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Schwarzwald Nord Motorrad-Tour (Black Forest Motorcycle Tour)
I extracted this ride log from a letter I wrote to my family after completing a day trip in Germany in March of 2014:
On Friday March 14, 2014 I rented a 2013 Honda CB1100 standard motorcycle from this [url=http://www.honda-stauch.de/]bike shop (since closed due to the owner's retirement).
The bike shop is just a short 4-block walk away from my hotel here in Bernhausen-Filderstadt. Earlier in the week, I had asked them to install a 12V socket for GPS power...more about this later. The rental cost was fairly steep: Euro 129.00 + Euro 30.00 for "insurance". That's USD $179 + USD $42. Still...I wanted to ride and see the Black Forest! :-)
Without the insurance, your maximum liability for damaging the bike is Euro 5,000! With insurance, it is Euro 1,000. Easy decision; I took it. With the language barrier, I couldn't figure out if it covered me for any personal injury or damage I might cause to 3rd parties, or just damage to the bike. Back home, my wife called our insurance company for me and they said that my motorcycle policy doesn't cover liability or collision for any rentals, in the US or anywhere else. So...I might have been flying without air cover on liability. But I kind of don’t think so, because Germany is a highly regulated country and I have to think they would require proof of liability insurance as a condition for getting out on the road in any kind of vehicle.
Reinforcing that line of thought, the bike shop made a big deal of showing me that I had all necessary papers and instructed me to present them to police if asked for any reason. Then again, Germany also has kind of a “Stupid Hurts” outlook on legal matters (they don’t have anywhere near the trial lawyer infestation that we have in the US) where it’s kind of “If you screw up, you pay up.” In any case, I've been meaning to take out a $1-2 million umbrella liability policy so this potential gap in ability to assure liability coverage has now convinced me to go forward with that plan.
For the rental price of Euro 129.00 a day, you get 300 km (186 mi). If you go over, it's Euro 0.40 per km (USD $0.89 / mi). I decided I really didn't need to ride more than 300 km so I figured I would start looping back once the odometer hit 130 km or so.
I went to the shop at 8:00 am Friday when they opened. Took about 1/2 hour to get paperwork filled out and let the guy go through the obligatory explanations about how the bike works, which was fine since it had a couple of features my bike doesn't have, like emergency flashers and a flash-to-pass button. They made a real big deal about the dire consequences of me crashing or damaging the bike. I got the feeling they have had some prior experience in that area with customers.
First thing I did when I rode off was to head down some local streets and roads that I already know pretty well. I went to a big parking lot at a big company (spacious parking lots are rare over here!) to practice tight turns at low speeds, backing up, mounting/dismounting, etc.
Second order of business: filling up the gas tank. I received it with 3/5 bars on the digital fuel gauge. The 2013 CB1100 has a 3.9 gallon tank...not very big for an 1100cc engine. It took about 6L or about 1.5 gallons, which cost me Euro 9.50 (about USD $13)! Fuel is expensive here due to massive taxation. No wonder Europeans are obsessed with fuel economy (although you do see a few American pickups, classic muscle cars, pony cars, Corvettes, etc. driving around. Those people are either rich or very obsessed about their choice of vehicle).
I gotta say: I very quickly realized that the bike was a wonder, a real pleasure to ride. More on this later.
I went back to the hotel to pack the bike with a simple nylon zipper case. It makes a spacious yet compact a carry-all travel pack. I bungee-strapped it to the pillion seat. It took a while to find a good spot to mount the GPS suction cup on the gas tank. It needed to stick to a fairly flat surface but not interfere with the handlebars or my hands when turning. Finally I inverted the mount and put it behind the gas filler cap. I could easily glance down at it. Put on all my riding gear, plugged my first waypoint into the GPS and headed off!
I had a route planned out. My idea was to head SW into the Black Forest, make a shallow loop SSE and turn back NE. My thought was that if time got short, I could always cut SSE and intercept the return loop to shave off some kilometers.
