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[AllBlackPearl]

Originally Posted by gummikuh

Tach auch!

Is that allright to team up from Perth W.A. ???

Original we're from Remscheid/NRW ...should be allright is it???

Greetings from W.A. Werner+Claudia

P.S. sollte sich mal einer von Euch hierhin verirren.... auch hier gibt es gutes Bier

Now that´s kinda funny, I´m from Solingen (right next to Remscheid), now living in Berlin, the world´s worst place to be for bikers....
Best thing you can do here (except for getting away as soon and as far as possible) is cruising the city at nights. Well - I prefer getting away, though.
Anyways, if we should ever get near Perth, I´ll remember the invitation! Actually I know quite a few people working and living in Perth.
This was my first posting, by the way, so HI all!

[jensht]

I live near Stuttgart (in Echterdingen). I lived in the US for about 14 years (CO, AZ and VA) but needed to come back to the fatherland .

[thumpjump]

I just moved to K-Town area. I saw someone with a GS that had an ADV sticker about a month ago on Ramstein.

I ride a Silver Triumph Tiger.

See ya around!

[GatorTiger]

Hi thumpjump!

Originally Posted by thumpjump

I just moved to K-Town area. I saw someone with a GS that had an ADV sticker about a month ago on Ramstein.

I ride a Silver Triumph Tiger.

See ya around!

Lemme know when you are in the Hamburg area! I'm about 30 miles southwest from there!!

Cheers,
HG

[T.REX63]

Originally Posted by GatorTiger

Hi thumpjump!


Lemme know when you are in the Hamburg area! I'm about 30 miles southwest from there!!

Cheers,
HG

Here there, heard you had snow last Friday in HH. Have you been doing any riding or is the bike tucked away?

Thomas

[GatorTiger]

Hi Thomas!

Originally Posted by T.REX63

Here there, heard you had snow last Friday in HH. Have you been doing any riding or is the bike tucked away?

Thomas

Had snow alright... Kind looked like this:



Now it's either gone or turned into ice-cubes.

The Tiger is partly disassembled. Had to fix some TÜV items and take care of the airbox. This weekend is re-assembly time!!! Monday I will have a test for the German DL (needed to transfer the US license to Germany) and then it's (hopefully soon after that) back to riding!!!!!

Cheers,
HG

[T.REX63]

Originally Posted by GatorTiger

The Tiger is partly disassembled. Had to fix some TÜV items and take care of the airbox. This weekend is re-assembly time!!! Monday I will have a test for the German DL (needed to transfer the US license to Germany) and then it's (hopefully soon after that) back to riding!!!!!

Cheers,
HG

We had some low temps here in ATL. Just did a round trip to Tampa, FL , attending a conference. It's good to be out there. This was the first long trip after Alaska 2008 (took the picture on July 30, 2008)



Others than that, I'm just commuting back and forth to the office...


What is the DL in Germany? I have a friend in Heide, who just brought a H-D Rocker over to Germany. We did some of the mods over here before shipping it. It sounds llike a PITA...

[T.REX63]

Never mind, DL = Drivers License. You made your motorcycle license in the US. Yes, let me know what's involved to do that. I heard the German license is extremely expensive... good luck

[jensht]

Originally Posted by T.REX63

Never mind, DL = Drivers License. You made your motorcycle license in the US. Yes, let me know what's involved to do that. I heard the German license is extremely expensive... good luck

If the person is 25 or older at the time they get their bike license they can drive any motorcycle they want.

If the person is less than 25 years old at the time they get their bike license they are limited to a bike with a power to weight ratio of 0.22HP/kg but not to exceed 34HP for the first 2 years.

If a valid car licence already exists the following criterias need to be met:
Classroom:
6x 90 minutes general classes (same as car license, right of way, road signs, etc)
4x 90 minutes bike specific topics (lane discipline, protective gear, etc)

Then one has to take the written test.

Driving:
12x 45 minutes general lessons
5x 45 minutes rural roads/highways
4x 45 minutes Autobahn
3x 45 minutes night driving

Then the driving test.

All in all it costs me about €1000 (that was with just the minimum amount of driving lessons, so for some it can get a lot more expensive if they need more lessons).

[T.REX63]

Originally Posted by jensht

...

Classroom:
6x 90 minutes general classes (same as car license, right of way, road signs, etc)
4x 90 minutes bike specific topics (lane discipline, protective gear, etc)

Then one has to take the written test.

