Keep up with the latest in motorcycling gear, parts, accessories, and products with Rider’s New and Cool Motorcycle Gear monthly installments. The items in this list are available now.
National Cycle VStream Windscreen for Suzuki V-Strom 800/800DE
National Cycle’s VStream windscreen for the Suzuki V-Strom 800/800DE offers excellent wind protection. The patented V shape and advanced dimensional contours deflect wind away from the rider and passenger, offering a peaceful, quiet ride. The screen is made of polycarbonate for better optics and has 20 times the impact strength of commonly used acrylic, and it also includes a tough Quantum hardcoat for scratch resistance. The Low/Dark Tint (15.5 inches tall) is available for $209.95, the Mid-Size/Light Tint (17.5 inches) is $219.95, and the Tall/Clear (19.5 inches) is $229.95.
IMTBike’s 2026 calendar includes popular motorcycle tours in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, the Alps, Morocco, Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam, including four new tours. The new Best of Southern Spain Tour is a 16-day tour from Málaga through Andalusia, or try out the new 12-day Mediterranean Mountains Tour through natural parks and mountains. The Costa Brava Catalunya Tour is an 11-day trip with hidden gems, coasts, mountains, and curves, and the 9-day Essence of the Alps Tour departs from Lyon and includes the best riding roads in the Alps. Register now to reserve your spot.
Riders can find the perfect oil recommendation for their motorcycles with Spectro’s new Oil Finder tool, available for free on the Spectro website. To get a precise oil recommendation in seconds, simply navigate to the website, click the yellow oil-drop icon, and type in your motorcycle’s make, model, and year. The search results will provide not only oil type but also fill volume, oil change intervals, and brake fluid and coolant recommendations. Spectro’s Oil Finder tool makes staying up-to-date on your oil changes easy and saves time when searching for the right oil.
EAGLERIDER, the world’s largest motorcycle rental and tour company, has announced a new partnership with Ducati North America to include four Ducati models in the EAGLERIDER fleet. With a focus on EAGLERIDER’s on-/off-road guided tours, the new models include the Multistrada V4 Rally long-distance tourer, the premium Multistrada V4 S, the DesertX adventure bike, and the retro-styled Scrambler Icon. The new Ducati models are now available at EAGLERIDER locations across the American Southwest, and existing bookings can be upgraded to include available Ducati models.
DP Brakes has been offering quality sintered brake pads since the 1970s. For normal OEM replacement pads for street and off-road bikes, consider the Standard pads for excellent all-round use. The SDP Sport HH+ pads offer an industry-high friction rating and a high-tech ceramic heat shield for aggressive high-performance riding. The DP for Harleys pads are specifically engineered for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and the RDP X-Race Titanium pads are up to the task of handling the extreme demands of racing and trackdays. Find these and more at your local dealer.
Mitas has launched a new sport-touring tire, the Touring Force SP, available now in four popular sizes. Designed for riders seeking a sporty ride experience with improved cornering grip, these tires build on the success of the original Touring Force and include Multi Compound Tread Technology for excellent mileage and grip. They include a high silica content for wet-weather handling and a lightweight construction for quick and precise responses. The tires are currently available in sizes 120/70-ZR17, 160/60-ZR17, 180/55-ZR17, and 190/55-ZR17, with four more sizes to be added.
Adriatic Moto Tours has released its full 2026 tour schedule, with tour dates from April to October. With more than 30 tours on the schedule, riders have plenty of options for exploring some of Europe’s best motorcycling areas and roads. Additionally, AMT has added the BMW 1300 GS Adventure, significantly updated for the 2025 model year, to its fleet. AMT now offers four BMW models with Automated Shift Assistant, allowing riders to simplify the experience as they wind through gorgeous scenery. Register for your next tour on the AMT website.
The new 3DCal online personalization platform allows riders to design their own custom, protective decals and wraps using the world’s first 3D graphic design product personalization system. The platform’s 3D instant mockup feature allows users to view their designs in a realistic three-dimensional model, and users can incorporate logos from their favorite brands, nonprofits, and causes to show their support. After finishing your design, 3DCal takes care of production, printing, and global shipping. Visit the 3DCal website to view compatible motorcycles and to get started.
This twisty road carves through the Iferten Gorge in Morocco’s Rif Mountains. “Adventure” may be in the name of this tour, but all roads are paved. (Photos by Greg Drevenstedt)
Living in Madrid in my 20s, my Spanish friends raved about Morocco – the food, the architecture, the people, the scenery – but I never made it across the Strait of Gibraltar. When my brother, EIC Greg Drevenstedt, asked me to join him on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour, I was anxious to see what all the fuss was about. We’d cover more than 1,400 miles in nine days, getting a full sampling of the country – the coast, rolling countryside, the Atlas Mountains, the Sahara Desert, and cities and villages.
The medina at Djemaa el-Fna square in Marrakech.
Greg and I were joined by our friend Eric Birns, and the three of us flew into Malaga, Spain, where the tour begins and ends, a few days early to shake off the jetlag and eat our weight in tapas. On the eve of the tour, we met our guides and fellow riders for a safety briefing at the hotel.
Our tour was led by Spaniards Chano Lorenzo and Marc Puncernau. Chano was once a member of the motorcycle-mounted Spanish Royal Guard, and he was the first guide hired by IMTBike when the company started in 1997. When not leading moto tours, Marc tests motorcycle tires on- and off-road. Chano and Marc were as amiable as they were knowledgeable.
Our group consisted of 10 Americans, two Guatemalans, and Marco Zepeda from Guadalajara, Mexico, a world heavyweight champion extrovert who charmed everyone we encountered on the tour, including the Moroccan police officers who stopped Marco and me for speeding and would have fined us on the spot if not for Marco’s good humor. After the safety briefing, we all walked to a traditional Spanish restaurant in Malaga and got to know one another over a good meal, a ritual repeated throughout the tour.
We woke before dawn to catch an early ferry. A light rain was falling. I chose the R 1250 GS from a wide selection of new BMWs to ride. It took a few miles to get the hang of riding an unfamiliar bike in a large group. I was also getting reacquainted with riding in the rain and in the dark, two things I typically avoid, but by the time we arrived at the port in Algeciras, I had my sea legs.
Rain is rare in Morocco, but it was a wet autumn last year. We came upon a flash flood on the ride from Rabat to Marrakech.
The Rock of Gibraltar was shrouded in dark rain clouds when we departed. The ferry crossed the strait in about an hour, and Morocco greeted us with sunny skies. Chano and Marc had the border crossing documents sorted, and we went through customs with little delay.
We slabbed it to Rabat, the capital city, and along the way I took note of the ways Morocco is different from home: gas stations with prayer rooms; roadside “fast food” served in an earthenware tagine with crusty flatbread baked in a wood-fired oven; road signs in Berber, a written language unlike any I’ve seen.
Our crew at Tizi n’Tichka, a 7,414-ft pass in the Atlas Mountains, on the ride from Marrakech to Ouarzazate.
Our luxurious resort hotel sprawled along the Bou Regreg River, where colorful wooden fishing boats stood in contrast to the ultra-modern Grand Theatre on the opposite shore. We enjoyed a beer and a dip in the pool as the sun went down, chatted over dinner, and then turned in early to rest up for the next day.
Rabat to Marrakech
Before leaving Rabat, we stopped at the Hassan Tower, the minaret of a mosque left unfinished when its patron died in 1199. Had it been completed, it would have been one of the largest mosques in the world. IMTBike does a good job of combining scenic roads with cultural discovery, and this was one of several UNESCO World Heritage Sites we visited.
Aït Benhaddou is a historic ksar (fortified village).
Outside Rabat, the road got curvy and there was little traffic, so we put the bikes through their paces. It rained lightly throughout the day. Shortly after a mint tea break, we came over a rise to see a line of cars stopped on the road ahead. A flash flood blocked our route to Marrakech. What had been light rain for us was a deluge up in the mountains, and a muddy torrent flowed over the road.
We detoured, only to arrive farther down the same valley where the flash flood was even worse. By the time we returned to our original route, the floodwaters had subsided, leaving the road caked with thick mud but passable.
Steeds of a different breed.
That night we stayed in a golf resort outside of Marrakech because, as Marc explained, the city’s traffic is bonkers. After getting cleaned up, we all jumped into a party van to go to the medina (old city). Even though it was a Monday night, the streets were jammed with vehicles and pedestrians.
