Spain is an acknowledged riding Mecca with a huge amount of good quality riding. We contemplated doing an Edelweiss tour, but there was nothing available in the two week window we had in August. So what we had to do was find some bikes to hire, work out a route and organise accommodations and we would be in business.
Planning a good route is pretty hard. The bits and pieces of information available online are sparse, inconsistent and subjective. One of the big advantages of a using a tour company is that they know all the best roads. Luckily, Matt had a good relationship with the leader of his Edelweiss tour who had done a lot of riding in Spain, and Oliver Barrett was kind enough to lend me some maps and documents of the Edelweiss tour of the Pyrenees he did in Spain recently.
A Bulgarian company called Motoroads dominated the search results for motorcycle hire in Spain and so we booked through them. Bikes were supplied by Rent a Tiger in Barcelona. A wide selection of bikes at reasonable rates. Matt was keen on a BMW XR1000 (but this was not available), and I was keen on a Multi 1200 DVT (also not available). What we ended up with was a Multistrada 950 and a KTM 1050 Adventure, both of which turned out to be perfectly suited to the task.
Bikes were ready and waiting when we arrived. The Multi had 6,500 km on the clock, whilst the Kato had over 40,000.
The route we had planned took us from Barcelona, up the Costa Brava, through Andorra into France, through the French Pyrenees and on to San Sebastian in northern Spain where we took a break. We then made our way back on the Spanish side of the Pyrenees to Barcelona. We planned to stay in small towns as they are cheaper and allowed us to plan our rides with no compromises.
(Note: Final route details differ from this map)
We planned to average between 275 and 325 km per day, a moderate touring distance for a comfortable days riding. What we didn’t correctly reckon on was:
- The traffic; August is peak holiday season in Europe whilst we knew about this it was a lot worse than we anticipated, particularly along the Costa Brava, a big Spanish holiday destination
- The poor quality of many of the backroads we had chosen in France
There was a section leading into Cadaques that was bumper to bumper for over 15km moving at ~5km/h in both directions in the blazing sun. We were lucky. We had by this stage learned how to ride in Spanish fashion from watching the locals and wove our way through the traffic, doing stuff that would have had us serving life sentences had we done this in Australia. Not including the stop for lunch we were on the road for 10 and a half hours that day! And then to top it all, we had a two hour hassle with our accomodation so it was a really long day!
The riding
Spanish driver's are very considerate of bikes and give way all the time. So riding is generally very easy and safe there. The roads are excellent for the most part, but they do love their roundabouts! The route we had chosen was superb. We did a lot of the legendary N-240; the main east west highway that skirts the Pyrenees.The riding in Andorra was particularly spectacular as is the city of Andorra Le Velle. We encountered both magnificent high speed sweepers and super tight switchbacks in one afternoon and as usual, lots of traffic.
We found the roads in France quite varied. The maps and other planning tools we relied on (mainly the Michelin Route Planner) give no indication of the road quality. The route numbers give you a hint but there is no consistency. So some of the roads we went on in France were quite appalling. Very narrow and extremely bumpy. So much so that we struggled to maintain an average speed of 40kph in places. The Multi’s KYB and Sachs suspension, whilst not at all bad on good roads, really struggled to even out the bumps compared to the KTM. By the end of the two days of French backroads, it felt like I had broken some ribs whenever I coughed or sneezed.
The last day we where in France it rained - thankfully. It brought relief from the heat and we decided that it made little sense to keep plugging away on the torturous back roads in the rain so we took the motorway into Spain. Driving on European motorways takes a bit of getting used to. The speed limit can be as high as 130kph, and even then, cars travelling faster than that catch up to you really quickly, and if you are in the fast lane, you need to get out of the way really quickly.
We were very lucky with our timing as it was festival week in San Sebastian, where they host the Annual International Fireworks Display Competition. So for the two nights we were there, we were treated to some of the most spectacular fireworks I have ever seen. Very memorable.
The roads on the trip south on the Spanish side of the mountains were a good deal better. We had a couple of days of arguably the best riding I have ever done between Jaca and Viladrau. No traffic, well cambered curves and tennis court like surface.
