Winter Wonderland!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics|February 2019

Classic motorcycling in the British winter is, for many, limited to working in the garage – so riding classic BMWs in Andalusia southern Spain is the perfect winter riding tonic!

Martin Kirk
Winter Wonderland!

It has to be said that riding a classic motorcycle in the depths of the British winter is some pretty low-rent motorcycling.

Besides the risk of salted roads tarnishing and de-valuing your pride and joy, navigating wet and slippery road surfaces in freezing cold temperatures hardly comes high on the list of classic motorcycle riding experiences. But it need not be this way!

Just a short budget airline flight away is a sunny land of 18-23°C temperatures with dry, perfectly surfaced, gloriously bendy roads threading their way through fantastic mountain scenery. And right on the doorstep, a fleet of beautifully prepared classic BMWs, available for hire at daily rates little more than the cost of a winter coating of ACF-50. Welcome to Motorcycle Touring Spain.

Motorcycle Touring Spain is based in the village of Veluz De Benaudela in Andalusia, southern Spain, at the foot of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The company is run by ‘Fifer’ Ron Thomson, who moved there from Scotland around 10 years ago, and started renting bikes in 2015. The bikes include classic R100 and R80 air-heads from the 80s and 90s, K75s and some more modern F650, F800 and R1200 GS machinery. Accommodation is also available in comfortable well kitted-out apartments in the same building as the motorcycle garage, complete with free WiFi, barbecue terraces and an outdoor hot tub: perfect for soothing away any aches and pains after a long day’s riding.

Andalusia enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year and is the second largest and most populated province of Spain. The Province is steeped in past history from the Moors from AD 711 until their expulsion in 1492, which has influenced the landscape and culture up to the present day. There are high mountains, lakes, castles, deserts, beautiful coastline and beaches, and most importantly for classic motorcyclists miles and miles of well surfaced bendy roads with very little traffic.

This story is from the February 2019 edition of Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the February 2019 edition of Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CLASSIC MOTORCYCLE MECHANICSView All
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Honda VFR750R - RC30

If there’s a more worshipped V4 out there, we’ve yet to see it: welcome to our reboot of the awesome VFR750R RC30…

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2021
Mountain tension!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Mountain tension!

Award-winning motorcycle engineer!

time-read
5 mins  |
September 2021
Fazer set to STUN!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Fazer set to STUN!

What do you get when you mix CRK’s lovely café racer kit to Yamaha’s budget middleweight and the recently-retired Martin Fox? Well, one helluva foxy Fazer!

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Suzuki 1984 RG250 part 4 BRUNO BARES ALL!

This month, while we wait for backorder engine parts, we strip the chassis back to the bare frame, assess what is needed and plan the reassembly…

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Kawasaki Z900 Stocker part 2 Ralph has a blast!

For the best finish on his Z900’s motor Ralph wants the best, so he visits Stephen Smethurst Casting Renovation to find out how it’s done properly.

time-read
10 mins  |
September 2021
Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Suzuki TS400 Part 8 Loom with a view!

We’re getting down into the nitty-gritty this time with component testing and loom building. What could go wrong?

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Project Yamaha TX750 Part 12 A question of balance…

Only The Beach Boys had good vibrations… so what’s Mark been up to, to sort out the bad ones coming from his TX750?

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2021
Splitting links
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Splitting links

Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox.co.uk so he knows what works.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2021
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

STAVROS: PRINCE OF PRANKSTERS!

It’s probably fair to say that Stephen JamesParrish’s persona and overall levity throughout his life have muddied the waters as to just how good a bike racer he was back in the day.

time-read
1 min  |
September 2021
Metal magic!
Classic Motorcycle Mechanics

Metal magic!

Ralph Ferrand works with tools all day long – he sells them too at bikerstoolbox co uk so he knows what works.. .

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2021