Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Tours
in Europe and Beyond
Harley-Davidson Motorcycle Tours
in Europe and Beyond
How many motorcycles go on each tour? Between 8 and 15.
What do you do if it rains? As we have pre-booked hotels and a schedule to stick to, we ride in all weathers. During any exceptionally inclement weather, we will pull over for short periods. We could experience a range of different types of weather on our tours, so we recommend you to bring waterproofs and warm clothes, just in case
How long do you ride for each day? We normally start riding at 8.30am and finish at around 6pm. We take a 30 minute coffee break in the morning and again in the afternoon. We stop for about an hour for lunch.
What sort of speeds do you ride at? We do not ride fast, as this is a holiday, not a race. We try to get the balance right between riding too fast or too slow.
What types of road do you ride on? We prefer quiet smaller roads with little traffic, but occasionally use major roads or motorways to get some miles accomplished. As an average, we use motorways for less than 10% of the total distance ridden.
What system do you use to keep the group of riders together. We use the buddy system, plus the tour leader and back-marker are in radio contact. If you do not know the Buddy System, do not worry, it is easy to use and we will teach it to you.
Do you use a support / luggage van? For our USA and New Zealand tours, yes we do. For our European tours, we like these tours to be about having an adventure, riding on great roads with like-minded people. For that reason, we do not use a support van, but we always have a back-marker.
Does Tour1 supply the back-marker (sweep), or is somebody nominated from the group? Tour1 always supplies the back-marker.
Do you ride in staggered formation? Yes, when the roads are straight.
Do you stop in big cities for sightseeing / shopping? No, we prefer to ride on open roads and keep away from big cities. We understand Amazon is good for shopping.
I am from America and I don’t need to wear a helmet at home. Do I need to wear one on your European tours? Yes, it’s the law.
I am coming on one of your USA tours. Do I need to wear a helmet? Yes, Tour1 insists you wear a helmet at all times.
I don’t ride a Harley-Davidson, but can I still come on the tour? As an authorized Harley-Davidson tour operator, we are allowed to take one non-Harley on each tour. We have previously been flexible on this, but as of August 2022, we will be strictly adhering to this policy for all new bookings.
How do I book a tour? On the page for the tour you want to go on, find the orange button called ‘BOOK THIS TOUR’ and complete the online form.
How do I know if there are places left on a tour? Each of our tour pages set out if places are still available on a tour.
When is the closing date for booking a tour? 3 months before the start date of the tour, but most of our tours sell out way before this, so we recommend booking as early as possible.
When do I need to pay for the tour? We require a £400 deposit to be paid soon after you have booked the tour, with the balance to be paid in two payments, one six months before the tour starts and one three months before the tour starts.
The deposit is non-refundable. Why is that? As soon as we receive your booking, we start to pay for things on your behalf, such as train / ferry bookings and some of the hotels we use. Those payments we make are often non-refundable to Tour1, so if you cancel your place on a tour, we are often not able to recover that money ourselves.
I am not sure if I can take part in a tour yet, so can you hold a place for me? No, we can only take bookings on a first-come-first-served basis.
What types of hotels do you use? We prefer to use smaller, non-chain hotels. All are either 3-star or 4-star. Most are in remote locations away from large cities or towns.
To keep costs down, I want to share a room. Is that possible? Yes, it is. If you have a friend you want to share with, that is not a problem. We do not pair-up people who do not already know each other.
Do the hotel rooms have two beds or a double bed? Either and you can select whichever you like, but the actual bed arrangements may be subject to availability at each hotel.
How much does fuel cost in Europe? All of our tours go to a number of different countries and fuel prices vary greatly in those different countries. There is a useful website that shows current fuel prices in all European countries. Use the 95 RON column for the equivalent of regular gas. The prices are shown in Euros per litre. 1 litre is equal to 0.22 gallons and so if you want to know the current price per gallon, multiply the price shown by 4.54 to get to Euros per gallon. To convert the price from Euros into a different currency you will need to check todays exchange rate (use Google for this).
