Non walking partner wants to buy a motorbike - any suggestions?

[Kanga]

I think this falls into the category of equipment! Even if not exactly for the camino. I try to walk a camino every year, but husband hates to walk. He loves to ride motorbikes. We also like to do thing together. So we have come to a kind of compromise this year - I will go walk a camino by myself, and afterwards he will meet me and we will do a bit of touring on a motorbike. With me riding pillion, and also doing some walking.

It is hideously expensive to hire a motorbike, and also quite difficult, but we do have friends with whom we can leave a bike if we buy one. So that is what we would like to do. We are currently looking in Germany, but I suspect we would do much better in Spain.

So here is my question. Can anyone help with links to websites for second hand motor bikes for sale in Spain? - not just ebay, but perhaps reliable dealers. Personal knowledge would be a real bonus.

 

[Leibniz]

Sorry I cannot help. I just felt compelled to say that I think that sounds like a wonderful idea. Have fun!

 

[William Marques]

Is this Honda site any use?

 

[Former member 49149]

I have asked a friend for her cousin's contact details. He deals in cars, in Pamplona, but he could have contacts for motorbikes... if anything comes of it, I will pass on the details to you. if you get something sooner, no pasa nada...

 

[Kanga]

Thank you @William Marques - I'll let him look at it.

 

[Kanga]

Thanks @kirkie

 

[peregrina2000]

You get the award for the most unusual post of the day! Where in Spain would you want to buy it? I have friends I could ask in different parts of the country. And one is a motorcycle rider himself, now living in between Logrono and Pamplona.

 

[Jeff Crawley]

Assuming he does have a motorcycle licence that's valid in the EU my first question would be what do you do about insurance? Will your Australian insurance company cover you for a bike that you own but is kept in Spain. Will a Spanish company insure you when you don't have a residence in Spain.

I'd guess hiring a bike would cover both these situations.

Biking in Europe is great fun and you get a lot more respect as a biker in mainland Europe than you do in say the UK but what happens if you end up high-siding it? Taking a spill off a bike can be traumatising at the best of times - in a foreign country . . . ? Check your travel insurance covers bikes too.

For those who dream of throwing a leg over a bike and escaping Chris Scott's Adventure Motorcycling Handbook is a blast (ISBN 978-1-873756-80-5)

Funnily enough I was cleaning my bike over the weekend and debating one last fling or getting rid of it

 

[Kitsambler]

And does your medical insurance cover such optional, high-risk activities? This is akin to parachuting and bungee jumping, to my mind.

 

[Kanga]

We would have specific motor bike insurance to cover ourselves. We ride at home - this is nothing new for us, although we have not ridden in Europe. We haven’t looked at the complications of buying a bike in Spain, but my husband has researched insurance and registration in Germany and it is quite feasible to buy a bike there - and we have friends who will assist and can house it when we go home. But it would be more convenient, and possibly cheaper, to buy it in Spain. I think he’d travel pretty much to anywhere in Spain for the right bike! It has to be a tourer (comfortable for a couple of old codgers to ride). @Jeff Crawley I’ll show him your photo in the morning! (1am here).
And i’m looking forward to seeing a few “off-camino” sights that have been on my radar for a while!

 

[Geodoc]

Funnily enough I was cleaning my bike over the weekend and debating one last fling or getting rid of it

View attachment 53415

NEVER get rid of the bike! You'll regret it. Got rid of mine 25+ years ago and regret it, still (trying to convince la esposa that I need another one).

 

[tominrm]

I second to Geodoc. "Stand your ground", even under family pressure. Once it's gone, you can't get it back.

 

[KerrieG]

I think this falls into the category of equipment! Even if not exactly for the camino. I try to walk a camino every year, but husband hates to walk. He loves to ride motorbikes. We also like to do thing together. So we have come to a kind of compromise this year - I will go walk a camino by myself, and afterwards he will meet me and we will do a bit of touring on a motorbike. With me riding pillion, and also doing some walking.

It is hideously expensive to hire a motorbike, and also quite difficult, but we do have friends with whom we can leave a bike if we buy one. So that is what we would like to do. We are currently looking in Germany, but I suspect we would do much better in Spain.

So here is my question. Can anyone help with links to websites for second hand motor bikes for sale in Spain? - not just ebay, but perhaps reliable dealers. Personal knowledge would be a real bonus.

A brilliant compromise Kanga! I have actually posed a similar proposition to my husband, but he didn't go for it!