The medina, which surrounds the huge Djemaa el-Fna square, was filled with merchant stalls, open-air restaurants, musicians, dancers, shoppers, tourists, families out for a stroll, and kids on mopeds scrolling on smartphones while weaving through the crowd. After wandering around the medina, we enjoyed a delicious dinner of lamb, prune, and almond tagine at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the square.
Having fun in the Erg Chebbi sand dunes.
Marrakech to Ouarzazate
Even in light rain, the road over the Atlas Mountains to Ouarzazate is a blast, with sweepers, chicanes, and hairpins, all well-engineered with good asphalt. There isn’t much of a police presence outside of Moroccan cities, so your pace is limited only by your sense of self-preservation. It was downright cold when we stopped for a group photo at the 7,414-ft Tizi n’Tichka pass.
We then took a backroad through the Ounilla Valley, passing villages that appeared not to have changed in centuries. The recent rains left lots of mud and debris on the road, so I slowed down and stopped often to take photos. We ate lunch, another delicious tagine, within sight of Aït Benhaddou, a UNESCO-recognized village dating to the 11th century that has served as a location for Gladiator and other films.
Riding through the Ounilla Valley.
In Ouarzazate, we rode past the big tourist hotels and made our way down a gravel road through a run-down-looking neighborhood, where we pulled into a covered garage that resembled the inside of a barn. Our accommodations were at a traditional Moroccan riad. I was floored as we walked through the carved wooden doors of a nondescript building into a courtyard filled with fountains, colorful tile work, and flowering plants. As we shook off the trail dust, a young woman offered us almond cookies and mint tea from a large silver tray. We took a refreshing dip in the pool and then had dinner in the courtyard under the stars. All the hotels we stayed in during the tour were top notch, but staying at a riad was a uniquely Moroccan experience.
One of the lakes that formed during record-setting rains in the Sahara.
Ouarzazate to Erfoud
Leaving Ouarzazate, one of the bikes’ rear brakes became disabled. The support van contained not only spare tires but also a spare BMW. The bikes were swapped, and we continued on our way. Kudos to IMTBike for being prepared so that unexpected issues don’t derail the tour.
Heading towards the Todra Gorge with the snow-capped Atlas Mountains in the distance, there were long stretches of straight road where I could safely uncork the R 1250 GS. The road got downright serpentine as we neared the gorge, a natural wonder with 600-foot vertical walls that are so narrow there’s barely room for the road alongside the riverbed. We were in the deep desert now, occasionally passing oasis towns of earth-colored buildings surrounded by date palms and small plots of farmland, always with groups of children waving excitedly as we rolled through.
Hold your nose! Cow urine and pigeon feces are used to process leather at this centuries-old tannery in Fez.
Arriving at our hotel in Erfoud, the parking lot was crammed with overlander trucks, side-by-sides, and adventure bikes, many coated with mud. Erfoud is the gateway to the Sahara’s Erg Chebbi sand dunes and attracts race teams, movie crews, and motorcycle tour groups.
Day 5 was one of two scheduled rest days. We slept in and lounged by the pool until heading out to the dunes that afternoon. Standing in the soft sand surrounded by huge orange dunes stretching to the horizon was mind blowing. We had the unique experience of seeing several lakes that had formed in valleys between the dunes following record-breaking rains. Marc and Chano arranged for us to rent quads and side-by-sides, and we headed into the desert following a local guide. Riding up and down those enormous dunes was like riding a roller coaster, and Greg and I laughed and hooted like schoolkids.
If the street signs weren’t in Arabic, you’d think you were in the Alps when riding over the High Atlas Mountains between Marrakech and Ouarzazate.
Erfoud to Fez
Riding out of Erfoud, we had our fill of curves while threading through the Ziz Gorge on the way to the Middle Atlas Mountains. We fed peanuts to monkeys in an alpine forest and rode through Ifrane, a village with chalets that looks more Swiss than Moroccan. Our hotel in Fez is perched on a hillside overlooking the medina, another UNESCO site, which dates to the ninth century and is the oldest continuously inhabited walled city in the Arab world.
We stayed in Fez for our second rest day and toured the medina, a warren of more than 10,000 winding, narrow alleyways lined with vendor stalls offering everything from colorful fruit and freshly butchered meat to clothing, rugs, and leather goods. There are no cars in the medina, so more than once, we had to flatten ourselves against a wall to allow a heavily laden donkey to pass. Our guide, Habib, took us to the shops of several artisans, where we had a chance to test our haggling skills against true experts. The medina is unlike any place I’ve ever visited, a fascinating human beehive that hasn’t changed significantly in centuries.
One of the many maze-like alleys in Chefchaouen, known as the “Blue City.”
Fez to Ceuta
The Atlas Mountains separate Morocco into two distinct zones, with the desert to the south and a temperate Mediterranean climate to the north. The countryside outside of Fez reminded me of southern Spain, with rolling hills and olive groves. In the foothills of the Rif Mountains, the road was scenic and exciting, twisty and uncrowded. We stopped for a stroll and lunch at Chefchaouen, a town sprawled across the side of a mountain with buildings painted various shades of blue.
Our final miles in Morocco were on a coastal road with twisties and views of the Mediterranean coastline. Unlike coming into the country, our border crossing into Ceuta, a Spanish city on a spit of Moroccan coast, took several hours, and we arrived at our hotel after nightfall. This was our last night together, and we enjoyed a delicious Spanish dinner and stayed up late at the bar talking about the sights we had seen and the roads we had ridden.
Marco and Kevin making friends with a couple of locals.
Ceuta to Malaga
Unlike our first ferry trip across the Strait of Gibraltar, we had clear skies for our return to Spain and were treated to beautiful views of the Rif Mountains and the Rock of Gibraltar. Heading to Malaga, we turned off the highway and onto a mountainous backroad for one last session of curves and beautiful views before we arrived at IMTBike’s warehouse. After a toast of cava, we said our farewells and headed our separate ways.
No wonder my Spanish friends love Morocco. It is a beautiful country that honors and preserves its unique cultural traditions while also embracing modernity and tourism. IMTBike’s Morocco Adventure Tour is a great introduction, leading you from one must-see destination to the next, all connected by beautiful backroads. And we didn’t have to plan a thing. The guides and fellow riders were excellent company, and everything ran smoothly. Even when the unexpected occurred, like flash floods or a mechanical issue, Marc and Chano were unflappable. I don’t know if I would take off into the interior of Morocco on my own, but I would do it again with the folks from IMTBike in a heartbeat.
Paul admires the flora and fauna near Marrakech.
IMTBike’s Morocco Adventure Tour will run five times in 2025: March 15-24, April 12-21, Sept. 20-29, Oct. 11-20, and Nov. 15-24. The longer 16-day Magical Morocco Tour also runs multiple times in 2025. For more information, visit the IMTBike website.
Paul Drevenstedt (right) bought his first motorcycle, a raced-hard-and-put-away-wet BMW R90S, in 1997. Inspired by the fun he was having, his younger brother, Greg (left), bought his first motorcycle a year later. They’ve been riding together ever since.
The grass is growing, the birds are singing in the trees, and motorcycles are emerging from hibernation in search of sun-warmed pavement or dirt. The start of a fresh riding season also means it’s time for a Spring Motorcycle Gear Buyers Guide. Motorcycle manufacturers, aftermarket companies, and tour operators are filling their lineups with new motorcycle gear and services, providing riders plenty of options to help them make the most of their plans for the upcoming riding season.
Your support and the support of our advertisers allows us to keep bringing you “Motorcycling At Its Best” year-round. The companies in this guide believe in our mission and help us to continue printing and posting the stories you look forward to each month. You can help pay that forward by picking out items from this guide to add to your gear wardrobe or attach to your motorcycle. And if you’re really looking for an adventure, don’t skip the 2025 tour catalogs.
This jacket is designed for both touring and everyday riding. It features a 600-denier polyester and poly mesh shell that is resistant to abrasion, impacts, and tearing. It comes with Armanox shoulder, elbow, and back armor. It features rolled shoulders, pre-curved and rotated sleeves, and four-way stretch fabric at the shoulders and elbows. The jacket also includes hook-and-loop waist adjusters, hidden arm snaps, a waterproof internal cell-phone pocket, and zippered hand and chest pockets. Available in sizes S-3XL in black, blue, gray, or silver for $169.99.
