LCGB Forums

Hi,
Been out of the scene for a while but back riding as of last year and loving it.
I really fancy doing Euro Lambretta next year for my 50th and have sold my GP200 this week and about to buy (fingers x'd) a TS1 with this in mind.

Does the LCGB supply any help on advised routes,accomodation on these trips if required?
Any advice on what to take in terms of must have kit,tools etc ? I'm capable of doing some work on scooter but never done any engine work so clutch compression tool etc probably not much use in my hands !
I'd be very interested in any advise or experiences of these trips.
Cheers Simon

Search the forum and you'll find lots of useful information for travelling abroad.

I recently posted a question on spares/tools (viewtopic.php?f=22&t=5467) and got some useful information and food for thought.

Booking hotels enroute is usually down to yourself and the end location is usually a campsite, so if camping isn't your thing then you try to book a local hotel.

You may be best trying to find a local club (with LCGB members) who do the long haul rallies and Euro's.

Post your location and i'm sure there'll be someone local who can point you in the right direction

Thanks Mick I'll take a look.
Cheers Simon

The best advice Mick gave was the bit about finding a local club who do this type of rally. It's a long way and you can expect some minor maintenace on the journey so you may want to find a group who have some mechanical knowledge. Company is always good as well. Get some form of Euro Relay coverage as well just in case

One way of getting some confidence for riding over there is attending a few of the many smaller scooter rallys held over there which are closer to the UK. Our scooting friends over the water are a good bunch

Thanks guys all makes perfect sense.
Yeah I definately need to get some miles under my belt whatever the destination as not done long distances for 26 years !
Simon

We have been going abroad at least once a year for the last 8 years, either to the Euro Lambretta rally or to some other location/event. The advice about riding with others is well worth heeding. There is always at least 3 of us riding together and we have had 6 on one occasion. We split tools and spares between us and we have always needed to use them on at least one of the scooters. Personally I have been riding long distances for many years but I am absolutely hopeless with my Lambrettas if anything goes wrong. Fortunately the mates I ride with have enough knowledge between them to fix most things. If all else fails I have a mobile phone and European Recovery via my insurers!!

Thanks Gary glad I'm not alone on the lack of mechanical expertise
Seeing your seasoned on Euro trips any tips on must have gear you wouldn't travel without?
Any preference on best compact tent ( if needed) or panniers to carry kit.?
Simon

What ever gear you decide on its always a compromise as you can never carry everything you woukd like too. My Mrs comes on the back to most Euros which limits space for spares.

The best advice I think anyone could give is that while over there keep it in mind where you are and always ride well within the limits of your Lambretta. And try to do routes you know others will be traveling along so that if you do find yourself in a pickle on your own there is more chance of a helping hand turning up at some point.
I think everyone will agree that they stop and try to help anyone who is in trouble and on their own.

Edit: one other thing is...... use social media to call for help too, moat people have smart phones with them and often post updates of their progress on places like Facebook. I can think off hand of a couple of instances when members of our club have ended up assisting people in trouble who have posted a HELP post with location on Facebook.

A tip that has helped me is to remember "Throttle to the gutter"........helps at junctions and roundabouts...

Thanks guys I'm hoping to share the experience rather than be on my own after all no fun in that .
Simon

plantphoto wrote:Thanks Gary glad I'm not alone on the lack of mechanical expertise
Seeing your seasoned on Euro trips any tips on must have gear you wouldn't travel without?
Any preference on best compact tent ( if needed) or panniers to carry kit.?
Simon

I'm 65 this year and stopped using tents a good while ago! We stay in inexpensive hotels, or rent a house/villa, near to where we're going. Four of us are off to Holland in June and we've rented a villa. Last year we toured the Somme area and stayed in a little gite in the grounds of an old farm. We have stayed in hotels in France, Belgium, Italy, Holland, Jersey and IOM on previous trips.

We all have good panniers and we try to pack light - couple of pairs of jeans, polo shirt/t-shirt for each day, underwear and socks for each day, decent shoes for evenings, a Harrington for any chilly evenings and a wash bag with the essentials. We normally ride in waterproof and armour protected jackets and trousers and the front and back rider (as a minimum) also have reflective vests over their jackets.

We all have 12/13 litre fuel tanks fitted but we also carry a spare few litres (2 - 4) in case of emergency in our legshield tool boxes. Obviously it depends on where/how far we are going but each of us normally takes 2-3 litres of 2-stroke oil and one of us will carry a litre of gear box oil. Between us we always take at least 1 full set of cables per 2 riders, spare hub studs, plenty of plugs, a couple of plug caps and leads, a CDI, a good assortment of bolts, nuts and washers, fuel tap knuckle joint, front and rear bulbs, fuel tank cap, good length of fuel pipe, loads of cable ties and anything else we can fit in along with the appropriate tools. All of us now have SIP tubeless rims and we all have spares on a carrier. We have never taken a spare stator but last year we needed one. Fortunately we had only got to Folkestone (from Cambridge) so the scooter was recovered back to Cambridge, the stator changed there and then rode back to Folkestone to go through the Chunnel a day later than originally planned. We might take a spare stator from now on!

