Europe trip

[max oradea]

hello fellow riders! as you know its slowly getting warm here in eu, spring maybe coming early, as my last year of med school comes along i am planing to make a trip from the east of europe to the west and maybe crossing the english isle, before i leave europe for good.
And i am planing to do it with the venox. yes!
I am a smaller rider; 165cm with 60kg dry weight... so this bike is easier for me to handle then a 650cc or bigger bike which should be used for this trip.
i estimated a month and a half for a round trip, going via south and coming back via the north, riding only in good conditions and to stay off the road as much as possible when its raining.  The bike as most of you who have one know is able to do around 300km give or take per tank, i will be going at a steady pace and not exceeding 110km/h with a cruising speed of 90km/h which is the eu non-motorway limit.
i really wanted to do this last year but missed the window but this year it will be my last shot at it.
Before i remember things to bring like tire repair kits, first aid kit, GPS, and i might add in a 10mm plastic round pistol... never know what i will run across dogs or wild animals. 
anyone who wants to tag along for parts of the trip are more then welcome.
The bike will be sold as soon as i get back. hopefully you guys can see the google picture attached.
planning to leave early july and be back before the end of august, will start body building in june for the trip. the ideal distance is around 300~400km/day leg, riding on open road for 5 to 6 hours/day and check into a place to stay before night fall, look around the next day and head off to the next destinations the day after, so all in all 2 nights per stop.

[max oradea]

just checked the EU laws and different country allow different self-protection weapons, so i guess the 10mm rubber bullet is out of the question. anyone have experienced any encounters on long trips? will be staying in safe places over night for sure just worried getting ambushed or bike problems in the middle of nowhere. especially near the slovenia boarder.
Just checked the road reports in Austria and that stretch of road in the day is safe so should be ok, no need to bring anything dangerous.
this trip will put the bike to the test for sure. its around 6500~7000km round trip. but i am thinking it should be ok because that is what anyone will put on it for a season.

[Mike-the-Bike]

Hi Max!  I thought you were an engineering student; my father was a doctor, so I think it's great that you will be entering into that profession (and best wishes for your career).

Also, blessings on your European road trip on the Venox.  As for self defense on the highway, do they have pepper spray over there? Probably anything like a knife or certainly a pistol would cause trouble if you encountered the police; maybe a ball-peen hammer (mechanic's hammer) would be a good close quarters choice.  A laser pointer could possibly scare-off animals if pointed at their eyes (oh boy, this will upset the animal rights activists), or maybe something that makes a loud noise would help.

For sure, take a good digital camera and extra memory cards!  Are you travelling with your girlfriend or alone?

[max oradea]

lazer pointer great idea! i will be doing the trip on my own, want to soak in the freedom on this trip, so gf is going home to uk for some family time!
this will be my last chance to ride in EU for a long long time because i am moving back to Canada after and not Taiwan.

[max oradea]

Guys i fell in love with a bike... gf(only going to be girlfriend since she is not going to move with me) is not happy about it but i told her it will be the final chopper. i will buy. Honda Shadow 750 spirit pre-injection version new... which is going to take some time to track down, because its going to be sitting somewhere for the past 5 years... not impossible but hard to find.
I decided to get a carb bike after a very long thought, shadows last for ages, it will be here and going even when the new injection versions run out of injector spare parts so as my last chopper it has to be carb.
shaft driven for low maintained operation(if we ever run out of chains and after market sprockets) and easy highway speeds with 2 riders plus luggage and a full windscreen. Bob i get it now about the half windscreen, the deflected wind goes all to the helmet and is very annoying on long rides(weeee weeee zzzzz weeee).
Going to buy it soon after i get everything sorted when i arrive in Canada under finance. The venox is awesome for fuel efficiency and no larger bikes can ever beat the looks and handling on a venox, if only kymco could make one with 35 horsepower, then it would be really an all rounder.
selling the venox in 5 months and already have multiple buyers waiting, i would keep it for sure if i were not relocating.
Ride safe everyone and i will give a heads up and update you guys when i start my euro trip. by the way have a buddy that might join me! going to book tickets for czech motogp as a stop by on my way back from the north after Germany. Go! Honda(kymco)! 

[Hairy Bob]

G'day Max. So, it was a choice between a new bike or the girl friend hey. Good to see you've got your priorities right mate  . The shadow is a damn good, well proven piece of gear. And, as you said, it's got a fair bit more herbs. I've actually been looking at the new Triumph America LT. Same as before though, the missus is fine with me getting one, but I just can't bring myself to sell the pony. It's been such a damn good bike, and as I've always said, she takes me where all the big bikes are going. Sure, it could do with a little bit more power now and again, but all in all, she does her job well. Besides, I'm not in that much of a hurry anyway when I'm out for a nice cruise through the countryside.
So, when is the big trip Max ? Good luck hey. Reckon it will be a blast ... wish I was coming along. I was just reading your earlier post on the self protection thing. Just be careful Max, you don't want to get yourself locked up in a foreign country for carrying what they may class a lethal weapon. Maybe a length of chain with a big padlock might be an idea. At least you could say it's to lock your bike up ... you can use it for that as well. Just a thought.
Anyway, ride safe Max, and keep us all tuned on your big trip.
Regards, Hairy Bob  .