Is IMTC the Right Club for me?

We realise that there are almost endless different motorcycle clubs and commercial touring organisations around – so is this the one for you? Here’s a few bits of explanation that might help you decide

·         The club is all about riding good roads – whether near or far – seeing new places and making good, long term friends.

·         You’ll find that people are much more interested in what you saw along the way than how fast you got there. On the tours some of our members get along the roads fairly quickly, others take a more sedate approach – it’s entirely up to personal choice.

·         Members have all sorts of makes and sizes of bikes. We think that this adds to the variety and interest compared to the many ‘one-make’ clubs, though many of our members are in such clubs as well as in the IMTC.

·         Members are all sorts of people from all sorts of backgrounds, brought together by a common love of motorcycling. The age range is generally from around 40 upwards. Not that anybody younger would be discouraged by us, more by such things as mortgages and young children which may rather absorb all spare time and funds in earlier years

·         We have members who have been in the club for more than 50 years and of course others who’ve just joined. We have members who have ridden for decades and others who have just started or just returned. We even have members who don’t have bikes anymore, and just stay in for the social side.

·         The club has no paid employees and is non-profit making. All subscriptions and charges go back into providing events and services for the members.

What events does IMTC run?

·         There are between 2 and 5 organised tours abroad each year. Most of these will be from 10 - 16 days, referred to as Partitours, though there is often an Easter trip to France (or in 2010 Belgium) which is just a long weekend.

·         There are usually 3 or 4 national weekend events each year on the UK mainland– usually one or two nights in a hotel in a scenic location - typically in March, Spring Bank Holiday, August Bank Holiday and October.

·         There are also regional meetings – Northern, East Midlands, Midlands, East of England and London & Southern, about once a month through the summer and perhaps through the winter too. Rideouts for 3 seasons with the odd camping weekend in the summer, more likely just a breakfast meet and a walk in the winter. You’re not constrained just to go to your own area meetings – the more the merrier.

      Is there a Club Magazine?

Yes, there’s a monthly magazine 11 times a year (it’s that sort of club), currently A5 with 32 pages. The cost of this including postage is included in your annual subscriptions

 

Where do IMTC tours go to?

Tours are mainly to Western Europe and normally between May and September. In recent years trips a little further afield have included Croatia, Romania and the Czech Republic. Individual members, or small groups of members, have travelled a lot more widely than this, but these are not normally official Partitours. The numbers with the time and money to go on these longer trips in any given year is not so many as would normally be the target for a Partitour.

How does an IMTC Partitour work?

·         All tour leaders/organisers are volunteers, so where, when and for how long a tour goes it at their choice.

·         Tours are announced in the magazine and on the website during late summer or autumn of the year before. They will normally have an estimated price, but the actual price will be liable to vary due to exchange rate and other factors

·         The leader will sort out all the hotel bookings, perhaps including some evening meals on a group booking to reduce costs. The first and last of these will normally be on the other side of the channel, so you’ll need to sort out channel crossings for yourself. You’ll also need to sort out your own insurance (see the separate FAQ on this)

·         Your leader may offer a route between the stops, – but it’s up to you to decide whether it matches your abilities and preference. We do not ride as a large group, but you may of course choose to ride with a few other bikes if the speed of riding and choice of roads match up.

·         The number of people on the tour will vary, but is not often above 20, as it starts to get more difficult to find interesting and reasonably priced hotels above this

   Who else will be on the tour?

Naturally it varies from tour to tour, but typically it will be a mix of couples and ‘single’ men, whether actual bachelors or those who’s wives prefer to stay at home. Most of the couples ride 2-up, though we do have one or two who use a bike each. Having a single lady join us on tour seems to have become something of a rarity over the last few years – we look forward to new members reversing the trend.

   Will I always get on the tour of my choice?

Tours are booked on a first-come-first served basis, and there are limits to total numbers, so there is not a guarantee that there will always be a place. However, it’s pretty unusual for people not to get a place if they are prompt with their application. Some tours never reach the number limit.

   I like to take it steady – will I get left behind?

Don’t worry, there will be people doing lots of different paces. The latest to arrive are usually those who take the most scenic detour or have the most coffee stops, not those who actually ride the least rapidly on the road.

Am I too old to join IMTC and go motorcycle touring?

Don’t be silly. Can you still swing your leg over a bike? Can you stop at the lights without falling over? If you can answer Yes, then you’re not too old to join. Some of the mountain roads on the tours can be a bit challenging and might be best avoided if you started riding bikes when we still had a King – but in any case routes between stops are completely personal choice.

Am I too young to join IMTC and go motorbike touring?

All ages are very welcome. Many of our more venerable members joined in their twenties though, to be fair, with some of them that almost was when we still had a King

I’ve not ridden abroad before – will I be OK?

Everybody has to take their first ride abroad sometime, and a bit of extra concentration will certainly be needed at first, especially for the first few miles of each day. On the plus side, though, the roads are much emptier, and drivers usually very considerate (OK, unless you get into the big cities). If you feel you need it, there would normally be somebody available to ride with you for the first day to two – and there will always be more people ready to give you advice than you could ever really need  

What sort of bike do I need?

Anything from a 500cc twin up to a big tourer will keep up very nicely.  Having a bike that’s too big can be more of a problem than a bike that’s too small, as being able to get both feet well planted when you pull up on some of the smaller (and maybe steeper) roads can be very handy. Cruisers, sports tourers, tourers disguised as big trailies, middleweights and even sports bikes if your body is supple enough to cope with one for a couple of weeks can all be great fun.

What does IMTC charge for arranging tours?

Almost nothing. The club takes an administration fee of between £5 and £10 per week per person. Other than that everything you pay goes directly to paying for hotels, meals and the like. Of course, you do have to be a paid up member to book onto a Partitour.

What about insurance?

The club insists that anybody going on a Partitour has both personal travel insurance and vehicle accident and breakdown cover for the bike. This has to be chosen with care as some travel insurers exclude riding motorbikes above 125cc and some recovery insurers will not bring the bike back if you are unable to ride it but the bike itself has not been in an accident or a breakdown. Your tour leader or indeed many other people in the club will be able to help if you need advice about suggested companies.

What do I need to do to join IMTC?

Contact the membership secretary at membership@imtc.org.uk , or have a look at our Contact page for other options if you have any problem. The current subscription (2009/10) is £25 per year.