The Vintage Advantage

[jvanham]

Hello All,
Long time lurker....you know the rest. But, LOVE the Jo Momma threads...

After being the smiling face that has wined and dined you for far too many years, The Waitress Strikes Back!

Friends, my name is Jacqui...and I am an Adventure-holic. Like a chocoholic, only for traveling....damn, I'm a chocoholic , too.

Anyhoo, have been collecting and riding vintage motorcycles for several years, some of you may think I look familiar...if you attend AHRMA, or Mid-Ohio. Either way, doesn't matter...just like here, I often lurk at the track- and when you least expect it- WHAM! I'm at the pits/paddocks, talking bikes, drinking your hard earned beer. It's an illness, I say- I can't help myself!

Well, enough is enough.

I quit my job a couple of years ago when I bought a 1972 BMW R75/5, and having never traveled long distance before, threw on a backpack and my trusty (if not ATGATT) Davida- and headed on a 5 month adventure...attending many super cool vintage/classic races and rallys.

These travels only planted the evil seeds, of what would become a gut wrenching, must do, get the hell outta town, major case of "travel flu"...and so I plotted and planned.

Being a mere "waitress", I underestimated the power of the now Allmighty Euro... and must reach out to you, my fellow adventure seekers, and ask for your help.

The dream trip would be to ship my lovely, trusty vintage Beemer to England, in June. In time to catch the end of IOMTT, Donington Park MotoGP, see the Ace Cafe, scoot through the UK, ferry to Holland...work my way through Germany to catch the BMW Motorrad Days, Saschenring MotoGP, tour the alps (natch.) have some noodles in Italy, breeze through some vineyards in France, head into Northern Spain...then turn back north...working up through Alsace, back to the coast of France, ferry to the UK, ending up in London...and both of us flying home. One will be several pounds lighter, one will be covered in road-dirt, you can pick which.

I am lucky enough to be an occassional contributing writer for the BMW ON magazine, and this dream trip would be shared, for everyone to live vicariously through! Or hell, maybe even be inspired by! Both of which, would be amazing...

But, how to accomplish this?!?

This is my question to you.

Any way to save some money; shipping, flights, hostels, whatever would be most appreciated.
Clever way to raise money; sponsors, companies looking to support a project, begging on the street, anything would be appreciated (but, lets TRY to keep it legal, okay?)

Thanks in advance for your help, time, and positive thoughts...
I imagine that we're all just trying to figure out a way to do what we love.

Cheers!
Jacqui Van Ham
BMWMOA, TonUp Club, Airheads
http://thevintageadvantage.com
myspace/jacquivanham.com

I'm not super computer savvy, had to edit some html- D'oh!

[petefromberkeley]

You should contact the communities at www.horizonsunlimited.com They are very friendly. You also might think about buying a bike there and then selling it. Shipping your bike by sea usually turns out to be a mistake and by air is supper expensive. All the shipping info you need is at HU as well as are moto friendly places to stay.

[rtwdoug]

Ive shipped several bikes to europe, my Indian thru motorcycleservices.com Not the cheapest, but was painless, & I flew on the same plane as the bike.
Cheaper way is crated & go cargo. your looking at about 800 or so each way, airport to airport. The smaller you make the crate, the cheaper it is. they go by weight vs volume. Ive shipped 4 in the last month. I use Panalpina, but as they only do shipping for businesses, they cant help you. (If I wasnt heading back to bulgaria in a couple weeks, I'd help ya out thru my account) lufthansa & delta both have cargo divisions. Im sure others do also.
Boat freight may seem alot cheaper, but it takes a month, plus they nail you for dock fees & other crap at both ends.

I've also bought bikes there & ridden them, its pretty easy, & a bit cheaper, but then you are jumping on an unknown bike, and you could have problems with it. I'd take your own bike, even if it costs more, you know the bike, & you can have it ready to go before you leave. You buy one there, it may need tuneup, tires, chain, whatever. Stuff over there is MUCH more expensive than here. Oil 10.00 a quart, for cheap stuff. everything is about double.
Plus, if you can, get in touch with someone there to pick up the bike, & take it to somewhere to uncrate it, then save the crate to reuse for return trip (go to the local jap dealer where you live, they will usually give you a crate)
Anyhow, if you have any questions, let me know. I'll be travelling around this summer also, but mostly eastern europe. Its MUCH cheaper & more fun
I'll probably head to the IOM also, but for the Manx GP in late summer.

Doug

Oh, and cool pic of you & the bike!

[jvanham]

Two weeks to go until I leave!

Am taking care of last minute (read: all!) details...and am wondering....
bike cover/ lock vs. bike alarm system?
Does anybody use these?

Or are they just for the chromey barge riding folks...?

Thanks!
jacqui van ham
http://TheVintageAdvantage.com

[DirtyADV]

The little i have traveled i have used a ABUS Detecto disc brake lock with alarm. But your old beemer dont have disc brakes but i know ABUS makes a lock that looks like a normal padlock with alarm also but that is quite bulky compared to the disclock. Good to have also since u wont take off with it still locked.
And a cheap wirelock that i attatch around something probably wouldn't take much to break it but it looks quite sturdy.

Have looked into the alarms with gps/gsm so it can be tracked but they are quite expensive stuff.

/Johan

[Caddy82rats]

for whine and south of France I can give you some information, I leave here

feel free to ask for specific question (don't hesitate to PM as instant notification doesn't work on my PC)

[PowerSlide]

I've only done a little bit of travelling but I find a motorcycle cover gives a little peace of mind, keeps the bike dry and the 'out of sight out of mind' principle can help keep the casual thief and or 5 year old away.

I carry a big chain too, it's identical to the Abus type but I got it for half the price in a locksmiths with a big solid lock too. There's probably no point getting one till you get here as shipping that kind of dead weight would be a bit expensive

I've found alarms just flatten the battery and cause electrical headaches

Gar

[rallybug]

Originally Posted by jvanham

Two weeks to go until I leave!

Am taking care of last minute (read: all!) details...and am wondering....
bike cover/ lock vs. bike alarm system?
Does anybody use these?

Or are they just for the chromey barge riding folks...?

Thanks!
jacqui van ham
http://TheVintageAdvantage.com

If you've still got a week until you leave, you'll miss TT as it ends this Friday.

Not sure how long your trip is for, but with the vintage bike, maybe come over for the Manx Grand Prix (16th to 29th August) - still racing on the Mountain circuit, but you'll see classic races as well as moderns.

[jvanham]

Thanks for the replies!
Yep, am missing the IOM TT races (sigh.)
But, will attend the IOM Manx races instead (Yay!) in August!

Meet up?

Lees than two weeks to go!

-Jacqui Van Ham
http://TheVintageAdvantage.com

[jvanham]

After some paperwork snags, have re-routed and am flying into Frankfurt..
am at the Cincy airport right now!

Soon, I can move this post over to RideReports!
Wish me luck!

Cheers!
jacqui van ham
http://TheVintageAdvantage.com