Day 3 - Problem with Sean’s GS

Tuesday 9 July 2019

When we arrived at High Chapparal Sean found that his bike was losing brake fluid. He topped it up but when we stopped for breakfast in Esch-sur-Sure the fluid level had dropped again. This could become serious so we decided to get it checked out at the BMW Motorrad dealership in Bastogne.


Hanging around at the BMW dealership

So after three hours hanging around at the dealers their conclusion was that they could not find any fault despite the fluid visibly dripping out onto the floor. The explanation was partial as the mechanics didn’t speak much English and our command of technical French was somewhat limited. There was some suggestion that the ABS system had an overflow valve and maybe the problem would go away. However Sean was advised to ride steadily and check the level frequently’ and on no account go riding on Alpine passes in case he had a catastrophic failure.
Well that’s great, since Alpine passes are what we are here to do.

So after much discussion we have decided to split the group. Sean and Jason will ride gently down to the Black Forest, while Mick and I stick to the original itinerary. Depending on the performance of his braking system Sean will decide whether he and Jason can catch us up later.


View from our room at Pension Williams

So now we are two! Mick and I continue on our route down to the Black Forest and an overnight stay at another familiar haunt, Pension Williams in Seebach. This is a well-known stop for the British motorcycle touring community just off the famous B500 road that loops and rolls along the western edge of the Northern Schwarzwald region, from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt.


David poses for me outside his hotel

It has been a long and tiring ride today and so after a couple of beers and a variety of snacks we get our heads down. Tomorrow we leave Germany for the Vosges Mountains in France.
PREVIOUS POST                                   NEXT POST

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 29 - Back to the High Chapparal

Image
Sunday 4 August 2019 Back to the High Chapparal in Heiderscheidergrund for our penultimate night. I thought Sunday night would be quiet after the weekend but far from it, the place is heaving. Our route was part motorway and part Bundesstraße, finished off with a lovely ride through the rolling hills of Luxembourg. Mick gets stuck in to the ribs at High Chapparal We camped next to a lovely couple and their young daughter who were riding a pair of old bikes. Maarten and Nina live in Venlo, but he hails from Düsseldorf and she is from Denmark. Maarten on his old Beemer Maarten’s bike is a 1965 BMW R50/2, a two cylinder 500cc that manages 26bhp and is fitted with a Stein S350 sidecar built in 1951. It also has a rear one-wheel trailer. Mick tries Maarten’s beemer for size Nina has a1943 Danish Nimbus C Sport. It’s a four cylinder 750cc engine and open valves. Output is 22bhp We give Maarten one of the blog stickers and he promised to drop a co
Read more

Day 1 - To Hull and Beyond

Image
Sunday 7 July 2019 We are all set to go at 2:30pm. In fact I’ve been ready since 10 this morning, champing at the bit and worrying about what I have forgotten to pack. No long haul down to the channel ports this time, just a short one-hour trip over to the P&O ferry terminal in Kingston Upon Hull for this evenings boat over to Zeebrugge in Belgium. Obligatory "Gentlemen start your engines" photo It is an easy ride over to Hull and we are at the check in early. The border force need to reach their targets so we are all directed into the search shed.  On board the ferry Naturally we are all clean and after a cursory check in a pannier here and a top box there we are allowed to proceed to the ship.       PREVIOUS POST                                      NEXT POST
Read more

Day 4 - From the Black Forest to the Vosge

Image
Wednesday 10 July 2019 Morning comes with a cloudless sky and the promise of a hot day ahead. Our first mission is to ride the famous B500 road which runs north-south from Baden-Baden to Freudenstadt. It follows the high ridge along the western edge of the forest in long sweeping curves. Excellent surfacing and bike-friendly cambers mean it can be ridden at high speed. However recently there has been a crack down on illegal speeders and the road is heavily policed at times. Still it’s a great road to ride and this morning there is little traffic about. We only see two police cars during our ride. High up on the B500 After Freudenstadt we turn off the main road and Loop down from the heights through glorious little villages and steep valleys on our way down to the border with France.  We cross the Rhine at Mulhouse and then ride across a hot, dusty plain on small roads with the Vosges Mountains rearing up in the distance. We found the Moto-Hotel Col de Bussang a co
Read more