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50 Tips For Riding A Motorcycle Across America

5K views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Settertude 
#1 ·

Riding across America is the dream of many motorcyclists. The notion of traversing the U.S.A. on two wheels has a certain romantic aspect; 4000 miles unspooling before you like reels of an old, epic film. A lone rider and his/her machine, dusty and stoic, sharing tales of the road with strangers at every stop but never lingering in one place for more than a meal or a night’s sleep.

Unlike some things in life, the dream is not let down by the reality of actually doing it. Every ride across America is special – I’ve done it four times, and each trip provided unforgettable moments, the types of peak experiences we all long for when we get on a motorcycle. Still, there’s a lot to consider when planning a coast to coast trip: Do you use your own bike or rent one? How will you get your motorcycle back home when the ride’s done? What are the essential items to bring? How much time should you allocate, and what route should you take?
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#2 · (Edited)
Touring with MCCruise

Gidday,

The first thing I should say is: I fell off a motorcycle in 1991, cracked a couple of ribs, wrecked two cervical disks and a couple of thoracic ones in a fall that resembled the guy falling off his trike in the ‘Laugh In’ skit! It is often the slow speed falls that do the most damage!

I can't ride more than 15 minutes without my fingers going numb, but that wasn't going to stop me from riding - so we developed electronic cruise control for my VFR750 in 1996. The business started from there in 1997.

I have done a fair bit of touring since then in many different places, but the things I have to address are these:

1. Because I fly in from overseas, I have a limit of about 30Kgs usually which has to cover helmet and riding gear as well as other stuff. I usually wear my boots on the plane – which on a 14 hour flight can be a hassle, but it isn’t too bad. Security is a pain because you have to take them OFF!

2. I usually have a bike with a top box, soft or hard panniers and a tank bag. In 2008 my PC800 was loaded to the gunwales:
because I was stopping at motorcycle dealerships the whole of that trip - 8,500 miles in three weeks;

3. My GPS is critical. No matter where I go, at least I can get back – and on the interstates in the US they are vital for telling me when the exit I need is coming up so I can be in the correct lane;

4. I used to use a Starcom in the tank bag to relay GPS voice and Bluetooth phone through the GPS to my headset, but on my last New Zealand trip (earlier this year) I moved up to the Sena 20S and it is brilliant. Having intercom between bikes eliminates the need for dangerous stops to discuss things and gives me radio, phone and GPS with no wires, which is great! Intercom in NZ is really only 1km in a straight line with nothing in between riders, but its topography is pretty rare compared to the rest of the world and even at that, I found the Sena doing what I needed it to do…


5. Toting tents and sleeping bags around can be a hassle and at the end of a 600 mile plus day in the saddle, putting up a tent can be tiresome. I found ‘6 motels’ good enough for me in the USA in 2008 (but the exchange rate has moved against me lately) - cheap enough to be affordable and usually located near food. Dennys' Seniors’ meals came in handy to try to buy something relatively healthy and not too big. I always buy cereal and milk or something easy for breakfast, but reasonably healthy. Lunches are less healthy 'cos I am on the go..... I like donuts and chocolate milk & fruit to compensate a bit - never drink alcohol while riding is my motto and I am still alive, so it probably works!

6. Granted I am probably not your typical touring motorcyclist – I don’t like groups unless I really know the skills of the riders I am with, avoid large cities like the plague, steer clear of ‘tourist traps’, love the adrenaline rush of an empty winding road where I can simply go back and do it again if I choose and enjoy the quiet of a rural sunset, some new people to meet and learn from - and the company. I don’t mind a drink, but never to excess in a strange country – that can get you in serious trouble very quickly!

That’s my two bob’s worth as they say in England – though I am an Aussie. Hope you find it useful - and if you ever get the chance to go to Vietnam - grab it - that country is absolutely stunning:
 
#4 ·
Gidday,

The first thing I should say is: I fell off a motorcycle in 1991, cracked a couple of ribs, wrecked two cervical disks and a couple of thoracic ones in a fall that resembled the guy falling off his trike in the ‘Laugh In’ skit! It is often the slow speed falls that do the most damage!

