@@TheMissendenFlyer I have to agree, the bike reviews can be a bit, same old, same old, everybody starts reviewing the new bikes but with your bike tours they are unique and you can immerse yourself in them. I loved your Norway tour, one of, if not the best tour video you've done. 👍
Autoroute services are generally of two types in France, Aires de repos are essentially a car park with a public toilet, though the cleaning seems to be random as these are unmanned sites. Aires de service are more like U.K. services areas with much better food, clearly indicated on autoroute approach. There is a charge to use the toilets, 70 cents or maybe a Euro. Keep the ticket, if you use the restaurant or shop there is a part refund on presentation of the ticket usually 50cents. Go to the toilet first then eat. Same in Germany, excellent service areas, best services I have ever visited was in Germany, hyper clean, excellent food reasonably priced. Unfortunately I can not remember the location, I’ve tried. Services in Belgium tend to be large or very large petrol stations with refreshments often automated. On a personal note, I avoid using Aires de repos, they are used by truck drivers as cheap unserviced overnight stops and there is usually evidence of calls of nature. Sadly these days much like the M20, where truck drivers are deprived of food, water and modern sanitary services, I imagine ReesMogg would describe that as a brexit benefit!
Belgium by any criteria you would like to throw at it, has the best beer in the world; some of the most marvellous bread; very affordable restaurants; totally unintimidating bars, with delightful staff - utterly unlike any French city - and you can sit, or stand, where you choose without being charged extra for the privilege/mistake/honour. In summary, it is a very relaxed and totally worthwhile country, full of history, especially recent, to visit. and enjoy.
Belgium is a mecca for cyclists ( as well as chocolate, beer and chips, of course!); famous for various one day classic races....Great people and good vibes....
Ah, the Citadel of Namur....used to host Motocross, now hosts Cyclocross. And Belgium has some of the best breweries and beers around; and probably the home of cycling.
I love tent camping but I also love how the further into Europe you go the better the hotel room prices get. I've stayed in some great places in Slovakia and Ukraine.
Definitely doing Belgium a dis service. It’s a beautiful country, really friendly people, good food, good beer and if you’ve never spent time in Ypres you don’t know what you’re missing.
@@bizzie1956 I always feel a genuine deep sense of sorrow when I think about all the young men who had their whole lives taken from them for no reason whatsoever in WW2, but thankfully your Grandad left something behind. I salute you for visiting regularly, because so often it feels like their sacrifice was for nothing and is totally forgotten.
@@tompage8674 It's not always, 'Just About The Roads' it's deeper than that, it's about the culture, the landscape, food, people and the atmosphere you experience whilst being there. I spent 3 years in Holland many years ago and some people may consider Holland not to have much to offer in terms of roads but you have to look at the bigger picture. 👍
On of the best things and most famous in Belgium : Spa Francorchamps. Amazing track 👍 With regards Helite - many find them too hot especially when working hard on track. They do have great coverage but no use at all if not worn. Check out the Ixon or Furygan vests that you can wear under your normal gear. Since they don't need to be covered in slide proof material they are a lot lighter and more breathable 👍
Wow I almost bought a Goldwing recently actually as a bit of a joke to do a 5000km trip down the east coast of Australia , I hauled and bought a Ducati diavel and regretted it. Now I’m on the lookout for a wing, your clip confirms it
Cannot believe you went through Belgium!! Without a mention of some of the best beer in the world! And also for the ladies, the best Chocolate in the world, nice video 👍
Great episode TMF. It did tickle me when you clarified that Mrs Flyer isn’t a ponderous old beast, it was the bike you were referring to. Looking forward to the next!
A few corrections Sir, the roads in Belgium are just as bad as the UK, I know I had driven around Brussels and Antwerpen for more than 10 years, there is actually a Dutch joke that even a blind guy can tell when he crosses the border . anyway an idea for your next tour is the beautiful Schwarzwald region of Germany. It has beautiful scenary, hair pin bends to test the most experienced riders and lots of top quality bed and breakfast places all are very reasonable rates
Probably a bit late to mention it Mr Flyer but Namur used to be one of the best motocross tracks in Europe/ world. From memory they have to ride through the citadel and I think they had to ride on some bitumen road. Just a bit of motorcycling trivia I guess. Keep up the good work mate 👍
It's a bit more than trivia (imho anyway!), the Namur citadel is one of the iconic locations of world Motocross championship history, and Motocross is the most popular form of Motorsport if measured by actual participation!
@@TheMissendenFlyer Sorry for the wrong reply, I thought it was a mate's channel(!). I guess it's the age. Humble Tracer 900 GT. I wish I could afford a Wing. Thanks for the reply.
