Last year I came to the Netherlands to buy a bike and found out that you have to be a resident to do this so I hired one instead. When I arrived last year I brought with me a box of accessories to be fitted to the bike I was going to buy, this box was stored at a friends place. Now I have returned a year later to finally fit these parts to the bike I just bought in the UK.

After fitting the parts I went on a ride to the 3 borders monument (Netherlands, Belgium and Germany) to complete the 1000 km running in period and then do the first oil and filter change. One litre of Bel-ray 10w-40 JASO MA mineral oil for motorcycles costs Euro 11.75 expensive. So far its been all work and not much play.

Beware: I went to the Holland Casino in Eindhoven and paid for drinks twice with my Mastercard about $10 each time. On my statement I saw an additional Cash Withdrawal Fee of $4 x 2. When I called Mastercard they said that if the place does not accept Mastercard the transaction still goes through but as a Cash transaction, so always check to see if they accepts the card you are using whether Visa or Mastercard.

Also check that they complete the transaction in the local currency not the currency of your home country because the exchange rate and other fees the local banks charge to convert to you home currency are far more than what your own credit card company charges.

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