Bridgestone’s Battlax Sport-Touring T33 radial tires offer improved performance and mileage compared to the T32s. A newly designed compound and optimized tread pattern and construction increase mileage by a claimed 47%. The tread pattern is said to provide confident grip, stability, and handling. The front tire uses a new cross belt, and the rear uses a mono-spiral belt and a high-strength wear-resistant compound. These tubeless tires are available in various sizes with W or V speed ratings. Visit your dealer for pricing.
IMTBike Motorcycle Tours has released its full 2025 calendar. Destinations include Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, the Alps, and Morocco (see page 36), along with MotoGP tours and Global tours in Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam. Many of IMTBike’s tours feature new and improved routes for 2025, and the company’s fleet of more than 240 BMW motorcycles has been updated with the latest models. Established in 1997, IMTBike has been running outstanding motorcycle tours for the past 28 years. Visit the IMTBike website to find tours, dates, and details. Register early to secure your spot.
This vintage-style three-quarter helmet by Arai features a Peripherally Belted Complex Laminate Construction shell and a one-piece multidensity EPS liner. The wide, stitched faux leather trim adds to the helmet’s classic look. It features Arai’s hidden ventilation system with three forehead intake channels, an internal multistage channel, and a rear exhaust. The Classic-V also includes a button-closure goggle-strap holder and an intermediate-oval fit. For 2025, four new color options include Metashine Red, Blue, Green, or Brown. Available in sizes XS-2XL for $489.95.
Designed specifically for the Indian Scout, this handlebar system offers three axes of adjustability. It’s made of DOM high-strength tubing, alloy steel clamps, and pivots made from CNC-machined billet aluminum. The bar rotates up and down, forward and backward, and inward and outward, giving riders options for adjustability. This system is taller and more rearset than the standard handlebar for improved leverage and handling. It uses factory cables, hydraulics, and wire looms, and the tubes are pre-drilled for stock controls. Available for $599.
The SW-Motech Legend Gear line of products receives extensive upgrades for 2025, from new materials to refined features. For better organization, SW-Motech adds interior contrast colors and additional zippered pockets. One new product in the line is the LR4 Tail Bag (shown), which fits on any style of bike and features a sissy-bar attachment. The LA9 and LA10 Accessory Bags now include MOLLE. For the first time, the LT3 Tank Bag will have SW-Motech’s Pro Tank Ring System for added convenience. Visit the SW-Motech website to view the full lineup of Legend Gear products.
Designed for use on Honda Gold Wings and similar motorcycles, this sport-touring tire offers extended mileage, wear resistance, and reliable wet-weather performance for riders who enjoy long rides. Michelin’s Radial X-Evo, Aramid Shield, and Silica technologies are used in the tires’ construction to provide trustworthy handling in a variety of weather conditions, and special water sipes on the front tire enhance traction. These tubeless tires have an H speed rating and are available starting at $279.95 for front tires and $367.95 for rear tires.
Edelweiss Bike Travel has released its full program of motorcycle tours for 2025-26, including new tours. The new Fascination Yunnan – Ride the Dragon tour takes riders on a deep dive into China’s culture and landscape. The Andalusia tour explores sunny southern Spain through mountains and along the Mediterranean coast. The Adventure Mongolia tour travels through untouched and vast landscapes. Also included are four new Destination Yamaha tours throughout Europe. Request a free print copy or download a digital version of the catalog on the Edelweiss website.
New for 2025, this bag is part of Nelson-Rigg’s Rigg Gear Adventure line and is engineered with durability and functionality in mind. The RiggPak is made of UltraMax fabric and guarantees maximum UV protection. It’s built to withstand the harshest riding conditions and fits a wide variety of vehicle applications. Mounting options include hook-and-loop straps or adjustable quick-release buckles, and it can quickly be mounted onto your crash bar or used as a tailbag. It includes a MOLLE system for gear attachment and has a capacity of about 7 liters. Available for $59.95.
National Cycle’s VStream windscreen for the Yamaha Tracer 9 GT/GT+ offers excellent wind protection. The patented V shape and advanced dimensional contours push wind away from the rider and passenger for a peaceful, quiet ride. The screen is made of polycarbonate for better optics and 23 times the impact strength of acrylic, and it also includes a Quantum hardcoat for scratch resistance. The Low/Dark Tint (21.5 inches tall) is available for $159.95, the Mid-Size/Light Tint (23.5 inches) is $179.95, and the Tall/Clear (25.25 inches) is $199.95.
Aerostich’s Elkskin Roper gloves are made of natural tan medium- to heavyweight elkskin, which is thicker, stronger, and more abrasion resistant than deerhide and lasts much longer. The Elkskin Roper 2.0 gloves have been updated with an adjustable hook-and-loop wrist strap to more securely tighten the gloves around your wrist. Or keep the strap loose and fasten the snap for a roomier fit to allow more sleeve airflow on hotter days. Elkskin can be safely washed using warm water and mild soap. Available in sizes 7-13 for $93. Made in America.
Adriatic Moto Tours specializes in guided and self-guided motorcycle tours throughout Europe. New for 2025 is the French Riviera to Barcelona tour, which immerses riders in the region’s rich culture and travels thrilling roads through the Pyrenees, French Alps, and Provence. Returning for 2025 is the popular Norway Tour with inspiring landscapes and pristine roads. Discover all of AMT’s 2025 tours and destinations by ordering a brochure through the AMT website. AMT’s fleet includes models from BMW, Suzuki, Ducati, Yamaha, and Honda.
This full-face helmet features a thermoplastic HRT shell in two shell sizes and was engineered using a wind tunnel to optimize shape and performance. It features an extra-wide faceshield that is ready to accept the Pinlock anti-fog lens included inside the box, and the faceshield is also scratch resistant. The inner lining is removable and washable. It also features a drop-down UV-resistant sunshield, and it’s ready for installation of a Bluetooth communications system. Available in sizes XS-2XL in Cement Gray Gloss, White Gloss, Black Matte, or graphics starting at $299.
The all-new ContiAttack SM 2 is the best choice for riders seeking high performance and durability. These tires offer up to 28% longer mileage than their predecessors and feature BlackChili Compound for superior grip and faster warm-up times, even in wet conditions. The GripLimitFeedback technology enhances safety by providing precise feedback at extreme lean angles. Designed for lightweight, midsize sportbikes and supermotos, these road-legal tires excel on the street and track, making them a versatile and reliable option for sport-riding enthusiasts. Visit your dealer for pricing.
IMTBike Motorcycle Tours has released its full 2025 calendar. Destinations include Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, the Alps, and Morocco along with MotoGP tours and Global tours in Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam. Check out the IMTBike 2025 tour calendar for dates, details, and pricing. Sign up now to lock in IMTBike’s current prices.
Many of IMTBike’s tours feature new and improved routes for 2025, and the company’s fleet of more than 240 BMW motorcycles will be updated with the latest models. Established in 1997, IMTBIKE has been running outstanding motorcycle tours for the past 27 years.
Check out the IMTBike testimonials page to find out what many clients have to say.
Rider‘s Editor-in-Chief, Greg Drevenstedt, will be joining IMTBike next month on the Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour, Oct. 12-21, 2024.
Ride this road in the Atlas Mountains on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour.
Ready to visit the exotic bazaars of Fez and Marrakech? Ride a camel on the dunes of the Sahara Desert? Ride the best roads in Morocco, including the Atlas and Rif mountains? Join Rider Editor-in-Chief Greg Drevenstedt and his brother, Paul, on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour, October 12-21, 2024.
Rider Editor-in-Chief Greg Drevenstedt (right) and his brother, Paul, will be on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour. Paul’s son, Felix, hopes his dad brings him home a fez from Fez!
This 10-day tour includes all the sights you always dreamed of visiting in Morocco. This route is for seasoned riders who want to enjoy rolling green hills, the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, and the mysterious sand dunes of the Sahara Desert all on well-maintained paved roads. You’ll explore casbahs, see oases, and have opportunities to buy hand-made rugs, drink mint tea, and ride a camel! In the evenings you’ll dine on delicious Moroccan cuisine like couscous and tagine.
Make friends with locals on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour.
The tour starts and ends in Málaga, Spain, where you’ll spend nights to kick off and conclude the tour. To get to Morocco, you’ll ride along the southern coast of Spain and take a ferry across the Mediterranean Sea.
The IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour is an authentic experience that will leave a lasting impression on you. There is limited space on this tour, so sign up now!
The IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour route covers 1,400 miles on well-maintained paved roads. Rest days are in Fez and Erfoud.
IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour Facts
Start / End: Málaga, Spain
Total Distance: 1,432 miles / 2,306 km
Daily Mileage: 160-220 miles / 250-350 km
Riding Season: Autumn
Total Time: 10 days
Riding Days: 9 days
Rest Days: 2 (Erfoud, Fez)
Breakfast: 9 included breakfasts
Dinners: 7 included dinners
Hotel Overnights: 9 nights
Highlights: Marrakech Djemaa el Fna Square, riding a camel in the Sahara Desert sand dunes, Fez medina tour, Atlas Mountains
Accommodations: First-class 4- and 5-star hotels plus some Moroccan riads (palace homes converted into exotic boutique hotels). All IMTBike lodgings are hand-picked for their quality of service, local charm, and strategic locations.
You’ll enjoy exotic north African scenery on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour.
IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour Daily Itinerary
You’ll enjoy a Fez medina tour on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour.
IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour Pricing
Base Price: €3,910 (approx. $USD 4,242)
The base price of every tour is calculated for a single rider on a BMW G 310 R and sharing a double room. Passengers, single-room occupancy, and other BMW models incur additional charges.
One of the rest days on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour is in Erfoud, the gateway to the Sahara Desert and the staging location for many desert rally race teams.
Not Included in Tour:
Air ticket
Lunches
Gasoline
Drinks
Tolls
Personal spending
Tips
Ready for the adventure of a lifetime? Come ride with and get to know Rider Editor-in-Chief Greg Drevenstedt and his brother, Paul, who will be on the tour from beginning to end! Space is limited, so click on the link below to sign up for the tour.
This could be you on the Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour!
Choose from a wide range of BMW motorcycles on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour. The entire 1,400-mile route is on well-maintained paved roads.
Ride a camel over the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert on the IMTBike Morocco Adventure Motorcycle Tour.
Riding the ridge near Mirador de la Cardosa, Cantabria, on the IMTBike Essence of Northern Spain Tour.
The landscape of northern Spain erupted with jagged peaks and rolled along lush green hillsides. Farms folded across every nook, and waves pounded the Atlantic coast. Mile after mile of smooth, tight curves were waiting to be savored. The evidence was all around: Northern Spain is a rider’s paradise.
This past September, I joined IMTBike’s Essence of Northern Spain Tour. Leaving the planning to the pros at IMTBike, I simply arrived with my gear in Bilbao up north in the País Vasco (Basque Country) and enjoyed the ride. Over eight days, I explored new places with new friends, and fabulous riding connected every experience. This tour strung together curvy backroads through vast open spaces, rural pastoral lands, dense forests, and stunning coasts.
The tour frequently visits Spain’s Atlantic Coast, like here in Colunga, Asturias.
“Essence” tours like this one are new weeklong versions of longer IMTBike tours. Riders who can only get a week off from work can now enjoy full‑on tours of northern Spain, southern Spain, Portugal, or Morocco with a shorter time commitment.
IMTBike has been perfecting the art and science of motorcycle tours for 27 years. Initially, the focus was the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Today, it also offers tours of Morocco, France, Italy, and the Alps; exclusive MotoGP tours in Catalunya, Jerez, and Valencia; global tours in Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, and New Zealand; and self‑guided and custom‑designed tours.
My fellow tour members came to northern Spain from Costa Rica, Guatemala, Japan, the Netherlands, and the U.S. We all love travel, adventure, and motorcycling – that’s what brought us together – and as always, I enjoyed the experience of meeting and riding with people from countries other than my own.
Juanan Martin, our tour guide, has graduate degrees in history and travel journalism – perfect credentials for his role. Paulo Murteira, who drove the IMTBike support van, loves off‑road endurance riding and was a laugh a minute! Both were excellent sources of information, assistance, and insight.
During a coffee break, our tour guide Juanan reviewed the next section of the day’s ride.
From IMTBike’s garage in Bilbao, Juanan led us to the Cantabrian Mountains and strings of hairpin turns. At Collados del Asón Natural Park, we paused to take in a spectacular panoramic mountain vista. That first day, we traversed five mountain passes en route to Santillana del Mar.
Our night’s lodging was a parador located on a magnificently preserved medieval town square. Paradors are historic, architecturally significant buildings such as former castles, monasteries, and manor homes. Owned by the Spanish government and operated as luxury hotels, paradors preserve these treasured buildings and keep them relevant. We stayed in three of them on this tour.
This parador in Asturias was formerly the Monastery of San Pedro de Villanueva.
We also grew accustomed to dinner served on Spanish time: 8 p.m. at the earliest and frequently later. Your humble scribe is a big fan of seafood, and our daily menus included locally sourced fish and other delicacies from the North Atlantic, as well as delicious meat dishes, fresh fruits and veggies, and a variety of decadent desserts. No one went hungry.
By the second day, tour members had organically clustered into three groups of four bikes each according to their preferred pace. This unofficial order enabled everyone to ride their own ride. Juanan told me that every tour is its own living entity, with distinct personalities and group dynamics, individual rider skills, weather and seasonal factors, and more. Everyone wanted something different from their tour experience, and Juanan and Paulo were focused on delivering for us all.
Later, we had our first of numerous encounters with livestock in the road. Flat, open expanses of pastureland are uncommon in northern Spain, so cows (and occasionally horses and goats) nibble on grass wherever they find it. They seemed accustomed to the passing vehicles, so I rolled off the throttle a bit and bellowed “Moo!” before motoring past.
We experienced endless curves through the Cantabrian Mountains.
Spain has the highest average elevation of all western European countries except Switzerland, and the mountains we rode around, over, and sometimes through were highpoints for me. Topping my list for beauty was Picos de Europa National Park. Founded in 1918, it was Spain’s first national park. Today it’s a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and its natural beauty was wondrous to experience while carving great roads on a motorcycle.
While the mountains reminded me of the Alps, the Costa Verde (Green Coast) felt like Ireland. Okay, maybe not the palm trees. Herds of Asturian Valley cattle, the ubiquitous orange‑colored breed raised in northern Spain, grazed on grassy hills overlooking the ocean. What a completely different scene from the brown plains of central Spain. As cows chewed greenery, surfers in wetsuits carried their boards down to the sandy beach below. Some of Europe’s most popular surfing destinations are here on Spain’s northern coast. I wondered if this convergence of cattle and surfers gave rise to the expression “Cowabunga!”
Love mountains? This view of Riaño, León, helps one appreciate that Spain has western Europe’s second highest average elevation.
From cliffs overlooking the coast, we headed inland, where entertaining secondary roads wound us through agrarian landscapes past the hilly farms of Asturias. The most common crop appeared to be manzanas (apples), and most homes, even those that weren’t farmhouses, had a lemon tree in the yard. I admired the resilience of farmers here: There was hardly any land you’d call flat, yet orchards were abundant, tucked into every conceivable space. Livestock grazed along the roads here too.
Though the weather in northern Spain was mostly clear, warm, and dry, we rode through a late‑day rain shower near Oviedo, the bustling capital city of Asturias. On the last stretch to our hotel, it was useful having a guide with local knowledge and a solid plan to lead the group though wet, busy streets to the tight quarters of a downtown hotel parking garage. ¡Bien hecho, Juanan! Well done!
The capital of Asturias is Oviedo, a beautiful city where we enjoyed a rest day.
That evening in Oviedo, we had dinner in a sidrería (cidery), a pub‑like establishment where locals gather to drink cider, eat, and socialize. We enjoyed multiple courses of Asturian fare, washed down with sangría de sidra (cider sangria) made from the same variety of manzanas we saw growing on trees. It was an Asturian holiday, and patrons were joyously singing, their enthusiasm enhanced by pitchers of sangria. You don’t have to visit a museum to experience culture.
An evening walk through Oviedo was a great way to end a riding day. I’ve never visited a prettier city.
IMTBike scheduled a rest day halfway through this tour, but there was an optional lunch run to the seaside fishing village of Cudillero. Juanan led an exhilarating backroads jaunt through dense forest with little evidence of humans. Cudillero is built into rocky cliffs overlooking the Bay of Biscay. The ascending rows of colorful houses reminded me of similar towns I’d seen in Italy. At the edge of town, waves hitting the rocky shore presented spectacular views.