What different types of currency will I need? While in the UK, you will need to use UK Pounds. For all of our tours you will need to use Euros. For those tours that go to Switzerland, you will also need Swiss Francs. Some tours visit other countries and the itinerary we will send to you sets out what other currencies you might need.
Why don’t you include the cost of motorway and other road tolls in the tour price? Some riders already have an account that uses electronic transponders to pay for tolls in some countries. For motorways with toll booths, all riders would need to queue up at one toll booth and that would waste time while the tour leader feeds cards / cash into a single toll machine. In some countries, credit cards can only be used once at each toll booth, so the tour leader would have to carry up to 15 credit cards, or pockets full of cash. For our one-way tours, some people ride back to the UK and we don’t know your return route, so co-ordinating what countries you need vignettes for and on what dates, would be a challenge for us to organise. We don’t know if you already have long-term vignettes for some countries that we will be visiting.
How much does fuel cost in USA? You don’t need to worry about that as Tour1 pays for all fuel.
What different types of currency will I need? US Dollars
Do I need to pay for entry into National Parks, State Parks and other attractions? For the majority of these, you do not need to pay as the entry cost is included in the tour price. That is correct for National and State Parks. However you do need to pay for entry attractions that are optional. See the relevant section on the page for each tour.
For a one-way tour, how is my motorcycle bought back to the UK? For our one-way tours, Tour1 has partnered with We Move Bikes (WMB), the UK’s premier motorcycle shippers. They place your motorcycle onto one of their custom made motorcycle cradles, load it onto one of their trucks and drive it back to the UK. We then fly back home and a few days later, we collect our motorcycles from one of a couple of locations (usually London and Gloucester). Their service is fully insured and they are very good at what they do. See the We Move Bikes page for further details and a couple of videos.
For a one-way tour, when do I get my bike back? Normally on the Saturday after the tour has finished.
For a one-way tour, if I want to ride back to the UK, can I do this? Yes, although you need to make your own arrangements for your ride back, such as the route you will take and the hotels you will stay at. We reduce the cost of the tour for those wishing to ride back. Contact us for details about how much that would be for the particular tour you are thinking of.
Do Tour1 rent motorcycles? No, but we can help you with advice about where and how to rent a Harley-Davidson motorcycle from.
How much does a rental motorcycle cost? Please contact the Harley-Davidson dealers we recommend. See the ‘Rentals’ page.
Do those rental prices include insurance? Yes and this is normally extensive, but check with the dealer as they do vary.
Can I leave a suitcase at the dealership while we are on tour? Normally yes.
I am booked on a one-way tour, who pays for the rental bike while it is on the truck coming back? The Harley-Davidson dealer you rent from is unlikely to let you have that rental time for free, but it doesn’t cost as much as you might think. For a 9-day tour with us, you would actually need the motorcycle for 10-days anyway because you would need to collect it the day before the tour starts. On one of our one-way tours, you will need a two-week rental to allow time for the bike to be moved back to the UK after the tour. Very often, the difference in cost between a 10-day rental and 2 full week rental is actually quite small. Contact a dealer to see the difference.
After a one-way tour, do I need to be at the dealership when the rental bike is returned? No, Tour1 will look after that for you.
Do Tour1 rent motorcycles? No, we use Harley-Davidson dealers to rent motorcycles from. The cost is included in the tour price.
Do those rental motorcycle include insurance? Yes, but coverage is basic. There are also optional extra insurance that you can take out at your cost if you want to.
Can I pick any motorcycle I like? No, we are limited to what the particular Harley-Davidson dealer we use has available. The sooner you book your place on a tour, the greater the choice will be.
Who signs the rental paperwork? You do. This has to be signed by you for insurance purposes.
What happens if the rental motorcycle I am riding breaks down? One of two things will happen. Either you will need to wait with the motorcycle until the breakdown / recovery service arrives and you will be taken to the nearest Harley-Davidson dealer for the bike to be repaired, or on some tours, we carry a spare motorcycle in the support van, which you could use. You are not allowed to use the spare motorcycle after an at-fault accident.