Quite a Long Way Down by Gy200 - sorry Ewan !

Two years ago on 19 April I pulled into the petrol station in Dover - it was 3 in the morning I was freezing cold - despite seven layers of clothing ( really!) to find my chain lube aerosol had rubbed through and coated the back of the bike with v sticky grease :eek2:

I topped up the tank - a whole 3 litres and headed for the port - sheltered from the worst of the wind I wondered about my "plan" . The plan was to ride the 1250 miles from my home in Bedfordshire in the UK to Alicante in Southern Spain and not to make things too boring I was using my recently purchased GY200 :thumbsup:

Luckily this means just heading due South from my house - so hi tech navigation consisted of a car compass stuck to the headlight shroud ! Attachment 3218 Note the "keep right" on the handlebar pad - it worked and I avoided driving on the wrong side of the road the whole time ....

As is usual my biking mates had avised not to buy a Chinese bike as they depreciate quickly and are unreliable - so riding to Spain on one loaded with camping gear did surprise most of them ! My friend Keith came along with me on a Honda CB250 that was quite useful as a fuel back up - the GY tank only holding about 5 litres of fuel was a problem and meant many stops on the way . TBH that was a good thing as it allowed a bit of blood to flow to my legs while I filled the tank . I should also point out I am well over 6ft and 95kg so the bike did not have an easy run .

The early crossing to France meant we had clear roads as we set off into the light rain - that rain was to haunt us until crossing the Pyrenees .

By the end of that first day the sun appeared for a couple of hours so we could the tents up and dry some gear before I headed off to the local supermarket for Vin rouge ! Attachment 3219

The next morning I donned my 7 layers of clothes/oversuits etc and topped them off with plastic bags on my hands to try and keep them dry , that worked except for when they blew off when I took my hands off the bars ! Avoiding major roads we made steady progress through France but it rained all day and it was apparent that as most sensible people do not camp in April most campsites were closed too :confused1: As evening began to draw in we were lucky enough to find a place that was open as it was being refurbed - spent the evening cooking under dripping trees and drinking more vin rouge ! :thumbsup:Attachment 3220 Sorry about the pic quality but I think it shows how soggy it was - had to park the bike on tarmac or the stand would sink into the grass.....

After another day spent looking for fuel station we were now in the foot hills of the Pyrenees , no problems with either bike , though I had run out of fuel about 10 miles from the nearest town . The CB donated a litre or so but as Keith "sped" off I noticed a streak of something in the road and the CB died after a couple of backfires - he had not put the fuel pipe back on the tank tap !:lol8:

Another soggy evening with campfire cooked food Attachment 3221

By the next morning there were signs the weather was looking up - even small bits of sun to be seen...

Heading into the Pyrenees was good for our morale and we started to really feel we were making progress - the roads through the Pyrenees were great even on a 200 trail bike with loads of luggage and no rear damping in the shock ! Eventually we reached the snow just before the Spanish border Attachment 3223

Attachment 3224Attachment 3225Attachment 3226Attachment 3227

Suddenly we were at the Spanish border at the tunnel mouth

Attachment 3228

After going through the tunnel for a mile or so we popped out into blazing sunshine - we pulled into a layby near a lake and I removed 5 layers clothing and consigned a fair bit of it to the bin at the roadside - it was good to be in the warmth of Spain !:clap:Attachment 3229Attachment 3230Attachment 3231Attachment 3232 The contrast was amazing , just covering a few miles had changed the scenery and most imprtantly the temperature out of all recognition ! We now pressed on as I had planned just one overnight in Spain as there seems fewer campsites than France .

We spent that night at a site near a fishing lake and finally all my clothes were dry !! And instead of sheltering from the rain the trees provided some much needed shade !

Attachment 3233

Now we just had to follow the N330 to Alicannte - even my navigation skills are up to that , lots of variety on the road , winding steep mountains to wide open "as far as you can see" straights , a lot more petrol stations about so that reduced the fueling stress but I would top up the GY at just about every station I came to .