That evening, I decided to explore more of Oviedo on my own while speaking only Spanish. It had been decades since I studied Spanish in school, but after a few days in Spain, the fundamentals were coming back. I managed to buy a gift for my wife and order a fish dinner, celebrating these minor triumphs with una cerveza. ¡Salud!
The optional ride on the rest day followed narrow roads through deep forests.
Next morning, tour members huddled for our daily riders briefing with Juanan. He emphasized the need to depart the hotel as an organized group – and stay together as we left the city. A major bicycle race called La Vuelta, Spain’s version of the Tour de France, was passing through the area that morning. Juanan explained that the racecourse overlapped our route, and unless we rode through before race organizers closed the road, we’d have to wait. Thanks to this helpful attention to detail from our tour guide, our wellorganized group passed by the busy staging area for La Vuelta that morning on a still-open road.
Our group enjoyed a break at Puerto de Pandetrave in León.
After coffee, our route cut through Trubia River Gorge, where steep rock cliffs reached up on either side of us. Eventually we gained elevation, riding through the clouds until we poked above them into sunshine. I love when that happens. We crossed Alto de la Corbetoria Pass and then descended in tight curves to the Lena River to enjoy a stretch of easy sweepers to La Llama. The continuous flow of a curvy river road is always special on a motorcycle, and this tour included several of them.
Returning to the Picos de Europa, we relished technical curves and climbed in elevation before a lunch stop at Puerto de San Isidro, an alpine ski resort. At midday in late summer, skiers were notably absent. As our group prepared to move on, I let Juanan know I was going to ride alone for the afternoon. In this rugged and remote region of León, I stopped whenever I wanted to marvel at views of the mountains and lakes against a crystal blue sky. Since I opted for a GPS with routes pre‑loaded, it was no problem arriving on my own schedule (and well before dinnertime) at that night’s parador lodgings.
To build roads through northern Spain’s mountainous terrain, engineers have designed some impressive solutions. After a mid‑morning break in Potes, we reached Collada de Carmona Pass, where our mountain descent abruptly came into view. The road went through a hole cut through the cliff. Above the road, multilayer nets of steel mesh were moored onto the cliffside to catch falling rocks and held many they had snared. Then the road twisted down the mountainside, switchback after switchback, to the valley below. The smooth tar continued, snaking through positive camber curves along a meandering river for miles as the next mountain pass grew gradually closer. Up, over, and down again, the grin never left my face. At the next stop, our group of elated riders dismounted and exchanged high‑fives. What a run!
Camaleño in Cantabria provided many enjoyable sweepers.
While winding roads with dramatic views earned my top score on this tour, architecture was a notable runner‑up. The ultra modern Guggenheim museum in Bilbao is a marvel of design, encased in a skin of titanium. In stark contrast, the Sanctuary of Loyola in Azpeitia was a grand example of Spanish baroque architecture. And with its classical civic buildings, elegant parkside homes, and captivating old town edifices, Oviedo was as pretty as any city I’ve visited.
By design, this tour put us on mostly empty roads. But on a warm, sunny afternoon in late summer, it was no surprise to encounter beach traffic along a scenic coastal route. The view of the seaside below was splendid from a gently curving road cut into the cliffside, and the tang of salt air scented every breath I took. A slower pace was fine for a bit.
Rest stops present an opportunity for riders, each riding at their own pace, to regroup. We did that here at Puerto de Pandetrave in León.
Then we found ourselves riding into the unexpected. An altered traffic pattern sent us into a congested cobblestone pedestrian zone where some kind of celebration was underway. Clearly, this wasn’t the plan. Folks were stunned by the arrival of a dozen motorcycles, but Juanan quickly calmed any concerns. The first few riders managed tight, bumpy U‑turns, but those farther back were squeezed into an alley. Juanan pivoted several of those bikes 180 degrees on the sidestand – first time I’d seen that technique used on cobblestones – and in short order, we rode off as folks smiled and waved.
Carving more curves through the Basque Country and down the steep hills into Bilbao, our tour came to an end where it began: IMTBike’s garage. We parked our bikes one last time as Juanan poured us a cava toast. Later, over our final dinner as a group, we relived favorite moments of this exciting tour and started planning more adventures.
In 2024, the Essence of Northern Spain tour runs June 29‑July 7 and Sept. 7‑15. Prices start at 3,845 euros (about $4,100 USD) for a single rider on a BMW G 310 R and sharing a double room. Larger motorcycles and private rooms are optional. Not included in the tour price are air tickets, lunches, gasoline, drinks, tolls, GPS, personal spending, and tips. Learn more at the IMTBike website.
IMTBike Motorcycle Tours has published its full 2024 calendar. Destinations include Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, the Alps, and Morocco along with MotoGP tours and global tours in Turkey, Thailand, Japan, and Vietnam. Check out the IMTBike 2024 tour calendar for dates, details, and pricing. Sign up now to lock in IMTBike’s current prices.
Many of IMTBike’s tours have new improved routing for 2024, and the company’s fleet of more than 200 BMW motorcycles will be updated with the latest 2024 models. Established in 1997, IMTBike has been conducting motorcycle tours for 26 years, and it has not only extensive experience but a reputation for high-quality tours. Check out the IMTBike testimonials page to find out what many satisfied clients have to say.
The IMTBike Sardinia and Corsica Motorcycle Tour starts and ends in Barcelona, and it visits Spain, Italy, France, and Andorra with 13 riding days and two rest days.
Taking my first guided motorcycle tour was a dream that was years in the making, and last fall, I took the plunge by booking a two-week trip with IMTBike to tour parts of Spain, Sardinia, Corsica, and France.
As an avid reader of motorcycle touring magazines, I was drawn to the siren song of companies advertising guided tours to exotic, faraway places. However, up until that point, my bike trips were confined to self-guided tours in the U.S. and Canada, which certain advantages over guided tours.
Corsica is full of twisty roads and Mediterranean views.
The pros of self-guided tours are:
Cost. A self-guided tour is a lot cheaper than a guided tour.
You can travel exactly at your own pace and set your own agenda.
In North America, I have lots of friends and family I can see along the way and cadge a free place to stay.
Also, my bike is here, and I don’t have to worry about transporting it overseas or renting.
On the ferry from Barcelona to Sardinia.
The pros of a guided tour are more extensive and include:
Not having to worry about where you are going to stay, and enjoying excellent accommodations.
Not having to pack and unpack your stuff every day you are on the road; IMTBike has a tour van that follows you.
Going at a reasonable pace by avoiding the temptation to push yourself beyond physical and mental limits.
Never having to worry about where and when you are going to eat. With IMTBike, food was top-notch.
Using someone else’s bike and, in my case, getting one that was beyond my wildest expectations.
Having a gang of congenial people with whom to share the experience.
Leaving the decisions on where to go in the hands of seasoned and knowledgeable professionals with local knowledge.
The IMTBike van followed the group each day, so our luggage was handy and we could store our riding gear inside during stops.
IMTBike and Bike-friendly Barcelona
The IMTBike Sardinia and Corsica Motorcycle Tour starts in Barcelona, a large industrial, commercial, and cultural hub located in northwestern Spain. After being met at the airport by our tour guide, Sergi, I was struck by seeing an airport parking lot with hundreds of bikes. Sergi explained that with two wheels, you can park at the airport for free, regardless of why you are there. Never had I encountered such a bike-friendly place – a fact that was reinforced by seeing bikes parked in the city on just about any available space that was not part of an established thoroughfare.
Our motley crew.
After checking into my hotel, Sergi and our tour assistant Paolo scheduled a briefing for our 16-member tour group, which included folks from New Zealand, Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and Argentina, followed by dinner at a restaurant built in what was once a bullfighting ring.
Following dinner, I had the misfortune of getting separated from my group and hopelessly lost. After a couple hours of aimless wandering, I encountered a German lady who spoke fluent English and hailed me a cab and wouldn’t leave me until I was safely ensconced in my hotel.
The following morning, we embarked on our first day of the tour, which included some fantastic riding outside Barcelona, a city with the Mediterranean to its east and mountains to its north, west, and south. Just 15 minutes from downtown we were in motorcycling paradise.
