Adventures of blacktiger. To eastern Europe.

[blacktiger]

17th Auxerre to Home.
Slept well until about 06:30 when someone in the next room started to fiddle with their toiletries. I gave up at 07:20 and got up and went for breakfast and packed a sarnie for lunch. Out into the foggy gloom at 07:55 only to find that the connecting cable for my heated jacket liner had gone missing somewhere. So no heat but it was about 8C first thing and I was well wrapped up anyway.
Couldn't see much for the first 2&1/2 hours because of the fog by which time I was just about getting onto my favourite "avoid Paris" route around the north of said Paris. It's a good mix of roads but mostly runs through and across farmland with good vision which can be ridden at a good lick.
ETA at Calais started at 14:39 but with a few pee stops and for the pre-packed sarnie that dropped back to 15:30. Last night, I had booked the 17:30 Sea France ferry and was hoping that there'd be an earlier one but alas no. I went into the terminal building and had a sandwich and coffee and wrote this journal whilst waiting.
Onto the ferry on time and a reasonably smooth crossing despite the wind getting stronger as we crossed. Greeted in Dover, as is quite usual, by a strong westerly and the threat of rain. Tried to keep my speed down on the way home and arrived at 19:30 to find the house was still there and a pile of mail on the door mat.
ODO 355.
TOTAL MILEAGE = 6326 MILES and the bike now needs another service.

Conclusion.
This trip is one that I'd been planning to do for quite a few years. It was to follow the Carpathian mountain range from CZ around into RO and Transilvania. I could never get anyone else interested enough to commit so I decided to just get on with it and go on my own. By careful placing of my annual leave I was able to get 24 days off work. So I decided to add Macedonia & Greece and a return through Italy to the trip. It covered 7 countries that were new to me. SK, PL, H, RO, BG, MK & GR.
The places and the people are, as ever, unique but at the same time all welcoming and willing to talk and accommodate you in your travels. A particular mention to the Bikers' club in Baia Mare. Great bunch of lads and bought me beer all night. Can't get better than that. I never usually like to go back to places again because there are always so many other places to visit around the world but I will return to some of these places again because you can never take it all in on a fleeting visit such as I've just done. Romania, Bulgaria and Macedonia all need a longer trip to explore the real back roads and the scenery, which is mostly why I go, and is worth the cost of fuel and time.
Haven't really mentioned the Tiger800XC because it just got on with the job which, I suppose, is what you want. The aerodynamics that I have on the bike worked very well and the fuel consumption was pretty good, although I did take it quite sedately due to trying to make the rear Heidenau K60 Scout tyre last the distance and because of the condition of the roads. Turns out that there's plenty of tread left and I would expect it to go another 2000 miles. Not bad for a 50/50 dual sport tyre. The engine is just superb and will pull from tickover to red line. Effortless is the word to describe it. Just dial in whatever speed you want and it'll sit there doing it.
Was it the right bike for the job? Absolutely. Some of the roads I came across were really bad and some just turned to dirt at times. So an adventure touring bike with good suspension to soak it all up is essential. The Tiger800XC did just that. It is, IMO, THE best bike for this job on the planet at the moment. At touring speeds it has a genuine 200+ miles range, is comfortable for riding all day, albeit I used an AirHawk seat. Its ease of handling in every situation means that you don't end the day aching or tired. It give me the confidence to go off the beaten track and into the unknown. Brilliant. Thanks Triumph for making the best bike on the planet.

[BONANZA]

Well Howard, that was one of the best ride reports that I have read & of particular interest to me because my brother in law &sister in law live about 5 kms out of Sunny Beach( in fact your photo could have been taken from their villa) Earlier this year while visiting them I had the idea of going over on the Tiger to explore some of the stunning roads that they showed us (by car :roll: ) I think I feel a plan coming on :lol:  
All the best Will

[chairhead]

Great R/R Blacktiger

[KuzzinKenny]

Hey blacktiger !! grrrrreat RR and pics !! looks like ya had a blast  

how did ya get on with the Heidenau tyres ?? you did say ya had a few slippery moments   :shock: was that the tyre or the poor road conditions ??

KK

[John Stenhouse]

Great report, best use of a tiger I've seen in ages.

KK, not the tyres the roads, they are known for being slippery in the wet

[Geoff W]

Excellent trip, and great report, a man who enthuses over dark beers and Triumph Tigers deserves respect.

[KuzzinKenny]

Great report, best use of a tiger I've seen in ages.

KK, not the tyres the roads, they are known for being slippery in the wet

Cheers John !! i've been lookin at the Heidenau tyres on the net and they get good reviews but can't see them in V rated ?

KK

[HockleyBoy]

Nice report, looks like a great trip.

[blacktiger]

Hey blacktiger !! grrrrreat RR and pics !! looks like ya had a blast  

how did ya get on with the Heidenau tyres ?? you did say ya had a few slippery moments   :shock: was that the tyre or the poor road conditions ??

KK

As John said, it was the roads. They all seem to have a layer of dust on them. You can see tyre tread marks on the road. So, when they get wet this dust layer turns into a nice slimy layer that no tyre is going to grip on.
Overall I do rate the K60s as "very good". As a 50/50 tyre I can't fault them. On normal roads (without a slimy layer) they haven't slowed me at all and they give the confidence to explore those out of the way places and tracks up in the hills as per this video. You don't know where you're going and don't what you're going to find but you know you have a tyre that will give a bit of grip, at least, if it turns nasty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yeefAgyN6w

[blacktiger]

Great report, best use of a tiger I've seen in ages.

KK, not the tyres the roads, they are known for being slippery in the wet

Cheers John !! i've been lookin at the Heidenau tyres on the net and they get good reviews but can't see them in V rated ?

KK

No, the K60 Scouts are "H" rated so they're OK on the 800s.

[KuzzinKenny]

Hey blacktiger !! grrreat vid  

cheers for the tyre report !!

KK