Should I take my motorbikes to Poland?

Hey...

I'm considering whether to move or not with my motorbike to Poland. I'll be based in Krakow for some indefinide time and I'm very fond of my bike... but as the winters there are well known to be really cold, I don't know if the bikers are still able to use their bikes during it or not.

I use it in Spain all the winter, but in my city we will reach -2ºC or -3ºC during some special cold day, so it is not the same for sure!

Any advice!?

v'sss

Hello sawesa,

And welcome to the Polish Forum.
Yes bring your bike, is it a scrambler?. You will have to get winter tyres for it. It does not rain much here. And there are plenty of really cool places to go mad on the bike. I saw loads of bikers and people on quads today up the mountains.

A normal winter here is about -15 but don't let it put you off, it is much dryer here.
I have seen cars with two batteries, one for the car (normal) the other to heat the engine up, that was in Lithuania though.

I was spending half year in Finland (including winter) and after this stay I can say that there is no bad weather for biking (not even motorbiking). Students there (also those foregin, including those from Spain and me of course) were biking from student houses to the university (8 km) untill it the temperatures were not lower than -30C (during the day!). Below this temperature oils in mechanic parts become still so it is hard to bike...

Before this stay I would say that it is crazy to bike on the snow whern it is -20 C. Then I saw that it is normal I was not a problem for me...

It is only the case of acclimation... When after a month of heavy frosts, came "warmth" of -6 C I went to uni without a jacket becouse I felt so warm...

The thing I would be more afraid are car drivers. In Poland there is much less motorbikes than in mediterenian countries and you woul be alone between cars which drivers will treat you as worse road user...

Have a good time

Lukasz

Oh cool!
It is a Ducati Monster, and oldie now... it's from '99, carburators... I've tunned it up a lot, but I really doubt it will turn on in -15ºC, no way! But there are still some weeks till we reach those temperatures so I have to see. I really don't know what to do!

Winter tyres? I thought those were only made for cars not bikes, you really got me there. Never heard about those dual-batteries for the cars, I'm really trying to find out whether the flat I'm trying to rent includes a garage or not (it's not clear yet as they just say "parking place"), otherwise I think my car or bike will never turn on.

Good excuse not to go to work ;)

Lukas,
your experience in Finland is totally crazy... well, I already have heat in the bike handfuls, and in winter I always get blue fingers anyway... I cannot imagine how I would freeze with those temperatures, no way at all. I really doubt my bike would respond in such low temperatures, both of us seem to be weak for the cold!! shame on us!

Hello fellow biker....If the weather does not get too cold , you can find me riding my Harley into october , and maybe even november if i am feeling hard , but i have reached an age where i really don,t enjoy getting cold and wet , and claning all the winter filth off my Harley is a pain... I have a few cars too , so i prefer to leave the bike in the garage when it gets really cold...Poland is a great country for biking , and i can well understand how you miss your bike , i was without mine for six months through the summer when i first moved to Poland , and i felt terrible.......Thankfully i was able to ride it over to Poland the following year.....get on your bike....enjoy Poland...

I love Harleys... even when Harley-drivers do not salute other bikes but Harleys :P hehe. Which one is yours, a sporter or what?
Your answer is helpful, and it seems that I will leave her here untill the spring :( I will feel really weird but I am worried as I dont have a right garage for her yet and no way she is waiting in the streets.

When do you tipically start riding again? maybe in March or so? That would be 6 months :S too bad!

Yep , march is usually mild enough for people who are not too much into the Harley way of life and who can still relate to bikers who don,t ride Harleys....Most of my life i rode and raced jap stuff , and my bright yellow sportster bought in december 2001 was my first Harley...i can still remember the looks i got riding the thing around all day in a borrowed leather jacket , and no gloves , bloody freezing , but i loved it , apparently Harley riders don,t do such things , and i could never get into the staying in a hotel thing when going to a rally , no way , a sleeping bag strapped to the bars is good enough for me.....I guess i am not a typical Harley rider , as i am happy to wave to anybody on anything bigger than a moped....I certainly don,t consider Harley riders better than any other breed of biker , its just that a Harley suits my purpose at this time in my life , but inside me there still lurks a ducati 996 rider just dying to get my knee on the floor again....I did 24 years on the track racing bikes , a a fair bit of time in the hospital too , including a go on life support....some people never learn....? When you get your bike over here give me a shout , my farm is a great place for a biker party , and i am one of the organisers of a bike rally here in Poland.....drop in for a beer or three.....

Hello bikers!

I'm a Japanese man and have been in Manchester (UK not NH) for seven years. I've just got a job offer from a company in Krakow and will be working there from December (or later if it takes longer for all the work permit mess).

I have a UK-registered Honda CB650 (1982) and want to take it to Poland. It isn't fast or expensive, but I love the air-cooled SOHC motor.

The issue is: Is it easy to have it registered in Poland?

I also have an old 6-volt CG125 that I use as a general run-about, but I'm not quite mentally prepared to ride it all the way to Poland.

Anyway, see you in Krakow.

haha, that's a funny way to describe your own relation with the Harley world! I myself am not an italian fanatic... but I do salute Ducatis with an L rather than a V ;)

Did you own a 996? wow, I do love that bike, that's totally cult. That one and the yellow 748 are my fav bikes ever.

I don't race... I tried twice but I took too much risk in both occasions and no fun. This monster has been my first big bike, I bought it 4 years ago now and the first day I was the proudest girl in the whole world! Even when I could hardly park it or manage any basic movement but infinite lines haha, at least I could clean it! Now I use it everyday to go work, and weekends to tour around here, well you know what biking is about ;) biker party in Poland? Wicked, count with me!


Your bike is almost my age! :-O
I have read that it is quite difficult to register vehicles in Poland, but not because this particular thing but because all burocracy stuff that you may need to do here seems to get so complicated. Maybe other person who has already gone through it can let us know better.

From my side I have to go the local traffic place here and get some green plates, then I can drive to Poland and have a 60 days place to register it.

I imported my motorbike to Poland from the UK. That's my blog post about how I did it in the link. It's not too tricky if you go through the steps. Good luck!

A biker party in Poland has a special kind of atmosphere that we seem to lack in the UK , been to a few , and they were great fun , got a few mates that play in rock bands too , so all set for a fun time when the weather gets warm again.....

Thanks everyone.

At the end, with a lot of tears I've sold my bikes.

I think I'll buy something really spartan, like a Neval or Ural.

.... or just any g-ddamn motorbike as I cannot live without one.

Hi,

If you want to make kill you on the road, yes.... The state of the roads in Poland is disastrous...
And the majority of the drivers takes themselves for Kubica... Good luck!

K

harley-davidson-tours.com they also rent bikes near Krakow.