My [url=http://goo.gl/maps/gTkxf]original route plan and my [url=http://goo.gl/maps/gTkxf]actual route.
As you can see, I cut off the extreme SW end of the loop that was to include Haslach im Kinzigtal.
It's a little hairy driving or riding in the populated areas of Germany. Traffic signs and rules are complex, and many drivers are aggressive if they think you take too long to get going/make a turn or drive/ride at or below the speed limit. HONK! That's fine...I didn't want to be caught on the speed cameras and I would rather make a move when I'm ready instead of rushing and getting into a wreck. Mind you, in the US I would not be considered as dilly-dallying but over here I drive/ride like a little old lady! I was glad to be wearing full high-visibility neon yellow jacket and helmet...just an extra bit of assurance that you can be seen among the visual clutter on the street.
Now the bike: the Honda CB1100 is a smooth, purring pussycat. The tractor-like motor has gobs of torque and pushes like an big electric motor. In 2013 the bike shipped with a 5-speed...buzzes a little in 5th gear over 3k rpm (around 60 mph). Now I know why they added a 6-speed in 2014.
The big mirrors are superb...I had a full, clear view to the rear. Handling is sure and steady, but gets a little bit wiggly on rough pavement especially in curves. Probably could have increased the pre-load on the rear shocks a bit and that may have settled it. Quiet engine. Wind is an issue at 120-130 kph / 70-80 mph. If touring long distances at high speeds, a windshield would be needed. The seat is soft but actually too soft...eventually I could feel the hard seat pan under it. A custom touring seat would be a necessary upgrade. The transmission is butter-smooth, and the clutch is light as a feather (surprised me). The classic analog gauges I would rate A++. That small gas tank. Early in the return leg I got nervous at 175km and topped off with 2/5 bars on the digital gauge. Cost me Euro 11.50 or USD $16. Ended up leaving the bike back at the rental shop with 4/5 bars left I think.
The riding position was pretty comfortable. I did have a couple of niggles. The seat is a bit wide at the front, making feet-down a little bit of a stretch for this short guy. Not such that I couldn’t handle the bike, but an inch narrower would have helped. Ironically, the knee angle seemed a little cramped, even though I have short legs. All in all though, I really liked the bike.
When touring here, toilets present a logistical challenge. The sign you're looking for is "WC" for "Water Closet" although I doubt most Germans make that association. WC is just a symbol to them. In some gas stations (the ones that even have public toilets), you have to pay Euro 0.50 to pee. There's a ticket machine and a turnstile. You get the money back if you buy something in the store so it's really not too big a deal. Actually kind of an interesting way to ensure you buy something. Another benefit is that the restrooms are sparkling fresh and clean.
The other place to find WC is in bars and restaurants. But of course, you don't just stomp in with your riding gear and hit the head. You need to sit down and order a coffee or a Coke or something. That's also no problem, because it's good to get off the bike and stretch/refresh every one or two hours anyway. Speaking of gas stations, over here it’s not gasoline or even petrol. It’s “Benzin” pronounced like benzene. But it’s not benzene like we call benzene...it's gasoline. Anyway, a lot of service station attendants don’t speak English and talking about “gas” or “petrol” will earn you a confused stare.
On my way out of the populated areas SW of Stuttgart, even though I enabled “Avoid Highways” in the GPS, it still put me on a "B" highway which is similar to a US interstate, with speed limit between 100 kph (62 mph) and 120 kph (75 mph). The autobahns are labeled as "A" routes and of course have some sections with no speed limit. I really had no interest in riding A or B highways, but the B highway got me to the edge of the Black Forest pretty quickly, maybe 25 minutes of riding. The morning was a little on the chilly side, so I was glad for my new First Gear Kilimanjaro touring jacket with full liner and double flap closure, my fleece/nylon neck shield, and my insulated winter gloves.
Once I hopped off the highway, I went over a high, broad open plain, through a wide open flat farming valley, and then suddenly I was deep into a forested area of tall evergreen trees, with curving roads and no signs of population. Really a big change of scenery from one moment to the next.