Then late in the afternoon we were there - safe and sound but a bit "saddle sore"
Attachment 3235 next day I gave the bike a well deserved wash and check over - looking good !Attachment 3236Attachment 3237
the little GY had carried me and a big pile of camping gear etc with no problems at all , not even a blown bulb or used any oil . I kept the speed down to a comfortable 55mph which gave a fuel consumption of about 80mpg and a full to stopped range of about 100miles . Without luggage the speedo could creep up to about 70+mph but it did not feel comfy for me or the bike .

TBH at this point I cheated and after a few days in the sun got Easy jet to fly me home leaving the GY to spend its time in the sun . The following year I flew in and confidently rode the bike back to the UK . Despite sitting for over a year the willing little bike fired up first kick ! - the benifit of a warm climate maybe but impressive nevertheless.

After I got back I changed the oil and gave the bike a check over before selling it on Ebay for £50 less than I bought it for - good value I thought for a cheapie European tourer !:icon10:

Great report - thanks!

A question:

Riding a 200cc Chinese bike must have attracted some "interesting" attention from the wannabe-adventure-GS-riders that apparently crowd the European asphalt. Would they talk to you?

bojer,
Good ride report and photos.
Thanks

Thanks a lot for posting this Bojer, impressive stuff! Good to see some people have faith in china motos! Sure they're not the best but still a lot of fun to be had on them!

What do you ride now?

Dear Bojer,

Great report. That takes some gumption to embark on a transcontinental ride with a 5 liter tank! I think you were right to flog that bike and step up to a 250. Good luck with the new bike, and keep us posted about your new adventures.

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Originally Posted by felix

...What do you ride now?

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Check out Bojer's earlier thread. Says he's just bought a CCM CXR230 aka Loncin LX250.

cheers

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Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

Great report - thanks!

A question:

Riding a 200cc Chinese bike must have attracted some "interesting" attention from the wannabe-adventure-GS-riders that apparently crowd the European asphalt. Would they talk to you?

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Funny thing was we never saw any on the twisty little roads or even in the Pyrenees ! :eekers: On the way back met some at the port - funnily enough we had done about twice the distance they had :riding: I have to admit they gave respect for having done it on a Chinese bike but TBH it was no hardhsip and even just going along at 55mph ish it has to rate as one of my best "fun" motorcycling in 30 odd years :scooter:

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Originally Posted by bojer

Funny thing was we never saw any on the twisty little roads or even in the Pyrenees ! :eekers: On the way back met some at the port - funnily enough we had done about twice the distance they had :riding: I have to admit they gave respect for having done it on a Chinese bike but TBH it was no hardhsip and even just going along at 55mph ish it has to rate as one of my best "fun" motorcycling in 30 odd years :scooter:

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Let the miles do the talking. Way to go!

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Originally Posted by Lao Jia Hou

Great report - thanks!

A question:

Riding a 200cc Chinese bike must have attracted some "interesting" attention from the wannabe-adventure-GS-riders that apparently crowd the European asphalt. Would they talk to you?

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I saw tons of BMW GSers in Norway. They greeted me in fuel stations and greeted me on the road. With one Polish GSer I had very good discussions and laughs and he came to hand shake me right away when we met next time. But Polish are crazy people I like very much :lol8:

The thing is you have to be active and easily approachable yourself and not just expect everyone takes you as long lost prince. That said, HDers are the most elitist and inside warming people. You are not people to them if you don't ride a HD :eek2:

And thank you very much of the report! It right away fueled my desire to explore this lovely "old continent" called Europe!

Thanks for the great ride report and all the pictures! I don't get it though, did you just leave the bike sitting at a camp ground for a year? Where did you put it??

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Originally Posted by CantDecide

Thanks for the great ride report and all the pictures! I don't get it though, did you just leave the bike sitting at a camp ground for a year? Where did you put it??

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No sorry I have a house there so just left it there under a cover