Well it is coming to that time of year. Happy New Year to you all and happy trails. I am spending these cold wet evenings planning for trips in 2023. As I am thinking this year to take some old roads, but spend a bit more time at it. This would include France as a start, in particular the new-build castle at Château de Guédelon. Since my last visit a token system has been introduced Crit'Air. certificat-air.gouv.fr The highest rate is Lvl5 which has motorcycles of Euro 4. As 2022 bikes are euro 5 the response I got was Vehicle not eligible Your vehicle does not meet the selected criteria for the award of an Air Quality Certificate. Given that there is a sticker for EV, I'm guessing this is a problem with the categorisation. Has anyone riding in France with a Euro 5 bike had any issues with this?
I took a euro 5 bike there last year and went through a similar issue as you getting vehicle not eligible or something similar. I can't remember the exact solution, but there was something about euro5 or emissions on the V5 that I just left as their default rather than entering in the info from the V5. Hey presto it went through and I got the crit1 purple certificate. Sorry I can't be more exact about how to do it. Enjoy the planning.
Euro 5 is ok. The Crit Air restriction is only for big cities like Paris, Lyon, etc. So far you don't go there you're ok, and even if you enter on of those big "wannabe green" city, there is a tolerance for tourists. Guedelon is really interesting. Good choice. The area around is the the best place to stay. Where do you plan to go then? Below Guedelon, you have beautiful placesin Bourgogne. (and no crit air restriction)
@MoreT: As Hubaxe wrote before, actually there is a tolerance for tourists in the big cities. But be aware! There is no fun of riding a bike in those cities. Lots of traffic, interesting interpretations of traffic rules and a big problem is to find a legal way to park your bike there. Search for an accomodation outside and use public transports for the big cities. Anywhere else in France you will have no problems!
We are going to a place near Angers, where they race pre 1930's cars, trikes and motorcycles . Glad there's no pollution control there!
Markus, thanks. I have worked in Paris and based on that have no desire to drive anywhere near it. The smaller cities I have driven in France have always been ok, as long as I had up to date gps maps. These days we have google maps Most of my French driving was 10-20 years ago, though the last time I drove through it to get to Italy in 2016.