 

[Kiwi-family]

Kanga we bought motorhomes in Germany in 2009 and had a right royal runaround with insurance. We were fortunate hubby had a British passport so he could get registered to the address we were couchsurfing at. I don’t know if regulations have changed in ten years but offer our experience as a warning!
Also, motorcycles were excluded on our travel insurance but it sounds like you have that sorted.
I guess it doesn’t matter to a motorcyclist that hiring a car is easy and inexpensive;-)

 

[Roland49]

I advice the website
https://www.motorcycle-rental-europe.com/

Back in 2016 in Barcelona I rent a scooter to drive in the city via this website.
Really convinient and not very expensive. The total cost was 38€ per day as special offer in mid-season.

Hope you'll find what you are looking for.

Buen Camino!
Roland

 

[Meggie]

I think this falls into the category of equipment! Even if not exactly for the camino. I try to walk a camino every year, but husband hates to walk. He loves to ride motorbikes. We also like to do thing together. So we have come to a kind of compromise this year - I will go walk a camino by myself, and afterwards he will meet me and we will do a bit of touring on a motorbike. With me riding pillion, and also doing some walking.

It is hideously expensive to hire a motorbike, and also quite difficult, but we do have friends with whom we can leave a bike if we buy one. So that is what we would like to do. We are currently looking in Germany, but I suspect we would do much better in Spain.

So here is my question. Can anyone help with links to websites for second hand motor bikes for sale in Spain? - not just ebay, but perhaps reliable dealers. Personal knowledge would be a real bonus.

What you wrote could have been written by me! My husband & I are in the same boat as you and your husband. I'm following

 

[Jeff Crawley]

NEVER get rid of the bike! You'll regret it. Got rid of mine 25+ years ago and regret it, still (trying to convince la esposa that I need another one).

Trouble is it's a hefty 750cc bike weighing 250+kgs and should a 67yo who has had a (mild) stroke be tooling around on a 120mph bike anyway 🏍 ?

 

[Geodoc]

Trouble is it's a hefty 750cc bike weighing 250+kgs and should a 67yo who has had a (mild) stroke be tooling around on a 120mph bike anyway 🏍 ?

Valid point. Buy a smaller bike when you trade the big one in. The new Honda's are sweet looking (my preference is the Honda Rebel 500cc ABS).

 

[Kanga]

Trouble is it's a hefty 750cc bike weighing 250+kgs and should a 67yo who has had a (mild) stroke be tooling around on a 120mph bike anyway 🏍 ?

I don't think the size and speed capacity is the issue. It is more about balance and judgment. I doubt a smaller bike would be any less dangerous, provided you ride the big bike conservatively.

 

[Kanga]

I guess it doesn’t matter to a motorcyclist that hiring a car is easy and inexpensive;-)

Yes, we've done that in the past, but it does not interest him at all! The motorbike is the carrot.

 

[WayWalker]

I think this falls into the category of equipment! Even if not exactly for the camino. I try to walk a camino every year, but husband hates to walk. He loves to ride motorbikes. We also like to do thing together. So we have come to a kind of compromise this year - I will go walk a camino by myself, and afterwards he will meet me and we will do a bit of touring on a motorbike. With me riding pillion, and also doing some walking.

It is hideously expensive to hire a motorbike, and also quite difficult, but we do have friends with whom we can leave a bike if we buy one. So that is what we would like to do. We are currently looking in Germany, but I suspect we would do much better in Spain.

So here is my question. Can anyone help with links to websites for second hand motor bikes for sale in Spain? - not just ebay, but perhaps reliable dealers. Personal knowledge would be a real bonus.

We met a young dutch man on the Portugese who walked his camino and bought a second hand motorbike and was doing it in reverse back to Holland!

 

[Juanma]

You get the award for the most unusual post of the day! Where in Spain would you want to buy it? I have friends I could ask in different parts of the country. And one is a motorcycle rider himself, now living in between Logrono and Pamplona.

I think I am the motorcycle riding friend peregrina2000 mentions

Don't think this is what you are actually asking for, but the most popular site for motorbikes for sale in Spain is http://www.motos.net (go straight to https://motos.coches.net/ocasion/ for second hand ones). You will find ads there from both professional and private sellers.

It is always a bit risky to buy a second hand bike, but doing it in a different country, in a different language, can make it even worse. I'd recommend going for a seminew one (1 to 2 years maximum) sold by the original brand's professional dealer, with a guarantee (if possible still the original one from the brand).

If you do find one that suits you in the Pamplona - Logroño area, I can probably go have a first look at it for you; then, if the impression is positive, you can come down and look at it yourself.

