New to Switzerland - Advice

Zitat von ben488

Hi all,

I've recently emigrated to eastern Switzerland (Altstätten) from the UK and am looking for some advice! I've been a very keen rider in the UK for the past 5 years with the majority of my time on a GSXR 1000 (K7 & L3) model.

I'm currently looking to purchase a Suzuki GSXR 750 or 1000 2015+ next month and have a few questions.

Where are the best places to search for new & used motorcycles? At the moment I'm only aware of https://www.motoscout24.ch/de and http://www.winiger-au.ch/ a nearby dealership.

The only one that comes to mind, to be added : https://www.motorradhandel.ch/

Where can I look to purchase new gear, helmet, 2pc suit ect... anywhere in Western Austria would also be great as I'm 5 minutes away from the boarder.

Check out "Polo" ( https://www.polo-motorrad.ch/ )or "Louis" ( https://www.louis.eu/service/f…hop-lochau-bei-bregenz/94 ) Stores , otherwise simply google for local dealership ("Motorradbekleidung", the german word)

Are there any local clubs that are happy to welcome 'foreigners'. (I only speak very basic German at present)

Bloody well found the biggest community already, didn t ye ? (unless you are looking for this chapters & hoodies sort of clubs)

Any advice for nice riding routes, I'm particularly interested in twisty mountain roads!

You are right in between of Switzerland and Austria , one calling for assistance to find twisty roads must be blind (Once Season kicks off , you ll find here a lot of people happy taking you along and showing you the stuff)

How strict are the police with modifications here, for example.. a custom Exhaust. In England they are fairly relaxed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzXId3190Q4

Apologies I haven't written this in German, I've started learning only 4 months ago!

Thank's in advance for your help!

Ben!

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What Moppel said, plus:

For gear dealers look at the websites of the manufactures and use their store locators. Zip-Codes of Bregenz and Feldkirch are 6900 and 6800 respectively.

Zitat von ben488

Where are the best places to search for new & used motorcycles?

http://www.ricardo.ch

Zitat von ben488

Any advice for nice riding routes, I'm particularly interested in twisty mountain roads!

http://www.motofun.ch
http://www.passknacker.com

PS: Do not over do it on the Stoss. There are many more roads in your vicinity than that one alone.

Zitat von ben488

How strict are the police with modifications here, for example.. a custom Exhaust. In England they are fairly relaxed.

Very. If you are unlucky you will get into a technical inspection on an alpine pass. If you are really unlucky and your bike is really not in order they forbid you to drive further. This means either pillion, PostAuto, or a taxi cab to get down from the mountain. I personally have never been into such a control, others have the joy of getting into one twice during the Summer.

For many modification you will have to go to the MFK and show what you changed, get approval. The MFK is like MOT, but instead by a dealer it is done at a government place. As it is with government and bureaucrats they like paperwork. If you have the right paperwork, you are fine. For some modifications (exhaust) you only need the right paperwork, the tricky and costly part: sometimes only Swiss importers can provide you with the right paperwork and they charge good money for it. On the other hand you normally wont have to notify your insurance about the modifications.

Ansonsten: Wilkommen im Forum, evtl sieht man sich mal auf der Strasse, und viel Erfolg beim Deutsch lernen.

Zitat von ben488

I'm interested in smaller social riding rather than a formal group as you mentioned!

Then you are at the right place
No fuss, no commitment, join a ride which interests you, make friends, see new places (Group size can be as small as two).

Welcome
Switzerland is a paperwork hell and for modifications too...
Be carefull for the speed limits, it's very expensive here.
tuti.ch is good to find it cheap but the search funktion is horrible.
What did you push to come to switzerland?

Welcome !

Well I cant really add anything to what my predecessors said. Modifying anything on a motorized vehicle in Switzerland is a huge pain in the a**. They're especially keen on exhaust modifications, don't even try riding around with an illegal exhaust, penalties will cost CHF 1000.- and upwards real fast.

Also speeding will get you off your bike quite fast. Just have a look at this:
https://www.ch.ch/de/geschwindigkeitsueberschreitungen/

Swiss policemen are often nice, but that won't stop them from giving you huge tickets anyway.

Go slow and enjoy the scenery My go to for having fun is the black forest.

to Switzerland and to the Forum!

To find good routes just check out the ones posted here the previous seasons: Treffen und Touren

When you check the OP infos there or watch some of the youtube-videos linked, you will find that there are different type of tours and speeds covered by users here. From beginners "Chrabbelgruppe" shorttrips, brave gravel explorations, bold black forest speed runs, various alpine pass collections, long distance travels or ambitious trips to race tracks.
Just keep an eye on the posts here and pick the tour you like. You could also post a request for company and guidance for a certain day and region, and see if somebody will join.
And when you plan a tour yourself, return the favour and post it here for others to join.

Edit: Useful infos...
- https://www.alpen-paesse.ch/en/ -> Which Pass is open or closed
- https://www.tcs.ch/de/tools/ve…hrslage/aktuelle-lage.php -> Passes and traffic situation
- http://alpenrouten.de/ -> Infos on nearly every interesting spot in the alps and some more

Do not forget that your nice license from Swansea will be void for use in Switzerland 12 months after you became a Swiss resident. If you wish to drive after this point you must swap it for a Swiss one. It is an easy process:
Fill in the form https://www.stva.sg.ch/home/st…rnfahrausweis_2015_02.pdf

Categories are mostly the same, what you call A2 is A (35 kW) here: https://www.gov.uk/driving-licence-categories

Take it to an optometrist for a simple sight test.
Go to your Gemeinde for address and identity check.
They will send the form, your UK license to the cantonal Authority.
In approx less than a week you should get a bill and a Swiss license. The UK one will be sent back to Swansea.
During the time you have no physical license you should not drive aboard.
If you move back to UK or the EU you will have to Swap your license again.
If you have an old paper license with the category A car, or a new license with category C1 or higher and you wish to keep them you may have to get a quick medical exam.

You probably already know it, but a good source of information is the http://www.ch.ch website from the Swiss Government and also http://www.englishforum.ch for all the quirkiness and new stuff which you might encounter in Switzerland.

When you buy your bike, don't forget to be carefull for the last inspection. If it's longer than a year ago the guys from the vehicle inspektion can say you need to inspect you motorbike before being able to drive it.

Hi Ben

The best way to buy a used motorcycle is to choose it and to post the link in the forum. There will be sure some tips and hints from the comunity.

and always good drive

Hi there

Most questions have been answered. As to the insurance: I would recommend the Mobiliar (Schweizerische Mobiliar). Starting prices are not the lowest, but they already include a lot in the basic packages (assistance etc). If you take what's included and how much others charge for the same they are a good deal. Plus they tend not to make a big fuzz if you need them. By my experience they pay damages without much quarrel and very promptly.
Also they have a very speedy assistance covering Austria as well. Might come in handy- given where you live and all...