the maoster
that sounds like the type of trip we want lol
thanks for the advise on insurance , breakdown cover and the other one lol
If any of you bikers pass through Austria, go to the Grossglockner, they welcome bikes, done it on a coach several yrs ago, 26 hairpin bends all named and with height, go to You Tube some good footage on there.
For a slightly different approach, get the guide from here :Hotels and restaurants in France and abroad - LOGIS HÔTELS. All the hotels in there have to specialize in their own area so you get a taste of the real France. The prices vary from reasonable to WTF? but they are all in the guide so you can avoid the expensive ones easily.
We have done a lot of touring with the book in the tankbag, see where we end up,look in the guide, ring the nearest hotel at about 3pm for a booking - job done. Halfway between booking 2 months ahead and hoping there will be a bed wherever you end up 
If ya into serious touring on bikes, check this guy out http://c90adventures.co.uk/ Malaysia to the UK on a Honda C90 and more.
One of the friendliest countries he visited was Iran!!
Now this guy IS a YouTube legend.
His Iran trip on vid C90 Adventures – One man, one camera, no idea
My trip is a combination of 3 different trips that I wanted to do, (RDGA, Corsica, & the swiss/italian alps) unfortunately during my attempt of this trip last year, my bike broke down on top of “Col Du Madeline” frying its alternator & had to be recovered back to the UK. Which proves how nessesary good breakdown cover is.
Pre booking of accomdation is sometimes nessesary in my case especially if some towns during July, as the Tour de France is in town & its also being peak season of the French holidays, but some of it is places I’ve used before, & some I’m using (YHA’s) are a compromise, because hotels in places such as Nice are rediculously expensive (€100-€140 per night). Whereas my budget is closer to €50 per night in a logis
wigan:
another thing is what do you need to carry with the bike as i know the french police can be a bit fine happy with british reg vehicles
OK
On a bike… ignore anything you might have read (or been told by best friend’s wife, of the bloke down the pub) about hi-viz, breathalysers, bulbs, stickers, visors, first aid kits and just about anything else, too.
You will need (minimum) …the original of:
- Valid and current passport
- Valid and current driving licence. If you have a picture version, take BOTH parts
- Valid and current certificate of insurance for the vehicle
- Valid and current V5 document. If you are not the owner of the vehicle you will also need a current and valid letter of authority (from the owner) to remove the vehicle from the UK
- Your and your wife’s, or your pillions current and valid EU reciprocal healthcare card (EHIC)
- Let your bank know your going before you go, as its no fun trying to pay for something and your card is blocked
I can`t emphasise how important it is, you are well advised to buy good Breakdown insurance and good Travel insurance for you and your wife/pillion. ADAC insurance is the current flavour of the month with everyone & their granny, because its excellent, & combines both aspects, they even have there own fleet of evac aircraft, if your using any other company for breakdown/travel insurance. Check carefully that the insurance is valid for the capacity of motorcycle you intend to ride, as many exclude bikes over 125cc. These are usually the free travel insurance policies you get from the bank etc. If in doubt CHECK, maybe your thinking that you can survive on just the EHIC card, just ponder how far you can push a motorcycle with a broken clutch, whilst nursing a busted leg and a temperature of 103. don’t also forget that you’ll have your pillion to push, too. not to mention what it will cost you to repatriate you & the bike. My last attempt at trying to hire a French van to get from Lyon to Calais one way sent me into shock at the price estimates. not to mention the £400 it would have cost me to fly 1 way Lyon - Birmingham
There are murmurings of the French police enforcing and old law regarding reflective stickers on Helmets see HERE
Maps (preferably of where you intend to go) are good too, though not absolutely nessesary. Michelin maps for the area your going (scale 1:200 000) are the preferred choice.
Though I can assure you that its true, that a bunch of (oirish) guys rode from Belfast to faro with nuffin more than the lid off a biscuit tin lid with a vague map of Europe on it, to show em the way 