TET Romania on a big bike ..?

[Torben]

Hi, All
I have a question regarding the difficulty of the Romanian TET.
Planning on a summer trip to Romania and really want to go by part of the TET route.
We are riding BMW 1200 GS + KTM 690, guess parts of the route will be unacceable for the 1200.
Can any of you recommend suitable parts of the route to bring these bigger bikes?

( Having to get off and push, we consider part of the fun )

Thanks,

[nordicbiker]

Interesting question, I have the same problem. Africa Twin with full camping gear. It will also be intersting to see if there is any snow left at high elevations in june!

[Torben]

Snow ?? Completely forgot about the snow..
It just gets better and better...

[offRoadventure srl]

Hi Torben & Nordicbiker,
I cannot give a good answer whether the Romanian TET is doable with such a heavy bike, but I do know that there are very nice tracks here in Maramures county (Borsa and region) that can be done without troubles with a 1200cc. I have been driving and riding around here for several years now ( I live in Romania but I'm dutch)
And to answer the question of Nordicbiker: Snow in Juin is definitely possible but I'm afraid that this year you won't find any in Juin anymore. Most snow is already gone due to a very nice and warm April. I was doing some tracking last weekend and still found some snow on the roads up at 1400 -1500 meters but it is getting less very fast now.
Where do yo guys come from?
Best offroad regards,
Bouke
SC. offRoadventure srl.

[ramzz]

I'm planning to go along Romania TET track (at least half starting from the north) with couple of friends in second part of June 2019 on bikes like Honda Crf Africa Twin, F800GS or Honda Transalp 700, not as heavy as BMW GS 1200, but still rather heavy.
Anyone else could share his experience with the topic?

[Navrix]

Hi Ramzz,
Last August I was riding part of Romanian TET. I was there on my Tenere XTZ660 and my buddy was with Super Tenere 750. If you have riding skills, then mostly it is ok. But some parts of route was not passable, because the mountain road was washed by rain and had to find some other detour.
We were packed very light - without panniers (no camping gear). If the big bikes will be with full loaded panniers with camping gear and other stuff, what will make the bikes more heavier, then it will make more difficult and problematic riding with big bikes in the mountain sections. First, it will be very exhausting for the riders on the mountain sections. Even with 1 light bag on my bike, the rear brakes were overheated and stoped to work on the downhills (1st gear and the engine cooling fan was on all the time).
But I still recommend. Just do it. You will always find some detour, if some places will be not passable. Choose the right tires, pack light and go! ;)

[mastercore]

did it in summer of 2018. Did the main passes of the Carpathia. Fantastic ride.
Found most minor roads on google maps end up being off road adventures.
Had no problems with my Honda Africa Twin with about 17kg luggage.

Great ride. Have fun

[Vater]

According to the last summer experience riding a TET Romania (17-21.07.18), starting from Baia Mare and using pre-edited route of 2018, there were sections we had to skip. One of them located at Parva with limited options for heavy loaded R100GS or Moto Guzzi NTX /V50 Nato to accelerate and slow maneuvering on the narrow, wet and wobbly boulder path with increasing steepness of the slope on the rise. Although heavy showers on our way done their job in mountains, there were no issues for our fellow on Honda XR400R, as he managed any hardcore terrain without any extra effort.
There wouldn't be any issues to ride a heavy bikes in any terrain and weather conditions for pro riders, however enthusiasts would have to consider a lightweight hard enduro - XR250/400, crf450,wr, in order to enjoy their ride, what other wise might turn into exhausting battle without end.

As a conclusion - we are planning to continue exploring TET Romania this year as well, but doing it on hard enduros - Honda XR400R.