Riding in Korea

[trygve]

There are not many threads about Korea in here, so I thought I would add one.
For those of you who have the opportunity, I can surely recommend you try riding here.
There are not so many big bikes here yet, but this is changing, and BMWs are popular. Traffic behavior here may surely be a bit on the coincidence side from time to time, but start up slow and easy until you get the understanding of Korean driving, and you will have a good time.
I am living in the southern part, in Geoje Island (Geoje-do), and we have some really nice motorbike roads here, and a beautiful landscape.

Below are a couple of links to some video clips I have made, later I hope to post some from Jiri-san (Jiri mountain), a beautiful national park a couple of hours riding from here, with some incredible made-for-motorcycle roads.


Trygve


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxekb6iph7E
(This one often hangs after 22 seconds, just help it a little bit, and it will run OK for the rest of the clip.)

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6706160395029134447

[jgburns]

... from the north?
Off topic, but what's the local reaction to DPRK escalating bravado?

[meese]

Nice videos, Trygve. There are a ton of small bikes in Korea, but very few large ones. I saw one Gold Wing parked on a street, and one more stuck in the back of a bike shop all covered in dust. The smaller bikes are so much lighter and cheaper, plus you can't ride on the motorways on a bike anyway.

I still have a bike over there for use on the occasional business trip. It's no LT, but fun in its own right.

http://www.bmwlt.com/gallery/files/1/7/8/Lake.jpg

[cws]

... and you both glow in the dark!!! I'm sure thats a must for traffic there.
Although maybe everybody will be like that after the latest "testing"... !

Reminds me of what I did to a helmet many years ago, when I had a bunch of 3M reflective tape left over from a job...
Good to see some pics from that neck of the woods, guys!

[cws]

There are not many threads about Korea in here, so I thought I would add one.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxekb6iph7E
(This one often hangs after 22 seconds, just help it a little bit, and it will run OK for the rest of the clip.)



Wow, the 4-wheel drives over there have no respect for traffic lanes, eh? Much like here.. :D
Whats the solid yellow line mean, "No Overtaking, unless you think you can make it" ????
Looks like a nice ride, love to watch the LT power kick in when overtaking. Good stuff, but I feel a little dizzy from tilting my head left, right, left... :bmw:

[trygve]

Nice videos, Trygve. There are a ton of small bikes in Korea, but very few large ones. I saw one Gold Wing parked on a street, and one more stuck in the back of a bike shop all covered in dust. The smaller bikes are so much lighter and cheaper, plus you can't ride on the motorways on a bike anyway.

I still have a bike over there for use on the occasional business trip. It's no LT, but fun in its own right.




Times are changing, the big bikes are coming, also here.
But you see them only on Sundays and a short holiday week in mid summer.
The rest of the time the Koreans are working.

Rumour has it that riding on the motorways may be allowed soon, although nobody knows when "soon" comes...
Trygve

[trygve]

Wow, the 4-wheel drives over there have no respect for traffic lanes, eh? Much like here.. :D
Whats the solid yellow line mean, "No Overtaking, unless you think you can make it" ????
Looks like a nice ride, love to watch the LT power kick in when overtaking. Good stuff, but I feel a little dizzy from tilting my head left, right, left... :bmw:

Hi Chris
4WD or 2WD doesn't really matter, the inner curve is the shortest way in any case, isn't it? Why they are wasting all that paint on yellow lines I've never understood. Another thing you'll want to watch out for is parking, especially in curves. Actually, parking is not the correct word; you just stop the car, open the door and go, when you feel for it..
Nevertheless, riding here is fun (and never dull!), and life in general IS pleasant and rewarding...
Trygve