Driving:
12x 45 minutes general lessons
5x 45 minutes rural roads/highways
4x 45 minutes Autobahn
3x 45 minutes night driving
...

Quite frankly, the mandatory driving hours show the difference. I find German drivers / riders are better "equipped" and "more" disciplined than US drivers / riders. And I'm not referring to the skills of handling a bike, but to the ability to maintain "situational awarness".

Driving in Germany is more predictable than in the US. My biggest peeve are drivers in the US, who are stuck in the left lane, slowing traffic flow and causing people to pass on the right...

And again, just my opinion...

[GatorTiger]

Originally Posted by T.REX63

Never mind, DL = Drivers License. You made your motorcycle license in the US. Yes, let me know what's involved to do that. I heard the German license is extremely expensive... good luck

If you have a US license you don't have to do all the classes and driving hours. The max is doing the written and ridden tests again. And you will have to surrender the US license in exchange for the German one! That will run you about €300 overall. What and if any tests you might have to do depends on the state your license is from. Mine is from Florida, so it will be both tests for me, supposedly. But the guy from the Fahrschule here told me he talked to the person issuing the German license in the 'exchange' and she had said I would only have to do the written one...

I'll know for sure next Monday!!!!

Funny tidbit: Exactly 25 years ago I was sweating the car driving test...

Cheers,
HG

[T.REX63]

Originally Posted by GatorTiger

...

I'll know for sure next Monday!!!!

Funny tidbit: Exactly 25 years ago I was sweating the car driving test...

Cheers,
HG

Well, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you - good luck

25 years ago...? Huh, getting old sucks, doesn't it?

[jensht]

Originally Posted by GatorTiger

If you have a US license you don't have to do all the classes and driving hours. The max is doing the written and ridden tests again. And you will have to surrender the US license in exchange for the German one! That will run you about €300 overall. What and if any tests you might have to do depends on the state your license is from. Mine is from Florida, so it will be both tests for me, supposedly. But the guy from the Fahrschule here told me he talked to the person issuing the German license in the 'exchange' and she had said I would only have to do the written one...

I'll know for sure next Monday!!!!

Funny tidbit: Exactly 25 years ago I was sweating the car driving test...

Cheers,
HG

I might be wrong, but I was under the impression that it goes like this:

If you have a drivers license from the US then depending on the state you come from you have to do anything from just handing in your US license and swap it for a German one (I know Colorado is one of the states with such an agreement) to having to do everything just like you never had a license.

Any additional endorsements, such as motorcycle, truck, etc will not be accepted and need to be done just like any German would have to. One thing that most people forget is that with the normal car license (class B I think) one cannot drive a car over 3.5 Tons and tow a trailer more than 750 kg. Good information can be found here >> http://www.german-way.com/germany-dr...ciprocity.html

EDIT: I forgot to add...my wife was able to just swap her Colorado license for a German one, only cost €16 if I remember correctly. Funny thing though, when I moved to Colorado in 2002 (I had a German license already) I had two choices from the DMV. 1. Swap my German license for a Colorado license or 2. skip the written test and do a driving test and keep the German license. So $26 later I had both a German and Colorado license.

[T.REX63]

Originally Posted by jensht

...
Good information can be found here >> http://www.german-way.com/germany-dr...ciprocity.html

...

Great info! On a slightly different subject, I still have my "grey-paper-like" German drivers license, issued in 1979, when I was 16 (with a lot more hair)

When I turned 18, I saved DM 10.- by simply expanding the existing license, class 4, to class 3 and 1 with a stamp. As far as I know , Germany has gone through two new drivers license designs since.

Is there any way that I could obtain the latest version of the German license ? I've been living in the US for 23 years and I am not registered in Germany anymore.

[TheWorstKind]

Don't know if I am a "Fraenkischer Schwabe", or a "Schwaebischer Franke"! I'm from Altenmuenster, Grosse Kreisstadt Crailsheim, exactly between Nuernberg und Stuttgart. I live in beautiful Virginia Beach in the US, but I come home often (Mom has moved to Friedrichshafen). Give a shout if any of you fine Germans are ever on this side of the Atlantic and in the vicinity - there is usually always an extra motorcycle available! I do struggle with missing the beer, the bread, Schwarzwaelder Schinken, Spaetzle, Sosse, Knoedel....

But, there is lots to like over here, too.