Here is Dave's exciting and inspiring motorcycle story in Croatia and environs, in instalments as a lot happened! Lost in the forest, punctures, police border probs, funtimes, barbecues etc...it's got the lot, you will enjoy it!

 

Firstly, an explanation of Kove, for those that don’t know it. My new bike is a Kove Rally 450. It is a shame, at least for my title, that it isn’t spelt with a ‘C’, also, it would clear up the pronunciation question. Is it ‘Cove’, as in a small bay at the seaside? Or Kové, the French way which is popular with some? What about Kuv as in dove or love? Well who can say?

 

 

Clearly a conundrum  

Whichever it is, the bike is from China and is a tuned down version of the Rally Pro that has competed in and completed the last two Dakar Rallys.
Unlike some off roadie 450s it is not a hugely powerful machine, but does go well enough as the revs increase. It also has the capacity to carry plenty of fuel, 250 – 300 miles, depending on terrain and speed, is achievable. I got the lower seat height version as getting on and off and touching the ground was more important to me than having full ground clearance. It weighs in at 145kg which is manageable. In my mind these attributes make for a good long distance trail bike.

More on how the bike fared later...

 

Why Croatia?
We love a bit of trail riding, especially in new and dramatic places and Croatia seemed to fit the bill perfectly. There are the TET (Trans European Trails) and the ACT (Adventure Country Tracks) available, and reports from other riders were positive.
Then we remembered that an old contact from many years ago had moved there and a very short search found that not only did the wonderful Mr Rod Young still live there, but his home is open to trail/adventure riders to stay/camp, leave vans/trailers for a small fee.
Following some digital communication, it was all arranged. Instead of using Rod’s place as a stopover we would rent a couple of rooms and ride out and back each day. He assured us there was plenty of riding to be enjoyed. He spoke the truth.

 

 

So that was our plan. Two vans, four bikes, as well as my shiny new Kove, there were two Yamaha Tenere T7s belonging to Andy and Mike, and a KTM 790 belonging to Milky, who organises routes and navigation generally. Andy is one of the owners of Performance Parts and both he and Mike have put various after market components on their bikes.
After a couple of days or so of leisurely driving through Europe, we arrived at Rod’s in the town of Gračac, north of the coastal city of Zadar. What could possibly go wrong? Well nothing as it happens and we arrived all excited and ready to go.

Rod’s place
Gračac is a small town that has all the essentials, a restaurant, café/bar, supermarket and fuel station. We were there in the middle of May, later in the summer there are more places open. The town is quite typical of the region, one of the things that is quickly noticeable is the number of empty buildings. This is a result of the inter community fighting that took place at the beginning of the 90’s when Yugoslavia broke apart as the differing countries fought for independence. At the time the area had Croatians and Serbians living side by side, but the hostilities put paid to that and the Serbians left. This situation was repeated throughout the old Yugoslavia, one of the consequences being lots of empty homes and businesses. Many of the properties are still owned by Serbs and some are returning to refurbish their houses. It is all a stark reminder that not very long ago the whole area was mired in bitter fighting between neighbours and families.
Rod’s house and garden is open to all the people travelling through, the fridge in the cellar is always full of local beer that will put you back a whole euro a bottle. Basically, for few more euros his casa is your casa and if you are lucky, and there on the right day, he will do a bbq for whoever is about, including his friends from the town.

 

  

Another benefit is that Rod knows all the trails in the area and will gladly share the gpx files. There is no real restriction on riding off road, the only warning Rod gave was that if you get on the wrong trail and end up at a farm, you are likely to be stopped and invited in for coffee/beer/food and chat. Could be tough.

With a background in engineering and mechanics Rod can be a useful aid if you have any mechanical ailments. For example, if say you drop your T7 on the right side and the silencer bracket that is made out of toffee metal, splits, Rod can whip out his welder and sort it.
If you fancy a visit you will easily find Rod Young on social media. Whilst searching you can also find the two books he has written on one of his favourite passions, sidecars and how to design, build and ride them. They sell very well all over the place including USA and Japan!

 

Border incident
Turns out that Bosnia Herzegovina is only about 30 miles from Rod’s place and it is another welcoming place for trail riders with plenty of tracks to find, so, we set off for the border. This would mean leaving the EU and getting a new stamp in the passport, very exciting. Milky went through the Croatian side but Mike was stopped and told that Interpol had his bike listed as stolen! We thought he was joking, but no they were serious and, despite having his V5 he was unable to convince the border officers that he was the rightful owner. In all fairness to them they were responding to the data from Interpol.

 

Mike’s bike had been stolen from his garage 3 years ago, but thanks to the tracker that was fitted and the swift, efficient actions of the local cops it was recovered in a little over half an hour. However, it would appear the cops were not so efficient about the removing the bike from the list of stolen vehicles. Andy contacted his mate in the motor trade who did an HPI check which showed that the bike was indeed listed as stolen.
By now the border officer was asking for the keys to the bike but Mike was not giving them over. They had his passport and V5 so he wasn’t going anywhere fast. They threatened the possibility of a visit to the local police cells but also suggested he called his local police that dealt with the theft of his bike. We laughed at that idea, have you tried calling a London police station?  With little other option he started phoning the Met and was passed from pillar to post without any success. He then searched his phone history and found the original crime number and eventually he got through to someone who listened and helped. She was able to get the bike removed from the list. It was then a matter of waiting for the computers to talk to each other till the Interpol list was updated. By this time the border officers were more than convinced of Mike’s innocence but had to wait for Interpol to get the data. They were communicating with them via whatsapp! Sadly they wouldn’t let us join the group chat.

 

After three and a half hours the OK came through and Mike was given his documents and was free to leave. He said he thought he should just go back but the senior border officer told him that Bosnia is lovely and that he should go, so he did. He got as far as the Bosnian border and…..you guessed it, he was still on their list. How we laughed again. This time it was only an hour and a half before it was sorted and we got our precious Bosnian stamp and proceeded up the mountain road in search of the trails. But Mike was concerned about the distinct possibility of a repeat performance on his return and decided to go back. We at least wanted to experience a little bit of off-road Bosnia so went on to the first track we had planned which was great and ended high up in the mountains where there was a lovely abandoned hostel.

 

 

 

 

On the ride back down to the border crossing we were wondering if we would find Mike stuck once again. There was no sign and we were told he had gone through with no problem. In fact when we got back to Rod’s place he told us that he had been welcomed and treated like a celebrity. The officers bought him a sandwich and took selfies with him.

 

Now, let’s think about this incident. Mike had effectively been riding for 3 years on a “stolen” bike. He had insured it 3 times. Been to France and Spain and back a couple of times and passed any number of APNR cameras, static and on police cars. Not once was he chased, stopped or challenged. How does that work? How easy is it for people to ride/drive on/in stolen vehicles? Why is our insurance so bloody expensive? If you’ve had a vehicle stolen and recovered or have bought a pre-loved vehicle, get an HPI check!!