but by using the far left as well. Been there, done that. SVrider, Do watch out for Geman Merc drivers wearing a hat; them too tend to be all over the place. If you want to come up north for Superbike at Assen next year, drop me a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFRBert Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Defend? Against what or who? As for your Beemer story, my 2nd bike was an R45. More power than a R25 but still. Riding on the Autobahn was indeed "interesting". Embarrassing was me finally reaching the rear of a van that was hammering it . The wind shadow gave me a little help to initiate the overtake manouvre... Then wind resistance kicked in..... The van driver started chucking bits of bread to lure my animal forward.... (something they'd usually do with Citroen 2CV cars) As you can imagine, my next bike was a K100RS.... SVrider, you will see plenty of old, restored Beemers while in Europa. I saw these in Slovenia last month 20130721_358.JPG 20130721_362.JPG 20130721_360.JPG Nice photos. Takes me back. But then there is the memory of the rubber joint chucking out of the drive shaft in Barcelona, and the nearest BMW shop was in Nice. It was "clank-bang-clank-bang over the Pyrenees, steel peg rubbing on steel peg. Good old bike, though. It made it. Defend? Against what or who? ........................this was posted above: Posted 22 August 2013 - 02:02 PM VFRBert, on 21 Aug 2013 - 4:22 PM, said: But beware !!!! when you spot a car with a yellow numberplate. Dutch drivers have a tendency to overtake without looking in their mirrors. Had a braketest once from 220 to 120. Yeah those Dutch "drivers" should be banned all over Europe on the road. You know, in Germany they call the NL = Nur Links (in English: Only left) as they never keep right and stay there. I had to break for one of those too from 230 to 90! One of them with a caravan decided to overtake a truck with 90! I am Dutch too, but in driving distance off the German border, so i use the autobahn once in a while for high speed trips. Do not blame the Dutch, but the Dutch government, with its to strict speedlimits and extremly high fines. 20 km/u to fast may kost up to 240 euro's (318 dollars). So dutch do not learn to drive fast anymore. Germans do this better, a few years back i was passed on the autobahn by a car from i driving skool, student behind the wheel. Doing 190 km/u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer CornerCarver Posted August 30, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted August 30, 2013 Great purchase (FORMER) SV RIder....enjoy your time riding around a foreign country getting in and out of trouble safely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auspanglish Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Nice specimen you came across there!! Looks to be in good Nick!! Pass the Dutchie 'pon the left hand side I SAID... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFtLONl4cNc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFRBert Posted September 1, 2013 Share Posted September 1, 2013 Nice specimen you came across there!! Looks to be in good Nick!! Pass the Dutchie 'pon the left hand side I SAID... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFtLONl4cNc Impossible all Dutch are driving on the left lane Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted September 1, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted September 1, 2013 For people that don't know what it is to take a corner at 210KM/H....just watch the clip. This guy is having fun at 300+, and yes, it's not abnormal on the Autobahn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Yes, I have experienced this. In America, when you're on a decently fast bike you're usually the fastest on the road. Its interesting when you're going 220-240 kph (and no, I don't do this a lot) and you see cars start to line up behind you.... It's nice though. This weekend, I went to Kesselburg which is 30 mins to 1 hour away depending on your preferred autobahn speed. Some hairpins and really tight turns there. It was a humbling experience that made me buy 3 books on cornering when I got home . I went out the next day and my technique was a little better. I think all the time away from riding combined with my lack of experience, much different bike (than the flickable sv) and switchbacks that exist nowhere in Texas really upped the ante quite quickly. Dutchy was right, the VFR is a bit to handle in the alps. Hopefully with some dedication to perfecting the technique, I can handle it. I ended up buying the Pilot Road 2's because I got them for 170 euros with shipping at pneus.com. I haven't had them installed yet mainly because I haven't found a place to have them installed (harder when you don't speak german). Also, I have heard that the road 2's take a while to break in... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 2, 2013 Share Posted September 2, 2013 Also, finally some pics from this weekend. I'll try to get some better ones next time, I only had my phone.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted September 2, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted September 2, 2013 on this link http://www.motorradreifendirekt.de/Montagepartner.html#mpSearch you fill in your postal code and you should get a list of places nearby where they can fit your tire. give one or two a call, tell them you have a VFR750 which has a single side swing arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Bassie Posted September 3, 2013 Member Contributer Share Posted September 3, 2013 In Germany almost everyboody speaks English, so you should have no problems communicating. However, to mount the tires, just look for "REIFEN" (means Tires), as Auto-Reifen shops can also do Moto-Reifen Else, just ask them to point you a bike-shop. Just go in and say: "Sprechen Sie Englisch?", trust me, most will make a good effort to help you as they all learn it in school. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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