Here's my bike in a place you might know, last year :




(might consider selling it soon, by the way)

 

[JillGat]

Is this Honda site any use?

I have a Honda Hornet which is rare in the US (only imported in 2004 and 2006) but are ubiquitous in Europe. It's a comfortable, zippy 600cc and I bet you could get one used. And when you're done, maybe you could store it at Ivar's in Santiago so I could borrow it next time I'm there! Hey, I like this idea, consecutive motorcycle rentals for pilgrims finishing the Camino.

(My profile pic is my Kawasaki dirt bike)

 

[RumAndChupacabras]

ErMehGerd...
Thinking I just struck Gold in finding this thread for my guy, @tomoil 🏍
He's into restoring Royal Enfield's.

 

[JillGat]

ErMehGerd...
Thinking I just struck Gold in finding this thread for my guy, @tomoil 🏍
He's into restoring Royal Enfield's.

"Restoring" Royal Enfields? Those need restoring even when they are new
That being said, I would totally ride a Royal Enfield back from Santiago to Madrid.

 

[JillGat]

Anybody near Albacete?

 

[JillGat]

Here's the exact bike I ride now and there are lots of them for sale (mostly with higher mileage) in Spain.


Really any simple standard moto, 300 - 800cc, would do. We need somebody in Spain to set up a moto rental system for pilgrims either heading for the starting point or back to the airport from Santiago. Or for husbands/wives who don't want to walk... they could tour the countryside and meet back up every so often along the camino. :::Though logistics aren't probably as easy as they seem to me right now, after two glasses of wine (Faustino I, Gran Reserva):::

 

[tomoil]

Royal Enfield has 2 new bikes that are selling all over Spain, the Himalayan 411cc at about 5000 Euros with a 2 year warranty, and the Interceptor 650cc at about 6400 Euros, with a 3 year warranty. Both get amazing fuel economy. There was a guy in Asturias renting RE's a while back but I guess the obama depression took him out.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

https://www.milanuncios.com/motos-de-segunda-mano/?fromSearch=1 Might find something here!

 

[JillGat]

https://www.milanuncios.com/motos-de-segunda-mano/?fromSearch=1 Might find something here!

Some great deals there.

 

[Wovoka]

Here's the exact bike I ride now and there are lots of them for sale (mostly with higher mileage) in Spain.
View attachment 60798

Really any simple standard moto, 300 - 800cc, would do. We need somebody in Spain to set up a moto rental system for pilgrims either heading for the starting point or back to the airport from Santiago. Or for husbands/wives who don't want to walk... they could tour the countryside and meet back up every so often along the camino. :::Though logistics aren't probably as easy as they seem to me right now, after two glasses of wine (Faustino I, Gran Reserva):::

Just noticed your post on motorbiking along/beside/in the vicinity of the Camino. Have walked twice from St. Jean - first time riding up in a taxi on a weekend - and the number of sport bikes zooming around curves had me (owner of a Triumph Daytona 955i) slobbering all over the window. I'm considering returning next spring and would be interested in hearing more about biker join-ups, etc. Btw, I'll be at Burning Man with someone who's riding in on a V-Strom; would be fun meet other Peregrino-riders, if anyone is listening? I'll be part of Anonymous Village. All the best, and Keep the Rubber on the Road...

 

[Kanga]

I thought I should follow up with my original post and let you know what we did. I went ahead and walked the Primitivo. Ian finished up by buying a monster big touring BMW in Germany. Not what I had envisaged at all! But it was very comfortable for a pillion. I flew to join him and we then had a bike trip for a few weeks around the Czech Republic, Austria, northern Italy and France. When we returned to Australia we left the bike with friends in Bavaria, Ian can use it again whenever I go walking in Europe. It is a bit far from Spain but we’ll probably sort that out in the future.

 

[Kanga]

And here’s a photo

 

[Wovoka]

I thought I should follow up with my original post and let you know what we did. I went ahead and walked the Primitivo. Ian finished up by buying a monster big touring BMW in Germany. Not what I had envisaged at all! But it was very comfortable for a pillion. I flew to join him and we then had a bike trip for a few weeks around the Czech Republic, Austria, northern Italy and France. When we returned to Australia we left the bike with friends in Bavaria, Ian can use it again whenever I go walking in Europe. It is a bit far from Spain but we’ll probably sort that out in the future.

Sweet looking ride, perfect for your needs. I envy you having free storage for future rides. Also a pleasant experience, isn't it, becoming instant "friends" with bikers you meet along the way...?