• Welcome to the new B.I.R.D. Forum. Please be sure to read the "New Member / New Registered ? Please Read" thread in the Coffee Shop. This contains some important information. To become a full member ( £5.90 a year ) simply click on your user name near the top on the right I hope you enjoy the new site ................ Jaws ( John )

Biking in Spain, truths and myths.

Jono

Super Sponsor
Read Only
We are planning to base ourselves in the Picos region in May and tour out.
But we have heard lots of negatives about biking in Spain from cops fining peeps to supplement their low pay, GPS not permitted on bikes and speed limits reduced and vigourosly enforced.
To be honest we are reconsidering, does anyone have any fact based advice on these rumours? :dunno:
 

stormer

Registered User
Coming from a country that is saturated with Gatso speed cameras, police officers that are heavily armed with speed laser detection devices some operating from behind hedges, walls and out of the back of unmarked vans, speed tracking from overhead helicopters, county self imposed 50mph limits, unmarked cars and even motorcycles that can trick you out...........what was the question again.......:-0)
 

Jaws

Corporal CockUp
Staff member
Moderator
Club Sponsor
Ok.. off back there in a few days time and had to do a fair old crash course last year !!

GPS's are now allowed providing there are no speed camera warnings ( basically they relented about 18 months ago due to pressures from the automotive lobby )

Bike to bike of rider to pillion comms can still earn you a fine

Flip flops or any unsuitable footwear will earn you a fine ( though you can ride with shorts and a T shirt without bother !! :eek: )

Anything loaded on the bike had better be loaded on very solidly
If a police officer can pull something off the bike easily that is a loose load and cost you ? 100 ( this is subjective of course and we never once saw or heard of anyone falling foul of this on a bike.. in a car yes ( shopping chucked loose on the back seat ) but not on a bike

Smile.. Spanish police, just like our lads here, appreciate civility and to a certain extent servility.

Do carry your docs with you.. Saves a lot of mucking around !

Other than that, enjoy your self !!
 

Mikeyzf

Registered User
Never had any problems.
Like the UK,if you get stopped,be polite and civil..Take original docs(Mot,insurance and logbook) for the bike and not photocopies.If you have a photocard licence,take both parts,and always keep your passport with you when you're out on the bike.

I tend to keep within the speed limits when over there,as fines can be hefty if you're caught riding like a twat..On the flip side,Spain is vast,and you can go for hours without seeing plod.

The only encounter I had with the Guardia Civil(plod),was when I was stopped at a petrol station and he wanted to sit on my Busa..Sat nav was in full view on the top yoke and was never mentioned,With his broken English and my broken Spanish,I established that he was looking to buy a Busa.

There's no more to worry about there than here in the UK,and over there the roads are better and quiter,it's warmer and drier.

Go and enjoy..I'm off again for the 3rd time in the last couple of years for 2 weeks last week in May,1st week in June..Can't wait.@tu*:-0)
 

Pugwash

Been there, and had one
Club Sponsor
From what I've read, Spain has had a shockingly bad history of traffic incidents, and have been cracking down on all sorts of things. If there's a sign saying you need your headlights on in a tunnel, do it!
 

163phil

Registered User
From what I've read, Spain has had a shockingly bad history of traffic incidents, and have been cracking down on all sorts of things. If there's a sign saying you need your headlights on in a tunnel, do it!
You must have your headlights on at all times in Spain (makes sense anyway). Last year, when nursing a failing generator, we were gestured to turn our lights on. That's all. I don't think they're particularly interested in stopping bikers if you're riding OK.

Of course, if you're riding like a twat......
 

Jaws

Corporal CockUp
Staff member
Moderator
Club Sponsor
A few years ago ( not that many either ) things were all going swimmingly for the Spain..So plod nicked law breakers willy nilly.. After all, they were only doing the job properly and if they pissed off a few tourists so what.. Then things got pretty hard and a lot of local plod never got paid properly.. So they ended up having to 'fine' folk at every opportunity just to get their wages.. Which was a bloody nightmare for all !

Now things are even worse and local government departments have suddenly realised that Spain, as a destination was no longer quite as popular as it once was..
Casting round for reasons one that was quickly recognised ( as a strong possible ! ) was the amount of tourists who were getting fined for all manner of stuff.
Word had spread ( according to those that are supposed to know ) and local police pay became a priority, which in turn meant they were no where near as aggressive with tourists ..

All in all Spain is now a decent destination once again.. But yes, do be aware if you DO break laws you will end up in the doodoo.. They are just not so much looking for daft stuff nowadays

( All this from a documentary on TVE1 last year .. and nope, I have VERY little Spanish but was sitting with several peeps who speak it like the natives LOL !! )
 

MAG man

Registered User
Toured in Spain last summer, me and the Mrs. took both our bikes, me with sat nav plus bike to bike comms. We made the effort to conceal cables so they weren't dangling all over the place but didn't do anything to attract attention either. Result; no interference from plod, great holiday. My wifes first proper European tour on her bike, she loved it and is itching to get back.
 