Thanks Mr Flyer for taking us your journey in Europe on your Honda Goldwing. I had to laugh when you going down to Belgium instead of up. I travelled to Belgium but I went Calais, Dunkirk then Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. The Germany then into Holland. However I don’t have luxury of your Honda Goldwing. I did it old fashion way I hitchhiking. Can’t wait to see more of your amazing journey
I do a trip to Luxembourg and Germany regularly as I only live 30mins from the tunnel, it's quicker for me to go for some decent roads across the channel than the UK. I do the first leg on the M-way just past Lille then drop into the Ardenne, so it's only 2 and a bit hrs of M-Way then twisties all the way. It makes for a long old day but it's about 6hrs of pretty much deserted twisty roads through the forests and along riversides...
With respect……you’re touring over there is like our going shopping in the Land Down Under. In saying that, I’d love to have a bike ride over in the British isles.
Fantastic vid! Lovely scenery! I did have to have a chuckle when you were commenting on the ‘wing being a ponderous old beast at slow speed, accompanied by the clarifying text on screen! Great stuff! Looking forward to the next part!
Great to see you back on tour on the mighty Goldwing with your better half TMF hahaha. i need to get serious about doing a bike tour of Europe and the UK, your tours always look amazing
It’s PIN. Personal Identification number. If it was PIN number, it would be Personal Identification Number Number. No wonder ya can’t beat us in cricket and real football, rugby league!!! Lol. We’re only down here to help. Ya shouldn’t have got rid of all ya talent down here.
Hi Mrs & Mr Flyer. Great video as always. I just love crossing the channel & turning LEFT. More should do it, as the Benylux countries are so great & friendly 🤗 PS - Mrs Flyer needs to give you a slap!! Regarding you comments at 17:26.... "... feeling a bit concerned about getting down here, the bike is heavily laden; and of course we've got Mrs Flyer on the back - 'and she's a ponderous old beast at slow speeds'...." 😱😱 Your wife looks stunning & slender, not a 'ponderous old beast' at all 🤗 😂🤣 PPS - It was great to see you at this years ABR Festival 😎 #TravellingWizzard
In case it's of any use to anyone here are the _common_ speed limits in KPH and their MPH equivalent (rounded to the nearest mph ): 130 kph = 81 mph 110 kph = 68 mph 90 kph = 56 mph 70 kph = 43 mph 50 kph = 31 mph 30 kph = 19 mph What I usually do is set the Sat Nag to the local units and language. This also displays whether you're speeding or not. It also gives a much better pronunciation of the street names. If you can change the units on your speedo to the local units, I'd recommend doing that as well.
I grew up in the UK and can just remember moving to decimal currency then using metric measurements at school and university. I always wondered why not metric distance and speed. Petrol in litres but mpg? The US is definitely imperial and pretty much the rest of the world is metric... while the UK remains a mix. I can't see that changing soon.
Do you really find the wing a handfull on twisty or switchback type roads? You described it as ponderous? They'd be my favourite type roads on my AT even 2up and fully luggaged. I've found the wing a tempting option, that I'd maybe try some time, and heard others describe it differently to yourself. I'd have thought it'd be one of the best big tourers for low center of gravity, and hence should be good for that type slow maneuvering?
Yes I agree it probably is the best big two up tourer and I live the low C of G - there’s no getting away though that it’s a heavy bike and at walking pace on tight hairpins on wet cobbles, it’s a handful….. Normal roads no issue.
The Goldwing would be a fantastic bike for doing the big open roads in Australia in comfort 👍, 30 degrees mate that’s a cool 😎 day in Aussie 😂😂😂. You will definitely have to get here one ☝️ day mate . I’m currently in Cairns Far North Queensland, you have probably heard of the Great Barrier Reef 🪸. Anyway we’re I live in Victoria was -2 the morning we left ( it’s our winter 🥶) BUT in cairns it’s around 18-26 almost everyday- it’s Cairns winter 🥶. Love ❤️ your tourers as always
I’m late to the party as always Andy. Great series and agree that Luxembourg is fabulous. Was there end of June and it was great especially as we landed there for Luxembourg day which was crazy. Oh, and we stopped in the same hotel as you guys!
Great videos and I'm enjoying each installment. In other news, I'm going to try referring to *my* missus as a 'Ponderous Old Beast at low speeds' and see if I can similarly get away with it...
Looks like a fun ride! The train would be really cool. I haven't watched you channel in a while because of working nearly every day. Had 1 day off in 24 days, lol.
I noticed there are more cabover trucks in Europe. They were once very common in the United States. It's quite rare to see cabover trucks anymore in the United States.
I lived in Belgium for 10 years, I think of it as my second home. The Belgain Ardennes is fantastic for biking. Don't forget Belgium is famous for beer... lots and lots of brewery's. I'll be following this tour with special interest. Hope you enjoy 🙂
Many years back..fab Xmas market trip to Bruges with friends…learnt the hard way in a small bar that you can’t work your way through the plethora of local bottled beers.. 😵💫
Another enjoyable video among the many TMF videos I've watched. Nice to include your channel crossing that was interesting since I've never been, living vicariously through you. My research assistant Google tells me it takes about 35 minutes to cross, is that accurate and how much did it cost you? At one point around 15:30, you mentioned you were going to hit the bar. That would have been some good content, please include next time....LOL.