But, as I said in an earlier post, everyone has European recovery on their insurance so the most essential two items are the emergency recovery telephone number and a charged mobile phone!

Thanks Gary bet you have a few good stories to tell !
and that's ultimately what it's all about.
Thanks for the info.
Simon

Gary Harwood wrote:

plantphoto wrote:Thanks Gary glad I'm not alone on the lack of mechanical expertise
Seeing your seasoned on Euro trips any tips on must have gear you wouldn't travel without?
Any preference on best compact tent ( if needed) or panniers to carry kit.?
Simon

I'm 65 this year and stopped using tents a good while ago! We stay in inexpensive hotels, or rent a house/villa, near to where we're going. Four of us are off to Holland in June and we've rented a villa. Last year we toured the Somme area and stayed in a little gite in the grounds of an old farm. We have stayed in hotels in France, Belgium, Italy, Holland, Jersey and IOM on previous trips.

We all have good panniers and we try to pack light - couple of pairs of jeans, polo shirt/t-shirt for each day, underwear and socks for each day, decent shoes for evenings, a Harrington for any chilly evenings and a wash bag with the essentials. We normally ride in waterproof and armour protected jackets and trousers and the front and back rider (as a minimum) also have reflective vests over their jackets.

We all have 12/13 litre fuel tanks fitted but we also carry a spare few litres (2 - 4) in case of emergency in our legshield tool boxes. Obviously it depends on where/how far we are going but each of us normally takes 2-3 litres of 2-stroke oil and one of us will carry a litre of gear box oil. Between us we always take at least 1 full set of cables per 2 riders, spare hub studs, plenty of plugs, a couple of plug caps and leads, a CDI, a good assortment of bolts, nuts and washers, fuel tap knuckle joint, front and rear bulbs, fuel tank cap, good length of fuel pipe, loads of cable ties and anything else we can fit in along with the appropriate tools. All of us now have SIP tubeless rims and we all have spares on a carrier. We have never taken a spare stator but last year we needed one. Fortunately we had only got to Folkestone (from Cambridge) so the scooter was recovered back to Cambridge, the stator changed there and then rode back to Folkestone to go through the Chunnel a day later than originally planned. We might take a spare stator from now on!

But, as I said in an earlier post, everyone has European recovery on their insurance so the most essential two items are the emergency recovery telephone number and a charged mobile phone!

bit late for that trip but for reference, there is Atoms near the M20 and Thanet area scooter shop reasonably local to the channel ports.

Thanks but hopefully we won't have a breakdown that we can't fix by ourselves at, or near, the M20/Channel ports any time in the near future. However it's always good to know where help might be and we'll make a note of the telephone numbers just in case!

plantphoto wrote:Hi,
Been out of the scene for a while but back riding as of last year and loving it.
I really fancy doing Euro Lambretta next year for my 50th and have sold my GP200 this week and about to buy (fingers x'd) a TS1 with this in mind.

Does the LCGB supply any help on advised routes,accomodation on these trips if required?
Any advice on what to take in terms of must have kit,tools etc ? I'm capable of doing some work on scooter but never done any engine work so clutch compression tool etc probably not much use in my hands !
I'd be very interested in any advise or experiences of these trips.
Cheers Simon

Ive done massive European mileage over the years and still do and one of the things to buy is a Sanef toll tag if on the French Autoroutes, these are connected to your debit/credit card and save all the faff with change at the peages, bad enough in a car/van (thats me) but worse on two wheels with gloves and wallet to mess around with. If you ever need help with routes wanting to avoid autoroutes/bahns pm me and will always help out.Never rely on a sat nav, these are ok to a point but always keep a map handy,if i ever needed it i always keep the large hardback AA Euro maps with me but not ideal for a scooter. the small pocket AA or Michelin maps are a good alternative.
Re accomodation, Ibis and F1 hotels are clean and cheap for an overnight rest along the way and France is littered with many good campsites with good facilities, google maps show all these.
Avoiding some of the French alpine passes and going through the Rhone Alps region, into Switzerland and south into Italy into the lake Como area will also save a few euro's..

Many of the F1 hotels are utter shit holes in my experience, I avoid them like the plague

Eden wrote:Many of the F1 hotels are utter shit holes in my experience, I avoid them like the plague

Well yes, theyre not exactly your typical 5star all inclusive but one step up from a tent..

xenia1 wrote:

Eden wrote:Many of the F1 hotels are utter shit holes in my experience, I avoid them like the plague

Well yes, theyre not exactly your typical 5star all inclusive but one step up from a tent..

only just lol

I think we stayed in an F1 once are they like ferry cabins ?
the hotels I hate are Campinole, nothing wrong with them really, not too expensive but just so homogenised you could be anywhere.
makes me feel like I,m wasting the travelling experience.
We've stayed in some fantastic places by just stopping when we had had enough.