Mr Bean

Registered User
Spain - From a Personal Perspective

Been there three times in the last three years & loved every minute.

Sat nav has never been an issue.

We use Cardo Scala passenger/rider bluetooth headsets that connect to Garmin

Last time hired a 1200GS from bmwmotohire.com which was a brilliant way to explore the area. We stayed in Teba which is pretty much central to the area and an ideal base

The roads in Southern Spain are brilliant
 
B

Beast

Guest
A few points.

At a junction if its says stop then do just that, even if there is nothing in view.
It is obligotary to indicate to overtake & the same for pulling back in.
Do not filter UK style if the Gurdia are in view as you need to leve a metre between you and what you are passing & not cross that white line.
 
M

mydaemonXX

Guest
I do understand that this is a old thread, but anyway....

As spanish, and as another mate pointed out above, I don't understand your fears to our Guardia Civil. You have lots more speed cameras and your police are quite tough than ours.

If you are polite and civilized, your papers are in order and original (not photocopies) and you don't ride your bike as if you wanted to see God's face, you will find my country very lovely. Spain is like heaven in the earth: good weather, good temperature, good roads and better food (and I'm saying nothing on yours, I like UK's food). For the brittish, Spain is also a cheaper country for food, entertainment, wine and drinks; hotels are cheaper too (even more with the pound growing stronger than euro cause the crisis).

I do really recommend to any of you to take the Ferry and go there for a ride out.

Anyway, as a own criticism, take care: there is a lot of people (much of then coming from the east and even beyond) looking for your stuff. Spanish people tends to be open, loyal and honest, but in the streets you will find a lot of people that is not. Take care of your bike and your stuff, and your holidays will be perfect :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
M

mydaemonXX

Guest
A few points.

At a junction if its says stop then do just that, even if there is nothing in view.
It is obligotary to indicate to overtake & the same for pulling back in.
Do not filter UK style if the Gurdia are in view as you need to leve a metre between you and what you are passing & not cross that white line.

I couldn't explain all of them better than you @tu*@tu*@tu*
 

Jono

Super Sponsor
Read Only
Having just returned from Northern Spain (Picos area), I absolutely agree, what a fantastic place, :bow: friendly people, great food and wine, and it won't break your bank account! We then rode along to San Sebastian, again, great, great place, loved it @tu*
 
M

mydaemonXX

Guest
Having just returned from Northern Spain (Picos area), I absolutely agree, what a fantastic place, :bow: friendly people, great food and wine, and it won't break your bank account! We then rode along to San Sebastian, again, great, great place, loved it @tu*

Next time you go there, contact me first. I've a friend there with a house inside a Valley quite near to Picos de Europa, renting it for weeks at very affordable prices @tu*@tu*@tu*@tu*@tu*
 

Jono

Super Sponsor
Read Only
Many thanks @tu* we rented a place close to Cangas De Onis, for a week, quite expensive brok3
 

John Mack.

Old Hand
Club Sponsor
Cheers for the heads up on the people types. We're off to Boltana in a couple of months...can't wait.
@tu*
John.
 

scrote

Registered User
Just got back from Spain , the roads up to the ski resort in the Sierra Nevada and also coast road were way better than I expected and perfect for Blackbird, shame I was in a hire car:violin:
 

Jaws

Corporal CockUp
Staff member
Moderator
Club Sponsor
Having now spent quite some time in Spain, a couple of observations

1) As a people, it is quite possible the Spanish ( like the Germans ) are the friendliest, most helpful and above all honest folk we have the good fortune to meet in our Euro wide travels

2) As said, lots of influx of thieving scrotes.. but where we stay for months it tends to be not those from the eastern part of Europe, but from across the water in Africa

3) We found lots of roads in and around towns were suffering terribly from age and although still smooth, were in many cases polished like mirrors, with piss poor grip, especially on roundabouts and popular routes..
We met several lads who had come off... and being 'yer average geezer' just put their tales down to hearsay .. then I came off on a roundabout this year doing just a couple of miles an hour and realised the road surface really was VERY shiny and offered little grip
 
S

SkimpyWan

Guest
I rode around Spain last year with the bike fully loaded and the Misses on the back. Got maybe 10 miles into the trip and I rode over a white arrow in the middle of the lane (I was upright fortunately) and I got a full lock tank slap at 90 mph +. To say it taught me to avoid white lines in wet and dry weather was an understatement.

Then a few days later I rode over a pedestrian crossing at maybe 5-10 mph and had the backend come around on me because there was no traction.

What I'm saying is avoid the paint on the roads at ALL costs!!

Happy riding.
 
Top