To Romania, and back

A circuitous touring route to add a few more countries to an ongoing tally

- Chris Finch

Because of the two-year Covid-19 lockdown, we have done little serious riding since our return from Mexico in March 2020 and so, together with our long-term riding buddies Martin and Fay Silk, we decided to undertake a 4,300-mile round trip to Romania, travelling through France, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Poland, Czech Republic and Belgium. This 23-day trip would allow us seven days’ riding in Romania and allow four free days to relax and take in the scenery and culture in Hinterglemm, Brasov, Budapest and Krakow.

With our two bikes fully loaded with three-box systems and tank bags, we set off for our overnight stop at Folkestone. I turned the bike off outside the hotel, but when I restarted it a dialogue warning appeared: ‘Engine damage – seek BMW service assistance.’ There had been no power loss or engine issues during the previous 240 miles and all sounded well when I fired the motor up, so I contacted BMW Emergency Assistance, which is included as part of BMW’s new bike warranty. This was 5.30 on a Friday afternoon and I was beginning to doubt that we would make it to the Eurotunnel for the early-morning departure. A BMW technician arrived at 6.45pm, ran a series of data tests on his laptop and traced the fault to a sticking exhaust flap motor which he freed off and retested. The job was completed by around 8pm and all looked good for catching the early-morning shuttle!