Tour guide Sergi makes a new friend.
Our afternoon ride took us due north through the Montserrat Mountains to the Montserrat Monastery, which is literally built into the mountain range. I was riding a BMW R 1250 GS, and I was blown away at what a great touring bike it is. While there are faster, better handling, better looking, and maybe even more comfortable bikes around, the 1250 GS hit such high scores across the board that it wasn’t long before I started saying to myself, “I’ve got to get me one of these.” Don’t tell my wife.
Sardinia
After a 90-mile ride, we were back in Barcelona to wait for the ferry that would take us to Sardinia. The ferry was late, and we waited in light rain. Upon arriving in Sardinia, we disembarked in Porto Torres and spent the rest of the day in what the IMTBike guidebook billed as “without doubt one of the best places in the world for motorcycling.”
Having only taken long-distance bike trips in North America, I was in no position to argue, but I can say it was the best I had ever experienced. According to the guidebook, this is because “no other place offers such a density of perfectly asphalted and lightly traveled twisty roads. … It’s as if God decided to give this island the best possible combination of attributes for the sole enjoyment of motorcyclists.”
Lunch with a view in Sardinia.
Our destination was Alghero, where our hotel rooms overlooked the vast expanse of the shimmering Mediterranean Sea. In fact, almost every hotel we stayed at on the two islands had the same type of view.
The following morning, our tour followed a familiar pattern. First, a daily briefing where our guides explained where we were going for the day, with a description of the historical and topographical highlights. Then we would hit the road around 9 a.m., stop for a coffee break about an hour and a half later, and then ride on for a couple more hours until we stopped for lunch.
Enjoying a coffee break with tour mates Sondra and Michael.
After lunch, we rode again for another hour and a half, took another coffee break, and then completed our day’s ride in late afternoon or early evening. In this, our first full day of riding, we traveled 147 miles, where our lodging awaited us in the village of Arbatax.
While Sardinia is part of Italy, the island—the second largest in the Mediterranean—is an autonomous region, and its inhabitants consider themselves more Sardinian than Italian. It is sparsely populated with an idyllic climate and gorgeous mountains and seascapes, making it a true paradise for the long-distance biker.
The author making his way around one of the seemingly endless curves on the tour.
For the next four days – and one optional rest day – we followed a similar itinerary throughout the length and breadth of the island. On Day 4, we traveled 215 miles from Arbatax to Su Gologone, where we stayed two nights. Some of the group took an optional tour, while others, like me, kicked back at an Olympic-sized pool.
Corsica
On Day 6, we left Su Gologone and spent our last day in Sardinia, traveling 125 miles until we reached our destination, via a short ferry ride, to the spectacular natural port of Bonifacio, Corsica, an island north of Sardinia that is part of France.
Carving cliff-edged corners in Corsica.
On Day 7, we rode 135 miles from Bonifacio to Ajaccio, the administrative capital of the island and childhood home of France’s most famous citizen, Napoleon Bonaparte. Generally, the roads in Corsica were not as well-paved as in Sardinia, but I was grateful that the public restrooms on the island included toilet seats, as opposed to Sardinia.
On roads like these, staying focused is critical.
We spent an extra day in Ajaccio, and this time, I took advantage of the optional rest-day ride offered by our guides. The following day, we left Ajaccio and headed up the western coast of Corsica, which is one of the most spectacular stretches of coastal road in Europe, to arrive 140 miles later at Saint-Florent. Generally speaking, the mountains of Corsica are higher than Sardinia, so the vistas tend to be more dramatic and breathtaking.
A brief stop in Corsica.
Mainland France and Spain
Upon leaving Saint-Florent, we had a short travel day of less than 70 miles to Bastia, where we boarded a ferry for an overnight trip to Marseille, on the French mainland. On this day we covered the most ground, traveling 222 miles, much of it on toll roads that appeared indistinguishable from a U.S. interstate. But after multiple days of traveling on sharp, twisty roads, I was ready for the kind of mindless monotony that this leg of the journey offered.
Entranceway to Carcassonne, France.
The author and one of his tour mates enjoying themselves to the max at a restaurant in Sardinia.
Our destination was Carcassonne, a spellbinding double-walled medieval town that can only be entered on foot and has cobblestone streets. In some respects, the beauty and serenity of this perfectly restored town was the highlight of the trip for me, giving me the sense that I was truly in a different time and place from my native country.
The next leg of the journey would take us through the Pyrenees Mountains and the tiny principality of Andorra, notable as a tax haven and playground for Europe’s elites. The Pyrenees were very rugged, replete with switchbacks and enough elevation to provide the only cold weather of the trip.
Rounding a hairpin in the Pyrenees.
Our destination for the day was La Seu D’Urgell, just inside Spain and 140 miles from Carcassonne. The next morning would be the day that most of us would dread: the last day of our trip. After almost 12 consecutive days of motorcycle nirvana, my dream trip was coming to an end, but we still had one more day of intense riding in front of us – 130 miles through the mountains surrounding Barcelona to our final resting stop.
Enjoying the view in Corsica.
All in all, it was an outstanding journey that has only whet my appetite for more. As for IMTBike, I chose them because they were offering one of the most desirable places I would ever want to go on a bike. Fortunately, the quality of service provided exceeded my expectations. For example, of the whole group, I faced the biggest challenges health wise, with a heart condition and bad arthritis. The tour guides quickly recognized that and provided service above and beyond, like grabbing my luggage and taking it upstairs to my room in a hotel with no elevators, grabbing my helmet and cleaning the visor when all I asked for was a rag with which to do it myself, or parking my bike when I struggled to get it up off the curb.
Yet another fantastic view in Corsica.
I’m sure the other bike touring companies provide similar excellent service, but I can only go on what I know from IMTBike, which was founded 26 years ago by Scott Moreno, who, like me, is a native New Yorker and Mets fan – a piece of common ground that was icing on the cake when it came to choosing his company for my tour.
As I mentioned at the beginning, the biggest obstacle for long-distance bikers taking such trips is likely the price. But there are budget options. IMTBike rent bikes and offers self-guided tours where they provide the route and make the arrangements but you travel on your own. As for me, taking this tour was a no-brainer, and I have no regrets. In fact, all I can think about now is where and when my next trip will be. Iceland, anyone?
Lance Lamberton is a retired public relations professional and political junkie who once worked in the Reagan White House. He lives outside Atlanta, Georgia, and has been an avid long-distance motorcyclist since 1968. He has ridden across 49 states and 10 Canadian provinces and territories.
Rider magazine is inviting its readers to join contributing editor Scott A. Williams on the IMTBike Essence of Northern Spain Motorcycle Tour, taking place from Sept. 9-17, 2023, and offering riders a rich blend of spectacular and unforgettable landscapes and encounters with ancient cultures.
Rider magazine contributing editor Scott A. Williams
Based in Madrid, IMTBike specializes in tours of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), but it also offers tours in France, Italy, the Alps, and Morocco, as well as MotoGP tours (Catalunya, Jerez, and Valencia) and tours in Turkey, Thailand, Japan, and New Zealand. In 2021, IMTBike earned a coveted Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best award. In 2022, IMTBike celebrated its 25th anniversary, and Rider EIC Greg Drevenstedt, and his wife, Carrie, helped celebrate by taking the Southern Spain Andalusia tour.
The IMTBike Essence of Northern Spain Motorcycle Tour should be just as amazing. IMTBike says the tour, which is nine days total (including two travel days and one rest day), will combine “all the wonderful aromas that one expects to find in the North of Spain; from the salty azure waters of the Cantabrian Sea along the Costa Verde, to the pristine fields of verdant grass of the Basque Valleys and the crisp air of the majestic mountains of Asturias’s Picos de Europa.”
The tour will start and end in Bilbao, a former shipbuilding town that is now famous for Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum and Jeff Koon’s “Puppy” sculpture. The tour will lead through the northern regions of Spain – the Basque Country, Cantabria, Castilla-León, and Asturias – on a route through small picturesque fishing villages and charming lost hamlets in the most remote mountain regions of Spain. You will visit fascinating cities such as the capitals of Asturias and the Basque Country, Oviedo, and Vitoria.
On Day 1 (or earlier, depending on your country of origin), arrive in Bilbao and take the day to explore the city. The group will meet for dinner and prepare for the journey, which begins on Day 2, when riders will enter the easternmost Cantabrian Mountains. You will ride little-known mountain roads surrounded by incredible greenery on the way to the magnificently preserved medieval town of Santillana del Mar.