But not without risk. As some of the roads are cut into the side of the mountain, there are many, many dangerous blind corners The local drivers tend to use the full width of the road around corners and so you can be at great risk, particularly if you are maintaining an average speed of ~60kph as we were. Bigger vehicles like Land Rovers, are not uncommon and one of these missed Matt by centimetres. He got quite fright and the rest of his days ride was affected.
But in the end we made it back to Barcelona without any mishap other than some brake-fade on the KTM.
One of the little hotels we stayed at in Col de Nargo turned out to be a real treat. They offered to let us park in the lock up garage. The guy who opened the doors for us was the hotel owner. At the back of the garage we spotted some interesting bikes and so our host switched on the lights and showed us around. Turned out that this was the garage of the past Spanish motocross and current Spanish enduro national champion, Jaume Betriu. There was a bunch of bikes in there including a matched set of classic Honda 4's; 350, 500 and 750, all from the same model year in pristine restored condition. Also in the garage were dozens of trophies and top Dakar female racer Laia Sanz's KTM Dakar bike. According to the hotel owner, she is a friend who comes to ride in the area regularly and for whom they are storing the bike. Wow!
Overall, we had a fabulous ride and lot of fun. I would strongly recommend the Spanish Pyrenees as a riding destination. Apart from the great roads, the country is very accommodating, the people are very friendly and enjoyable and the beer is CHEAP! ~€0.50c a can for brands like Heineken and a lot less for the supermarket chain Dia's house brand (which was pretty decent) available at all supermarkets. A similarly sized can of Coke was 10c more.
The Bikes
The Multi 950 was surprisingly good even though it is quite down on power compared to the 1200 Multi. It is very manageable and easy to get along with. It handles quite well and the engine is willing and able and makes a great Ducati sound. The major difference compared to my multi is that there is very little below about 3,500 rpm; make that 4,000 rpm, so one has to anticipate downshifts more precisely, particularly in the tighter stuff. On the 130kph freeways, it is revving at ~6,500rpm. Pretty buzzy. The KTM’s engine felt a lot rougher but it had more bottom end. The KTM’s gearing is also longer and better suited to tight mountain roads; once in third, it could be left there whereas on the Multi, one had to shift back to second a lot of the time to get decent drive out of the corners.Suspension: The KTM was softer and more compliant than the Multi. After I adjusted the rear preload and rebound damping on the Multi, handling improved appreciably but it never matched the KTM in terms of comfort. I think that White Power suspension has the edge over Sachs.
Wind protection: Multi has it over the Kato. Both in design and in function There is appreciably less buffeting with the windshield in the high position compared to the KTM. Believe me after 10 hours of riding, this makes a big difference. The Multis windscreen adjustment is the best!
Brakes: KTM’s brakes are stronger but on this particular example, the rear brakes faded abruptly on several occasions. The Multi’s brakes are not its strongest point, particularly the rear brake. Strange - the Brembo calipers looked to be identical on both bikes but the performance was definitely not.
Gearbox and clutch: The KTM has a hydraulic clutch. It is a lot smoother and requires less effort than the Multi's but the gearbox is clunky compared. When cold it was really difficult to pull away smoothly with the Multi's cable operated clutch.
Luggage: The KTM’s panniers are roomier but also a bit wider than the Multi’s. I found the left hand pannier on the Multi always fiddly to get on and off. The straps that hold the luggage in place internally on the Multi make a lot more sense to me than the net that comes inside the lid of the KTM’s panniers.
Fuel consumption: The KTM was marginally heavier. The Multi gave a fuel consumption of between 16 and 19 km/l. The price of petrol was notably higher than in Australia. The price was around €1.50 (~AUD 2.40) a litre.
Tyres: The Multi was still on the original Pirelli Scorpion Trail II’s. These tyres have a flatter profile than the Angel GT’s that I am used to and I could feel it. There is less rubber on the road when you are leaned over and the bike does not feel as secure as my 1200 Multi in the corners, but the lighter weight of the bike made it more agile in the tight stuff. The KTM had a set of Dunlop’s fitted. The rear wheel is narrower and the tyre is smaller than the Multi’s, but with a rounder profile. As a result it tipped in very easlyand felt very stable and secure.
The KTM is a good machine but overall we both preferred riding the Multi. It is simply more refined, more comfortable and more fun.
