Jane Holmyard and Graham Saunders, at ToursAreUs are regular riders in Morocco. So we've asked them to provide some tips to make sure a motorcycle trip to North Africa goes as well as possible.

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1. When heading for a less than crowded and hot empty countryside make sure you carry the basics to get you out of simple everyday trouble. Carry a puncture repair kit, spare bulbs, gaffer tape, first aid kit, a tow rope, 3 litres of water, bungee cords, rehydration salts sachets.

2. Plan your stops, in unknown countryside stop at petrol stations and top up even if half full, you may not know when the next one will come along.

3. Try and ride with someone or at least let someone know where you are going and when you expect to arrive, call ahead to hotel if booked, especially in adverse weather conditions as if you don’t turn up they can look for you if necessary.

4. Take a map, even if you use GP’s, they breakdown occasionally and are less than perfect in the more remote parts of the world.

5. Take the advice of experienced travellers or others who may be coming out from the area you are heading into, it can save you a lot of trouble and time in the long run.

6. Don’t attempt a trip you don’t have enough experience for. Be honest with yourself, it can ruin what on paper seemed like a great idea.

7. Don’t take the kitchen sink. Take the basic’s and one or two luxuries and a camera. Anymore than that and you will pay the weight penalty in bad handling of your machine and higher fuel usage.

8. Keep your speed down to sensible, I don’t mean crawl along but lower speeds are less demanding on your attention and gives you a longer attention span. You are on a trip to enjoy yourself aren’t you? So enjoy it.

9. Stop in a hotel every third night, you might like camping but your body needs to relax so unless you are going to do the Dakkar budget for a bed and a shower every now and again and you will enjoy the experience much more.

10. Plan your trip by hours not by miles. 6 hours in the seat planned is enough for most people. A good average touring pace for up to a group of 4 is about 50 miles an hour on normal A or Motorway type roads. 

This gives you a rough guide to allow for fuel stops etc when actually travelling at a good 70 mph. Double the group size take 10 miles an hour off that. Doing twisties or low grade roads drop that down to about 20 miles an hour. Slower roads and more picture opportunities so you will not go so far!