Day 3 goes through the Picos de Europa mountain range, which stands out because of both the height of the mountains and their proximity to the ocean. You will visit the beautiful beaches and cliffs of the Green Coast (Costa Verde). We’ll dive into the heart of the immense Picos de Europa Mountains where you can take a cable car to the summit and ride through the narrow canyons that surround the massif.
The Day 4 destination is the Asturian capital, Oviedo. On the way, riders will visit some of the most photographed fishing villages on the Asturian coast and go along some of the most interesting local roads that run through the green mountains of eastern Asturias.
Take a rest day to explore the elegant city of Oviedo on foot, or there will be a ride to visit the western Asturian coast and the picturesque fishing village of Cudillero. IMTBike has prepared “a nice curvy route to get there.”
On Day 6, the route will start heading back to the eastern part of Northern Spain, crossing Asturias through its mining region. These mountains are full of natural resources below ground and perfect motorcycling roads above. You’ll spend the day immersed in captivating natural landscapes and cross several mountain passes before arriving in Castilla-León’s lake country at the foot of the Picos de Europa.
Day 7 takes riders to the charming Basque capital of Vitoria, passing through several mountain ranges, valleys, and beautiful remote areas, as well as a few natural parks east of the Picos de Europa and the Cantabrian Mountains before finally setting foot again in Euskadi (Basque Country).
The final riding day will be a beautiful route that crosses the entire Basque Country from south to north on the way back to Bilbao. After several mountain passes, you’ll arrive at the coast and then ride local roads that pass through authentic fishing villages while experiencing the wild landscapes of this coastline.
If you’re looking for curve-filled roads, verdant mountains, azure ocean water plus delicious gastronomy, charming cities and incredible hotels all wrapped up into a weeklong getaway, then this Essence of Northern Spain Tour has been custom made for you!
IMTBike Essence of Northern Spain Motorcycle Tour daily itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival Bilbao
Day 2: Bilbao – Santillana del Mar
Day 3: Santillana del Mar – Picos de Europa
Day 4: Picos de Europa – Oviedo
Day 5: Oviedo – rest day
Day 6: Oviedo – Palentine Mountains
Day 7: Palentine Mountains – Vitoria
Day 8: Vitoria – Bilbao
Day 9: Flight back home
Pricing starts at $3,990 per person, including a BMW G 310 R motorcycle rental for a rider in a double room (see below for what’s included in the price). See the Essence of Northern Spain tour webpage for tiered pricing for different motorcycle models as well as pricing for a passenger and a single room supplement.
IMTBike Essence of Northern Spain Motorcycle Tour included services:
Airport pickup on the first day of the tour
Overnight accommodations in high quality hotels
A gourmet evening meal every night (except on rest days)
Complete buffet breakfast every morning
New model BMW motorcycle fully equipped with three BMW cases
Tour handbook (normally about 70 pages-very comprehensive) and highlighted map
Expert multilingual guide on a motorcycle
Multilingual guide in support vehicle which will carry your luggage, any oversized purchases you make; or even a passenger or two
Tour souvenirs
Services not included:
Air ticket, lunches, gasoline, drinks, tolls, personal spending, and tips
On Day 1, riding the “Goat Road” (A-4050) through Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama Natural Park on our way to Granada.
Every international motorcycle tour is special, but none is as memorable as your first one. For my wife, Carrie, and me, our first international tour was in 2010 – a two-week tour of Spain and Portugal with IMTBike, a motorcycle tour and rental company based in Spain with office locations in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Málaga, and Lisbon, Portugal.
Carrie and I have had the good fortune to go on many international motorcycle tours together. Riding two-up, mostly on a big BMW GS, we’ve explored a dozen countries in Europe, as well as Canada and Ecuador. We got engaged at the top of Stelvio Pass in the Alps and spent our honeymoon on a tour in Norway. But for that first tour, our guides were Scott Moreno, IMTBike’s founder and CEO, and “Super” Chano Lorenzo, IMTBike’s longest serving guide, who’s been with the company since 1998.
Like old friends, Scott and Chano shared their unabashed love and deep knowledge of Spain and Portugal with everyone in our group, treating each one of us as special and taking time to get to know us so they could tailor the tour experience to our particular needs or desires.
Chano is part toro.
Wake-Up Call
Of all the tours Carrie and I have been on, our most embarrassing moment happened on Day 1 of that first tour in 2010 – before we had even gotten on the bike. While enjoying ourselves at the festive welcome dinner the night before, we imbibed a bit too much vino tinto. When we got back to the hotel, feeling the effects of jetlag and the wine, we decided to wake up early to pack and get ready for the tour. I set my alarm, and we went to bed.
With the curtains drawn to block out the city lights of Madrid, I was jolted awake by the phone. It was Chano. “Buenos dias, Greg! It’s nine o’ clock, and everyone is on the bus, waiting to go. Are you ready?”
Mierda! I had gotten the a.m./p.m. mixed up on my phone’s alarm.
“I’m soooooo sorry! We overslept!”
“Don’t worry, that means you were relaxed! Scott will head over on the bus with the others and start the bike handover. I’m downstairs with everyone’s luggage in the van. I’ll wait for you.”
Hungover with throbbing headaches, our pulses racing, we threw everything into our luggage and suited up in our riding gear as fast as we could. Carrie and I are both fastidious Type A people, and we hate being late. We did the walk of shame out to the van, only to find Chano with a big smile on his face as he reassured us, “Is no problem!”
And it wasn’t. As embarrassed as we were, Chano and Scott just rolled with the situation. Our blunder was the source of playful ribbing throughout the tour, an inside joke we still share to this day. And we learned our lesson – in nearly 100 days we’ve spent on overseas motorcycle tours since that first morning, we have not been late once, and we’re often the first people on the bikes in the morning, ready to go.
A Very Good Year
The rolling hills in the Andalusia region are covered with millions of olive trees. (Photo by Carrie Drevenstedt)
Like all motorcycle tour companies, the pandemic was a gut punch to IMTBike. Covid restrictions meant the company couldn’t run tours for more than a year, but Moreno kept his team on the payroll, and they used the downtime to refresh, refine, and expand their tour offerings. IMTBike specializes in tours of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal), but it also offers tours in France, Italy, the Alps, and Morocco, as well as MotoGP tours (Catalunya, Jerez, and Valencia) and tours in Turkey, Thailand, Japan, and New Zealand.
IMTBike resumed its tours in 2021, the same year it earned a coveted Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Best of the Best award. In 2022, IMTBike celebrated its 25th anniversary, and Scott personally invited Carrie and me to join him and Chano on the Southern Spain Andalusia tour.
As much as we were looking forward to getting the band back together for a reunion tour, a family emergency precluded Scott from joining us. Chano served as head guide, and our consolation prize was Paolo Pezzoli, a young, energetic Italian who was new to the IMTBike team.
The Southern Spain Andalusia tour hits the sweet spot – not too short or too long, not too easy or too challenging, and just right in terms of daily mileage, choice of roads, scenery, sightseeing, and accommodations. The tour is nine days, with six riding days, one rest day, and travel days on each end. It starts and ends in Málaga, a city on Spain’s Mediterranean Costa Del Sol (Sun Coast), and includes stops in Granada, Córdoba, Seville (rest day), Arcos de la Frontera, and Ronda.
Carrie and I arrived a day early to shake off our jetlag and spend a day exploring Málaga, which was founded in 770 B.C. and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. IMTBike booked a modern, stylish hotel that’s a short walk to the heart of the city. We visited the 19th-century Atarazanas Market, the 14th-century Cathedral of Málaga, and the 11th-century Alcazaba, a Moorish palatial fortress perched on a hill overlooking the city and coast.
The Renaissance-style Cathedral of Málaga was built between 1528 and 1782 but is technically unfinished since the tower on the right is incomplete.
After our walking tour – which included a stop at a busy sidewalk cafe for tapas, sangria, and people-watching – we met the tour group in the hotel’s bar. Over beers and wine, we met Lonny and Linda, a couple from Idaho; Kobus and Magda, a couple from South Africa; Bernard, a solo rider from Canada; and Oliver, a solo rider from Dominican Republic. Each of us took turns telling the group a little about ourselves, and Chano gave us an overview of the tour and rules of the road in Spain.