I can't ride more than 15 minutes without my fingers going numb, but that wasn't going to stop me from riding - so we developed electronic cruise control for my VFR750 in 1996. The business started from there in 1997.

I have done a fair bit of touring since then in many different places, but the things I have to address are these:

1. Because I fly in from overseas, I have a limit of about 30Kgs usually which has to cover helmet and riding gear as well as other stuff. I usually wear my boots on the plane – which on a 14 hour flight can be a hassle, but it isn’t too bad. Security is a pain because you have to take them OFF!

2. I usually have a bike with a top box, soft or hard panniers and a tank bag. In 2008 my PC800 was loaded to the gunwales:
because I was stopping at motorcycle dealerships the whole of that trip - 8,500 miles in three weeks;

3. My GPS is critical. No matter where I go, at least I can get back – and on the interstates in the US they are vital for telling me when the exit I need is coming up so I can be in the correct lane;

4. I used to use a Starcom in the tank bag to relay GPS voice and Bluetooth phone through the GPS to my headset, but on my last New Zealand trip (earlier this year) I moved up to the Sena 20S and it is brilliant. Having intercom between bikes eliminates the need for dangerous stops to discuss things and gives me radio, phone and GPS with no wires, which is great! Intercom in NZ is really only 1km in a straight line with nothing in between riders, but its topography is pretty rare compared to the rest of the world and even at that, I found the Sena doing what I needed it to do…


5. Toting tents and sleeping bags around can be a hassle and at the end of a 600 mile plus day in the saddle, putting up a tent can be tiresome. I found ‘6 motels’ good enough for me in the USA in 2008 (but the exchange rate has moved against me lately) - cheap enough to be affordable and usually located near food. Dennys' Seniors’ meals came in handy to try to buy something relatively healthy and not too big. I always buy cereal and milk or something easy for breakfast, but reasonably healthy. Lunches are less healthy 'cos I am on the go..... I like donuts and chocolate milk & fruit to compensate a bit - never drink alcohol while riding is my motto and I am still alive, so it probably works!

6. Granted I am probably not your typical touring motorcyclist – I don’t like groups unless I really know the skills of the riders I am with, avoid large cities like the plague, steer clear of ‘tourist traps’, love the adrenaline rush of an empty winding road where I can simply go back and do it again if I choose and enjoy the quiet of a rural sunset, some new people to meet and learn from - and the company. I don’t mind a drink, but never to excess in a strange country – that can get you in serious trouble very quickly!

That’s my two bob’s worth as they say in England – though I am an Aussie. Hope you find it useful - and if you ever get the chance to go to Vietnam - grab it - that country is absolutely stunning:
My eldest daughter Julie left for Vietnam yesterday. Gonna camp in a big cave.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Have gone east to west a couple times and north to south a couple times. Hope to do it a couple more times. I'd really like to ride to Alaska but who gets 4-5 weeks vacation?

When we first started going cross country we learned quick not to over pack,at least i did. Women is different. I at least got my wife down to just 3 pairs of shoes. As a consequence of my downsizing to just one set of change of cloths,wearing touring pants while riding, she got more room after necessities are packed.

It dawned on us that while we collected souveneirs,t shirts and other what nots along the way to occasionally hit the postvoffice to mail stuff home. They have this deal where for one price all you can cram in one box.

All in all we are very fortunate to live in this great country. I believe you could travel a lifetime and never see everything.

And i never camp now. I did when i was younger and broke. Hell slept under bushs. Don't have to do that any more. After a 4-600 mile day its drive up,unload the bike,wip the bike down and check over it,hotel room,shower,order food,make drink and relax.

Another trick i did was never get a hotel before or in a big city, only after you went thru it that way among othervthings you avoid the morning traffic and other nefarious crud that oozes out of all big cities w/out exception.
 

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