I went through many picturesque and historic towns and villages. I wish I could have stopped more often for photos. What I need next time is a helmet-mounted camera that I can trip at will by voice or button.
You really depend on your GPS over here. If you tried to follow a printed Google turn-by-turn, you'd go insane because some roads aren't really marked with the name, and many routes are like “Go 0.3 km on this road” and “Turn after 1.2 km on that road” in an endless series of short-interval turn directions. What you eventually realize is that the route taken by the GPS is kind of the "follow your nose" main route through towns. Even though the streets jig and jag and change names constantly, most of the through traffic is following the same route.
For navigation, I like to have a backup plan, and a backup for my backup. So my first backup for the GPS was to bring a 5V USB battery pack to charge it on the go if the bike's electrical system crapped out for some reason and the GPS got drained. My second backup was to bring my AC/DC wall chargers with German 250V adapters...figured I could plug in to recharge at a restaurant/hotel/gas station if need be. My third backup was to load my Android 7" tablet with screen captures from Google maps along the entire route, and I also saved the entire route area in Google Maps on the tablet for offline use (this is actually great: the map is saved on the tablet with full, zoomable detail. And, the tablet’s internal GPS places your current position as a blue dot on the map). Lastly, I bought a detailed paper map of the northern Black Forest and region around Stuttgart. When all technology fails, paper is the ultimate backup.
Well, backup plan #1 and #2 had to be deployed when I realized that the GPS battery was getting drained and had 15% charge left. What? I had it plugged into the bike's electrical system. So I stopped in a quiet village in the middle of nowhere to get off and figure out what the problem could be.
Turned out that the resident bike shop "Dummkopf" must have been the guy who installed the 12V power socket. To tap 12V positive, he jammed stripped bare wire into the hot side terminal of the front brake light switch. “Ground” was clamping the negative lead under the handlebar clamp. Major kludge. I fiddled with the hot lead, trying to make a better 12V+ connection, to no avail. Current simply wasn't flowing to the GPS power socket.
I deployed my 5V USB battery pack, securing it to the left handlebar with Velcro strapping. I let the GPS charge a few minutes and then got back on the road.
I rode on to the next town, which turned out to be the very nice creekside tourist village of Schapbach. Stopped in front of a piano bar/cafe and went inside. It was after noon, so I decided to have lunch.
The proprietor spoke excellent English and was very happy to let me plug into his electrical socket for a recharge of both the GPS and the 5V battery pack. I had a great hot sandwich and a Coke Light (similar to Diet Coke).
I left him a generous tip for his hospitality. After about an hour, I decided to hit the road again.
Since I had spent more time for lunch than planned, I made the decision to just keep heading SSE instead of turning NW as planned. This cut off maybe 30-40 km of the original planned loop.
With the GPS working like a champ, I was able to relax and just enjoy the rest of the ride through the Black Forest or "Schwarzwald". It's hard to describe in words but I will try: Enchanting. Timeless. Serene. Clean. Fresh. Rural. Quietly majestic. Old. Inhabited with care for centuries.
I got back to the bike shop around 4:30pm, a little tired but very happy with the trip. The office lady (owner’s wife) checked the odometer reading and looked the bike over for damage, pronouncing everything OK. I asked for a written confirmation that I had returned the bike undamaged. She said, "If you crash, I have to write a paper. But if you not crash…no paper." So, I went outside and took a lot of photos of the bike from every angle, to prove it was in good shape.
Walked back to the hotel, grabbed a shower and some fresh clothes, and headed to the hotel lobby for a beer and to load the pictures onto my laptop. End of a successful day's journey!
I definitely want to make a return visit to the Schwarzwald by motorcycle. I also would like to go straight south from Stuttgart into the picturesque and historic “Swabian Alps” which are really a ridgeline of tall hills.
(Epilogue: I did return to the Black Forest in July with a riding buddy from my company. We rode through the Black Forest on an NC750S and NC750X on our way to the Furka Pass in Switzerland).
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Schwarzwald Nord Motorrad-Tour (Black Forest Motorcycle Tour)