To keep us connected, IMTBike set up a group on WhatsApp so we could send text messages, live locations, photos, and more via Wi-Fi. We also received links to the tour’s daily routes on Google Maps and to a Google Drive folder so we could upload and share our photos.
Following the briefing, we walked to dinner. Spain is known for its afternoon siestas and late-night dinners, and in the evenings, the streets of cities we visited were bustling with locals and tourists, young and old and everything in between. Our tour was in October, with mild days and cool nights – ideal for strolling on cobblestoned and tiled sidewalks that are hundreds of years old, their surfaces worn smooth by millions of footsteps. Our welcome dinner was at a restaurant handpicked by IMTBike, and Chano got us started by ordering Iberian ham, cheese, and wine for the table. Everyone was in good spirits as we broke bread and got to know each other.
Up, Up, and Away
Our crew (plus Paolo behind the lens) enjoying a short break overlooking Arcos de la Frontera. We stayed in a historic Parador situated on the edge of the cliff in the background. (Photo by Paolo Pezzoli)
Carrie and I woke up early, enjoyed a decadent breakfast at the hotel, brought our luggage down, and walked outside to find two R 1250 RTs, three R 1250 GSs, and an F 850 GS lined up on the sidewalk. IMTBike is an official partner of BMW Motorrad, and it owns the world’s largest fleet of BMW motorcycles (more than 200 at last count). Bikes available to rent range from the G 310 R to the K 1600 GT, and all are outfitted with a top case and side cases; a GPS unit is optional. Our group was followed by a support van that carried luggage and a spare bike.
Grazalema is one of the many Pueblos Blancos (White Towns) tucked into the mountains of Andalusia.
On our first tour in 2010, Carrie and I described Spain as “California with castles.” The coastal areas of Southern Spain and Southern California have mild Mediterranean climates as well as rugged mountains that rise dramatically from the sea. Within minutes of leaving Málaga, we climbed up, up, up into the mountains on a tight, steep, endlessly curving road that kept us on our toes. After a midmorning coffee stop, we rode back down to the coast to have delicious paella right next to the beach. We ascended into the mountains again on a narrow lane carved into the rock known as the “Goat Road,” arriving in Granada in time to explore the city’s old quarter before meeting up for a gourmet dinner at one of the best restaurants in the city.
Paella, made with rice, saffron, seafood, and chicken, is one of Spain’s most emblematic dishes.
From Granada, we got full use of our tires and leaned deeply through the curves of a shaded canyon before popping out into the high plains, where we got a bird’s eye view of the village of La Peza from an overlook. We rode through endless olive groves and visited the Núñez de Prado organic olive oil factory in Baena, where the olives are crushed by enormous stone mills to extract the “flower” and first cold pressing of extra virgin olive oil.
Large cone-shaped stones are used to crush olives at the Núñez de Prado olive oil factory in Baena.
After lunch in the Baena town square, we rode to Córdoba, home to more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other city. It was a hot afternoon, so we cooled off in the rooftop pool overlooking the Guadalquivir River and the city. We explored the narrow, cobblestoned streets and visited the stunning Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba. At an outdoor cafe, Carrie and I joined Lonny and Linda for sangria, and then we enjoyed a family-style dinner with the group at a local restaurant.
Inside the incomparable Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that blends Moorish and Renaissance architectural styles.
On our third day, we rode from Córdoba to Seville on a series of backroads that seemed tailor-made for motorcyclists. Spain is a motorcycle-mad country, and you can’t help but think that civil engineers said to themselves, “Let’s make these curves flow with a nice rhythm. We’ll give them a consistent radius, good banking, and smooth pavement. Riders will love it!”
After winding through farmland with rolling hills filled with oak and cork trees, herds of sheep, and black Iberian pigs (the source of highly prized jamón pata negra), we rode over the Sierra Morena mountains and back down into the Guadalquivir River valley and the magnificent city of Seville.
Plaza de España in Seville.
We arrived with a few hours to unwind, relax, and explore before dinner. We walked from the hotel to an old restaurant decorated with bullfighting memorabilia, and we enjoyed vino tinto and plates of jamón, queso, ensalada mixta, and other delicacies, all topped off with a variety of diet-busting sweets and little glasses of house-made liqueur.
Caves, Coffee, and Cava … IMTBike Style
After a rest day exploring the wonderful city of Seville and a mesmerizing flamenco show, we continued our meandering lap around Andalusia. We rode through rolling hills of olive trees and passed several of the region’s iconic Pueblos Blancos (White Towns), where all the houses and buildings have whitewashed walls and terra cotta tile roofs. We stopped for lunch in Setenil de las Bodegas, a town built along a small canyon with houses and shops built into the hollowed out limestone caves on both sides of the river.
Houses and shops in Setenil de las Bodegas are built into limestone caves along the river.
Next up was the most impressive road of the trip, an Alps-like climb from the valley to 4,452-foot Palomas Pass. We descended an equally winding and scenic road and made our way to Arcos de la Frontera, an old town built high on a limestone promontory. De la Frontera means “on the frontier,” so named because Arcos was on the frontlines of Spain’s 13th-century battle with the Moors. Perched on the edge of the cliff overlooking the Guadalete River, our hotel was a Parador, one of roughly 100 hotels managed by Spain that are in buildings of historical, artistic, or cultural interest.
The winding road up to Palomas Pass reminded us of the Alps.
Leaving Arcos de la Frontera, we rode under the flying buttresses of the cathedral and descended steep, narrow cobblestone streets made damp by overnight rains. We continued our ride along La Ruta de los Pueblos Blancos (Route of the White Towns) where whitewashed villages on the mountainsides stand out like large polka dots on the green landscape. We rode into Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park and wound our way up to El Boyar Pass on our way to our morning coffee stop in a bustling town square.
In Arcos de la Frontera, we stayed in a Parador across from the 15th-century Basílica de Santa María de la Asunción. Its flying buttresses tower over the narrow road that leads into the town’s old quarter.
Every day, we rode up and down on small mountain roads and through idyllic agricultural plains. Traffic was minimal, and the rugged, old-world scenery was enchanting. On our fifth riding day, we enjoyed more fast and fun roads in the afternoon as we made our way to Ronda, a city perched high on both sides of the Tajo gorge carved by the Guadelevin River. We stayed in a Parador on the edge of a cliff overlooking the “new” 300-year-old bridge over the gorge (the old bridge was built during the Roman Empire).
Our second clifftop Parador of the tour was in Ronda, overlooking the “new” bridge and the Tajo gorge.
We started our last day of the tour with a beautiful sunrise over Ronda. We rode east into the rugged granite mountains of Sierra de las Nieves Natural Park, winding our way through canyons and over passes toward El Burgo.
Sunrise over Ronda.
It was Saturday, and we stopped for coffee at a popular meet-up spot for motorcyclists, its tables abuzz with riders and its parking lot full of bikes. The final highlight of the tour was a ride up to El Torcal de Antequera, a mountain ridge covered in unusual karst rock formations that reminded us of Joshua Tree National Park seen through the eyes of surrealist painter Salvador Dalí.
Having fun during a coffee stop.
We descended more narrow, twisty roads back to Málaga, where we turned in our BMWs at IMTBike’s warehouse and toasted a celebratory glass of cava. After drinks and laughs on the hotel’s patio, we enjoyed a festive farewell dinner at another wonderful restaurant.
Admiring the view from El Boyar Pass in Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park. The Mediterranean Sea is visible on a clear day.
The week went by fast, a sure sign of how much fun we had. Chano and Paolo were a constant source of charm and good humor, and they did a lot of work behind the scenes to keep everything running smoothly. Our small group bonded quickly, and even months after the tour, we still send messages via WhatsApp to stay in touch.
Lonny and Linda, a delightful couple from Idaho, enjoy a scenic ride through Sierra de Grazalema Natural Park.
If you love good roads, good food and wine, and nice accommodations, as well as history, architecture, and rugged mountain scenery, this tour is for you. Just try not to oversleep.
On the last day of the tour, we rode through El Torcal de Antequera, a natural reserve that protects a mountaintop covered in unusual rock formations.
The 2023 Southern Spain Andalusia tours run March 11-19, April 15-23, and Oct. 14-22. Visit the IMTBike website for more info.
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