The Royal Spanish Motorcycle Federation has presented its new project to promote motorcycle tourism in Spain at the 2024 Mototourism Awards. It is the RFME Golden Wheel, a recognition of the motorcycle tourism routes in the national geography that are exceptional in terms of enjoyment and safety for travelers.
This certification for motorcycle tour routes created by the RFME, It is a quality seal that guarantees that a route meets all the requirements that the Spanish Motorcycle Federation considers that a motorcycle tour should have.
Are 10 criteria that evaluate the fun and enjoyment of driving, the quality and safety of the roads, the attractiveness of the landscape and cultural environment, the availability of refueling and rest areas with motor-fiendly accommodations, as well as all the needs that a motorcycle user seeks on a motorcycle route.
With the idea of bringing together the best motorcycle routes in our country, the RFME Golden Wheel aims to become the reference in the medium term in the world of motorcycle tourism, thanks to the involvement of the different tourism entities and the specialized team of the RFME itself.
These criteria are evaluated and verified both by RFME technicians and by experienced and established motorcycle travelers with hundreds of thousands of kilometers traveled around the planet. This allows you to identify the best routes and evaluate the sensations that the motorcycle transmits on each route, as well as the final level of the complete experience.
RFME Golden Wheel: Motorcycle tourism in Spain
In Spain there are 4 million motorcycles of all cylinder capacities, with more than two million users who use motorcycles on their trips. The creation of this certification, as well as the creation of new routes, will promote tourism in areas with less traditional tourist interest, showing the potential they do have for motorcycle tourism.
Motorcycle tourism has also experienced notable growth in recent years throughout Europe, increasing all figures for the sector. Motorcycles with a traveling nature, touring and trail, are the two largest segments with the largest market volume in the world and the ones with the greatest growth in recent years.
Spain is an idyllic environment for this type of motorcycle tourist, since the quality and state of conservation of the roads and climate make it the best country on the continent to ride a motorcycle. United, of course, with gastronomy, culture and the great diversity of landscapes of the Iberian Peninsula.
The profile of the motorbike tourist, with medium-high purchasing power (average expenditure of €180/day) and an average age of 42 years, is the ideal tourist, since he makes itinerant tours through all types of places, not necessarily looking for the right places. traditional tourism. This makes motorcycle trips the most sustainable tourism, since unpopulated areas and remote places are also ideal for motorcyclists.
Motorcycle users are an excellent economic driver for inland or coastal rural tourism with less tourist interest, enjoying places that are difficult to promote for conventional tourists. The motorcyclist looks for charming locations, traveling along roads of all types, landscapes and gastronomy, traveling hundreds of kilometers along regional roads.
Furthermore, these motorcycle users usually travel as a couple, later sharing the places visited during a route among family and friends, and later repeating it in more traditional tourism.
Who can apply for the RFME Golden Wheel?
Any entity can request that its routes be analyzed and evaluated, whether they are councils, town councils, regions, counties, provinces or autonomous communities, thus opting to obtain the “RFME Golden Wheel” seal.
Likewise, the RFME will design new routes for motorcycle tourists at any point in the Spanish geography that requests it, creating it from scratch, meeting all the requirements for the maximum enjoyment of users of traveling motorcycles. With the creation of new routes with the seal RFME Golden Wheel Motorcycle tourism will be promoted in any region, being a source of extra income for any region.
This certification can also be accompanied by audiovisual production showing the most interesting landscapes and places on each route. The province of Zamora was the first to obtain the Golden Wheel insignia, which was accompanied by three videos in different areas that were published on the federation’s YouTube channel. Something very interesting also for entities that want to promote tourism.
Valuation criteria for the RFME Golden Wheel
RFME technicians independently assess 10 aspects of each route:
- Difficulty level: This point is an informative assessment, not defining whether it is good or bad, it is simply informative for the user, being able to choose according to their level.
- Richness and diversity of the landscape: Here it is valued that the scenery where the driving is experienced is as impressive as possible for most of the time on the route.
- Points of interest on the route: Gas stations and quality restaurants are always important on a motorcycle route, but so are points of tourist interest and places with attractions that make the experience of the route more complete.
- Motorcycle riding pleasure (road and asphalt): This aspect is essential, since the route layout and the type of asphalt determine the enjoyment of road driving. In the field as well, the type of roads and tracks and their grip make the driving experience have the level of enjoyment that the Golden Wheel deserves.
- Road safety level: Crossings, changes in grade, cattle crossing or additions of roads are aspects that make a good layout lose all its attractiveness, so they are also aspects to take into account. Likewise
- Signaling: In daytime driving it is an aspect that fulfills an important function, but it is even more so in night driving, when visibility means that we need all the extra information possible. Therefore, this aspect is also important to take into account.
- Refueling: Being able to complete the route with sufficient refueling points is key to being able to enjoy a day of motorcycle riding. There may be very interesting hidden routes, but without this point it would not be viable.
- Gastronomy and restoration: This aspect is a key part for the motorcyclist, since it is the second point that he values most on a motorcycle route, so this assessment is very important, both in terms of gastronomy in the area in general and in the restaurant offering available. .
- Motor-friendly accommodations: Having accommodation that has a garage or safe place for motorcycles is also relevant on a route, since motorcycle users will always choose to have their motorcycles sleep in the garage.
- Cultural heritage of the environment: Combining all of the above with a route in which being able to visit places with cultural interest perfectly complements a complete motorcycle tourism experience.
The RFME, as the official motorcycle body in Spain, will grant this distinction and will publish and explain in detail all the information about each route on the new website created specifically for this project.
