Well done Simon.
I got in this morning with a bent pannier and no badge, but from the descriptions and photo's i've seen i'm happy enough with my decision to turn back! More details later I have a bike to wash.
Andy
Andy,
Glad to here you're back safe and sound. Shame about not getting there, but the roads we came down on the Saturday would have been a right bugger to get up. How far did you get before deciding to turn back?
Simon
I made it as far as Wurzburg in fine weather on the Friday. Got up Saturday to find it snowing but the local roads were pretty clear. However as soon as I got out of town the whole road was white over. I dropped it on the autobahn slip road then did about 15 miles at 40 mph with the back end all over the shop. I couldn't see a thing and was pretty scared so stopped at the first service station, dropping it again on the slip. Having gathered my thoughts I decided to go on to a clear exit and decide from there. I went on another 20 miles or so but it wasn't getting better. I have a battery monitor fitted and I noticed it was showing green not yellow. I got off the autobahn and stopped under a bridge to put the multimeter on the auxilliary socket and sure enough only 12 volts with a running engine. With this in on my mind I headed back towards Wurzburg and an ADAC place i'd seen the night before. Again it was nasty.
In Wurzburg the old boy at the ADAC place couldn't have been more helpful. He put a charge meter on the battery and declared it "shocked". Put it on a charger for an hour and sent his trainee out to get us coffee. Just after 11 he declared it fixed, refused to take any money and I was on my way. As it looked no better I decided the distance was too much and decided to head home. With the exception of a pannier which I've now straightened using a car jack, no damage, just a trip with a few bits i'd rather forget.
Andy
