TransAlp or Deauxville???

[SuperRat]

Hello from the Twin Cities, USA (St Paul, MN)

Working on plans for a trip to Germany in middle to late May 2010. Two weeks by car with my Brother and his wife and then 1 week renting a bike. We will probably rent from All Around in Frankfurt and head South to the Black Forest area.

No experience with either of the Honda's but they fit our budget.   We did the Alps in 2000 on a BMW R1100 but the $$ was stronger then. BMW rental is on the edge of our budget this time. Not looking for a Autobahn missile but may do some AutoBahn travel for point to point.

Here we ride a C10 Concours and a 1978 MG V1000. Multiple trips in the US and Canada (Great Lakes circle, Yellowstone, Nova Scotia, Ozarks, etc) so we are used to living out of the panniers for the trip. (I have a very understanding spouse  )

Questions: Will both the Deauxville and TransAlp handle two-up? With us and gear it's 400+ lb. 185 kg    Steel or Plastic fuel tanks? (I have a magnetic tank bag I use). Tail rack or trunk for additional storage.  I plan on a GPS with Europe maps (Garmi 275T)

Route or other suggestions are welcome. We plan to hit small Gasthaus's for accomodations and we speak limited German.

Thanks,
Dave

[FJR-UK]

If I was your pillion passenger, I'd choose the Deauville. But the hard cases are fixed to the bike, so make sure they have liners. Metal tank, I'm pretty sure.

http://www.auberge-de-l-ill.com/V2/index.html The only Michelin three-star restaurant in Alsace and the only one I've ever been to. I'd go again in a second, if I got the chance. Have your coffee and petit-four along side the river. Fantastic. Book at least 30 days in advance.

I'd visit the old towns of Weinheim, Heidelberg, Baden-Baden, Strasbourg, Illhaeusern (the restaurant), Colmar, Freiberg and, of course, your wander through the Black Forest. The roads in the park are all speed restricted and fairly well travelled, so allow plenty of time for any travel off the Autobahn.

Have some bratwurst, sauerkraut and altbier for me!  

[Orson]

No clue about the bikes  

across the Rhine in France, there are some nice hills north and south of Strasbourg  

[notarian]

No help on the bikes, but here's a good link to motorbike routes all around the area(s). It's a very user friendly site.

http://www.bestbikingroads.com/

Left hand side of the page, click on Europe, then click Germany in the map, then click on the area you will be in.

There are 29 routes posted by bikers that are just south of Frankfurt in Baden-Weberg district alone.

Have a play about on the site and you'll be spoiled for choice but will get to know the area really well before you go.

[Gaw]

I'll choose deauville (if you are not thinking in going offroad), more stability (bigger tyre's), better brakes, and lower seat

[dtor]

My knowledge of both bikes consists of standing next to each one a couple of weeks ago   But, the Deauville is a nice, substantial 2 up tourer with hard bags and a good rep for reliability. The one problem is the anemic 65 hp motor, and maybe why I rarely see one in Europe. It still appears to be a better 2 up tourer than the Transalp.

You may want to check out Stefan Knopf in Heidelberg, as he charges the same for unlimited mileage late model RTs and a 1200 GS as that place in Frankfurt charges for a Deauville.

http://www.knopftours.com/Web-Site/Welcome.html

[Papa Lazarou]

Of the two, the Deauville is the one. No brainer. If you could go up a little further, there are many more choices. But the Deauville will do the job well, with no pyrotechnics.

[SuperRat]

Thanks for the info. At this time it looks as if the Deauxville is in the lead.   I'm also looking at a Garmin 275t GPS unit that has Euro maps. Thanks for the route and site suggestions.