Alps Tours by Moto-Charlie

MOTORCYCLES

We saw these unique motorcycles at the top of the Klausen Pass in Switzerland. They are rental bikes - NOT. A couple of brave determined souls were riding the Alps on these babies and having a great time.

While I believe that certain motorcycles make more sense than others for your Alps tour (especially if you are inclined to ride with me each day) the fact is you can tour on any kind of bike. That is why I provide a variety of bikes to choose from. I give my tour members the pick of the bikes so I frequently end up with a different bike each tour and they all work just fine. I've found that for solo riding the Wolfman Beta bag (with the rain cover) works great for me. It has as much capacity as the BMW hard bags. It stays in place and is a snap to take off and on. I use it on all my tours when riding solo.

On tour we have available a nearly full line of BMW's and Honda's available. I will send you a list of the current motorcycles available (along with the rental rates) prior to your tour booking so that you know and get the exact motorcycle you want.

The wide variety of bikes available means that you are sure to find a motorcycle that you will enjoy. I like it because I get to try something new every tour. In addition to the two motorcycle brands offered the shop has a huge supply of all kinds of motorcycle apparel and riding gear, not to mention a neat cafe.

The motorcycles are all current year model bikes - so the list is updated every year as new models are introduced. It's a great way to go for an extended test ride prior to buying a motorcycle back home. Full insurance is included in the price. Hard or soft luggage can be rented at a small additional charge for those bikes that do not come standard with hard bags. You have a choice of renting with 200 kilometers per day (which works fine if you plan to do some non-motorcycling events during the lay-over days) or unlimited kilometers.

While it sometimes involves more effort other rental brands can be obtained from different shops. The trade-off is the easy access convenience of getting to/from the rental shop located in our home-base town. On the other hand if you really have your heart set on a different brand and the extra time needed to pick it up and return it to an out of the way location feel free to request it and I will be glad to make the arrangements for you to pick it up.

CONVENIENCE VERSUS COST?

For me convenience is everything. I also want to be at a decent hotel close to the dealer so I can maximize my riding time as opposed to spending precious time commuting back and forth to pickup and drop-off the bike. This can be particularly important if there is an emergency that requires you to quickly return the bike, pickup your luggage, and hit the airport to head home. Trust me, I know this from actual experience. I choose the rental shops in large part based on their proximity to a comfortable hotel.

I have chosen our specific rental shop for several reasons:

The dealer is right in the city, close to our hotel and easy to get to from the airport and the autobahn.
The dealer provides brand new bikes, with luggage and comprehensive insurance. He has an excellent reputation for service and reliability (plus the owner speaks fluent English).
There are bus and rail connections for easy access to the local sites such as Interlaken, Lauterbrunnen and Grindelwald (assuming you don't want to ride your motorcycleto get there).
Thun is in the heart of some of the best riding in the Alps. This means that whether we are heading out on tour or coming back, we will have great riding right up till the time we park the bikes at our hotel.

Alps Tours by Moto-Charlie

MOTORCYCLES

CONVENIENCE VERSUS COST?

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