Great to see you both 'on the road' again. Belgium is a beautiful country, but fully aware that sometimes you just have to crunch the miles in to get to the good bits. Happy riding.
I lived in a little town in Belgium called Doitche for a year just 40 odd miles south of Namur. We found the people of Belgium some of the nicest and most generous in Europe. We were the only Americans living in this small town and we were made felt right at home. We traveled almost 40,000 miles during the year but unfortunately in my car traveling all over Europe every free moment.
Me and the Misses enjoyed Belgium. We stayed in Brussels, visiting in-laws, the Grand Place and a day trip by train to Bruges and the sea. I am looking forward to a return visit.👍🏻
I've ridden some of the very roads in your video Andy! The Ardennes are pretty good for bikes, although the road surface isn't always all that. If you ever find yourself in Belgium again, I'll happily buy you one of our great beers!
As a 'Winger' I am really pleased to see the bike out and about doing what it was designed for! You look happy to be there. I'm the other way round ... off to UK for six weeks on my wing from Spain for some cooler wetter weather and the ubiquitous pot holes just for a change. 43° here last week so I gotta go. Looking forward to your second vid. Be safe👌
Nice one Stu - althought the riding here is pants compared to Spain....I'd stay where you are!! Whilst you are here make sure and do the Lake District, Wales, Scotland, Peak District and Yorkshire for the best riding the UK has to offer - avoid the Suuth East......enjoy the Wing!
As i recover from cancer surgery watching this gives me hope . 1986 Goldwing but looking for a smaller bike for short distance touring. Thank you for this vid.
Fantastic video and now looking forward to part 2, its looking like the sort of first trip that I'd like to do, is there a chance that you could post the roads that you've used so I could follow same path, I've never done a trip abroad on bike before so need to keep it simple if pos, nit a problematic all if you can't, just thought I'd ask.👍
I have just been over from the Netherlands over the past weekend. Rode over to see some family and friends on my trusty honda forza 350. 1400 kilometers in 4 days.... Obviously she aint no gold wing, but i was massively impressed with the forza. Motor way riding is underwhelming on most bikes, and the forza was no different, and lacking some cruse control. But the bike was amazing out on the surrey back roads, and managed to get the centre stand down a couple of times. I have to say, apart from the suspension, the forza is a cracking bike. ( suspension just needs to be better, thats all i can really say about it) Great little video of your travels Andy, keep up the good work...
UK update on the fuel pump issue. I spoke to the Honda dealer today who is repairing my 2020 registered Goldwing. He informed me that my bike is a 2019 bike and the UK fuel pump recall (announced this week, late April 2024) does NOT cover my bike. The UK recall is for 2020-2024 Goldwings and NOT 2018-2019. I find this strange as the USA recall covers 2018-2024. My dealer also mentioned that the part number of the faulty fuel pump on my bike is also NOT one of the part numbers listed in the recall. This would suggest that there are fuel pumps fitted to 2018/2019 bikes that are not covered under the UK recall, but are also prone to failure as mine has done. Might I suggest this is slightly concerning? “Luckily”, my bike is under the Honda extended warranty, so the fuel pump replacement is covered and should be back on the road next week when a new pump arrives from Belgium, apparently. Hope this helps someone else in the meantime AND prompts a few questions for Honda UK to answer?
There is an amazing gorge in the middle of Luxembourg city centre that is well worth taking a look at. I visited most of the western European countries in the early 90's. If I remember rightly, I slept in the upstairs of a goat barn just on the outskirts of the city. In case you're wondering, I was hitch hiking around Europe at the time......
Happy to see you (and Mrs. Flyer) on tour again. Glad to see someone was having nice weather at the end of May. Here in the Pacific NW (US) it has been wet and colder than normal. Look forward to the next chapter. As always safe travels.
I live in Dallas, Texas and these European travel videos make me jealous. I could leave my house in Dallas and 650 miles later still be in the great state of Texas. Even worse, the temperatures would hover at around 100 degrees F (38C) the entire way. Oh, and I wouldn't pass a single Chateaux!
Glad you think that - I have invested quite a bit of money of late in new equipment so I can record and edit in 4K - glad there's a visible improvement. There are 7 episodes in all so a long way to go yet!
oooohhh I've been down that road to the Ardennes and yes my thoughts exactly there on Lavender and hay-fever.... I'm far more used to saying "oh I've been down that road" on Japanese tour and walking videos (having only been to Belgium once and only for three days compared having been to Japan enough times to have lost count of how many times I've been to Japan and having spent over a year and half in total there)
Enjoyed this and reminded me of when I toured France on my Fireblade except you have a much better Honda for the job. Would be nice to have some film of the night out as well as just on bike stuff though. Look forward to part 2.
Great to see you guys on another tour, although no bleary eyed chit chat around the table (to laugh at) during your evening meal?? The hotel looked amazing, more info about how you are getting on with the bike pleeeze!!!! 🙏😁
