For the road or semi-road based trips, any dual sport style motorcycle that can maintain a good road speed (at least 65 mph) and that is fully road legal will be suitable.
Our support vehicle does carries some spare tyres, but you are advised to make sure that your current tyres and brakes are capable of the distance that the trip will cover, and suitable for the terrain we shall encounter.
Road tyres will be suitable for the 'Road Only' supported trips but for the tours where we cover the off road pistes, knobbly or dual purpose tyres are a requirement.
Moto-Morocco will be happy to help with advice on tyre selection for any particular tour or motorcycle and we will even take suitable knobbly tyres to Morocco and arrange fitment for you should you want to ride down on street tyres and change them for more suitable rubber before we start the tour. This must be arranged with us at least 3 weeks before the start of a trip though!)
We will carry the bulk of your luggage, but you will need a camelback or similar hydration system backpack-it must be able to carry at least a litre of water (preferably two litres) and we'd advise you to carry another two litres of water on your bike.
It is your responsibility to make sure your motorcycle is in a fit and road legal state - we will have a good tool kit on board but we cannot fix everything.
Although we do have on and off road recovery equipment, if the bike needs recovery or assistance from a third party, that will be at your expense. (we can only carry one bike off-road, or two on-road where one is a light trials bike and the other any model)
Luggage
With the equipment the support vehicle carries to make your trip a safe and comfortable one we cannot carry ‘excess’ luggage. Remember that you will be on the road most of the time, so we recommend that you bring no more than the equivalent of two standard sports bags of luggage overall. (Not including riding kit.)
Please note that if you bring too much, we may not be able to fit it on the vehicle and we either leave the beer behind, or some of your kit... your call!
A full list of recommended clothing levels and essential personal items will be provided shortly after booking your tour...it is very important that you read this carefully and bring all of the items that we list as 'essential'.
Morocco is a relatively safe and very friendly country. The lack of alcohol means that there is very little trouble, however in busier towns petty theft can be a nuisance. We would therefore recommend that you have personal effect insurance for cameras and other valuables, and a zipped pocket or bag to carry valuables when in major towns at night.
Joining Moto-Morocco on a tour is entirely at your own risk.
Moto-Morocco shall not be responsible for any injuries however received, and although we carry a good first aid kit, we strongly advise that you have personal accident insurance including medical repatriation costs. Bear in mind that motorcycling has inherent risks and on off-road trips in particular, injuries, though usually minor, do occur.
On off-road trips therefore, we do operate an ‘ATGATT’ policy….All The Gear, All The Time.
We are also not liable for any damage to your motorcycle sustained on a tour; we will be riding on roads of varied condition and on the off-road tours on rough and potentially dangerous tracks and areas.
All riders should ride within the capabilities of both themselves and their motorcycles, and if you have covered less than 2000 miles (or have not ridden a bike of over 500cc in the case of the road tours) please advise us before booking.
Should you find on a route that you are too tired or do not feel up to the conditions, you should advise us immediately and we can transport you and your motorcycle on our support vehicle for the rest of that section, or make alternative arrangements for getting around the section (this may involve riding a road section with the support vehicle to meet up with the group at the evening's hotel stay)
We also insist that you ride with courtesy and care, both regarding other road traffic and the other riders on the trip, and comply fully with local traffic and legal requirements regarding road use and behaviour.
Paperwork and Medical Info
For the Moroccan based tours, you will not need a Carnet or Visa, but you must carry your original V5 Vehicle registration form, a copy of your Insurance and/or green card that specifically lists Morocco as a destination (Insurance is available at the Spanish/Moroccan border should it be required and there are several UK companies offering temporary foreign insurance cover).
Moto Morocco can arrange insurance should you be unable to arrange a valid green card with your own insurer, however this will be done at he border and we can now only get a month's cover for your bike- in order to avoid you paying rather more than is necessary, we'd strongly recommend that you arrange insurance before leaving for the trip.
A passport with at least six months to run will also be required, as well as a valid driving licence.
If we are transporting your motorcycle to Morocco, we will need to have the V5 Document and a letter of license (we will provide this prior to the trip) from you for the border crossing- your V5 will be securely stored in our on-truck safe, and will be returned to you in the UK when we deliver your bike.
You will also need your personal insurance details and we advise you to carry personal medical details if needed (blood group, any known medical conditions/allergies etc), contacts and similar information on the trip.
Morocco is not listed as a malarial threat country, however we do recommend that you consult your own doctor about jabs for other diseases. (Some doctors recommend vaccinations against Typhoid and Hepatitis A.)
For our trans-Saharan expeditions, you will require a certified yellow fever inoculation.
If you are riding to Morocco yourself, you are strongly advised to have the new version of the E111 cover form with you, the EHIC.
(available online from http://www.ehic-card.com/ )
Cancellations, unavoidable changes in plan and refunds
A non-refundable deposit of £300 will be payable on booking, with full payment to follow no later than 60 days before the departure date unless otherwise agreed with Moto-Morocco on booking.
We will not oversubscribe trips as we know from experience that having too many people can spoil the event, so booking will be taken on a first come first served basis.
If you want to book as a group though, please advise us of this as soon as possible and we are able to reserve places so you can all go on the same trip.
If Moto-Morocco has to cancel a trip, you will of course receive a full refund... we strongly recomend that you ensure you have travel insurance that will cover the cost of any flights though, as we will not be responsible for these if we are forced to cancel a trip.
If you have to cancel a trip and we are unable to fill your place before the departure date, we will give proportional refunds based on the time to go before departure - 90% if more than three months before, 75% up to two months, and 50% of the full amount should you cancel the booking up to a month before the trip.
If for some reason you need to cancel within a month of the start of the trip, we would not normally give a refund unless we are able to fill your place and would advise you to contact your travel insurance provider.
If you leave a tour voluntarily before the end of the planned time, or are required to do so by a Moto-Morocco team member on the grounds that the your presence is considered detrimental to the safety or well-being of the tour or anyone on the trip, then any liability that Moto-Morocco may have towards you will immediately cease. Moto-Morocco will have no responsibility for repatriation or any other expense incurred by you as a result of such an event.
Please note that this is exceptionally unlikely to happen, however we take the safety of our customers very seriously and do reserve the right to take appropriate action in extreme cases.
Morocco can be affected by extremes in weather- on the November trip in 2006 for example we arrived shortly after the worst rains and flooding for many years and this made several pistes rather more challengng than normal.
Because of this, we reserve the right to alter the route plans and itinerary as necessary to keep the trip safe and to ensure we can make the best of the riding that is available.
Meeting a trip in Southern Spain
We are happy for you to meet up with us in Southern Spain and we'll help you with border formalities- this does require you to meet us on the day that we'll be crossing though, as our schedule means that we are obviously not able to spend days waiting for people to arrive at the border.
As part of the pack we provide, we do supply you with a comprehensive 'Border crossing guide' which includes step by step instructions for an easy border crossing and a set of suggested routes from Northern Morocco to Marrakech where we'll begin the tour.
Many thanks to Tim Godsmark (Timolgra) and Ian Fancourt (MrIfan) for the use of some of their fantastic photographs from previous trips