Ideas please

[manxgraham]

In mid May, a pal and I are off to Munich to collect a couple of R1200GS's and ride them for a week, dropping them off at Barcelona & fly back from there. BTW return flights at under £60.....no brainer.
Never done the Alps before so I am seeking help from those that have.
What route would you suggest so I can include the must see, must do gems along the way?
How many miles per day is comfortable & achievable, given the twisty mountain passes?
Advice much welcomed.

[Richie848evo]

What company is that with?

[Occams Razor]

I'm biased but my favourite roads are in the French Alps, Col de Galibier is my favourite pass, I'd go through Provence, take in Mont Ventoux, through France via the Massif Centrale (Puy de Dome is amazing).
How much is the bike hire?

[Dave]

Alright Graham….Heading direct South would see you more or less on the Grosglockner Pass, from here head west, towards Bolzano, and Merano where you come out at the top of the Stelvio. this road is not my Favorite, but its worth seeing as it is one of the most Famous Passes down there.From there you could drop down to Milan and call in at Monza, or stay in the Mountains and ride passed the Matterhorn and Chamiox.

Your decision from here could be to drop down to the South Of France Coastal Road, Even Route Napolean is in that corner , and follow this all the way to Montpellier via Canes , Nice, St tropez etc.

Or you could zip across inland and ride over the Milau Viaduct and head down to Montpellier from there.

mileage needs to be around 250 a day to see you make Barcelona .A GS would easily do that. But at that mileage you may have to consider making progress in places were you can and slow up for the sights and twisties.

Have a great time

[manxgraham]

Thanks for the info guys, very helpful.
The bikes are hired from a chap in Spain that I have used before. A small niche company in a fabulous location one hour into the mountains north of Malaga. They cost £70 per day all in, so all I have to do is collect it, fuel it, ride it and drop it of in Barcelona.
I like the look of the Stelvio Pass and it was on the list of possibilities.....so is routing back into the Alps afterwards via the San Bernardino Pass.
Any more ideas please keep them flowing, as the final route will be planned in a couple of weeks, once all ideas have been collated.
The scale of the Alps is awesome, hence the mileage, which started to dawn on me after I booked the trip!!!
Oh, one more point.....what to wear.....leathers or textiles?
MG

[CRM]

Oooh oooh i can play this game.

Northern Spain - N260, Sort to Adrall - its epic and perfect for your kind of bikes.
C1311 from Puente de Montanana to Tremp - its fucking billiard smooth race track tarmac in the hills with zero traffic fantastic bends and camber and zero run off just for shits and giggles.
my mate fired his B1H through the armco on that road getting a bit too relaxed on the 4th or 5th run at it.

BTW - if second week in May - see you out there maybe, i will be the one with a topbox fitted to the RC30 lol